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n“Rita, block,” Aurora called out. She was not aware she had gained some distance between herself and Rita. It was just enough for her not to be able to make it back to Rita’s side in time for the attack.

nThankfully, Rita managed to block the attack on her own. Her knife collided with the claws heading her way and halted a fatal blow to her head.

nAurora heaved a sigh of relief before she had her spear aimed at the head in front of her.

nThe white obstructed her sight as tree branches began to sprout between her and the new creature.

nNot only that, but the ground had white plants sprouting all over. They moved as if they were alive.

nIf Aurora moved right, they moved right. If she moved left, they moved left. They observed her decide what they wanted to do next.

n“What is up with these plants? They behave like they are alive. I don’t like them.” Rita sounded annoyed.

nThe plants were not doing themselves any favor in her book by holding her in one place. The more she slashed, the denser they became.

n“I won’t say that if I were you. You might hurt their feeling.” the voice barely gave time to register itself before the tree branches began moving again.

nAurora did not have enough trouble fighting off the weak attack. The branches were not hurting her, but testing her.

nThey also seemed to recoil when she let her aura out. Her goddess charm must be confusing them.

nRita seemed to be having a bit of a tough time on her side. Her fighting style was the tower taught and it seemed to be aggravating the branches.

nThey were not leaving her with enough time to perform her summons.

nAurora had two options. Either to help Rita out or to stop Astoria. She had caught a glimpse of the white hair from when she had been fighting.

nHer brain had instantly connected the dots and recognized the danger. They were being thought of as intruders.

nMaybe even from the tower.

n“Rita, can you handle yourself for a little longer?” Aurora asked.

n“Yeah, sure,” Rita replied as she fended off another branch.

nAurora snapped her wrist as she felt her magic build up. The small orb she had created barely held any magic.

nIt was an experiment to see how well her magic would hold against another goddess.

nAurora did not have a good grasp over her goddess magic. She was limited in what she could do for now.

nAstoria did not have a lot of her limitations. Being a bi-produce of an experiment, she did have the goddess’s magic. But only to an extent.

nAstoria could not access all of Minerva’s powers. And that was why Aurora decided to take the risk.

nThe instant her magic collided with Astoria, Aurora knew she had the elder’s attention. The clash of god’s magic held a different spark than a normal magical collision.

n“You are a goddess? But you were never in the tower? Then how?” Astoria sounded confused.

nAurora closed the distance between their faces, her lips almost touching the elder.

n“I’m a recent addition. The Tower is not aware of my existence yet. And I prefer to keep it that way. I would appreciate it if you did not advertise my status this soon.” Aurora whispered.

nAstoria took a step back as her concentration broke. The magic lost control and the white branches fell to the ground.

nIt must have been unnerving to have someone’s breath fan across your face. That must be the reason Astoria had turned tomato red and her knees seemed to have become unsteady.

n“But how? And why? Didn’t the council rule that they did not need any more gods or goddesses?” Astoria sounded confused.

n“They might have. But those fools forgot that they can’t control the abyss. It does what it wants.” Aurora explained before Rita reached them.

nHer face must have shown her unwillingness to keep the talk going in someone else’s company because Astoria dropped the topic as soon as Rita neared them.

n“Man, those plants were sure something. Why did you even attack us in the first place?” Rita complained.

n“My apologies. I thought you were a tower scum and had come to cause trouble. Since that is not the case, I will be taking my leave now.” Astoria did not even sound embarrassed at the misunderstanding.

nHowever, the words had the opposite effect on Rita. Instead of calming her down, they seemed to have irritated her.

n“Why does everyone keep on mistaking us as the tower’s people? Is it the vibe? Our mannerism? The way we speak?” Rita questioned.

nRita had developed real hate for the Abyss tower in a short while. They had not given her any reason to like them either.

n“It is easy to get mistaken for the tower since their influence is every field. We are not doing ourselves any favor by carrying around their stuff.” Aurora reminded.

nAstoria looked amused at Rita’s over-the-top expression and comical rage. The mood had considerably lightened and Aurora felt safe to breach the heavier topic.

n“Actually, there was a reason I came here today. There was something I needed to ask of you, Lady Astoria. Won’t you hear me out?” Aurora asked.

nHer polite and formal tone must have caught Astoria off-guard. Astoria’s expression was a mask, but Aurora could feel her curiosity.

nRita had stopped her self-speaking as well.

n“Very well. Let us head back to my home and discuss it there. The forest has too many ears out for me.” Astoria gestured to the small home in her clearing and Aurora nodded.

nAurora could not feel the presence of anyone in the forest but it was better to be safe than to be sorry.

nBesides, she also needed to find supplies to be able to send a message out of the Tower and Astoria was someone likely enough to keep those supplied with her.

n“Lead the way,” Aurora replied but Astoria was already leading them down the gentle slope. There were other shadows in the forest but they did not feel alive to Aurora.

nShe watched Astoria wave those shadows off and they finally reached the clearing. The sun was visible in the cut-out and it shined brightly in the sky.

n“So, let’s hear what you have to say,” Astoria asked and Aurora opened her mouth to propose her plan. Astoria’s eyes widened in surprise just a bit before they closed off.

nAnd then she gave her reply to the pair.

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