The melody of Melioris

"Well, well~"

While the exterior battlefield was unnaturally silenced, reduced to a confrontation between a few survivors, the interior of Baron Glutt's main carriage remained in its own state of dimensional anarchy and suspended logic.

"NO! My... my shoulder! It's... BREAKING! STOP! Please, STOP!"

There, Baron Glutt had been reduced to his most recent form of punishment after losing the last game of chess.

"Whatever you are... I beg you! STOP! I WILL GIVE YOU ANYTHING! ... Just... make it stop..."

He was not sitting in front of the board; he was now trapped, immobilized, and compressed inside a constantly spinning cube.

"...Hiiissss... Ah... ahhh... ENOUGH! Kill me... please... Just kill me now..."

The object was a manifestation of his torment: its faces were made of a dark, almost viscous material, and inside, Glutt was being liquefied and destroyed at absurd speeds, a punishment that combined the horror of being squeezed and annihilated by the imposed rules of Melioris.

(CHURR-CHURR-CRACK-ZING!!)

There, the dull and sickening churning sound of Glutt's suffering was the only constant noise, despite being completely ignored by the other people present.

"This is truly interesting~!"

Among them, Melioris was standing, no longer seated at the board. Her heterochromatic eyes shone with dazzling intensity as she stared intently at a specific area of the carriage floor.

"To have created a hole in the fabric!"

At that moment, she was ecstatic, smiling full of emotion, with her attention focused on the floor which, although it had reformed back to normal, still held a faint mark of emerald green and violet petals.

"That small one opened it with pure will."

Floating silently beside her was Goldie, the golden straw doll with her small blanket tied as a cape, while she held in her tiny arms the thick glass container that housed Vrain's pulsating brain.

"The probability was so low... but look how the edge is fraying."

At the same time, Silver, the small silver armor, was no longer chasing anyone. She was now observing in a guard position beside Melioris's leg, showing discipline despite her obvious excitement.

"Escaping this way just to play... Without being noticed... and even opening a small fissure in my incomplete territory...! All at such a young age... That is..."

Then, Melioris, observing the scene of the silent massacre occurring outside, genuinely felt a deep and moving emotion welling up and invading her...

"AMAZING!"

Thus, Melioris brought her hands to her face, covering her eyes. Her body trembled slightly, not from fear, but from a surge of pride and ecstasy.

"She is... she is so talented!"

And in an unstable state, Melioris stuttered, her voice sweet and broken by overwhelming emotion, being the only one that resonated in the silence while ignoring Baron Glutt's pleas in the background.

"Hic, hic, ohh, Gwaaa!"

The event was such that it caused Melioris to break into wild, uncontrollable sobbing for the first time since her creation, which is why the very next moment, Goldie floated toward her and, without saying a word, the golden straw doll produced a perfectly folded silk handkerchief from within that she immediately offered.

"T-thank you, Goldie."

Thus, Melioris received the handkerchief, stuttering as she wiped away tears of pure joy...

"You know... you know how much it means to me to see my babies develop like this. It's so moving!"

... and immediately, with a deep sob, she dropped to the floor, sitting down to break into tears.

"I am so proud of you, my baby! So proud!"

Because of that, and seeing the emotional state of their "mother," Silver, the small silver armor, moved with her clumsy gait.

(Pat, pat, pat)

She proceeded to approach behind Melioris and give her soft pats on the side in an attempt at comfort.

"AAAAARRGH! Gnn-haaa!"

(GRRRNNN-TUK-TUK!)

"Uuuuhhh... Uuuuhhh!"

Nevertheless, despite that, the echo of Baron Glutt's muffled cries of agony, as he was liquefied, mixed with Melioris's ecstatic and uncontrollable crying, created a strange and beautiful symphony that resonated in the dimensional space of the carriage.

(BLUB-BLOP! SQUELCH! WHIIRRRR-PISHH!)

But as the flesh and organs liquefied, everyone ignored them, for, above all, their "mother" was the only thing that mattered.

"OOOOOOH-HAAAAAH!! HUA! HUA! HUA! HUA!"

Melioris, sitting on the floor with Silver patting her, was crying uncontrollably, flooded with maternal pride at the unbridled massacre of her most recently born baby.

But... what was the reason for such an explosive and uncontrolled display of emotional chaos?

The answer lay in the very nature of Melioris, an existence born from a union beyond the components of her individual parts.

Melioris was not simply a new being; she was the physical and psychic manifestation of the bond between the two beings that shaped her, and that combined the best and worst qualities of both parts to give birth to something entirely new yet simultaneously familiar.

Thanks to this complete fusion, she possessed all the memories of both Mireya and Echidna.

However, what made Melioris truly unique was not the possession of these memories, but her own essential nature which, furthermore, differentiated her from her "sisters."

Indeed, Melioris was able to perceive and notice the flow of the "melody" that comprised her very being.

Because of this, for her, the rest of existence—the universe—was a vast and complex musical composition, with melodies that overlapped and harmonies that intertwined.

This allowed her not only to hear the sound of the cosmos, but also to interfere with the very score that composed it.

This ability was the core of her power and essence, of which she became conscious upon birth, as it allowed her to perceive and manipulate the flow of all existence, viewing causal and emotional connections as notes and silences. She could intervene, alter, and interpolate the flow of reality.

And it was this capacity to manipulate the melody that allowed her to access those memories deeply buried in Mireya's soul....

Thanks to this, while Mireya remained ignorant of her past, fleeing from who she once was, unconsciously burying the trauma of her past life in the deepest part of her being.

.... Melioris had used her perception to hear the silenced, hidden, and shattered notes that Mireya herself remained ignorant of.

That is why, upon knowing the truth of her own being, Melioris instantly understood the reason why those memories were sealed so extremely.

She knew forgotten truths and the authentic potential of Mireya's being, which is why she understood what was truly happening, so in that very instant of self-discovery, the revelation arrived...

"Snif... Snif... With this... Everything is ready..."

Therefore, in order to achieve her objectives and 'free herself', she began to implement a meticulous plan.

"There is less and less time..."

Slowly, she experimented with her power, testing its limits; she evaluated which actions she could carry out and which pieces she needed to move, all in order to reach her final goal without arousing any suspicion.

"... Everything is fine"

Because of this, Melioris, feeling Silver's silent comfort on one side and the floating presence of Goldie and Vrain on the other, firmly grasped her own chest.

"It's over now~"

She felt the wild, accelerated beating of her heart like a torrent of pride, yearning, and anticipation that was growing uncontrollably.

"Inhale... Exhale..."

Thus, taking a few deep breaths, she forced stability into her unstable body.

"Alright!"

Slowly, Melioris rose from the floor.

"I suppose there is only one thing to do~"

Her transformation was visible. With the back of her hand, she dried the tear from her golden eye while her white eye still continued tearing up, like a persistent trace of the emotion that had flooded her.

(Bzzzzzzzzzz!)

And as she turned, walking slowly with a calm smile, the carriage area vibrated, returning Baron Glutt back to the chair in front of the chessboard, soaked in sweat and terror.

"Shall we continue?"

In that way, closing both eyes, Melioris sat down, starting the next game once more....

"Have the time of your life, Flora~"

... While centering her attention on the external "game."