Chapter 173: Oath

As soon as I landed on the mountain peak. My gaze subconsciously drifted towards the lone cabin standing in the middle of the field of flowers. Breta was nowhere to be seen, which could only mean that she was once again holed up inside her house.

A sigh escaped my mouth while I pondered on how to approach the subject. 'I mean, she needs help as much as I do. What do I have to lose other than staying stranded in this forsaken land for who knows how long.'

I quickly shook my head, ridding myself of all useless thoughts. Slowly approaching the small cabin, I cleared my throat and called out. "Breta!"

No reply came. I waited for a few seconds before calling out to her again. "Breta!" Still no response. Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself down and decided to change my approach.

"Aren't you tired of being stuck in this plane?"

"I know I am. I have only been here for what, a week or so, and I'm already over it." My eyes stayed on the cabin door as I continued speaking.

"Don't you want to go back home? See how things have changed after all these years? I can help, I can take you back. Take us, back," Although it was small, my senses managed to pick up a steer in her mana inside the house. A grin slowly stretched across my face as I continued.

"You do know I came here by teleportation. Unlike you who was thrown here, I managed to come by my mana. I only need a little help to get back to the normal plane."

Staring at the door, I watched as it slowly creaked open. The cold goddess unhurriedly walked out, her eyes glaring daggers at me. "Can you really get us out of here?"

"With your help? Yes, I can," I answered with confidence. Breta simply stood there studying me for a few seconds, seemingly contemplating whether to accept my offer or not.

On one hand, I was a dragon. And the last time she met one was on the battlefield. On the other hand, I'm also her only chance at getting out of here. 'Now, what would she choose?' I inwardly pondered.

"What do you need me for? If you managed to come here by yourself, why do you need me to go back?" She asked.

"That's simple, I'm cut off from the cosmic mana. There is a veil of sorts, preventing me from utilizing my cosmic mana, which in turn hinders the possibility of teleportation. This is where you come in."

"You want me to create a path, for you to reach out to the cosmic mana outside of the astral plane?"

"Exactly!"

Hearing my enthusiastic reply, Breta replied with a frown, "What makes you think I can do that?"

"Well, if you can't then we are royally fucked," I answered with a shake of my hand.

Silence once again descended, while we both stared at one another, unblinking. "Why can't you do it yourself?" Breta asked, breaking the silence.

"Because if I do manage to break through the veil, by the time I try to reach out to the cosmic mana, it'll already be too late," I explained with a shrug.

Rubbing her temple, Breta closed her eyes before replying, "I don't trust you, Aether."

"I don't trust you either, Breta. But we don't have much of a choice here, it's either this, or we stay in this forsaken plane."

"If...and I say, if I manage to create an opening through the veil, it'll only be a momentary one."

"I only need one good chance." I quickly responded.

"I don't like this. You could easily use that opportunity to run away, leaving me behind."

Shaking my head, I slowly replied in a solemn tone, "You don't have another choice."

Breta's eyes shone with a dangerous glint as she spoke, "I do. Make an oath on your soul space, and I'll make one on my divinity."

Puzzled, I asked, "An oath?"

"Yes, with the heavens and abyss as your witness. Make an oath on your soul space that you won't betray nor leave me behind. And I'll do the same on my divinity."

I was confused, hearing Breta's suggestion. Judging from the reluctant expression on her face, an oath seemed to be something akin to a last resort. Which was understandable, because of the fact that her 'divinity', which I guessed was the equivalent to my soul space, was involved.

Still, I was ignorant of the process of making an oath. Eyeing Breta with an apprehensive look, I motioned to her with my head before speaking, "I don't mind, but you go first."

I was half expecting her to refuse, yet to my surprise, the goddess simply nodded. Closing her eyes, I watched in curiosity as her mana seemed to settle back inside of her body making her seem akin to an ordinary mortal. She then began to speak.

"With the heavens and abyss as my witness, I Breta, daughter of Oaris Goddess of light, and Ultarr God of peace, vow on my divinity to not betray Aether, the dragon, and help him with all my powers until he gets us out of the astral plane, from which my vow is abolished."

Her oath was surprisingly simple. And just as I was about to ask what exactly that whole thing did a sudden pillar of light descended on the goddess out of nowhere. My eyes momentarily widened in shock, as the pillar appeared abruptly, surrounding her entire body.

A couple of seconds later, it disappeared as if it was never there in the first place. The goddess then turned to me and motioned with her spear before speaking, "Your turn."

I slowly nodded and closed my eyes as I tried to replicate what I saw her do. I reigned in my mana before I began speaking, "With the heavens and abyss as my witness, I Aether vow on my soul space, to not betray Breta the goddess, and not leave her behind until we get out of the astral plane, from which my vow is abolished."

The second I finished speaking, all of my mana receded towards my soul space as a similar pillar of light descended on my body. A strange power seeped beneath my scales and moved to surround my soul space.

'Looks like there are still a lot of things I don't know about in this world,' I inwardly muttered with a sigh.