The futuristic corridor descended into silence as Iris slowly rose from the floor, absorbing her remaining slime. Her height and figure had halved, looking short and meek. Her mature, seductive silhouette became adorable, except for her dull, murky eyes. She grasped her chest and felt the lingering warmth of Vilia's touch, shivering from the strange, dreamy experience.

The abrupt change from pain to serenity didn't shock her, but the appearance of Vilia broke her. Despite being made of slime, Iris subconsciously imitated her past life and cried a stream of tears. She wished for time to slow or even stop, for she didn't want to part with her again.

"A miracle really happens," Iris mumbled. "Vilia, you're helping me, right? Can you appear before me again? I need to see you again."

Iris knew miracles couldn't happen at her whim, not with her current strength. She didn't expect the miracle from the start. She should have trusted in miracle more, trusted in fate more. Maybe she might see her again someday?

Iris didn't believe in miracles or the stories of the Destined Ones. She cheated by imitating Quasi and didn't possess the qualification. How could she create a miracle? She couldn't, and she wouldn't risk her life on some random chances.

It was a gamble, but she gambled after she obtained the clues. From Lily's words, she didn't know about Iris's extraordinary past: her reincarnation and the Lord, the Dreamscape and Gulia, the Shadow Plane and Lilith. These beings played a larger game than the Legacy Ground. If they chose to hide their existence, Lily would know nothing.

If she knew, she wouldn't say that the might of the Legacy Ground was beyond Iris's imagination.

After trading blows with Lily, Iris also found that Lily was an ordinary Slime Girl without any foreign force inside her. The Shadow Heart Core was a unique existence, whose power originated from Lilith at her peak. It wouldn't crumble in front of a broken arrow.

With all information, Iris naturally gambled. There might be a better way to pass the test, maybe even persuade Lily to join her journey, but Iris lacked time to figure it out. She wasn't an ordinary Monster Girl but an Outsider whose fate intertwined with the all-encompassing game of the dizzy height.

"I thought I would've easily endured the pain after going through several heartbreaks and one death, but it seems that I still underestimate how sensitive my body is," Iris said as she looked at the ceiling, staring past it. "Vilia, when you took away my pain, did you have to endure it? Can you take away this pain too?"

Iris sighed and stopped thinking about the past. She still hadn't completed her task.

After reorganising herself, Iris walked to the remain of Lily, knelt on the floor, and touched the puddle of slime. This was the first time she saw a Slime Girl perished.

The puddle of slime dimmed but retained the dark blue colour. Its texture turned smooth like mineral water, exuding a strangely inviting fragrance. When Iris touched it, it quivered like a longing maiden seeing her first love. Its movement reminded Iris of how Lenmia used to toy with her, teasing from the outside and the inside.

A subtle flame ignited in her mind, warming her chest. Iris never had the opportunity to be on top and explored the exciting possibility of two Slime Girls. She had attempted to play with her clone but got interrupted both times. In this tranquil moment, her curiosity took over her mind.

"Lily, even though you try to stop me, you are still my clone," Iris said. Her body tensed. "Come, let us become one. I shall show you the pleasure of our body and the wonders of the outside world."

Iris drove her hands into the puddle of slime, feeling the mindless yet sensual desires arousing in her heart. Her membrane dissolved and connected with the slime, fusing into one, bursting with peculiar sensations. She trembled and let out a soft, excited moan, feeling the foreign slime invading her body, moving up and down inside her chest.

The slime sensed the disturbance but didn't resist. It was familiar with Iris's aura and accepted the assimilation. It playfully wiggled and caressed Iris's inside, providing her with pleasure she shamefully yearned. Her power slowly condensed as her figure turned more distinct and beautiful, rapidly regaining her mature air, her enchanting aura.

She gasped for breaths, taking in calm air, puffing out warm mists. Her lips reflected the blue light of the corridor, highlighting their bouncy texture. Her skin became even fairer as she instinctively traced her flesh-like membrane with her fingers, teasing herself.

The tranquil, dreamy state gradually ended as Iris stood up, absorbing all slime, condensing it into herself. She got taller, her hair longer, her breasts bigger. Her eyes were sharp, gleaming with brilliant light that bewitched anyone she desired.

After regaining herself, she frowned, feeling something amiss. She had gained some power and replenished her lost mass, but she didn't expect to have another qualitative change in her appearance. She still hadn't reached the Transformation Phase; how could this happen?

She waved her hand and channelled her Corruption Power. Using the knowledge of her past world, she created a mirror of light, inspecting her new appearance. Her frown deepened once she saw the resemblance between her current appearance and the Lord.

"Quasi, it seems that you aren't strong enough to erase the mark of the Lord," Iris said. "Lord, why did you want me to have your appearance? Why did you gift me your divine beauty?"

Iris hated her powerlessness. She knew others had put something in her but couldn't do anything to change her situation.

She spent her first life chasing freedom and passion. That would not change in her second life. Though her family restricted her, she chose to be restricted herself, unlike how these beings forced her.

Thinking more would make her depressed, so she stopped and rested.

After clearing the test, the golden door reopened, revealing the majestic inner world of the pyramid. It was like an ancient city within a golden dome.

The buildings were made of stone and jewellery, reflecting light into colourful rays. Along the main gravel road were the water fountains and rocky monuments, with mosses and little flowers protruding from the tiny but deep cracks. They didn't blemish their appearance but imbued the atmosphere with naturalness, as if their creator had incorporated the decay of time into their design.

Fearing that the golden gate might close, Iris quickly stepped into the ancient ground. The path in front of her branched into multiple sub roads while leading her deeper into the city, connecting every building big and small, forming a serene, intimate environment. The stately yet aged air permeated the surrounding, indicating the purpose of the city.

It was a giant graveyard, built since time long forgotten, maintained by the imperial family. Inside each building was the member of the royalty, their status suggested by the location and the size of their tomb. Despite the endless wealth of civilisation, the final resting place was humble and transient.

Iris gazed at the stone buildings, her mind flickering with indescribable emotions. She felt sad but not quite, excited but not quite; the profound sensation of awe mixed with weariness accumulated into a sigh. At last, she finally knew what her emotion was: Pity.

These people struggled against fate, against the Deities, against all odds, but they failed. Their last remnants escaped and hid inside this forsaken land, unable to leave, unable to right their wrong. Without any chance to turn around, they were waiting in despair.

The remaining desire to gain some rewards from the graveyard vanished as Iris shook her head and walked past countless stone buildings. Her heart became more tranquil as she felt the thick aura of decay exuding from the tombs. Only the familial longing existed in her heart, growing more intense the deeper she travelled.

The shiny jewellery and the ancient inscriptions on and inside the stone buildings invited Iris to inherit their power and knowledge, but she merely glanced at them then shifted her gaze, moving towards the centre of the city. The stone buildings got sparser and bigger, with more aura of death and decay.

The inheritance inside contained the lost history of the ancient, the forbidden knowledge of the past, the powerful abilities the Deities feared, the extinct material from the legend. If Iris chose one, she would gain the necessary power to control her destiny and protect her family, yet she was unmoved.

These were the failed power, not enough to overcome the impossible odds. These were the desperation of the past, the unwillingness to accept reality.

The Puppeteer Legacy Ground existed because it was a failure. The Deities didn't feel threatened by the shadow of the glorious past. The resistance failed when it was at its peak; it could not overturn the result even if it rose once more.

Reaching the end of her road, Iris stood before a tall stone gate. Unlike the other stone buildings where jewellery and gold decorated their appearance, the largest central building was without any decoration, just stone cracks and mosses. All roads which broke off from the main road also converged and ended in front of the building.

It was tall and lonely, gradually crumbling into the pitiful state it currently had. Iris couldn't bear to look at it. She lightly pushed open the gate and walked in.

Inside the spacious building was a small stone pyramid, with a series of steps reaching towards the platform at the top, where an everchanging orb of greyness floated. It shifted its appearance from a triangle to a square to a cube to a sphere, motionless yet moving, ethereal yet solid.

An enormous ownerless power flowed from the orb, moving upwards as it exited the building by the window on the ceiling, assimilating into the air, providing the ancient city with the energy to sustain itself. Though it was lifeless, the orb quivered as Iris entered the room, faintly calling for her.

A strand of energy separated from the enormous flow and flew towards Iris, revolving around her, gently guiding her towards the pyramid steps. As it touched her membrane, it merged with her and gave off a comforting sensation, soothing her dispirited heart. She didn't reject it, but she also didn't yearn for it.

"You've been alone since the beginning," Iris said. "Don't worry; I know what you want. Even if you didn’t beg me, I would still do it."

The orb couldn't speak, but it still tried its hardest to please Iris. It produced more strands of energy and enveloped her, replenishing her vitality, guiding her footstep, illuminating her path. At that moment, Iris looked like an angel who pitied the world. She had descended from the high heaven, shrouded in the holy light.

Because the light energy led her, Iris quickly reached the top of the pyramid. If she wished, she could reach out her hand and grab the orb, instantly gaining its approval, receiving the highest secret of the Legacy Ground, the power akin to the imperial sovereign.

Even such power could not resist the flow of time and the might of heaven.

"You can rest now," Iris said. "You've been staying up for too long. There is no point in continuing this pain anymore. I'll end it for you."

Iris smiled, grabbed the everchanging orb, and exerted her strength. The orb cracked and shattered into countless fragments. It surged with a great torrent of energy, overflowing the pyramid, engulfing the ancient city, flooding the corridor, pouring out of the golden pyramid.

At the centre of the tide, Iris closed her eyes and focused on the Shadow Heart Core. With a thought, her figure descended into the Shadow Plane.

GDLiZy

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