—Aurelion Vireth
"...Still can't believe we're actually doing this."
"You say that like you weren't the one who got me into cosplay."
"I didn't expect it to escalate into this." Kiana only answered with a grin.
"Sit." The chair beneath me shifted slightly as I settled into it. Around us, the lunar landscape stretched endlessly beneath a pitch-black sky filled with countless stars. Earth hung overhead like a brilliant marble of blue and white, impossibly close yet unimaginably distant.
It was a strange place to do cosplay makeup. Then again... This was Kiana. Normal had long since ceased existing around her. Snap. A mirror disappeared.
"...?"
"No peeking."
"Kiana."
"Nope."
"...You're really taking this seriously." She folded her arms proudly.
"I am not losing to Klein."
"..."
"...It's just a cosplay competition."
"Exactly."
"..."
"..." "...You're hopeless."
"I'll take that as a compliment then thank you" she said with a smirk, I couldn't help but laugh. Some things never changed.
"Close your eyes."
"...Already?"
"Already." I obeyed without complaint. Unlike years ago, I already knew the routine. Skin care. Primer. Foundation. Contour. Eyes. Lips. Setting. Wig. I had taught this sequence to countless newcomers over the years. Including...
"Kiana."
"Hm?"
"You remember your first convention?"
"...Of course."
"It was a fun experience no?"
"…"
"It was a unique one"
"..."
"..."
"Why're you laughing?."
"I wasn't going to."
"Liar." A soft chuckle escaped both of us. Then... Cool fingertips gently brushed across my forehead. Moisturizer. The familiar sensation spread across my skin in slow circular motions. Not rushed. Not careless. Steady. Confident.
"...You're using less than I used to."
"How long did you think I studied cosplay make up for?"
"a minute?"
"Time dilation is pretty useful you know" Another pause. A sponge gently tapped against my cheek.
Tap Tap Tap Tap
The rhythmic impacts echoed softly through the place, next was… Foundation. The pressure was surprisingly light. Back then, Kiana always pushed too hard. I remembered having to remind her over and over.
"How long did you actually even learned it?" Her hands barely seemed to touch my face at all.
"How long do you think?"
"Guess"
"Years?"
"Maybe, hehe" There it was. That little laugh. The same laugh she'd make whenever she was secretly pleased with herself. "...Don't smile." She suddenly spoke, whoops I forgot she was doing my make up right now
"...Sorry."
"If you smile while I'm doing foundation I'll have to fix it."
"...Right." Silence returned. Not an awkward silence. A comfortable one. Occasionally she would speak.
"Chin up." I tilted my head. "A little more." "...There."
A brush swept gently beneath my jaw. Contour. Interesting... She'd started from the jawline instead of the eyes. A different workflow than mine.
"You noticed."
"I did."
"You always notice."
"Occupational habit."
"Hmph." Another brush. Another gentle touch. The sides of my nose. My temples. The hollow beneath my cheekbones. Everything was deliberate. Precise. She wasn't hesitating anymore. I could've swore she couldn't even do anything before Years really did change people.
"..."
"..."
"I hope you're thinking of something rude" She suddenly spoke
"Maybe"
"About?"
"I remember correcting you didn't even understand where to draw the eyeliner,"
"..."
"...Don't remind me."
"You didn't even understand about foundation back then"
"No."
"You kept blinking."
"..."
"..."
"It was ticklish"
"I know."
"..."
"...Close your left eye less."
"I...See?"
"Don't blink now
Blink
Hehe
"Hopeless client." She sighed dramatically.
"I learned from the best."
"Flattery won't save you."
"It wasn't supposed to." The brush disappeared. Something softer replaced it. A smaller brush. Eyeshadow."...Look down." I obeyed instinctively. Years of habit. It felt strange. For so many years I'd been the one saying those words.
Now someone else was saying them to me. Funny how life worked. After everything... After the Change. After the battles. After becoming one of humanity's heroes. Here I was. Sitting perfectly still
While one of the strongest beings in existence carefully blended eyeshadow onto my eyelids because she refused to lose a cosplay contest.
... Somehow... It felt perfectly normal.
"..."
"...Vireth."
"Hm?"
"...Thanks." She smiled faintly.
"What for?" She continued working without looking up.
"For helping me with my first convention"
"..."
"You almost didn't go."
"I know."
"I thought everyone would laugh."
"I remember."
"..."
"...You told me cosplay wasn't about looking perfect." The brush stopped for only a heartbeat.
"..."
"...You said."
As long as you're having fun... that's all that matters.
"..."
"...Looks like somebody remembered."
"Hehe."
"...Guess I did." The brush resumed its slow, practiced rhythm. Neither of us spoke again. Some memories... Didn't need any more words.
It felt like 2 hours had pass and then Kiana finally spoke. "Done" Seven voices spoke in unison as she huffed with a satisfied looking smile, I instinctively look at my friends wondering what she did to them—WHAT THE?? HOLY???
"Dang…" Gabe was the first to speak
"...Jill?"
Jill turns.
"...Why do you actually look like Robin?"
Tanner slowly points.
"Hold on..."
"Fang..."
"...You actually became Boboiboy."
Fang looks completely confused.
"I... did?" I looked around, the make up. It was perfect—Not perfectly yet. Because...
we're still in ordinary clothes
On the other hand Kiana was walking around like a competition judge.
"Hm..."
"Turn around."
"Stop"
"Lift your chin."
"Gabe stop slouching."
"..."
"...Better." She was already thinking like a cosplay photographer "Alright you guys wear your costumes now"
Snap
7 costumes appeared out of thin air floating, at the same time, Kiana's clone seemed to multiply as they helped us wear our costumes "Sleeves are too long." she suddenly spoke, one of the other clones then said "Robin's ribbon's to crooked hold on"
Another spoke. "Sunday's collar's is sitting 2 cm's to low…" "Welt's cape should rest on his shoulders." …
This perfectionist???
I didn't realize I spoke that unconsciously yet Kiana didn't even answer. Instead, each clone simply continued working as though this was the most ordinary thing in the world. One clone circled Jill, tugging at the sleeves of Robin's coat before kneeling to adjust the hem.
"Too loose."
Another was carefully smoothing the fabric around Tanner's shoulders. "Sunday's cape should fall naturally. Stop puffing out your chest." "I'm trying to look majestic."
"You're trying too hard."
"...Fair."
A third clone stood behind Fang, carefully positioning the brim of Boboiboy's cap before taking two steps back.
"...Two degrees."
"Hm?"
"The cap."
She tilted it ever so slightly.
"There."
The fourth clone never spoke.
Instead, she silently worked on the finer details—straightening ribbons, brushing invisible lint from jackets, pinning loose pieces of fabric and making sure every seam aligned exactly where it should.
Another clone focused entirely on wigs.
She adjusted bangs.
Trimmed stray hairs.
Pulled loose strands behind ears.
Occasionally spraying them before combing everything back into place.
"...Cyrene's fringe frames the face more."
A gentle tug.
"...Better."
Meanwhile another clone carried what looked suspiciously like an entire sewing kit.
Needle.
Thread.
Safety pins.
Double-sided fashion tape.
Fabric glue.
Every few seconds she muttered something under her breath.
"This seam shifted..."
"...Three millimeters."
Then another clone simply walked around everyone with a camera.
Click.
She studied the photo. Walked closer. Adjusted someone's posture.
Click.
Another photo.
"...Robin smiles softer."
"...Stelle leans forward when standing."
"...Welt keeps one hand relaxed."
She wasn't checking whether they looked good. She was checking whether they looked accurate.
...
Meanwhile...
The original Kiana stood quietly in the middle with her arms folded. Her eyes moved from person to person.
Watching.
Comparing.
Thinking.
"..."
"..."
"Stop breathing like yourself."
"...What?"
She looked directly at Gabe.
"Adventurine doesn't breathe like Gabe."
"...How do I even—"
"Figure it out."
"..."
"...This competition is terrifying."
"It is."
She answered without the slightest hint of guilt. "There's no way I'm losing to Klein."
—
At some point Kiana clapped her hands once.
"Everyone."
The seven clones stepped back simultaneously.
The room fell quiet.
No more adjustments.
No more measuring.
No more pins.
No more brushes.
She slowly walked in front of us, looking each of us in the eyes one last time.
"...Perfect."
A satisfied smile spread across her face.
Snap.
Seven full-length mirrors materialized before us.
"..."
Silence.
For several long seconds...
Nobody spoke. The reflections staring back at us weren't merely people wearing costumes.
They were the very characters we'd spent years admiring.
Robin.
Sunday.
Stelle.
Aventurine.
Boboiboy.
Welt
My eyes never left the last one.
Me.
No...
Cyrene.
Instinctively I took a step closer to the mirror.
"...How..."
A hand slowly reached toward my own face.
The reflection did the same. The contours around my jaw had softened. The sharpness that years of training had carved into my features had seemingly melted away beneath layers of carefully placed highlights and shadows.
The makeup hadn't hidden my face. It had reshaped the way people perceived it.
I tilted my head.
The long pink wig flowed naturally over my shoulders. The bangs framed my face exactly as they had decades ago. Even the eyes... They somehow looked softer.
Gentler.
More feminine.
"...Impossible."
Before the Change...
Crossplaying Cyrene had been easy. Back then I was barely one hundred fifty-nine centimeters tall. Slender. Almost androgynous. People often mistook me for a girl even without makeup. Now...
I stood over one hundred seventy centimeters. My shoulders had broadened. Years of combat had built muscle across my frame. There was nothing naturally feminine about me anymore.
Yet...
The mirror insisted otherwise.
Not because I had become smaller. Not because Kiana had used some ridiculous Authority to alter my body. She hadn't.I could still feel the same shoulders. The same height. The same physique. Yet every adjustment...
The contour beneath my jaw.
The placement of the wig.
The silhouette created by the tailored costume.
Even the subtle way the sleeves and waist had been fitted worked together to create an illusion so convincing that my own eyes struggled to find where the trick began.
"..."
"..."
"You didn't..."
I looked toward Kiana.
"You really did all of this... with makeup?"
She folded her arms proudly.
"And tailoring."
One of her clones raised a finger.
"And posture."
Another chimed in.
"Wig styling."
A third.
"Silhouette correction."
"And lots of tape," another added matter-of-factly.
"..."
"Hehe."
Kiana smiled.
"You taught me that cosplay wasn't about having the perfect body."
She looked back toward my reflection.
"So..."
"I proved it."
"..."
For a brief moment...
I wasn't looking at myself anymore.
I was looking at the kid who had nervously walked into his first convention all those years ago.
The kid who loved cosplay simply because it was fun.
...
A small smile escaped my lips.
"...Guess you've surpassed your teacher."
"Hehe."
"I had a good teacher." I glanced and look at my friends, it was unreal…
Even Gabe, whose belly refused to disappear beneath the costume, somehow looked exactly like Adventurine. The proportions. The makeup. The posture. Even the expressions. It wasn't magic. It was craftsmanship.
"..."
"..."
"...Dang."
Gabe broke the silence first.
"I..."
"...Actually look good."
Jill slowly raised her phone.
"...No."
She shook her head.
"We all do."
Kiana folded her arms proudly, unable to hide the satisfied smile creeping onto her face.
"Told you."
"Cosplay isn't about becoming someone else."
"It's about convincing yourself... for just a little while..."
"...that you already are."
"Alrighty then—" Before anyone could ask what she meant, she suddenly turned toward Gaby.
"...Other me."
"No."
"..."
"...You haven't even heard what I was going to say."
"I don't need to."
Three of Kiana's clones immediately appeared behind Gaby.
"...No."
Another two grabbed her shoulders.
"...Kiana."
A sixth clone silently pulled out another makeup kit.
"...Kiana."
"Nuh uh."
"..."
"...I hate you."
"Hehe."
Without another word, Gaby was gently—but very firmly—guided onto the chair beside Kiana. The original Kiana sat opposite her. Six clones surrounded the two of them.
"Wait..."
Gabe blinked.
"You're doing your own makeup too?"
"Mhm."
"Wouldn't that take forever?"
"I did seven at once"
She snapped her fingers.
A translucent sphere of violet light quietly expanded around the two of them.
It swallowed the chairs.
The makeup cases.
The clones.
Even the scattered brushes floating through the air.
The stars beyond its surface warped as though space itself had been bent. The sphere that was once transparent surface gradually became cloudy, like frosted glass.
"...Can you still see them?" Jill asked.
"Barely."
I narrowed my eyes.
At first...
I could still make out silhouettes.
A hand raising a brush.
Someone turning a chair.
A wig being lifted. Then—They accelerated.
The movements blurred together. One moment Kiana was standing. The next she seemed to be on the opposite side of the sphere. Not walking. Simply... There.
The clones multiplied into streaks of violet light, darting across the tiny space so quickly that my eyes could no longer follow them.
Brushes flashed.
Pieces of cloth flickered.
Silver and white hair danced through the air.
Occasionally I caught the brief outline of Gaby raising a hand in protest—
Only for the image to vanish before I could even register it.
"..."
"..."
"I can't tell what's happening anymore."
Neither could anyone else.
The movements had become too fast.
Eventually...
Even the blurs disappeared.
The sphere looked completely still.
Yet somehow...
That stillness felt even more unsettling.
It was the kind of silence that only existed because everything inside was moving too quickly to be perceived.
Exactly 30 seconds passed.
The violet sphere trembled once.
Tiny ripples spread across its surface before fading away.
Then—Honestly at this point I don't even have the energy to be shock, as only silence could be heard, Kiana, was cosplaying Kevin, meanwhile Gaby… was forced to do Kiana, well this was truly… amusing
"Well then? Shall we" She said as a purplish glowing portal appeared once more, obviously connecting to Tokyo, and honestly…
"Let's have some fun"