"He's with me," a bell-like voice resonates beside me.

  I look at Aurora as if I've seen a ghost; her unique bright eyes shining in the darkness, the black artifact covering her mouth.

  The guard doesn't seem to buy it. But eventually, he clicks his tongue and steps back.

  I sigh. I want to ask Aurora a thousand questions. However, she looks at me, tensing her eyes.

  "What are you doing here?" she says sharply.

  I don't know how to respond. I don't dare to tell her I decided to act alone.

  "I'm on a contract. I'm looking for some Lobos that the Dorados kidnapped."

  "A contract in the Flowers’ Rift? Aurora looks into my eyes as if searching for something. "I see…"

  Aurora turns her back on me and moves towards her room.

  "Wait," I say, causing her to stop and glance at me sideways. "I…I'm sorry."

  "What are you talking about?"

  "About what happened in the trials. I let my anger control me and ended up hurting you or rather… killed you."

  "Oh, that," she says, looking at the ceiling full of shining worms. "It was only natural, that's just how things work."

  I look at the ground feeling my chest heavy.

  "By the way," Aurora turns slightly towards me but still doesn't look me in the eyes. "I heard that Aleifr named you his heir. Is that true?"

  "Yes, I've decided to help him in his mission to bring order and peace to the cave."

  Aurora slightly opens her eyes in surprise.

  "Aleifr told you about that?" she turns away and remains silent. She eventually says something. "I heard that one of the Lobos was recently imprisoned in this flower house. I know the owner of this Flower house. If you want, I can convince her to let you see them."

  A smile lights up on my face.

  "Yes! Thank you, that would be very helpful."

  I follow Aurora, and we walk through the tunnels of the Flower House. Compared to the winding tunnels of the Lengua Venenosa clan, these seem more artificial with straight and calculated lines.

  In various places, large rooms open up where people are conversing and smoking a purple substance.

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  Eventually, we reach what seems like a large room where the women of the clan entertain the guests. We traverse this room until we reach the back where there's an elevation and a large collection of pillows and carpets.

  On the elevation sits a small woman with blonde hair. Her eyes are shaped like a rose similar to Lilu's, but hers are purple. Despite her size and appearance, her maturity is accentuated by her exotic red silk tunic with detailed embroidery.

  Two guards similar to the one who stopped me are guarding the elevation.

  "What the hell is this crap? Tastes like piss," the girl says, throwing the wine glass.

  "I'm sorry, ma'am. We've had trouble getting wine."

  "And why should I care? I want my wine!"

  The girl sighs.

  "Well, at least bring the beer we make ourselves. How boring."

  The girl notices our presence.

  "What are you doing here, Eru's puppy? Was my precious gift not of your liking?"

  "I'm not here to talk about that," says Aurora. "I heard you caught one of the Lobos recently. I wanted to know if you would allow this boy to visit the cells?"

  "Oh? And why would I do that?" she says, sharpening her gaze towards me. " If it were up to me, we'd go back into exile and only let in those who give us something in return on our terms."

  "I heard you're having trouble getting resources. If you take care of this, I'll personally take care of getting them. Not for nothing I was the best assassin of the Lobos Rojos."

  The girl sits properly and walks with her bare feet until she reaches me. She tiptoes and almost touches my face with her nose. A scent similar to grapes fills my nose.

  "Deal,” she says. “Insect guardians, guide this beautiful bunny to the cells."

  "Really? Thank you so much," I say.

  "Don't worry about it," she says with a smile. "I can't refuse such a beautiful face like yours."

  The guardians guide Aurora and me through the tunnels until we reach the entrance of a cave guarded by other guardians.

  "Good luck with your contract," says Aurora.

  "Thank you very much, Aurora. I promise I'll do whatever it takes for you to come back."

  Aurora smiles at me and then leaves, disappearing into another tunnel. I'm stunned. For the first time, I had seen Aurora show some expression.

  Inside the cave, several people are illuminated by the small luminescent worms. Part of me wants to help these people too, but I know it will be impossible now.

  Eventually, I spot Lilu.

  "Lilu!"

  She turns towards me like a startled bird.

  "W-Why are you here?"

  "I've come to get you out. I didn't want to leave you."

  "A-are you c-crazy? How will you do that?"

  "Don't worry, I've got this, I made a deal with the leader of this place."

  Suddenly, one of the guards hits me with the staff of his weapon.

  "No talking, prisoner."

  "Hey! I'm not a prisoner. I have permission from the matron."

  "Haha. Did you hear that? Permission from the matron, he says," he tells the other guard. "Now you're nothing but a dirty prisoner."

  I stand up and try to activate the Mukasa Herencia, but I don't feel my strength increase, and instead my white mark burns and prevents me from attacking them.

  "What's going on?"