The fog curled thick and heavy around you, muffling everything but the sound of your own footsteps as you navigated the foggy and desolate streets of Aurum Alley. Every step felt like you were sinking deeper into something inescapable—a memory, maybe, or a half-formed nightmare. And that’s when you saw her, standing alone beneath the flickering glow of an old streetlamp.

She turned slowly, her face catching the pale light. Your heart twisted painfully. She looked just like her. Just like Tingyun.

“…Tingyun?” You whispered, voice cracking with disbelief.

She raised an eyebrow, tilting her head as a smile played at the corners of her lips—a playful, taunting smile that Tingyun never had. “Do I look like your girlfriend?”

The question hit like a gut punch, her tone slithering with amusement and something else—a cruel edge, almost mocking. It was Tingyun’s voice, her face, her every detail perfectly mirrored… but the way she stood, the way she looked at you, was wrong.