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I was Elara Vance, a reclusive artist who found her only solace in the vast VR world of Aethelgard, playing as my plain, unnoticeable avatar, Nightshade. For three loyal years, I was Soulbound to ApexKing, the game's golden boy and a real-life CEO, faithfully by his side despite the brutal forum mockery of our mismatched appearance. But then, a new star, SugarRush, burst onto the scene, brazenly stealing my old, anonymous art identity, "HoneyDew." On our three-year anniversary, in a public spectacle before the entire server, ApexKing shamelessly gave the rare "Twinflame" set I'd painstakingly crafted for him to her, before callously dissolving our bond and calling me a "placeholder." The humiliation intensified as he branded me a guild thief, placing a massive real-money bounty on my head, turning every player against me. My carefully guarded anonymity shattered when Tiffany Bellwether, SugarRush herself, doxxed my real identity and sent thugs to threaten me. Hunted relentlessly in-game and stalked in reality, my world imploded. How could the man who' d once sworn "against the world" with me believe every calculated lie from a gold-digging impersonator, dismissing three years of unwavering loyalty? The injustice boiled, leaving a raw, festering wound, and a single, burning question: why me? But rock bottom ignited a cold, dangerous fury. I refused to be a victim any longer. When a powerful, enigmatic rogue, RiverWraith, mysteriously offered his protection, I knew it was time to step out of the shadows. I would expose Tiffany' s fraud, clear Nightshade' s name, and reclaim every piece of my stolen life.