Novel Recomndation: Isidora’s Theatre of Dolls
Synopsis: [Heavily inspired by Lord of the mysteries and Seoul Object story]
"Two minds. Too many bodies. Tiny missteps lead to chaos"
Trapped in a prison of paint, a man who lost everything, even his own na, awakens as the girl in the portrait.
Her na, apparently, is Isidora. His only roommate? A whimsical version of his mind who treats their predicant like a fantastic ga.
Beneath the current of normalcy, conspiracies twist deeper than canvas. As an anomaly, an unnatural soul bound to an object, the reluctant Isidora must rely on her other self’s reckless fervor to stay sane while avoiding the notice of mad gods and squabbling cults, all eager to claim a piece of her.
In a world steeped in secrets, she must chase strength, dodge madness, and perhaps even enjoy her new life alongside her dreamy self.
After all, when the world is a stage, we might as well dance in its chaos.
"A good story; if you're a fan of Lord of the Mysteries and Seoul Object Story, you'll like this. Furthermore, protagonists with more than one body are truly rare, which gives the work a unique charm"
(POV – Protagonist)
After so of my mories ca back, I honestly didn’t know how to face Victor — or what to say to him. Every ti I thought about opening my mouth, guilt clenched my chest and made want to vanish. I had no idea how he’d react once he found out that the reason for his sister’s current state... was .
The most likely outco? Victor would hate — maybe he wouldn’t even waste ti with words, just try to kill . Any other possible reaction? Honestly, no matter how much I think about it, I can’t picture one that doesn’t end with him trying to end .
And even though part of my mories have returned, it’s not like all of them are back. More specifically, only the ones related to Victor and his sister ca through. I can’t recall exactly when, but I have this strange feeling I’ve been in this park before... waiting for them to show up.
It’s strange — while only a few months have passed for Victor, for it feels like an eternity. From my perspective, ti dragged on as if decades, maybe even millennia, had gone by since then.
I still can’t rember why exactly I needed to wait for Victor and his sister. My mories tied to that are still buried — hidden beneath a thick, suffocating fog.
The only thing that remains is this persistent, almost instinctive feeling that the waiting was important... necessary sohow. But no matter how hard I try, I still can’t understand why — why this need haunts for no apparent reason.
I spent a while trying to organize my thoughts. The mosaic anomaly stayed still, just a few inches away from , its face turned toward the starry sky stretching above us — a strange contrast between serenity and chaos. I could feel Victor’s, Emily’s, and Laura’s eyes on us, as if they were waiting for what would happen next.
Honestly, I had no idea how to tell Victor what I’d found out. Should I just tell him the truth? But... if I did that, he’d definitely point that gun — the sa one he’d shown earlier — straight at ... right? I’m almost sure he would.
(Victor) I called out to him, my voice sounding tenser than I expected. His gaze shifted from the mosaic anomaly to — steady, intense — and for a mont, my stomach tightened.
The change in his face was instant — the caution and restrained anger lted into an expression of confidence, and that alone made the weight in my chest nearly unbearable. My stomach twisted, my throat tightened, as if every part of wanted to remind of what I’d done.
I swallowed hard, fighting the urge to look away, trying to gather the courage before whispering, barely above a breath: (There’s... there’s sothing I need to tell you)
After my words, the next few seconds were filled with absolute silence. The mosaic anomaly stayed behind — motionless — staring at the sky... or at sothing only it could see.
Victor, Emily, and Laura also noticed the sudden change in its behavior; I saw confusion and unease flicker across their faces as they exchanged quick glances. Even so, no one said a word.
Under the star-filled sky that stretched above us like a silent veil, Victor’s lips moved slowly. His gaze, however, stayed locked on the mosaic anomaly behind , as if he was afraid to look away for too long.
When he finally spoke, his voice ca out restrained but heavy with sothing I couldn’t quite define — maybe suspicion, maybe unease: “Talk”
Victor’s voice was dry and sharp, laced with barely contained impatience. His eyes, however, stayed fixed on the mosaic anomaly behind , burning with hatred. His fists were clenched tight, knuckles pale, every muscle in his body straining not to explode — it looked like his whole being was trembling under the weight of his rage.
I watched Victor’s expression for a mont before letting out a resigned sigh. In the end, I didn’t want to lie to him. Even after what happened to his sister — sothing that, as horrible as it sounds, had been necessary — I still carry this suffocating uncertainty inside . I know there was a reason, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t rember what it was.
Keeping that in mind, I shared my thoughts with Victor: (First... I... I need to apologize to you) I began, though the words felt unbearably heavy in my mind, forcing to pause.
Victor frowned, surprised, his gaze shifting from the anomaly to . The change in his expression was imdiate — from silent caution to tense curiosity. Feeling the weight of his stare, I took a deep breath and forced out the rest: (Victor... what happened to your sister... was my fault)
The mont my words echoed, Emily and Laura, standing behind Victor, widened their eyes and gasped, as if they couldn’t believe what they’d just heard. Victor, on the other hand, didn’t move.
One of his eyebrows slowly arched, his forehead tensed, and his lips parted slightly — but no sound ca out. He blinked once, then again, as if trying to process what he’d just heard.
His gaze wavered, flicking away from for a mont before returning, uncertain and lost. For a second, it looked like he was about to ask sothing, but he stopped himself. In the end, he just closed his mouth, took a slow breath, and stood there — like soone who couldn’t tell whether he had understood or simply wished he hadn’t.
Emily and Laura’s eyes turned to Victor. For a brief mont, their lips parted, as if words were about to spill out, but they held back. There was sothing in their eyes — confusion, maybe disbelief — as if they had so much to say, yet no idea where to start, or whether they even should.
“This... this can’t be true...” Victor muttered, his voice trembling, every word seeming to fight its way out. He sounded like he was trying to deny what I’d said — as if pure denial could make it all disappear. His gaze darted between and the mosaic anomaly, desperate for sothing — anything — to prove wrong.
“I rember that day like it was yesterday...” he continued, his breathing uneven: “It’s still so vivid in my mind... I still wake up at night hearing that thing in my nightmares” He swallowed hard, his facial muscles twitching between pain and disbelief.
“I could never forget the face of the anomaly that destroyed my sister’s life...” he whispered, his voice breaking at the end: “That destroyed my life”
I thought about telling Victor everything right then, but when his eyes t mine, a strange feeling ran through . There was sothing in them... sothing pleading. It was as if he was silently begging for my words not to be true.
I stayed quiet, watching him closely — my face expressionless on the outside, though my emotions churned violently within. And, as strange as it may sound, I still couldn’t bring myself to feel like I’d done sothing wrong. Sothing inside kept whispering that it had been necessary... that, if the mont ca again, I would do it all over — without hesitation.
(I know) I replied, making Victor turn his gaze toward once again: (That day... I had to do that to your sister. She’s... important. I still don’t rember exactly why, but... I feel like I need her as much as you do, Victor)
Honestly, at that point, even I didn’t know what I was saying. The words just flowed out, slipping past my lips without any thought — as if they’d been asleep sowhere deep within my mind, patiently waiting for the right mont to finally be spoken.
Victor remained silent for a long ti, his eyes lost in the void, as though searching for an answer amid the storm of thoughts crashing through his head. When he finally spoke, his voice ca out weak — almost a whisper laced with pain: “Why... Sara? She’s... she’s just a normal girl. Why... why did you do that to her... to ?”
When Victor looked up, his eyes resembled those of a dead fish — empty, dull, stripped of any trace of soul. The sight filled with an odd sense of helplessness. Because if it depended on who I am now, I’d bring her back... I’d bring his sister back to normal.
Sohow, I still rembered how to do it. The mories were there — vague, distant, but still there. Even so, I knew I shouldn’t. That I couldn’t. Because even if I tried, I would stop myself. The anomaly of mosaics — the version of made of mosaics — wouldn’t allow it.
“Since you were the one who did this... you can undo it, can’t you?” Victor asked, his voice trembling, eyes fixed on — a confusing mix of despair and hope flickering in his gaze, as if he were clinging to the last chance to deny reality.
I watched him for a mont — his eyes piercing into mine, full of almost desperate intensity. In the end, I simply shook my head, silently denying his words. He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and soon, a thin drop of blood slid between his fingers, falling to the ground with a dry, barely audible sound.
(Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to undo the mbrane...) I thought, sending the ssage to Victor, Emily, and Laura. As the words crossed our ntal link, a bitter taste of helplessness filled my mouth: (I’m sorry...)
I wasn’t lying to Victor. Even if I wanted to, that mbrane could never be destroyed. The “” from back then was unbelievably powerful — so strong that, looking at it now, it almost feels like soone else entirely. As for the current ... I couldn’t even make a scratch on that thing. For all its seemingly fragile appearance, its regenerative ability made it impossible to remove completely.
“So... what exactly will happen to Sara?” Emily asked, breaking the silence she had maintained until now. Her voice was hesitant, her curious and restless eyes fixed on : “Will she just... die?”
I didn’t know how to answer her — because deep down, I didn’t know what would happen to Sara either. I rember clearly what I did... I was the one who left her like that, trapped between an instant and eternity, frozen in ti. I can still see the scene vividly in my mind, as if it were burned into my mory.
But no matter how hard I try, I can’t recall the reason. I don’t know why it was so necessary — only that, at the ti, it felt like it was. Still, there was sothing I could tell Victor. Sothing my mind refused to let go of, for reasons I couldn’t understand.
(No... she... Sara isn’t going to die) I transmitted my thoughts to the three of them, shaking my head at Emily’s words: (I didn’t leave her like that for that reason)
Victor was the first to react. His eyes, once completely lifeless, seed to regain a faint glimr — fragile, yet real. However, that spark of life faded almost instantly when he bit his lip hard, as if a dark thought had slithered into his mind and begun poisoning it silently.
Hesitantly, he broke the silence — his voice low, trembling, but carrying a faint thread of hope: “I... I’ll still be able to get Sara back, right?”
I looked at Victor and t his gaze in silence. Our eyes locked — steady, caught in an impasse that seed to last longer than a few seconds. The doubt in his eyes mirrored my own uncertainty. Then, my thoughts echoed in his mind, hesitant, almost trembling: (That... I’m not sure. I know she won’t die, but... I can’t rember what the purpose of all this is)
Victor opened his mouth after hearing , but no sound ca out. His lips moved silently, as if searching for sothing to say, only to surrender to muteness. Behind him, Emily and Laura exchanged a brief glance — one of those looks that said plenty without a single word. None of the three seed willing to break the heavy silence that settled between us.
Realizing that, I let out a quiet sigh and directed my thoughts toward them: (Let’s go back to where Sara is... The ti I gave for the mbrane to stay around her ends once you, Victor, find what’s left of in this park)
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