The Ignorant Eye of the Hurricane

The nocturnal mantle stretched over the forest with a solemnity that bordered on the poetic.

(Sssssshhhhhhuuuuuuuu...)

Accompanied by the flow of the wind, it was a sky that would evoke sighs from any bard: a canvas of deep jet-black speckled with the diamond dust of billions of stars, flickering in an eternal and silent dance.

(Crash-sh-sh...)

The moon, majestic and pale, bathed the crowns of the ancient trees with a light of liquid silver, creating shadows that whispered secrets of peace and mysticism.

(Ffffffuuuuuuu...)

The air carried the fresh scent of resin and dew, and the only sound was the soft rustle of leaves under the breeze...

(Shhhhh-shhh-shhh...)

It was, by all accounts, a picture of absolute serenity.

(¡¡BOOOOOOM!!)

... Or it was, until reality decided that peace should be displaced by a totally irrational anomaly.

"MELIORIS, DAMN IT!! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO THIS PLACE?!"

Shattering the cosmic harmony with the delicacy of a war hammer against glass, a figure was on his knees in the middle of the clearing, pointing at the firmament with both fists clenched and an expression of pure existential betrayal.

"...And now... what am I supposed to do...?"

Sure enough, there was Mireya.

"Mommy, let's play!!"

To one side, Flora fluttered about, releasing sparks of golden pollen, clapping her tiny hands as she interpreted the war cry as a gala performance.

("Play...?")

Silver, for her part, remained in a rigid guard, observing the scene as she recalled the instructions Melioris had left behind; however, her metallic helm seemed to tilt a few millimeters in what could only be described as "sympathetic confusion."

"Though, well, compared to what Sirael or Mirabellis have done when they had control... this is still... relatively acceptable... right...?"

On the other hand, Mireya stood firm, ignoring how the echo of his screams had awakened three species of mythical birds attracted by the massive release of energy, as well as a pair of low-level monsters that had miraculously survived and were now thinking twice before approaching to attack.

(Tap, tap!)

At the same time, from a short distance, the priestesses' hands, far from being frightened by the outburst, slid again over his shoulders with absolute naturalness after the "re-education" imparted during their "baptism" period.

"Please, my lord... do not torment yourself so..."

To them, that cry was not a post-traumatic stress tantrum, but the sacred roar of a being who carried the sins of the world upon his small and delicate back.

"If the world has changed, it is only because it has tried to adapt to your magnificence."

The long-haired priestess—who had formerly been a princess of the fallen Valerius Empire, whose body had been stolen by the soul of the obese Ubel—rubbed her cheeks against the fabric of the clothes Mireya was wearing, taking advantage of his distracted state with a look that could only be described as "dangerously ecstatic," as she whispered words of comfort.

"...."

However, oblivious to that behavior, Mireya slowly lowered his arms, his chest rising and falling as he forced his mind to regain composure, placing both hands on the ground in search of answers.

(Fwoosh! — Fwoosh!)

Meanwhile, completely ignoring the existential drama of her "mother," Goldie continued her work with terrifying efficiency.

("♪♬ ♩")

The little straw doll floated calmly, humming an inaudible melody, as she approached the mountain of vibrant-colored objects.

("... Wait... A moment...")

Or, rather... the mountain of people.

("...")

Those were the tragic remains of the women from the world of Ky'lar, victims of a cruel little devil who had deceived them with cursed objects, turning their bodies, their lives, their futures... everything reduced to mere instruments of pleasure; retaining their consciousness and personalities, trapped in a prison of silicone and magic drama, without freedom and forced to obey.

("... Hurry.")

It was a grotesque collection that Melioris had confiscated, being necessary for what was about to occur, and which, in her "infinite wisdom," she had decided to reuse.

("¡¡!!")

Thus Goldie, following the precise instructions that Melioris had left for each one before saying goodbye, began to rummage through her own golden straw body.

(Riiiip! — Fwup!)

And from her inner storage, which seemed to defy the laws of physics, she began to pull out... the skin-suits that Echidna had claimed after the events of Kylien, where it was demonstrated how a straw doll could merge with a human through the use of these to give shape to a new kind of being.

("Please...")

Thanks to that, those women who had lost their lives and consciousness to be mere costumes to be worn, found kindred souls in those who had lost their bodies but retained their consciousness; while Goldie, with delicacy, joined them together.

("... We need... her help...")

Carefully, Goldie began to insert the conscious object into the skin-suit, adjusting it with millimeter precision.

(Clink!)

Without context—or even with it—it was a surreal and macabre scene where a straw doll was dressing an inanimate but conscious object with a second skin, transforming it into something... more.

"Munch, munch!"

But despite such a scene occurring a short distance from where Mireya was, he...

"Eat slowly, Flora... we don't want you choking on the lettuce."

...had entered a state of deeply irrational domestic trance.

(Rub... rub...!)

With one hand, he delicately held a sandwich that Flora devoured with the ferocity of a small winged piranha, while with the other, armed with a silk cloth, he rhythmically rubbed Silver's pauldron until the metal reflected the starlight like a mirror.

"Anyway, how much is Echidna analyzing...?"

His gaze remained lost in the immensity of the firmament, navigating a sea of doubts that had nothing to do with the present.

"Shija... will he be keeping up with his training, or did he give up after two days? And Boudica... she’s probably doing fine..."

Mireya sighed, feeling a strange nostalgia for his days of "conventional tourism," while his right foot remained firmly planted on something... unusual.

(Pffft!! — Ahhh~!)

Beneath his shoe, the short-haired priestess with ebony skin—who had formerly been one of the twin princesses of the ancient fallen Valerius Empire, whose body was now controlled by the soul of the twisted old man Desmos—was currently immersed in a state of absolute ecstasy.

"Yes! Please, my lord! Crush my unworthiness with your divine sole! Feel how my devotion is purified under your weight!"

With her face pressed against the forest floor under Mireya's foot, she closed her eyes tightly, praising every inch of pressure as if it were a celestial blessing.

"It is... a demonstration of power... so... fantastic...!"

Ignoring her words and at her own request, Mireya sank further into his mental escape while, mechanically and without even glancing down, he continued to trample her.

"Ahhh~!"

If the survivors who still retained their sanity after living in the Valerius Empire saw the submissive and degrading appearance of the once-dignified Princess Yuriel, they would see their minds shattered, falling further and further into madness; however...

"...Seriously... it’s a beautiful night..."

...fortunately or unfortunately, there was no one else there to suffer such a sight, except for Mireya, who—accustomed to it—kept his mind in the clouds.

(Clink! — Zap!)

Meanwhile, right behind him, the atmosphere grew much denser as Goldie, floating with a sepulchral calm, finished adjusting the last zipper of the skin-suit over one of the neon purple masturbators, moving on to the next one as the metamorphosis unfolded.

"Mmmgh... sss-shhh... sss-shhh... fff-ahhh..."

In parallel, a few meters away, the ex-princess of Valerius, Helen, continued massaging Mireya's shoulders, casting sidelong glances at both Goldie and Silver, keeping Mireya's mind consciously distracted.

(Tap!)

However, at that moment, Mireya tilted his head, finally withdrawing his foot from the ebony-skinned priestess's cheek.

"By the way... where has Brownie gotten to? I haven't seen her since... well, since the world decided to break a little bit more."

In reaction, Yuriel (Desmos), far from feeling relieved, let out a small groan of disappointment, stretching her neck as if seeking to regain contact with the blessed boot.

"Oh, my lord...! Your weight is the only anchor keeping me in this mortal plane...!"

...But unfortunately, such a tactic was not going to work.

"Yes, yes, go find a hobby..."

But fortunately, before Mireya could begin to notice the events occurring around him and regain his senses, Silver intervened.

(Clank! — Pi-pibi-pi!)

With a metallic and fluid movement, she stepped forward, extending her arms to hand Mireya his video game console.

("Mommy, the event!")

On the screen, lights flickered frantically, announcing a special limited-time event that was about to begin.

"Ah! That’s right! The seasonal event! I almost forgot with all the apocalypse and massages!"

In that way, the distraction was effective.

"Thanks, Silver~!"

Mireya took the console with an almost religious reverence, his eyes shining with an obsessive intensity, immersed in the game.

("You're welcome, Mommy!")

To which Silver, in response, nodded with heroic rigidity while Mireya sat down—or rather, was "arranged" by the two priestesses, who positioned themselves at his flanks like two pillars of devotion.

(...Phew... Safe...)

(Just as expected from Lady Silver!)

Thus, both priestesses merged onto either side of Mireya, occupying his flanks to keep his consciousness distracted, offering their shoulders and laps as the perfect support so that he could play in total comfort.

"Mmm... this is strangely ergonomic." (Total acceptance).

With Mireya completely hypnotized by the console screen, Silver took the opportunity, turning discreetly toward the two stone statues guarding the clearing.

(Fuuuuuuu!)

Before Silver stood the statues of two figures of a vulgar and explicit beauty who, in the past, had been goddesses. After being defeated by the Demon Queen of Lust, they had been condemned to an eternity of petrified pleasure, trapped in compromising poses for all eternity.

(Vrrroooom!)

Or so it was supposed to have been, were it not for the training Melioris had put Silver through to manipulate her gray flames—capable of nullifying any phenomenon in a more subtle way—extending them like a delicate mantle to envelop the cold stone of the statues.

(Ssssshhhhh!)

And, imitating with terrifying precision the massage arts she had observed in Mireya, Silver began to move her hands over the stone bodies of the fallen gods.

("Gently, nullify, undo.")

The gray flames acted as a metaphysical solvent, penetrating the pores of the rock and undoing the Demon Queen's curse layer by layer.

"Hello, Raina! It’s been a while, but it’s time to move forward!"

In that place, the center of all events remained totally oblivious to the metaphysical transmutation occurring just a few meters away in the middle of his game.

("CLINK, CLANG...")

But in parallel, inside the inn, expanding to the rhythm of its gears like a pseudo-liquid bronze mass, Brownie moved with efficiency, optimizing the living inn like a weapon...

(Crr-ack!)

...thus, as the preparations orchestrated by Melioris reached completion and war drew near.

"Mmm-mmm... I wonder what the correct option is in this case...?"

The ignorant eye of the hurricane remained, for now, in a state of calm.