'' thanks for the autograph, Marin!"
"Hehe, don't worry about it. You're welcome!"
— Marin Augustine Yume's Inner Thoughts —
Being a successful VTuber nowadays isn't easy—
especially not when you live in STREAMTRIX, a realm where popularity literally equals power.
The more famous you are, the stronger you become.
And as you climb?
You always make enemies.
Enemies I didn't even know existed… until later.
You're probably wondering how I ended up with the rare STREAM CLASS: VTUBER.
Well, in STREAMTRIX, everyone is born with a Stream Class—your identity, your path, your destiny.
And I just happened to win the cosmic lottery.
My childhood wasn't glamorous.
I never knew my father, and my mother… well, she was a kind woman when sober, but a drunk more often than not.
During my Stream Class Confirmation Ceremony, TWITCH himself—
the God of Streaming—
descended and granted me my VTuber model.
MODEL RANK: S.
Out of all ranks from[SS] → [E], S-rank was rare enough to cause a riot.
Agencies swarmed me like sharks.
In the end, I chose VOXIMA STUDIOS.
And with their help…
I rose quickly.
Today's the big day.
VCON—the yearly gathering of the elite.
A place where this year's top VTubers are acknowledged as STREAMTRIX's future pillars.
After this debut, we'd receive Rift Permits, allowing us to enter dimensional tears caused by the friction between STREAMTRIX and THE [X] REALM and film ourselves closing them for content.
This was my moment.
Marin entered the VCON building as her monologue ended
"…and now, introducing the VTubers who have maximized their models and achieved ten million watchers!"
A spotlight hit the stage.
"—Ceber Yuna!"
"And finally… Marin Yume! Please step forward to receive your permit!"
I stepped up.
Four years of streaming led to this exact moment.
"Thank you, everyone, for your support. I—"
Marin's words faded as the camera panned away to a building opposite the VCON venue
"You see the one on the podium right now?"
Assassin #1 lowered her binoculars.
"Yeah. She's the one The Phoenix wants dead?" Assassin #2 replied.
"She matches the description:
Amber eye, pink eye.
Black hair with pink underneath.
Pink-and-black cat ears.
X-shaped ear piercings.
Definitely her. Hand me the DE-Immortalising Bullet."
He passed her a shimmering, rune-etched round.
The special sniper hummed as Assassin #1 loaded it.
Just as she aimed—
Marin's eyes snapped to hers.
For an instant, they locked gazes.
But the shot was already fired.
The bullet, enhanced by magic, blitzed through Marin's pink eye, ripping out the life force in an instant.
A healer rushed forward, but the DE-Immortalising bullet devoured all magic.
She couldn't be saved.
Marin Augustine Yume died.
Not quietly.
As she was being loaded into the ambulance, her body suddenly levitated, and her ruined pink eye released a colossal pillar of pink light into the sky.
The shockwave caused tremors throughout STREAMTRIX.
After that final burst, her body collapsed
— Marin's POV —
"Hey, little beastkin girl. Keep moving."
A whip struck Yume's back—sharp, burning.
"Ow—! Stop… you're hurting me!"
"Shut it, brat," snarled the knight towering over me.
"To a Lesser Dragon like me, your life means nothing. Now die, you pipsqueak!"
He raised his sword.
"Please… don't kill me…"
"You weaklings deserve no mercy."
Before the blade fell—
"Gun! Stop fooling around! Your caravan is lagging behind!"
"Yes, Captain!"
The knight—apparently named Gun—saluted and backed away.
But not before whispering to me:
"You'll regret that, brat."
The caravan resumed moving.
War captives marched with chains on their wrists, fear in their eyes.
-Marin's thoughts-
Finally, I had a moment to think.
…This wasn't STREAMTRIX.
This wasn't VCON.
This wasn't my body.
I looked down at my small hands—furry, trembling, claws barely grown.
A young wolf-type beastkin girl stared back at me when I glimpsed a reflection in a puddle.
I was a child. Maybe five or six.
"So it's been six years since I died… at least, judging by this body," I whispered to myself.
And this place—
I had never seen a jungle this thick on any STREAMTRIX map.
And we were called war captives.
A war? Which war?
Where in TWITCH's name am I!?