The biggest broadcasters in the world were talking about the same thing: a company that hadn't even completed two months of existence and had already caused an earthquake in the global cosmetics market.
"Today, on the emerging trends segment, we will talk about Tycoon Corporation, a startup born in the Phoenix Empire that, with its first product, the LUX facial mask, has generated the greatest consumption outbreak of the century," commented the BBC anchor, with an expression of polite disbelief.
The debate panels were heated. Marketing experts, economic analysts, beauty journalists, and CEOs of other brands gave their opinions cautiously... or in pure panic.
"It's impossible to deny that the success is deserved. The product is revolutionary. But the question everyone is asking is: why not launch globally?" said an analyst from CNBC.
"Theories range from exclusivity strategies to industrial sabotage..."
"Sabotage?"
"Yes. Some believe that some old corporation is actively blocking Tycoon's international entry. It's too new. Too brilliant. And it's growing too fast."
An international trade expert, former WHO consultant, almost hit the mark. "If I had to guess, I'd say Tycoon is facing an invisible wall behind the scenes. Not because of its own failure... but because of the interests of giants. Rival companies don't like it when their leadership is threatened."
On the screen, while the debate continued, the sales graph of LUX in the Phoenix Empire was shown. And the numbers were... absurd.
Meanwhile, in Phoenix...
The city of Solaria, economic capital of the empire, seemed to have gone into a trance. Every pharmacy, beauty salon, premium store, and online distributor faced long lines, virtual and physical, to acquire LUX.
The word of mouth effect had given way to a national frenzy. The people, now, didn't just want to try it: they wanted to stockpile. Collect. Gift. Show off.
But it was when the businesswoman and marketing director of Tycoon, Victoria Lancaster, appeared live on the empire's highest audience newscast that the real explosion happened.
Dressed in an elegant ruby-colored suit, hair tied in a firm and impeccable bun, Victoria smiled slightly at the camera.
"The LUX facial mask is, without a doubt, a revolution. And the best part? It's not just for women. It's a perfect gift for your boyfriend, your husband, your father, or even your teenage son. Men also deserve to feel the sensation of healthy, rejuvenated, and luxurious skin."
The reporter widened his eyes. "Really? Does it work on male skin too?"
Victoria nodded with a triumphant sparkle in her eyes. "Absolutely. And I can say that confidently because we did tests — and the results were as impressive as on women. After all, LUX's technology was made for human skin, not just female skin."
What followed was immediate.
Social networks filled with couples posting videos and photos. Women filming their reluctant boyfriends trying LUX and then smiling enchanted. Elderly fathers being gifted by daughters. Young guys showing off the "new skin texture" on reels.
In just four hours after the interview, 20 million units were sold.
Tycoon's internal system had to activate a contingency mode, operating with automated production in three continuous shifts.
Delivery drones crossed the skies of Phoenix.
The main website almost crashed three times but ÆVA reinforced the servers before the worst happened.
At Tycoon headquarters, the notification arrived.
Lumine, still in her presidential office, sitting with a straight back, opened the panel and watched the graphs jump like fireworks.
She then grabbed her phone and wrote in the founders' private group:
@Lumine: we did it.
And it was like throwing a match into a box of fireworks:
@Nikoly: I'M SCREAMING!
@Victoria: I knew men would be the game changer.
@SmellOfRainAfterEarth: [queen emoji]
@ÆVA: Projections indicate competition collapse within 90 days if Tycoon expands globally.
Lumine took a deep breath.
For a second, her always elegant expression gave way to a genuine smile. Small, but proud.
Yes. They made it.
The day after Victoria's interview, the gears of the market spun violently.
The Vérité Absolue™ facial mask, from True Beauty, started being sold at 50% discount in Phoenix Empire stores.
Other international brands launched flash campaigns with slogans like:
"Your skin deserves luxury without paying an empire." "The original always wins the hype." "Real results. Human prices."
Desperation in marketing form.
But the people were not stupid.
On social networks, the buzz was clear.
"Now they lower the price? After years pushing generic products for 100 dollars?"
"LUX is still better. Try harder."
"Too late. The revolution has begun."
In the multinational meeting rooms... Companies that previously mocked Diamond Tycoon now crawled in emergency meetings, tearing their hair searching for strategies.
"Hire influencers."
"Which ones?"
"Anyone who still has relevance in the Phoenix Empire!"
"But no one wants to be associated now. They will look desperate."
A veteran executive from BeautiZion, a traditional dermocosmetics company, kicked his chair back.
"We are being swallowed by a company that didn't even exist two months ago! This is insane! This mask is being treated like a collector's item!"
In pharmacies and drugstores of Phoenix, the attendants no longer even hid their exhaustion.
"Yes, we have LUX... but only for pick-up with pre-order."
"No, we don't accept bribes."
"Yes, we have other masks, but... sir, please, don't look at me like that..."
Some competitors began handing out free samples at store doors. Others tried to put promoters with lab coats to convince customers that "LUX's technology is just marketing."
Nothing worked.
The people — from housewives to CEOs, from teenagers to retirees — had already converted.
At Tycoon headquarters, reports kept dripping in.
Victoria read and smiled like a queen watching enemy pawns drown in their own pride.
She calmly drank her tea while commenting by audio in the group. "They're lowering prices... but they miss the essential. LUX is not just a product. It's desire. It's identity. They didn't get that."
Lumine replied with a "Yawn Kitty" sticker, that little yawning cat with a crown.
@Nikoly: "They are in the first stage of denial. The pure desperation is still missing. I can't wait."
Meanwhile, in the media, the Phoenix News reporter mocked live. "Tycoon's cosmetics competitors are 'generously' lowering prices after years of astronomical prices. Apparently, charity is now a market trend."
Vérité Absolue™ sales plummeted 30% in just 48 hours.
Brands like Orviée, BeautiZion, and Marseillace lost shares on the Phoenix stock exchange.
Influencers who criticized Tycoon now tried to ride the company's popularity... unsuccessfully.
Tycoon, for its part, hadn't even launched the product outside the Phoenix Empire yet.
And even so... the world was already shaking.
In the days following the LUX facial mask sales explosion, the corporate world of the beauty sector began to collapse from within.
Emergency meetings turned into symbolic funerals in global multinationals. Behind the scenes, mass layoffs happened with the speed of a whirlwind.
True Beauty, BeautiZion, Orviée, and even local brands from the Phoenix Empire started cutting entire teams — marketing, R&D, logistics, and even customer service departments.
The justifications? "Internal restructuring." "Adjustment to the new market scenario." "Focus on priority products."
Translation: "Tycoon broke us."
But, while some doors closed... others of diamond opened.
Employees, who until days ago were saddened by sudden dismissal, started receiving enigmatic emails.
Subject: Opportunity for Restart — Diamond Tycoon Group
Inside, a surreal proposal:
● Starting salaries between 300 thousand and 500 thousand dollars monthly.
● Managers received offers up to 1 million dollars per month, plus performance bonuses.
● Perks: lifetime health plan, access to Tycoon's internal technologies, unlimited credit business card (only for internal use) and... the right to work from any country in the Phoenix Empire.
Most thought it was a scam.
"Is this real?" "Must be a phishing scam." "Who pays half a million to someone fired yesterday?"
But those who replied to the emails received official holographic contracts, digitally signed by Tycoon's legal departments, with the shining brand at the footer.
And at the end of the contract, a phrase: "We are made of diamond. But we never forget who we are: women."
On social networks, former employees of True Beauty and other companies began discreetly posting their new positions:
"I was fired yesterday. Today I'm working with brilliant women, where my voice is heard. Thank you, Tycoon."
"I thought my end was certain... but it seems it was just the beginning."
"Tycoon not only hired me — it rescued me."
Some influencers caught the moment and went viral with: "Tycoon is not just winning the market. It's winning the hearts of those who moved it."
At Tycoon headquarters, Advanced HR Sector, Lumine and Victoria watched hiring reports with discreet smiles.
Victoria commented, leaning on the armchair. "Funny how talent is disposable... until someone values it."
Lumine just smiled, eyes fixed on the reports. "We'll show it's possible to win with beauty, without being ugly inside."
Behind the scenes of rival companies... Executives who fired dozens of employees were now desperate to keep the few that remained. And, to their misfortune, former Tycoon employees invited trusted colleagues to migrate as well.
Tycoon was sucking the market's talent.
And the competitors' worst nightmare was coming true: "Tycoon not only won the product war... it is winning the war for brilliant minds."
Weeks passed, and the Phoenix Empire became a battlefield where only one flag waved: Tycoon.
International companies, once confident in their millennial brands, began falling one by one.
It was not a declared war. There were no official announcements with announced defeats.
What happened was something more humiliating: The silent abandonment.
Companies like BeautiZion, NeoGlow International, Orviée France, and even the Asian giant HanabiSkin started holding discreet meetings with their administrative boards.
The reports were relentless:
● Sales drop of up to 97% in the Phoenix Empire.
● Stuck inventory.
● Loss of contracts with influencers.
● Spontaneous boycotts by consumers.
● And, above all: "Destructive comparisons with LUX."
Marketing could not compete. Technology did not update at Tycoon's speed. And prices... became a joke compared to LUX's absurd cost-benefit.
At the BeautiZion meeting — Global Headquarters, London.
"The Phoenix Empire became lost territory."
"If we keep operations there, we will have to cut the European sector's budget."
"LUX killed our presence. Better to retreat than die completely."
The decision was unanimous: End facial cosmetics operations in the Phoenix territory.
And so it went, one by one.
During the entire month, the industry giants were discreetly pulling their products from shelves. Cancelled campaigns. Distributors ending contracts. Local stores removing products from displays before even finishing selling them.
On industry forums, the term spread: "Phoenix became Tycoon's Kingdom."
While in the rest of the world consumers fought anxiously for a global LUX launch, within the Phoenix Empire the people began developing a silent nationalist pride.
Phrases like: "We have LUX." "The world wants what Phoenix already has." "That's real beauty."
Started appearing on social networks.
Local influencers and celebrities surfed the wave.
They recorded videos saying how essential the product was and how they felt "exclusive" to be part of the first LUX generation.
The global press watched, skeptical and scared. "Tycoon is doing something never seen before. It didn't launch globally... yet it is dominating the global skincare discourse."
Economic analysts began writing articles:
"The Cosmetic Monopoly of the 31st Century started in Phoenix."
"The exclusivity strategy: Tycoon's reverse marketing."
"Centennial companies are fleeing a market because of a startup?"
At Tycoon headquarters, Lumine watched a graph where the last five international companies were marked in red with the label: "in complete withdrawal."
She leaned back in the chair and murmured. "Like ants leaving the storm."
On the screen, another piece of information:
● 0.1% market share remaining in the Phoenix Empire — not Tycoon.
Lumine smiled, took her holographic pen, and wrote beside it: "Monopoly acquired with zero misleading ads. Just product."
Meanwhile, at the Tycoon Global Innovation Division building.
The new hired employees now occupied large and modern offices, leading brainstorms and new development lines — some focused on facial masks for specific climates, anti-aging kits, and even premium male products.
These women, previously fired for "financial inefficiency," were now creating Tycoon's future, united by a single purpose:
"We stopped competing against the revolution. Now, we are the revolution."
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