Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation

"Feliciana, can you show us your wings?" Vivianne seemed to have wanted to ask this for a while. She didn't dare go to Nicola, since Nicola was too powerful to be casual with. I was much weaker, so I became her target.

"Alright," I reluctantly agreed. After all, there was no real harm in it. So I revealed my hidden wings.

"They're so soft and warm!" Vivianne grabbed the feathers and couldn't stop touching them. She kept stroking the wings, even rubbing her face against them. Although there was no major issue with her feeling me up like this - it didn't feel much different from touching normal skin - it still felt quite embarrassing.

"Let me feel them too!" Selene asked, but her hands were already all over me. I wanted to retort - you have a pair right next to you! And she has four wings, twice as many as me. Why not go to her instead?

Seeing this, the two guys also came over to join in the fun. Each grabbing a wing, I could almost see all the feathers being stroked off in an instant.

"Alright, stop touching!" I hid my wings again, unable to endure their petting-cat assault any longer.

"And you, Nicola - you're an angel yourself!" I stared at the four-winged angel who had come over to participate, reminding her of this fact. But then I remembered our ambiguous atmosphere at dinner, and softened immediately.

Oh well...I did take quite a few liberties with her too, so consider this as repayment.

"I just couldn't help it when I saw everyone else touching them," Nicola said, completely unapologetic. "Plus, Feliciana, you're just so cute that no one bothers with me instead."

"Um..." Brennan suddenly spoke up, his face flushed red, looking very shy. "I...I actually think Nicola is very beautiful too. Mature and sexy - a different type from Feliciana. So..."

"Mature and sexy?" Nicola's eyebrows knitted slightly. "You guys really see me that way?"

"Yes, yes!" The two guys nodded in unison.

"Looks like we need to have a good discussion about this." She dragged Adrian and Brennan into a room and shut the door with a "bang", leaving me and the two girls staring at each other in confusion.

When they emerged again, both Adrian and Brennan had flushed red faces.

"I stand by what I said!" Brennan still protested stubbornly to Nicola about something.

Nicola just had a resigned look, like it was hopeless to teach them. She didn't respond, instead asking Selene about room assignments.

Hearing this, I suddenly felt a bit tired too. After such long, intense battles, it was natural to feel exhausted.

There were four rooms upstairs. Based on Selene's arrangements, Nicola and I each got a room, while the other two girls and two guys shared the remaining rooms.

I clearly sensed the special treatment, likely because they were accommodating us two angels. But I couldn't think of a better plan for now, other than sharing a room with someone - which felt like deliberately taking advantage, regardless of who it was.

In the end, I could only compromise, and voluntarily joined the night watch rotation.

"Feliciana, stop being so polite with us. Go rest," Vivianne said dismissively, pushing me up the stairs.

The second floor had four rooms facing each other across the hallway. I opened the door to my room, immediately seeing a tidy, clean bed next to the window, surrounded by some simple, practical furniture. The entire room was unlit, the moonlight outside the only source of illumination.

"Who's there?" A girl's silhouette suddenly moved in my peripheral vision, startling me. For a second, I thought it might be Selene or Vivianne playing a prank, but immediately realized that was impossible since they were just downstairs.

Only then did I notice it was a girl I had never seen before.

With long, aqua blue hair framing a petite, egg-like face, delicate arched eyebrows accentuated a pair of similarly blue eyes. An exquisitely dainty nose sat above a moist, full set of lips - anyone would gasp at how pretty she was.

"This is..." I stared blankly for a while before realizing it was a mirror on the dresser. The girl's hair was the same color as mine, finally making me recognize it was my own reflection.

So this is what I look like now... Come to think of it, this was my first time seeing my appearance after transmigrating. Though I'd heard others praising how cute I was, it still lacked any tangible feel. I suddenly understood their treatment of me a bit better.

But catching this accidental glimpse of myself was still jarring, since it felt too awkward - like seeing a painting of a beauty on the street, then realizing you're identical.

So I'll have to live looking like this from now on? Feeling somewhat helpless, I collapsed onto the bed, sinking into its softness. I still couldn't erase that lovely image from the mirror.

She was just so gorgeous and cute - I desperately wished she was my girlfriend instead. But the reality was that this face belonged to me.

I felt a strange sadness...

Just as my consciousness threatened to fade into a stupor, I seemed to hear the door creak - as if someone had entered from outside.

"Who's there?"

I struggled to sit up and opened my bleary eyes. My fuzzy mind vaguely recalled that I had forgotten to close the door earlier after being startled. A figure slowly walked to the bedside and sat down, pulling me into an embrace.

"Huh, what's wrong with you, leaving the door open and just collapsing on the bed to sleep?" It was that familiar, pleasing voice. I struggled to widen my eyes, and finally made out that beautiful, moonlit face that could captivate one's heart.

"Nicola?"

"It's me." She responded gently. Seeing my expression, she noticed something and her brows furrowed slightly as she said, "You seem unhappy about something. Is it because of the amnesia?"

"No...it's not because of that." How could I tell her that I was actually sad after seeing my appearance? "I just seem to recall something sorrowful."

"Huh, but don't you have amnesia?" Nicola asked, surprised. "If you can remember things from before, could it mean you're recovering?"

Crap, I let something slip in my daze. I immediately became more alert, and hastily remedied, "Actually, I didn't remember anything specific, I just inexplicably felt sad for some reason. It's probably related to some forgotten things from the past, triggered by the scenery."

From a certain perspective, my words weren't completely untrue.

"I see...not having memories of the past is in itself a sad thing." Hearing this, Nicola sighed lightly.

Luckily I managed to gloss over it without exposing myself.

"Do you want me to stay with you then?"

Hearing this, my heart nearly leapt out of my chest. Things were going this well already?

Oh no, wait...

Of course anyone would hope for a beautiful, charming angel to stay and accompany them to sleep. Even without any tools left, sleeping with a beauty was still a delightful thing. But from my usual moral perspective, taking advantage of someone's sympathy to exploit them like this was highly unethical. I almost reflexively said "no".

But today was an exception, because of the earlier mirror incident. It gave me a rebellious feeling, wanting to prove I hadn't completely lost my masculinity despite my reflected image.

In the end, I forcefully swallowed that "no" back down my throat, and heavily nodded at her.

I felt Nicola's body shudder slightly, then she slowly laid down beside me. She was no longer wearing the armor from our first meeting, but a loose nightgown instead.

The sensations from her body were even more stimulating now. Held tightly by Nicola, I felt my mind go blank, throwing all else aside. I grabbed her back and hugged her tightly too.

Nicola passionately reciprocated, her four warm, soft wings slowly extending to gently wrap around us. Her hands around my back started roaming as well, and I responded in kind with my wings...

When the morning sun shone onto the bed from outside, I was startled awake by the glare. Right before me at an intimate distance was a captivating sleeping face, serenely beautiful among the countless white feathers.

Recalling last night's events, I suddenly felt a hint of shame. After all, I had taken advantage of Nicola's sympathy to do that. If she discovered my true intentions, she might angrily chop me into eight hundred pieces with Condensation.

"I'm sorry," I softly murmured.

"What are you sorry for?"

To my surprise, Nicola suddenly opened her eyes then. Her golden irises stared at me puzzledly as she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Noth...nothing!"

I felt my blood instantly freeze as she unexpectedly woke up. Stuttering, I had no idea how to respond to her discovering me like this.

I desperately hoped she wouldn't find out...

"Haha, Feliciana is just too cute." Nicola seemed to find something amusing as she chuckled lightly. Then she swiftly pecked my cheek and got up from the bed. "It makes me want to just eat you up."

I was somewhat stunned by her doting. But considering our relationship had progressed this far, kissing a little didn't seem like a big deal. Still, I somehow felt I was always at a disadvantage compared to Nicola. Logically, I thought I had taken the initiative last night. Yet I still felt like putty in her hands - was this the fabled aura bonus of a seductive older beauty?

From another perspective, as an angel she was probably thousands of years old, practically a spirit at this point. While I was just over twenty, so it was normal I couldn't compare.

Speaking of which, wouldn't thousands of years make her an old vixen? Wasn't I being cougared then? That meant I was losing out right?

My mood swung back and forth unstably for a time, visibly reflected on my face.

"What are you thinking about?" She seemed to find my mercurial expression very amusing. Bending down, she peered at me with great interest.

Her wings behind her back also fanned playfully to match her mood.

"After seeing and touching everything, what else is there to fret over?"

I glanced at the majestic peaks exposed from her nightgown, teasingly peeking out. I couldn't help but swallow, my mind going blank again. "Noth...nothing, can't say that..."

"So cute." Nicola really couldn't stand it anymore, heavily pecking my forehead again before finally standing up straight.

I was quite speechless at her. Why did she enjoy seeing me embarrassed so much?

"Could it be the excuse of not knowing how to return to your angelic homeland Edenmere was fake?"

I suddenly realized she might not be as simple as I imagined.

"Was your real aim me instead?"

I now felt that she was like a crafty, scheming huntress who had targeted me from our very first meeting.

"Huh?" Nicola was taken aback, seemingly not expecting me to ask this question. She hurriedly explained, "I can't say it was an excuse. I really don't know the way back, so I can only stay in the human world temporarily."

She didn't look like she was lying. But something still felt off.

"What do you think about the human world then?"

A thought suddenly occurred to me - I wanted to hear the perspective of this angel senior. Unlike Vivianne and the others as humans, angels should be considered another kind of creature. Her views should be more objective, which would aid my understanding of this world.

Another intention was to find a topic to dispel the earlier awkward atmosphere.

"I guess it feels average," Nicola murmured in contemplation, seemingly finding it difficult to answer. In the end she gave a neutral response.

"Mainly when there's nothing to do, it gets boring without a cellphone."

"Cellphone?"

I looked at her puzzledly, feeling like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over my head. She had unexpectedly used a modern term.

"Oh, it's a communication tool from where I'm from. It has many functions and can be used to pass time too."

Seeing my reaction, she thought I didn't know what a cellphone was, and helpfully explained.

Could she be a transmigrator too?

I became even more suspicious. No, not suspicion - I could almost confirm it.

To prove one's identity, there was no need for coded phrases like "Open Sesame".

"Are you a transmigrator too?" I directly asked her in my native language.

"Uh...you..." Nicola had been all smiles before, but her expression greatly changed upon hearing the question. She answered in her native language too, equally shocked, "Could it be...you also transmigrated?!"

She admitted it! It felt like the world was collapsing. My world seemed to flip upside down. Many important questions instantly surfaced in my mind.

"So when did you transmigrate here? Where were you from, and what time?"

With implicit admission that I was also a transmigrator, I rapidly fired off three questions.

"Around three days ago...I was at a KTV singing, attending a classmate reunion that night."

Nicola swayed unsteadily, seemingly unable to accept this. She backed up a few steps, steadying herself against the furniture, and asked back, "What about you?"

My heart lurched upon hearing her words. I unconsciously nodded - indeed, we were the same. We had both transmigrated from that class reunion. She was likely my high school classmate too. So who exactly was she?

Adeline? Astrid? Melody? Or...Quinn?

I tried recalling what few female classmate names I could remember, but it had been so long since graduating I barely knew them anymore. I had no clues.

Suddenly I realized - why did I have to look for her among the girls? Why couldn't she be a guy instead? After all, I was a prime example of that. I instantly felt even worse, considering what we had just done not long ago...

What did she say she was doing before transmigrating? Singing? I thought back to everything that happened in the KTV room when we crossed over...

"Are you Reilly?"

At that moment, I desperately hoped my judgment was wrong.

"You..." Nicola's face instantly paled. She had the look of someone whose secret was exposed. "How did you know...?"

"So it really is you!" The words I least wanted to say still popped out of my mouth with all my strength. Recalling everything after meeting her in this world, I suddenly realized my suspicions of her behavior now made sense.

Like when Selene first asked her name, or when Adrian asked why she didn't return to Edenmere, and last night at dinner before going to the rooms...

"You did that on purpose right?"

Now I finally realized, gritting my teeth and glaring at him as I asked angrily。

"What did you mean by on purpose?"

Nicola looked blankly at me, not understanding what I meant specifically. "Which classmate of mine are you exactly?"

"Yesterday, before dinner at the restaurant," I reminded her impatiently.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten!"

"Huh? That time..." She immediately reacted, hastily explaining, "Listen to me! I really thought you had amnesia then and was concerned about you..."

But she seemed to quickly notice something amiss. Her expression kept changing, looking uncomfortable as if she had accidentally swallowed a fly. "Could you also be..."

"Looks like you finally realized it too."

I scoffed disdainfully. If I had originally been female, even if my identity was exposed he wouldn't have reacted so strongly given his experience with girls. The only explanation was that it was because I had also been male before.

This explained everything. Those smooth playboy techniques, masterful maneuvers - I had watched him use them on countless girls since high school. I never imagined one day they would be applied to me!

"No wonder I thought the girls in this world were so forward!" The two of us blurted out this line simultaneously.

"I saw you as a brother yet you actually tried to seduce me!" I couldn't help but painfully lament, resisting the urge to angrily chop her into eight hundred pieces.

"Also..."

Thinking carefully, we had only encountered each other in this world for a short while. We first met in the evening, and she had already tricked me into bed by the time to sleep...all within a few hours!

"You even staged a night raid!"

And she f*cking succeeded too! Recalling when she came over last night, my mindset instantly exploded. This was just too unsightly, practically my darkest history! I felt I had never lost so much face from childhood until now.

"Bro..." Nicola's expression fluctuated wildly as she stared blankly for a long time, seemingly confirming something. "You're Flynn!"

"Hmph, nice that you still remember," I coldly laughed once. "I thought you had already sunk deep into the pleasures of the flesh and forgotten everything..."

I suddenly realized this pleasure land still seemed to be me. Our relationship was seriously messy.