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n“My lady, you are finally back home. Your mother has been looking for you everywhere. I managed to stall her for some time but you should hurry back.”

nIt had been an exhausting day for Aurora overall. The new body she was in held a lot of secrets and Aurora’s incapability to do anything left her frustrated.

nEven now, the low hum of the corruption that seeped into her body could be felt by her.

n“My mother is looking for me? I should hurry on over then.”

nNatasha’s body moved over to the deeper parts of the castle. The icy cold that had enclosed the royal palace was nowhere to be found.

nInstead, the temperature was rather pleasant.

n“Natasha, where were you? Don’t think for a single second that I believed a word of what the maid said. Did you leave the royal palace again?”

nNatasha stopped walking once the question was asked. The voice had come from behind Natasha’s body and it made her nervous.

n“I…I did go out. But I made sure I came back in time. A-Anyway, is it time yet?”

nAurora could not make out the goddess’s expression once Natasha turned around. The blank face had only disapproval written all over it.

n“Yes, it is time. Let’s hurry over so that we are not late.”

nNatasha’s body nodded and Aurora made her last futile effort to gain control over it but was unable to.

nShe would have rather heard or seen this all than experienced Natasha’s life. At least then this feeling of regret would not be eating her over.

n“From here on it’s the trial room. It was set up by Lady Minerva not too long ago. I hope you do well.”

nNatasha nodded as she entered the familiar tower.

nNow that Aurora looked at it, the tower she was entering looked vaguely like the one their group had entered to climb up. This was the emergency exit.

nThe scent of the abyss was rather strong all over it.

n“I will make you proud,” those were the last words Natasha said before she disappeared behind the trial doors.

nAurora had expected the space to mold itself to her mind again. But the darkness inside the room did not reflect any of the earlier characteristics she had experienced.

nAll Aurora could feel was the concentrated darkness surrounding her body. It was soothing to feel for her but Natasha’s body felt uncomfortable.

n“H-Huh? Why is it shining like this?”

nThere was a blinding light from the gem Natasha had been given. It gave off a warm light that lessened Natasha’s shaking.

nAurora could feel the barest sense of coldness seeping through her body. It felt like someone was freezing her from the inside.

n“This feels good. I feel warm all over.”

nWarm? All Aurora felt from the corruption was the coldness. Why was Natasha having a diverse effect like this?

nThe gem was vibrating harder the further Natasha walked in. The space was responding to her feelings as well.

nAnd then what Aurora had been thinking finally happened. The small gem exploded and the contents spilled over the place.

n“W-What happened? What should I do now?”

nAs expected, Natasha panicked once that happened. Her panicked thoughts let her concentration down and Aurora felt something taking control of Natasha’s body.

nThere was a small shove before Aurora felt someone push her soul out of her body.

n“You freed one of my soul fragments. For that, I am grateful to you. Now child, tell me what your wish is.”

nAurora turned her head softly toward the voice. If possible, she wanted nothing more than to wake up from this dream.

nThe pressure Aurora felt surrounding her was nothing like she had ever felt before.

nIf the powers of the goddess of victory and Lady Mei were a storm, this was a calamity. Every bone in Aurora’s body asked her to run away.

n“Y-You are? But h-how? You should be dead! The tower declared you as dead.”

nAurora was all but a soul right now. Her transparent body could not interact with the world. All she could do now was to be a bystander and look at what was happening around her.

n“Oh! Is that what Minerva cooked up? I suppose she didn’t want people to worry about me. But see, I’m alive and kicking. And soon I’ll be back in my true shape. And it’s all thanks to you.”

n“As a reward, I shall reward this place with my powers. Ah, I know what to do.”

nAurora wasted as the golden hair shined in the darkness. The goddess raised her hand and the darkness exploded everywhere.

n“The northern continent shall become a part of the abyss. You shall be our first human citizens.”

nIt happened all in a second. The darkness exploded all over the place and the temperature rose. It was searing hot to the point of making it hard to breathe.

nAurora was not in a body made of flesh. She did not need to breathe or feel the heat. But even she could feel how hot the magic was.

n“It will take time for me to recover, but I’ll be back. Till then, try your best to survive.”

n“N-No. You can’t do this.”

nNatasha reached out toward the owner of the golden hair but was unable to grasp the person.

nInstead, darkness escaped her hand that looked familiar to the explosion.

n“Ah, did I mention that you are the pillar of the abyss in this continent? If you die then everything should solve itself just right. Think over it.”

nAurora had a dilemma. She wanted to stay here and watch how things play out. But she also wanted to chase after that golden-haired goddess.

nThere was something achingly familiar about her presence. Aurora had not been able to see her face but her body longed to follow along.

nBut before Aurora could make a solid decision, the door to the trial room was knocked out and someone entered. Minerva’s grim face broke the darkness surrounding the trial.

n“Clara? So you were still alive and kicking. What are you trying to start here? And this child? Why were you trying to pull here?”

nMinerva picked up Natasha’s burning body. It was bad enough that the heat emitting from her was causing the stony surface to melt.

n“Someone, go and get every available major god you can. This is an emergency and keep this a secret.”

nAurora forced the gasp to stop. She had never heard about a time when all the available major gods had been called together except in the first battle.

nSomething major had happened and it had been erased from history.

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