The trip to Rocx valley was not as long as Aurora had thought it to be. Before he knew it, she was standing at the entrance of the famous Rocx valley with her two charges behind her.
“So, this is where our mother is? Are you sure someone can live in such a desert-like area?”
Emilia’s question stemmed from her child-like innocence. For someone who had never faced many hardships and lived in a relatively safe village, it was hard to imagine living in such a place.
“Some people don’t have a choice about their home. But the condition of this place will get better in the future.”
Rocx valley might be an uncultivatable desert right now, but it would soon turn into a lush land where people would be able to live out their lives in peace.
“And what about our mother? Is she here as well? Is she going to meet us here?”
Joseph’s question sounded equally innocent but this was a heavier topic than the one Emilia had chosen to take up.
It had taken some time for the children to get used to each other’s presence and familial relationship with each other. But once they had gotten used to each other, they got along like oil and fire.
In other words, their innocent actions were making Aurora’s life much more painful.
“We’ll head toward your mother’s location to meet her. I did not tell her I was bringing you two so it will be a surprise for her as well.”
Not that it would be that much of a surprise.
Aurora could already feel the familiar magic of a goddess check her out. As soon as she stepped into the Rocx valley, the goddess would know that Aurora was not alone.
Whether the goddess cared enough to investigate this topic or not, that was not something Aurora could say for certain.
“So what are we waiting for? Let’s go and meet mother.”
Emilia hurried past the boundary line without hesitation. For someone scared of her own shadow, this was a big step to take.
Did the child trust Aurora this much to even take such a big risk?
“Let us go in as well, Joseph. Or we will lose Emilia in this forest.”
Aurora had put a tracker on both children so she was unlikely to lose them in such a huge place. But it never hurt anyone to be cautious in such a big place.
The only stroke of luck the trio had once they stepped into the valley was a lack of monster encounters.
Aurora had released a small portion of her power to keep the low-level monsters away from the trio.
She did not want to risk getting one of the children accidentally hurt in the process of taking them to see their mother.
“When will get to our mother? How far away is she? Is she beautiful? Does she look like us?”
Emilia’s questions were getting more and more frequent. Aurora did not have an answer for her since she had never seen the goddess of victory.
All she knew about the current goddess of victory was that she did not agree with the tower and she had gone independent a long time ago.
“You will know once we get there. Asking questions will not make our destination arrive early.”
Although Aurora said those words, she had no idea how far away the goddess of victory’s abode was.
Since the goddess’s power was far beyond Aurora’s control, her system could not mark down a location for the said goddess.
It would be up to the Goddess of victory to lead the trio to her. And if she did not want to be found, then it would be nearly impossible to find her.
“Uh, excuse me. But is the desert supposed to have birds in it?”
Joseph pulled at Aurora’s clothes and pointed toward a small red, white and black bird. It was a Tanager bird which was not a desert bird at all.
In the modern world, normal animals were a novelty not everyone could see. The lack of resources had made the small animals go extinct.
And those who were left were either mutated by the abyss or had developed magical properties of their own in the process of survival.
But this small bird did not seem to possess any magical aura around its small body. It was a normal bird.
“Good observation. We need to follow the bird from this point on.”
Since such a unique bird had arrived in front of them, Aurora could only take it as a sign from the goddess of victory.
Whether the goddess wanted to doom them or help them, Aurora could not even begin to guess at this point.
“It’s such a pretty bird. Do you think I can touch it? Animals back home are huge and they try to kill you if you touch them.”
Emilia’s voice was filled with longing as she looked at the bird.
But the bird did not seem to exist to come down and allow a human to pet it. Every time Emilia started to step toward the bird, it seemed like it would fly away.
The only way to know what it wanted for sure was to wait around and allow it to fly away on its own.
-achoo
“Sorry, I could not stop myself.”
Emilia apologized but the bird had already taken flight. It stopped a few meters away from the trio and looked back.
This time, the look in its eyes seemed a little intelligent to Aurora. It beckoned the trio to follow after it and the trio did.
They followed the bird as far as they could and ended up in front of a small cave.
“Where did the bird go? I don’t see it anywhere.”
Emilia’s observation was cut short when Aurora pulled her and Jospeh behind her. Something huge was inside the cave and the aura it portrayed was unlike anything Aurora had seen before.
She would have compared it to Lady Mei’s had the lady gone all out in her spar against Astoria and Aurora.
That power could have only belonged to a goddess.
“Your mother is inside there. Don’t take everything she says to heart.”
Aurora reminded the kids before she braced herself and walked inside the cave. The darkness caused the children to cling to her for support.
But Aurora did not push them away. Instead, she cast a small spell on their body to keep them protected against the heavy aura of a goddess.
“And who dared to enter my abode uninvited? I did not want to have company right now. Whosoever you are, kindly go back.”
The voice of the goddess sounded melodic but also a little tired.
Had Aurora not known that her opponent was a goddess, she would have thought of the other as a sick person.
But then again, the goddess of victory was at the end of her life span. She did not have much time to live so it was not far-fetched to think that it was affecting her physical manifestation.
“Are you our mother?”
Aurora had not expected the children to take a stand against such power. But Joseph gulped down his fear and asked that question.
“Mother? Ah, so that’s why you feel familiar to me. Did the new goddess bring you two to me?”
Aurora felt a brief touch on her shoulder and she tensed up.
A huge surge of power was gathering behind her but Aurora felt like she could not turn toward it. If she did then she would surely be attacked.
“Come closer. Let me have a look at your face.”
Emilia was shaking at Aurora’s side but Joseph decided to be brave and take a step ahead. The presence behind Aurora also disappeared and she felt the magic gather in front of her.
The fiery-orange hair of the goddess was the first thing Aurora saw emerge from the magical flame followed by a young body.
Her age seemed to be almost similar to the boy in front of her.
Had Aurora not known just what the goddess power was capable of, she would have never believed Joseph to be the goddess of victory’s child.
Not when he looked both taller and older than the goddess.
“You come forward as well girl. I need to see you both to confirm something.”
Emilia’s shaking got worse. She must be feeling that heavy aura of the goddess press up against her own and it should be making her condition pick up.
As much as Aurora wanted to help her, she knew she could not do that. This was something the kids had to face on their own.
“Hurry up girl. I do not have the whole day to waste with you. Do not make this game any more difficult than it needs to be.”
Aurora patted the young girl on her head but she did give Emilia a small push to move forward. The child needed to overcome her fear right here and now.
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