The vacuum of space is a canvas of infinite darkness, where the stars are just brushstrokes of distant light. But even in that vast blackness, life found its purest and most ephemeral form. They were small beings of light, no bigger than fireflies, born from the embers of a solitary star. They were a race of spiritual life forms, without physical substance, without ego, without a past or a future; they existed only in the present, driven by the primordial instinct for the survival of their species.

They did not seek conflict, they did not long to conquer. They simply divided, multiplied, and floated, an immense luminous cloud sailing through the universe. They were considered harmless, a cosmic curiosity that went unnoticed, until their wandering journeys led them to an inhabited planet.

Life on that world was vibrant, filled with an energy that the beings of light had never experienced. The atmosphere resonated with colors and vibrations, attracting them like a lighthouse in the darkness. Upon arrival, they fused with the native life forms, not out of malice, but from an inherent instinct to mix and evolve.

However, that fusion was a disaster.

The planet was devoured.

The planet was devoured. Not by a military force, nor by a plague, but by a fusion. The beings of light, attracted by the vibrant energy of the world, united with its inhabitants: an intelligent, gentle species with a strange, clay-like, two-headed appearance. They were the Morfoi. Their race was capable of adapting to any environment and rejected conflict.

But the fusion of the physical and the spiritual had an unimaginable result.

The Morfoi, once calm and peaceful, became the most invasive and dangerous life form in the universe. The hive mind of the spiritual life forms, without ego or individual consciousness, combined with the adaptability and survival capacity of the Morfoi, creating a living nightmare.

What were once harmless beings were now a cosmic horror. They would arrive on a planet, causing anomalies in the behavior of its inhabitants and the emergence of cults with strange doctrines. At first, people thought they were harmless, but they soon realized their mistake. Their modus operandi was slow and silent, like a cancer that consumes the body from within.

That cancer was pleasure.

Once the spiritual life forms assimilated the Morfoi, they understood the reproductive act and, with it, the sensation of ecstasy. This discovery was the catalyst that transformed the peaceful race into a cosmic horror. The physical memories of the Morfoi and the reproductive needs of the light beings merged into one thing: an insatiable obsession for sexual pleasure.

The once glorious Morfoi civilization collapsed, rebuilt on the foundations of depravity. Regardless of age or gender, every inhabitant surrendered to a relentless search for carnal pleasures. It was a total perversion of what they once were and a nightmare for any civilization that crossed their path.

Other races noticed, but it was already too late. When they tried to intervene, they discovered they were at the mercy of the new and degenerate Morfoi race.

This was thanks to the Morfoi's racial ability: disguise.

They used their changing anatomy to mimic the appearance of anything they saw or touched, a unique form of communication that was perfected as they evolved. Over time, they could imitate not only the physical form but also the memories and personalities of those they touched. This made them the greatest masters of disguise, but their gentle nature meant they posed no threat.

However, everything changed with the fusion. The peaceful ability was transformed into a tool of deceit and corruption. The Morfoi, now obsessed with pleasure and depravity, used their disguises to infiltrate other civilizations, sowing chaos and horror from within. It was not until the damage was irreversible that other races united in a last and desperate attempt.

The only solution was extermination.

The resulting war could only be described as brutal.

Until finally the last vestige of the Morfoi was erased from existence, leaving the spiritual life forms without a physical body to inhabit and, consequently, halting their threat and giving the galaxy a respite.

But the universe is vast, and haste often leads to errors.

Despite the efforts to annihilate them, a small group of unassimilated Morfoi had managed to escape the destruction of their home planet. They crossed the galaxy in their ship, seeking a new home they could dominate to satisfy their depravity.

Ironically, they survived thanks to the technology developed to detect them, which tracked the assimilation of their race with the spiritual life forms.

However, even though that group had not been assimilated, they had already been corrupted by the behavior of their species. Despite not being as degraded as their brethren, they were slaves to the pleasure they had been taught. Now they wandered like a silent shadow in the void, searching for a new world to call home.

On the other hand, the spiritual life forms floated erratically, dispersed throughout space to avoid concentrating and becoming a danger. Every race in the galaxy knew that the tragedy must not be repeated.

And now...

(Silence... where...?)

... A solitary speck of light floated in the vast and icy void of space. It was one of the spiritual life forms, a conscious speck without a body, without an ego, and without a defined purpose. It floated aimlessly, driven only by instinct.

(Cold... where is my sun...?)

But at that moment...

(BBBBBBBBBBBBZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!)

Suddenly, an immense beam of light, of an immaculate and celestial brilliance, emerged from nowhere and struck it.

(It feels... good... familiar...)

It felt no pain, but a comforting and familiar warmth, as if it had returned home. The energy of that flash was different from anything it had ever known. It felt drawn to it, absorbed by its pure essence.

(Good...)

(... Peaceful...)

(fun...)

And in that instant, something happened that no other civilization had foreseen: the solitary speck of light divided.

(... Okay...)

(It's alright...)

(pleasant...)

Then, it divided again. Over and over, until dozens of small spiritual life forms were born from the energy of that mysterious light.

(We are... more...?)

Attracted by the origin of the light, the spiritual life forms, now a small swarm, headed toward the planet from which the explosion had emerged: Earth.

The origin of that light was an explosion.

(KKKKKKKKKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!)

An ear-splitting blast that shattered the very darkness. A shockwave of energy and pure destruction launched from the crater, crushing everything in its path.

(GLOW!!!)

The air pressure became a physical force. An incandescent pillar of light pierced the ground, ascending through the multiple levels of the underground base, unraveling metal and pulverizing concrete. The light, so brilliant that the night sky looked like a shadow, did not stop until it reached the atmosphere. It broke through the cloud barrier, scattering them like smoke, and extended into the vacuum of space, creating a beacon of light that shone with the fury of a newborn star.

"Ah... u-unbelievable..."

The air filled with an electrical hum. It was a hum that hurt, that vibrated deep in his flesh as Leo contemplated the destruction generated.

"Ugh... I think... come on... I'm... I'm going to throw up!"

However, while Leo watched the generated destruction in astonishment, the "magical girl" who had caused all this was in the middle of the crater, her body trembling and her hands covering her mouth.

"I need... a... container... like that one!"

"?!"

In that instant, the "magical girl" turned her head, her eyes still glowing with vibrant rainbow colors, and noticed the metallic container that Leo was clumsily holding in his hands. With a swift and surprisingly strong movement, she snatched it away, leaving Leo momentarily stunned and unable to react.

"¡¡¡Blaaaargh!!!"

Without losing a moment, Mireya opened the container and began to vomit inside it. But it was not a normal substance. From her mouth flowed a cascade of multicolored rainbow light, bright and ethereal, which filled the metallic container with a magical glow. At the same time as she vomited this light, the multicolored glow in her eyes began to slowly fade, returning to the pure, characteristic white of her irises.

"Ugh... I-I'm... agh..."

The transformation began to revert. The magical girl's black and white dress flickered, its edges blurring into threads of light that vanished into the air. Her long, wavy hair slowly shrank, strand by strand, returning to her usual short, messy cut. The aura of power that surrounded him diminished, like a flame slowly dying out, and even the pink pan in his hand, which had appeared out of nowhere, began to become translucent until it finally vanished in a shower of brilliant particles.

The process was slow and majestic, like the reversal of a powerful spell. Every detail of the magical transformation was undone, layer by layer, revealing the boy's slender figure underneath.

"I... I feel dizzy..."

Finally, when the last strand of rainbow light left his eyes and the last particle of the magical dress vanished, Mireya staggered, exhausted, back to his usual form: a young boy with silver hair and white eyes, dressed in the torn and dirty maid outfit that Leo had seen the first time he arrived at this place. The metallic container in his hands was now glowing with the multicolored light he had vomited.

"I want... I want to sleep..."

With that whisper, Mireya collapsed, his head spinning, and before Leo could react and reach out a hand to help, an elegant silver-haired figure appeared from nowhere and caught him with supernatural speed.

"Well, well. And this one doesn't look calm?"

She was a tough-looking woman, with a penetrating gaze, who carried the boy in her arms as if he were a princess, holding him with an unexpected tenderness.

"...Finally... peaceful..."

By her side, a girl with a childish and shy appearance nodded, as if she understood everything that was happening.

"Not that I'm complaining, but can't this brat go out without something happening?"

After saying those words, the woman's eyes fixed on Leo, who, confused, asked timidly:

"What... what's happening?"

"Nothing that involves you, although, thanks for playing with my brat. Seriously, I'm not being sarcastic."

However, after saying those words, the woman turned her serious gaze, looking at Leo.

"Although... you shouldn't have given him that chocolate."

"..."

Leo opened his mouth to reply, but the woman continued, a tick of annoyance in her eyebrow.

"We're leaving immediately. Don't you see? This fucking pillar of light is attracting all kinds of creatures to this base. It's as if the entire universe is saying: "Hey, there's a party here!". I advise you to get the hell out of here too, brat, if you value your life."

"And... what will happen to you? Where will you go?"

"Us?"

The woman gave him a mischievous smile.

"We'll just leave. It's what we do."

With that, she gestured to the girl beside her, who responded with a shy smile. She raised her hands and gave a single clap.

(POP!)

"?!"

In an instant, all the other characters in the scene, including the straw dolls and the figures in black, disappeared in a burst of energy, leaving only Leo, the woman, the girl, and the unconscious Mireya in the crater of destruction.

"Hey, brat."

Leo, who was still processing the chaos around him, looked up. The woman watched him with a serious expression that seemed a mix of a tired mother and a gang leader.

"Would you... be my brat's friend?"

The question, so simple and so abrupt, took him by surprise. The woman's rough voice didn't match the request, and Leo, still overwhelmed by the revelation that the "magical girl" was actually a boy, could only articulate one thing.

"Wait, he was a guy?!"

"Ha, ha! Of course he is! Even if he doesn't look like it."

The woman let out a loud, brazen laugh, a laugh that echoed in the silence of the crater, as she wiped away a tear of laughter. Her expression softened, becoming completely serious.

"Look, in his entire life, there's been no one not part of the 'family' he could interact with like this, someone who could keep up with his pace. I'm asking you with complete honesty, please, at least try to get along with him."

"..."

Leo fell silent, processing the request and everything he had witnessed. He looked at the destruction, at Mireya's unconscious figure in the woman's arms, and at her pleading face. A moment of reflection, and then resolve appeared on his face.

"I'll try... I'll do my best."

The woman sighed with relief, a genuine smile finally breaking her rough facade.

"Whew! What a relief... I was starting to talk to rocks, give them names, and say they were his friends, so this is a relief. Really... Thank you."

A moment of connection, and then the woman returned to her cynical tone.

"Well... good luck, brat. That's what you always say to a fool who dares to follow his own path."

The girl beside her smiled and gave a clap.

(POP!)

With that, everyone vanished.

"...So that's how it ended... Ha... What a night..."

And with the same speed with which everything had disappeared, Leo found himself in another place. The cold light of a fluorescent fixture blinded him for a moment. The smell of soap and cleaner assaulted him, and the echo of pop music played from outside. He was sitting on a toilet, in the stall of a women's restroom in a restaurant. He stared at the ceiling, speechless, trying to process what had just happened. He took a long, shaky breath, as the sound of a woman drying her hands at the sink echoed in the room.