Step, step, crunch.
"Huff… Huff…"
The sky was darkening, and the grayish sphere appeared among the stars. Once again, the night had fallen.
Arthur staggered into a pitch-dark cave, away from the endless snowland. After finally taking steps on something else than heavy snow, he immediately collapsed on the ground and touched the hard ground with his palm, feeling its sandpaper-like texture.
Following him, the four men stepped into the cave, covered in snow. They spread around in the medium-length cave that was fifteen meters wide, ten meters long, and twenty meters high.
They finished fifteen hour-long hike, and even though their level of endurance was crazy, they still started feeling a burning sensation around their thighs. If they continued even further, their lives could have been in danger.
Isaac plopped down on the ground and picked up a bottle of water from his inventory. He gulped it down, and then he saw everyone else picking up their food and eating them greedily.
After Arthur finished munching on the hard bread that he found in some random store in White Online, he pulled out his long-hilted and curvy-edged sword. The blade ignited with scorching flames, heating the cave tremendously.
Arthur tossed the sword into the middle of the cave, treating it like it was a campfire. Everyone stayed in their spots, slowly removing their pieces of clothing. The cave was suddenly bright and warm.
Isaac removed his jacket and leaned against the rock wall, enjoying the heat that caressed his face.
They stayed in that comfortable silence for several hours.
Xerxus and Amour had some wild animals in their inventory. They cooked them up and split them into five portions. After that, they shared the food with everyone else.
Most of them had only bread and some dried food. Thus, eating meat was the highlight of the entire journey so far.
After Isaac finished his portion, he calmly observed the flickering flames. However, at that moment, he perked up his ears and turned towards the cave's entrance.
Crunch…
The night sky made everything dark.
However, Isaac's honed senses could hear the distinct sound of snow getting stepped on. Crunch, crunch, and crunch.
"Someone is here." Isaac's words resounded in the silent cave. His hand touched the Silvercloud's grip.
His words caused a sense of tension in the cave.
Arthur narrowed his eyes and moved closer to his flaming sword.
Xerxus, Amour, and Kalzer tried to listen to the sounds. However, their senses weren't as good as Isaac's. They could only hear the fire flickering and the distinct sound of wind swooshing.
Then, a hooded figure stepped out of the darkness and appeared in the cave. Immediately the cave got engulfed in pressure.
Arthur picked up his sword and released a tiny portion of his pressure. Still, even that tiny portion of pressure managed to quench the pressure the hooded figure gave.
"This place is Sacred Land. You have no place in here." The hooded figure flicked his sleeves, and pair of daggers appeared in his hands. The blades were curved like a dragon's claws.
Without further ado, he kicked the ground explosively and dashed forward. His speed wasn't anything special, but the cave was small enough for him to arrive in front of the men within a second.
Xerxus was about to run. But then, Isaac's hand stopped him while shaking his head.
"?" Xerxus stopped in his tracks and frowned.
Isaac took a quick step forward and appeared in front of the hooded figure, who looked startled at his sudden appearance.
However, he quickly shrugged off his initial shock and slashed with his daggers.
But Isaac's hands cut across the air and grabbed both hooded figures' wrists, stopping his attack before it could begin properly.
Isaac lifted his leg and drove his right foot deeply into his stomach.
"Ugh!" The figure in the hood coughed up a mouthful of spit and came dangerously close to falling to his knees. Despite this, he was able to hold his unsteady body upright and attempted to wrench his hand free from Isaac's unearthly grip.
However, the hold was too strong. He could feel bruises forming around his wrist, and he knew that if the white-haired man grabbed any harder, they would break.
"W-Who are you?" He asked in fright.
Arthur and the others stared at the situation with a sense of wonder. They were now standing in a non-combative stance, having abandoned their combat stances.
"Shouldn't you find out the strength of the person who you plan to kill?" Isaac asked while smiling, "Making moves like this blindly will get you killed."
"Hands off me, you vermin!" The hooded figure panicked, trying to kick Isaac. However, Isaac stopped his attack with a low kick to his shinbone.
He gritted his teeth and almost uttered a groan of pain but bit his lip before he humiliated himself more.
"Hands off me, or you will get killed by my clansmen!"
"So, they know where you are?" Isaac asked with a gleam emanating from the corners of his eyes. He managed to cover his sly grin.
"Yes, and if you don't take your hands off, they will soon be here and will behead you!"
"Well, since they know where you are… you might as well become our guest for a while."
"Eh?"
Pow!
Isaac released an accurate jab that struck the hooded figure's jaw. That fateful strike knocked him unconscious and made the hood slide off his head, revealing his pale face.
The skin color was very white, almost blue even.
"What are you doing?" Arthur asked as Isaac gently lowered the knocked-out man's body till he lay down on the rocky ground.
"His clansmen will come to fetch him, and then they will lead us to their village," Isaac said with the tiny curve of his lips.
"What if they don't?"
"Well, if they don't, he will." Isaac looked at the unconscious man with a mysterious smile, "This young fellow is afraid of death."
Arthur pondered before nodding. He thought that Isaac's plan seemed to be the best course of action for now. They had been wandering in the mountains with the help of the compass, but they needed proper directions.
"I didn't think you could be this ruthless." Xerxus chuckled while sitting back on the rocky ground.
"Ruthless?" Isaac glanced at him with a tiny smirk, "I don't think I am ruthless since I never planned to kill him. Unfortunately, the hardships in life make us do something we don't wish to do. This instance is such."
