10: Laying the bait

Those had not been the first choice of words Aurora had when she had first thought about explaining her situation. But reflexes were hard to master.

And in this case, it meant opening her mouth to deny all accusations made against her person, even if it was half her fault this time.

The silence that descent in the room was awkward and Aurora could see Rex questioning his life choices.

"So, you know this guy Aurora? He's good?" Rita asked, finally relaxing her tense body. The awkwardness that had risen due to Aurora's thoughtless reply had made her forget that Rita had even been here.

And now she felt doubly embarrassed at showing this side of her to her friend. What must she be thinking of her? It made Aurora kind of glad that Clove was not here to see her blunder.

"Hey, I would have you know that I'm an extremely honest guy. I'm only like this to gather information, understood? And you, you better start spilling what happened to you" Rex replied, his tone frustrated.

Rex had been a short-tempered guy who had just gotten worse as the time had passed. Aurora genuinely did not even remember what he had been like when he was not tense.

Rita seemed to not be believing Rex's words, her eyes darting back to Aurora to confirm her safety. For Aurora, this situation was not one she ever thought she would be in. Rex and Rita had never met in her original timeline.

"He's good so we can trust him. I came here especially to recruit him for a project" Aurora assured, tackling one problem at a time. Rex did not look amused at seeing him being ignored but he held his tongue.

Really good progress her sworn brother had made. Or maybe it was his lack of progress that had assured that he remained calm.

Aurora took in a deep breath, not sure if she wanted to talk about her current situation. But she had to. She would need all the help she could till she figured out how to use her powers right.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I am from the future? I was supposed to come back in my original body and somehow ended up messing things up" Aurora explained in the simplest of ways.

"Of course you did. I'm not even surprised that something like this could have happened. Since you are here like this, I believe that something went wrong somewhere but never mind that. You are here to ask for help? Be more specific and I'll see what I can do" Of course, her brother did not need much more than that to be able to read her.

They both had grown up in conditions that had not been typical so it was no wonder that they had grown closer. Even Rita looked excited, her eyes shining as she leaned ahead to be able to hear better.

Aurora took in a deep breath to calm herself down. It was now or never.

"I am going to set up an academy. One that will train the abyss aspirants and help them venture deeper and deeper into the space. I need your help to achieve that" The glass slipped out of Rex's hand and even Rita looked shocked.

It was a given since the very idea of setting up an academy opposing the Abyss tower was stupid. It was akin to suicide and there was no way it was going to succeed.

However, this was the only shot Aurora had if she wanted to cover the abyss and look for Clove's split soul. And it was not like Aurora could cover all of it on her own with other gods and goddesses around.

"You want to do what? Tell me that you've lost your mind and that's why you are spouting this nonsense. I'm out" Rex replied as he turned to leave. Even Rita was gaping like a goldfish, her mouth opening to speak but then thinking better and not speaking those words.

However, Aurora was not as worried. She knew things from the future which would help her. She also knew some of the inner workings of the Abyss Tower, having to spend a lot of time there in the company of Clove and others.

She was not talking out of her tits.

"Are you sure? I've lived the future, you know and I can assure you that it is entirely possible to topple the current political system on its head. Right now, the Abyss Tower had a monopoly on the power but it'll not last forever" Aurora was taking a gamble here.

She might not have received any warning about spoiling the future, but she was not naive enough to sprout it all out in one go.

To reel a fish in, you needed to bait it out first. And Aurora knew from experience that nothing people more than forbidden secrets.

"Are you serious? I take it that the future is not something you can talk openly about? Aurora shook her head. Technically, it was not a lie since Aurora's instincts told her not to spoil the future.

It might be her new nature as a goddess, but she could feel the magic tense up when she started to talk about the future. It indicated that it did not like her actions very much.

However, she had done her part and the bait had been laid. Now all she had to do was to reap the benefits.

Maybe probe a little bit more.

"You are free to believe me or not to believe me. But I do have a lot of advantages. I might also have an idea of the 'thing' you are looking for. I can't say it yet but if you help me out, I will reveal the hint to you before the time comes" and that nailed Rex's attention.

"Fine, deal. The fact that you know I am looking for something makes me believe you. I can't guarantee you the desired outcome but I'm willing to help you out" Rex replied.

And honestly, this was what Aurora had expected. Her body finally relaxed and the tension in the room bleed out. Aurora expected him to leave after his outburst, but the man flopped down on the couch instead.

"Take the side room for now. It'll not be ideal if you went out right now since there are some shady people here. But I can't guarantee you will get a decent night of sleep here. This is the pleasure district after all" Rita looked confused as Aurora ushered her friend into the side room.

Rita might not have gotten what Rex meant but Aurora was not as innocent. She was sure her face was flaming as she left the room.