Stepping into the domain we like stepping into Aurora's memories. Everything inside the room looked like it had when Aurora last saw it.
But Aurora knew that was not possible.
This place did not exist in the present timeline. This palace was created using her memories.
"Welcome back. Did you have fun today?" Aurora knew this place was not real, but the hands on her waste felt familiar.
Clove's hands moved under Aurora's shirt, reaching for Aurora's chest.
Clove's body molded itself to Aurora's back. The bouncy and soft breasts pressing against Aurora's back felt good.
So did the hands massaging her cleavage. The familiarity only added to the novelty.
"Yeah. I had fun outside." Aurora replied. The illusion Aurora was pulled into was a potent one. It had the potential of captivating anyone with a weaker will.
"Oh. That's good. Now, should we have some fun?" Clove's voice spoke directly in Aurora's ear.
Aurora turned around, her arms snaking around the familiar thin waist of her wife. The taller body of Clove radiated amusement.
And that was how Aurora knew that this Clove was not real. This was a projection of her thoughts on a solid body.
"We will have fun, alright? But before that, do me a favour and take your hands off my chest." Aurora's voice was sweet. She looked behind her back, seemingly at empty air.
The hands moving over Aurora's body were real but they were not her wife's. But they did not stop their motion.
"But why? You seem to be enjoying yourself. And hasn't it been a long time since you felt the touch of your lover? Don't you want to keep on enjoying this a little longer?" The voice reaching Aurora's ears belonged to Clove.
The hands fastened their moment over Aurora's sensitive chest. They tugged a little harder causing Aurora to lose focus.
"I would enjoy my lover but this is not Clove. Stop messing around with me. Is this why the Abyss brought me back?" Aurora yelled.
More accurately.
Aurora tried to yell but Clove's hand on her chest pinched her. It caused her yelling to evolve into an 'almost' moan.
That caused Aurora to lose control of her aura for a single second. Aurora's eyes popped open as the Clove in front of her disappeared into thin air.
And not only her. The whole room started to fade away.
"You are still no fun. But it does seem like the Abyss granted you a second chance. Welcome to the family, little princess." It burned to see the adult Clove disappear in front of her.
Aurora knew that it had not been her wife, but her body had recognized that touch as familiar.
All Aurora felt was an aching feeling of familiar failure coursing through her.
"Who are you? I can tell that your magic is familiar to the abyss, but you don't look like a goddess to me. Who are you?" Once Aurora had gathered her thoughts, she finally decided to face her tormenter.
The female in front of Aurora gave off a familiar feeling to her.
"Me? I'm a part of this abyss that had gained consciousness. Since you have touched the 'real' abyss when you were granted its power., You know the real nature of this place, right?" the female questioned as she walked toward Aurora.
No. Walk was not the right word. The other female was floating.
Her feet did not touch the ground when she stepped toward Aurora.
"I don't know what this abyss is. I might have touched the 'real' abyss but that doesn't mean that I know what it is." Aurora replied.
When Aurora had been granted the Abyss's power, she had been dying. Forgive her for not remembering what the 'real' abyss was.
"I see. So you are an ignorant lamb? I wonder why the abyss chose you from all the available people there? Was it because your desire was that much stronger than the others?" the female questioned.
The creature seemed to be talking more to herself than to Aurora.
"I don't know. I don't know anything. But I have a feeling you do. Spill the beans or I'll make you spill them." Aurora's voice carried a threat.
But she had a feeling she was not been taken seriously.
Still, the other decided to humour Aurora and finally spill some beans.
"You might have become more than a human now but you still carry over their weird habit of categorizing things. 'Humans', gods', 'Monsters' are all categorized the humans made to make studying things easier. We? We are much more than those things. We are a part of the abyss itself. And we call ourselves 'Metamorphs." the female explained.
Aurora had no idea if the 'we' she mentioned meant herself. Or if there were more people out there that had the abyss's favour.
"Metamorphs? This is the first time I am hearing about this term." Aurora tried not to show how surprised she felt.
She had spent the better part of her life clearing out the abyss. It had given her the confidence of knowing the abyss inside out.
It was shocking and refreshing to see that there were still things she did not know.
"Of course, you won't know that term. You humans call us something else. You call us the 'over-lookers.' if the words before had surprised Aurora, the next ones shocked her to the core.
She might not have an idea what 'Metamorphs' had been. But she was not uncultured enough to not know what 'overlookers' meant.
They were said to be the abyssal energy that had taken a solid shape. They were the will of the abyss.
And they were a myth.
Forget mortals. Even gods and goddesses were required to pay respect to Overlooker's empty chambers once they entered the tower.
"But, why did you show yourself to me? Are you here because I did not pay my respect to your chamber?" Aurora questioned.
She was not sure if she was being lied to. But the energy of the abyss coming from the creature in front of her was real enough.
Aurora waited for the fear to wash over her. She knew she had messed up big times by not paying attention to the ceremonial details.
There had never been a record of what would happen to the celestial if they failed to pay their respect.
"Ah, about that? I don't care about that at all so I'll let you go this time. You are someone chosen by the abyss and carry a part of it in you. Technically, you are closer to us than to those prideful gods and goddesses." the female replied.
Aurora jerked back in fright as the female almost touched her lips to Aurora's.
Personal space seemed to not exist in the metamorph's dictionary. She did not take Aurora's hint to back off either.
"I see. Then, why are you here? Why did you pull me into this space?" Aurora questioned.
The female overlooker seemed to have no plan of causing Aurora trouble. It was a relief to see.
"Silly young princess. I did not pull you here. The abyss did that on its own. It has a task for you." the female replied.
"A task? By the abyss? But won't that require the abyss to be sentient?" Aurora spoke those words but she could not feel them register in her mind.
"Sentient? Oh, poor child. You will soon learn that the abyss is more than sentient. It has a will and a flow. It is a living entity with co-exists with the earth. And one day both of them will reach their end." the overlooker held a faraway look in her eyes.
Aurora felt more questions pop up in her mind than answers. She wanted to ask them but she could not make herself to.
The shock she felt at the revelations she had was too great. And yet, it did make sense.
Sos did the last voice and energy she had felt when she woke up in the past. No ordinary person had that power. It had to be the abyss.
"Alright. I can feel that I should not press you for more answers. So, what does the abyss want me to do? And why did it prompt you to assign me this task?" Aurora questioned.
The approving grin on the woman's face told Aurora that she had made the smart decision of not pursuing the answers.
"What the abyss wants you to do is simple. It wants you to correct its mistake and return a lost soul to its owner. Ah, it seems like you know what I am talking about." it could have been something else but Aurora knew this task was about Clove.
It had to be about Clove.
"I will do it," Aurora answered without hesitation.
"You will? But you have not even heard what it could cost you and what benefits you will get in ret-"
"I will do it. I will do it with or without the Abyss's blessing. I would have done it even if the abyss had been against this idea." Aurora's voice was strong and unshaken.
And for the first time, the female overlooker let her head fall back and let out a humorous laugh.