Chapter 132
…Master of the Void.
The phrase itself was contradictory.
The void meant nonexistence, emptiness.
How could there be a master of what does not exist?
And yet, Park Chan-woo felt it.
The tension in the Destroyer Cygnus’s tone.
More precisely… the trembling of its soul.
‘It recognized waves as souls.’
There was another surprising fact.
It had defined what he was doing as “mixing souls” with exact clarity.
That meant Cygnus was a spiritual existence that could perceive souls.
“Find another nest.”
Park Chan-woo spoke coldly.
He told it to leave.
To find another nest, and hatch elsewhere.
【That cannot be.】
Cygnus refused.
His brow furrowed instinctively.
“Do you mean you cannot, or you will not?”
【Cannot.】
“What is the reason?”
【…When I laid the egg near the land of Valhalla, I fell, unable to find a proper nest.】
He understood.
On the Second Night, the black dragon Ataraxia had torn through the Abyss and invaded.
A rift had appeared at that spot — precisely where Cygnus had been laying its egg.
As a result, Cygnus had fallen with the egg, and then hastily settled in Han Min-oh, the only vessel available as a makeshift nest.
‘A butterfly effect.’
…An unbelievable coincidence.
If he hadn’t returned from the future and conquered the Tower of Arrogance, the Black Witch would not have sent Ataraxia, and Cygnus would have laid its egg in the desired location.
Like the flap of a butterfly’s wings summoning a storm.
【O Master of the Void. Even now it is not too late. Cease this “synchronization of souls.” Do not anger me, Cygnus.】
The Destroyer Cygnus warned.
Yet for a being called a “Destroyer,” it spoke far too much.
That meant what Park Chan-woo was doing was indeed a threat.
It was nervous.
There was no way a being like Cygnus, who had lived through eternity, could fear a soul like his.
There was only one answer.
‘It believes I can truly destroy the egg.’
Its frantic words to protect the egg were proof.
After all, this was Han Min-oh’s world.
Han Min-oh had accepted Park Chan-woo without resistance.
He hadn’t rejected the mixing of their waves.
Literally, he had entrusted his life and soul — “everything” — to Park Chan-woo.
The ownership of the nest belonged to Park Chan-woo.
All Cygnus could do was roar and bluster.
[‘Synchronization Rate’ 110%!]
He pushed forward.
Half a step closer.
Beyond this was uncharted territory.
He had no idea what awaited.
—Useless fool.
—If only you resembled Han Shin even halfway!
—You will never reach even the tip of Han Shin’s feet.
A trauma revealed itself.
Han Min-oh’s inferiority complex.
His envy and jealousy toward his older brother, Han Shin.
And admiration too, now flooding Park Chan-woo as though it were his own.
【Master of the Void, if you come any closer, your soul will be destroyed!】
Rrrrumble!
The world shook.
Cygnus’s fury shook the very earth.
Its overwhelming mana wave crashed against Park Chan-woo.
And meanwhile, the egg was still hatching.
If it fully emerged, Han Min-oh would die.
And so would he.
Cygnus would not spare him.
‘I can’t back down now.’
Half a step more.
He had to get closer to touch the egg.
The egg, not yet fully formed with a soul or mana wave, would shatter the moment he touched it.
[‘Synchronization Rate’ 120%!]
Just one more step.
But the closer he got, the more his mind eroded.
Park Chan-woo’s figure blurred, growing translucent.
He was being absorbed.
Drawn into Han Min-oh’s world.
Yet he did not stop.
【Let’s bargain. Withdraw now, and I shall grant you a wish.】
Cygnus spoke urgently.
A promise from a Divine Beast, the Destroyer.
It would surely grant even a staggering wish.
But if he accepted, Han Min-oh would die.
Park Chan-woo had chosen to save him.
Once decided, he would see it through.
【For the sake of a single human, you would sacrifice your soul?】
Ordinarily, he would never stake everything to save another.
To risk all on uncertainty was foolish.
…And yet, why?
Perhaps his mind was breaking under the high synchronization rate.
Or perhaps he had been moved by Han Min-oh’s actions.
Sharing the same blood as Han Shin, yet walking a completely different path.
If Han Shin had possessed even a trace of that quality, the future would have changed.
At least it wouldn’t have become such a bleak world.
That was why.
Why Park Chan-woo placed his hopes in Han Min-oh.
[‘Synchronization Rate’ 125%!]
【Master of the Void, do you wish for my wrath to sweep away humanity?】
Cygnus’s threats continued.
It meant annihilating mankind.
That provoked Park Chan-woo even more.
How despairing had it been when humanity was reduced to dust at Sephiro’s single word?
How crushing the hopelessness?
All the effort and hope built across a lifetime had vanished at one command.
Cygnus had spoken the one thing it should never have.
【It is already too late! This human cannot live.】
【Even if you destroy the egg, he cannot survive!】
Too late?
Indeed, the wave’s bond was too strong.
It was already connected to his very life.
If the egg was destroyed, Han Min-oh’s soul and life would be destroyed with it.
Was it impossible?
Should he give up?
No. There was a way.
If the egg devoured its nest, he could give it another nest.
‘Cygnus gave me the hint.’
It had asked if he would sacrifice his soul for a mere human.
So it wasn’t about destroying the egg.
It was about replacing the nourishment — life itself.
With another life and soul equal to or greater than Han Min-oh’s potential.
‘…I could replace the nest with myself.’
Park Chan-woo.
If he himself became the nest, and moved the egg.
At least Han Min-oh would survive.
But he couldn’t be sure his potential surpassed Han Min-oh’s.
He needed something more certain.
He shifted his gaze.
[‘Synchronization Rate’ 130%!]
He drew closer with even stronger waves.
But his mana wave wasn’t reaching for the egg.
【You dare “synchronize” with me? Foolish, Master of the Void!】
Cygnus sneered.
If souls were bound, the outcome was obvious.
Master of the Void.
A being most fundamental in handling souls.
Why he existed in a human body was unknown, but it left him incomplete.
The fact he struggled even with a single human’s wave proved how paltry his soul’s strength was.
At first, Cygnus had doubted.
The power to handle souls belonged only to the Master of the Void.
But Cygnus knew: the true Master of the Void no longer existed.
【At best, you wield incomplete power. What you handle is not the true power of the Master of the Void. Ah, I see it now.】
It had doubted.
But as he came closer, it was certain.
He was not the Master of the Void.
【So the talent of the great Ten Lords, the Master of the Void, has been scattered in the Abyss. You merely stumbled upon it.】
In the distant past.
There had been ten rulers in the Abyss.
They were called the Great Nine Lords.
Each one a monstrous, transcendent being.
And among them, the one said to be strongest of all.
That was the Master of the Void.
The Master of the Void possessed countless absolute authorities.
Each was so exceptional that even the other lords avoided him.
Reading, destroying, or absorbing the essence of existence and innate mana — miracles no other of the Great Nine Lords could perform.
But his greatest authority was the power to handle souls themselves.
Just as Park Chan-woo was now.
【As if a vanished being could reappear. That such power should fall to a mere human — it’s pathetic.】
If the true Master of the Void saw this, he would weep in rage.
It was so foolish.
Cygnus regained composure.
It seemed Park Chan-woo intended to link souls, to find a way.
But how could a human soul invade Cygnus’s soul?
The moment they connected, he would be obliterated.
At last—
[‘Synchronization with the Destroyer Cygnus begins!’]
The link was forged.
In that instant, Cygnus tilted its head inwardly.
‘What’s this?’
Something strange was mixed within this human, Park Chan-woo.
Not only the talent of the Master of the Void.
There was more.
Something immense, shadowy, ominous.
The power of the Master of the Void was merely one of many talents Park Chan-woo possessed.
Which was bizarre.
He had long exceeded what a human body could possibly contain.
And none of these powers fit together.
They didn’t belong with one another.
Yet together, they made up Park Chan-woo.
Soon Cygnus glimpsed his memories.
And was shocked.
【You reversed time, didn’t you!】
This was a being that should not exist.
He had done what must never be done.
He must be erased.
If he existed, the Abyss itself could collapse.
Sssmirk!
At that moment.
Park Chan-woo suddenly laughed.
And slowly opened his mouth.
“O God of Offerings, I will offer the Destroyer Cygnus as a sacrifice.”
(T/N: Checkmate!)