Terence turned, her head slightly tilted and her eyes widened.
"Strikes me too..." Helena commented.
Raven was also staring at the entrance of the tower—which Northern had just gone through.
She slowly pointed towards it and asked,
"So... are we going?"
Terence shuddered for a second.
"It's dangerous..." she muttered, seeming to shrink away in fear.
"At the same time, we can't stay outside. Terence, what's wrong?" Raven asked directly, her crimson gaze boring into the Tender Oracle's eyes.
Terence was silent for a few seconds, unable to pinpoint exactly what was happening but also couldn't deny the strong feeling of warning from Ul.
To be precise, she lived by reading directions of essence, apart from her special abilities. This was how her perception of things functioned at the highest level.
She could read the essence of things—of course, in a different manner than how Northern could.
Because of her overwhelming soul essence, she felt connected to the voice of Ul stronger than normal drifters did.
It was also because of this overwhelming soul essence that allowed her to pinpoint the direction of other essences, down to the minuscule essence in the air.
Northern, on the other hand, had eyes that could see it.
However, none of them knew that.
So, Northern's action was very strange to them, one that demanded an answer.
Plus, they'd been walking for quite a while. No one was saying it, but the thought of going to rest in the tower was somewhat blissful.
"Perhaps we would have to disobey Ul?"
Terence's face contorted into a scary grimace immediately after Helena spoke, almost making the Feral Sage shrink back in intimidation.
Raven, however, stepped in front of her view and said to her face:
"There is no other option for us, Terence. You said it yourself, a sandstorm is coming. If that is the case, walking to the mountains is a death call. I don't know how Northern was able to do it, but he opened that tower, so we have shelter in the end."
Terence only grimaced more and turned her head away from the two of them.
"You can go... I am not going to disobey Ul."
"Yes." She stood her ground.
The frown on Raven's face deepened fiercely.
The gentle-looking lady turned swiftly, her black tresses swaying in the air, and she walked away towards the tower, calling Helena with her.
Helena exchanged glances between Raven and Terence.
'Seriously, what is going on in this group...'
No one would have ever thought it was possible for Terence and Raven to disagree with one another.
For a fact, Terence was practically Raven's fangirl.
So whatever hold Ul had on the Tender Oracle was quite strong.
It made Helena really wonder what exactly was going on.
She couldn't just leave this young girl outside...at least that was what Terence looked like to her.
Raven, after reaching halfway, turned back and called:
"What are you doing? Let's go!"
Helena stared at her, blinking unbelievably.
She had always known Raven had a streak of cruelty crawling somewhere in her web of personalities.
But she was still caught by an unbelievable surprise.
One that in any other country would almost be worshipped, would be placed in a temple and given all rights of protection and reverence.
It was someone like that Raven was treating this way.
'Couldn't she have at least persuaded her more? Shown she cared?'
But then... the best Raven could try was "Are you serious?"
And now, all of this was beginning to create a tough situation for the Feral Sage, who was by all rights the head of the group... at least, supposedly.
"What are you going to do about the storm?"
"I will survive it somehow."
Terence wore a very dark grimace, it made a semblance of maturity squeeze out of her childlike face.
'Cute,' Helena chuckled inwardly.
She sighed and looked at the tower. Raven was closer to it and wasn't even looking back.
"I don't know what to do... I might just leave you alone."
"It is fine, Lady Helena, I will..."
Helena's hand moved swiftly like a blur, and struck her neck.
The Tender Oracle slumped into her arms without even getting to finish her statement.
With that, she placed Terence over her shoulders and walked to the tower.
After a while, she too was inside the tower. As she entered, she slowly dropped the Oracle beside the wall by the entrance and gazed in wonder at the spectacle that was unveiled before her eyes.
The moment she stepped into the tower, the world outside seemed to vanish, swallowed by an all-encompassing darkness.
The air inside was cool, a stark contrast to the blazing heat of the desert.
Faint glimmers of light filtered through narrow slits in the walls, casting eerie, dancing shadows across the vast chamber.
Intricate mosaics adorned the floor, each tiny piece of stone forming elaborate patterns that seemed to shift and change with every glance, as if alive with a magic of their own.
The walls were carved with ancient symbols, their meanings lost to time and mystery but their presence imposing.
In the dim light, these carvings appeared to pulse with a strange, dark energy emanating from them.
Spiral staircases of impossibly smooth stone wound upwards, seemingly unsupported and defying the laws of gravity.
Helena couldn't help but open her mouth in amazement.
"I'm... speechless..."
Raven looked around, though subtle, those sparks of surprise danced in her crimson eyes.
"I was too," she commented.
Northern was standing close to the wall, his gaze tightly locked on the symbols that marked the wall.
Staring at him from behind, Helena leaned towards Raven and asked:
She shrugged in response, saying:
"He's been like that since I came here..."
Helena nodded slowly.
She turned to look at the unconscious Oracle.
"You should have just left her," Raven said. "She'll learn when she almost loses her life."
Shocked by her statement, Helena couldn't help but open her mouth with a pale expression.
"Geez, I have so much pity for your friends."
"I don't have friends."
"Yeah... I can see why."