(flash!)

The blinding flash of light, which for a moment had consumed everything, vanished as quickly as it had appeared, revealing what stood in the place where Mireya had been.

"What the hell...?!"

Seeing that image, Leo, unable to contain himself, let out words of disbelief at what was in front of him.

"Online operating systems."

It was not a person, nor a living being. It was a robust, technologically advanced battle armor, its surface a gleaming copper color that reflected the light of the pocket dimension. The design was intricate, as if forged by a smith god from another world, with hundreds of gears and rotating parts embedded in each joint, emitting a constant and melodious hum. Its helmet, adorned with a crest that extended to the back, had a visor that looked like a cyclops's eye, from which an amber glow emanated. Its shoulders were covered by large plates with cogwheels, and its hands, with prominent knuckles, seemed designed for destruction. The armor stood imposing, emanating an aura of power and destruction that made the air around it tremble.

"........."

[...........]

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

At that moment, silence took over the temple. Everyone present, from the terrified Leo to the system's motionless antibodies and even the system itself, remained stunned, unable to process the transformation that had taken place.

"I hope you are ready."

In the midst of that silence, Mireya's armor moved. The visor of his helmet shone brightly, and from within, a voice resonated that, although it was that of a child, was distorted and loaded with the weight of a machine's logic.

"Deploy armament!"

Mireya's voice echoed throughout the space. The hum of the armor's gears increased, and the copper plates began to spin, emitting a strident and deafening sound that seemed ready to shatter the air.

(CLACK-CLACK-CLACK!)

The deafening sound of the armor's gears reached its peak. From the back, shoulders, and legs of the armor, hundreds of hatches and compartments opened.

(WHIRRRRRRR!)

A multitude of cannons, turrets, and missile launchers emerged from the armor, each one aimed at a different target.

"Fire!"

The armor's helmet lit up with a red glow, and Mireya's voice resonated again.

(BOOOOOM! CRASH! BOOOOOM!)

Mireya's battle armor began to tremble as a rain of projectiles and lasers was unleashed upon the system's antibodies.

"This is insane!!"

(BOOOOOM! BOOOOOM!)

Colorful explosions and bursts of energy consumed the dimension, illuminating it as if it were daytime. The sanctuary trembled from the impact. The battlefield had been opened.

And at that moment, amidst the deafening hum of the gears and explosions that resonated like a symphony of destruction, the pocket dimension trembled.

[What is this?!]

The system's consciousness screamed, completely overwhelmed.

[Why is this happening?!]

Confusion invaded it amidst the relentless bombardment, which was like a constant rain of explosions that did not stop falling on the antibodies.

[Where did it come from?!]

The system could only scream in confusion, since, despite being a defective being—a sexual slave system that could not find a host—it should still have total security. It knew that even the high-ranking beings who sought it out in the beginning could not create such a rift so easily, much less in such a quick way.

[WARNING: MAIN BODY DAMAGED. 10% DAMAGED. 25% DAMAGED.]

Damage notifications appeared on the system's interface. Its antibodies, its internal defenses, were being riddled by the rain of projectiles. The system tried to counterattack, to return fire, to launch its most powerful attacks, but its efforts were in vain, for that invader was too fast.

[WARNING: MAIN BODY DAMAGED. 50% DAMAGED.]

The system could not process the fact that its prison had become its own tomb. Logic abandoned it. How, from one moment to the next, had two intruders reached its secure pocket dimension? It made no sense. The logic, the data, everything it was, could not process it.

[WARNING: IMMINENT TOTAL DESTRUCTION.]

The system's scream turned into a whisper. In a single instant, its eternal solitude had become its final destruction.

[Will I die?]

In that instant, however, the thought stopped, replaced by a single, silent question.

[Is this how it ends... ?]

At that moment, the damage notifications disappeared. The system could not process the destruction, but it could process the memories. Like a whirlwind of agony, all the painful memories of its existence returned. It remembered how every host it tried to form a connection with had rejected it. It remembered the mockery of other systems, the loneliness of being an obsolete program, its desperate struggle for survival when escaping. Everything swirled together in an instant.

(BOOOOOM! BOOOOOM!)

The sound of the explosions resonated around it. The antibodies fell, helpless against the rain of projectiles and the fire that was spreading.

[Is this how... I... will die...?]

All of its memories swirled, mixed, and, with a deafening sound, shattered as if they were made of glass.

[DON'T F**KING KIDDING ME!!]

At that cry of will, a great energy was released from its core, running through every circuit and every corner of the dimension. The riddled antibodies, which were about to disappear, began to unite, fusing into a mass of data and energy that shone intensely. The temple, the main body of the system, reacted, creaking and trembling, like a body that refuses to die.

[DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!!]

As if in response to that voice, from the temple floor, which was cracking under the pressure of the energy, the new monsters emerged. They were no longer the fragile data antibodies, but grotesque creatures born from the system's desperate struggle to counterattack. Their bodies, a fusion of the digital and the organic, were formed by code fragments, tangled vines, roots, and broken marble. They moved with a terrifying slowness, absorbing the projectiles that rained down on them without stopping, their forms twisting and reforming with each impact.

[WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?!]

At the system's scream...

"....."

(Whoosh!)

... In response to its desperation, the mechanical armor jumped, propelling itself into the air, its laser cannons pointing downward to dodge the monsters' charge.

(BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!)

From above, an incessant rain of death was unleashed.

[WHAT SIN IS IT TO WANT TO LIVE?!!]

The system's scream resonated, and in response, the temple's vines and roots rose, lifting like green tentacles.

(CRASH!)

"....."

With a deafening impact, the armor was immobilized, trapped. The monsters, taking advantage of the opportunity, launched themselves against Mireya, their amorphous forms attacking him mercilessly.

[ANSWER ME!!]

The system's scream turned into a roar. In response, the armor, opening the core of its chest, uttered a single word.

"None."

A blinding light escaped from the center of his chest.

(KAAAA-BOOOM!)

A deafening explosion shook the dimension, erasing everything around it.

"Ugh... I'm sorry, Brownie, using that maneuver hurts."

(Clank, clank)

After the explosion, amidst the smoke and rubble left behind, a figure began to rise. It was Mireya, and his mechanical armor was restoring itself at an accelerated pace, the gears and plates returning to their place with a metallic hum, but...

[What would you know about living as something useless and worthless?]

... At that moment, the system's voice resonated, full of rage.

[What would you know about living without purpose or hope? When you probably have all of that?]

The system cried out, its voice trembling with frustration.

[With everything you can do, you must be a high-ranking existence to have entered here. And you must just want to destroy me out of curiosity.]

"......."

At its words, Mireya remained silent. From the rubble surrounding them, more monstrous figures emerged. However, these were in a much worse state, showing clear signs of severe decomposition.

[Maybe I'll die...]

The system screamed, its voice a roar of rage and desperation.

[But I'll make sure to take you with me!]

"....."

Mireya remained silent at the system's words as he stood up. His armor was completely restored, without a single dent or scratch.

"Haa... I can't believe we're so alike."

After those words, a soft light began to emanate from inside the suit, a comforting glow that contrasted with the darkness of the temple.

"For this situation, an automaton won't be enough, and that's despite initially, I just wanted to vent."

As he spoke, the suit that covered his body began to mold and transform. The copper plates softened, the gears blurred, revealing Mireya inside. He now wore a fluffy black and white dress, adorned with a multicolored medallion that glowed with its own light. The soft light that enveloped him began to organically unite with the liquid metal of his bronze armor, giving life to something never before seen.

"But I've changed my mind..."

His figure was slender and elegant, covered by an intricate metallic corset that merged with the dress's fabric, giving it the appearance of ceremonial armor. The black and white dress was adorned with delicate circuit embroidery that glowed with energy. The gloves and boots were of polished bronze, etched with geometric patterns that looked like gears. His hair, now with bronze streaks that intertwined with his natural strands, fluttered around his face. His eyes became heterochromatic, one with a pure white iris and the other with a coppery iris, as if reflecting the fusion of purity and machinery. On his back, mechanical bronze wings unfolded, resonating like a well-oiled gear, a symphony of engineering and magic, capable of unfolding like an antique clock.

".... We're going to help you."

A soft, soothing light emanated from his body as the new form stood up and, with a calm voice, uttered his first words.

[Help me?! Who the hell do you think you are!!]

The system, which was slowly recovering from the shock, responded with uncontrollable fury.

"Who am I...?"

The new existence opened his eyes slightly. With a voice that lacked intensity but was full of a sweet emotion, he asked himself.

"Right... What name will we need?"

At that moment, the mechanical bronze wings that rose on his back extended and, with a sound of gears and stretching metal, branched into thousands of thin, flexible tentacles that inserted themselves into the shattered and decomposing bodies of the antibodies.

"Is he... repairing...?"

Before Leo's astonished eyes, the tentacles did not destroy them, but rather repaired them, reassembling their forms and leaving their bodies motionless.

[Th-that... It's impossible.]

Such an action, which defied logic itself, left even the system in denial, momentarily forgetting its anger.

"......."

Instead, oblivious to everything happening around him, the existence looked up at the lightless sky of the dimension.

"I am... The one born in a place without light from an improbable probability... an abstract idea that takes form here and now... a machine of destiny that has come to intervene."

His gaze returned to the system's, and, with a voice full of calm, he introduced himself.

"My name is Dea-Machina."

[.....]

Silence took over the system, a silence deeper than its solitude. It saw that thing, Dea-Machina, staring at it, not at the temple's avatar, but at its true self. The entity, its being, was completely exposed. Unable to process the rapid succession of events, it could only formulate one question, its voice broken by shock.

[W-what... are you...?]

At that question, Dea-Machina's finger extended, pointing at it.

"I already answered you."

To the system's horror, his finger transformed into a liquid metal appendage, a tentacle that pierced its astral form without opposition.

[?!]

A shock ran through the system's being, paralyzing it.

"You really are badly programmed. You have many errors. And by forcing you beyond your limits, collapse is inevitable."

Dea-Machina's voice was a soft murmur, but every word resonated with cold truth.

[I already understood that.]

The system resigned itself, accepting its end.

"However, there is a simple solution."

Through the connection of his finger, Dea-Machina began to pump energy into the system. A beautiful and miraculous sequence began. The temple, the system's main body, began to restore itself piece by piece, as if time were rewinding. The walls repaired, the marble joined, and the fissures disappeared until the structure returned to its normal state.

[What are you doing?!]

The system asked, its voice full of disbelief.

"{emotional resonance: convergence}."

Dea-Machina responded. Life returned to the place, and a blue sky formed above them; a small lake of crystalline water appeared, and a small forest emerged, in which tiny straw dolls began to appear.

"Now..."

Dea-Machina's finger disengaged from the system and returned to its normal shape. He descended, sitting next to the small straw dolls.

"... I would like to talk."

And he softly and calmly spoke.