The moon hung eternally at the zenith of the sky, keeping company with the stars.
Pedestrians on the road went about their duties, guided by invisible strings.
Everyone wore mechanical smiles, devoid of even a trace of sorrow.
Here, there was no oppression, no crime, no need for wealth or desire.
Such things were not permitted to exist in this place.
Bianca Duan and Shanna Tong walked along the path to school, exchanging only gentle smiles, saying nothing.
Customers and shopkeepers along the street repeated their transactions mechanically—requests made, items handed over.
“One medium-well steak.”
“Understood.”
A purple-haired girl closed her eyes as she placed her order with the waiter.
After the waiter left, the girl flipped an ancient one-yuan coin, caught it, and revealed the result in her palm.
Still with closed eyes, she announced the outcome.
“Heads.”
As soon as she spoke, flames erupted from her hand, melting the coin until nothing remained.
“In His Highness’s country, money truly is useless.”
The girl sighed helplessly. Living without money was rather torturous.
“I still prefer things that can make everyone scramble for them.”
“Because such things can easily manipulate people’s desires.”
“But in this country, it seems such things don’t exist.”
No—it wasn’t just a matter of “seeming.” In this land, desire itself was forbidden.
At this thought, the girl lifted her head and gazed at the distant palace.
“Yet in this country, there is one desire that is allowed to exist—and that is Your Highness yourself, isn’t it?”
“Just as no rule can bind its maker, these rules will never weigh upon you.”
“This is your country, the world within Your Highness’s heart.”
The girl understood that, to the master, this was merely a dream—a dream where all living beings were but figments of the master’s will.
Moreover, all rules were locks, and where there were locks, there were keys. Rules were sustained by the collective acceptance of individuals. If anyone chose to reject these rules, they could collapse at any moment.
As for the master’s method—it was to strip away all individual thought, rendering them incapable of even understanding what rules were.
“Well, it’s not even that complicated. Even without these shackles, people would bind themselves willingly.”
“Just as subjects justify the necessity of an emperor—no objective reasoning required, only what aligns with their hearts.”
In the end, this was all a farce. The entire country was her cocoon.
And when the time came—when self-deception was no longer possible—the entire nation would inevitably crumble.
The girl then looked around at the people connected by strings, as though gazing at corpses.
“What can I say? An admission of sorts?”
“It’s just that the once-invisible strings have now become visible.”
“In the end, these mortals have never been any different.”
“Like ants in a colony, each one follows the commands projected by the queen’s pheromones, carrying out their tasks without a thought of their own.”
“Sometimes, it’s hard to distinguish the line between life and death. Like now.”
“Ugh… ah…”
Miri Dreamwell pressed her right hand against her slightly aching left shoulder and sat up.
She slowly opened her eyes to find herself surrounded by darkness, with nothing but a massive glass mirror standing before her.
Reflected in the mirror was not her own image, but a white-haired loli bound by strings—Eve Nightburn.
Eve was not lying on the grand bed in the distance but had instead curled up on the floor near the mirror, fast asleep.
Miri lowered her head and suddenly noticed ten white strings extending from her fingers—identical to those connected to Eve.
What was going on?
Miri tried to recall recent events. Before losing consciousness, she remembered her sister biting her shoulder.
She glanced at her left shoulder—four scabbed wounds confirmed her memory.
At least that much was accurate.
Miri strained to remember what happened next, hoping to pinpoint when things had taken this turn.
Faintly, she recalled her sister uttering two incomprehensible phrases in the final moments.
After those words were spoken, her memory went blank. The last thing she remembered was an intense cold enveloping everything before darkness took over.
That must have been when she blacked out.
Miri attempted to move around the dark space.
She tried walking along the sides of the mirror but bumped into an invisible barrier at its edges.
She then tried moving behind the mirror, only to collide with another unseen wall after a few steps.
It dawned on her—this entire space was constructed around the mirror.
“Only one option left.”
Miri transformed into a Magical Girl, summoned her Bubble Chime, and shook it twice, activating its “Mirage” ability.
She tried moving again, but still, she couldn’t pass through any barriers.
“Why…?”
Miri was baffled. The power of Mirage was supposed to transcend spatial limitations.
So why was it ineffective here?
“No choice.”
Miri stepped up to the mirror and began pounding on the glass, trying to wake Eve.
“Little sister, wake up!”
“Let’s play a game, okay?”
“Or… or… how about we go on a trip together?”
She threw out every idea she could think of, but nothing worked.
“At this point… only one thing will do.”
Miri took a deep breath and shouted:
“I bought a Strawberry Cake! Eve, do you want some?”
“YES!”
In an instant, Eve shot up from the floor like a spring.
She shook her head, scanning the room for the promised cake.
“Where’s the Strawberry Cake?”
Eve scratched her head. Wait, where even was this? The bedroom was far too luxurious for someone like her.
Tap tap tap!
“Sis! Over here!”
Miri waved frantically, trying to get Eve’s attention.
“Sister?”
Eve stood up and turned toward the mirror beside her.
The moment Eve noticed her, Miri’s body twisted unnaturally, mirroring Eve’s movements in perfect sync.
