n

n

n“Aurora, what are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you to take a rest? And how did you get past the guards? Did you give them the slip? I ought to scold them for their negligence.”

nAurora almost jumped in the air when she heard Clove’s voice coming from behind her. How in the world had Clove known where Aurora was?

n“I just wanted to take a bath and left my room. There is no need to involve the guards in this matter.”

nAurora tried to divert the attention from the main topic. She did feel sorry for the guards who would have to take the brunt of Clove’s anger but she was doing it for a good cause.

nAnd, it was not like this all was going to matter once the trial was over. None of this was real and would not matter anymore.

n“Aurora, please be careful of your health. You might not see this, but many people in the tower are envious of you. This is a good opportunity for them to try and get rid of you.”

nAurora paused as soon as she heard those words. They were different from anything Clove had said before.

nActually, Aurora knew all this beforehand. She had been a throne in the tower’s novel lineage and a stone in the tower master’s plans as well.

nHow could she not be aware of all the screaming going on against her in the tower? She had even ended up dying because of that.

nBut she had never known that Clove paid that much attention to the tower’s current state when it came to Aurora. She had never said anything to Aurora. So Aurora had assumed that Clove never knew about it.

nBut it seemed as if the one in dark was Aurora.

n“I will be alright. It’s just a bath and it will be pretty crowded there. I doubt anyone will be foolish enough to cause a scene right now.”

nAurora’s tone was filled with assurance. Her smile was perfect and gentle. It was just like the one she had always given Clove before.

nBut instead of looking reassured, Clove had a worried look on her face. Aurora had a feeling that she had made the situation worse than she needed to make it.

n“Is that so? But I am still worried about you. Then, why don’t I accompany you to the baths? This way I will feel so much better.”

n“No need to. I want to go alone.”

nAurora cursed herself for replying so fast. But she could not allow Clove to tag along with her meeting with Rita.

nAt this point, Rita and Aurora were strangers. An accidental meeting would spark too many questions.

nEspecially with someone like Clove around. Aurora was not even sure how she would be able to explain it all to Rita.

nAfter all, how did you take your lover to meet someone who had confessed their love to you in the past without making it awkward?

nIt was better to avoid it at all costs.

n“You don’t want to take a bath with me? But you were all over me yesterday? Did you get bored of my body?”

n“N-No. That is not it. I’m just afraid that I’ll get distracted if you are there with me. My body is not up for any more surprises right now.”

nAurora felt a blush creep up her face as she spoke those words. And Clove looked taken aback at her words as well.

n“You know, if I see you naked then I will get aroused and I don’t want that. B-Besides, a bathhouse is not the best place to do something like that. And there are also too many eyes and…”

n“Hahahaha. Excuse me but what? hahaha”

nAurora was cut off by a burst of wild laughter. Clove seemed to have lost it at Aurora’s unexpected shyness and her body was knocked back.

nAurora felt her cheeks get warm at the mocking tone but she tried to control it. It was her own fault that she was in this situation.

n“Stop laughing at me. It is not that funny.”

nAurora tried to stop Clove’s burst of laughter but her attempt was half-hearted. There was no point in trying to stop Clove right now.

n“I-I understand what you mean. Fine, I won’t follow after you for now. But do make sure to be quick. Your body is not up for a lot of physical exertion.”

nWas Clove in any position to say all this after what she had done? But Aurora could not find it in her heart to say anything to her.

nThinking back at the timeline, Aurora knew that there were not a lot of things to laugh about right now. The abyss was a hard and cruel place.

nSo whatever joy one could find here needed to be preserved. And that was why Aurora did not stop Clove when she made fun of Aurora.

n“Be careful as well. I will be back at night.”

nIf everything went right then this was a promise Aurora would not be able to keep. She would be back in the tower and the trial would be over for her.

nBut Clove did not need to know about that. She just needed to be happy and live her life out.

nOnce Clove was done walking away, Aurora picked herself up and left for the baths.

nRita: I’ll be a little late. I have some matters to take care of first.

nRita’s message made it seem like she’ll be late for the meeting so Aurora might as well clear herself up.

nWath water was a luxury in the abyss so Aurora would be a fool to miss up on an opportunity to take a bath. She liked the feeling of water running all over her body.

nAurora quickly opened the communal shower and instantly felt her body get lost in the mass of tower soldiers.

nIt seemed as if the floor they were on was not deep enough to thin out the number of soldiers. They were maybe somewhere on the fifth floor or near that.

nFloors started to get more specific the deeper you went. So this generic setting was assuring.

nIt took time for Aurora to find an empty stall and stand under the shower. The water seemed to be washing away all of Aurora’s worries and aches. She felt refreshed to stand under the water.

nAnd once she was done, Aurora finally turned around to leave the stall…

n…only to be met with the familiar naked body of her friend.

n“I…should I go away for now?”

n“Rita. Are you covered in blood? What the hell happened to you?”

nAurora could not help the question. She saw Rita flinch and calmed her excited tone down. Her voice had also attracted quite a few gazes but it was alright for now.

nNone of these people were important in the grand scheme of things. They could be ignored for now.

n“Not here. We should talk once I’m done taking a bath. I will set up a barrier as well.”

nAurora did not want to delay this talk but she knew she had no other choice. More than one ear was out for the gossip and Aurora would be damned if she gave them a chance to one-up her.

n“Fine. But don’t take too long. We don’t know if this trial has a time limit or not.”

n“Hey, blood takes time to get out, alright. But I’ll try to get it done as fast as I can.’

nAurora knew that Rita was not trying to grab time. And that was enough for her to quickly make her way out of the bathhouse.

nAfter all, there was no reason to give the tower soldiers any more room to gossip about her.

n===========================

n“Where am I? What is this place?”

nBright blue eyes opened with a snap. Natasha pushed herself to sit on the floor as she pushed her body beyond her limit.

nShe knew that she was no longer in the Northern Republic. This place felt fundamentally different than before.

nBut Natasha had no idea where she had ended up being.

n‘I’m in the abyss. I came here for the Mystic Pearl.’

nNatasha had no idea how she knew all that. But her thoughts were crystal clear. She could remember heading toward the deeper abyss but accidentally falling into the deeper end. And now she had no idea where she was.

nBut all she knew was that she had to get back the stolen ender pearl. It was the source of power for the republic.

n“My lady, we found a tower camp. Hold on because you will be alright soon. Your wound has also finally stopped bleeding.”

nShe had been bleeding? It was weird but Natasha could not feel anything at all. Her body felt numb and her energy was being drained out of her soul.

n“So this is the abyss? It is so terrifying.”

nNatasha lost consciousness before a pair of hands could pick her up and take her away from the place.

n