I watched as the rain washed the city in silver as thunder roared the sky.
Through the glass walls of the studio, I could see lights dancing across the floor, rippling through the shattered glass.
I stood there, amid the chaos, with my blood carefully tracing the dark threads between the folds of ruined silk.
My fingers twitched, as if trying to reach for something that was no longer within my reach.
I tried so hard to steady my vision and breath but I knew it. Nothing can be steady in the face of betrayal.
The only sound ringing in my head? My sister's laughter.
Just hours ago, I had painstrikenly prepared my collection ,my debut line, to hit the runway.
I had spent two years perfecting those magnificent designs, the kind that I wanted to use to introduce myself to the world. As me. Not my sister's shadow or assistant.
I wish I had known that my perfection would one day be my curse.
Just as I was preparing to transport my designs, I noticed the uneasy glances from my team.
" What is it?"
My question seemed to root them to the ground as none of them seemed to want to answer until I almost snapped.
"The collection...it..."
One of them, a newcomer I suppose, mockingly pulled away the coverings of the gowns and I gasped! Not at the beauty, but at the disaster in front of me.
The fabric torn at the seams. Colors ran like blood. I stumbled back as the threads seemed to want to disintegrate completely.
My dream. My masterpiece. All in tatters.
Before I could question my team, voices came from behind me, making me turn and there they were.
My fiancé, Wei Han, teasing my step sister Jiang Ning, as both of them were smiling like they had done a good thing worth of praise.
My vision seemed to blur for a second as pain shot through my whole body. I wanted to confront them but an even heartbreaking scene occurred.
My subordinates, all who received their pay from me, immediately puffed up as they wore buttering smiles, rushing to curry favor with them.
"You guys..."
It all clicked. They sabotaged me. Again! This time, by using my own people.
I didn't have the strength to even utter a word as I felt my energy drain. I could feel the darkness calling me and I was ready to accept.
But just before I did, I was on my knees.
Someone had forcefully pushed me from behind and before me, appeared my parents.
"You want to embarrass us before the entire industry you vile creature" my father mockingly spat. "We raised you and this is how you want to repay us?"
My lips trembled as I forced myself to answer.
"I didn't do anything wrong father."
"Shut up!"
I didn't have the opportunity of saying more as a slap landed square on my face.
My sister's voice was right above me as it dripped honey and venom.
"Stop defending yourself, Sister. You have always been jealous and pathetic. I know you stole my sketches. I know you want everything I have. Mom and dad, my designs, and even... my lovely Han."
I didn't even focus on the sting of the slap or my sister's words. I looked at my fiancé, hoping for mercy through him. But alas!
His eyes were calm, way too calm, but the hint of calculation couldn't be hidden in them.
"I think I told you a thousand times before. "You are too naive for this world, for me. Too stupid to tolerate Rui."
I watched as he adjusted his cufflinks, my chest tightening.
"So...I was just a tool?"
He smiled faintly in reply.
"Oh darling, don't make it sound so cruel. You were useful when you were. But not anymore."
I watched as my father turned away, my mother sighed dramatically, and my sister wore a smug smile.
I watched as she leaned in close, her perfuming immediately suffocating me.
"Poor thing. Worry not sister. I'll take care of your designs. I'll make them worthy."
"Before I forget, your mother's old things? They will be in the trash before midnight."
My heartbeat immediately accelerated the moment I heard the mention of my mother. That was the only treasure I had left!
I didn't know where I got the energy from but I bolted out. Full speed. Out into the storm, barefoot and wounded.
I could only hear their laughter mingling with the heavy rain. The afternoon sky now looking all heavy and dark.
I suppose that's what happens when your life is crashing spectacularly.
My studio wasn't far from where 'home' was so it didn't take me that long.
My mother's treasure. Just a small box of materials but somehow,this small box meant the world to me.
I didn't delay after grabbing the box. I left for the studio with nothing but a small brown box.
The studio was cold and deserted by the time I returned.
My decorations were destroyed, my sketches ripped, fabrics dirtied and ripped, and my mannequins overturned. Some even had stab marks on.
I didn't pay head to that as I stumbled towards the corner where an untouched object lay in the corner.
A glass box. Containing my mother's golden needle.
My first tool as a seamstress. My hands slightly shook as I held it, a bitter smile on my lips.
"All I wanted was to make something beautiful and introduce it to the world."
I whispered.
" Tell me mama. Was that a sin deserving of all this?"
No one answered me except for my heart.
I felt an intense amount of fury burn inside me.So suffocating but I didn't suppress it. I welcomed it.
The more I thought about their treatment over the years,the weaker I got.
My body gave out as my knees hit the floor, causing my head to strike the edge of the nearby table.
Blood instantly pooled out of my head, spreading slowly, seeping slowly onto the golden needle that had just fallen off my hand.
My pulse suddenly faltered as something clicked.
The golden needle pulsed faintly as the light surrounded my body, slowly dancing beneath my skin, and into my veins.
A strong warmth spread through my body.
So foreign, so ancient, and so... alive.
The needle suddenly rose from the pool of my blood, floating.
I weakly saw the threads of light begin to weave, looping symbols and writing words I couldn't even understand.
In my moment of confusion, a voice sounded. A calm but powerful voice.
'System initializing'
'Welcome, Jiang Rui. Heir and host of the Golden Retribution Atelier'
My eyes widened as the voice continued speaking.
"What... Ah! Who are you?"
'System warning; Host is injured. Initializing healing and recuperation.'
'Synchronization beginning.'
Before I could utter another word, the room exploded as everything seemed to be floating and I? I disappeared.
I gasped as I felt my breathing grow lighter and my pulse strengthened.
My lungs were filled with clean air as my hedious wounds closed.
Surprisingly , anywhere there was a scar, in its place stood glittering lines.
'Reconstruction complete.Welcome Heir. My name is Nova.'
I saw my surroundings melt away as my view turned into that of one majestic studio. It seemed to stretch so far yet so near.
The walls had become endless shelves of cloth glowing in every color known to man, with silks that shimmered and threads that hummed with power.
In the center of the majestic room, stood a vast mirror framed in vintage gold.
I watched as my reflection stared back at me.
For the first time, I didn't look fragile or broken.
I watched as my hair flowed like ink, my eyes glowing faintly.
The light in the room really crowned me!
"So, Where am I…Nova?" It felt strange asking such a question but I had to.
'You are in your mother's realm of divinity heir. Here, you may train, craft and evolve.'
A voice came from right across the room, scaring me senseless. I looked up only to come face to face with a talking Bengal cat.
"You...you are Nova?"
'Correct. Now would you like me to walk you through your space?'
I hesitated but eventually nodded.
"...Yes..."
'Bonding Initiated.'
Suddenly pure golden ribbons coiled around me, wrapping me in.
I felt the warmth, the pain, and every single moment of my life replaying in flashes.
"Wait...am I even alive?"
I questioned myself as I heard my mother's voice, my father's snide remarks alongside his cruelty, my ex fiancé's smug talk, and my sister's venomous words.
And then, silence took over.
When the ribbons finally unraveled,I couldn't help but gasp because before me stood a radiant girl.
Gone was the weak, pathetic one. I could feel the strength inside me. The new found power. But somehow, something was missing.
I felt Nova's eyes on me, as if waiting for something to complete itself and that's when I felt it.
The anger and hatred from earlier.
The more I felt it, the more my heart pained and when I thought I was about to black out from hunger, I heard Nova's elated voice.
'Congratulations heir! You are now the official owner of Golden Retribution Atelier'
I immediately felt the air itself bend around me as I let a faint smile tug my lips.
"For every single thing they took, I Jiang Rui will thread their fates with my own hands. I will make them watch as I step on them."
I saw the mirror ripple as a needle appeared from it.
I saw it float towards me, glowing with symbols until it finally lay quietly on my hand.
"So...Nova...what can you really do? What are the functions of this place? In-depth knowledge please."