Iris gently moved the door and entered the study room, trying her hardest not to disturb her sisters. Pallorn followed in.

Decorated with bookshelves, the study room exuded an air of scholarly mixed with the papery scent. Sunlight seeped through the small windows and warmed the atmosphere, complementing the hanging lanterns. The room softly glowed with gentle yellow that healed the tired eyes of those who read and studied for long.

Varda, Reta, and Lenmia raised their head from the scroll. Reta immediately got up and rushed to Iris, hugging her. Her petite body pressed against Iris and sank into the slime, soaking in the longing warmth.

Iris stroked Reta's head and felt her thin hair sticking to her membrane. She stood motionless until Reta reluctantly let go of Iris. Lenmia and Varda congratulated Pallorn, nodding at her magnificent change. Varda asked to touch the new pair of wings; Pallorn wrapped her in them and nuzzled her, turning her scaled body scorching.

"You've succeeded," Lenmia said. "Pallorn, you've become the strongest, the Eldest Sister."

"I can't take that title, Sister Lenmia. You'll always be the Eldest Sister. I can't take your title while you're weakened by an injury."

"It will take months for me to recover, if not years. In the meantime, you will become the pillar of our family. I'm sure everyone has agreed to this."

"Everyone respects your wish because you're their Eldest Sister." Pallorn grasped Lenmia's hand. "Let me tend to your need, Sister. Instead of having me in my undeserved position, it is better that you quickly recover."

Lenmia turned to the others. They nodded without any pause in between. Their eyes gleamed at the thought of their Eldest Sister recovering; their heart softened to the point where they smiled silly and fiddled their fingers.

"Sister Lenmia," Iris said. "If you want us to feel at ease, please recover and lead us like always, lest we cry ourselves to sleep from the guilt."

"Since when has your tongue been this colourful?" Lenmia chuckled. "I never blame any of you. This is my choice, for us."

"Then," Iris said, "please recover fast, for us."

"You're wicked, Iris."

"You taught me well, Sister."

Iris pinched her membrane and stretched it like the skirt line and curtseyed, arching elegantly like a noble lady cultivated with civility and care. Her veil-like hair fell on her face and decorated her soft smile with a hint of luxurious beauty. As she rose, Lenmia seized her head, stroking her neck.

"You left me no choice," Lenmia said. "I'll continue to stay as the Eldest Sister, but I'll have Pallorn as my temporary replacement."

"We gladly accept your wish, Sister," Iris said.

Lenmia pulled Iris closer and leant beside her ear, pressing her breasts against the bouncy membrane. She tightly embraced Iris, who shivered but let her have her way.

"I know this manner," Lenmia whispered. "Iris, I'm glad you've accepted Vilia into you. Please take good care of her, for she is now and forever with you."

"Is it possible to revive her?"

"I don't know." Lenmia sighed. "Maybe we can reconstruct her body, but her soul, I don't know if she would still be Vilia, even if we could create a new her."

Iris nodded. The melancholy washed over her as the dim, fragmented memory of Vilia silently comforted her, telling her to let go, to live without worry. But how? She didn't want to move on. The pain was the proof that she remembered.

Lenmia separated from Iris. Her hand gradually detached from Iris's membrane, pulling a bit of blue slime with her. Iris leant forward, but Lenmia tapped her forehead.

"We can play later," she said. "Your voice from last night has given me a lot of expectation, Dear."

Iris blushed. Lenmia smiled then went to a chair and gestured for Pallorn, who was teasing Reta and Varda. She whispered into Varda's ear and caressed Reta's cheek, rubbing their body with her feathery wings.

"Pallorn, we need to hurry, or else Iris would get fired up again," Lenmia said.

"If she does, I'll relieve her. She looks stunning when she heats up, like a goddess emerging from a lake."

"She'll melt if you keep complimenting her. She's already turned into a pink Slime Girl." Lenmia giggled.

Pallorn glanced at Iris and licked her lips, then she walked to Lenmia, grasped her hand, and closed her eyes. Her wings lightly fluttered as a faint wind enveloped the room. An unholy air permeated her silhouette, which flickered black and white, turning angelic and demonic. Around her, sparks of Corruption Power manifested and twirled like a river of stars in the night sky.

The darkness descended and consumed the light. The sparks merged with Pallorn and illuminated her black dress, sending glows through her veins and into her fingertips. They flowed into Lenmia's yellowish membrane, tainting her with bubbling warmth.

They danced inside Lenmia, turning her into a human-size lantern, which glowed and dimmed like a firefly. She looked at her translucent abdomen and placed her hand on it. A vibration quivered her core, which leaked out a puff of Corruption Power.

Sensing the injury, the stars moved to the core and touched it. They slid into the rifts and dispersed into pure energy. A wave of comfort rushed through Lenmia with each passing second. Her core gradually shone.

On the side, Iris walked to Pallorn and peered at Lenmia.

"Sister Lenmia, are you feeling better?" she said.

"I'm already better with you all by my side." Lenmia leant on her chair. "Can I have you with me at all time?"

"If my presence can heal you, I would have already merged with you."

"What if I want you to merge with me right now? How wonderful would it feel, to have you inside me and me inside you?"

Iris hesitated. Her eyes moved away from Lenmia, but a subtle longing pulled them back. The yellow slime flickered, exuding a fragrance that invited touch, the scent of honey and flowers. Iris’s membrane tingled and danced as she slowly reached towards Lenmia, shyly touching her hand, caressing.

"If you insist," Iris said, her voice rising. Her cheeks reddened.

"You’re shaking, Iris.” Lenmia pulled Iris closer. "You need to accept your feeling, or I'll force you to accept it."

Iris's body gently pushed against Lenmia's. Their membrane grazed, numbing Iris, generating bubbles of warm air inside her. Her viscous slime turned and contracted, shivering. The softness of Lenmia's big breasts pressed against hers, building inside her chest excitement and passion.

"Please teach me how. I'm still young and inexperienced," Iris whispered.

"You're youthful and energetic." Lenmia placed Iris's hand on her abdomen. "Your instinct serves you well. Follow your heart and fill us with bliss."

Lenmia pressed Iris's hand into her body. Her membrane merged with Iris's, mixing yet separating. The gentle squish shook Iris. She grabbed the chair's armrest to support her weak legs, her face exposing only elation. A moan seeped out of her moist lips, whose loneliness demanded a partner.

"Not here, Sis," Iris said. "Watching. Everyone is watching."

"You're doing this for me, so don't be ashamed. They can join if they want." Lenmia licked Iris's cheek. "You taste fruity, Iris. Can I eat you?"

"If," Iris said, "if you want to. If it's for your health, Sis."

Iris closed her eyes and tensed. She slowly leant forward. Her lips met with another tender pair that ravished her inside with a long, sweet tongue which coiled around her tongue. She followed the twitching rhythm and melted herself into Lenmia, who slowly guided her hand towards the cracked core.

"Can you feel it?" Lenmia whispered, pulling out her tongue. "My core, it's getting hotter."

"Please give me." Iris didn't hear anything except the melodious voice that invited her to move closer.

"You're a greedy one." Lenmia slid her tongue inside Iris's mouth and violated her. The slithery tongue extended down her throat, wiggling inside. Its smooth yet slimy texture reached the core and wrapped around it. Iris moaned, but Lenmia sealed her throat and kept her searing, melting sensation inside her chest.

Strength left Iris. Her membrane boiled then ruptured into a puddle of warm slime. She changed from blue to pink to red. Her body struggled to reform and enjoy the pleasure. Despite how inhuman she looked, her dissolving silhouette, filled with viscous fluid and stretching slime, gave a lovely scent and a sensual air.

Lenmia casually seized her melting arm and pulled her up, condensing Iris inside the yellowish membrane, which melted Iris and Lenmia together. Despite the forceful bond, Iris felt safe and comfortable, staring at her bluish-green body. When she touched her membrane, she couldn't stop trembling and crying. Her voice diffused into the air, tensing the other sisters.

"That will be your punishment," Lenmia said. "The outside world is dangerous. Strong Monster Girls will toy with you. If you can't handle their trick, you will become theirs."

"Sister Lenmia, you're too cruel," Pallorn said. "She might break."

"She won't. Someone is making sure she won't."

Pallorn turned to Iris, who was shivering as if she were standing in a blizzard, an overwhelming blizzard. Her mind was in chaos, but inside her soul was a whisper that told her to relax, to let go, to embrace the sensation.

"Just this won't break me," Iris said, smirking. "I've seen worse."

"And I've seen you squirming." Lenmia pinched Iris's cheek, which reddened and sent a wave of pleasure throughout Iris. "Unless you can endure it, I won't ever allow you to go anywhere alone again."

"That was my choice. I won't let anyone take the blame from me."

"I've heard those words before. Don't you remember how that exchange ended?"

Iris fell silent and let Lenmia stroked her cheek. Her determined eyes made her more and more appealing. Pallorn couldn't resist and embraced her from behind, soaking her dress with Iris and Lenmia's slime, feeling the bouncy, twitching touch.

"Iris, let me help you." Pallorn caressed Iris's face. "Open your mouth. I haven't given you a Fallen Crest. It'll help you become prettier faster. Isn't that wonderful?"

Before Iris could speak, Pallorn leant forwards and pressed her lips on Iris's. Her tongue moved inside and started to play around, but she frowned then pulled out, leaving Iris gasping for breath, for love, for lust.

"Why?" Iris said. "I've already prepared myself."

"Something's happening." Pallorn's voice was solemn, so serious that the air inside the study room froze.

Lenmia stood up and walked to the window, gazing at the dome of mist covering the Layer. It flickered and shook as if a world-ending earthquake had struck, but no vibration reached the ground or the house.

On the ceiling of the Layer, countless balls of light rained. When they touched the ground, they dissipated into soft radiance and vanished, exuding a strange power unseen within the world.

Lenmia caught one of them and blew at it. The flickering light extinguished, revealing a hidden message inside, which slowly faded out of existence. Despite written in an unknown language, the meaning made itself clear without any translation.

"To all who opposed the world," it wrote, "head to our Legacy Ground and continue our story. May you succeed where we fail."