Chapter 143
In the vast sky of the Abyss, beneath the endless horizon, Cygnus calmly observed the ground below.
‘So this is an Abyss without a Creator.’
He could soar freely without anyone watching him.
That was because this ‘Fox Den’ currently had no master.
Of course, even if the ‘Creator of the Burning Boundary’ were still present, it likely wouldn’t matter.
‘[Nonexistence]. My father’s absolute magic has passed down to me.’
Cygnus was bound to Park Chan-woo in both soul and life.
Likewise, he shared several of Park Chan-woo’s [status ailments].
One of them was [Nonexistence].
As long as Cygnus didn’t reveal himself, no one could detect his flight—an absolute spell of concealment.
But that wasn’t the only ability he’d inherited.
‘[Terminal]? What is this?’
Even with the wisdom of the great Sanctuary and the knowledge of his mother, it was something he couldn’t comprehend.
Everything else he could recognize instantly, but this single term remained unreadable.
Still, he didn’t dwell on it long.
‘It’s Father’s trait. It must be a good thing.’
To Cygnus, Park Chan-woo was absolute.
Though he inherited traits from Sanctuary, that being was more concept than parent.
“Father” could only ever refer to one person—Park Chan-woo.
‘Now then.’
‘Gulp.’
‘Looks delicious.’
Another thing was clear—the Abyss itself was his nourishment.
A ‘Creation Abyss’ without a master could be devoured freely.
However, he couldn’t consume it just yet.
Certain conditions had to be met before he could eat a Creation Abyss.
One of them was its ‘clearance’.
When Park Chan-woo reached the end of the Fox Den and defeated Aurum, Cygnus would be able to forcibly devour this place whole.
How sweet would it taste?
Just imagining it made his mouth water.
“Father, a little diagonally to the right. Yes, right there.”
‘Whoosh!’
‘Thunk!’
The translucent spirits drifting across the sky were pierced one by one.
Before long, Park Chan-woo had crossed more than half of the cloud bridge over the cliff.
He was now the only one left on the bridge—single-handedly overcoming every obstacle, as if writing a legend of his own.
No one imagined there was a divine beast soaring above him, freely flying through the skies of the Abyss—Cygnus, the unseen guardian.
—
‘He hit every single shot without missing once?’
‘That’s impossible—even for us!’
‘How could anyone hit spirits that aren’t even visible?’
‘Just what is he?’
The Holy Sword users—and even the powerful foxes—were stunned.
A perfect bridge now spanned the chasm before them.
Even as they watched it happen, they couldn’t believe it.
That distant, pitch-black Abyss sky—to hit unseen spirits within it was a feat even veteran foxes struggled with.
Even the Gumiho Yoo Jin-seo couldn’t do it flawlessly.
‘…There’s a time limit for banishing the spirits. If you don’t complete the bridge before time runs out, the challengers must be sacrificed to finish it.’
The first trial tested faith—moving forward without looking back.
But the second trial tested ‘distrust’.
When time ran out, the spirits vanished, leaving the bridge incomplete.
There was only one way to cross it then—‘Choose ten challengers and push them into the abyss.’
Each sacrifice would complete one missing section of the cloud bridge.
Fifty spirits total.
Meaning up to five hundred challengers could die—a hell designed to breed betrayal and despair.
They were forced to pick victims, shove them into the void, and cross the bridge built from the deaths of their chosen.
That was the ‘Sky of Spirits’.
‘…I’ve never seen the bridge completed before.’
Not once since the Fox Den’s creation had it ever been done.
It wasn’t even something possible to achieve.
Shooting skill alone wasn’t enough.
Yoo Jin-seo’s pupils trembled faintly.
‘Unless he can see through the Abyss’s true sky—the Creator’s domain itself…’
Every Creator forbade the beings of their Creation Abyss from seeing beyond the false sky.
The “real sky” belonged solely to the Creator.
What they saw was merely an illusion—a fake sky crafted for them.
The spirits floated above that false layer.
Naturally, one couldn’t strike what one couldn’t see.
But he hit them all.
Without a single wasted arrow.
Truthfully, she had planned to clear this trial herself.
Even if Park Chan-woo was the final hidden piece, she didn’t believe the ‘Creator of the Burning Boundary’ would ever allow another to gaze into his domain.
‘Could it be that the Creator actually granted him permission to see beyond the sky?’
Impossible.
That being never yielded anything—always using and tormenting the foxes for amusement.
She herself had never once been allowed to glimpse the true heavens.
‘Ding!’
《At the end of the ‘Sky of Spirits,’ the demon ‘Cheon-ryeong’ appears!》
《The demon ‘Cheon-ryeong’ commands wind and is guarded by powerful ‘Spirit Knights’ who destroy the cloud bridge piece by piece!》
《Defend the bridge!》
《‘Cheon-ryeong’ and the ‘Spirit Knights’ can only be slain with the ‘Holy Sword.’》
Far ahead, at the edge of the completed cloud bridge, ‘Cheon-ryeong’ and his Spirit Knights appeared—the second reason the Sky of Spirits was so deadly.
‘He won’t be able to handle that alone.’
Retreat wasn’t an option.
Each time they fell back, Cheon-ryeong erased another section of the bridge.
To rebuild it required ten more sacrifices.
The original scenario involved retreating halfway while slowly defeating Cheon-ryeong.
Normally, more than half the challengers died during this phase.
…What about Park Chan-woo?
‘Can he create a new scenario?’
—
Spirit Knights drifted through the air, their long cloaks fluttering as they wielded scythes like grim reapers.
‘They’re all spirits too.’
Park Chan-woo stroked his chin.
There was no doubt these were spirits summoned by Aurum.
And there were many of them—each one high-level.
‘Intermediate spirits?’
Thanks to his knowledge of the future, he knew how impossible that was.
Contracting with multiple spirits was highly discouraged.
It required immense mana, and each additional contract made the pact even more demanding.
Most spirit summoners contracted a single powerful spirit.
To ascend to a higher tier, they would sever the old contract first.
But Aurum was different.
Judging by the sheer number of contracts, ‘Aurum must possess a unique ability specialized in summoning spirits.’
Or perhaps the fox race itself was connected to the elemental realm.
‘Hisss!’
‘Shaaah!’
The Spirit Knights advanced, their cloaks billowing ominously.
Cheon-ryeong’s figure was nowhere to be seen.
‘Where is he?’
“Father, Cheon-ryeong is beside me,” Cygnus said.
Apparently, the demon had been summoned near him.
Park Chan-woo thought briefly.
Both Cheon-ryeong and the Spirit Knights could only be slain with the Holy Sword.
‘Ten strikes will do.’
The condition for defeating demons was simple—
ten precise hits with the Holy Sword.
Even when he killed Hwar yeong, he’d wiped out the zombies first and then struck nine more times.
After a brief pause, Park Chan-woo threw the Holy Sword—not forward, but ‘upward’, like a spear.
‘Whooosh!’
The sword soared high into the sky.
And there, Cygnus caught it effortlessly in his mouth.
Park Chan-woo smiled faintly.
‘Ten strikes. That’s all you need, Cygnus.’
—
“W-what?”
“He threw the Holy Sword?”
“Is he insane?”
The foxes were dumbstruck.
To them, it wasn’t “throwing” the sword—it looked like he’d discarded it.
“Is he running away?”
“Then why isn’t the sword falling back down?”
“How high did he throw it?”
Their confusion grew.
The sword still hadn’t fallen—vanished somewhere beyond their sight.
Because to them, the ‘true sky’ of the Abyss was invisible.
‘…What in the world is he thinking?’
Even Yoo Jin-seo was bewildered.
She had made him the protagonist, and now he’d thrown away his only weapon.
Her hands trembled.
‘Aurum must already know the protagonist has changed.’
Though he hadn’t acted yet, there was no way that monster hadn’t sensed it.
Before Aurum moved, Park Chan-woo had to rally as many followers as possible.
Only then could he face him.
But if he appeared to have ‘thrown away’ his Holy Sword, who would believe in him?
She swallowed back a sigh.
How long had it been since then?
‘Ding!’
《‘Cheon-ryeong’ has been vanquished!》
《Someone has completed a ‘Perfect Scenario!’》
《The achiever is awarded five ‘Black Stars!’》
《‘Sky of Spirits’ completed.》
《All challengers, cross the bridge and prepare for the ‘Third Trial.’》
A sudden announcement—and the Spirit Knights let out shrieks as they dissolved into the air.
Everyone froze.
The shock on the foxes’ faces was indescribable.
“…What?”
“Perfect Scenario?”
“That exists?”
They had never seen that phrase before.
A Perfect Scenario?
They hadn’t even known such a thing was possible.
After all, saving everyone had never been an option.
Yet before their eyes, a ‘new scenario’ was being written.
‘…This is what a hidden piece looks like?’
Yoo Jin-seo’s pupils quivered violently.
She couldn’t believe it—no, she ‘didn’t want’ to believe it.
All she had ever done in her life—her destiny as the “Saint” leading challengers into hell—
Everything…
Everything she’d ever built—was being utterly denied.