Reincarnated As The Villainess With A System

01: The Wilting of Miki

TRIGGER WARNING: Suicide, mentions of abuse

The night is cold, yet the streets are still bustling with people. The black sky had white stars scattered on it while the wispy clouds slightly covered the bright moon.

The breezy wind blew on my face, sweeping my long bands away from my forehead. I squinted my eyes, feeling the frost on my skin. I pulled my brown knitted sweater to wrap closer around my body.

Today is another lonely day. 

I went out of the house to freshen up. I specifically picked this street to walk on for how crowded it is. Being around these many people would temporarily relieve the empty feeling I have. I could never get used to this, to be honest. Long gone are the days of being surrounded by people who admired me. I am now all alone.

It's Christmas, but I do not have anyone to celebrate. No one gave me gifts, so I bought one for myself. Sitting on a bench, I placed the paper bag on my lap and started to open it. The present is covered in bright colors of red and green, and etched on it is cursive writing saying, "Happy Holidays!" I pulled out the cellphone packaging and unboxed it. It was a new branded gaming phone.

Now that I have brought something I liked, I can cross out this task on my bucket list. However, the feeling of melancholy overwhelmed my sense of accomplishment. If things go on like this, I will not take it anymore. A month after, I will kill myself—New Year's Day will be the final event I will celebrate.

I unlocked the phone, setting it up. A few minutes later, I downloaded the few apps that I use. Among them were the game White Lotus Flower and its forum app. I will be dying anyway. I might as well purchase only the apps I frequently visit.

White Lotus Flower is an otome game that gradually went up to the top romance charts. Starting with clichés to detailed lore, it became famous among young women. Its target audience expanded too.

The game promoted diversity with different fictional characters, places, and cultures. The main character is customizable according to the player's tastes. Those became the reasons why WLF became popular.

Not only the game should be accounted for its reputation, but also the community. The players actively provide [1] fan fiction, [2]headcanons, and [3] fan art. A lot of people became even more hooked because of this.

[1] Fan fiction - fiction written by a fan of, and featuring characters from a particular TV series, movie, etc.

[2] Headcanons - an interpretation of or belief about the details of a fictional story that are not a part of the official account.

[3] Fan art - refers to artworks that are neither created, commissioned, nor endorsed by the creators of the work from which the fan art derives.

The developers thus created the Lotus Garden: a forum app designated for game discussions.

I opened the application, scrolling through the feed. There was a lot of good art. As for fanfiction, I couldn't be bothered to read the walls of texts. I did not have the energy to appreciate them.