Currently, Elaine, Mother, Father, Grandfather, and Grandmother are all inside Great-Grandmother's room. Mother forced me to sit on my knees, and it was not like I had any room to refuse. Besides, even if I did, she would literally force me to do so by pressing me with her Qi.
Watching Great-Grandmother inspect Elaine's body, I turned and glanced at Mother and Grandmother, who were sitting beside each other, their arms and legs crossed while glaring at me. Though neither opened their mouth to admonish me or anything, they simply looked at me in silence.
Father and Grandfather were sitting on the opposite side of Great-Grandmother's bed as they silently watched her inspect Elaine, who was currently channeling the power of the flame of madness, causing her eyes and hair to take on a shade of yellow. However, speaking of Grandfather, whenever he glanced at me, he would always give me a look of disappointment, only for him to smirk afterward while winking, causing me to roll my eyes as it was clear he was too afraid of Grandmother to make up his mind on whether he wished to praise me or admonish me.
'Tsk, stupid annoying sister.' Thought Elif in annoyance with a scoff as he eyed Elaine, causing Maria and Tiana to narrow their eyes.
Brushing my hair behind my head and onto my shoulder, I closed my eyes and patiently waited for Grandmother to finish, which took some time; a few hours were needed before she finally retracted her divine sense from Elaine's body.
"Grandmother?" Asked Marcus with furrowed brows as he leaned forward and nervously gazed at Celeste, who silently sat still with her eyes closed.
"Haa, I don't know what you and Maria did when making love, but your children… They're something special." Said Celeste softly with a wry expression as he glanced at Elaine in awe, causing everyone to tilt their head in confusion.
"Care to elaborate, Mother?" Asked Tyler with a slight frown as he glanced at Celeste before looking at Elaine, who stopped channeling the flame of madness, causing her hair and eyes to return to their original color.
"Well, for starters, Elaine was channeling the power of the Flame of Madness to the extent that her body could handle, and yet even so, I didn't see any signs of corruption, not on her body, soul, or dao heart. She was void from the dangerous aftereffects of the Flame of Madness… It's as if she was the perfect vessel to house that Flame, which is unheard of. Not even the Chaos Lord dared to act as the flame's vessel." Remarked Celeste as she gently rubbed her cheek while gazing at Elaine, staring at her in awe at her seemingly perfect compatibility with the Flame of Madness.
"Does that she will be able to continue to house the Flame of Madness inside of her without any repercussions?" "If need be, can we still remove the Flame of Madness?" Asked Marcus and Maria, respectively, as the latter shifted her focus away from Elif and gazed at Celeste.
"I'm not entirely sure as of yet; it's only been, what, a few months with her acting as its vessel? It's too early to say anything is for certain; I recommend coming back here at least once a year for the next couple of years." Said Celeste softly as she brushed her hair behind her while glancing at Elaine, who narrowed her eyes.
"You just want to use that as an excuse to hug me all day, don't you, Great-Grandmother?" Asked Elaine as she stared fixedly at Celeste, who chuckled under her breath before suddenly scooping her into her arms.
"Fufu, not at all; I'm worried about my Great-Granddaughter after all." Replied Celeste with a mischievous smile as she nibbled on Elaine's ear, causing her to lightly huff in annoyance.
"Regarding separating the Flame of Madness, while possible, I do not recommend it unless we see signs of corruption occur. It's housed within her heart, but it's fused with her very being, and separating it will be a VERY excruciating, painful process, not to mention it may affect her future cultivation." Said Celeste solemnly as she glanced at Maria, who frowned before nodding and sighing.
"Elaine, have you noticed anything different about yourself ever since you accepted the Flame of Madness? Also, how do you feel whenever you channel its power?" Asked Tiana softly as she tore her gaze away from Elif and looked at Elaine, who rolled her eyes only to push Celeste's face away from her ear.
"I feel the exact same, Grandmother; maybe slightly warmer than usual? I feel stronger whenever I channel its power, but that is only given, is it not?" Replied Elaine as she turned around and glanced at Tiana behind Celeste, causing her to nod while humming, only for her to eye Elif.
"What about you, Elif? Notice anything different about Elaine." Asked Tiana as she narrowed her eyes at Elif, whose expression twitched only for him to sigh.
"No, she's been behaving the exact same. Though she does resemble Mother more whenever she channels its power through her body." Remarked Elif lightly as he shook his head before glancing at Elaine, who stuck her tongue out while adorning a wicked smirk, causing him to grit his teeth in anger.
"So she gets more overbearing and domineering? I see no problem with that, especially when she has YOU to deal with." Stated Maria lightly with a nod as she glared at Elif, who clicked his tongue and averted his gaze while remaining silent.
'Haa, I can't even refute her; an overbearing and domineering Elaine is extremely arousing.' Thought Elif in annoyance as he grumbled under his breath.
"So, as of right now, Elaine is safe?" "Yes, she is completely fine right now." Stated Marcus and Celeste, respectively, as the latter firmly nodded, causing him and everyone else to faintly smile in relief.
"I don't understand why everyone was so worried; I told you all I felt completely fine." Said Elaine in annoyance as she escaped from Celeste's embrace and stood beside Elif in the center of the room.
I stealthily distanced myself from Elaine since now that she was deemed safe and unharmed, the anger everyone was feeling was bound to be unleashed, and I didn't wish to get caught up in it.
'I'm already in trouble, and I do not wish to make it double.' Thought Elif lightly as he inconspicuously sat in the corner of the room, away from everyone.
It seemed Mother wasn't even in the mood to talk and got straight to the action as she forced Elaine over the knee while pulling her pants down.
"W-Wait! B-Brother already punished me!" Yelled Elaine anxiously as she gazed at Maria, who sported a wicked smirk while she raised her hand.
"I'm not Elif, am I Elaine? I'll make sure you learn today." Said Maria with a wicked smirk as she slapped Elaine's butt, leaving behind a red-hand print on her dark skin.
Smirking, I watched Mother punish Elaine, repeatedly smacking her butt as if there was no tomorrow, though I was forced to eventually close my eyes since, well, her butt was facing me, and my crotch responded in kind.
For several minutes, Mother smacked Elaine, ignoring her cries of pain, before eventually letting her go, and by then, my heart actually ached a little at her teary-eyed expression.
"Do you understand how absolutely fucking stupid that was, Elaine!?" Exclaimed Maria in fury as she repeatedly taped her head while glaring at Elaine.
'Ho, I've never heard Mother curse before. She is beyond furious.' Thought Elif with a nervous gulp as he shrunk himself into the corner, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible, which worked for some time during the berate.
"...And you, Elif! As her Elder Brother, part of the blame also falls onto you! How could you allow your little sister to enter the Forest of Madness by herself!? Have you lost your love for Elaine now that you've got those concubines!?" Exclaimed Maria as she reached forward, grasping Elif with a golden palm before tossing him towards Elaine, causing him to spread his limbs, stopping his momentum before he landed beside her.
Inwardly cursing my absurd luck, I lowered my head and remained silent; any form of justification on my part would only sound as if I was making excuses to Mother. Besides, I've learned the hard way that it is better to just silently take it, lest you end up in even more trouble afterward.
"Oh, you've got nothing to say, what a big, fucking surprise!" Yelled Maria with a scoff as she glared at Elif, who remained silent, causing her to click her tongue.
"Tsk, you know what? Come here, Elif." Said Maria with a grunt as she sat down and flicked her hand, causing Elif to suddenly appear bent over her knee with his pants down.
"Can you at least tell me why you're smacking me before you do so?" Asked Elif as he released a sigh of defeat while not even bothering to escape despite not being held down.
"I'm smacking you in Elaine's stead; you've been lying to her and sleeping with other women without her knowledge. She's not strong enough to do this, so I'm doing it for her. Is there anything else you want me to say?" Replied Maria as she raised her hand while eyeing Elif, who heaved a heavy sigh before shaking his head.
"Haa, no, go ahead; I more than deserve this." Muttered Elaine softly as he lowered his head, resting it atop Tiana's lap, prompting Maria to rain down atop his perfect butt.