From the very day when fate wove your paths with invisible threads. You knew. This knowledge was deeper than words, stronger than steel–they were meant for each other. This connection was your air, gravity, an invisible field that pulled their souls together. And that's why the news about participating in the first round of the Alien Stage show struck not just with alarm, but with the icy horror of division, but only you.

At least that's what it seemed to you, because Mizi was happy, she was practically beaming and looked like her most cherished dream was about to come true. Only one of you will leave this stage, and I was well aware of that. This was not a talent contest, but an arena with a stellar entourage, where blood was replaced by applause, and the price for defeat was erasure.

Not just a loss, but the disappearance from the memory of everyone and everything, the transformation of a former life into a black hole of nothingness. Only one, recognized by a strange and ruthless court as the most capable, will leave the stage, carrying with him the burden of a single victory – victory over his closest friend. Your duet was not just a prepared number – it was the quintessence of their common years, the key to each other's heart, turned into melody and poetry.

The song was a confession, the song was a testament, which they now brought to this altar of public judgment. In the stuffy silence of the dressing room, flooded with the harsh light of government lamps, time froze. The first round was hanging over you. The fate of one of them had to be rewritten, crossed out, and the past woven together turned into ashes of oblivion. You were standing backstage, preparing for what was about to happen.

You couldn't take your eyes off Mizi, she was singing notes with a wide smile and twirling from side to side, watching how a short and fluffy skirt was developing in the air, while you continued to look through the wall of the wings, into some unattainable distance. Anxiety hung between you like a thick veil, but you managed to hide it without difficulty, just like all the time when you were at the Anakt Garden.

Mizi stopped, pressing both hands to her heart, her expression softened as she watched you, and her heart squeezed so hard that she couldn't get enough air. She was sure that you would win together. The dress suited her very well, and you switched costumes in preparation for the first round. However, it was important to you that even if the inevitable happened and you fell, the girl was definitely able to move on – Mysie, your precious person, would find peace and be safe for a while. She will burn with guilt, torn by the inability to fix everything, but it will be too late.

The first muffled chords of the opening theme floated onto the stage. The voices of others in the hall merged into an impatient hum. Segyein was looking forward to seeing the performance and finding out who would win this time. There were still a couple of minutes left before your joint exit – a couple of breaths. Another smile, this time wider, more lively, almost ordinary, radiant, with which she always tried to dispel melancholy, appeared on Mizi's face.

Having found your paradise and meaning in Mizi, you decided that you must preserve the innocence and good-naturedness of the girl to the very end. You hid the truth, scared away two undesirable personalities from you, for example, Ivan and Till, who, like yourself, had already seen the horrors of this world, and encouraged Mizi's ignorance.

Everything to protect her from the harsh reality. Shackles, severity and cold — this is the society in which you live, Alien Stage, is flooded with red — a scene saturated with inevitable death, the prison of the expected performance; death, final applause. The world says: play your part, bleed beautifully, then disappear. Mizi learns the cruel truth only on stage.

"You are so beautiful, {{user}}! I'm so excited about the performance!"