After the college entrance exams, my twin brother and I were dragged to the Judgment Stage. In our world, the rule is simple: only the "superior" twin gets to live. Everyone thought I was dead meat. Even my parents were betting on my brother, smug in their certainty that he’d be the survivor. What they didn't know was that I’d been letting him win for eighteen years. And now, the act was finally over. 1 In the society I live in, twins are considered a curse. The law dictates that only the best one survives. So, on our eighteenth birthday, every set of twins faces the Judgment. A series of tests determines who is worthy of life. My brother, Julian, and I are twins. But from day one, our parents played favorites. To ensure Julian was the survivor, they sabotaged me at every turn. They stunted my growth, capped my potential. If I showed even a glimmer of talent above Julian, they crushed it. By eighteen, I was, by design, a nobody. "Noah, we don't want to see you go either, but these are the rules," my dad said, standing on the Judgment Stage, his arm protectively around Julian. His tone was dripping with fake sympathy. "Don't blame us. You just didn't try hard enough. Personality, grades... you never measured up to your brother." "I'm sorry, bro," Julian added, his voice sickly sweet. "But rules are rules." They spoke as if the verdict was already in. The audience below seemed to agree. "This is a waste of time. The older brother is toast." "Look at his parents crying. He doesn't even look sad. No filial piety score for him." "I saw the leaks online. He's inferior in every metric." "Ungrateful brat. Just execute him already." The comments flooded the livestream. The world had already condemned me. Everyone assumed I was walking to my execution today. Facing the camera, I couldn't help but crack a smile. A genuinely excited one. In my past life, I let their sabotage turn me into a loser. I thought they were being strict because they loved me. I thought they just didn't want me to work too hard. It wasn't until I stood on this stage the first time that I realized: it was all for Julian. From the start, they chose him. For eighteen years, they groomed me for death. In that life, I lost. I died a humiliating death, labeled a waste of space, while my parents celebrated their golden child. But when I opened my eyes, I was three years old again. Reborn. This time, I trained in secret. I hid my skills. I played the fool so my parents wouldn't see me as a threat. I let Julian win for fifteen years, just for this moment. Now, the mask comes off. 2 [The 120,893rd Twin Judgment has officially commenced.] [Order in the court!] The AI Judge slammed the gavel. The stadium went silent. [This Judgment will extract memories from five dimensions for comprehensive analysis. Only the superior twin may survive.] [Dimension One: Personality.] The massive screen lit up with memories provided by Julian. It started when we were four. We were trying to make friends at the park. Julian was instantly popular, surrounded by kids. The memory showed me being pushed aside, alone in the sandbox. This scene replayed over the years. New schools, new neighborhoods. Julian was the social butterfly; I was the outcast. The livestream chat scrolled fast. "Noah must have a personality disorder. Why does everyone hate him?" "Exactly. If he's the only one being isolated, he's the problem." "Personality round goes to Julian, no contest." "Betting a dollar on the little brother." After a minute of processing, the AI Judge spoke. [Dimension One: Personality Judgment. Winner: Noah.] The crowd gasped. Question marks flooded the chat. My parents and Julian looked like they’d been slapped. "??? What? Is the AI glitched?" "Did Noah bribe the system?" "The AI never makes mistakes. We need an explanation." Beep. The screen flickered. Now, it was playing my memories. In the video, four-year-old me stumbled upon Julian whispering to a group of kids. "My brother steals toys. And he doesn't wash his hands. Don't play with him, okay?" "Really? He seems nice," one kid said. "He's faking it! He steals my stuff all the time. My mom says so. If you play with him, he'll steal from you too. And... if you play with him, you can't play with us anymore." The kids nodded, terrified. "Okay! We won't play with him!" Scene shift. High school. I was standing outside the classroom door. Inside, Julian was holding court. "You guys don't know what it's like at home. Noah bullies me constantly. And... he sleeps around. Like, a lot. I tried to tell him to stop, but he just screams at me..." "Whoa, really? That's disgusting." Julian’s lies poisoned every well. For over a decade, every time we entered a new environment, Julian launched a smear campaign. He orchestrated my isolation. Anyone who tried to be my friend was bullied into submission by Julian’s clique. In my last life, I thought I was just unlikable. This time, I watched him. I gathered evidence. The chat exploded. "Holy crap. Julian is a master manipulator." "I went to high school with them! I can confirm Julian was always talking trash about Noah." "Poor Noah. Stabbed in the back by his own twin." "That's not just mean, that's sociopathic. Team Noah all the way." Seeing the tide turn, Julian panicked. "No! That's not it! I was just joking! I didn't think they'd take it seriously! I didn't mean to isolate him..." Nobody bought it. The "bully" label stuck. 3 The gavel banged again. [Order!] [Dimension Two: Talent.] The screen showed Julian’s highlight reel. Dance competitions. Trophies. Since he was five, my parents hired top coaches for him. They flew him around the country for contests. Julian was hailed as a prodigy. Julian and my parents smirked. This was their slam dunk. "Where's Noah's reel?" someone asked in the chat. My dad chimed in, looking sad. "We tried to put Noah in dance class too. But he had no talent, and he complained it was too hard. He quit." I scoffed. "Ah, so Noah gave up. Typical." "Julian is a bully, but you can't deny his talent. That pirouette was clean." "I've seen his TikToks. Kid can move." [Dimension Two: Talent Judgment. Winner: Noah.] "WHAT?!" "Okay, the AI is broken. Julian has trophies! What does Noah have?" Beep. My memories played. Little Noah and Little Julian in the dance studio. I was naturally flexible. The teacher praised me constantly. Julian’s face in the background was twisted with jealousy. Scene shift: The day of a big competition. Julian sneaking into the locker room. Putting thumbtacks in my ballet shoes. I put them on. Blood soaked the satin. I couldn't walk, let alone dance. My parents didn't care. They left me bleeding on the bench to go watch Julian perform. "Julian, you make us so proud!" they cooed after he won, hugging him while I limped behind them. When I showed them the tack—a specific colored tack from Julian's craft kit—they dismissed it. "It's not Julian's fault you're clumsy. You just don't have the talent." They pulled me out of dance class the next day. The chat went nuclear. "Those parents are monsters!" "They forced him to quit because they were scared he'd beat the golden child!" Julian and my parents were turning pale. But the video wasn't over. In my last life, I quit dancing and ate my feelings. I became obese and depressed. Julian stayed fit and famous. This time, after being pulled from class, I went to my teacher, Mr. Yang, crying. "Mr. Yang, I love dancing. But I can't come anymore." "Noah, you're the most gifted student I've ever seen. Why?" "My brother doesn't want me to be better than him. My parents said no." Mr. Yang looked at me with heartbreak in his eyes. Then he grabbed my hand. "Noah, come to my house after school. I'll teach you for free. Secretly." For thirteen years, I trained in secret. Every routine I mastered, Mr. Yang recorded and posted online under an anonymous account. I am "The Masked Dancer." I have five million followers. "Wait... The Masked Dancer?! Professionals study his videos!" "Holy sh*t! Noah is The Masked Dancer?!" "Julian is a good amateur. Noah is a pro. No wonder he won." 4 Two losses in a row. My parents were fuming. "Noah! You snuck around behind our backs?! How could you be so deceitful?!" "Yeah! Keeping secrets from family?" [Order! Disruption of the court will result in immediate termination.] The AI shut them up instantly. [Dimension Three: Compassion.] Julian’s memories again. Him feeding stray cats. Him building shelters. A montage of saintly behavior. Then, a scene where I kicked over a bowl of food he set out. "What are you doing?!" Julian cried in the video. "They're hungry!" "No! Don't feed them!" Video-Me shouted, kicking the cats away. "Scram!" "You're so cruel, Noah!" Julian sobbed. The memory ended. "Okay, Noah is an animal abuser. Confirmed." "Kicking cats? Yeah, he's evil." "Doesn't matter how good he dances if he has no soul." [Dimension Three: Compassion Judgment. Winner: Noah.] "..." "This is rigged." "I saw him kick the cat! Explain that!" The AI played my perspective. After I kicked the cats away, the conversation continued. A part Julian’s memory conveniently left out. "Are you an idiot? Cats can't eat that much salt! You're feeding them our leftovers—oily, spicy, salty food! You're killing their kidneys!" "I just wanted to help! My intentions were good!" Julian yelled back. "Keep your fake kindness. Why do you think the strays around here keep dying? Kidney failure. Because of you!" I stormed off. Scene shift: Me at the vet, paying with my saved allowance to treat a sick cat. In my last life, I found out during the Judgment that Julian had been poisoning the neighborhood cats with human food for years, thinking he was Snow White. "Oh my god. Julian was killing them with 'kindness'." "He's stupid and malicious." Julian was trembling. "I didn't know! I didn't mean to..." The chat wasn't having it. "Ignorance isn't an excuse for killing animals." Julian, who had never faced real criticism in his life, broke down sobbing. "Don't cry, baby," Mom comforted him. Then she glared at me. "Noah, he's your brother! Can't you let him win one? Just this once?" "Let him win?" I asked innocently. "You mean lie to the Supreme Judge? Isn't perjury... illegal?" [Warning. Coercing a participant to commit perjury is punishable by immediate termination.] My dad shut his mouth so fast I heard his teeth click. "No, no! Just a joke!" [Halftime. Judgment will resume in 30 minutes.] The chat was buzzing. "Noah is actually... kinda cool." "Yeah, the cold demeanor makes sense now. He's surrounded by idiots." "I feel bad for him. Imagine living with that family." The tide had turned. And my family knew it.
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