As Aeris pulled away, she felt cold somehow. His warmth left her and she was greeted by the cool, damp air in the room around them. It felt oddly lonely. Or perhaps she felt lonely in general. He was so close, yet he still felt out of reach. She did feel like they had gotten a little closer again, or at the very least he didn't seem quite as intent on pushing her away, or as distrustful of her as he had been. It was at least a step in the right direction. Regardless, though, there were more pressing matters right now, she supposed.<br/><br/>She nodded when he said they should be cautious. "I feel something, too." she assured him. "The Force feels... different." she added, a troubled expression coloring her face. She wasn't sure what it was, but like before when she had felt the cold, dark presence in the tunnels, the Force felt different. It wasn't the same, yet it shared some similaries. It was colder and darker than before, but that wasn't all. It felt tainted, twisted. She wasn't really sure how to explain it. It just felt... off. As did the presences she felt in the distance. Rather than sit around and wonder, however, she followed him as he walked. Her muscles were still sore and she still felt weak so walking was difficult, but she pushed forward nonetheless. She had to.<br/><br/>She stayed behind him as they turned the corner and he ignited his lightsaber to provide some light, as well as protection, she assumed. The light didn't quite reach the corners of the room, so shadows lingered, but she felt a presence close by. Before too long, that presence was revealed. It was the female Jedi from before. The one she had healed. She seemed different, though. Her presence felt different and Aeris couldn't feel any emotions from her, but it wasn't like when someone tried to hide their emotions, it was more like she had none at all. Upon closer inspection, her physical appearance had also been altered. Her eyes were gone, replaced with some sort of black mist. The Jedi opened her mouth, as if to speak, but no words came out, only that same black mist and some high-pitched screeching sound, almost like the screams of a ghost. It was rather unsettling, to be perfectly honest.<br/><br/>Aeris closed her eyes and reached out into the Force, deciding that this was a good opportunity to gather some information. Even if she was weak, she could still use the ability. The girl's presence no longer resembled what Aeris had once felt from her. In fact, she couldn't feel that presence at all, nor could she feel any real life force. All that remained was that same cold, dark, twisted presence that very much resembled that of the Sith. It was almost as if she'd died and the Sith had taken over, at least in a manner of speaking. She wondered, was this the fate they had all suffered? All of their companions?<br/><br/>"Yeah, I did." She replied, frowning, and placed a hand on Dren's shoulder, to brace herself more than anything. She didn't explain what she was doing, so she hoped he wasn't too surprised by her actions, but she didn't have time to explain right now. She couldn't keep this up for much longer, so she needed to use her time and her strength while she could. She then reached out further into the Force, searching for the others. She was already using the Force, she might as well look for them, too. She couldn't look extensively, but in the short time she was able to search, she found nothing but emptiness, darkness, and that same cold, twisted Force. It was as if all of the life inside the temple had been stolen. At least that was what she thought at first. Somewhere, hidden beneath that ever-present darkness, she felt at least two distinct presences. That meant that at least two others were still alive, at least for now. She wasn't exactly sure who they were, but it was a pretty safe bet that they were either her companions or his.<br/><br/>After a few moments she pulled her mind back to reality. She didn't realize how much it had taken out of her until then. She felt somewhat dizzy and her breathing was a bit heavier. She was also leaning more heavily on Dren than she had intended. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to move. She wasn't sure if that was because she felt too weak to support herself in that moment, or for another reason, but it was at least due in large part to the former, so that's what she chose to believe. "I'll be okay. I just need a moment." she assured him, whether or not it was completely true. She needed to rest and soon. Sooner now, after what she had just done. Still, she didn't want to be the one to slow them down. Although, she thought that whoever was still alive was a farther distance away from them than she was capable of walking at present, but she would try to go for as long as she could.<br/><br/>"I felt two of the others, so at least two are alive, although I'm not sure who. There could be others, but I couldn't feel them if they are there. Granted, I wasn't able to look extensively in this state, so there is still hope. They may still be alive." she told him what she had found, trying to give him some form of hope. Still, a hint of sadness colored her features. "But Asha..." she paused, "I couldn't feel her. I think she's..." her voice trailed off and she averted her gaze, not having the heart to actually say those words, or see his face when he heard them.<br/><br/>She realized that she hadn't moved from where she had been, leaning against him. "I'm sorry, I keep..." she let her words trail off again. "I'll move in a minute, if you want to keep moving. I just need a moment to recover." she explained, figuring he was probably tired of having to hold her up. He'd done that a lot in the past few hours. It couldn't be helped that she needed to rest for a moment. She supposed that the wall would work just as well but if she was being honest, she preferred this, and it gave her some calm and comfort that a wall could not.