Aurora walked for quite some time before she felt the bundle in her arms starting to wake up. She tightened her hold on the kid when she felt him struggle to get out of her hold.
There was no way she would allow the kid his freedom inside this domain. He held too many advantages.
The kid also held the key to Rita's freedom.
"Stop struggling so much. I am not in a decent mood. You will get hurt if you continue to show such behavior." Aurora's words finally caused the kid to stop struggling so much.
Even then, the kid did not stop giving Aurora the stinking eye.
"Let me down. I won't try to escape you." the kid asked. Aurora debated those words before finally letting the kid down. But not before taking measures against him escaping Aurora's hold.
Aurora was suspicious like that.
The kid yelped as the rope snapped around his arm. He gave Aurora a betrayed look. A weaker person might have crumbled under that look and apologized, but not Aurora.
"What the hell? I told you that I would not try to escape you" the kid sounded betrayed and angry. Aurora tried not to look too amused as she looked at the kid. He was radiating frustration and failure.
Aurora patted herself on the back for her quick thinking. The kid seemed to have recognized this place. He made no plans to escape her hold when she had her attention diverted.
"Sorry, kid. I trust your words as much as I trust the Abyss tower. Both of you are liars." Aurora teased back.
Her words were angering and hit their mark. The kid hissed like a jolted cat.
Aurora's fast reflexes saved her face from receiving a grave injury as the kid tried to snap off her nose with his clawed glove. The faint 'humm' of the engine betrayed the engine.
"Don't compare me to those tower scums. We are nothing like them." the kid yelled. Aurora had to take a step back and rub her ear.
Darn, the kid was loud.
The kid seemed unwilling to listen to her.
He was rude and loud as well. Those golden eyes gleamed in anger at Aurora. The wish for her to drop dead was visible in those eyes.
"Yes, yes. You're nothing alike. Now stop your weapon and walk in front of me. We're going to your leader. I suppose you know the way there?" The kid seemed suspicious but relaxed when she mentioned their leader.
"Our leader? That old man agreed to meet you when he didn't even have time for me?" The kid complained. Luckily, he did start to move.
The outlander's previous leader was not someone Aurora had much knowledge of. The Tower had taken measures to ensure that the secrets of the outlanders remained buried beneath the Rocx valley.
"You don't sound too fond of your leader," Aurora observed, almost surprised.
"It's not that. But it's frustrating to know that you are destined for something but do not even have enough power to achieve it. One day, I'll defeat the old man. Then, I'll have the goddess bless me and take my rightful spot" the kid sounded certain.
"You didn't hear anything," the kid hurriedly added. It seemed as if it had hit him late that he had been boasting in front of the enemy.
Aurora just let out an amused laugh at the kid's expense.
"Sure. Maybe once you hit the double digits, you'll be able to do it. A nine-year-old (I'm eleven) should not have to worry about these things" if the kid was red before, he was a bright scarlet now.
Aurora would not be able to tell that bright face away from a ripe tomato if she was asked.
"Stop talking like we are friends. A Tower scum like you would never be my friend. You've taken too many liberties with us and even enslaved our brothers-in-arm" the kid whisper-yelled. Aurora was not sure which one it was at least.
But those words sobered her mood up and also reminded her why she was here in the first place. The Rocx tragedy would soon follow. The abyss was ruthless and the tower followed its lead.
These people were not safe here.
"You're right. The tower has done enough harm to last us ages. It would continue to do so if we did not stop them. That is why I'm here as well. We are not your enemy if you don't want us as one. Except for the tower. It is the worst." Aurora stopped in front of the huge gate the kid had led her to.
She could barely feel it but there was no mistaking the aura on the other side of the gate. She did not need a verbal confirmation to be able to sense another goddess's powers.
[Alert. Powerful aura detected. The user is advised to practice caution]
Aurora almost jumped when the system spoke those words inside her head. She had forgotten that she had never turned it off after testing it out earlier.
"You might not be an enemy of ours but you have not proven to be an ally either. Until you do, I will hold you in the same regard." the kid replied. It was amazing to see the kid not back off when Aurora started him down.
And those golden eyes flashed with a power similar to the one Aurora was feeling behind the door. She could not help but reach out, wanting to know who the other goddess was. And that one second of connection was all it took to establish the connection with the original owner of those golden eyes.
Aurora broke the connection as soon as she felt the other take notice.
'This is bad. This is bad. I need to get things rolling before that goddess decides to check me out' Aurora cursed as she yanked the kid through the gates. It had only been a week and she had already messed up. She hoped that it would not affect the future events she had planned for.
"You! Stop right there" but Aurora did not stop. She just flashed the seal she had been given by her and dashed through the corridor.
The poor kid she was dragging behind could do nothing but follow with a confused face. His pleading looks were ignored by the others around them as he was dragged behind the final gate.