213 213: A passionate entry - part 2
“I’m sorry if I am interrupting something here but I felt the need to come here. I hope I am not being a bother to the overlooker present before me.”
The more Aurora tried to sense the presence back, the more it had not responded. That had eroded Aurora’s thoughts about the identity of the man in front of her. There were only so many individuals who could erase their presence from being felt by a goddess.
But the list was further narrowed down when Aurora took in the evidence she had. It was not difficult to conclude that an overlooker was involved in this scheme.
The evidence of such interference was even present in Aurora’s last life but Mei’s interference had changed things last time.
“Finally, you came to me on your own accord, my dear interesting subject. Were you the one who managed to hatch this dragon egg? The presence of the abyss is so dense on you that I was taken aback the first time I saw you.”
The outlooker’s warm brown eyes stared Aurora down. There was no sense of urgency in the man’s posture but Aurora still felt her body tense up.
“Am I making you nervous? I’m sorry but that was not my intention. For now, why don’t you follow me and I’ll tell you what is going to happen next? As for this dragon, well, he caused our preparations to go down the drain so well punish him accordingly. Also, call me Shaun for the record. Being called the outlooker is too much.”
How the man managed to out all that information in one breath was amazing. He didn’t even seem winded after speaking for so long.
But even though that outlooker had warm brown eyes, his aura was not as calm as it was being made for the others to believe. The man was pissed off and he would likely take it out on Ur if Aurora didn’t stop him.
“And if I refused to leave Ur alone, then what are you going to do? Are you going to fight me right here and now?”
Aurora knew she was taking a risk by positioning herself in front of Ur. But there was a legit chance that the outlander would attack if things got heated up.
“Fine, I will leave the dragon alone for now. But you need to get him out of my sight or I won’t be responsible for my actions. As for you? You’ll still need to follow after me. Those are the conditions I am giving you to ensure that everyone survives today’s disaster.”
Astoria’s anger pulsed visibly in front of Aurora’s eyes but it was not possible to go against the outlander.
[Astoria, take Ur out to the royal palace for now. Don’t worry about Lady Mei since we talked before I came here.]
Astoria looked visibly frustrated at Aurora’s words but she did not put up much of a fuss about the arrangements Aurora made with her.
She was a level-headed individual who saw the bigger picture. It was the right idea to take Astoria along on this journey.
“When I mean that I wanted to be left alone with her, I meant you as well Head priest. Do you want to see your head roll around once I separate it from your body?”
The Head Priest looked shocked but then adapted quickly. From his behavior, Aurora could conclude that this was not the first time he had been threatened like this.
“Now then, shall we go ahead and make ourselves comfortable? I am interested to know where sprouted from. A goddess like you should not exist since there is no space left on the table. Won’t you agree so? Our dear fourteenth member?”
The man opened his eyes, the visible part of the outlooker’s eyes shining with interest and Aurora had a bad feeling about it.
“I have no idea what you are talking about. Numerous gods and goddesses are born every year so why should I not exist? What makes me so special?”
Aurora had to ask this question. So far she had gotten no answer about her circumstances but it was not like Aurora had been interested in herself to know about it either.
Since Ava had not commented on Aurora’s powers beyond what was normal, Aurora had taken it as a silent confession that the outlander did not know anything about her.
But had Ava kept quiet not because she knew nothing but because she did not want to say anything to Aurora?
“What makes you special, you ask? Then, let me ask the basic question first. Do you know what the origin of all the gods and goddesses in this world is?”
“A core. More specifically, all gods and goddesses possess a core of a powerful divine beast that grants them special powers. But I don’t see what that had to do with anything.”
Although Aurora said that, she had an inkling of where this story was going. It also made sense why the gods and goddesses had to step into the outlander’s chamber to pay their respects.
“Now, don’t say that so easily. You know what I am trying to say but you just don’t want to accept it. After all, it was no coincidence that the humans chose their targets so long ago to take their core. In the end, they got lucky with the harvest of the cores and gained 7 new powers.”
“But before the humans could harvest those cores, they were merged with something else. Can you guess what these things were?”
The outlooker looked at Aurora with a curious expression. It was honest and earnest that Aurora found it difficult to look away.
The realization of what she was thinking also made Aurora feel sick but she knew in her heart that what she was thinking was the truth.
“It was those 13 animals used for experimentation. Don’t tell me that they managed to become integrated with those cores.”
“Of course we did. It’s not like we had another choice if we had to survive. But then those greedy humans came back and killed off 7 of us for their gain. I hate them for it but I guess I pity them as well.”
That was a fascinating story to hear. For someone who was involved with the god business for so long, it was weird to hear all this now.
But it did explain why and how the abyss was so integral to the whole mess. It also explained why and how a divine power could be passed on.
“So that was why I wanted to ask where you came from? As far as I know, none of the Zoodics are missing, nor is any of those gods and goddesses dead. Your power should be unnatural and it interests me.”
Instead of looking stressed, Shaun looked excited to see Aurora. His gaze made Aurora feel like a guinea pig participating in an experiment.
“So, what do you want with me? Before you begin asking me difficult questions I must tell you that I don’t know anything. Also, does it mean that most of the abyssal belts have no governance right now?”
“Well, the abyssal floors not under our control have nothing to do with us. But this is why we rotate floors between the remaining outlanders to make sure everything is alright. And now that I have answered your questions, it’s time I take my reward.”
‘Reward? What is the man talking about?’
Aurora’s body dodges the incoming attack without even being aware that she did it. The outlooker in front of her looked impressed at the fast reflexes she showed but he also felt annoyed.
“Hey, sit still. It won’t hurt much when I take your core out. I just want to study it and see how your existence is even possible.”
The man was not only fast but he was ruthless as well. His touch easily reduced Aurora’s surroundings into rubble and it made her worry for her life.
‘Not hurt my ass. This man just wants to kill me.’
Aurora dodged another attack before she felt her back touch an invisible wall. The outlooker was caging her in.
“Is that it? How boring and disappointing. Why don’t you show me what you can do with your powers? Or, is that really the end of your capabilities.”
Aurora felt her body boil up in rage at the taunt. She was not one to show such accessive emotions so it worried her a bit.
She was not sure why this man/beast was getting to her but she felt her temper hit a point and her mind blanked out.
The next thing she knew was that she had the man beneath her foot, her hands stained red and wide eyes looking back at her.
“So that’s how it is? I see…..Finally, this nightmare can come to an end. I guess…it…was…about…time…for…things…to……end……”
Aurora could feel the life ticking out of the body beneath her feet as the core in her hand pulsed.
‘Shit, what happened? I felt like I blanked out. Now, what should I do with this? No, I should keep it in the system inventory. I need more time to think things over.’