"It's delicious!"

"......"

Leo just stared at her, still completely unable to process what was happening. Just five minutes before, he was in a state of shock, and now he was buying ice cream with this girl in a park. Her behavior was so carefree that Leo found it hard to believe she was the same being he had seen destroy a military complex. Even so, as mysterious as she was, she didn't seem to want to harm him. Her tone was warm and full of a strange familiarity, like that of a lifelong friend.

"Oh, no! It's going to fall!"

"?!"

Melioris's exclamation suddenly pulled him out of his trance as she pointed at Leo's ice cream, which was already dripping down the side of the cone. Her face was an adorable combination of concern and amusement.

"You must focus on the present. The past is just a memory, and the future is not yet written. But this ice cream is about to become a disaster if you don't hurry!"

Melioris's words pulled him out of his trance. He looked at the melting ice cream, then he looked at her. Her charm was almost overwhelming. She was enigmatic and strange, but also so... charming.

"You'd better not fall in love, huh?"

"?!"

At that moment, Melioris said suddenly, with a mischievous smile, while licking the tip of her ice cream. Her words, so direct and out of place, made Leo choke on his own ice cream.

"What are you talking about?! I'm not... I don't know what you're talking about!"

Leo immediately became defensive, trying to make his blush not too obvious.

"Sounds suspicious."

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and an interrogative gaze, as if she was about to read his deepest thoughts. The pressure was too much, and Leo, desperate to change the subject, hurried to ask:

"By the way... what happened to you? Weren't you... wasn't your gender male?"

"Ufufu..."

To that question, Melioris let out a playful laugh. She tilted her head, and a mischievous spark gleamed in her eyes as her smile grew wider, a gesture that was both enigmatic and captivating on her.

"And what gender do you think I have now?"

"......"

The question left him completely speechless. What was he supposed to answer? He had seen Mireya and he was a boy, or at least that's what they had told him. But now, in front of him, there was a girl. A very real one. He was left gawking, unable to say a single word while his mind tried to process the paradox.

"Ahahahahaha, pervert~!"

Melioris let out a charming burst of laughter that echoed in the air.

"?!"

Leo looked away from Melioris's mocking smile. The pressure was too much, and a blush rose from his neck to his face.

"No... that doesn't matter to me!"

"Pff... Ahahahahahaha~!"

He yelled, his voice breaking from nerves, to which Melioris let out a charming laugh, as if her successful joke had given her great satisfaction.

"Haaaaa..."

Leo breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the tension dissipate for a moment. He turned back to her, this time with a serious expression. Having had enough.

"Seriously... Who are you, really? Are you truly Mireya?"

To that question, Melioris's smile softened, becoming enigmatic.

"I'm not... but at the same time, I am."

Leo was left with his mouth agape. The answer, as poetic as it was confusing, put a giant question mark on his face. Melioris stared at him and, with a solemn tone he hadn't heard before, began to recite:

"I am the melody born of a double resonance,

the union from which innocence and grace were born.

The best part of the being you once saw,

and the best of the woman you didn't know.

I am the sum of their virtues, a being born of an amalgam.

For that, my name is Melioris."

"No... I don't understand."

Leo's voice was a thread of sound that was barely audible.

"Of course you don't understand."

Melioris let out a brief laugh. She brought her hand to her mouth, the gaze of her heterochromatic eyes shining with amusement.

"But it's something you soon will, just remember to be ready for a beating."

"Why?!"

Leo's cry echoed through the park. Melioris simply tilted her head, her smile remaining in place.

"When my moment ends and I return to being two, what do you think will happen to you?"

"......"

Leo fell silent. Melioris's question echoed in his head, giving him a shiver. He closed his eyes for a moment and the memories returned. The first message that Mireya sent him, after all the events of that night, said "FORGET IT". He also remembered how the first time he accidentally saw Mireya's magical girl form in that organization's prison, he beat him mercilessly, trying to give him amnesia for a long time.

Slowly, a terrible conclusion formed in his mind.

"Do you mean...?"

Leo's voice was barely a whisper.

"That when you return to being Mireya, he... will remember everything he did in this state?"

Melioris nodded with a smile.

"Yes, that's right."

Leo felt his soul leave his body. His voice was a thread of sound.

"And... does that mean I'm going to be beaten again?"

Melioris let out a charming laugh, bringing her hand to her mouth as if sharing a very funny secret.

"Knowing Mireya, he's undoubtedly going to look for something to vent on. And, unfortunately, that would be you, young Leo, as the most obvious option."

Terror took hold of Leo, who looked around in desperation.

"Do I still have a chance to run away?"

"Do you really think you have them?"

At that moment, Melioris gave a playful snap of her fingers.

"?!"

In that way, out of nowhere, small button eyes shone between the leaves of the bushes, revealing the hidden gazes of tiny straw dolls that were watching them from the undergrowth. A rustle drew Leo's attention to the branch of a nearby tree, where a small silver armor, only a few centimeters tall, stood motionless, its tiny sword in hand, ready for combat. A few meters further on, in the park pond, the head of a golden straw doll emerged from the water, its hands raised over the edge, making the motion of cracking its knuckles.

Understanding the reality, Leo looked at the sky, his expression turning resigned. A heavy sigh escaped his lips.

"Haaa... I'm sure I can't escape."

At that answer, Melioris let out a charming laugh, bringing a hand to her mouth.

"Obviously not! So, it would be best for you to continue with this fun meeting until the end."

She looked him in the eyes, a mix of seriousness and mischief in her voice.

"And, if you manage to change Mireya's target of revenge to something else, maybe you'll save yourself from that beating. What do you say, young Leo?"

The offer, as absurd as everything in his life was now, made Leo's eyes light up. There was nothing to lose. He nodded his head, a frantic determination on his face.

"What should we do?"

Hearing his question, Melioris smiled dazzlingly.

"Now, let's go to an amusement park. It's the perfect place for us."

Despite the warning, the idea of a normal day at an amusement park didn't sound bad at all. After all, how terrifying could it be?

"Doesn't sound bad."

At that moment, Leo replied nonchalantly, his voice filled with premature optimism.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

And now, while Leo's scream was lost in the wind, his mind was filled with regret for the words he had said at that moment.

"Ahahahahahahahahaha!!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Leo gripped the safety bar tightly, his knuckles completely white, as tears escaped his eyes, flying backward from the speed. Beside him, Melioris screamed with pure excitement, her long silver hair waving like a flag in the wind, while her face shone with a dazzling smile.

"This is incredible!!!"

They screamed as the train they were on launched dizzily through a vertical drop. Leo could barely make out the structures that passed him. They were on board the Leviathan's Abyss, the largest, fastest, and most terrifying roller coaster in the world. Its tracks, made of jet-black metal, rose like the spines of a prehistoric creature, intertwining in a chaotic web of twists, loops, and drops that defied physics. The car, shaped like the toothed jaw of a demonic beast, carried them through a dark and twisted steel web, only to emerge in a dizzying descent into the void. Once outside, a 360-degree loop of pure adrenaline made them feel as if they were about to fly away, only to then fall through a series of extremely tight hills and turns. A special effects tunnel, filled with strobe lights and deafening noises of a demonic roar, made Leo's fear multiply. Just when he thought he couldn't take any more, the car tilted abruptly, launching them through a 90-degree nosedive, a drop so violent that he felt his stomach touch his throat, only to then be shot at a speed that made him feel the skin on his face peeling from his bones.

The ride was a hell of turns, twists, and drops that took them through loops and corkscrews, making them pass through waterfalls and jets of steam that made them feel as if they were inside a living creature.

(Screech!)

Finally, the train stopped in an instant, with a screech that echoed in the air, and Leo's body felt like jelly, unable to stand while his soul left his body. His mind had gone blank. And in the midst of his horror, he could only hear Melioris's voice.

"What fun! Let's go for another round!"

Leo jolted up, his legs trembling under his weight, and he fell to his knees in front of Melioris.

"Please, no!"

His voice was a thread of pleading, imploring with every fiber of his being not to take him back to that hell.

"Coward!"

Melioris looked at him, her cheeks slightly puffed out in an adorable gesture of displeasure. For a second, Leo thought she would drag him back to hell. But the girl's frown softened and, with a sigh, she accepted.

"Okay, okay. A little fun is enough for the debut. Don't worry, young Leo."

Melioris stood up, her good mood back, and her eyes sparkled as she looked at the rest of the park. She pointed to the sky with a finger.

"Now it's your turn to choose! Let's have fun!"

"...... "

It was then, upon seeing those hellish rides and hearing the screams that filled the air, that a terrible memory returned to Leo. The name of this cursed place.

The Park of Lamentations.

The name was an echo of the truth that he had perceived in that moment. It was called that not because of the games, but because of their purpose. The real attraction was not the speed or the adrenaline, but the fear. The agony. The despair. It was a place created to harvest the visitors' darkest emotions, to turn them into an energy that filtered into the air, filling it with a sense of panic that was familiar to Leo. This park was a place that fed on chaos, and he had just understood that.

“Please… a quieter place, okay?”

With no more strength, Leo let out a sincere plea, his shoulders slumped in a sign of total defeat.

“Of course, no problem.”

At that sincere plea, Melioris nodded with a radiant smile. She took Leo's hand in hers, the warmth of her skin contrasting with the coldness of his soul. She guided him through the park, dodging the crowds and the mechanical horrors, until they reached the shore of a large artificial lake. There, swan-shaped boats floated serenely, an oasis of calm in the midst of the chaos, or at least that's what Leo thought. But, as they got closer, reality set in.

The ride was called The Swan Lake Massacre.

The boats, far from being adorable, looked like nightmare swans: their necks of polished metal were long and angular, their beaks made of razor-sharp steel, and their wings, which the riders used to propel themselves, had sharp, jagged edges. The race on the lake was a competition for pairs to reach the other end of the lake. As the pairs pedaled, the boats moved with unexpected aggression, colliding with each other with thunderous metallic crashes. The goal was not just to get there first, but also to "crush" opponents. The people's screams were not of fear, but of savage joy, as the metal boats collided with each other, bending and denting the metal edges, with the sound echoing across the lake.

“Come on, young Leo! Second place is the first loser!”

In that way, Melioris let go of Leo's hand and got into one of the boats.

"....... "

And as Melioris waved her hand for him to get in, silent tears fell from Leo's eyes. He looked at the sky, his expression completely resigned. All he had wanted was a quiet day. All he had gotten was another kind of hell. The day that had begun with such fragile hope had descended into a nightmare.

“I WANT TO GO HOME!!!”