Cosplay Event (Final)
"Contestant Number 47..."
Klein's eyes narrowed slightly.
"...and Contestant Number 46..."
Elysia's smile froze.
"...have violated the rules of the competition."
The entire auditorium erupted as one could hear the many gasps from the audiences
"What?!"
"No way!"
"How?!"
"Which rule?!"
I stared blankly at the stage, then on to Kiana who's head was slowly turning towards Klein
Klein's face remained perfectly composed. But I noticed something. His fingers had stopped moving. For the first time since the announcement began... He looked genuinely caught off guard as the judge raised another document.
"After reviewing the cos-walk footage..."
He turned another page.
"...we have confirmed that both contestants had broken one rule in this competition."
Kiana's eyes widened. Gaby blinked. Gabe simply stared.
"...They cheated?"
I muttered. Kiana's eyebrow twitched.
"Apparently."
"Excuse me." Klein finally spoke as The judges looked toward him.
"I believe there may be a misunderstanding."
His voice remained calm.
"I have followed the competition's regulations to the best of my understanding."
Elysia nodded rapidly.
"Of course! I would never intentionally break the rules!"
Her smile returned.
"Besides, wouldn't that be terribly unfair to everyone else?"
"...Indeed." He tapped something on the inspection tablet.
"Which is precisely why we have a problem."
…
Elysia's smile froze. Klein's expression remained unchanged. The judge turned the tablet toward the audience.
"We have completed a secondary verification of the finalists."
A large notification appeared on the screen behind the stage.
[ABILITY USAGE DETECTED]
The crowd went silent. I stared at the screen.
"...Ability usage?"
The judge nodded.
[This competition bans the use of any powers in any kind of way As this is a Cosplay Competition.] As soon as those words were spoken
Kiana's eyes slowly widened.
"Oh."
Gaby blinked.
"...Oh."
Gabe looked between the screen and Klein.
"Wait..."
Yet The judge only continued.
[According to this footage, it is obvious to say that they had—cheated. The dim light aura which was thought to be an equipment and the fog that had appeared. were powers.]
"…"
"…"
For a moment the crowd was silent, really really silent
Then a chuckle could be heard a very low chuckle, a glance and I could tell it was Klein.
"Well that was fun while it lasted."
FWSHHHHHHHHHH
Grey fog started to cover the entire place only for it to disappear next second as an illusory door opened right in front of our eyes, he slowly bowed his head as the illusory door opened before our eyes grey fog spewing endlessly
Creakkkkkkkkk
"This was fun~" Spoke Cyrene the Pillar of Recollection, already back in her wedding dress as she gave a quick wink to the audience before floating through the illusory door and as soon as she entered that door…
Thud
"…" It closed itself almost instantly before disappearing from all of our eyes
Whisper Whisper
I could hear murmurs from the audiences, and perhaps even some from the judge, some from the other cosplayers standing with us, thought it was mostly people asking who they were? Even so the Competition itself was still running.
[Ladies and Gent, please give our judges a 5 minute delay as we decide for the ones replacing the 9th and 10th spot in this competition, we ask for your understanding and forgiveness.]
—
It didn't take long for the sound of the announcer to announce the top 3 once more, but then again my mind was focused on one single announcement.
[SECOND PLACE, CONTESTANT NUMBER 267—CYRENE]
...
For a moment, I didn't understand what I had just heard.
My name.
My number.
My character.
Second place.
...
I blinked.
Once.
Twice.
And then—
"...I did it."
The words escaped my mouth before I even realized I'd spoken. Instinctively, I looked toward the screen. There I was—cosplaying as Cyrene. My costume. My face.
Clap Clap Clap Clap
The applause washed over me like a wave, but it felt distant. Muffled. Like I was hearing it through water.
...
Ba Dump Ba Dump Ba Dump
My heart was pounding. But my mind was... blank. Not empty. Just... somewhere else. The stage lights blurred. The cheers faded. The faces in the crowd became indistinct shapes, moving without sound, like a dream that I couldn't quite wake from.
...Second place...
The announcer said something else. I think. Or maybe I imagined it. The microphone crackled. The screen behind me flickered. Somewhere in the distance, confetti cannons were being prepared. But I couldn't focus on any of it.
...I actually won...
No. Not won. Second place. Out of six hundred contestants.
...I actually did it...
My legs felt strange. Light. Like they weren't quite connected to the rest of my body. I took a step forward—or tried to. The world tilted slightly. Someone beside me said something. I couldn't hear what.
—A few moments later
The Backstage was chaos.
Contestants crowded around the monitors, watching the final rankings flash across the screen. Volunteers rushed back and forth with clipboards and headsets. Somewhere, a staff member was shouting about confetti coordination. The air smelled of hairspray, sweat, and cheap stage paint.
I stood in the middle of it all, completely still. My wig was slightly crooked. My dress had a small crease near the hem. My hands hung limply at my sides, the world felt so dreamy and slow until—
"...Aurelion?"
The voice came from somewhere to my left. I turned—slowly, like moving through a thick layer of dense fog—and found Jill staring at me with an expression that looked concerned and amused as she waved a hand in front of my face.
"Hello? Earth to the newly crowned Second Place winner~?"
Blink
"...Huh?"
"Vireth. You okay? You've been standing there like a mannequin for like... two minutes."
I opened my mouth to respond—Yet nothing came out.
...
"Yep. Completely gone." Jill said while raising an eyebrow.
"Give him a second," Fang's quiet voice cut through the noise. He'd appeared beside me without a sound, still in his Boboiboy costume, arms crossed. "He's overwhelmed."
"You've fought monsters without freezing fought remnants so powerful and you're frozen by a cosplay event?" Gabe said with a snort, and somehow the words that came out from me was crystal clear
"When you're fighting for your life, there's no time to think. You just react. But this... this is personal. You put yourself out there. You let people judge you. That's scarier. "
Gabe was standing there, eyes blinking a couple of times before he muttered. "Damn, when'd you get so philosophical?"
"I've had a lot of time to think about things while waiting for gacha pulls to load." Surprisinly it was Ben who replied as he shrugs
"...Fair enough"
My mind while still blurry suddenly remembered, I got 2nd place, that means there was someone who got the 1st place, the question was who?
"It was me" Kiana was the one who spoke no longer was she wearing her Kevin costume, instead she was wearing a single oversized hoodie, posture slightly hunched, beside her Gaby had also changed into a pair of shirt and jeans looking far more presentable then Kiana herself
"I wonder what Si-Hyun would think of if she saw you like this?" Gaby spoke with a slight grin.
Shudder
"Please—Don't tell her about this…"
"You better increase my budget then~" Gaby said as as she crossed her hands behind her back before walking away only to be teleported back right infront of us.
…
…
"Really other me?" She spoke while puffing her cheeks
"Hey, the Party isn't over yet you know, we should grab dinner or something I think we sho—" Yet before Kiana could spoke the next word, an Illusory door appeared once more, of course for us it was obvious it was Klein's but for the others…
"What the—?!"
"Is that a Remnant ability?!"
"Should we run?!"
Panic began to ripple through the crowd. A few people stumbled backward. Someone dropped their phone. A Gundam cosplayer nearly tripped over their own armor.
Fwshhhhhhh.
A figure stepped through the door.
"It's fine," Klein Moretti said calmly, adjusting his glasses. "I'm not here to cause trouble."
The panic didn't immediately subside, but it did pause. Several people were still staring, wide-eyed, at the swirling grey fog that had begun to seep from the door's edges.
"What are you planning Klein." Kiana spoke, her tone slightly harsh as she looked at him dead in the eye. Only for someone else to appear through the door.
" K I A N A… " A Very Special Someone Actually.
I could've sworn I saw Kiana and Gaby's expression changed with lightning speed, from cautious to a very obvious sign of panic, then Gaby spoke.
"Other me, those make up you took don't tell me—"
"Uh—" Yet before she finished the sentence, A Portal instantly appear beneath her feet, she teleported away as fast as she could—Well Tried to.
…
"KLEIN YOU BASTARD" She was wrapped in a layer of thick fog, I couldn't tell what they were doing but it seemed like Kiana was trying to fight back. I think this was something called 'Fooling' Kiana did once told me about this.
"…"
"Looks like we're going to have a pretty good talk aren't we. K I A N A…"
"I'm spared from this right-?" Gaby asked her voice obviously sounding slightly timid and shaky—damn did she piss her pants?
"Of course sweet heart, Klein told me everything I needed to know, you were dragged by her" Alena aka, their mother's voice sounded sweet almost a little to sugary to be true and it also changed fast as soon as Alena spoke back to Kiana.
"Now then. Let's give you the Asian Mother Special shall we…" She spoke once more, her voice chillingly cold and then a sentence escaped from her mouth.
"Domain Expansion : Asian Mother's—"
THUD
Yet before It was finished the Illusory door closed itself taking Kiana and Alena with it before disappearing from sight once more, I glanced at Klein who had this satisfied look, while Gaby just gave a small sigh.
"Well looks like we're gonna head home first, see you later Vireth" Gaby spoke as another Illusory door appeared and opened and without hesitation, Gaby walked through it before it closes once more leaving only Klein.
"See you" He spoke before disappearing right infront of our eyes.
…
…
"Who was the woman with the horns?" Gabe couldn't help but ask, as everyones attention shifted to me
"That was Alena," I muttered. "Kiana and Gaby's mom."
Jill blinked. "Their mom?"
"Trust me. You don't want to know."
Sighhhh
"...Well." I adjusted my Cyrene wig with one hand. "That happened."
"It sure did," May agreed.
Fang, still in his Boboiboy cosplay, crossed his arms. "Think Kiana's going to be okay?"
"She'll be fine," Gabe said, waving a hand dismissively. "Probably. Maybe. Actually, you know what? Let's not think about it."
"Agreed," I said quickly.
Ben, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, finally spoke up. "So... street food?"
I let out a tired laugh.
"Yeah. Street food."
—
The night air was cool against my skin as we sat at a small outdoor table near a row of food stalls. The smell of grilled meat, takoyaki, and something sweet hung in the air. I was still in costume—or what remained of it
No longer did I tried to look refined, the heels from the costume replaced by some comfortable shoes, other then that I was also wearing a jacket covering the expose parts of the costume, as for the wig? I'm too lazy to take it off
My friends didn't seem to mind.
"Man," Gabe said, taking a huge bite of yakitori. "Today was wild."
"That's one word for it," Jill replied.
"I still can't believe you got second place," May said, smiling at me. "That's huge."
I shrugged, picking at my own food. "Honestly? I still don't think it's real."
"It's real," Fang said quietly. "You earned it."
"…Thanks."
Tanner, who had been scrolling through his phone, suddenly looked up. "Hey, the event's already trending on OneFeed."
"What? Already?" Jill leaned over to look.
"Yeah. Someone posted a video of the disqualification thing. People are going crazy trying to figure out who Klein and Elysia were."
I winced. "That's… going to be a mess."
"Probably. But it's not our problem." Tanner shrugged. "We're just cosplayers."
"Just cosplayers?" Gabe grinned. "Speak for yourself. I'm a legend."
"You tripped over your own cape during the walk."
"One time."
Pffft—
We all laughed. The sound felt good—warm, real, grounding. For a moment, the chaos of the day faded away, leaving only this: friends, food, and the quiet comfort of shared memories as I looked up upon the sky. The stars were visible now, faint but present.
"...I'm glad we did this," I said quietly.
"Me too," May agreed.
"Same," Jill added.
Fang nodded.
Ben raised his skewer in a mock toast. "To Vireth. Second place. Cosplay legend."
"To Vireth," the others echoed.
I smiled, lifting my own skewer
"To cosplay."
Thud
And for a while, everything felt just right.
—The Next day
"Well someones smiling ear to ear" Frieren spoke as it was natural while beaming one of the Remnants
"Did something good happened?" Nicole asked, slightly curious
"Well—Let's just say something did happened."
Step Step Step
"So what's our next stop leader?" Gaby asked.
"Hmmmm… How about—"
End of the Cosplay Event Mini Arc.