Chapter 123: Longing Is the Emotion Farthest from Understanding, Grey (Two-in-One)
In the pitch-black night sky, rain began to fall at an unknown time.
The rain turned the already scarcely traveled mountain path into a muddy mess, blurring the girl’s vision.
Grey ran along the winding path up the mountain, dirty muddy water splashing onto her pale cheeks, yet not once did her footsteps falter.
Deep within Grey’s soul, the originally ethereal, hard-to-perceive, and elusive force of fate…
At this moment, manifested as an unmistakably clear warning.
She would d*e.
She would d*e.
She would d*e.
That was a warning, seemingly written in bl**d, starkly imprinted in the depths of Grey’s soul… a premonition from fate.
Silent disaster, chaos, conspiracies… were slowly gathering in Paradise, within this Royal City.
And at the end of this winding path, at the peak of this mountain, lay the eye of the storm, the source of all discord and calamity.
To maximize her chances of survival amidst the approaching storm—
Grey should immediately return to Leader Cecil’s side, seeking the protection of this legendary Guardian.
Finding a stronghold to ensure her safety… this was the thought and principle Grey had always held.
In her eyes, those human settlements scattered across the continent resembled wolf packs across the wilderness, and she was a young wolf wandering among them.
Some packs were weak, easily consumed by stronger beasts of the wilderness, leaving her to wander once more… and some packs were strong, with the mightiest alpha wolf; joining such a powerful pack would ensure her safety.
Before meeting Rast, this was Grey’s understanding of the world.
The reason she wanted to join the Guardians was precisely because the Guardian organization represented a strong pack in her mind, led by the strongest alpha, Cecil… as long as she joined, she could gain security.
But—
At this moment.
The once firmly held beliefs and principles, along with the instinct to seek advantages and avoid harm that flowed from the depths of her soul… were cast aside by Grey.
She stumbled and dashed forward, her dirty boots leaving muddy puddles along the mountain path.
The heavy rain continued to pour.
What started as a drizzle transformed into a torrential downpour.
Time passed, though it felt unclear how long…
This seemingly endless winding path finally reached its end.
Grey used the last bit of strength she had left to climb over the final small slope.
Then, she saw the peak of the cliff… that slender figure clad in a black coat.
He stood beside the steep cliff, overlooking the dark sea crashing against the rocks below, his dark silhouette blending with the cliffside.
It was Brother Rast.
Although she couldn’t see his face due to his back being turned, with just that blurred outline… Grey immediately recognized him.
Thank goodness.
Thank goodness… she had caught up.
The worst possibility she had imagined hadn’t come true.
Brother Rast was safe and sound, nothing had happened to him.
It seemed that the Gravekeeper’s legend was intimidated by Leader Cecil and hadn’t arrived here yet.
The last remnants of her physical strength were exhausted in climbing the slope, and Grey lost the strength to support her body.
She stumbled and fell into the filthy muddy water below.
The girl’s silver-grey hair was stained with dirty water, her clothes were drenched in grime, making her appear more disheveled than a beggar…
But at that moment, Grey felt nothing but relief.
Relief that Brother Rast was unharmed.
However, she and Brother Rast were far from being safe.
Though she had confirmed Brother Rast’s safety, the warning from fate deep within her soul had not dissipated, but instead hovered like dark clouds over her heart.
This place would soon become the center of the storm…
Thus, she had to leave here with Brother Rast immediately.
With this thought in mind, Grey suppressed the pain from falling on the rubble, raised her head from the downpour, and looked at the figure in the distance, wanting to speak.
However, in the next instant.
Grey’s gaze suddenly froze.
As if sensing her movements behind him, Rast turned slightly, revealing his front.
In his left hand, he held a dagger seemingly forged from pure light, the brilliant golden blade was clearly stained with a vivid red.
The front of his black coat, along with Rast’s face, was drenched in splattered bl**d, a mark that even the torrential wind and rain couldn’t wash away.
In his right hand, he tightly gripped a chess piece shrouded in a dim golden light, yet crystal clear.
The moment the dim yellow chess piece appeared, Grey’s soul felt a sharp pain, the force of fate going wild, desperately alerting her.
This piece was the core of the storm in the premonition of fate, the source of all calamities.
It was also the “d*ath God’s Relic” that Grey had wanted to steal from the palace, based on Brother Rast’s information, but had not found at the intended location, instead falling into a trap that cost Sister Shadow her life to save her.
The words that were not spoken stuck in her throat.
Cold raindrops struck Grey’s cheeks, and her spirit fell alongside it into the dust.
Countless bits of information she had known beforehand, but had forcibly suppressed and ignored… now surged like an explosion, washing over her mind, leaving it blank.
Why, despite having avoided all the restrictions with Sister Shadow’s assistance… did the Guardian team’s plan to infiltrate the palace to steal the d*ath God’s Relic still get detected, even allowing time for traps to be laid in advance?
Why, despite Brother Rast climbing the mountain with Queen Helen, was he the only one left at the peak? What about that bl**d?
Why was the d*ath God’s Relic, which should have been in the palace’s treasury, now appearing in Brother Rast’s hand?
From the very beginning, Leader Cecil’s judgment had not been wrong.
Brother Rast had deliberately transmitted false information and leaked the Guardian team’s plan to the enemy in advance.
Causing the entire Lost Paradise plan to fall apart, putting all team members in danger, and if not for Leader Cecil’s timely arrival, the entire Guardian team would have already plunged into an irreversible abyss.
In fact, Grey should have noticed this long ago.
It was just that she had been deceiving herself, unwilling to believe in such a possibility.
Grey struggled to lift her head, looking towards the edge of the cliff.
Under the dark sky with pouring rain, the slender figure of the boy… now seemed so unfamiliar.
“Why?”
“Why transmit false information?”
“Why leak the team’s action plan?”
Grey’s wailing voice mingled with the tempest, hoarse and broken to the point that even she could hardly recognize it.
“Why… betray the Guardians?”
“Answer me! Brother Rast!”
“Tell me, it’s just a misunderstanding born from my own ignorance, merely a coincidence, and not your true intention!”
“Tell me… you were coerced by that Gravekeeper’s legend, that there were reasons you had to do this!”
However, in the face of the girl’s hoarse and somewhat pleading questions.
Rast gave no answer, no response that Grey longed for, that she desperately wished to hear.
“Why… is that it?”
The boy slowly lowered his gaze, looking at the dim yellow, ethereal chess piece in his hand.
That handsome yet indifferent face… now bore an expression so foreign to Grey: “Of course, it’s for the d*ath God’s Relic, the remains of the divine.”
“For the extraordinary, this is the key to opening the path of legend, a treasure to reach the heavens in one step.”
“At the same time, for me, this is also my chance to become a Gravekeeper…”
“To truly ascend to divinity, unrestrained by the end of an era, a stepping stone to eternity and immortality.”
Crack—
Even though she had long anticipated it.
In this moment, hearing Rast’s unmasked words…
Amid the chaotic sound of rain, Grey clearly heard something break deep within her soul.
“Just for… that kind of thing?”
Under the dark sky, amidst the chaotic downpour, Grey hung her head low.
Her voice trembled slightly, seeming to suppress emotions about to erupt like a volcano.
“Can the path of legends not rely solely on one’s own strength, without external aid?”
“Gaining immense power, becoming divine, enduring through the ages, achieving eternal immortality… are these things truly so important?”
“Even worth betraying the trust of your comrades, worth sacrificing the life of Sister Shadow, who worked tirelessly for you?”
She suddenly raised her head, her grey hair drenched by the rain, wet strands clinging to her cheeks, droplets hitting the stones, making a pattering sound.
Her voice transformed from a wail into a roar.
Her emerald green eyes sparkled with a fierce flame, but in that light, the fragile longing was shattering.
“If this is your wish…”
“Then what about the Brother Rast in my memories, who disregarded everything, even injuring his own eyes, to rescue me from the endless illusion of Frozen Water Town?”
“That Brother Rast who personally illustrated for me the true meaning of ‘Guardian’… who sowed the seeds of longing for Guardians in my heart?”
“My longing for you, all the desire to join the Guardians born from you, and all the sweat and effort poured into it… all the pride and satisfaction after joining the Guardians.”
“Because of reuniting with you, I began to look forward to the next day; I longed to return to the Watchtower and continue my prior life after this mission…”
“What does all of this mean to you?”
“In your eyes, what am I, and the Guardian organization, and Sister Shadow and the others, those teammates who trust you, admire you… even accountable to you?”
…
The girl’s roar pierced through the rain, echoing across the entire cliff.
However, in the face of Grey’s furious inquiries, Rast’s expression remained completely unshaken.
He simply raised the ethereal chess piece in silence.
In the next moment, a flash of blue light crossed Rast’s eyes.
And his aura suddenly transformed.
The originally calm and steady energy, like a ‘tower,’ vanished… replaced by a heavy stillness.
Cold, silent, pale… eerily resembling eternal void.
Just like the former Queen of the Underworld, Helen.
The “Library of Fools” activated, all original texts were replaced, swapped for the abilities inherited from the newly acquired “d*ath God: Akshia” card.
Six primary texts of the Reaper Sequence equipped simultaneously.
In that instant, a layer of dim light surrounded Rast, as if colored by dusk.
By utilizing the “Library of Fools,” he briefly transformed into a true extraordinary being belonging to the Reaper Sequence hierarchy.
After completing his preparations, Rast then grasped the d*ath God’s Star Cup.
Then he raised the crimson-gold light blade, pressing it against his left chest.
bl**d splattered with the blade’s light, his breastbone pierced effortlessly by the blade of light.
Among the shattered flesh and broken bones… revealed Rast’s bright red heart, endlessly throbbing.
For an ordinary person, even a regular extraordinary being… such a severe wound to the heart would likely cause immediate d*ath.
However, at this moment, Rast remained expressionless.
[d*ath God: Pale Body (Unlocked)]
[As a messenger of d*ath, you possess a temporary ability to resist d*ath.]
[Your body does not recognize the concept of a “fatal flaw”; the injuries you endure will be evenly distributed throughout your body, granting immunity to most common diseases.]
This was the ability at the fifth tier of the Reaper Sequence.
At this moment, the Pale Body was likewise empowered over Rast, allowing him to maintain mobility despite a wound that pierced his heart, leaving him only slightly pale.
Next, he pressed that illusory chess piece-like d*ath God’s Star Cup into his living heart.
Though it radiated brilliance, the moment it touched his heart, it effortlessly melded into Rast’s body.
The next moment, his wound suddenly began to twist.
The injury in Rast’s chest, pierced by the blade of light, began to rapidly heal, restoring to its original state.
After finishing all this, he finally turned back.
Through the torrential rain, across the chasm of the cliff.
He looked down at the girl who had fallen into the mud, her pale face stained with muck, her green eyes filled with shattering, oblivion, and rage.
The crimson-gold blade cut through the rain, deftly changing direction at Rast’s fingertips.
Then, this dagger, stained with the bl**d of both Rast and Helen, was pressed against the silver wing emblem engraved with the Guardian’s insignia.
“So you still don’t understand… Grey.”
Indifferent words, mixed with the harsh sound of metal grinding, reached her through the rain.
The blade burned as it touched the metal, piercing through the entire badge.
A deep, pronounced scratch, symbolizing “betrayal,” was left on the silver wing emblem of the Guardians.
“Longing is the emotion farthest from understanding.”
(End of Chapter)
