CHAPTER 256: CHAPTER-256

Kaya narrowed her eyes at him.

"How?" she asked flatly.

The sparrow shifted uncomfortably, glancing everywhere but her face. "By... cheering you on?" he offered in a slightly unsure tone, raising a hand as if that would make it sound convincing.

Kaya’s fist clenched. She lifted her arm again.

"No thank you. I can just cook you instead."

He flinched, throwing up both hands. "Please, please, please! I’ll really help you—just say whatever you want!"

Kaya’s hand froze. She gave him a long, slow look, her gaze dragging from his head down to his chest. "Anything, huh?"

Cold sweat prickled down his neck, but he still nodded quickly. "Uh... yeah."

Without another word, Kaya dug into her bag and pulled out a rope. She stepped forward and, to his utter confusion, tied it firmly around his waist.

"Wait—what is this?" he asked, staring down at the knot.

Kaya straightened, her expression calm, almost smug. Then she turned toward the narrow, crumbling stone path.

"Didn’t you say you were going to help me? Fine. Then fly in the air while this rope stays tied to me. If I fall—" she tugged the rope once, sharply "—you’re coming straight to hell with me."

The sparrow’s face went pale.

He flapped his hands frantically.

"But—I’m such a small bird! How could I possibly handle your weight?"

Kaya stopped mid-step, turned her head, and shot him a cold look.

"Aren’t you a beastman? Don’t you have wings? Use them. Fly in the air."

She jabbed a finger toward the abyss. "It’s not like I’m asking you to carry me from here to there. Just—make sure I don’t fall."

The sparrow blinked at her, dumbfounded. "But... I told you, I’m just a small bird, I—"

Kaya cut him off, her voice sharp as a blade. "Funny. When you’re busy stuffing your face with my food, you don’t complain about weight then."

His mouth snapped shut instantly. He froze, feathers practically bristling even in human form.

Kaya’s eyes narrowed. She pulled out her knife and pointed it straight at him, her tone icy.

"Anyway, you’re useless to me. I can always kill you and cook you instead."

The sparrow trembled, his throat thick with saliva. When his eyes met Kaya’s, he knew—she wasn’t joking. That cold, merciless glint told him his life hung by a thread. She had already used his copying ability. Now, to her, he was dead weight. If he didn’t prove useful, she’d toss him away without a second thought.

With no choice left, he spread his wings and took off, fluttering just above her.

Kaya pressed her body against the stone wall, her arms hugging it as if it were her only lifeline. Inch by inch, dragging one foot at a time, she moved forward. Her gaze flickered downward only once—nothing but clouds and emptiness beneath. Her chest tightened, but she kept moving.

Then it happened.

The moment Kaya reached the middle crack, the stone beneath her right foot gave way with a sharp crack!

"Agh!" she gasped, her body tilting toward the abyss.

Before she could plummet, the sparrow swooped in, grabbing her from behind and shoving her back against the wall. The rope tightened at her waist, anchoring them both. Kaya clung desperately to the rock, her breath ragged.

"Thank God I tied you," she muttered between breaths. "Or I’d already be dead."

Her eyes darted forward. The next stretch of the path was ruined—four, maybe five steps, completely gone. The only option left was to jump.

But that wasn’t even the real problem. Even if she made the leap, there was no solid ground to land with both feet. The narrow strip ahead offered space for only one. A misstep would mean certain death.

Kaya reached out, testing the rocks above for a grip, but each time her fingers touched one, it crumbled away in her hand. Pebbles fell into the void below, disappearing without a sound.

Her jaw tightened. "Damn it!"

Suddenly, the sparrow fluttered nervously above her head, his voice cracking with panic.

"Hey! Let’s just go back—are you crazy? We’ll both die here!"

His whining grated against Kaya’s ears. She lifted her head to glare at him, but the movement almost threw her off balance. Heart pounding, she clutched the stone wall tighter.

"Just shut up, or I’ll kill you myself, damn bastard. What kind of beast are you? Can’t you just fly me across?"

The sparrow squawked back in a sulky tone, "My wings are too small! How could I lift you? And if I tried and we fell—then what?"

Kaya stared at him in disbelief, her lips curling.

"Completely useless. You only know how to eat and sleep. And you call yourself a big shaman of the bird tribe?"

The sparrow muttered under his breath, "Like you’re any better. Just a chimpanzee tribe, huh? Can’t even jump like one."

Her eyes snapped toward him, sharp enough to cut. The sparrow shut his mouth instantly.

But now the real problem pressed down on them—harder than her threats ever could.

Kaya couldn’t go forward; the path ahead was gone. She glanced back, hoping to retreat—but even that was stolen from her.

She tried to step back carefully, inch by inch. Two, three steps, and her legs already trembled from exhaustion. Then it happened.

The stone beneath her foot gave a deep crack and crumbled away into the abyss.

Her breath hitched. She staggered backward, landing on a strip barely wide enough to cling to.

Now she was stuck.

The return path had collapsed completely, leaving nothing but empty air behind. To get back, she would need to jump at least six or seven steps—and that was even further than the broken path in front of her.

Kaya’s chest heaved. Sweat stung her eyes. Both ways were deadly.

Trapped in the middle of a shattered mountain path, she had no choice left.

Either she walks forward and might die or tries to go back and has a higher possibility of dying.