⚠️ Major Story Spoilers Ahead. This is a late-game main quest in Chapter 12. If you have not reached this point yet, bookmark this and come back when you need it.
TL;DR
- A Shadow in the Void is the 159th main quest in Crimson Desert, part of Chapter 12: The Abyss.
- After Caliburn escapes into the Abyss, the quest marker points to the sky but gives no clear path — this guide explains exactly where to go.
- You must solve the Monolith Crown Abyss puzzle and use the Crescent Skybridge to reach Dimensional Bonds.
- There is also a shortcut via a crashed cube spaceship in Demeniss if you have already cleared the Monolith Crown.
- At Dimensional Bonds, you fight Corrupted Caliburn — a three-phase boss with shadow clone mechanics.
- Stock at least 200+ Grilled Meat and 5+ Palmar Pills before starting this quest. You will have multiple boss fights in a row.
- Reward: Twisted Verdict (Two-Handed Sword)
Quest Overview
Quest Name: A Shadow in the Void Quest Number: 159 Chapter: 12 – The Abyss Sub-Chapter: The Void Requirement: Complete the previous main quest, Forbidden Gate Reward: Twisted Verdict (Two-Handed Sword)
At the end of the previous quest, Duke Caliburn escapes through an Abyss gate created by Grundir and vanishes. The quest tooltip updates to: “Caliburn vanished along with the Abyss gate created by Grundir. Move to the Abyss and go after Caliburn, who must be somewhere within.”
The problem is that the quest marker points to the sky with no obvious path forward. The game does not tell you how to get up there. This guide walks you through every step.
Prepare Before You Start
This is not a quest you want to rush into unprepared. You are heading into the endgame and will face multiple major boss fights back to back once you reach Caliburn.
Before starting, stock up on:
- 200+ Grilled Meat — the primary healing item for this stretch. 300 is even safer.
- 5+ Palmar Pills — these act as emergency revives and will save you if things go wrong.
- Max refined gear — make sure your weapons and armor are upgraded as far as possible.
- Level 10 Health stat — strongly recommended before going in.
Check out our guides on how to cook the best healing food in Crimson Desert and how to get and use Palmar Pills to get fully stocked before you go.
Also make a manual save before entering the final boss gate. If you choose “Give Up” during the fight or close the game after the first boss, you will be spawned far away and cannot re-enter the gate without redoing the whole approach. Save before you go in and do not close the game mid-fight.
How to Head to the Abyss and Pursue Caliburn
Your goal is to reach the large central Abyss island called Dimensional Bonds. There are two ways to get there: the standard route through the Monolith Crown puzzle and Crescent Skybridge, or a faster shortcut via a crashed spaceship in Demeniss.
Standard Route: Monolith Crown + Crescent Skybridge
This is the main path. Follow these steps in order.
Step 1 — Open the Sky Map
Open your map and switch to the Sky Map view (press the button shown on screen, or Mouse Wheel on PC). Locate Triangle Ring in the middle of the map. Your starting destination is Crow’s Nest, where you fought the Crowcaller boss at the end of Chapter 5.
Step 2 — Find the Skybridge at Crow’s Nest
From the Crow’s Nest fast travel point, move forward past the tree and look to the right. You will find a Skybridge here. Activate it by using Axiom Force on it and rotating it until it glows blue. Enter the teleporter at the end of the path. This transports you to Monolith Crown.
Step 3 — Arrive at Monolith Crown
When you arrive, perform three midair Force Palms and glide over the wind turbines to reach the platform. Activate the fast travel point here. Before touching anything else, make a manual save. The upcoming puzzle can be reset if you make a wrong move, but it is much easier to just reload a save if something goes wrong.
Step 4 — Solve the Monolith Crown Cube Puzzle
The puzzle centers on a suspended cage with laser emitters. Use the Axiom Force grapple (hold L3 / TAB key) to grab the cage and move it.
You only need to move the cube three times: push it to one side, push it to the same side again, then move it down. All cube lasers need to hit their respective buttons to complete the puzzle. If you make a wrong move and the puzzle gets scrambled, simply reload your manual save and try again.
When all the lasers are aligned and hit their buttons, you are automatically taken out of the cube view. Jump back up and use a jumping Force Palm on the large cog on the floor. This completes the Abyss repair and you receive an Abyss Artifact as a reward.
Step 5 — Cross Through the Skybridge to Crescent Skybridge
Follow the now-open path behind Monolith Crown through the Skybridge. Cross over the floating platforms until you reach the teleporter. This brings you to Crescent Skybridge.
Head to the east end of Crescent Skybridge where two blue skybridges are marked on the map. You may need to use a jumping Force Palm to get over the gap. Activate the northern skybridge — repairing the Monolith Crown unlocked it.
Step 6 — Enter the Abyss Gate
Platforms will appear along the skybridge path. Follow them upward and enter the Abyss Gate at the top. This teleports you to a new area called Dimensional Bonds.
Shortcut Route: Crashed Cube Spaceship in Demeniss
If you have already completed the Monolith Crown repair, or if you want to skip ahead, there is a faster way directly to Dimensional Bonds.
Head to Demeniss and look for a crashed cube-shaped spaceship in the river between the Spire of Clockwork and Drywind Valley. Enter the vessel.
Inside, use your Axiom Force grapple on the electrified square in the partially flooded lower section. Bring it to the floor panel and slam it into place with your Force Palm. Then grab the rectangular battery and bring it up to the upper section of the ship.
In the upper section, you will see multiple rotating discs that conduct electricity. Move the battery with your grapple to see how the electricity flows between discs. Rotate the discs using Axiom Force until the electricity is routed correctly to power the core.
Once powered correctly, the spaceship flies up and takes you directly to Dimensional Bonds. This is a significant time saver if you already know about it.
Navigating Dimensional Bonds
Once inside Dimensional Bonds, glide over the platforms and stick to the right side. Hit the large cog on the wall with Force Palm to activate the teleporter in front of it. Step inside and you will arrive at Caliburn’s location.
Head up the stairs to the south and find an Abyss panel. Activate it with Force Palm, then climb over the panel and use your wings to fly up to the center area.
At the main doors of the central building, an Abyss Gate will appear. Interact with the large front gate to enter the boss fight.
Make your manual save here if you have not already. This is your last chance before the boss sequence begins.
How to Beat Corrupted Caliburn
Corrupted Caliburn is a three-phase human boss fight. He has three full health bars and a mix of melee, ranged, and clone-based attacks.
Corrupted Caliburn Attacks
Shadow Clones — This is the hardest part of the fight. Caliburn will constantly summon shadow copies of himself that attack with sword slashes and stab attacks. The clones cannot be damaged, so do not waste stamina trying to hit them. Focus on reading their attack patterns and dodging.
Sword Slashes — Direct melee swings when Caliburn attacks you personally. These can be parried or dodged.
Bow Attack — Caliburn will sometimes float in the air and shoot you with a bow. Keep moving and dodge the incoming arrows.
Explosive Drop — He occasionally disappears and drops explosives on the floor. These are slow and easy to dodge by moving away from where you see them land.
Jumping Slam — His most dangerous attack. This can one-shot you if you are not properly prepared with a high health stat and well-refined gear. Watch for the wind-up and dodge immediately.
Strategy for All Three Phases
The core loop for the entire fight is: dodge the shadow clone waves until Caliburn stands still, then move behind him and land a heavy attack combo followed by light attacks. As soon as a new clone wave starts, go back to dodging.
Whenever Caliburn stands still, that is your window. Dodge behind him, heavy combo, light follow-up, then get clear. Repeat this cycle for all three phases.
In Phase 2 and Phase 3 he uses all the same attacks but spams shadow clones far more frequently. The windows to deal damage get shorter. If you are taking melee hits, you can eat Grilled Meat while attacking to offset the damage — just keep the pressure on during your windows.
Do not use the “Give Up” option during any phase and do not close the game after beating Caliburn. You will immediately be placed into another boss fight, and quitting at that point will send you far away with no way back in. You would have to reload your manual save and redo Corrupted Caliburn all over again.
For a broader look at all Caliburn encounters in the story, check our guide on how to beat Lucian Bastier in Crimson Desert and how to beat Myurdin in Crimson Desert for the fights that follow.
After Corrupted Caliburn
After defeating Corrupted Caliburn, step through the Abyss Gate straight ahead. This leads directly into the next main quest, Blinding Darkness, which puts you into two more boss fights back to back: Umbra Myurdin and then Umbra, the true final boss.
This is why the supply stockpile at the start of A Shadow in the Void matters so much. You cannot restock between these encounters. Whatever you have going into the Caliburn fight is what you have for everything after it.
After defeating Umbra, the main story of Crimson Desert concludes and the epilogue begins. You will revisit different locations across Pywel in a series of dialogue quests with the factions you encountered throughout the campaign.
Related Guides
- Crimson Desert: All Main Story Quests & Chapters
- How to Beat Myurdin in Crimson Desert
- Can You Beat Myurdin in Crimson Desert?
- How to Beat Beloth the Darksworn in Crimson Desert
- How to Beat Ator, Archon of Antumbra in Crimson Desert
- How to Use Axiom Force in Crimson Desert
- Crimson Desert: Vault of Vengeance Abyss Puzzle Guide
- How to Get Lightning Surge — Courtyard of Precision
- Crimson Desert: Flying Fortress Orbian Walkthrough
- How to Get a Dragon in Crimson Desert
- Crimson Desert: Scorchflame / Flame Knight Armor Set — All Locations
- Crimson Desert Hub — All Guides
Crimson Desert is available on PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation, and Xbox. Visit the official Crimson Desert website for more details from Pearl Abyss.
