The preamble to the storm…

Beneath the silver influence of the twin moons guarding the sky of Ky'lar, the forest clearing had transformed into the stage for an absolute contradiction.

"I seriously cannot understand what is going through your heads!"

In the midst of the wild nature, steeped in the scent of damp earth, resonated a voice that was completely overwhelmed—a presence that clashed in an almost surreal manner with the surroundings.

(Fwuuuuh—shhhhhh...)

And at the same time, in parallel, the wind blew peacefully at intervals, swaying the treetops as the sole witness to the baffling scene.

"Do you not have a single shred of common sense?!"

In that place, before a young man of androgynous appearance with silver hair and white eyes, stretched a horde of hundreds of women that shattered any mundane logic.

"Alright, let's sort things out for a second."

The diversity among them was absolute: from figures who looked like neat office workers, high-society ladies, high school girls, primary school children, and even mature women of imposing stature.

"Look around you, we are in the middle of a forest in the dead of night!"

That horde was composed of a mosaic of ages and origins that should have never coincided in that clearing.

"It's cold, the ground is damp, there are insects, and the temperature keeps dropping."

And yet, every single one of them shared two irrevocable traits.

"So with that being said... Could you explain to me why... In all of heaven's name...?"

The first mutual trait they shared was that they possessed an extraordinary beauty...

"Why are you naked?!"

...And the second trait they shared in common was that, despite that, all of them were on their knees, their legs folded tightly beneath their own thighs, and the palms of their hands pressed against the ground in a posture of absolute submission, wearing barely any underwear or lacking any garments altogether.

"Haaah... No, forget it, that doesn't matter right now... You know what... Let's try this with an introduction... My name is Mireya."

However, before that shocked legion that worshiped the small straw doll, the androgynous silhouette of the silver-haired young man took a step forward.

"...Now with that being said."

And immediately after, Mireya's figure—with Goldie safely protected upon his shoulder—swept his gaze across the tide of naked bodies before breaking the silence with a clear voice that demanded immediate attention, despite the mostly friendly, humble, and optimistic tone of his words.

(...!! ...!!)

Nonetheless, at that exact instant, an invisible, heavy, and suffocating pressure began to expand from the front, freezing the air of the clearing and enveloping the tide of devotion that waited with bated breath.

"Do you have any idea what you did wrong?"

At that moment, taking a step forward, with an incredibly radiant smile drawn upon his lips that did not reach his white eyes, everyone present finally understood...

"Any words...?"

...The hierarchy of who was truly in charge.

"You see, an infant needs a calm environment, stability, affection, and playtime..."

At that moment, the atmosphere surrounding him was such that it demanded immediate submission.

"So I will say this, as I cannot understand what is going through your heads... But, please... think very carefully..."

Immediately after, Mireya subtly tilted his head, speaking deliberately.

"Do you understand what your mistake was?"

And right away, his words began to grow slower and slower, dragged out with a disturbing sweetness that made the air feel texturally stifling...

""""Gulp...!!!!"""" (A collective swallowing of saliva!)

By that point, no one dared to breathe.

"No? Let me help you out a bit then..."

Beneath the young man's steady gaze, the tide of hundreds of women felt a cold shiver run down their spines.

"Look around you... and then look at yourselves."

Then the young man continued with a tone that dropped in volume, becoming increasingly quiet, almost like a soothing whisper.

"There are hundreds of you. A massive group."

As he spoke, behind Mireya, reality itself seemed to distort.

"An enormous multitude gathered in a single spot. Do you have the slightest idea what that number of people means to someone so small?"

The air began to ripple, and out of nowhere, the massive, smoking silhouette of an enraged legendary dragon began to materialize in the astral plane, roaring in absolute silence.

"The mere number already generates a devastating psychological pressure. It is an invisible burden—a wall of gazes and expectations that crushes without mercy..."

In tandem with his words, which sounded increasingly serene, the environmental pressure doubled.

"Goldie is a small creature, a baby who is barely getting to know her surroundings. An infant needs calm, tranquility, a safe space where she doesn't feel cornered. And yet, the very first action of this gigantic group upon appearing was to rush forward, surround her, and impose yourselves on her without weighing the consequences. You acted in such an inconsiderate, selfish manner, completely letting yourselves be swept away by your own impulses..."

Behind the dragon, the grotesque figure of a scarlet-eyed demon took shape, followed immediately by the silhouette of a colossal tiger ready to tear its prey to shreds.

"She was trembling... you know?"

Mireya's sweet, peaceful smile remained intact, but the number of auras at his back continued to multiply at an insane rate.

"Because of your careless behavior, she was enduring something terrible in parallel. My girl was dealing with an immense weight inside, struggling to contain herself, trapped in an agony that none of you bothered to notice because you were too busy with your own things. You were so self-absorbed that you completely ignored that you were pushing her to the absolute limit..."

Behind the tiger, a giant eagle with razor-sharp talons appeared, followed by a colossal bear, an ancestral serpent, and dozens of mystical beasts that piled one on top of another in a mosaic of pure maternal fury.

"Imposing your emotions, your demands, and your mere presence en masse upon a fragile creature, without stopping for a single second to think about her feelings or what she was suffering... is something I cannot overlook..."

The pressure was so terrifying that the ground beneath Mireya's feet began to split subtly.

"So I will ask you all once more, in the calmest way possible..."

And at that moment, Mireya brought the palms of his hands together in a gentle gesture, emitting a clean clap that resonated like a thunderclap in the minds of everyone present...

"Have you finally managed to understand where your mistake lay?"

...He quietly asked.

""""".......""""

As a result, the silence that followed Mireya's sweet words was absolute—like a sepulchral void where not even the wind dared to blow.

In that place, hundreds of women kept their heads rigidly bowed, their gazes locked onto the damp earth, completely unable to lift their eyes. Nonetheless, despite the fact that this collective mass, beneath the light of the twin moons, sported a modern, urban appearance of office workers, wealthy ladies, and students, the reality was that each one concealed a radically contrasting past.

Before undergoing the grotesque metamorphosis through the skin suits, before being reduced to mere conscious masturbators by the deceptions of that sadistic little devil, every single one of them had lived a life; among that multitude were valiant warriors who had commanded armies, proud elves who had once looked down upon mortals, and even fierce women of the beast tribe who had never backed down from danger.

"Come on, don't be shy, say something..."

However, none of that mattered now.

(¡¡Uuugh...!!)

In that forest clearing, regardless of their primordial origin, of who they had been in the past, or of the twisted form they had taken following their captivity, everyone found themselves in a state of absolute helplessness.

"Or do you really have nothing to say?" (Smile~)

Before the delicate and youthful figure of the young man standing in front of them, their wills were completely frozen by the suffocating pressure that kept emanating and multiplying in the air.

(The weight is... unbearable...!!)

But despite that, from among everyone present, a single silhouette trembled subtly.

(...And yet!!)

Clotilda, in an attempt to move her new body, pressed her fists against the earth with so much force that her knuckles turned white.

"W-We..."

She could not allow the silence to continue; therefore, understanding that someone had to take responsibility before the fury of the "mother"...

(¡Krrr-ack...!!)

Making a decision and gathering every last ounce of her willpower, Clotilda defied the gravity of the environmental pressure and, breaking the group's submission, slowly lifted her gaze to lock her eyes with Mireya's white eyes.

"We are deeply sorry..."

And immediately after, guided by the remnants of the code of honor that had once governed her life, Clotilda did not stop at words.

(Thud!)

In a fluid and solemn movement, she lowered her torso with military rigidity and prostrated herself completely before Mireya, pressing her forehead against the earth in an absolute and transparent plea for forgiveness.

"I beg you to accept our most sincere apologies!"

Following that, she exclaimed, with a voice that trembled from the pressure but, at the same time, overflowed with undeniable honesty.

"Our actions were completely devoid of malice... In our desperation and the euphoria of having been saved from oblivion, we were blind. In worshiping our savior, we never intended to inflict the slightest harm or discomfort upon her. If our fervor has troubled the divinity or disturbed her peace, we apologize from the very depths of our souls. Please, be merciful!"

And before Clotilda's genuine plea—which acted as a trigger...

(Thud—thud—thud...!!!)

The tide of hundreds of women imitated her action in perfect synchronicity.

""""Please, forgive us!!!!""""

Despite their human appearances, at that moment, from the elves to the fierce warriors of the beast tribe, everyone lowered their torsos until they touched the damp ground, unifying their voices in a collective murmur that carried a crushing sincerity.

"...."

As a consequence, upon perceiving that the horde's contrition was real and that they had finally understood the impact of their careless actions, the surroundings began to change.

"Haaaaaaah..."

The spectral silhouettes of the dragon, the demon, the tiger, and the legion of mystical beasts distorting the astral plane began to dissolve one by one, returning normalcy to the forest clearing as a long, heavy sigh escaped Mireya's lips.

"Alright... Apologies accepted!"

Immediately after, the terrifying maternal smile vanished from his face, replaced by his usual carefree expression.

"It's clear that you are remorseful and that you didn't do it in bad faith."

And right away, he crossed both arms over his chest, observing the tide of naked bodies that remained in submission before him.

"But...!"

However, before any of them could attempt to sit up, Mireya uncrossed one of his arms and, with a subtle movement of his hand, pointed toward his own shoulder.

"It isn't me you have to apologize to."

In that manner, following the direction of his finger, Clotilda slightly lifted her gaze.

"As you can see, she is asleep."

Upon the young man's shoulder, the small golden straw doll no longer moved or emitted erratic pulsations.

"Carrying the weight of all that commotion left her exhausted."

There, tucked firmly inside her red blanket and lulled by the protective warmth of her "mother," Goldie had finally fallen into a deep, restorative sleep, completely oblivious to the gigantic reprimand that had just taken place while her own evolution stabilized.

"So, if you truly want to apologize to her for scaring her so badly, I'm afraid you will have to wait patiently until she wakes up."

Like that, everything seemed to have ended...

(Croc—croc—crooooc...!!)

However, the sacred silence that had returned to the forest clearing was broken in the most earthly, mundane way possible.

"A-aaahh~"

Because of that, immediately, every gaze shifted toward the first circle of the crowd, where a young woman with violet hair tied in two braids and vermilion-rimmed glasses—who had just prostrated herself with such devotion—froze dead in her tracks.

"By any chance... Are you hungry...?"

Thanks to that, her face, which still held the dampness of her eyes, instantly flushed a crimson red so intense it rivaled the color of her glasses, as she pressed her stomach in extreme embarrassment.

"Well... You can't think on an empty stomach, much less in the middle of a forest."

Therefore, in response and without wasting a single second, the silver-haired young man began to pull out various kitchen utensils and ingredients, setting himself up to prepare a massive meal for the horde of hundreds of hungry women surrounding him, acting once more guided purely by his common sense and his desire to care for others.

"Achoo~"

However... while the comforting aroma of food began to blend idyllically with the night air, on the reverse side of Ky'lar's reality, an invisible, monstrous truth was weaving itself tighter and tighter in the absolute silence of the forest.

(Fwup—fwup—fwup—fwup...!!)

As time ticked by, absolutely no one had noticed yet that the number of conceptual and dimensional barriers in the gigantic dome covering the forest was increasing at an alarming rate, multiplying its density layer upon layer, intertwining like invisible steel threads...

"Do you still have joy, Flora...?"

The perfect trap they had fallen into was not dissolving; on the contrary, it fastened itself tighter with every passing second, marking the final countdown for the conflict.

"...I don't feel well."

...And as everything moved forward, the eyes of a small fairy watched tomorrow with growing unease.