The doors to the Apple building closed behind her with a soft metallic hiss as Luna walked down the steps like someone walking back from a fashion show, perfectly bored and absurdly unbeatable.
The black car was already waiting for her on the sidewalk.
The door was opened by a French driver who said in refined French, "Mademoiselle Luna, votre trône mobile vous attend."
Luna walked in without answering. She yawned like a bored vampire princess and crossed her legs, stretching her arms overhead.
"Ahhh… why are meetings always so slow? They talk as if eternity is guaranteed..."
From the center console, Ivy, in the form of a half-body blue hologram, with her hair tied in a bun, appeared, already with an inquisitive expression.
"Just a technical question, Your Lazy Highness: why exactly did you decide to offer the ÆVA AI, if the original plan was to not mess with the centennial sharks?"
Luna blinked slowly, then yawned again.
"Because, Ivy..." he said, taking a chocolate-dipped strawberry from a nearby tray, "Apple is my favorite company. Always has been. Always will be. And I'm sentimental... when I want to be."
Ivy pursed her lips, but nodded. "So you're stopping there?"
"Of course. I'm not going to adopt a starving whale just because I liked its snout. I gave it the golden spoon. If they want to dig a hole in the universe with it, that's their problem."
The car sped silently through the suspended streets of New York, leaving the gigantic buildings behind.
"Meanwhile..." Ivy commented, adjusting a data tab on the dashboard, "the girls are in hurricane mode. The Lux™ facial mask is in the final branding phase in the Phoenix Empire. We've already created excitement with influencers and the beauty press."
Luna smiled, almost satisfied. "Finally something more useful than old men in ties discussing trillions like they were popcorn."
But Ivy sighed. "Unfortunately... the Lancaster-Monroe family has been trying to block the campaign from moving forward. They're using insider contacts to manipulate the imperial beauty portals and pressure influencers into refusing contracts."
Luna's expression cooled like the moon in an eclipse. "That old worm is still trying to sink his daughter? Even after he expelled her?"
"Worse," Ivy replied. "They released a statement disguised as an official statement from Clan Lancaster, saying the brand is untrustworthy. But the message has subtle political DNA. It's spreading."
Luna leaned back, looking up at the car's panoramic roof where the cloudy New York sky passed by like a slow-motion movie. "And Matthew?"
"He has been trying to curb the Lancaster Clan's influence within the Empire..." Ivy hesitated "...but since he is not the direct heir, he does not carry enough weight in the Imperial Senate."
Luna bit her lower lip. Eyes narrowed.
Thoughtful.
Silence.
Until she took out her iPhone, unlocked it with her face and opened the girls' group.
She typed firmly.
@CheiroDeTerraPósChuva: "Girls, the Lux campaign will face more pressure.
Don't back down.
Just preserve it.
Let's turn their noise into oxygen for our flame."
The read receipts lit up one by one.
"You're strangely motivated for someone who keeps saying she wants to sleep the whole world away," Ivy commented.
Luna laughed.
@CheiroDeTerraPósChuva: "Of course. Because even a lazy cat protects her kittens... when someone puts poison in their milk."
The car slowed down and discreetly entered the underground garage of his mansion.
The gate closed behind her like the seal of an invisible fortress.
"Prepare a bath. And a cup of matcha," Luna said, getting out of the car with a sigh.
"39°C water, activated jade salts," Ivy replied. "And I'll silence the next investor meetings for 24 hours, okay?"
"Absolutely right."
Luna walked through the silent corridors of the mansion, removing her suit jacket as if removing her armor. Her expression still cold from the conversation about the Lancasters.
But as she pushed through the glass door, something changed, as if she had left behind the ruthless businesswoman and recovered the girl who only wanted peace and music.
With a snap of his fingers, the soft lights came on in the bathroom, where marble, glass, and technology fused together as if the space had been designed by minimalist gods.
"Ivy, play that K-Pop Turbo Vibe playlist. Not at maximum volume."
"Soon."
And then, BAM—the bathroom shook to the sound of energetic beats and flawless vocals.
♪ "Burn it up like fire~ Gonna light the sky tonight~" ♪
Luna danced without ceremony, naked and powerful, as the hot tub water gushed like a sparkling waterfall. She struck some bizarre poses only seen in frenetic choreography and nearly slipped on the marble ledge, laughing out loud to herself.
Thirty minutes later, she emerged wrapped in a giant white towel, her hair dripping and her skin flawlessly… still snow white.
She stopped in front of the mirror. "Ahhhh, I give up. Neither the sun, nor the gods, nor the bronze demon loves me."
He rolled his eyes and went to the closet.
There, she chose a futuristic gym outfit: a pearly gray set with neon blue details, smart fabric with thermal regulation and automatic muscle compression.
Hmmmm?
She was more dressed to defeat an interstellar villain than to train her glutes, but who cared?
"Ivy, activate gym mode. Two workouts. One cardio, one functional. Nothing that kills my soul."
"Getting started. Light warm-up for 5 minutes. I've already prepared your hydration bottle with bioactive electrolytes and lychee essence."
Luna entered the private gym space in the basement of the mansion.
For the next two hours, Luna trained as if every muscle carried the fury of an overclocked operating system.
Cardio, stretching, functional.
Every rep, every push-up, was a silent emotional release.
She didn't need a psychologist... just dumbbells and loud music.
When she was done, she was sweaty but not at all breathless… and strangely light.
Ready.
Enough to keep that ass in masterpiece shape.
He went straight to the shower, a quick flash, cold this time.
Refreshed skin.
Mind still racing.
Soul...in peace.
He wore a casual outfit: an oversized T-shirt with the Tycoon logo on the chest and thermal shorts. Furry panda slippers, because royalty needs cuteness, yes.
He walked down the sensor-lit corridor to the Computer Room.
She slumped in her chair. "Ivy, open the dashboard and display market charts for the UltraClean Lux™ mask in the Phoenix Empire."
"Showing... Oh, and pre-orders exceeded expectations by 200%. I guess the Phoenix people really want a goddess skin."
Luna smirked. "Or maybe they're desperate to look like me."
And for a second... she believed that sentence.
The glow from the screens reflected in Luna's eyes as she crossed her legs in the luxurious leather chair.
The floating windows showed graphs pulsing in real time, UltraClean LUX™ pre-orders were climbing as fiercely as a price jump on Black Friday.
"Ivy, confirm the number I'm seeing… is it 27 million units pre-sold in the Phoenix Empire? In less than twelve hours?"
"Confirmed. And counting."
Luna tilted her head, yawning.
The screen showed beautiful graphics rising like rockets.
The strategic side of you knew you had to stay there analyzing market behavior, predicting patterns, adjusting campaigns…
But the gamer in her was already stamping her feet. "Enough with the graphics. Give me blood, chaos, and killsteals. Ivy, open LoL."
"Launching League of Legends. Competitive mode, solo/master queue."
"Let's raise those damn points."
Luna was at Master 400 LP and to reach Challenger requires 1200 LP.
The road was long.
It was Chief Malroth.
But to warm up, she decided to play a game of Miss Fortune, her secondary "I'm wearing high heels and a gun in my hand."
Chosen Champion: Miss Fortune – "Golden Galactic Star" Skin
The game has begun.
She went straight to the bot with a move that was as aggressive as it was elegant.
Number.
Number.
Q at the right timing.
Double kill.
Triple kill.
Pentakill in the face of other people's arrogance.
Her team?
Silent. Stupefied. Surrendered.
At the end of the match, messages in the chat:
"MF GODDESS WTF"
"Carries more than my missing father"
"You're a challenger smurfing, right?"
"Are you a man or a girl?"
Luna just typed, "I'm just better than all of you. Good night."
She laughed to herself.
Next game he decided to take his main, Lux.
Favorite Skin: Elementalist Lux.
Queue started.
Match found.
Loading...
As soon as he entered the match, one name caught attention in the selection of champions.
"MorenoChallengerTV?" he murmured, his eyes rolling back in his head. "Streamer detected. Here we come."
I was on her team.
Jungle.
I played Lee Sin.
The game had barely started, five minutes in, and he was already chatting: "Lux, you play a lot. Let's have a call?"
You are ignorant.
MorenoChallengerTV: "Seriously, your mechanics are clean. Do you have Instagram? Discord?"
She snorted. "Ivy, see if this guy's streaming. I want to see how much of a joke he's making."
Seconds later, his image appeared on the side screen.
The typical vain streamer: over-combed hair, expensive microphone, pink LED light, ego inflated to the ceiling.
He winked at the camera and said, "Guys, this Lux here must be a chick. I can feel it. I'll try to chat, maybe there'll be a duo tonight, right? Hehehe..."
"It's just someone who shows up…" Luna murmured, activating her silent assassin mode.
She didn't say a single word.
Just destroyed.
Perfect wave control.
Bind after bind.
Precise ultimates.
She played as if she were writing poetry with light spells.
At minute 15, the streamer died in a stupid play and sent in the chat: "Lux, you're not going to say anything? Are you mute?"
Luna simply typed: "I speak to equals, not idiots."
His chat exploded.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHH"
"SHE DESTROYED YOU"
"RESPECT THE GODDESS, YOU ASSHOLE"
"I WOULD MARRY THIS LUX"
The streamer blushed on air, trying to remain calm. "Relax, relax. I was just kidding, man. Just kidding..."
But the damage was already done.
Boss?
Silent, cold, perfect.
Game ended 1/18/14.
Led the victory.
It went up another 25 points.
Now there were only 775 left. The Challenger was right there…
And with each game won, with each idiot skillfully silenced, Luna felt the world making more sense.
"Ivy, make some tea. And start the line again. Today, no one can stop me."