My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Damon could feel his heart pounding against his chest as the movements of the creature deep in the chasm sent tremors through the world. The air grew heavy, and as the monstrous entity began to raise its head, the very atmosphere churned.

In that instant, Damon knew—if that thing set its sights upon them, they would die.

There was no time to contemplate its rank or origin. Whatever it was, it was far beyond their capabilities.

All he could do was grab his party and run across the old rope bridge.

However, their escape felt futile. They had originally made it more than halfway across, the exit within sight—but now, the bridge seemed to stretch farther and farther away with every desperate step they took.

A visceral sense of horror gripped Damon. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to think past his terror. His gaze snapped to Xander.

"Use your magic! Make us lighter!"

Xander didn't hesitate. He raised his palms, and magic surged from him in a shimmering circle. Almost instantly, Damon felt his weight reduce under the effects of gravity magic.

But that didn't solve their immediate problem. They still had to get off the bridge before whatever lurked in the chasm fully emerged.

The end was close—yet felt impossibly far.

Damon made his choice. He raised his hand and fired the hook from his omnidirectional gear, locking onto the far end of the bridge. Without hesitation, he pulled them forward with the gear's powerful recoil.

In a flash, they soared across the remaining distance. Just as they reached solid ground, an immense shadow loomed over the bridge.

"Don't look at it!" Damon's voice cut through the madness.

Then, they crashed onto the ground, tumbling outside the bridge's reach.

Their faces were ashen, their noses bleeding from the sheer terror of the aura that had washed over them. Damon forced himself to stand, gasping for breath, his mind reeling from the experience.

When he looked around, everything was… gone.

The mist had cleared. The monstrous entity had vanished. The eerie figures they had seen earlier—nowhere to be found. The other side of the bridge was fully visible, leading into the dense trees of the Duhu Mountains.

The sun shone brightly above.

It was as if everything had been a nightmare.

But Damon knew better. It was all real. The bridge still remained, now faintly glowing with ancient runes.

They had made it to an entirely different biome.

In the distance, just a few kilometers away, the world ahead was dark and gray. A vast forest stretched as far as the eye could see, its shadowy expanse foreboding and endless.

The whispering forest.

Damon stood up. They had to destroy the bridge so no one could follow them.

He stepped closer, unbuckling the gaunt axe he had been carrying. Evangeline rose to her feet, her face pale.

"What... are you doing?"

Damon raised the massive, human-sized axe with one hand.

"I'm cutting the bridge off. We can't let any demons come after us. They also want to reach the ruined city."

He glanced at the group.

"If I remember correctly, one redcap goblin escaped. Where do you think he ran off to?"

Evangeline hesitated before nodding. "But if you cut it off, that would mean no going back."

Damon didn't answer. Instead, Leona did, her gaze fixed on the distant Duhu Mountains.

"There was nowhere to go back to, to begin with. We can only move forward."

Sylvia sat hugging her legs. "Do it. Destroy the bridge."

Xander sighed at the exchange. "At least we'll travel safer knowing we don't have anyone or anything hunting us."

Matia eyed the bridge skeptically. "For an old bridge, it's tougher than it looks."

Damon approached cautiously, lifting the axe high. As he brought it down onto the frayed ropes, a small spark flared at the point of impact.

In that instant, the world shifted. The mist returned. The ghostly figures drifted in the haze, and the monstrous entity in the chasm slowly began to rise once more.

It lasted only a moment, but Damon recoiled, staggering back and dropping the axe with a groan. He collapsed to his knees, coughing up blood, his breath weak and ragged.

The bridge was part of another world.

"Damon! What happened?"

The others surrounded him as he struggled to breathe. He raised a trembling finger toward the bridge.

Sylvia and Evangeline worked quickly, their magic flowing through him. After a few minutes, Damon was more or less recovered. He spat out some blood and clicked his tongue.

"Well, that ended up being a disaster."

Sylvia, her eyes fixed on an unseen book—a skill of hers—nodded grimly.

"The bridge is ancient. It was built as part of a trial to reach the Path of Kings. But like many things in this land, it has become twisted. Its magic can't be destroyed by physical contact. Magic won't work either—it's resistant to most spells."

Damon frowned. He couldn't rest easy with that bridge still standing. Something, or someone, could still follow.

He stood up and walked toward the bridge again. Evangeline scowled.

"What are you doing? Didn't you hear what she said?"

He nodded sheepishly. "I did."

He raised his hand, closing his eyes as if bracing for intense pain—because he was.

Then, opening them once more, he whispered,

"She said physical contact won't work. Magic won't work. So I'll use something that is neither."

A black ember-like shadow flickered in his palm. In an instant, it surged forward, erupting into a pillar of black fire. The dark flames soared, engulfing the rope bridge's edges.

Damon gritted his teeth, his face contorting in agony as the Ashborn skill consumed his shadow energy and mana. He fell to his knees, experiencing the searing pain of burning alive—tenfold.

Sylvia rushed to his side, pressing a hand against his chest, her expression tense with concern.

The others watched in silence as the black flames writhed like living shadows, consuming the enchanted ropes and planks.

The runes on the bridge flared before burning away. The ropes frayed, the bindings unraveled, and with a final, crackling snap, the bridge—an ancient construct that had stood for thousands of years—collapsed into the abyss.

The two sides of the chasm were now forever separated.