The room around her looked entirely different. More colorful. Cozy. She was not in her room anymore, but somewhere else entirely. It had a bed, and Mary was sitting on it. Her finger was still touching the same strange orb, but it was now cloudy and opaque. Mary stared at the orb on the bedside table and suddenly noticed her own finger. It was different; it was not her own. Her arms were different. She wore a long-sleeve sweater just a minute ago, but now her wrists fancied fancy white wrist cuffs. Mary recognized those!

Immediately, she jumped off the bed and, in a swift, agile move, grabbed her own tail into her own left hand. Her right hand grabbed her kitty ear. All her suspicions were confirmed. Whatever the device was, it did not just move her through space; it transformed her. Mary was now the character she chose, Chocola.

The girl said "meow," and even her voice changed. She sounded just like Chocola. A brief moment of shock and panic overtook her, and then everything drowned in a sea of excitement.

She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked so beautiful. How was any of it possible? How on Earth was magic real? How could something like this be hidden from society? And then it finally hit Mary. She was not on Earth. Like a dream come true. Truly magical and truly beautiful. Maybe she died, and this was heaven? She shook away the dark thought.

Mary moved around the room and felt it was familiar. She suspected she had Chocola's memories. In a brief moment of panic, she quickly went over Mary's own memories. They were all present; she did not forget anything. She then went over Chocola's memories and could not remember anything. It was as if she inherited Chocola's intuition and muscle memory, but nothing more.

Chocola looked at the drawer. She did not know what each shelf contained. But she instinctively knew where her socks would be. It was strangely pleasant. It felt magical and somewhat useful, too. She had to play Chocola's role after all.

She stared at the orb once more. It was semi-clouded, not fully transparent, but not the opaque white she found in the parcel. Below the ball was a booklet with instructions. Similar to the one she already read, but with an extra few instructions:

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* Break the device, and you will go back to the old world and your old body.

* The device is single-use only; the device will disappear after you go back.

* Do not steal; this will immediately disqualify you.

* Stay away from dungeons.

Mary read them carefully. It was useful to know. But she did not want to go back just yet; she was very eager to explore this wonderful world. She hid the ball under her pillow and, with a happy swish of her tail, ran downstairs.

Her sister, Vanilla, was waiting for her. Once she saw Chocola, a wide smile appeared on her face. She rushed to hug Chocola, and she did so rather tightly.

"You're finally back!" She cheerfully exclaimed.

Mary was at a loss for words. She did not exactly know how to respond. It was all too quick and too fast for her. After all, she was in a different world with an entirely different body.

"Are you acting too?" Mary asked out of character.

Her sister did not answer but rather made a grumpy expression. Aggressively, she picked up Chocola's hand and dragged her into the garden behind their house. She then looked around, and once she made sure no one was here to listen, she began speaking.

“Yes, we all are. All characters here were humans. Buuuuut, here’s a thing: no one likes their character to be broken. You have to play your role and stay quiet about it! Nyaa!” Vanilla explained and sighed.

"What happens if we break character?" Chocola inquired.

"We are going to get punished and sent back. The project will then give your character to someone else to play. To be frank, you are the second Chocola I have met. Nyaa!" Vanilla sighed again. "I will help you stay in character as much as I can."

Chocola gulped. She understood the stakes. She stared at her sister. There was something strange about her. Her hair was improperly tied. Chocola quickly developed a hunch.

"Were you a boy before?" She asked smugly.

"It’s very rude to ask about our past lives. Don't ask about mine, and I won't ask about yours." Vanilla sighed, and a twitch of anger appeared on her face. Chocola did not push her any further.

Chocola smiled, came closer to her sister, and fixed the ribbons in her hair. The action melted away any trace of anger Vanilla had in her; she was very happy to receive any help.

"You need to say nyaa more often too!" A smile appeared on her face.

"Thank you, nyaa~" Chocola happily announced.

It was a short conversation, but it was immensely useful. They both went back home afterwards. Chocola was pretty tired, so she took a nap on a sofa and simply fell asleep. When she woke up, it was dark; she simply crawled to her bed and continued her sleep. Mary had sleep issues, but Chocola did not. It was so easy to fall asleep.