Chapter 135
Fwaaaash!
Light burst from the egg and wrapped around Park Chan-woo.
‘I feel it.’
At last, the true “first contact” with Cygnus had begun.
He perceived Cygnus’s existence, and Cygnus recognized his.
Park Chan-woo gazed into the mass of light.
There, something with blue glowing eyes met his gaze.
Eyes as clear and round as the sea, beautiful and transparent.
A horn rising from a noble forehead, emerald fur flowing, and a long pair of wings to match.
‘That black streak wasn’t a wing—it was a tail.’
It was a mistake anyone could make.
A long tail split into two, resembling wings.
Park Chan-woo stared blankly at Cygnus’s form.
…Mystical.
All Divine Beasts possessed mystery.
Each carried an aura that mortals could never approach.
But Cygnus was far more divine than any he had seen.
Indescribable—just looking at it filled his chest with awe.
「Father.」
The voice rang in his head.
It was the voice of a child, yet calm and clear.
Father…
‘I’ve never heard that before in my life.’
No one had ever called him father.
He had never married, never had a child.
In the future world, to take a partner was both a blessing and a curse.
In a world where survival was barely possible alone, to take responsibility for another doubled the difficulty.
It might be emotional support, but it was never recommended in terms of survival.
It could become a weakness for Creators to exploit, or a toy for Incarnations.
So Park Chan-woo never pursued deep relationships. Of course, children were out of the question.
“…Cygnus.”
Cygnus stared at him blankly.
As if yearning for its name to be spoken, so he did.
Cygnus spread its wings wide.
「My name is Cygnus, heir of a great bloodline.」
「I feel it. The pulse of the soul, joined together.」
「My great father, tell me your name.」
Cygnus now unmistakably recognized Park Chan-woo as both kin and father.
“Park Chan-woo.”
He nodded as he spoke.
「I have engraved Father’s name into my soul.」
Thump! Thump!
His heart suddenly raced.
Mana waves merged, even the patterns of their innate mana intermingling slightly.
It meant a true “connection” had been completed.
‘Without the Easter Egg, we could never have linked this deeply.’
‘Easter Egg (002)’ seemed related to “perception alteration.”
Since it had activated, there would be an added description.
He focused, and an information window appeared.
Easter Egg (002): Brings harmony among species.
A vague explanation.
But he understood enough.
Wasn’t that how he had acquired Easter Egg (002) in the first place?
‘Harmony among races.’
He had asked the Devil Merchant Dagon for the “Rite of Souls,” and sought to bring rest to Balzac, who had become a true demon.
At that moment, Balzac had rejected rest and chosen to remain by Park Chan-woo’s side.
Thus Balzac’s soul became Easter Egg (002), tracing once again the “footsteps of the Creator.”
Yet questions lingered.
The first Easter Egg was “Luck.”
The second was “Harmony of Species.”
Connected? Unconnected?
‘What are they trying to say?’
There was intent.
It didn’t feel like something left as a mere prank.
If the Creator of the Abyss had left them, then there was a message.
But the clues were still lacking.
One thing was certain: every Easter Egg was born of the “impossible.”
Things no one should ever achieve.
Likewise.
‘…I just have to keep going.’
If he kept challenging the impossible, never giving up, carving his own path again and again, he would surely find more Easter Eggs.
‘Anyway.’
Thanks to Easter Egg (002), Harmony of Species, Cygnus had accepted him as something more.
Not merely a “pet,” but a member of “family.”
Family. A bloodline.
‘The Ultimate Bloodline. The potential of lineage.’
Through this, Park Chan-woo had inherited potential as kin.
Traits of the species, or unique powers of the bloodline.
Was it a Divine Beast’s ability?
Or perhaps simply latent power yet to manifest.
He burned with curiosity.
Park Chan-woo quickly opened his status window.
And he found it.
Something had changed.
‘Status ailments now include Pure Bloodline.’
Pure Bloodline. A bloodline untainted, utterly clean.
Likely it meant direct connection with Sanctuary.
As he focused on the term, a new window appeared.
Pure Bloodline: You have inherited the authority of a noble and pure bloodline. Experience gain increased by 50%. Immune to the influence of ‘Rifts’. Grants access to the sanctuary ‘Sanctuary’.
“……”
He was speechless.
The description was absurd.
Beyond reason, something unimaginable had become reality.
An option increasing experience gain.
It was the first time he had ever seen such a thing.
For him, it was rain in a desert.
His terminal period had 488 days left.
To return to Level 1, he had to raise his level 80 times, with far more required experience than others.
‘A perfect option for me.’
His journey didn’t end at Level 99.
He had to raise 99 more levels just to stand at the true starting point.
The possibility he had dreamed of was now real.
The foundation to rise higher, faster, was his.
Even this alone would have made Pure Bloodline enough.
‘…But does this mean I can enter the Rift?’
It wasn’t all.
To be freed from the Rift’s influence?
Unbelievable.
The Rift was the seam between Abysses, a place only Divine Beasts could endure.
Humanity had studied it endlessly, and concluded—
‘The Rift is like a link between worlds touched by the Abyss, a chain binding dimensions.’
But nothing more.
They couldn’t know.
They couldn’t enter.
Only by going in and exploring could one learn more.
But not even the Twelve Species or demons endured inside the Rift.
If even they could not, how could humans?
Thus the Rift remained unknown.
And now he was the first to earn the right to step inside.
To even enter the sanctuary “Sanctuary.”
“Do you know anything about Sanctuary?”
What exactly was it?
A place? A Divine Beast’s name? Another concept?
Sanctuary sounded like a place, but was also the name of the King of Divine Beasts.
With doubt, he asked.
Cygnus answered.
「I do not. But I feel the will of the one who bore me, who gave me my name. If you go there now, you will never return alive.」
So not yet.
Was it because he was too weak?
Of course. Even if he entered, it was the world of Divine Beasts.
Monsters he couldn’t handle yet would swarm there.
He would have to be as strong as Azos, the gatekeeper when he faced Conqueror Khan, just to take a single step.
The “creator Abysses” forming on Earth now were nothing compared to the Rift.
「Father, if you wish to enter the sanctuary, I must grow stronger first. May I consume this Abyss to grow?」
…Consume the Abyss?
Park Chan-woo let out a breathless laugh.
There had been such stories, but indeed, Abysses were food for Divine Beasts.
More precisely, “creator Abysses.”
“Not this one.”
This was Adora’s sniper Abyss.
Destroyer Cygnus had the power to destroy both the Abyss and its Creator.
Which meant… it could devour even the Creator.
He had acquired the perfect predator of Creators.
「Understood, Father. Then what is that fluff hiding at your leg?」
Cygnus’s gaze turned to Park Chan-woo’s leg.
There was only one fluff hiding there.
Kyu?
Radiant Anubis, Boksil.
The little one emerged from inside his shoe.
「I sense powerful ‘death’ and ‘life’ from this being. Yet its form and voice are far too unfitting for one who wields such fundamental powers.」
Kyuing?
「Anubis… guardian of the Temple of Death. You should not cower at Father’s leg. You should stand before him, guarding my father firmly.」
Kyuaah!
Boksil bristled its fur, as if to say, “What of it?”
Park Chan-woo looked at them both and smirked.
“Get along.”
It was almost like jealousy.
But he didn’t want discord between them.
Too many gates and trials awaited them, and they would need each other.
Only one more thing remained to check.
[‘Sanctuary,’ the Absolute’s name, has been inherited.]
The Absolute Sanctuary’s name had been inherited.
It was different from the status mark of Pure Bloodline.
Park Chan-woo scrolled further down his status window.
And then.
‘…Unbelievable.’
He saw it.
The place where the name of the Absolute Sanctuary was engraved.
‘Hidden Trait.’
Alongside the Eternal Sword and Annihilation Magic, the third hidden trait had appeared.