“Sooooo, does anyone have a rope and a hook? Or anything we can use to climb this tower?”
“Rita, those things won’t work. This tower is magically enhanced to prevent someone from climbing it. The only thing we can do in this tower is to climb down.”
“Then how can we get up using it? Isn’t this useless in the first place?”
Aurora sighed at the conclusion drawn by her partner. Even Natasha had a disappointed look on her face but she seemed to have expected it.
“See, didn’t I tell you that going up this way would be useless? Let’s find another way up.”
Natasha seemed to have given up without even trying. Her body language seemed defeated and Aurora wanted to encourage the girl to not give up this easily.
Besides, she would not have suggested this way up if she did not have a plan to overcome this obstacle.
“There is a way to climb this tower but it will require a lot of magic power and willpower. You need to make up your mind if you want to do this or not.”
This was the last warning Aurora was going to issue.
Not because she was not worried about her partners, but because she trusted them to overcome this obstacle.
“There is a way to climb this tower? Then let’s go.”
As ever, Rita seemed to not be afraid. But Natasha had a look of trouble on her face. She seemed to not be ready to head in just yet.
“You can decide to stay back here. Our third companion will be here soon and he can keep you company out here.”
“No. I need to do this as well. I need to face my past and move on ahead.”
Natasha looked worried but it soon turned into a determined expression. Aurora was certain that the Northern princess knew what the trail ahead contained for her.
“Alright. But you can back out if you feel that it is too much for you”
Aurora assured the princess. She was not sure how far the twelve years old girl would be able to endure the trial.
But Aurora did not voice her doubts. She did not want to make Natasha any more nervous than the female already was.
“I will be alright. Let’s head in now.”
“Hey, guys. Hurry up.”
Rita seemed to be getting impatient so Aurora decided to cut her talk with Natasha short and head toward the tower.
It was smooth to touch and glossy in look. The stone used to construct the tower seemed to contain high amounts of magic power inside them.
And it was all woven from the dark abyssal energy. It was surely the last line of defense for the Northern Palace.
“Let’s go. Be sure to be on the outlook.”
And with that, Aurora opened the door and stepped inside. Darkness was all that greeted her senses but she kept on walking.
She could not stop here and lose her way.
===========================
Aurora did not know how long she walked through the darkness. After a while, time lost its meaning as well.
The darkness of the abyss was hitting Aurora’s senses and it made her head spin. It was not the kind and gentle energy of the abyss she was sued to after rebirth.
This hostility felt more like the one she had faced in her last life. It was as if she was a normal human again.
“Hey, look out. This is no time to be standing around. Can’t you see that we are in the middle of a battle? If you are going to be useless, then leave.”
Quince’s familiar voice struck Aurora speechless. Then a solid body collided with Aurora’s and send her flying.
She instantly looked up to complain, only to be met with Quince’s back as he pushed the incoming monster back.
“You are such a hassle. Hurry up and kill it already. We need to help Clove out.”
Aurora quickly snapped out of her thoughts and raised her hand to cast a magic spell. The aura of the goddess she was about to use would dispel the abyssal monster.
Or that was what was supposed to happen.
But instead of the goddess’s magic, an ordinary fireball was shot out of her palm and right in the monster’s face.
“Hey, what’s with the low-level magic spell? Do you want me to die?”
Aurora’s head felt disoriented. It was swimming in and out of focus but this scene felt familiar. Aurora had been in this position before.
This abyss floor also felt familiar to her.
“Sorry. My head is not all here. Give me another try.”
Aurora felt her mouth speak on its own. Her body was moving through a familiar motion she had not used after her rebirth.
Her spear snapped at the speed of light and struck the monster right in the chest. The monster died with a final cry of pain and then all that remained was silence.
“Fuck. What the hell was that? Did you hit your head that hard? What am I going to tell Clove?”
Quince seemed to be talking to himself. His tone indicated how irritated he was to see Aurora acting this way.
But Aurora felt like something was wrong with Quince standing in front of her. He looked a little older than she remembered.
“Quince, how old are you? When did you get this tall?”
Aurora felt the question escape her lips without her permission. She quickly snapped her mouth shut but it was too late for her to take her words back.
“Huh? I was joking earlier but did you hit your head and got amnesia? We’re both nineteen this year. Now, hurry up and pull yourself together. We need to get this corpse back to the tower.”
Tower? Hasn’t Aurora vowed to cut tied with the tower in her life? What was she doing back here?
But this place, Quince’s presence and even the current circumstances, all seemed a little out of place for Aurora.
Not to mention, her head ached the more she tried to make sense of things. It seemed as if something did not want her to remember what was going on.
Had she been caught in some kind of trap? Everything looked different than Aurora remembered it to be.
“Oi, let’s hurry back. Don’t tell me that you need me to carry you back?”
Quince’s hand neared Aurora’s face and her body instinctively recoiled. She felt like she had to avoid that hand at all cost.
As a result, Aurora felt her side smack into the floor and pain fill her arm. It was not broken but it had wounds on it for sure.
“What’s wrong with you today? Why are you acting like this? Anyway, it is not my concern. Just make sure Clove does not see you like this or she’ll be worried. I do not want her to worry ‘because she can be scary.'”
Aurora was sure that the last words had not been meant for her ears. But things seemed to be coming back to her in bits and pieces.
It seemed as if this place was the trail the tower had prepared for her. But whether this was a memory, the past, or another timeline Aurora was not sure. She just knew she was sent here to complete a task.
What terrifying magic the Northern Republic had at its disposal.
It was no wonder that no one tried to climb up this way into the Northern Palace. And Aurora could not help but feel worried about her companions.
She had to look for a way back as soon as possible. Staying in this place would not be ideal.
The more time she might have spent here, the more she would be enchanted by this place.
“Aurora, you’re back.”
But every thought fled from Aurora’s mind as soon as her eyes fell on the silhouette of her lovely wife.
Clove looked just as she had in Aurora’s memory. But she was all grown up now. Her long hair had been done up in a high pony and her blue eyes shined with a familiar love.
“I brought her back alive. She is no longer of any concern to me.”
Quince sounded irritated to see Clove and Aurora interact with each other. It was so similar to Aurora’s memory that she almost let out a tear.
She might have never said it out loud but she had missed this. The ease of familiarity as well as the time Aurora had spent in this company had not been something Aurora had ever forgotten.
“Quince, stop being mean. Aurora, hurry up inside. We should clear you up so that your wounds do not get contaminated.”
Aurora allowed herself to be manhandled with ease. She felt happy to have her wife’s hands on her body again.
It had been so long since she had enjoyed the simple pleasure that was Clove’s company and Aurora carved that contact.
“Clove, would you join me in my bath. I think I will need the assistance.”
Clove blushed a pretty red while Quince gagged in the background.
It was all so familiar that Aurora’s heart ached.
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