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Chapter 97 - EP.97 – “Inside the Abyss”

Beyond the gate lies the forgotten root of sin—unseen, untouched, unjudged.

[Scene 1 – Descent into Darkness]

As Jiwoon stepped past the gate, the world changed.

There was no sky. No stars. No time.

Just void.

A twisting, infinite space made of echoing screams and frozen shadows.

The Abyss.

System Fragment:

[Sin Territory Confirmed]

[Concept: "Judgment" is non-functional here.]

[Warning: Host perception may be distorted.]

Jiwoon (looking around):

"This isn't a place.

It's a… rejection of existence."

Every step he took felt like walking on the guilt of forgotten civilizations—sinking, crackling, begging to be noticed.

[Scene 2 – A Voice That Shouldn't Exist]

The silence shattered.

Unknown Voice (echoing):

"You've come far, child of the Sinbound Flame…"

Jiwoon stopped.

Before him stood a figure draped in ten wings—not fully formed, like smoke trying to become flesh.

Jiwoon (tense):

"Are you the one who destroyed the old world?"

Figure:

"I am what's left of him."

Its voice was many voices—male, female, monstrous, divine.

Figure:

"The system feared me.

The Queen buried my name.

But sin… cannot be contained."

[Scene 3 – A Trial Without System]

Suddenly, Jiwoon was dragged into a vision.

He stood in a destroyed world.

Ashes. Bones. Blood raining from a broken sky.

System Fragment:

[Sin Memory Playback Initiated]

[Target: Host Jiwoon]

In this illusion, Jiwoon was powerless.

He saw himself—but not himself—slaughtering armies, devouring cities.

Wearing the full Ebonwyrm Exordium, with ten shadowed wings.

Jiwoon (staggering):

"That's… not me."

Figure:

"It could be."

Jiwoon:

"I'd never become that."

Figure:

"That's what I said… once."

The illusion faded—leaving Jiwoon trembling but unbroken.

[Scene 4 – The Lock Breaks]

System Fragment:

[Mental Resistance: Passed]

[Sin Core Unlocking – Phase 2/5 Complete]

[New Ability Unlocked: Sin Echo – Depth Version]

Jiwoon's body pulsed with darker energy than ever before.

His eyes briefly glowed crimson-black.

A second sigil burned into his back—an ancient rune shaped like a dragon's maw.

[Scene 5 – Aven Feels the Shift]

Far from the abyss—back in the human world—Aven looked up from his training.

The sky rippled.

Aven (quietly):

"He's evolving again…"

[Scene 6 – Jiwoon Stands Tall]

Jiwoon opened his eyes.

No fear. No doubt.

Jiwoon (firmly):

"I'm not your heir.

I'm not your weapon.

I'm the reckoning that even sin fears."

The Abyss shuddered.

The figure with ten wings simply smiled.

Figure:

"Then come find me when you've earned your final wings…"

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