Countdown — Zero.
The lift platform rose slowly. The faint hum of machinery was the prelude most familiar to her ears.
Yun Mengxi closed her eyes and took a deep breath, pressing the air filled with the scent of circuits, cosmetics, and countless expectations deep into her lungs.
Her heart beat like a drum in her chest, not out of nervousness, but out of pure, boiling joy.
This was the biggest stage she would step onto since the night she made her choice.
She remembered a lot.
She remembered the first time she stood on this stage, her legs trembling slightly, and her brother waving vigorously from below the stage.
He looked even more excited than she was. Those eyes, always so steady, were full of excitement and encouragement.
She remembered Liu Zhuohua tirelessly helping her test makeup, treating her like a rare treasure, determined to find the look that suited her and this stage best.
She remembered Chen Shicheng asking her about even the teleprompter because she wasn't familiar with music theory, asking if she needed a customized rhythm.
She remembered those nights staying up late practicing songs, remembering how she couldn't grasp the essence, only to suddenly have a flash of inspiration and understand the emotions in the music. Outside the window was the sleeping city; inside, there was only her and the dancing notes.
She remembered the autograph session, the girl who had taken a train for over ten hours, blushing as she shoved a carefully prepared gift into her hands, saying, "Your songs gave me courage."
She remembered crowding into the lounge with her team members after the concert, eating late-night snacks, laughing ungracefully with them, celebrating another successful performance.
Of course, there were unpleasant moments in the past.
The misinterpretations by the media, the malicious comments on the internet, the exhaustion after intense rehearsals, the occasional bickering with her brother due to his overprotectiveness...
Of course, there were also her own problems, perhaps problems with her mindset, perhaps problems with her ability...
But at this moment, all of these transformed into the solid steps beneath her feet.
She knew her future was bright, illuminated by love and dreams.
After this concert, maybe there would be grander stages, maybe there would be more moving songs... Maybe, after tonight's concert, her brother would take her and everyone to an unassuming restaurant for a long-awaited gathering.
She could even imagine the scene—the stage shining brightly, and below, waving glow sticks and smiles converging into a sea of stars.
The music would start, the voices of ten thousand people would converge on the same frequency, deafening, guiding people from all over the world to resonate under the dazzling lights and the gaze of ten thousand people.
...At this moment, her brother should be right below the stage.
The roar of the rising stage continued.
I haven't seen my brother all day today... maybe it's because he's too busy today?
The arc of Yun Mengxi's smile increased a bit. Perhaps, only this rising trace of an arc was a genuine smile from "Yun Mengxi" herself.
That night... she and her brother made a decision almost simultaneously. Her brother took on the pressure of the family business, deciding to go behind the scenes and take over the company. For this, he gave up his dream.
And she, protected by her brother, had the right to pursue any dream, the conditions to walk any path. Her choice was to utilize her most outstanding talent and strive to become such a highly anticipated star.
She really was a shining star...
Just like her brother had fantasized since childhood... the person he could become.
This was a little secret known only to her and her brother. Even Sister Liu and Brother Shicheng didn't know this, because when they exchanged dreams, they were both very, very young.
So young that their hearts were filled only with longing for the future, so young that it took them many years to suddenly realize that this was a dream.
What she wanted was a small team that would never disband, where everyone worked together with the same aspirations and likes.
And her brother, Yun Feng, wanted to step onto the stage and become a superstar sought after by everyone under the spotlight.
Her brother bore the pressure for her, and she chose to take over her brother's dream, to see the world he wanted to see in his place, to understand the future he wanted to go to...
Although... there were indeed many small regrets along the way, this moment was something her brother had been looking forward to for a long, long time. She absolutely couldn't mess it up!
The future was a small, perfect happiness within reach.
The lift platform reached the top.
Click—
The spotlight suddenly lit up, like the gaze of a god, completely enveloping her.
Huge cheers rushed towards her like a tsunami, almost overturning the dome of the venue!
"Yun Mengxi! Yun Mengxi! Yun Mengxi!"
Wearing the most perfect smile she had practiced countless times, she opened her eyes, ready to greet her sea of stars—
Her vision was filled with a strange, ominous purple.
Not the color of the lights.
It was the sky.
Outside the transparent roof of the venue, the night sky was like an overturned ink bottle, quickly dyed and covered by a viscous, flowing deep purple.
The cheers did not stop, but twisted into... extremely sharp, inhuman screeches!
She saw the sea of glow sticks below the stage, originally twinkling with gentle starlight, instantly replaced by chaotic, bursting blood-red and gray-white.
In the front row, a girl who was vigorously waving her support sign had her fanatical smile freeze and shatter. Her skin turned gray and decaying at a visible speed, her pupils dilated and disappeared, leaving only turbid whites.
Her red lips, which must have been carefully drawn, tore to the roots of her ears, emitting a strange "ho ho" sound as she pounced fiercely on her companion beside her!
"Ahhhhh—!"
Real screams full of terror finally drowned out the strange screeching, acting as a fuse that instantly ignited the panic of the entire venue!
She saw people pushing and trampling frantically like headless flies.
Chairs were knocked over, bodies were knocked down. Screams, cries, the sound of breaking bones, and that creepy gnawing sound... intertwined into a symphony of hell.
The stage, which was dazzling and dreamy just moments ago, now had lights flashing crazily and flickering uncertainly, illuminating the tragic scene of flying flesh and blood below.
Warm liquid smelling of rust splashed onto the edge of the stage, leaving glaring red spots.
The smile on her face completely froze, peeling off piece by piece like shattered porcelain.
Her mind went blank. All expectations, all fantasies, all longings for the future were shattered into dust at this moment by this surreal, extremely horrific scene before her eyes.
A bright future? Happy singing? Her brother's dream?
Gone.
Everything was gone.
Before her eyes, there was only chaos, blood, death, and... monsters.
The world, at the peak of her greatest happiness, at the moment her dream came true, revealed its hideous fangs named [Honkai] to her in the cruelest, most tearing way.
...
What is the Honkai?
It is showing you the most beautiful things, and then tearing them to shreds right in front of you.