Shattered Illusions

Chapter 1: The Perfect Life

Lia floated in a bright sky, surrounded by clouds that looked like cotton, swirling around her. The cool air brushed her face, even though she had never been in a real place with so much wind. From high above, she looked down at her world: rivers glowing in fluorescent hues, mountains that looked like candy, and trees with golden leaves shimmering in the sunlight. Everything was perfect. Even better, she had designed it herself.

In her virtual room, Lia controlled everything. Her bed floated gently in the air, surrounded by holographic posters of her favorite shows and creators. The walls changed color according to her mood, and the ceiling was covered in artificial stars that twinkled to the rhythm of the music. It was magical. Everything was under her control.

"Lia!" Kay's voice broke through her bubble of tranquility. He appeared out of nowhere, a mischievous smile on his face. He was tall, his hair always messy, with an adventurous gleam in his eyes.

"Late again?" he said, crossing his arms dramatically.

"Sorry," she replied, landing softly on the ground and making the clouds disappear with a simple thought. "I was adjusting a few things."

In the System, everyone could be whoever they wanted. Kay, for example, constantly changed his appearance. Today, he was wearing a jacket Lia had designed, with a bold, adventurous style. Here, you could always change your look, and he did so almost daily.

"Did you watch the new episode of Retrowave Dreams?" Kay asked as they walked through the surreal garden surrounding Lia's house, where giant flowers changed color when touched.

"Of course!" she replied excitedly. "Each episode is better than the last. I don't know how they do it!"

Kay shrugged. "System magic, I guess."

Lia had never stopped to wonder how everything actually worked. For her, the virtual world was all she needed. She never questioned anything. Everything was designed to be perfect.

"By the way, Iris wants us to go to her party. It's going to be amazing," Kay said, winking. "She's been working on something special."

Lia laughed. Iris was usually pragmatic and serious, but when she threw a party, she went all out.

"Let's go!" she responded, imagining what Iris' detailed world would look like at the party.

But just as they were about to leave, something strange happened. Everything around them stopped, as if someone had pressed pause on the world. The flowers stopped changing color, the wind abruptly ceased, and Kay froze in place, like a statue.

"Kay?" Lia called out, but there was no response.

Suddenly, the landscape began to crumble. A metallic crunch echoed in her ears, like something breaking. In front of her, a blurry figure started to appear. At first, she couldn't see it clearly, but slowly it took shape: an old woman, with wrinkled skin and white hair, dressed in a hospital gown. Her eyes, filled with desperation, stared directly at Lia.

"Help me..." the woman whispered, her voice trembling.

Lia stepped back, her heart racing. What was she seeing? Who was this woman? This couldn't be part of the System.

And then, just as suddenly, everything returned to normal. Kay moved again, the flowers resumed their dance of colors, and the wind began to blow softly once more.

"Let's go to the party!" Kay said with a smile, unaware of anything Lia had just experienced.

Lia tried to smile, but something inside her felt uneasy. That old woman... her eyes... there was something deeply disturbing about them. Something had changed in her perfect world.

"Yeah... let's go," she finally replied, though her mind was still trapped in the image of that woman and the metallic crunch that echoed in her ears.