Gardenia’s Heart

As they moved effortlessly through the depths of the underground lake, Lily could no longer suppress the sounds escaping her lips.

“Mnn... Looks like I teased you a bit too much, didn’t I?” Her words, slipping out between heavy moans, were all she could manage before arching her back again.

With her face buried against Lily’s chest, Nia couldn’t stop rubbing her throbbing shaft against Lily’s groin.

“Nnhm...”

Running her fingers through the girl’s purple hair as she bit her breasts until small marks appeared, Lily couldn’t help but smile.

Nia had become increasingly honest about how much she loved being spoiled and touched, and such open affection was something the silver-haired girl adored deeply.

“Looks like I’ll have to pamper you a lot once we’re home~”

Planting another long kiss on her wife’s forehead, Lily lifted her gaze toward the faint blue glow ahead.

Emerging from the dark waters, even the girls who didn’t need to breathe could feel how heavy the air had become.

The sound of waterfalls shattered the silence in soft, chilling echoes that reverberated against rocky walls covered in bluish lichens and moss.

As far as their eyes could see stretched a submerged ruin bathed in a gentle azure light.

Broken pillars marked paths among shattered buildings, the vast structure resembling a lost civilization more than a simple temple divided into sections.

“Nhm... I don’t sense any structures below this level. We’ve reached the final floor.”

Lifting her flushed face just enough from her wife’s chest, Nia glanced around.

“In terms of size, this place is a little larger than any floor of the Elven Forest Labyrinth, but...” Between the streets, streams of crystalline water shimmered in shades of cyan, forming gentle elevations in the terrain. From every path, the sound of heavy footsteps began to gather. “It’s much more crowded with monsters.”

Their bodies were covered in thick plates resembling mosaics of stone and crystal — almost like a natural armor.

The creatures, looking more like monstrous crocodiles than ordinary reptiles, kept their long snouts and tails low, nearly touching the ground.

From their jaws, huge bubbles formed, slowly rising and filling the air with translucent spheres.

“I’ve never seen monsters like these before.” Using one hand to cover her belly and the other to hold her wife close, Lily spoke as she watched the creatures draw nearer and the number of bubbles increase.

With a simple flick of her fingers, Nia fired a black crystal at one of them.

The instant it cut through the air and struck its target, the bubble burst, releasing a mass of pitch-black slime that splattered against the floor, melted into a dark puddle, and vanished completely.

“The bubbles seem to be some kind of acid,” Nia said with a curious look. “The ruins must have survived because of the material, but if it can melt my crystals, it’s strong enough to dissolve human flesh in seconds.”

Despite her grim words, the metamorph didn’t so much as flinch when one of the bubbles collided with her barrier.

The deep, wet sound made the air vibrate, and a wave of scalding vapor spread through the area — yet the barrier remained perfectly intact, not even a scratch marring its surface.

“Since you named that other monster, do you want to name this one too?”

Without sparing another glance at the approaching attacks, Lily tilted her head toward her beloved, a faint amusement curving her lips.

“B-But Lily’s way better at naming things than I am!”

Caught off guard by her wife’s sudden suggestion, Nia gave a startled little jump, the composure she held against the monsters crumbling the instant Lily teased her.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t pick one too.”

This time, with Lily’s warmth pressed close against her waist, Nia could feel her wife’s bright eyes fixed entirely on her. Refusing wasn’t an option, so she did her best to come up with an answer, even as Lily’s sweet scent filled her senses.

“How about... Granite Lizard?”

Despite her mind being clouded by distraction, the purple-haired girl did her best to think of something. With her flushed face hidden behind her fingers, she peeked timidly at her wife—only to find Lily smiling, radiant and pleased.

“Sounds perfect. Nice work.”

Placing several soft kisses on her wife’s head, Lily watched as Nia tried to hide her shy smile the best she could between her breasts.

Inside the barrier, the faint crackling of acidic bubbles bursting against it continued to echo. If Lily counted only the monsters within her field of vision, at least thirty Granite Lizards were preparing to strike.

With the only possible escape route leading back through the submerged tunnels toward the second floor, Lily realized that most mages exploring this place in groups would likely have to fight their way out—or hide—since retreating could be impossible.

The sheer number of ruins and debris scattered throughout the structures made it clear that a great battle had taken place here long ago.

But for the two of them now, the creatures battering against the barrier were little more than an inconvenience.

As Lily wondered whether to summon Akasha to deal with them, she noticed the thoughtful look on her wife’s face—and felt a gentle warmth rise to her cheeks.

“You want to test something, don’t you, Nia? Go ahead.” Smiling softly, Lily spoke.

Caught off guard by how easily her curiosity had been seen through, Nia quickly shifted her gaze between her wife and the monsters.

“But... I’ll need to deactivate the barrier around us for a moment. Is that all right?”

“Of course.”

The reply came without even a second’s hesitation, and Nia’s crimson eyes lit up immediately.

With a light jump where she stood, she wrapped her arms around Lily’s neck as black lightning wings formed behind her.

They flapped several times, each beat echoing like distant thunder, carrying both girls upward toward the ceiling of the floor.

Even though the acidic spheres floated at seemingly random heights, there was a clear limit to how high they could go.

Once she confirmed they were above that range, Nia used her coiled tentacles to shield Lily from any stray attacks and began to form a small black sphere between her hands.

At the same time, the transparent barrier surrounding them dissolved.

“Their shells look tough... so I wanted to try something new.”

Slowly, the black sphere slipped from Nia’s fingers, descending toward one of the ruined streets below.

A heavy sound—metal compressing and grinding—grew louder as the sphere expanded, engulfing part of the monster group.

Inside the dark mass, a faint purplish-red light flickered, and the air began to tremble.

A single impact.

That was all it took. The already low bodies of the Granite Lizards were crushed into the ground, their forms collapsing into a crater smeared with blackened blood.

“So that’s what an offensive barrier looks like in battle, huh?”

Murmuring as she watched the monsters’ shells shatter under the immense pressure, Lily traced the edges of the dark sphere with her eyes.

Without distinguishing what lay within, the sphere that reached down to the very ground continued to crush everything that entered its boundaries.

“I can probably maintain both an offensive and a defensive barrier at the same time up to a certain point, but that would compromise the acceptable safety margin I’ve set for myself.”

Nia commented, watching as the structure of the streets shifted while the water from the small lakes and rivers flooded into the ruined roads.

“For this kind of effect, a radius of ten meters is my limit for now.” Observing the result of her test with curious eyes, Nia tightened her arms a little more around her wife. “Altering gravity in a given area consumes a terrifying amount of dark mana unless the method is refined, like the barrier around our home. For now, it’ll probably serve better as a large-scale immobilizer when the threads or poison aren’t viable, rather than a direct attack. If it were the me from back when I had only absorbed one of the books, I wouldn’t have been able to keep this active for more than five seconds over such a large area.”

Her wife’s words made Lily subtly raise an eyebrow.

The girl knew just how much dark mana the metamorph possessed. Even now, she couldn’t say Nia had significantly more than she did when she had only absorbed one of the books—and that made it easy for Lily to understand how much effort was required to sustain such a spell.

With gentle grace, the black wings carried the girls back to the ground. Now that the test was done, the translucent defensive barrier was raised once again, allowing them to walk without worry.

“Yes, now it’s your turn. Have fun,” Lily said, her tone halfway between a sigh and a small laugh. With a flick of her wrist, she drew the trembling staff from her waist and held it forward.

Accompanied by a blue glow marking its presence, the nearly five-meter-tall black wolf opened all one hundred of its eyes, its claws digging deep into the ground.

With a literal blink, every remaining monster in the area was torn apart—the wolf’s black tail slicing through everything in its path.

“Maybe I should’ve told Akasha to minimize the damage,” Lily muttered with a slightly awkward grimace as she watched the black wolf annihilate the Granite Lizards across the floor. “But unlike the forest, there’s no one here for him to accidentally hurt, so I guess it’s fine...”

Her gaze then shifted to the purple tentacles dissolving the fallen monsters.

“Did you manage to absorb anything, Nia?” she asked.

The answer didn’t come right away. Closing her eyes for a few seconds, Nia turned her back to her wife and nestled her head between Lily’s soft breasts, both her small hands extended forward with palms facing up.

Like a controlled, gentle fizz, a dark liquid began forming between her fingers. Without difficulty, several bubbles of varying sizes began to float through the air.

“I can make the acid bubbles now.” Her eyes gleamed as she smiled brightly at her wife. “Even though they’re corrosive, my material is tougher, so it won’t burn Lily.”

Unable to resist the urge to hug her wife tightly, Lily immediately pulled her closer, wrapping both arms firmly around her.

“Good job.”

“Hehe~”

Giggling softly, Nia accepted the affection without hesitation while continuing to study what she could do with the bubbles.

With Akasha now drawing in and eliminating the remaining monsters, there was truly nothing left to hinder the girls’ path.

In just a few minutes, they quickly crossed the bloodstained purple streets toward the center of the city—where the tallest structure awaited them.

The structure, resembling a temple, stood surrounded by shattered pillars and walls covered in luminescent moss that reflected the faint blue glow of the place.

Located at the point where all the city’s rivers converged, a small bridge connected it to the rest of the ruins. At the base of the temple, a wide patch of grass and soil caught the girls’ attention the instant they crossed over toward the entrance.

“Labyrinths are excellent places to find mana herbs,” Lily said softly, her eyes falling on the glowing flowers scattered across the ground.

Since she was no longer searching for flowers to sell as before, she merely observed them with quiet curiosity, wondering what kinds of herbs could be found in places like this.

“Lily, there are some mana herb subspecies here. I think we can collect them for our garden!”

The cheerful voice from the girl in her arms made Lily shift her gaze. A small, delicate finger pointed toward a particular pink flower.

“A Prismatic Rose...” Lily whispered. “We’ve found one of these before, haven’t we?”

Approaching with Nia still in her arms, she gazed at the pink blossom that emitted a soft, nearly imperceptible bluish glow. Although it contained far less mana, unlike ordinary mana herbs, subspecies could be replanted with the right technique.

“I was hoping we’d gather a few more materials before starting to grow mana herb subspecies,” Lily said, “but I think we already have enough to plant at least a few.”

Kneeling down carefully so as not to put pressure on her belly, Lily delicately loosened the portion of soil around the flower with the help of one of Nia’s purple tentacles.

Noticing her beloved’s curious stare, Lily couldn’t help but wonder if this was how her father used to feel when she helped him care for their garden.

“Would you like to hear more about the flowers, Nia?”

“Yes!” Nia nodded eagerly, kneeling beside her wife like a small student awaiting her first lesson.

The innocent gesture softened Lily’s cheeks and warmed her face, but instead of giving in to another wave of kisses out of sheer adoration, she quickly turned her attention back to the flowers around them.

“The Prismatic Rose is a flower that represents love and gratitude—also tenderness,” Lily explained gently, making sure not to damage the roots as she held the pink bloom toward Nia. “Receiving a bouquet of these means conveying affection and appreciation, so it’s common for lovers to gift them as a gesture of love.”

Taking the flower with great care, Nia held it delicately between her fingers. For some reason, she could feel her face growing hot, her crimson eyes fixed on the girl who spoke with such tenderness.

“Since it’s a mana herb subspecies, it’s not very expensive. My father never told me much about his past, but I remember him once letting slip that he won over my mother with a bouquet of these.” Lily chuckled softly, her tone nostalgic. “That was the only time he ever really said anything about her, so it stuck with me—even with my memories being all jumbled after everything that happened.”

After growing up and seeing the world for herself, Lily understood there must’ve been a reason behind her father’s silence about his past. For a family of humble florists, it wasn’t hard to imagine the hardships he had endured long before she was born. She understood now that saying nothing and doing his best to raise her alone with love had been his way of protecting her from it all.

“Lily...” Nia whispered, moved by the expression on her wife’s face as she leaned closer.

“I’m fine,” Lily smiled, her hand resting gently over her belly. “As you know, I’m not alone anymore.”

Those soft words were all it took for Nia to leap into her arms at once.

“I’m with Lily! I’ll never leave Lily alone!”

With both arms tightly wrapped around her neck once again, the metamorph did her best to pour all her warmth into her beloved.

“I know, my love.”

Unable to resist caressing the girl’s back after such an affectionate gesture, Lily continued to hold Nia for several minutes, resting one hand gently over her belly.

Even though they had gone through so much—and though their lives were far from normal by anyone’s standards—it was undeniable that she had finally built a family.

“Oh, this one’s a rather rare subspecies.”

Still holding her wife, Lily noticed one of the flowers on the temple floor and raised an eyebrow. Carefully, with the help of one of Nia’s tentacles, she pulled the plant from the soil and showed it to her.

“An Origin Immortelle,” Lily whispered.

Like small golden suns blooming in clusters, the flower’s silver stem shone with a radiant gold hue.

“Even after being picked, its petals never wither. It keeps its color and shape without any external preservation process, which makes it quite valuable.”

Handing the flower to her wife, Lily watched as Nia examined it curiously.

“Does it have a meaning too?” Nia asked.

“This flower symbolizes immortality and longevity—and also… eternal love.” Moving closer to the girl, Lily embraced her once again, a soft laugh escaping her lips. “In a way, it reminds me of us, don’t you think?”

Finishing her words as she stood up, holding the girl she would spend all of eternity with, Lily saw the black wolf appear in front of her in an instant.

Returning to its master’s side, the five-meter beast shrank back to its smaller form, circling around her as if to ask whether it had done a good job.

Petting the dark fur to show her approval, Lily called Akasha back into the form of a staff, and together with Nia—who was still clinging to her—they headed toward the temple gate.

With a single tentacle, Nia pushed open the massive stone double doors, and the soft light from outside illuminated the interior of the chamber.

“This looks like the guardian’s hall,” Nia murmured, glancing around.

The hollow hall resembled the chamber where they had once encountered the guardian Nox. A vast open area marked with signs of old battles. However, unlike the first labyrinth they had visited together, nothing awaited them here.

Even after searching the area—using Nia’s mana-location spell—there were no traces of anyone having lived or even visited the place for years. Moss and moisture had overtaken the walls, and with no light other than the dim glow filtering through the entrance, the place looked completely abandoned.

Nia considered asking if Lily had any ideas, but when she noticed the deep, analytical look in her wife’s eyes, she stayed silent, quietly observing her beloved’s sharp expression.

“Do you remember where you found the book, Nia?”

Nia nodded and opened a portal that resembled a starry night sky. Once they passed through, a winding stone corridor appeared before them.

“It was here—one of the tunnels on the first floor.”

Weapons, torn fabrics, scattered debris. Before them lay what could only be described as a very old battlefield.

Walking calmly through the area, Lily took her time to examine every single object scattered across the ground. After thoroughly inspecting everything, she returned to her wife’s side, her mismatched eyes meeting Nia’s directly.

“One thing’s certain: the mages who came here weren’t killed by the monsters born from this labyrinth.”

“Lily’s saying… it was something else?” Nia asked, surprised.

Extending her hand toward the ground, Lily picked up a small sword—not much larger than a dagger. She wasn’t checking its quality or condition; something far more fundamental mattered now.

“Even if they were exhausted or wounded,” she said quietly, “I can’t imagine a mage dying inside a labyrinth without even drawing their weapon from its sheath.”

Nia’s eyes widened at her words.

“Monsters don’t usually destroy corpses the same way they hunt the living,” Lily continued. “But with all the time this place has been left untouched, some must have come gradually and torn the bodies apart at random. That made the bones disappear and created the impression that they were killed by monsters.”

Nia had been one of those cases. Upon entering that corridor, she felt the mana leaking from the Book of Truth, devouring it as it followed her metamorph nature.

“Whoever they were, those mages were either worthy enough to be recognized by the guardian... or powerful enough to kill it and plunder everything within the labyrinth.”

Between those two options, Lily believed the second one was more likely. Not because she thought it impossible for someone other than Nia to read the Book of Truth and remain sane — there were examples like Elarielle and her mother, Virelia, who, although it took them several decades, managed to read a single page. Lily believed in the second option because they hadn’t found the guardian’s body anywhere.

Even though Sylvan’s group included unique individuals such as Nox — who once challenged Lily to a duel to the death — and Rhei, who had chosen to become her subordinate, she couldn’t imagine the guardian simply allowing the one it had chosen to die in such a way.

“You told me a long time ago that you only managed to escape because you used a portal, right?” Lily asked.

“Yes. Since I didn’t set any coordinates, I ended up being thrown outside. I was really lucky — the chance of ending up inside one of the walls was huge... After that, I ran as fast as I could and was eventually swept away by the river current.”

As Nia explained, she suddenly felt her body being pulled again. Pressed once more against her wife’s warm curves, Nia felt a gentle kiss touch her forehead. A tender smile formed on Lily’s lips as she softly stroked her hair.

“Don’t you find it strange?” Still holding the girl in her arms, Lily continued, intrigued. “Even when we arrived here, we couldn’t find any kind of entrance or artifact that would allow someone to enter this place. Labyrinths were made to be hidden, but if these people were defeated inside, it means they must have come through some kind of passage to reach it.”

Nia’s unease grew with each word from her wife.

“Whatever the method was, I’m certain someone killed those who conquered this labyrinth so quickly they didn’t even have time to fight back.”

Gazing at the scattered equipment and objects on the cavern floor, as well as the heavy damage marks left by powerful blows, Lily bit her lip slightly, a hint of anxiety showing in her expression.

“Gold and weapons were left behind. If they had been simple bandits, they would’ve taken everything. Whoever attacked probably took all the artifacts the group carried and left the rest, since it had no value to them. Then, they sealed the entrance to the labyrinth afterward.”

“Someone among them betrayed the group?” Nia asked.

Lily shook her head.

“No... I can conclude it was someone from outside. If it had been an internal betrayal, the traitor would’ve known how valuable the book was — and taken it with them.”

Whether or not the guardian had explained the nature of the Book of Truth before dying, there was no way those mages had it in their possession at that point of the expedition and hadn’t at least tried to open it once.

When Lily first held the book after defeating Nox, she immediately understood how that small rectangular object could draw the attention of anyone who touched it. If they had treated it as a trap or something dangerous, they might have destroyed it — but the fact that they took it with them meant they had realized it held value.

“Anyone who got close to the Book of Truth would know how important it is. But aside from rare cases like you, Nia — who can resonate with the book’s volumes even from a distance — whoever it was probably assumed it was just an ordinary book and discarded it without even bothering to look closely. That’s why the Book of Truth ended up being left behind.”

Nia remembered finding the book inside a satchel among the ruins. Although it hadn’t been right at the center of the battlefield, it hadn’t been far either. The fact that no one else had found and taken it could really have been a stroke of incredible luck.

“Is there something else bothering you, Lily?” Nia asked, noticing the thoughtful look on the silver-haired girl’s face.

“A labyrinth can sustain the economy of an entire city,” Lily said. “Stardust Spring could’ve remained considerably stable even without stardust, just with the income from the monsters within the labyrinth.”

Lily brushed her fingers over the twin stardust blades hanging at her waist. Although what she’d earned back then had been little compared to her current wealth, she still remembered the gold coins they’d obtained after killing just a few dozen monsters and selling the gathered materials.

“Whoever did this made sure no trace of the labyrinth would ever leak out. There are no signs of human presence here since then, so it’s hard to believe anyone has come here again.”

If it had been some noble from the region, they could have erased all evidence of the massacre and monopolized the labyrinth’s profits — perhaps by founding a city over it, or turning it into a private hunting ground for their family.

What could drive someone to loot a group of mages and then seal a labyrinth for all eternity? Lily had no answer.

“And what worried me most has finally happened.” Holding her beloved even tighter, Lily wrapped Nia in a careful, protective embrace. “Just as Rhei told us, every artifact once linked to Sylvan has become incredibly powerful — yet we haven’t found a single one, even after searching every floor.”

Something as destructive as Akasha, perhaps? Or as unique as the Orb of Fractal Consciousness? When it came to Sylvan’s possessions, nothing was impossible.

“Whatever artifact was taken from here... it’s still out there — in someone’s hands.”