"Damn it!" I cursed before collapsing to the ground. Breta was no better, her face pale as she gasped for air. 

What I feared ended up happening. The Shade bastard was able to track us down the second we broke through the veil of the astral plane. This was our third attempt and failure. Every time Breta breaks the veil, the Shade bastard appears abruptly like a shark who smelled blood. 

His interruption makes it impossible for me to connect to the cosmic mana. The possibility of abandoning Breta, and teleporting away by myself would have been plausible, had I not made that damn vow. 

Now, I was forced to protect her and stop the Shade from invading, otherwise, It would count as me breaking my vow. The foreign energy swirling inside my body was a constant reminder that it was something I could not do. 

I turned my gaze to the goddess and asked with a frown, "Do you not have any suggestions?" 

Breta although short of breath, quickly snapped at me, "All of this was your plan, Aether. You're the one who suggested it." 

"Yes, but I'm trying to save both our asses here, so a little help would be appreciated." 

"A little help?! I'm the one having to break through the veil every time! What audacity! A little help he says," Clicking her tongue, Breta averted her gaze. 

A long sigh escaped my mouth as I collapsed next to her. Although I didn't manage to create a connection with the cosmic mana, I was still exhausted after fending off the Shade.   

The land surrounding us was turned barren from the shockwaves and aftermath of both the Shade and the collapse of the veil. Deep crevices and broken rocks littered the area that was once a colorful lush meadow. 

"We won't go anywhere if we continue like this," I muttered with a sigh. 

After a long while, Breta finally muttered a reply, "I know..." 

"The Shade seems to be attracted to the collapse of the veil. Since the astral plane is not invaded, It's safe to presume they can't break through with their power." 

Nodding Breta replied in confirmation, "Yes, but what I don't understand is where are the other dragons?" 

A frown made its way to my face as I asked, "What are you talking about?" 

"It is your race's duty, to protect the borders from the Shade invasions. So where are they?" 

"Busy protecting the realm," I retorted. 

"Yes, but the astral plane is left alone. Both by dragons ad gods. Why is that so?" 

"That, I don't know," I answered with a shake of my head. Breta had point, the astral plane was akin to a wildland. It was inhabited by all sorts of monsters and creatures, not even the gods or dragons were completely safe. Especially not a young dragon like me.

I hated to admit it, but I might have not survived thus far without Breta. She was able to sense the monsters before they approached, and knew how to avoid most of them. If we could fight, we fight, if we had to run, we run. 

That was how we spent the past month. The sheer amount of monstrosities inhabiting the plane was ridiculous. Our closest call was when we held our second attempt. After barely fending off the Shade, a massive crab-like monster shot from underground. 

Breta was exhausted, and so was I. Still, I forced myself to pick her up and run with my tail under my feet. It was humiliating, but I had no choice. I a proud dragon, chased away by a damn crab. Just recalling that was enough to make my blood boil. 

Shaking my head, I took a deep breath to calm my mind. 'It's okay, I'll get that bastard. Oh, how I'll enjoy plucking its limbs one after the other.' 

"You ready to move?" I turned to ask the goddess. We already learned from our previous close call, this time we took extra care to scout the area above and underground to prevent any further hindrances or hidden dangers. 

Still, although it was safe, we had to move. It was unknown when the monsters would get attracted here. Our battle was extremely loud and devastating, it surely must have caught the attention of some of them. 

Struggling to her feet, Breta nodded and started to float away. Her speed was not very fast. Jumping to the sky, I flapped my wings and grabbed her in my claws before I shot towards her home. 

"I can fly by myself," She grumbled., to which I shook my head and answered with a sneer. 

"If I let you be, maybe you'd manage to make it back by next week." 

Clicking her tongue, Breta wanted to retort, yet after a few seconds, she ultimately decided to remain silent.  Seeing that, I added, "We also need to think of a different plan. We can't just keep on repeating the same thing over and over. I'm not sure why the shade bastard did not call for reinforcements, but one thing is for sure, we are screwed if it does." 

Breta's face turned solemn as she nodded. "If its goal is the astral plane, then perhaps it doesn't want to share it with the others?" 

"Maybe, though I don't know much about them or how they think, so it's hard to judge." 

It didn't take long before we were once again upon the tall sword-like mountain. By now, I was already used to the white field of flowers, and the small cabin in the middle. Gently landing next to it, I released Breta who wobbled inside without a word and turned back towards the edge. 

Overlooking the vast land below, a tired sigh escaped my mouth. Three tries and all of them ended with failure. The Shade was able to track us down no matter how far away we went. And the result was the same. 

"Just what are we doing wrong?"

"No, what can we do?" 

Glancing at the distance, my mind kept going back to the scenes of that obsidian arm trying to break inside the plane. My power alone was almost completely exhausted trying to shake him off and by then the small opening was also gone. 

I had to use my dragon breath each time to push him back. It was then that a flash of inspiration struck me, "Wait! Can't I try that?"