Chapter 4 – The World Before Birth
Mira felt herself falling—slowly, soundlessly—into what looked like a black, endless ocean.
Her body was weightless, almost liquid, like she had melted into the air itself.
A cool, rippling sensation surrounded her, pushing her gently from side to side.
At first, it was oddly peaceful—until she realized something strange.
There was... another "blob" like her floating nearby.
Whenever she moved left, the other shifted left too.
When she drifted right, it followed right behind her.
It was like playing mirror tag in slow motion.
"Well," Mira thought, watching the glowing shape float beside her, "at least I'm not alone in the void.
That's new."
But before she could start making bubble jokes, confusion settled in.
"Wait... where am I?"
"Vira!" she called, her voice echoing strangely through the liquid darkness.
"You there?"
"Yes, Host.
Loud and clear!" came Vira's chipper voice.
"Good.
Because I'd like to know why I feel like a floating jellybean."
"Ah, that's because you are one, Host! Congratulations—you've entered your first mission world!
You're currently a two-month-old fetus inside your mother's womb!"
Mira froze. "...Come again?"
"You're a baby," Vira repeated helpfully.
"Two months old.
Isn't that exciting?"
"Exciting?" Mira yelled—or rather, thought loudly.
"So while other people get to start their mission as grown-ups with cool powers,
I get to start life from scratch?
You've got to be kidding me!"
"Rules are rules, Host.
Every mission starts with a story, and yours begins at birth—Juliana De'ora's birth, to be precise."
"Wait," Mira said, eyeing the other glowing form beside her.
"So that means the other... bubble... thing floating next to me is—"
"Her twin sister," Vira confirmed.
"That's Clara.
I'll upload Juliana's memories for you so you can understand your role better."
Before Mira could protest, a sharp pulse hit her.
Her vision flashed white as memories poured into her mind—images, voices, whole lives compressed into seconds.
________________________________________
The De'ora family was old, powerful, and bound by a cruel tradition.
For generations, they had believed that twins were a curse.
The firstborn twin was hailed as a blessing; the second was marked as bad luck.
If this "rule" wasn't honored—spoiling the firstborn and shunning the second—the family's fortune was said to collapse entirely. And so, superstition became law in the De'ora bloodline.
In the first timeline, Juliana had been born first, while her twin Clara came second.
As expected, Juliana was adored, pampered, and praised—while Clara lived in shadows, unloved and unwanted.
Until the day Juliana discovered her existence.
She'd fought tooth and nail for her twin, forcing their parents to send Clara to school with her, sharing food, clothes, and even dreams.
Juliana had been Clara's protector.
Her hero.
But fate, as always, had a twisted sense of humor.
When they grew up, Clara fell in love with Andrea Mist—the heir to one of the most powerful families in their world.
But Andrea's eyes, unfortunately, were fixed on Juliana.
When Clara confessed to him, he'd turned her down with cutting honesty:
"You're not Juliana.
You're not the firstborn twin—
everyone knows how your family treats you."
Humiliation.
Jealousy.
Heartbreak.
Clara's love turned into poison that day.
After a breakdown that nearly cost her life, Clara awakened a system of her own—one that gave her the power to restart their entire world.
Fueled by bitterness, she accepted the offer.
And so the world rewound.
.
.
.
.
.
In the second lifetime, Clara was born first, carrying every memory of her past life... and every ounce of resentment.
Juliana was born second—blank, innocent, with no memory of the past.
And just like that, history reversed itself.
Now it was Clara who was adored and Juliana who was despised.
Clara's parents, believing in the same curse, spoiled her endlessly.
Yet for all her supposed brilliance, Clara—an adult trapped in a child's body—couldn't stand the idea of starting over.
Reading ABCs again?
Studying like a kid?
No, thank you.
Meanwhile, Juliana, unloved and ignored, quietly taught herself everything she could, studying with Clara's discarded books and the secret help of a kind nanny, Clara's nanny named Miss Nela.
But as Clara's arrogance grew,
so did her cruelty.
By the age of ten, Clara had proposed something "fun" to her parents:
"That useless girl in the basement seems smart.
Why not make her useful?"
And so Juliana became her twin's shadow—her stand-in,
her ghost.
Every contest,
every award,
every victory Juliana earned was claimed in Clara's name: the art competition,
the national spelling bee,
the science fair,
even the musical festival.
While Clara wasted her years in bars, club, karaoke and with different boyfriends ( boy toys is what she calls them)
For ten years,
Juliana lived unseen while Clara bathed in praise.
Until one day,
Juliana had enough.
.
.
.
.
.
At twenty,
she gathered evidence of every lie,
every stolen victory,
and forced her parents to let her go.
She left the De'ora mansion behind and joined the military medical corps, never looking back, chasing her true dream—to become a doctor.
That was where she met Andrea Mist again.
This time, they didn't know who the other truly was.
But fate clearly hadn't finished its game.
They fell in love—hesitantly,
hopelessly—each pretending it was just friendship.
Their coworkers could see right through them and,
fed up with their denial,
decided to intervene.
One night,
after a celebration,
both were tricked into sharing a room—half-drunk,
half-embarrassed,
and completely unaware of what the night would lead to, they completely interwined, with both of the becoming one.
By morning,
everything had changed.
Juliana woke up alone,
thinking she'd been rejected,
tears streaming down her face.
But Andrea emerged from the bathroom moments later, his expression soft.
"Why are you crying?" he asked gently,
brushing her tears away.
"I thought you left…" she whispered.
He smiled, kissed her forehead, and said,
"Silly.
How could I leave when I've just decided to take responsibility?"
"Responsibility?" she asked, confused.
He leaned down,
kissed her lips quickly,
and whispered,
"Juliana… be my girlfriend."
Juliana's eyes widened.
Her face flushed red,
and before she could answer,
she hiccupped—loudly.
Andrea laughed so hard he nearly fell off the bed.
She covered her face,
mortified,
and mumbled into his chest,
"Yes."
________________________________________
Back in the womb,
Mira blinked, dazed.
"Well," she muttered,
"that escalated quickly."
"So," Vira chirped, "welcome to the life of Juliana De'ora! You're currently six months into your new life,
sharing space with your lovely,
possibly evil twin."
Mira rolled her tiny, invisible eyes.
"Great.
So my first mission is literally sibling rivalry before birth."
"Exactly!" Vira said cheerfully.
"Try not to lose your head—or your umbilical cord!"
"Vira…" Mira sighed.
"I swear, if I survive this and wake up,
I'm banning you from baby jokes forever."