The Fallen Bridge

According to the legends the soldiers told in the camp over the five days Vastarael was training alone, the bridge is known as the Fallen Bridge.

There are nine islands in Erna Isles. The most distant island is where the human army came from, the Kingdom of Volxane.

The other eight were ruled by the Four Winter Labors, each taking control over two of them. The Blizzard's Wrath had control over the Lake of Miracles Island, where the original Raurekai used to stay in.

The main reason why the Raurekai were migrating was because they wanted to gathered the rest of their tribe on the other islands and leave the Erna Frozen Isles. They numbered a few ten thousand, perhaps more.

What surprised Vastarael was that the human army was not trying to kill the Runic Tribes anymore. Instead, they all pledged loyalty to Farrynelle and Xander and acted under their commands. Vastarael didn't know how they did it but one thing was certain.

No human army was going after the Runic Tribes anymore.

Back to the Fallen Bridge...

It existed way before the Frozen God came to Erna Isles. It connected the two islands the Blizzard's Wrath was in control of. Also, it was the only way to pass through the other island, the Island of Peony.

Vastarael wondered why this didn't make sense. Couldn't they use a boat to pass through the other side? Why would you have to make a bridge to cross to the other island?

He got his answer when he arrived at the Fallen Bridge.

Before them stood an unfathomably massive wall of ice, shimmering faintly under the pale glow of the frozen sun. The sheer scale of it was enough to halt even the most seasoned of travelers.

It was not merely a wall but an impenetrable fortress of ice, stretching upward over five thousand meters into the sky and extending outward as far as the eye could see, carving the horizon into two starkly divided realms.

The ice glistened with an eerie permanence, untouched by time or warmth. Vastarael instinctively reached out to touch the frozen barrier, feeling the chill radiating from it even before his gloved fingers could make contact.

This wasn't ordinary ice. Its surface was unnaturally smooth, as though it had been polished by divine hands, and its density was almost unfathomable. He had heard of unmelting ice in myths and legends, but seeing it in person was something else entirely.

"It's not just a wall," Peccavi murmured. She pointed toward the horizon, where the ice curved seamlessly into the landscape.

"This stretches around the entirety of Lake of Miracles Island. A prison of ice, trapping the entire landmass within its frozen grasp."

"And below?" Vastarael asked, peering over the edge of the cliff where the ice wall began.

Peccavi's face darkened as she gestured downward.

"An endless abyss."

Vastarael knelt near the edge, his eyes narrowing as he observed the drop. The ice wall didn't simply end at ground level. It extended downward into a fathomless pit, a gaping maw of darkness that seemed to devour all light.

It was as though the Lake of Miracles Island itself had been severed from the rest of the world and suspended within this frozen cage.

"So that's why they couldn't use boats," Vastarael muttered. "The wall isn't just a barrier. You try to climb or sail past it, and it swallows you whole."

"And that," Peccavi added, pointing toward the massive tunnel entrance carved into the wall ahead of them, "is why the Fallen Bridge exists."

The army and the three Seventh Enlightenment Students descended toward the tunnel cutting horizontally through the extremely gigantic ice wall, their boots crunching against the frosted ground.

As they drew closer, the true nature of the bridge revealed itself. The Fallen Bridge was no bridge in the conventional sense.

It was a colossal tunnel, an immense cavern carved horizontal through the ice wall. The icy ceiling stretched hundreds of meters above them, glittering with embedded crystals that refracted light into an ethereal glow. The walls were smooth yet jagged in places.

But what caught Phaenora's attention most wasn't the ice itself.

It was the ground.

"Wood," she said aloud, his voice tinged with disbelief. "The ground is made of wood."

The tunnel's floor was constructed entirely of ancient wooden planks, weathered and darkened with age yet somehow intact. The planks spanned the length of the tunnel, creating a precarious path suspended above the abyss. Every step echoed ominously, the sound swallowed by the cold silence around them.

The six thousand army soldiers walked normally on that wooden floor. The length of the tunnel was so massive that they didn't have any trouble walking side to side. There was even enough space despite the numbers.

"Why wood?" Xander wondered aloud, tapping one of the planks with his foot. "You'd think they'd use something... sturdier. Metal. Stone. Anything but wood."

"No idea," Peccavi replied, her gaze fixed on the endless expanse of planks disappearing into the tunnel's depths.

As they moved further inside, the enormity of the bridge became more apparent. The tunnel didn't just stretch forward. It branched into three massive paths, each one identical in design.

"This is... unexpected," Farrynelle admitted, crossing her arms. "We planned for a straightforward bridge, not this labyrinth of tunnels. Which one do we take?"

Peccavi stepped forward, her eyes scanning the paths.

"It doesn't matter which. They all lead to the same place, which is the other side of the third island. But each path comes with its own dangers."

"And if you fall?" Xander asked, peering over the edge of the wooden planks. Below them was nothing but darkness, a void that seemed to stretch into eternity.

"You die," Peccavi said simply. "The abyss isn't forgiving. You'll never come out alive."

Vastarael frowned. The tunnel's structure was unlike anything he had encountered. It was a bridge in name only. Instead, it felt more like an enormous artery carved into the ice, guiding travelers through the frozen barrier and into the unknown.

The fact that the floor consisted solely of wooden planks, suspended above such peril, made every step a gamble.

"Centuries-old planks," Vastarael muttered, shaking his head. "And we're supposed to trust them to hold our weight?"

"They've lasted this long," Phaenora pointed out. "If they were going to collapse, they would've done so ages ago."

Vastarael wasn't reassured, but he pushed the thought aside. Instead, he turned his attention back to the walls, tracing the extremely long ice stalactites with his fingers.

"This place wasn't just built for passage. It's something more."

Peccavi nodded.

"It's said that it has existed when before the Frozen God came to the Isles. It's said that it created it as a test, a way to ensure only the strongest and most determined could leave the Lake of Miracles Island and enter the Island of Peony."

"A test, huh?" Vastarael muttered. He looked down the tunnel's length, his gaze hardening. "Then I guess we'll have to pass through it. We're gonna have to split into three groups, each of us commanding two thousand soldiers."

Vastarael didn't want to be the commander of an army but they had no choice. If six thousand of them went together on the same tunnel, they would all die.

Farrynelle seemed to agree. "Good idea. Let's—"

Farrynelle barely had time to finish her sentence when the sharp sound of a massive explosion shattered the eerie silence of the frozen tunnel. The entire structure trembled slightly and fragments of frost and ice cascaded from the ceiling.

The group turned instinctively toward the source of the disturbance, their breaths caught in their throats.

"What the hell was that?" Xander exclaimed, his hand already moving to the hilt of his sword.

"It's Vastarael," Farrynelle said as she faced Vastarael.

Vastarael stood calmly, his golden eyes blazing with energy, his white curls glowing faintly in the shimmering light of his Second Stat Plasma Mystic Circle circle. Around him, the frost had melted into a steaming, glassy surface.

"Whoever's hiding," Vastarael called out, his voice echoing through the tunnel with authority, "show yourself. Now!"

For a moment, the cavern was still. All of them stood in tense silence, scanning the space for any movement. Then, like ripples across water, the air in front of Vastarael shimmered, bending and warping as if reality itself were being peeled away.

And then she appeared.

It felt like space distorted for a few seconds, a feat that Vastarael was not used to.

A slender figure emerged from the distortion, her form materializing gracefully into view. Her starry hair cascaded down her back like liquid starlight and her galaxy eyes met Vastarael's with an intensity that froze him in place.

She wore an cloak adorned with cosmic patterns, a mark of her celestial heritage.

It was as very expensive winter outfit in their opinion.

Vastarael took a step back, his expression shifting from defiance to sheer disbelief.

"Narisva Starisnova?"