[Skill: Celestial]
[The power of the one who watches over all things from the heavens. Its blessing.]
[Everything touched by the hand is designated as the Celestial Domain.]
[Nothing deemed harmful by the user may set foot within the Celestial Domain.]
[Duration varies depending on the user’s Mana and Holy Power stats.]
[Holy Power stat acquired.]
[Holy Power +10.]
[Skill – Celestial activated.]
A faint light shone through the endless Abyss.
A small light shining through the endless Abyss.
***
What was faint instantly grew, piercing through the darkness’s center and enveloping Hio and Daphne.
The effect of the skill ‘Shield’ took the form of a massive hand of light, creating an absolute barrier surrounding the caster.
Building upon that, the evolved skill ‘Celestial’—
The touch of light descending from the heavens was incomparable to the previous illusion; it was warm and majestic.
The deep Abyss that mercilessly shook one’s mind vanished as if washed away.
Daphne’s fear and terror, which had no discernible origin, melted away in an instant.
The immense tension that had gripped her entire body released all at once.
“…Is this a dream?”
Her mind felt distant.
It wasn’t the same sensation as before.
Her body, exhausted from mana depletion and excessive tension, and her barely held-together mind yearned for rest.
In the midst of that, Daphne reached her own conclusion.
“This must be a dream…”
Because nothing else would make sense.
The warm touch enveloping her body.
The maddening terror she had felt before.
The gentle face of the goddess floating in the sky above.
The chillingly enormous eye growing ever more present as if to confront it all.
Everything felt like a distant dream.
So Daphne slowly closed her eyes within that immense light and warm touch.
Warmth like sitting before a stove in the dead of winter.
Cozy as if wrapped in a blanket.
Before losing consciousness, the last faint image she saw was—
“Holy magic, huh.”
The back of Hio Pavlenko stepping forward.
They already had a rough idea of the effects that would come from the evolution of ‘Shield.’
This was already the fourth time receiving the effect of the Hidden Trait.
It wasn’t difficult to deduce the effect based on the skill’s effects.
However, there was one variable.
A new stat: ‘Holy Power.’
Not just a skill requiring simple mana, but a top-tier skill requiring Holy Power as well.
It was obvious that the amount of mana and Holy Power required for such a skill would be enormous.
‘Celestial’s duration likely wouldn’t be very long.’
Just the fact that sacred light shone into the pitch-black Abyss eased the terror of the Abyss.
Moreover, the golden hand surrounding a wide area centered on Hio was the Celestial Domain.
Even in the Abyss, nothing could dare enter this sacred domain without Hio’s permission.
“This feels similar to the holy magic used by the Church.”
Purunel’s words, sharing the same vision as Hio’s soul.
“Holy magic… Holy Power had the ability to drive out the Abyssal energy.”
‘Wasn’t that the very reason for the Holy Kingdom’s rapid decline?’
The absence of Holy Power.
Losing the only countermeasure capable of dispelling the Abyss’s cursed energy.
“Perhaps this newly acquired Holy stat could be a path forward in the future…”
But the problem was right here and now.
Somehow Daphne’s mind was prevented from collapsing, but they were still deep in the Abyss.
‘Celestial’ was clearly a top-tier defensive skill.
It was the best for protection, but it didn’t seem like it alone could get them out of the Abyss.
How they had been dragged into this place in the first place.
What the space was even meant for remained unknown.
The more they learned about the truth of the Abyss, the more questions piled up.
‘What now?’
“Maybe we should try going up to the thunder realm.”
Celestial—the very heavens above.
If they headed toward the sky where it began, maybe they could escape this space.
Well, still, it didn’t seem like that would actually let them leave.
“Yeah, probably not.”
Despite having unleashed Celestial’s power, it was ultimately a defensive skill.
There was no mention of leaving the space itself.
Information was too scarce.
“But we have to try something.”
They had to attempt something before the completed Celestial faded from lack of Holy Power.
“Judging by that, to attack it, we’d need to manipulate spirit energy…”
They had confirmed it with Daphne’s desperate skill.
The Abyssal eye disregarded skills containing enormous power as if they didn’t exist.
‘Would a top-tier skill make any difference?’
They remained skeptical.
The spirit energy once wielded by Vitalianus or Atawolf.
Or the kind of power handled by Grand Mages of the 7th Circle or higher.
Of course, they couldn’t use such power immediately, so that too was a futile thought.
‘Then what options were left?’
The answer had already come.
And they had been waiting for it.
—”I hope this guess is right.”
“…Because it’s the Abyss.”
Hio and Purunel hadn’t just been sitting still until now.
***
After confirming a message presumed to be left by the legendary necromancer and dark mage Kreutzvalt, they had brainstormed multiple theories.
According to Purunel, Kreutzvalt was a figure far older than the Abyss War.
He was already a legend in Purunel’s time, hailed as the progenitor of dark magic.
That Kreutzvalt had left a prophecy.
He had seen the future, seen the Abyss.
He was walking into it of his own accord and fighting.
Not only Kreutzvalt but other mages who had reached similar realms and seen similar things had joined him, battling some unknown entity.
And the last remaining phrase was ‘When will you come?’
‘Could it be referring to Hio himself?’
‘Was Hio the one Kreutzvalt saw in the future?’
The last mage walking the path of magic in an age where magic was lost.
It might be an exaggerated thought, but maybe Kreutzvalt was waiting for him.
That notion was only strengthened by the voice resonating within the Abyss.
The hope of Lifué was over.
Those eyes looking down upon him spoke the truth.
The hope of Lifué.
That phrase brought back the memory of the day he had rejoiced for having hidden the Eye of God.
He had thought that blocking the Eye of God would bring no reward.
Yet, contrary to his expectations, he had been given more than enough reward.
That moment naturally came to mind.
“If this really is the Abyss…”
“It’s frustrating, but I’m still too weak.”
There’s still so much I don’t understand.
“Please, just this once, help me.”
So, just this once, please find me.
Notice the anomaly and come here.
That was the purpose behind the Blue Flame unleashed, and why Celestial was cast because that alone was insufficient.
And then—
—”You were here all along.”
The prediction was correct.
He had dreamed.
A dream where he must run endlessly.
***
Something chased after him, but he couldn’t tell what it was.
Or rather, he didn’t even want to know.
‘Had he ever been this afraid in his life?’
He thought of himself as fearless.
Others said the same.
That he was fearless and bold, cold and more than capable of leading a group.
…But that wasn’t true.
He was far more afraid than he thought.
Even now, though vaguely aware it was a dream, he was too scared to look back, running endlessly.
He didn’t even know what he was afraid of, nor did he dare to find out.
He knew well that the moment he looked back, he would lose his sanity.
So he kept running through the endless darkness, but eventually the end came.
Ahead was a cliff.
Behind him, something unknown was closing in fast.
Though the cliff was near, he couldn’t stop his legs from running.
He knew the drop was deadly, no chance of survival, but the darkness behind was scarier.
To choose between being swallowed by that or throwing himself off the cliff, he would choose the latter without hesitation.
Death was preferable.
He was backed into a corner that badly.
So Daphne was about to throw herself off the abyssal cliff.
Her mind, worn out from endless running, was completely exhausted.
But just before that, the sight suddenly brightened.
Golden light poured from the sky, dispelling the darkness.
The gentle smile of a goddess.
A warm hand enveloping the area.
And the man who appeared boldly to block her fall from the cliff was—
—”Holy magic.”
Jijoncheonma.
“…Hio Pavlenko!”
Her eyes snapped open as she sat up.
The scenery was familiar.
The adventurers’ guild branch set up near the Hill of Hell.
Daphne’s quarters.
‘…Was it a dream?’
It had been a nightmare so suffocating, like being trapped in a vice.
After all, it didn’t make sense.
Going into the Labyrinth with Jijoncheonma… ‘Wait, was that a dream too?’
They had definitely been inside the Labyrinth together, and it felt vivid and real… but at some point it had felt hazy, like a dream.
‘Was it really a dream?’
As the thought reached that far—
“Guild Master! Are you awake?”
The door burst open as someone entered.
No, a crowd of guild members followed behind.
They were awakened adventurers belonging to the guild and the outer world, all affiliated with Daphne’s guild.
“Daphne, how are you feeling?”
“…I’m fine.”
Her body felt oddly good, and her mind clearer than ever.
More than that, she first spoke up to ask why she was lying here and how things had unfolded, but—
“More importantly, what happened…?”
“What happened, Guild Master Daphne?!”
Before she could finish, the guild members began firing questions.
They looked like they might die of curiosity.
“What was going on?”
“Why did that shameless guy come out of the Abyss holding the Guild Master like that…?”
Amidst the torrent of questions, one stood out sharply in her ears.
“More importantly, how on earth did you stay in there for over two weeks?”
“…What? Two weeks?”
Daphne whirled her head toward the guild member who asked that.
The guild member, caught off guard, just nodded uncertainly.
“There was less than a day left before the raid was supposed to finish… but no messages about success or failure showed up, and neither the Guild Master nor the one claiming to be Jijoncheonma appeared, so we were really worried…”
That… was nonsense.
Daphne’s vision blurred.
She was retracing the distant memories that felt like a dream.
First of all, it was hard to believe this wasn’t a dream but reality.
The gigantic eye floating in the eerie space.
The overwhelming fear she felt the moment she saw it.
The skill she desperately cast with a mind half gone.
The scene she saw just before passing out.
The terrifying eye looking down from above, and the goddess’s light even higher above it.
And finally, the figure of Jijoncheonma murmuring as he stepped forward.
All of it—’was it really real?’
“That time really was two weeks…?”
‘What on earth was going on?’
To be honest, she had no clue why or how it had happened.
Only one person might know the answer.
“Where did Hio Pavlenko go?”
The atmosphere grew serious.
The gathered guild members fell silent, and tension filled the room.
“Hio Pavlenko… Jijoncheonma is…”
The one who could explain all this was—
“He left.”
He had gone long ago.
“As soon as he got out, he roughly set the Guild Master down and left in a huge hurry without much explanation.”
“How can you just let him go? You should’ve at least held him back.”
The guild member looked wronged at Daphne’s words.
“He summoned the same thing and flew off, and his speed was crazy fast…”
“I was going to stop him, but I couldn’t catch up or anything…”
Daphne could only sigh, washing her dry face.
“Haa…”
It looked like she had to find Jijoncheonma again.