Mario supposes it wouldn’t hurt

“Alright, hit me,” Mario told her. This information could potentially help him in the future.

“Okay, so your Third Eye was opened by Bestovius, right?” Merlee asked and Mario nodded in response, “Normally, forcing open someone’s spiritual sight like that is a big no-no.”

“It can lead to some severe damage to both the psyche and the soul,” Merluvlee added, “In layman’s terms, it can really fuck you up.”

“But Bestovius found a way to it,” Merlee continued without skipping a beat, “Something that by all rights should have been impossible. He not only opened your Third Eye, but gave you the power to peer into other dimensions by your own will. That sort of thing takes our youngest apprentices a decade to learn.”

“So we started looking into it,” Merluvlee continued, with Mario feeling like he was switching his attention between the two like he were following the ball in a tennis match, “And we found one other instance when one could use magic to increase one’s natural abilities: When a Merlon utilizes the power of the Shine Sprites.”

Mario didn’t need an explanation for that, he’d seen it firsthand. The Merlon living in Rogueport performed the very same ritual for his allies. In exchange for three of the Sprites, each one a living embodiment of the divine power of sunlight, the Merlon would grant one of his allies a new ability.

“So we looked into the Shine Sprites, and as it turns out, they’re fourth-dimensional beings,” Merlee said excitedly, “They don’t just embody light, but time as well!”

“So what a Merlon is doing during that ritual,” Merluvlee explained, in the same candor as her sister, “Is taking the power of time supplied by those Shines, plucking knowledge or natural ability from a person in the future and bringing it to them here in the present.”

“And this is all done without disrupting the natural flow of time!” Merlee concluded.

“But it doesn’t end there.”

“Anyone with fourth-dimensional powers can do this.”

“But it takes something special for this to occur.”

“Which brings us to why we’ve called you here today,” Merlee pointed at Mario, “You’re the perfect guinea pig for this ritual.”

“You’ve been recently awakened to your powers, you aren’t descended from the Tribe of the Ancients, and you don’t use magic,” Merluvlee counted each point on her fingers.

“Um, sorry to disappoint, but I do use magic,” Mario summoned a fireball from his hand, letting it float an inch from the palm of his hand for a couple of seconds before extinguishing it.

“The Tribe of the Ancients’ brand of magic,” Merluvlee clarified.

“Oh,” Mario said simply.

“So after digging through some old rituals, we think we may have found one in particular that can give you the results of a century’s worth of training in mere minutes,” Merlee explained, “And by old, we mean really old. Really, really old. Like the scroll was practically dust by the time we…”

“You’re stalling, sis,” Merluvlee chided her.

“Right,” Merlee said and fell quiet. It was a few moments before she spoke up again, “Before our Tribe found out about things like Shine Sprites and Star Pieces, we used a… different source of energy.”

Mario liked where this was going, but tried not to show it on his face as Merluvlee continued for her sister, “What she’s trying to say is that the ritual requires the build up of energy that comes from sexual intercourse.”

With that both of the sisters fell quiet, seemingly unable to speak any further. Eventually, the silence got to be too uncomfortable for Mario, and he cleared his throat before saying, “So what’s the problem? You two wouldn’t bring it up if you weren’t willing to go through with it.”

“Yeah, but thinking about it and saying it out loud…,” Merluvlee started. “…Makes a girl have second thoughts,” Merlee finished.

“Well, you already dragged me all the way out here,” Mario gestured at the swamp outside the windows, “Wouldn’t it be more awkward to talk up a big game to Merlon, only to return empty-handed?”

“This is true, but…,” Merlee sighed.

“By doing this, we’ll also be breaking a major taboo for our Tribe,” Merluvlee continued for her, “Marriage and sexual relations outside of the Tribe of the Ancients is forbidden. We could be excommunicated for this.”

“Then why bring it up at all?” Mario asked, genuinely confused, “Also, I thought that stipulation was just for the Tribe of Darkness?”

A member of said Tribe was the reason why Mario had gone on the adventure that brought him to this Mansion the first time to begin with, and Mimi had been one of his subordinates. His reign of terror begun the day he thought he had lost the love of his life forever and read a prophecy in the Dark Prognosticus. The forbidden knowledge turned him into Count Bleck, a man who would destroy the multiverse. If not for Mario’s part to play in the prophecy foretold in the Light Prognosticus, he would’ve succeeded, too.

The Tribe of Darkness was descended from the Tribe of the Ancients, and they had a law passed down from its founding that no one from the Tribe was allowed to marry a woman from outside the Tribe, lest the Tribe’s magical power be diluted. What was truly ironic was that law is what led to the Tribe’s downfall, as Count Bleck, no Blumiere, was the last surviving member. If he were even still alive.

“Well, it’s not as severe as the Tribe of Darkness, but its still frowned upon. Especially for casual sex,” Merlee replied, “We think an exception might be made for this ritual, but there are no guarantees.”

“Well,” Mario pondered, “There’s no reason why the exact details have to leave this room. You can do your experiment, I can get my power-up, and you can present your results without having to give the explanation until you’re ready.”

“Right,” Merlee replied, “Truth be told, you’re not saying anything that we haven’t already told ourselves. It’s just, now that we’re at the point of no return…,”

“It’s hard not to get cold feet,” Merluvlee finished.

Mario sighed, “Well, you’re not going to accomplish anything by being indecisive.”

The sisters were quiet for a moment as they looked at one another, and a silent agreement seemed to pass between them.

“Okay,” Merlee said, followed by Merluvlee saying, “Let’s do it.”