One hour before the departure for Apathea, King Felix II performed his final Flow Consolidation Ritual: the GRWM (Get Ready With Me) stream.
The camera was tight on his face, a perfect, glowing canvas of violet eyes and defined cheekbones. He spoke in a low, conspiratorial whisper while applying a shimmering, mana-infused lip gloss.
"My dedicated citizens, my source of The Flow," he murmured. "Duke Vorlag believes that magic must be fueled by tradition. He does not understand that true power comes from dedication and the focus required to achieve this level of aesthetic consistency."
As he detailed the specific application technique for his cheek contouring, a technique that required immense fine motor skill and years of practice, the kingdom watched in silent, rapt devotion. This quiet, intense focus generated an immense wave of Intimate Flow, fueling his personal DF reserves perfectly.
[SYSTEM ALERT: INTIMATE FLOW INFLUX. DOPAMINE FLOW (DF) RESERVES: MAXED. AESTHETIC INTEGRITY: 100%.]
He finalized the look by donning the Digital Dawn ensemble: a sleek, tailored jacket made of black velvet, encrusted with glittering Clout Crystals that pulsed with captured Flow. The bottom half was minimal but powerful high-waisted, crystal-studded shorts and thigh-high boots with transparent, heel-mounted mana batteries.
"The Duke's power is stagnation," Felix announced, standing up to reveal the full outfit for the camera. "My power is evolution. Let us show them the true strength of focused energy."
The neutral city of Apathea was a nightmare of mundane architecture. Every building was beige. Every citizen wore some variation of gray. The very air felt thick with bureaucratic indifference, attempting to stifle the King's Flow.
The diplomatic chamber was designed to be deliberately uninspiring. The walls were unadorned, the furniture was boxy, and the lighting was a dull, institutional yellow.
Waiting at the center was Duke Vorlag, the Master of Temporal Stagnation. He was a tall, skeletal man draped entirely in heavy, black wool robes, radiating an aura of profound, dusty boredom.
"Welcome, King Felix," the Duke droned, his voice flat and devoid of inflection. "I trust you find our venue suitably un-distracting. Your... aesthetic displays will hold no sway here. In Apathea, we are immune to frivolous flow."
Felix felt the drain immediately. The oppressive dullness of the room was actively dampening the external FPM being generated by his distant citizens. The sheer lack of visual stimulation was a magical defense in itself.
[SYSTEM ALERT: FLOW DRAIN DETECTED. FPM DROPPING RAPIDLY. COUNTER-AESTHETICS REQUIRED.]
"Immunity to aesthetics is merely an admission of low sensory capacity, Duke," Felix countered, his voice ringing with perfect, amplified disdain. He strode forward, forcing the Digital Dawn ensemble to catch the dull yellow light and refract it into a chaotic rainbow of Clout Crystal flares.
"The contest begins," announced the Neutral Judge, a man in a perfectly pressed, gray jumpsuit. "Duke Vorlag, present your proposed law."
Duke Vorlag raised his staff—a piece of unpolished, gray driftwood—and projected his proposed legislation onto the wall: "The Mandatory Use of Unlicensed, Uncertified Parchment for All Government Documents. Penalty: Imprisonment."
The magic was subtle but powerful. The air felt heavier with paperwork and mundane complexity.
"The sheer dullness of it is suffocating," Felix hissed internally.
"King Felix, your counter-proposal?" the Judge asked.
Felix smiled, channeling every remaining ounce of his Intimate Flow. He needed to hit the citizens of Apathea and the Duke with an idea so disruptive, so aesthetically mandatory, that it would shatter the foundation of stagnation.
"My proposed law," Felix declared, his voice rising to a brilliant, charismatic crescendo, "is the Law of Aesthetic Reparations."
He unleashed his S-Tier skill.
Kingly Skill Activated: Aesthetic Vortex (10,000 DF Cost)
A localized, shimmering bubble of hyper-perfection erupted around Felix. The yellow light of the room warped and intensified, focusing only on the sharp lines of his face and the pulsing Clout Crystals in his jacket.
"The Law states," Felix announced, his voice now layered with magical compulsion, "that Any Item or Garment Deemed 'Cringe' or Possessing an Aesthetic Integrity Below 15% Must Be Immediately Replaced with an S-Tier, Flow-Compatible Equivalent. Penalties include immediate public shaming and mandatory glitter infusion."
The effect on the room was instantaneous and violent. Duke Vorlag let out a strangled cry as the sheer, overwhelming aesthetic perfection of the Vortex hit him. His dull, black robes seemed to actively recoil, smoking slightly.
But the real target was the neutral populace of Apathea. The citizens, forced to process the flawless, disruptive beauty of King Felix and the glorious absurdity of his law, experienced total sensory breakdown. They began to sweat. Their eyes unfocused. Their brains, unused to focused obsession, were overloaded.
[APATHEA CITIZEN STATUS: FOCUSED. FLOW GENERATION: 50 FPM (LOCALIZED SURGE). VOTE LIKELIHOOD: SHIFTING.]
Duke Vorlag was reeling, clutching his head. "You... you cheat! You weaponize vanity! This is... focused obsession!"
"That is The Flow," Felix corrected, executing a perfect, devastating pose within the Vortex. "And you have lost the ability to resist it."
The citizens of Apathea, for the first time in their lives, were forced to feel the electrifying, obsessive power of Gooning.