Gears of Curiosity

In the world of Ky'lar, inside the forest sealed by a multilayered barrier that isolated the dimensional space of the area...

(¡¡¡FSSSSSSSSSSSSST-CHUG-CHUG-CHUG-KLANK...!!!)

The dense blanket of vapor covering the clearing was not dispersed by the wind, but pierced by the rhythmic escape of an internal mechanism.

(¡¡¡CLIC-CLIC-CLK-CHHHHHHHH...!!!)

As the white clouds parted, the small figure's silhouette finally settled onto the fractured bedrock.

"What... what is this?"

A dull metallic sound echoed off the ground as her heavy footwear adjusted its gears to the terrain.

"Interesting. Very, very interesting."

From the back of her boots, small brass valves released fine threads of boiling steam that dampened the stone.

(¡¡¡ZIP-ZUUUUM...!!!)

The tiny figure slowly raised her face with a seemingly disinterested expression, in stark contrast to her words.

"...A girl...?"

Upon her forehead, the lenses of snug bronze goggles adjusted their focus with a quick click, while beneath them, the girl's irises subtly rotated.

"I want to learn more."

In place of human pupils were two tiny, reddish-bronze gears rotating in opposite directions, measuring the distance of their surroundings with cold precision.

"What... what is this supposed to be?"

Witnessing the scene, the Great Spirit of Light, Lumina-Aura, could only ask in a whisper, incredulous at the situation—her crystal body floating a few meters away, repressing a grimace of confusion.

"Where did that bronze monstrosity go? Don't tell me... that girl is the core?"

Beside her, the shadows on the surface stirred cautiously.

"Do not let your guard down, Lumina."

Responding to the Light Spirit's confusion, the Great Spirit of Darkness, Tenebris-Vagrant, chimed in, making his voice echo from the shadowy mantle.

"That creature has not lost its density... it has compressed it. Its structure has no vital flow, no pulse. It is a miniature aberration."

Alert to the enemy's metamorphosis, Tenebris-Vagrant acted with caution, taking position to act.

"I don't care what shape it takes!"

However, interrupting the tense atmosphere, the Great Spirit of Lightning, Volti-Gera, crackled his four wings of violet plasma and took a step ahead of Lumina-Aura, instinctively positioning himself as a shield in front of her.

"Whether it's a fortress or a dwarf in lace, I won't let it trap me again with its tricks!"

But before Volti-Gera could act impulsively and attack...

"N-Nobody asked you to stand in front of me, you impulsive idiot!"

... He was stopped dead in his tracks by Lumina-Aura, who slightly averted her gaze, revealing a subtle golden flush across her face before regaining her composure.

"Focus on the battle! If you fall this time, I'm not coming to rescue you!"

Immediately positioning herself behind him to provide support, she adjusted the crystal alignment behind his back with precision.

"Incoherence detected... Interesting."

Meanwhile, in the center of the terrain, the gears in Brownie's eyes blinked, accelerating their rotation as she expressed her interest.

[Recording behavioral response of Subject-Lightning and Subject-Light]

Though her voice sounded soft and refined, it entirely lacked emotional or lively cadence.

[Prioritization of mutual protection without an increase in tactical efficiency]

Nevertheless, despite that...

[Combat pattern anomaly]

Internally, she was joyful.

(Why is Subject-Lightning increasing its energy expenditure to cover the photonic entity?)

The tiny gears of her irises continued to turn, locking their sight onto the lightning spirit's stance.

(Individual survival dictates dispersion. This is not efficient...)

She could not comprehend it.

"I am curious."

However, precisely because she was unable to comprehend it, she experienced that emotion...

"Data does not fit... Proceeding to experimentation."

... Known as "curiosity."

(¡¡¡FSSSSSS-VROOOOOOMM...!!!)

The valves on her boots shrieked.

"It's moving!"

Instantly, a hyperbaric jet of steam erupted from the base of her mechanical skates, slamming into the bedrock with such force that it propelled her forward like a missile.

"Volti-Gera, don't rush in!"

Tenebris-Vagrant warned cautiously from the rear in response to her surge.

"Too late!"

However, ignoring the shadow's warning, the Great Spirit of Lightning roared as he dove wrapped in a whirlwind of violet plasma to intercept the small silhouette head-on.

[Warning: Critical mass of incoming hostile energy detected.]

Yet just as Volti-Gera's violet plasma vortex was millimeters away from impacting her frame, Brownie made no attempt to brake or block.

(¡¡¡FSSSSSSSSSSSSST-VROOOOOOMM-SKRREEE...!!!)

Instead, the mechanisms in her footwear reacted with absurd speed.

[Response: Initiating counterattack.]

Digging the rear blade of her left skate into the stone, the girl executed a violent spin on her own axis, twisting her body at an impossible angle.

(¡¡¡¡¡FSSSSSHHHHHHH-VROOOOSH...!!!!!)

Simultaneously, the brass valves on her boots released a massive, instantaneous jet of hyperbaric steam at maximum pressure, creating a dense and blinding white curtain in a perfect arc around her.

(¡¡¡¡¡BOOOOOOM-TZZZZZZZ-ZRAAK...!!!!!)

As a result, Volti-Gera's strike pierced only hot air and empty mist, slamming into the ground without meeting physical resistance.

"What...?!"

Because of that, the Great Spirit of Lightning gasped in confusion, trying to reorient his vision amidst the fog.

[Processing discharge: 85,000 volts]

Unfortunately, without giving him time to react...

[Initiating physical mass reconfiguration]

From within the steam, Brownie's tiny silhouette allowed no room for recovery as her small arms began to quiver, expanding and hypertrophying within a matter of microseconds.

(¡¡¡KRRR-CLAC-CLK-GROMMMM...!!!)

Until finally, techno-organic matter flowed and violently molded itself, transforming both arms into two colossal, imposing mechanical blocks—composed of gigantic brass structures, braided steel, and glowing fluorescent conduits that replaced her delicate childlike limbs, ready to exert crushing pressure.

(¡¡¡SZZZZZZZZ-ZAP-FLASH...!!!)

And before Volti-Gera could raise his wings, Brownie crossed her colossal mechanical arms out in front.

"Structure analyzed."

As a result, the adaptive alloy of her fists acted as a living lightning rod, absorbing and internalizing the surge of plasma still crackling in the air after the spirit's strike.

"Returning absorbed energy."

Following that, the glowing fluorescent circuits of her new arms flickered in an incandescent violet as they stored the discharge for a fraction of a second.

(¡¡¡¡¡KABOOOOOOOOOOOM-TZZZZZZZ-SHWIIING...!!!!!)

In that manner, with the weight of her multiplied mass, Brownie slammed both gigantic fists directly against the underlying bedrock, unleashing the stored electrical energy combined with the kinetic impact force—which erupted into an omnidirectional shockwave, fracturing the earth into dozens of luminous cracks while a purple discharge tore through the ground in every direction.

"Ghaaaaaah!"

Thanks to that, Volti-Gera took the direct impact of his own amplified power.

(¡¡¡BOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!!!)

Because of that, the shock of the blast shattered his plasma defenses, sending his avatar violently tumbling backward through the mud while unstable sparks erupted from his armor.

"Volti-Gera!"

At the same time, the shockwave of air and electricity reached the Great Spirit of Light, forcing her to retract her photonic prisms to cover herself as she was hurled back several meters by the kinetic thrust.

(¡¡¡CLANK-CLK-CLK-GROMMMM...!!!)

Seizing the opportunity without losing a single millisecond, Brownie's colossal mechanical fists collapsed once more, reabsorbing into a liquid mass that flowed back into her small arms in an instant.

(¡¡¡FSSSSSSSSST-SKRREEEEEEEEE-ZIP-ZUUUUUM...!!!)

In parallel, the valves on her skates roared again; accompanied by the shriek of high-pressure steam, the small figure shot forward like a flash, skating in sharp curves across the clearing while leaving behind a trail of white smoke and the dull echo of her running gears.

(¡¡¡SZZZZZ-VOID-UMBRAA-SWISHHH...!!!)

However, the ground beneath her skate wheels ceased to be solid rock, turning into a swamp of liquid shadows.

"Do not move."

Tenebris-Vagrant, whose multiple spectral eyes burned with a mixture of coldness and desperation, raised his two-dimensional appendages.

"Lumina, now!"

Counterattacking, the terrain became covered in thousands of shadowy spikes that erupted like spears, seeking to impale the girl's small figure from every blind spot.

"You don't have to tell me twice!"

Simultaneously, a rain of high-density photonic light beams crossed the area, bouncing off prisms to form an impassable cage of laser beams around Brownie's path.

(¡¡¡CLIC-CLIC-CLK-CHHHHHHHH...!!!)

Because of that, the thermal pressure of the attack began to vitrify the mud, threatening to melt any alloy in its path.

"..."

Nevertheless, in the center of the enclosure, Brownie's gaze showed no hesitation...

[Analysis: 42 shadow projectiles, 12 high-temperature photonic barriers]

Instead, her eyes revealed fascination.

[Initiating mass deployment: Defensive configuration / Heavy mobility]

The irises of reddish gears adjusted their focus at dizzying speed.

In a fraction of a second, both her back and legs transmuted as her refined Victorian dress extended, reconfiguring techno-organic matter to assemble a pair of colossal, imposing mechanical lower limbs.

"Adaptation completed."

Hypertrophied structures of braided steel, exposed hydraulic pistons, and secondary brass boilers replaced the delicate frame of her legs, locking onto the ground with a metallic roar.

(¡¡¡BOOM-CHUG-CHUG-KRRNGGG...!!!)

And with the weight of her new physique, Brownie executed a monumental vertical leap.

"She's crushing the shadows?!"

Thanks to that, the hydraulic thrust generated a kinetic shockwave that flattened and pulverized Tenebris-Vagrant's shadow spikes before they could touch her.

(¡¡¡¡¡SZZZZZZZZ-CRASHHH-MET...!!!!!)

Simultaneously in midair, Lumina-Aura's photonic beams struck the underside of her massive chassis head-on.

"Impossible...?! She took the impact without a single scratch...?!"

However, instead of suffering structural damage, the bronze plates on the machinery's underbelly opened into a lattice of reflective panels that dissipated the photonic radiation, deflecting the golden beams toward the sky like a curtain of harmless sparks.

"We are not done yet!"

At that moment, roaring back to his feet while venting smoke, Volti-Gera re-entered the fray.

(¡¡¡¡¡TZZZZZZZ-ZRAAK—SHWIIING!!!!!)

Demonstrating his reckless nature, the Great Spirit of Lightning propelled himself into the sky at hyperbolic speeds, beating his wings to position himself directly above the descending creature.

"Take this!!"

Following that, concentrating all his violet plasma into his fists, he transformed into a spear of pure electricity aimed right at piercing the girl's figure.

(¡¡¡CLANK-CLK-CLK...!!!)

Nevertheless, Brownie, still suspended in midair, tilted her head subtly upward.

"Predictable."

At that moment, the colossal mechanical legs collapsed and were instantly reabsorbed into her back.

(¡¡¡KRRR-CLAC-ZUUUUUM-SKRREEE...!!!)

In their place, the bronze mass on her shoulders and torso flowed outward, extending into two gigantic metallic turbines equipped with multiple rows of teethed gears and ventilation ducts.

(¡¡¡¡¡ZWREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE—BOM-BOM-BOM...!!!!!)

Immediately after, the turbines began spinning at frantic revolutions, whereupon the next second, Brownie did not unleash a direct shot, but inverted the polarity of the thrusters to expel an omnidirectional cone of hyperbaric sonic waves combined with high-pressure steam.

(¡¡¡¡¡KABOOOOOOOM-FSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!)

As a result, the colossal shockwave of sonic pressure collided head-on against Volti-Gera's plasma spear.

"Ughhh!!!"

Because of that, the air friction was so violent that it neutralized the electrical charge before impact, dispersing the violet discharge into a multitude of unstable arcs and stopping the spirit's onslaught dead in its tracks...

"Look out!!"

Until finally, witnessing the scene, Lumina-Aura shouted, flying to his rescue.

"Lumina, don't get so close!"

However, scolding her from the shadows, Tenebris-Vagrant attempted to reweave his shadowy net while maintaining his distance...

"That thing is only testing us!"

Among all the spirits, Tenebris-Vagrant was neither the strongest, nor the fastest, nor the most prominent.

"Don't you see? It's not fighting to survive... it's using us to learn!"

However, there was one area in which the timid spirit stood out above all the rest...

"Interesting."

... And that was his cunning.

(¡¡¡FSSSSSS-VROOOOOOMM...!!!)

Landing gracefully on the blades of her restored skates, the little girl in Victorian attire glided across the fractured stone, leaving a thin trail of white smoke behind her.

"Did you figure it out?"

At that moment, a thin trail of white smoke dissipated in her wake as the tiny gears of her reddish irises continued to rotate, recording the state of the trio before her.

"... No... I merely... guessed it..."

A few meters away, Tenebris-Vagrant's shadow expanded with an almost imperceptible slowness.

"However, it seems I was right."

His spectral eyes, fixed on the small figure of brass and steam, revealed a cognitive depth vastly different from the rest.

"I see."

Elemental Spirits were not ordinary existences.

Born from the natural energy of the world when it accumulated and concentrated over centuries, they emerged as a primary defense mechanism: true antibodies destined to purge any anomaly threatening the planet's balance.

"My interest grows by the second."

In their first moments of existence, they possessed no consciousness, desires, or emotions; instead, they were simple, instinctive forces of nature acting without hesitation.

"I wonder what I should do..."

However, time changed everything.

"Decompose your atoms... Isolate your energy flow..."

As they accumulated battles, interactions, and experiences, the mass of living energy absorbed concepts, learning to reason until it developed a sense of self, a distinct personality, and an individual will.

"What are you talking about...?"

And among all the elemental entities inhabiting the world of Ky'lar, none had accumulated as much cunning or observed as much from the shadows as the Great Spirit of Darkness.

"I am considering."

That was precisely why he, more than anyone else, knew...

"What should I attempt next?"

... How the root of all evil...

"I am curious."

... Stemmed from curiosity.