There was a moment of strange relief and realization in Machia. Like a glance back and seeing that the bridge she had run across had [i]not [/i]been guaranteed to take her weight. She rolls her feet, the asymmetrical pair moving in unison for a moment, before a deeper calm settles and focus sets in. She is in control. She can think. She can be precise.

"Taowu's arc for the season has been made clear," said Machia. "Lios is the first, but she will not be the last. She will follow through on corrupting three girls and arrange things that they will all fight alongside her in the finals. She will recruit targets who have ability but are held back by their own hesitancy. Li Ting. Argeltia. Ms Verdant, perhaps. And of course - you. She is in her aspect of corrupter, and she will seek to hypnotize you."

She rummaged thoughtfully in a drawer until she produced a pair of special noise-cancelling headphones she had designed herself, specifically fitted to work on the ears she had brought to life.

"So the challenge today will not be the electricity or the bees or the cats with bees in their mouths and when they meow they shoot bees. You know how to survive pain. No. It will be your ears. There will come a moment when you are targeted, outnumbered and bound; the commitment of resources will be too great to overcome. Then Taowu will try to turn you using her enchanted voice. I can see exactly how she'll do it. I can't replicate it myself. But I can try to simulate something similar with technology and time. I will give you a sentence. Your challenge is to hold that sentence in your mind; when the headphones come off you will have one chance and five seconds to repeat those words perfectly. My challenge is to use aural sensation to drive the words from your head entirely."

She turned around, bringing up multiple new screens and devices - audiomixer controls, an entire dedicated ASMR soundboard, multiple different vocalid synthesizers, a synthetic keyboard and a microphone. An arsenal of tools and devices for getting into your head; preparations for a real-time concert made only for you.

"Blindfolded, too I think," said Machia with scientific serenity, producing a long, black silken blindfold. "She might incorporate visual elements into her attack, but you would have the option of shutting your eyes so audio is the only certain vector."

A missed beat. A flex of her feet, testing the foundation, as she stands over you. Time made for an additional few words.

"Are you ready?"