"How it starts"

"Oh gosh..." Zoe pressed the bed sheet and sat up from the bed. She felt an ache in her head and pressed her finger against the center of her forehead. She felt as if she had just awoken from a hangover or had completed the laps of a marathon. Physically, she was exhausted.

She gradually opened her eyes, and a gleaming room made out of gold appeared in front of her: "Shit," she muttered, her headaches escalating from what she saw the moment she awoke. She placed her hand on top of her eyes as an alternative to sunglasses to help her vision, as the sight alone could easily blind her. Why is it so bright? No. Moreover... The setting...

She looks down to check her attire as she tries to progress things and figure things out.

"A dress?" a thought enters, and gradually, she assesses the information to figure out what the fuck was going on at the moment.

(A vast room with a pillar, and I'm wearing a dress, who would wear a dress in this temperature?! When the sunbeams so brightly? Why do jewels scatter in this room as if it's not valuable? who's mentally sane to use it as a decoration? to build a room? are they insane?! Why the fuck is the interior and everything just so fuck up?! Oh dear deity controls my lucid dream this hallucination was an unbearable sight please wake me, I might honestly pass away at this rate.) She tries to stand up and slap her cheeks hoping she'll wake up. But, it doesn't go in accord with what she favors. "Shit, it hurts," she said quietly...

Wait... Did I just say, "It hurts?" Why would I be hurt in a dream... No, but it's possible. Naturally, it is... - She pondered and whispered as she tried to persuade herself and set aside things, she just smiled as she knew everything would be fine in the end. That this isn't a big deal and that there's nothing to be concerned about.

"Now then..." she says as she stands up. "Woah, the view wasn't bad," she exclaimed as she opened the wooden window, astounded by the view in front of her. She can clearly see, and the scenery outside was just as stunning as the view inside. It was brimming with life. The people were joyfully communicating with one another, the land was prosperous, and the colors were vibrant, like an illustration from an imaginary kingdom. There are also numerous castles built one after the other out of copper, silver, and gold. The houses built for citizens were made of concrete stone that was skillfully made and showed a lot of effort, consistency, sincerity, and thought.

A long and narrow bridge attaching in from the land with a view of the deep cerulean-colored sea, the fish were so present because of the tidiness of the water, certainly far from what the surroundings are in reality. With the cool, calming breeze and the tweet of birds dancing to it. What a sight to behold.

"It's nice to live here," Zoe said, sighing and resting her chin on her palm, her elbow steadily resting on the window's flat wood.

"I can't afford to waste my time with the scenery here," she said as she walked into the room in her heavy dress, "Fuck, the dress weight was way heavier than mine," she pulled it up like a skirt and supported her walk: "Much better." and gazed forward blissfully.

She looks in the closet, hoping to find a neutrally buoyant garment she can wear comfortably. But when she opened it, her expression changed to one of frustration. It's absolutely hilarious. The closet was stuffed with dresses. Only dress.

"Who would wear dresses all day long?!" she screams grumpily. "Screw it all, I'll take this off much better if I'm shirtless than to wear this stupid piece of crap thick silk made", she hurriedly removes it and reaches what she's contented to.

"Ha! Much better!" she exclaims proudly as she intends to look in the mirror to see herself. The image, the look of her in the mirror terrified her... That wasn't her. Everything, the body, the face, the features... Wasn't her? She gradually backs off and says, "No way..."

Why... Why isn't it me?

Then she hears footsteps, which sound like a person in a hurry. She froze because she was stunned and had no idea what to do. Her body was her top priority in her mind... She's shirtless. Shirtless.

"That's right, blanket, a blanket would save my dignity, my entire being at this moment, let's set that aside and cover this body first," she rushes to the bed and uses it as clothing.

A man entered the room with a worried expression just seconds later.

When he walked in, she could hear the door slam.

"Milady?! Did something grievous happen? Do you still feel unwell? What's going on? I dash here when I hear you yell." The man approached her with a worried expression.

Zoe was fidgety and agitated, so she tried to focus on other things. Something piqued her attention at that precise moment, leaving her bewildered.

It becomes too much for Zoe to comprehend at this point. What exactly is going on? Why was her prior partner, whom she didn't want to see, in front of her? Why isn't her lover's image reflected in the mirror? Why is it two different images?

Surprisingly, they both have one thing in common: they're both attractive.

"Stop! Don't come any further!" Zoe says, raising her hand in a high five.

"Is there something wrong?" the man wonders, his tone of voice was worried.

"Stop! Don't move an inch!"

The man walks backward gradually.

"There! Stop in front of the mirror!" she says, moving her gaze back and forth. To the man in the mirror. She has done it numerous times. Repetition to the left and right. Until she had had enough. Is her dream teasing her? This is no longer amusing. She tried flicking her brow, but it didn't work. She's not coming to her senses. This nonsense is still being lived and dealt with unconsciously.

"Milady..." the man muttered as he walked back toward her.

Why does he call me milady? Milady? Seriously... How humorous. Why is he dressed in a strange-looking fantasy dress? Like a knight, with jewels dangling everywhere and silk knit similar to mine?

The man then approaches her and whispers, "I am worried, you know..." A moment of silence fills the room, and she doesn't know what to say or what he is saying, utterly nonsensical dialogues, this whole dream is nonsensical, just what happened and what is happening?

"Why aren't you dead yet, did the potion fail for a wench like you?" asked the man, who replied with a shivering statement. What a nutcase.

Zoe became chilled and froze in his warm embrace. Fear causes her heart to beat rapidly.

Then, all of a sudden, a ray of white light filled her vision, causing unbearable pain in her head, with a ringing voice in her ear and causing her to collapse and lose consciousness.

"What... I speculated I could finally enjoy that life even in my dream, but my life remains unfortunate. How much does the world despise my entire existence? Why did they want to torture me instead of just killing me right away to end this..." Those were her final words before entering an unknown world that would destroy her mind, which was already filled with questions and would be constantly occupied.