NOVEL NEXT Chapter 34: Bridge
'This should be enough'.
After Nephis and Effie left Isaac turned his attention to the hoard of skeletons currently lunging at him.
"It's now or never".
As soon as those words left Isaac's lips, the air around him began to change.
Isaac activated his Dormant Ability.
He's proceeded to sacrifice his sense of taste and sense of touch for an increase in his ocular and cognitive functions.
He then invoked a powerful oath.
This oath was explicit reason why he had asked Nephis and Effie to leave.
Explicitly Nephis.
[AS LONG AS I REMAIN WITHIN THE EMBRACE OF SHADOWS MY STRENGTH IS INCREASED, BUT IF EXPOSED TO ANY LIGHT SOURCE I WILL LOSE ALL STRENGTH TO THE EXTENT THAT I CAN ONLY MANAGE TO BREATH]
The moment that oath was made, he felt his entire being shutter.
Isaac felt strength like never before flow from deep within his body, manifesting from his soul and seeping into the physical world.
He felt his muscles expand slightly, all of them bulging as if to explode.
He could've sworn he grew at least one to two inches taller.
If Isaac would look into his soul sea he would see two pale spheres filled with essence and golden words engraved upon them cradled by silver branches and grey leaves.
Yet if he were to look beside them he would see six illusory spheres.
These illusory spheres representing soul cores and not only that, they also represented the strength he received from his oath.
That would indicate that he currently was able to generate more physical power than an Awakened Titan.
With that he turned his axe to the dulled and somewhat flat surface.
With a smile, that seemed to last for only a moment he swung it with all his might.
A loud deafening explosion rang out as the blunt side of the axe broke through the air with tyrannical might.
The hoard of skeletons that were running at him were suddenly blown back.
They crashing into each other causing the hoard to stop their advancement which gave him another opportunity.
Snatching the chance Isaac took a few steps forward stopping a meter away from the skeletal hoard and raised his axe which had been turned to its sharpened edge.
With another mighty swing which sliced through the air the hoard was eviscerated there bones broken and scattered.
Isaac then deactivated his oath while keeping his [Sacrifice].
"Let's move now!!!".
He yelled to the rest of the cohort.
Turning their heads seeing the front was clear they all began to make their way towards Isaac.
Effie gave him a look over and strongly griped his shoulders.
"Never do that again got it".
Isaac stayed silent for a few moments before answering evenly.
"No promises but I can try".
Not completely happy with the response Effie begrudgingly moved on.
Which wasn't the same for Cassia.
She made sure to "look" which was more like feeling with a flushed face every nook and cranny of his appropriate to touch at body parts for any wounds.
Nephis also came to heal him which was promptly refused.
"Hey! Effie! How far are we from the exit from this damned place?! When is this going to end?!"
Swatting away an undead monster that had just put itself back together on her own, the huntress briefly glanced back and grinned.
"What do you mean, "end"?!"
'What does she mean what do I mean? Isn't it obvious?'
Turning back to concentrate on the horde of enemies in front of them, Effie yelled.
"What end?! This was just a warm-up!".
'Ahh f*ck you Isaac'.
Sunny cursed and prepared himself for the worst.
A few moments later, the short respite gifted by Isaac was over.
Then they began to run with full force.
A few meters in front of them, the floor of the catacombs was broken, collapsing into a vast, seemingly bottomless chasm.
That terrifying abyss was filled with darkness that even Sunny's sight couldn't pierce.
The chasm was no less than forty meters across and stretched far into the distance to both left and right, like a dark border separating the world of the living from the world of the dead.
A rickety rope bridge was drawn across it, connecting to a similar-looking tunnel at the other end of the abyssal chasm.
The rope bridge looked like a derelict of ancient times.
It was flimsy, slippery, and rotten through and through.
'She doesn't expect us to actually use it, does she? It's so obvious that this thing will collapse as soon as we step on it! Has she not seen any sageuk?! Even if others somehow survive, there's no chance that I, with that damn [Fated] Attribute, will make it to the other end...'
Sunny turned to Effie and scowled, really hoping to be surprised by her answer.
"So, what now?"
The huntress looked at him in confusion.
"What else? We cross the bridge!"
Sunny sighed.
Of course, they had to cross the bridge.
Why had he even bothered to ask?
'Great!'
At least the damn thing was empty of the skeletons.
The path to the other side of the chasm was clear.
'What is clear is that I'm going to die!'
'f*ck you Isaac.'
While Sunny was consumed by these unhappy ruminations, Effie and Caster quickly threw the few undead creatures remaining in front of them over the edge of the chasm.
Finally safe from their constant attacks, most of the cohort took a chance to quickly catch their breaths.
Only Nephis, Stone Saint and Isaac were still fighting.
In fact, the overwhelming pressure of the pursuing horde had grown so heavy that they were barely holding on.
Three figures — one shrouded in shadows, one whose presence felt weirdly suffocating and another bathed in pure white light — were slowly buckling under the furious onslaught of the army of the dead.
Sunny gritted his teeth.
...If nothing changed, they were going to be the ones being thrown into the dark abyss very soon.
With a grim expression on his face, he glanced at Effie and said.
"Go."
Leaning on her spear, the huntress weakly shook her head.
"Someone will have to hold them off long enough for everyone to get to the other side. You should..."
Sunny interrupted her.
"I'll be the last one to cross. Don't worry... I have a plan."
A crazy plan.
But what else was new?
Giving him a long look, Effie hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded.
"Alright. Stay alive, Sunny."
He quietly chuckled.
"Aww. I didn't know you cared."
She stared at him for a bit, and then said strangely serious.
"No, it's just that if you die, pretty soon I'll have to fight your scrawny corpse. So... don't do that. Okay? Oh and my night pillow will be very sad."
With that, Effie beckoned others to follow her and stepped on the rickety bridge.
Sunny blinked a couple of times, watched her go, then turned his back to the chasm and sighed.
'Right. What else did I expect? And what "night pillow" is she talking about. Does she have a sentient pillow? Why would it be sad because I died?'
Shaking his head, Sunny throughout the weird thoughts.
In any case, there was no way back now.
Brandishing the Midnight Shard, he dashed forward and joined Changing star and the Shadow Saint in their desperate fight.