Candytown

Alice stared at the coin in her palm.

“Heads,” Alice said. “We go to Candy Town tails the caves.”

She flipped it.

The coin spun, caught the light, clinked once against the ice-cream stone at their feet, and landed.

Heads.

Alice grinned.

“Oh no,” Nell muttered.

Before anyone could react, Alice moved.

Leo barely had time to squeak before Alice scooped him up effortlessly, one arm under his knees, the other behind his back.

“WAIT WHAT ARE YOU DOING ?!” Leo shrieked, face instantly turning bright pink.

“Princess carry,” Alice said cheerfully. “You seemed like you needed it.”

“I DO NOT PUT ME DOWN THIS IS HUMILIATING ”

“Aw,” Alice said, bouncing him slightly. “You’re adorable when you panic.”

Leo buried his face in his hands. “I HATE YOU ”

“Lies,” Alice said pleasantly.

She took three running steps, leapt, and slammed her hove down.

The ice cream beneath her exploded.

A massive slab of pop-ice tore free from the frozen corpse of the phoenix, breaking loose with a thunderous crack. Frost and sugar crystals sprayed into the air as the slab tilted sharply downward.

Alice landed on it smoothly, knees bent, balanced like she’d done this her whole life.

“ALICE ” Nell started.

Too late.

Her tail snapped out like a whip, coiling neatly around Nell’s waist and lifting him off the ground with zero effort.

“WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT !”

“Hang on,” Alice said brightly.

“TO WHAT?!”

The slab lurched.

And then they were moving.

Fast.

Very fast.

The pop-ice caught the slope of the ice-cream mountain and took off like a missile. Wind howled past them, ripping screams straight out of Leo and Nell’s throats.

“I’M GOING TO DIE !” Nell wailed.

“I’M GOING TO DIE EMBARRASSED !” Leo shrieked.

Alice threw her head back and laughed.

Pure, unrestrained joy bubbled out of her as the slab accelerated, carving a blazing pink trail down the mountain. Frost steamed around her, her body glowing faintly as heat bled off her skin, mana flaring with exhilaration.

Her tail tightened just enough to keep Nell secure. Leo clutched her desperately, screaming incoherently.

“This is AMAZING!” Alice shouted over the wind.

“This is TRAUMA!” Nell screamed back.

They hit a ridge.

The slab launched.

For one horrifying, weightless moment, Candyworld spread out below them.

Then they came down hard, the slab skidding, sparks of pink fire and frost erupting as Alice leaned into the descent, steering with impossible precision.

They were no longer sliding.

They were shooting.

A burning pink comet tearing down the mountain, laughter and screaming trailing behind them as they rocketed straight toward Candy Town.

Alice realized the mistake a split second too late.

The pop-ice slab screamed as it hit a patch of rocky road ice cream, chunks of frozen chocolate and fudge acting like shrapnel under their makeshift board. The slab bucked violently.

“Oh no,” Alice said, suddenly very aware of physics again.

The slab went airborne.

Leo screamed so hard it cracked.

Nell stopped screaming entirely, which was worse.

They sailed out over the lower slope, the Peppermint Forest rushing up to meet them, towering red-and-white trunks bristling with razor leaves of frozen mint.

Alice twisted instinctively, trying to angle the slab, her hooves scraping uselessly against empty air.

“We are going to die,” Nell said calmly, accepting his fate.

“I AM GOING TO DIE CLUTCHING A DEMON,” Leo shrieked.

Then the world flashed white.

Something hit them from the side, not hard, but firm and impossibly controlled. The slab shattered into harmless sugar shards as a powerful **** wrapped around Alice’s waist and hauled all three of them out of the fall like toys.

Alice yelped as gravity vanished.

“What the hell?!”

She looked up.

And her brain stalled.

Nia.

In the air.

Wings spread wide, radiant and sharp, feathers gleaming like polished ivory edged in gold. She was clad in what looked suspiciously like a battle bikini.

Her eyes burned with warlight.

And relief.

And something feral.

“Alice,” Nia said, voice steady despite the fact she was carrying three people with ease. “I felt you.”

Alice stared. “You can FLY now?!”

Nia adjusted her grip, one arm securely around Alice’s torso, the other steadying the chaos bundle that was Nell and Leo.

“Yes.”

Nell waved weakly from where Alice’s tail still had him cocooned. “H-Hi, Nia.”

Leo made a strangled noise as he clung to Alice’s leg. “SHE HAS WINGS NOW. WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP GETTING COOLER BUT ME.”

Nia angled her wings and surged forward, cutting through the cold air effortlessly as Candy Town came into view below.

She flew like this was what she had always been meant to do.

Alice felt it immediately.

The fear drained.

The exhaustion ebbed.

Even the lingering ache in her muscles softened.

Her tail went quiet, content.

Nia’s presence wrapped around her like a promise.

Alice swallowed. “You class changed.”

Nia glanced down at her, lips curving into a fierce, satisfied smile. “Warbound Valkyrie.”

She descended smoothly, wings folding with practiced grace as she touched down just outside the heart of Candytown. The landing was gentle, precise, nothing like the disaster Alice had just authored.

Nia set Alice on her feet first.

Then she plucked Leo free from Alice’s leg and set him down like a trembling porcelain doll.

Then she nodded to Alice’s tail.

“You can let him go.”

Nell dropped out of the coil and immediately sat down on the street, staring at the sky.

“I have seen the face of ****,” he whispered.

Alice laughed weakly, heart still pounding.

Then she looked back up at Nia.

The wings.

The glow.

The way her cock twitched against her barely concealing bikini bottom.

“You came for me,” Alice said softly.

Nia stepped close, one hand settling at Alice’s waist with certainty.

“Always,” she said. “No matter how stupidly fast you throw yourself off mountains.”

Alice smiled, warmth blooming in her chest.

Alice barely noticed when the sounds of Candy Village swelled around them.

The chiming storefront bells, the pastel streets dusted with sugar snow, the distant laughter of dungeon denizens putting on far too cheerful a face for a place that actively wanted you dead. All of it faded into background noise the moment Nia’s fingers laced with hers.

Alice let out a slow breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

Nia’s hand was warm. Steady. Anchoring.

“So,” Alice said lightly, swinging their joined hands as they walked, “are we going to talk about the wings, or should I just pretend my girlfriend didn’t swoop out of the sky like an angry angel?”

Nia huffed a quiet laugh. “You noticed that, did you?”

“Kind of hard not to,” Alice said. “You caught me mid-disaster. Again. I’m starting to feel predictable.”

“You’re consistent,” Nia corrected. “There’s a difference.”

Alice glanced sideways at her, taking in the way the Valkyrie armor clung to her like it had been painted on rather than worn. The bikini-style plates gleamed faintly, runes etched along the edges pulsing in time with Nia’s heartbeat.

“…Okay,” Alice added, squinting. “Second question. What is the deal with the armor.”

Nia followed her gaze, completely unbothered. “Cursed feature.”

“Of course it is.”

“Eternal Bikini Mode,” Nia continued calmly. “Armor automatically optimizes for mobility, and intimidation. Coverage is… not a priority.”

Alice snorted. “Dice did this on purpose.”

“Yes.”

“Do the wings fall under ‘cursed’ too?”

Nia flexed them slightly, feathers rustling with a soft metallic whisper. “No. Those Manifested with the class change permanent..”

Alice slowed, staring openly now. “Permanent.”

Nia stopped with her, turning fully toward her. “You don’t like them?”

Alice shook her head quickly. “No! No, I I mean you look incredible. It’s just…We are kind of a odd contrast now don't you think though I think it's cute.”

A faint, possessive satisfaction flickered across Nia’s face. “Good.”

Alice smiled, oblivious, and squeezed her hand. “So. Valkyrie. What does that actually mean?”

Nia resumed walking, tone casual, almost gentle. “It means I can hear you when you’re in danger. It means fighting near you makes me stronger. It means if you fall ”

She didn’t finish the sentence.

Alice felt a chill anyway.

Behind them, Leo shifted uncomfortably.

He hadn’t said a word since landing, hovering a few paces back with Nell, trying very hard not to exist too loudly.

Nia didn’t look at him.

She didn’t need to.

Her pupils narrowed just a fraction, nostrils flaring as a familiar scent reached her. Heat. Mana. Alice.

On Leo.

Her grip on Alice’s hand tightened, just a little.

She kept walking. Kept talking.

“The wings burn mana,” Nia continued, voice warm, affectionate. “But less when I’m close to you.”

Alice hummed, distracted. “That explains why I feel… lighter. Like my brain finally shut up.”

Nia smiled at her. A real smile. Soft. Loving.

“I’ll always make it quiet for you,” she said.

Behind that smile, something cold and precise settled into place.

Leo flinched as Nia finally glanced his way.

The look lasted less than a second.

No expression.

No words.

Just a promise.

Leo swallowed hard and looked away, heart pounding, unable to explain the sudden certainty crawling up his spine that he had made a catastrophic mistake somewhere along the line.

Alice noticed none of it.

She leaned closer to Nia, voice dropping conspiratorially. “Hey. When this is over… you wanna show me how flying actually works with a bit of a "physical" demonstration?”

Nia’s attention snapped back to her instantly, all warmth restored. “Anywhere. Anytime.”

Alice grinned. “Thought so.”

They walked on, fingers still intertwined, disappearing deeper into Candy Village.

Behind them, Leo shivered.

And Nia smiled to herself, already planning.

Candy Town unfolded around them. Streets paved in glazed wafer-brick. Lamp posts made of spun sugar glass humming with soft light. Windows glowed warm amber, silhouettes moving behind them people laughing, arguing, cooking, living.

Real people.

Nia gestured with her free hand as they walked, “Most of the citizens here aren’t monsters. They’re settlers. Some were adventurers who got stuck after Candyland collapsed. Others were born in Candara.”

Alice glanced at a storefront where a bell chimed as someone stepped out, waved, and went back to sweeping the sidewalk. “They don’t look trapped.”

“They aren’t,” Nia said. “Not like dungeons usually do things. Candara changed after the collapse. The Goddess wanted an audience, not a slaughterhouse.”

As if on cue, something rippled beneath the cake-soil at the edge of the street. A glossy shape slid through a shallow trench, then vanished again.

Alice frowned. “What was that ”

“Gelawrm,” Nia said immediately. “Don’t step there.”

Alice lifted her foot, then set it down a pace back. “Those are the ones you warned me about?”

Nia nodded. “They’re part of the ecosystem. Maintenance, really. They keep the ground alive, recycle mana and matter. Outside Candara they’re infamous. Here… regulated.”

Alice raised an eyebrow.

Nia sighed. “They’re opportunistic symbiotes. They bond with travelers who aren’t paying attention. They crawl up your ass and transform you into candy. It's what's happened to everyone here or their parents at least, though the bond optimizes digestion, stabilizes mana flow, and over time encourages people to stay.”

“What the fuck gummy worms that crawl up your ass?” Alice muttered.

Nia smirked. “Don't worry your ass already belongs to me.”

They passed a small park where candy kids played on a licorice jungle gym.

Alice glanced back toward the street edge, imagining sinkholes opening beneath unsuspecting boots. “And people just accept that?”

“People accept a lot when it makes life easier,” Nia said quietly.

Alice felt a chill that had nothing to do with the mountain air. She squeezed Nia’s hand again, grounding herself.

That was when the world popped.

Literally.

A wet plip sounded at Alice’s elbow as a puddle of sour-pink slime inflated upward, stretched, and snapped into the shape of a girl mid-curtsy.

“TA-DAAA~!”

Penny Pop grinned at them, half her face hidden behind a glossy candy mask. The other half shifted as she spoke makeup sliding, colors swapping like a mood ring gone feral. One second she was all bubblegum cheer, the next sharp licorice smirk.

“Welcome to Candy Town, sweethearts! Please keep hands, feet, and existential dread inside the ride at all times!”

Alice jumped. “How do you keep doing that?”

Penny leaned in conspiratorially, her voice dropping to a whisper as the mask flickered into a tragic mime. “I genuinely have no idea, it terrifies me.”

Then snap she was bouncing again, bells chiming, voice bright and rapid. “I’m Penny Pop! Dungeon Hostess! Town Liaison! Your very own tour guide until you either stabilize the portal or do something exciting enough to get my boss’s attention!”

Nia inclined her head politely. “We were just orienting ourselves.”

Penny gasped, mask flashing offended. “Without me? Rude!” Then she giggled, color bleeding back in. “Kidding. Mostly. But since you’re here, I’ll show you the sights! Safe zones, unsafe zones, very unsafe zones ”

She pointed down the street where the soil gave a subtle, suspicious wiggle.

“ and the places you absolutely should not stand around thinking about personal matters.”

Alice coughed. “Noted.”

Penny clasped her hands,sour candy slime rippling happily. “Oh, I’m going to love you two. Come on! Candy Town awaits and the Goddess is just thrilled you made it this far.”

She spun on one heel and melted forward into motion, reforming a few steps ahead with a flourish.

Alice glanced at Nia. “She’s… a lot.”

Nia smiled, serene, fingers lacing tighter with Alice’s. “You get used to it.”

Behind them, a Gelawrm surfaced briefly, glossy and warm, then slipped back into the cake-soil as Penny’s laughter chimed down the street.

Penny Pop practically skipped down the street, her body stretching and snapping back into shape with each step, boots making soft squeaks against the glazed wafer-brick.

“Okay! First stop!” she sang, hopping up onto a peppermint curb and pointing dramatically.

They’d entered what could only be described as Candy Town’s market square.

It had the cozy, storybook feel of a winter village, but everything was confectionary themed. Snow-dusted rooftops of layered fudge and nougat sloped gently overhead. Icicle-like sugar stalactites hung from awnings, chiming softly in the breeze. Warm yellow light spilled from shop windows framed in spun caramel and gumdrop glass.

“This is your adventurer district,” Penny announced. “Gear, supplies, bad financial decisions. All the essentials!”

She waved them toward a squat building with a roof of hardened chocolate tiles and a sign shaped like crossed candy canes.

SWEET ARMORY

Inside, racks of weapons gleamed behind windows: lollipop maces, brittle-sugar shields, licorice whips humming with enchantment. A caramel-skinned shopkeep polished a blade that looked suspiciously like a sharpened jawbreaker.

Nia leaned closer to Alice. “Most of it’s functional. Enchantments are stabilized. Prices fluctuate with dungeon interest.”

Alice squinted at a price tag. “That fluctuates up.”

Penny beamed. “Supply and demand, sugarplum!”

Leo hovered near the door, arms folded over his bare chest, still flushed pink from the cold and from existing in general. “Do they sell… like. Pants.”

The shopkeep looked him up and down and slowly shook his head.

Penny clucked sympathetically. “Fashion district’s two streets over, hon.”

Leo wilted.

They moved on.

Next came a broad, open building still under construction, scaffolding made of candy-cane beams wrapped in warning ribbon.

A sign floated above it in golden script:

FUTURE AUCTION HOUSE

COMING SOON

“Ooooh?” Alice said.

Penny clasped her hands, mask shifting to a proud grin. “That’s where the really good stuff will go. Rare drops, stabilized cores, illegal things we’ll pretend are legal. Once the portal’s fully anchored, of course.”

Nell, who had finally caught up, adjusted his glasses. “An auction house inside a dungeon city… That’s going to cause so much paperwork.”

Penny’s mask slid into a librarian scowl. “Ew. Ethics.”

They passed food stalls next, steam curling up from open counters. Alice caught scents of roasted sugar-nuts, spiced milk, caramelized meat skewers, and something that smelled like sausage but sweeter.

Her stomach growled traitorously.

Nia noticed immediately. “You can eat here safely. Most of it’s adapted.”

Alice eyed a vendor flipping something that hissed pleasantly on a candy-griddle. “Wheat-free?”

The vendor gave a thumbs-up. “Corn syrup base!”

“Perfect,” Alice said, already reaching for her panel.

Leo stared at a display of cotton-candy buns shaped like little animals. “This place is dangerous.”

Further up the road stood an inn, tall and narrow, its windows glowing warmly against the snowy candy street. A sign shaped like a wrapped bonbon swung gently.

THE FROSTED REST

Beds Soft Enough To Die In (Temporarily)

Penny gestured grandly. “Safe inn! Reinforced! No sinkholes within a fifty-foot radius! Mostly!”

“Mostly,” Alice echoed.

Nia nodded approvingly. “Good fallback point.”

They’d nearly completed a full loop when Alice slowed, her gaze lifting past the rooftops.

Beyond Candy Town, rising like a promise and a threat, stood the castle.

It loomed on a hill overlooking the town. Stained-glass windows glowed with shifting pastel light. Even from here, Alice could feel it. Weight. Presence. Something watching.

She frowned. “That’s where the boss is, isn’t it?”

Penny froze mid-step.

Then she laughed. Loud. Bright. Too fast.

“Ohhhhh, no no no! Castle’s off-limits!” she chirped, mask flashing into a warning red grin. “Very exclusive. Very dangerous. Very full of things that bite.”

Nia studied the structure calmly. “And the figure in the tower.”

Penny waved her hands. “You definitely need a quest for that.”

Alice tilted her head. “And if we don’t wait?”

Penny’s smile stretched wider, her voice dropping into delighted menace. “Then you can fight your way in!”

She pointed vaguely toward the castle gates. “There’s only a small army, several elite constructs, I wish you luck!”

Leo squeaked. “WHY IS THAT ALWAYS AN OPTION.”

Penny clapped. “Isn’t it fun?”

Alice exhaled slowly, eyes never leaving the castle. “So. Quest first.”

Penny’s mask softened into a pleased grin. “Much better choice.”

She spun on her heel, already bouncing backward down the street. “Come on, heroes!!”

Alice glanced at Nia, squeezing her hand.

“This place is weird,” she murmured.

Leo laughed “So are you two.”

Penny Pop watched them approach The Frosted Rest with visible approval, bouncing on her heels as the inn’s sign swayed gently in the sugary wind.

“Excellent choice!” she chirped. “Information flows best where people sleep, eat, and accidentally confess their darkest secrets to strangers!” Her mask slid into a conspiratorial wink. “Plus the beds really are dangerously comfy.”

The inn’s doors parted on their own, revealing a lobby warmed by glowing sugar-glass lanterns. The floor was layered Peppermint polished to a shine, rugs woven from spun caramel. A hearth crackled with blue-pink flames that smelled faintly of vanilla instead of smoke.

An innkeeper made of glossy toffee looked up from behind the counter and smiled with practiced hospitality. “Rooms?”

He looked a little bit like if Santa Claus decided to quit and become a bartender.

“Two,” Alice said after a glance at the others. “One for me and Nia. One for them.”

Leo nodded quickly. “Yes. Separate. Very separate.”

Nell adjusted his glasses. “Soundproof, ideally.”

The innkeeper slid two crystalline keys across the counter. “Second floor. Breakfast included. No sinkholes on that level.”

“Reassuring,” Alice muttered.

Penny leaned over the counter, chin in her hands. “I’ll let you settle in! I’ll be around if you need me.” She paused, mask flickering to something unreadable. “Or if the Goddess needs you.”

Then she popped downward into a puddle of slime and was simply gone.

The hallway upstairs was quiet,

Nia hadn’t let go of her hand since they’d entered the inn.

Her grip was warm. Firm. Possessive.

Alice squeezed back, smiling as they reached their door. “You’re being weirdly quiet.”

Nia’s lips curved, soft and affectionate. “I’m content.”

That alone should have been a warning.

Inside, their room was simple but comfortable. A wide bed with a quilt stitched from pastel candy-wrapper patterns. A window overlooking Candy Town’s glowing streets. The faint hum of mana in the walls felt… safe.

Alice exhaled, finally letting some of the tension drain out of her shoulders. “We should probably get some rest. Big dungeon, creepy castle, homicidal clowns ”

Nia turned, cupping Alice’s face with both hands.

The intensity in her eyes stole the rest of the words right out of Alice’s mouth.

“You did well today,” Nia said softly. “You protected them. You fought beautifully.”

Alice flushed. “I kind of…”

Nia smiled wider. “Shhhhh.”

She leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to Alice’s forehead, then her cheek. Slow. Reverent. Claiming. Alice melted into it without thinking.

Behind that warmth, something colder stirred.

As her lips trailed down Alice's neck Nia’s gaze flicked briefly toward the door.

Toward the hallway.

Toward the other room.

Her expression never changed. Still calm. Still loving.

But somewhere behind her eyes, a decision had already been made.

Down the hall, Leo flopped face-first onto his bed with a groan. “I hate dungeons. I hate candy. I hate being warm in weird places.”

Nell sat on the edge of his own bed, carefully removing his boots. “At least the inn feels stable. We can gather information tomorrow.”

Leo rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling. “Do you think… they’re mad at me?”

Nell paused. “…Alice didn’t seem mad.”

Leo swallowed. “Nia didn’t say anything.”

That was somehow worse.

From the other side of the wall, the inn’s gentle hum continued on, unaware of the quiet, dangerous calculus being made just a few rooms away.

Alice lay sprawled across the candy-soft bed, sheets kicked half to the floor, skin slick with sweat and the faint afterglow of heat that still rolled off her in lazy waves. The room smelled like vanilla and sex. Outside the window, Candy Town glimmered, lamps bobbing gently as people moved through the streets below.

She turned the ring over between her fingers.

The phoenix band caught the light and refracted it into soft, prismatic flares, like embers trapped in crystal. Warm. Solid. Powerful.

A-Rank Phoenix Ring

Daily Resurrection.

Alice snorted quietly to herself.

“Feels a little redundant,” she murmured.

Nia slept beside her, one wing half unfurled, feathers twitching occasionally as she dreamed. Even at rest, there was a gravity to her now. A promise. A threat. Alice could feel her new Valkyrie power humming between them, steady and reassuring, like a second heartbeat layered over her own.

Between that and Balefire Rebirth…

Alice flexed her fingers, watching pink motes of heat dance along her knuckles.

“If I die twice in one day,” she muttered, “I probably earned it.”

She rolled onto her side, propping herself up on an elbow, studying the ring again.

Option one: keep it.

Practical. Obvious. Sensible. Also boring. And a little insulting to fate, which Dice would absolutely approve of. She imagined wearing it around her cock might be fun.

Option two: give it to Nia.

That made her chest tighten in a way that had nothing to do with arousal. Nia was already terrifying. Unkillable girlfriends were dangerous. Still… the idea of Nia having yet another way to come back to her if something went wrong made Alice’s throat feel thick.

Option three: Leo.

Her fingers stilled.

An apology, wrapped in something priceless. A way to make up for… everything. Levels gone. Power stripped. That knowledge felt hot and terrible.

Giving him a resurrection ring might feel like both mercy and mockery, and she couldn’t tell which weighed heavier.

Alice leaned back against the headboard, staring at the ceiling as the inn’s quiet mana hum vibrated faintly through the walls. Tomorrow would bring quests. Decisions. The castle. Penny’s smile, Alice wondered what the Slime girls cunny tasted like.

Alice slipped the ring onto her finger just to feel it there. For now.

“Tomorrow,” she whispered to the empty room. “I’ll decide tomorrow.”