The streets of the Main City Layer had become deserted, with only a few sparse Monster Girls hurriedly trotting towards their destination. The chatters and flirts once permeated every step of the pavement had fallen into the depth of silence; no one had time to slow down and cruise along the change.

Flamira had regained a tiny bit of her energy and could finally walk by herself. She stopped Serinda and Artium from taking advantage of her condition, but she could not and would not forbid them from taking her arms. She also enjoyed it, even if she would not admit to it.

"Is the Main City Layer always this quiet?" Serinda nuzzled Flamira. "I've come here a few times before. It's a lot busier back then."

"Half of the Monster Girls had gone to help other Layers. The other half went to the Crusade." Flamira looked around, but she failed to find any familiar face. "The remaining are probably some that can't fight and the logistic Monster Girls."

The three had just come out of the Puppeteer Legacy Ground, then fought their way through the Subterranean Creatures. Though there was no Dweller on the way back, there was still some Walkers and Mutators fighting groups of Monster Girls.

Fortunately, Artium's and Serinda's power were effective in concealing their presence. The fights they encountered were all against weak Mutators, and thus, they suffered neglectable damage. Still, it felt like a long time travelling up to the safe area. They had almost forgotten what it felt like to live in the safety of the community.

The group arrived at a deserted house in a peaceful neighbourhood around the boundary of the Main City.

"Serinda, Artium, this is my house, my old house, at least," Flamira said. "The original plan is to wait until I come back, but it seems that something urgent happens."

"Does that mean the entire house is for us?" Artium giggled. "Should we head straight to the bedroom? You need a lot of rest, Sister Flamira, or should I call you Sister Iris?"

"Call me Flamira. I like that name. Moreover, I and Main Body won't get confused when you suddenly call us." Flamira gently pushed the door. "I'll guide you around, so stick close and don't fall behind."

"Can you firmly and tenderly hold our hands, please?" Serinda said. "That way we won't lose our way, right, Artium?"

Artium nodded, and so Flamira humoured them. She held their hands, caressing them with her fingertips, and stepped inside the house.

She led Artium and Serinda through the door and into the hallway. They stepped on the soft rosy carpet, passed through the walls of paintings, and entered the first room of the house, the living room.

Aside from the dust and spider webs, the interior remained the same. The bookshelves were devoid of books, but there were some notes and toys lying inside them. Sunlight and breezes passed through the ajar windows, adding nostalgic air into the serene quietude.

Artium and Serinda separated from Flamira and sat on the slightly dirty couch, in the same position which Iris's other sisters sat. They sank into the cushions and looked around, admiring the cosy design of the room. There was an unused fireplace in front of them. Serinda flicked her fingers. A spark flew and lit the flame anew.

It flickered, moving up and down, breaking into the radiance that gave warmth to the living room. It was the warmth of home, the home which Flamira had never been in but had always yearned for.

She embraced this moment of stillness, where she realised once more how sentiments occupied her heart and drove her existence.

Why can't this moment continue forever?

"Sister Flamira, there is a letter here, written for you." Serinda picked up a letter. "The writer is Sister Iris, her other clone!"

"Did you peek?" Flamira said. "If you do, I'll have to punish you."

"Are you telling me to peek? I want to know how you're going to punish me." Serinda looked at Artium. "Do you want to read together?"

Flamira dashed towards Serinda and reached towards the letter. Serinda pulled her hand backwards. Flamira had to lean on the couch to reach it. Her breasts pressed against Serinda, who smiled as a soft bliss filled her heart. She gave the letter to Flamira shortly after, when Flamira realised what Serinda had planned.

"Why do you always take advantage of me?"

"You act too cute and are too cute. Is that not enough?"

Flamira sighed and opened the letter. The content had been written messily with a few misplaced dots of ink here and there. Just the mannerism and the wording alone gave Flamira the sense of urgency, of disastrous premonition. She read:

To Main Body, or her other clone, whoever is reading this, the situation has passed over the threshold we set. There is a strong enemy at our doorstep and another premonition looming over our heads. I have no idea what it is, but it's a threat to us. I hope you aren't too late to do something.

As you instructed, I've persuaded everyone to go through the teleportation formation. They relented after I’d told them our little secrets. I hope you won’t be too shocked.

If possible, we should separate way. I have a bad feeling about this. The Labyrinth of Love might not be as safe as we had thought, and the Crusade might be far greater than what we had imagined.

Flamira closed her eyes and stayed silent, letting her mind process through the fragmented information written by Iris's other clone. Serinda and Artium quietened downed, staring at Flamira.

"We have to go." Flamira threw the letter into the fireplace and watched until all that remained was ashes. "The situation is worse than I thought."

"What did the letter say, Sister Flamira?" Serinda got up and blocked the exit. “I won't let you leave unless you tell us the situation."

"Sister Flamira, if you want us to trust you, please don't keep any secret from us." Artium grasped Flamira's hands and squeezed them gently. "You've filled the void in our hearts. We will do the same for you."

Flamira looked at Serinda and Artium. They stared back at her, their eyes glittering with faith and expectation. Would she betray those eyes, which regarded her as their pillar of support, which went through hardships with her?

After a few seconds, Flamira averted her gaze, trembling, and sighed. She went to sit on the dirty couch, placed her arms on the back support, and leant onto Artium. Serinda quickly joined in and placed her head on Flamira's lap, closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.

Looking at Serinda’s sleepy face, Flamira reached out and pinched her cheeks, gently rubbing them against her bouncy membrane. Her eyes shifted to Artium, who watched her expression with eyes so misty yet so clear, like a maiden who had just woken from her dream.

"I wish that they haven’t left," Flamira said. "They would surely love you two. We would have much fun together. We would never get separated again."

"It's all right, Sister Flamira," Artium said. "Even if we're far apart, distance doesn't change our feeling. It's just a matter of time before we can see them. You would still accept us despite this, right?”

"You two have my heart hostage. How can I not accept you?" Flamira laughed. "Our encounter is special; our relationship is special. Isn't it poetic?"

Serinda opened her eyes. "I don't want poetic romance, Sister Flamira. I'm more interested in visceral romance."

Flamira lightly smacked Serinda's forehead, to which she stuck out her tongue and chuckled.

"Enough playing," Flamira said. "I'll only tell you of this once, and I won't speak of it again. Are you sure you want to know the truth, even if it may endanger you?"

"That means your life is already in danger, Sister Flamira. How can we not jump into it with you?" Artium leant onto Flamira. "We'll take it as a request, and we'll take our rewards later."

"I'll let you take advantage of me, but know that you might regret it in the end."

"You should listen to your own advice, Sister Flamira. You trust others too easily and spill out secrets all the time."

Flamira shook her head, feeling like she was going to cry. She took a deep breath, leant onto the couch, her head raised, looking at the dusty ceiling above. It looked so simple yet so old, so fragile yet so firm. Behind its surface, countless constructions and plans had gone into making it deceptively plain, deceptively honest.

In the next few minutes, Flamira talked about the situation of the Labyrinth of Love. Though the letter was simplistic and messily created, its hidden content was complex, obscured under impossible knowledge. Iris's clone had used the alphabets of her previous life to decorate the letter and disguised them as accidents during the writing.

In the end, Flamira told the two above many things, but she still kept within the depth of her heart the secret of her identity, the Foreign Existences, and the Lord. She had learnt that her mere existence threatened the stability of others. The mere awareness of her could put them in danger.

Even then, the news still frightened Artium and Serinda. The powerful enemy at their doorstep was enough to suppress Lady Undrila, but there was also a looming possibility that something even greater was hunting Iris?

How are we going to settle this? Artium and Serinda waited for Flamira to speak.

"We are going to leave the Labyrinth of Love for now." Flamira clenched her fists. "We are already at the Transformation Phase and can disguise ourselves quite flawlessly. We'll sneak past the Crusade and hide in the surrounding nations until the Crusade ends."

Artium and Serinda looked at each other and nodded. They didn't have many attachments to the Labyrinth beyond being a land of comfort and friends. Now, that place had vanished, and in its place was a battlefield.

More importantly, Sister Flamira wanted to leave. Thus, they wanted to leave too.

"How are we going to sneak out?" Serinda said. "My destiny spell formation cannot make predictions on the crisis of this scale."

"We'll wait inside the Labyrinth first until a chance presents itself to us." Flamira smiled. "Lady Kurion and Lady Noviscar have gone to help Lady Undrila. When the battle intensifies, the enemy won't be able to divert their attention to us, weak Monster Girls."

"And after that?"

"I have two hideouts outside of the Labyrinth. We can stay there to hide from the Crusade and wait until we can safely leave the Sinking Dark Forest." Flamira placed her hands on her chest. "I have not told you that yet, but there is someone I want to reunite in the Tentoid Empire."

"I'm sure you'll find her and take her with you, like how you found us and took us."

"I hope so." Flamira reminisced. "I hope so."

GDLiZy

I hope so too.

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