Mizi stood in a pitch-black void, the air thick with an oppressive silence that felt suffocating.
She looked around, her breath shaking, until her gaze fell on a glowing figure—a figure she could recognise from miles away.
Her god,
her universe.
"Sua..?" Mizi's voice trembled, barely above a whisper. Hesitantly, She tries to approach.
"Sua! You— you're not dead, right? We can sing together! Just like before!" Her voice cracked, desperation clawing at her throat.
"You won't leave me, right?"
The girl tries to approach towards the figure again, only to be met with what feels like shackles holding her back.
"Please.. I—I can't do this without you.. How am I supposed to go through this alone? Sua...!"
The silence was deafening, the only sound heard being the girl's pleas.
"You promised we'd move on to the next round together! We'd be the first to tie! Why... why...?!"
Her knees buckled, everything was too overwhelming for a girl who knew nothing but her small world filled with nothing but joy.
"Tell me.. What am I supposed to do..? I'm scared, Sua. If you're not here, I—"
The pink-haired girl jolted awake, her heart pounding like a drum in her chest. The room was dim with light, the sun shining through the windows.
Right.
She had just performed on stage with Sua.
and... won.
The world felt dull, devoid of life, devoid of the happiness she had known before.
Sua was gone.
The Sua that was her whole universe, her god. Without her, how was she supposed to live?
This wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to tie.
Mizi sat up, the memories of Round 1 haunting her. She could still hear her duet with Sua, still see Sua's beautiful smile. Little did she know that would be the last time she would ever see it.
Mizi pressed her palms against her eyes, attempting to keep the tears at bay, but they slipped through her fingers nonetheless.
“Why did you have to go?” she whispered to the empty room, her voice barely audible. “We were supposed to do this together..”
The memories flooded back—preparing for the very stage that would change everything, the excitement she felt while singing, Sua's smile that was so full of love.
Mizi turned away from the window, her heart aching with a sense of loss that she couldn't describe.
She recalled the happy time she spent with Sua, thinking of the first time they met, their first duet, all filled with joy and laughter. Each memory was like a dagger to her heart, a reminder of the joy that had been so abruptly snatched away.
Mizi thought that they would be together forever, that they would stand side by side, no matter what.
Oh how foolish that was.
Mizi sank back into her bed, clutching a pillow to her chest. “I can’t do this,” she murmured, tears streaming down her face.
“I miss you, Sua."