Chapter 147: Little Grey, the Game Should be Over (7k)
The clear voice echoed throughout the square of the Royal City, a chant that flowed like a soft stream.
At that moment, time stood still under the girl’s gentle murmur.
The clock tower’s vibrating hands suddenly trembled and then changed their trajectory, turning counterclockwise.
The tea in the cup, once steaming, rapidly flowed back into the pot.
The flickering lights changed from dim to bright and then back to pitch black.
On the square, the originally empty space suddenly became filled with shadows…
Interfering with time, manipulating fate.
This was a power that Grey had once used in Frozen Water Town, long before she joined the Guardians, before inheriting that Flame Seed.
However, at that time, Grey couldn’t consciously control the great force entwined deep within her soul, known as “Fate” — it could only be unconsciously triggered when she faced life-threatening danger or experienced intense emotional fluctuation.
Moreover, as a compensation for her own amassed good fortune, she deprived the luck of those around her, leading them to tragic endings… becoming a witch like a cursed star, bringing misfortune to those close to her.
Ultimately, Grey, refusing to accept the reality that Frozen Water Town had perished, forcibly dragged the entire town into an endless time loop of a single day.
But—
Since the day she first encountered Brother Rast.
By making a choice with her own will, stepping out of that dreamlike illusion, choosing to face the magnificent force deep within her soul, known as “Fate.”
In these ten years, every single day and night… Grey had been continuously diving into the depths of her soul, trying to bring that elusive fate under her control.
With the will of a mortal, she attempted to challenge the mighty existence known as destiny.
This was undoubtedly a foolish and arrogant decision.
In fact, during the first ten years, Grey’s attempts ended in failure—
She was indeed favored by fate, but this concept was closer to “grace,” rather than a power that Grey could truly understand.
It was akin to the “divinely favored” individuals in the worshipping cults where the priests could invoke divine power through prayers as agents of the gods.
However, that was merely divine magic born from prayer, blessings bestowed upon believers by deities due to their compassion.
If a divinely favored person or a priest attempted to possess the power granted by the deity for their own use, then their status as the divinely favored would cease to exist, and the wrath of the true god would reduce everything to ashes.
Grey’s previous attempts always failed for similar reasons.
She should have continued failing like that…
Until the betrayal three years ago.
That rainy night mixed with bl**d and muddy cliffs took everything away from the girl.
The life goals she had established after joining the Guardians and befriending someone like Yannis.
The reunion with Brother Rast, the happiness during the six months living in the Watchtower… and the hopes and expectations for their future together.
All of that shattered in the torrential rain of that night, turning into nothingness.
Once again, her bloodline connected to this world was severed, and the distance between her and the joys and sorrows of the world grew very far…
Everything seemed to return to before she met Brother Rast—
The little girl, like a young beast, walked alone on the dark wasteland, wandering among packs of wolves, but that was merely a temporary resting place, not a true home.
She had once owned the world, was the happiest treasure in it… but everything was taken back in a single night, and Grey became nothing once more, drifting like a homeless soul beyond the human world.
Since she had nothing…
Then, besides her life, there was nothing else she could lose…
Embracing such a sense of resolve towards d*ath, Grey began her training over these three years—
Not like a human, but more like a demon and asura.
She once thought she would d*e tragically in that purgatory like a demon… but even Grey herself didn’t expect to persist until the end.
Countless brushes with d*ath, the refinement she endured not only sharpened that Flame Seed inherited from the Guardians but also that force known as fate.
And at this very moment, the time rewind that once could only be unconsciously triggered in despair was finally mastered by Grey, becoming a power completely under her control.
It was also after three years—
The confidence that Grey chose to stand before Brother Rast again was the last trump card she had never even revealed to the Leader Cisel.
If she could fully master “Fate” and the ability called “Time Rewind”—
Then she should be able to keep pace with Brother Rast.
Even achieve the wish she longed for day and night.
If one attempt fails, then use the time rewind ability to reset everything and try ten more times…
If ten attempts fail, then try a hundred…
Even if the possibility of success was minimal, and her strength was weak.
However, in hundreds or thousands of timelines, there must be a way to save Brother Rast from the wrong path.
All along, it was this belief that Grey held onto as a lifeline, allowing her to persist through those three years of training on the path of asura and demon.
…
Such thoughts only flickered in Grey’s mind.
The scenery around her was changing rapidly, even the concept of time itself was no longer ethereal, but flowed beside the girl like a stream, allowing Grey to perceive it clearly.
If time were to be likened to a river flowing downstream, then at this moment, the current of this river of time had reversed, flowing upstream…
Amidst the rushing river of time, the entire Royal City was likewise rewinding, leaving only Grey as a grain of sand and impurity in the river of time that did not flow backwards along with it.
Grey felt the flow of time beside her gradually slowing down, the shifting scenery became clearer and more audible.
It was still the central square of Paradise City.
However, compared to when she had erupted during the completed sacrificial ceremony, the number of people in the square was significantly greater.
This was the time node ten minutes ago.
The sacrificial ceremony had not yet officially begun, and the chalice had not yet manifested.
Thus, the deceased in the square naturally had not been offered as sacrifices in the sacred rite nor refined into a part of the sacrosanct chalice.
The people in the square were only fervently gazing at the youth slowly walking out from the high platform, surrounded by attendants, awaiting this king of the Underworld to announce the official commencement of the sacrificial ceremony.
In the previous timeline, Brother Rast must have predicted where I would teleport and set traps accordingly.
After all, on the high platform, by Brother Rast’s side, there were only a few places capable of destroying the chalice’s teleportation point immediately.
And the Flame Seed I inherited from Leader Cisel, although the news was hidden… but the Leader had said that this seed originally came from the Gravekeeper Organization, and that information regarding Brother Rast had been conveyed from the legendary figure called Noah within the Bounty Sequence, making it quite understandable.
Additionally, Brother Rast’s understanding of my character could only be described as intimate.
No wonder every move I made had been completely seen through by Brother Rast, even predicting my next positioning.
If I were to wait until the chalice manifested again to snatch and destroy it… perhaps it would lead me once more into Brother Rast’s control, falling into his rhythm.
In that case, I would simply activate the backup plan.
To act contrary, no longer allowing the sacrificial ceremony to complete and waiting for the chalice to appear to intervene… but rather to take action in advance, directly obstructing the processes of the sacrificial rite, the birth of that chalice.
Grey concealed her petite figure within her gray cloak, her delicate face hidden beneath the hood, blending into the crowd in the square, rapidly contemplating the strategies for this action in conjunction with her experiences before the rewind.
Soon, a flicker of silver light twinkled again in her emerald green eyes.
“Ability Canon, ‘Collective Subconscious Interference'”
“Sequence Canon, ‘Mind Demon: Whisperer'”
“Sequence Canon, ‘Mind Demon: Collective Seduction'”
“Sequence Canon, ‘Mind Demon: Soul Pollution'”
“Sequence Canon, ‘Mind Demon: Wide-ranging Mental Suggestion'”
…
In Grey’s eyes, the faint firelight was continuously dancing.
Each time the firelight flickered, it represented Grey lighting the Flame Seed, equipping a tome capable of simulating sequences or anomalous abilities, ready to be unleashed.
The “Chalice” is the embryo of the divine country among the three essential elements of divinity, a symbol of faith’s power in reality.
And if—
I could seduce the citizens participating in this sacrificial rite, tarnishing their originally pure belief in Brother Rast, then this power of faith would become tainted.
Then, as the crystallization of faith, the embryo of the divine country—the “Chalice”… would inevitably be polluted by impure faith, leading to distortion and losing the function that was originally one of the three essential elements of becoming a deity.
This was the alternative plan Grey had prepared for when the direct destruction of the chalice failed and she activated time rewind.
Starting with the people’s faith, ruining the nature of the chalice, turning it into a “Black Chalice” filled with filth, cursed.
Of course—
Corrupting hearts, inciting turmoil, polluting the citizens’ originally pure beliefs.
Such behavior sounded no different from that of a cultist.
And the simulation tomes Grey prepared to interfere with the thoughts of a large number of people quickly, to corrupt and seduce the hearts of the masses… were mostly drawn from “Mind Demons” or the “Shadows,” a series that sounded quite villainous.
However, at this moment, Grey naturally wouldn’t care about her seemingly villainous actions.
As long as she could save Brother Rast from the wrong path and achieve that wish she’s longed for…
Forget about whether it appeared villainous; even if she truly fell into the path of asura and demons, Grey would not waver in the slightest.
“Activating as per the canon sequence.”
The pre-set mental suggestion was quietly triggered.
However, just as Grey had firmed her resolve, formulated her action plan for this timeline, and had yet to truly initiate her action.
In the next instant.
Grey distinctly perceived—
A cold and majestic gaze was falling from the high platform towards her direction.
“I see, Grey.”
“You gave up on facing me directly and chose to start from the participating citizens of the sacrificial ceremony.”
“Do you aim to pollute the faith of the masses and prevent me from achieving the throne of the God of d*ath?”
Accompanied by the indifferent voice, Grey bewilderedly lifted her head.
Then she locked eyes with the gaze descending from the high platform.
Those pitch-black eyes were so familiar yet also so foreign.
Already imprinted deep within Grey’s soul, even after a hundred or a thousand years, she would never forget the name of the owner of those pitch-black eyes.
How could this be?
According to my attempts, after the time rewind… aside from myself, who was protected by fate and independent of the flow of time—
All those within the range of the rewind should also have their consciousness rewinded together, losing all the experiences and memories of the previous timeline.
Looking at the black-haired youth on the high platform, who was not presiding over the opening of the sacrificial rite as he had in the previous timeline but was looking straight at her, Grey felt a chill run through her spirit.
The time rewind she could currently manage, of course, could not directly affect the entire world; it could only rewind time within a specific area, similar to how she had distorted Frozen Water Town and its surroundings.
Moreover, if a Legendary Strongman was present in the area, Grey’s ability to rewind time would also fail due to the significant disparity in ranks—
Perhaps it would only be after Grey herself attained legendary status could she also bring other legends within the range affected by the time rewind.
But if it were because of interference from a legendary rank, then her time rewind should have been obstructed and unable to be triggered from the very beginning.
However, at this moment, within Grey’s perception, the time rewind was indeed successfully initiated without any hindrance.
The entire world aside from herself had clearly been reset to that ten-minute node.
If so, how could Brother Rast, who should have lost his memory of the previous timeline, discover her and even comprehend her plan entirely?
Was it because she was dawdling too long in her thoughts, appearing out of sync with the fervor of the surrounding crowd participating in the sacrificial ceremony, and Brother Rast noticed?
Brother Rast was the King of the Underworld; the entire Royal City was his domain… In his own domain, he possessed an incredible level of control.
Even that detail of herself dawdling among the crowds attending the sacrificial ceremony could be detected… while it sounds unbelievable, at this very moment, it was the only explanation Grey could find in the blink of an eye.
As her thoughts raced, Grey saw a pale, bony hand descending from above her.
At a mere glance, Grey recognized that it was Brother Rast’s hand.
Carrying a dim yellow aura, unassuming yet severing any possibility of evasion, cutting off all possibility for her.
Without having equipped any specific tome to counter it, once caught by that pale hand, her life and d*ath would entirely fall into the other’s hands, with no chance for struggle remaining.
Gazing at that slowly descending pale hand, Grey’s mind whirled, then she suddenly gritted her teeth.
“O Fate…”
The clear voice resonated once again in the square, the voice of a girl speaking.
The words were like a word spirit, sending ripples through the flowing currents of fate.
The dim yellow aura became stagnant, time flowed backwards, the clamor returned to dead silence.
The scene that had previously played out once was now being reenacted, the river of time’s flow was rewritten again, surging towards a more distant upstream.
…
Feeling the rushing reverse flow of time beside her gradually slow, eventually nearing a standstill.
Grey’s eyes snapped open.
The wooden boards beneath her were jolted by the steep mountain path, causing her to sway along with it.
What came into view was a simple horse-drawn carriage.
Outside the window, the fierce sun in the azure sky had not yet hung high in the zenith but was slowly rising from the east.
“Little girl—”
“Did you come to the Royal City for the sacrificial rite too?”
Across from her in the carriage, an elderly lady with silver hair and a dignified demeanor gently asked Grey.
“Did you come alone to the Royal City?”
“Aren’t your parents coming with you?”
Ignoring the elder lady’s sincere inquiries, Grey took a deep breath, coming back to her senses from her earlier situation.
Another time rewind.
However, this time, the span of time was not merely the ten minutes Grey had activated previously.
But—
Four hours.
Directly rewinding from the commencement of the sacrificial ceremony to ten o’clock in the morning four hours prior… when Grey was still in the carriage heading towards the Royal City from its outskirts, not having actually entered the Royal City area.
This was a deduced possibility that Grey couldn’t fully confirm but was the most reasonable conjecture—
After absorbing the d*ath God’s Chalice, the entire Royal City became the domain of Brother Rast, the King of the Underworld, and he possessed a meticulous observation power over everything within his domain.
She very likely had already exposed her identity due to some details, catching Brother Rast’s attention.
Thus, Brother Rast was able to prepare many countermeasures against her, and perhaps he had long suspected her, though he had yet to act directly.
In that case— then it was best to rewind to the point before anything had begun.
She hadn’t even entered the Royal City yet.
Regardless of Brother Rast’s impressive control over the citizens within the Royal City, he could not possibly perceive signs of her arrival.
“Little girl, are you feeling unwell?”
“Why do you seem so startled?”
Seeing Grey’s gaze transition from confusion and panic to determination, the elderly lady voiced her concern.
But the grey-haired girl did not respond to the other’s kindness.
Grey turned her gaze to the distant horizon of the plains outside the window, the carriage was approaching, with the towering Royal City already in sight.
Her brain was rapidly devising a plan.
Should she abandon this action during the sacrificial ceremony and return to the Watchtower for assistance?
No, the current state of the Broken Coast is tense; the Forbidden Beasts within the endless sea are restless and could erupt in battle at any moment…
Neither Leader Cisel nor anyone else in the Guardian organization could spare any resources to support her.
Moreover, even if allies besides Leader Cisel came to aid her, the outcome against Brother Rast wouldn’t change in the slightest.
However, this sacrificial ceremony in the Royal City was her last opportunity.
If she allowed Brother Rast to obtain the chalice, collecting two of the three bronze key elements to open the path to godhood, his power would surely surge, becoming even more difficult to deal with.
In fact, whether her time rewind could even affect Brother Rast would be questionable.
Most critically, after absorbing the chalice and the power of faith from the populace, Brother Rast’s spirit and soul would inevitably be impacted by that power of faith.
Transforming from an originally pure human into the true “God of d*ath” who overlooks all beings and commands the authority of the Underworld and d*ath.
From man to god.
From “he” to “Him.”
At that time, everything might become irretrievable.
And the already slim chance of salvaging Brother Rast from the wrong path would become even more bleak.
So—
No matter what, she must sabotage this sacrificial ceremony.
But how could she conceal herself from Brother Rast after entering the Royal City, entering his realm, ensuring that her plans would not be detected in advance?
As her thoughts turned, Grey gently brushed her refined forehead.
She felt a growing numbness and fatigue creeping out from deep within her soul.
As the sole holder of the Fate sequence, Grey indeed had a conceptually powerful ability to rewind time, akin to reloading.
However—
Rewinding time, reversing fate.
Utilizing such a mighty force that rewrites rules, how could the user not pay any price?
Rewinding the time of all living and dead entities within a specific area while retaining complete memory…
Meant that her soul had to experience a complete rewind of time in a very short interval.
Like subjecting a stone to aging experiments in a weathering chamber, just a few minutes might turn a once-hard rock into a crumbling mess.
The price Grey had to pay for performing a time rewind was just so.
With every rewind, her soul would suffer a degree of wear from the accelerated reversal of time…
If it were just a rewind of a few seconds, the wear wouldn’t be severe.
But if this span is further enlarged, then the “wear” on the soul would continually deepen—
Just like many immortal beings who had lived long lives and consequently forgotten their former humanity… the loss of spirit, the degradation of mind, and even the loss of portions of memory and persona were all likely occurrences.
In this moment, Grey sensed that she might have forgotten parts of her memory.
But just which portions were missing, Grey herself could not ascertain at this time.
However, now was not the moment to dwell on that.
Whether falling into the paths of asura and demons or experiencing wear through time, forgetting memories or not…
These were choices Grey had long since made, vows she had sworn in countless midnight moments.
Furthermore—
If she, too, could experience the wear of long time…
Then perhaps she could also grasp a little of Brother Rast’s experiences as a long-living being…
To truly empathize with him, understanding the struggles he faced and the pains and numbness he endured, right?
Holding such thoughts, Grey disregarded the astonished gazes of the other occupants in the carriage and abruptly stood up.
She needed to leave before the carriage officially entered the Royal City.
She absolutely must stop the sacrificial ceremony, prevent Brother Rast from obtaining the chalice, blocking the opening of the path to godhood… in other words, infiltrating the Royal City was an inevitable task.
Only, she might need to find a more covert method of entry.
Perhaps her previous two timelines had caught Brother Rast’s attention simply because she was entering the Royal City via a too conspicuous horse-drawn carriage.
However.
At that moment.
Grey noticed that the carriage she was riding suddenly came to a stop.
This was not due to any awareness of her desire to get off…
Because merely a second later, Grey heard the other passengers gasping in astonishment.
“Is that him, the Virtuous King?”
“I was fortunate enough to see a portrait of the Virtuous King; if I’m not mistaken, that surely is His Majesty Rast.”
There was a hint of surprise in the passengers’ exclamations.
“But why would His Majesty Rast specifically come to welcome us to the sacrificial ceremony?”
Listening to the incredulous remarks of the other passengers.
Grey felt the flow of bl**d in her veins come to a halt alongside her heartbeat.
She stiffly lifted her head.
Then she saw the distant sky beyond the outskirts of the Royal City.
That youth, bathed in a dim yellow aura, walking toward her step by step.
“For…”
“what…”
Grey’s trembling voice was swallowed by the howling winds sweeping across the wasteland.
The world turned silent, leaving only the blazing heavenly light where the king of the Underworld reigned.
“Little Grey.”
This was a term Grey was all too familiar with, but hearing it now sent a slight chill down her spine.
Only at this moment did she realize the abnormal source that was constantly stirring deep within her soul but which she had long disregarded.
Clearly, since she had come to the capital, she had only performed two rewinds.
Yet, the level of wear imprinted upon her soul far exceeded that of “two.”
“Game.”
The youth’s voice fell from the distant sky to the earth.
Like a decree, yet also seemed like judgment.
“It should come to an end…”
(End of Chapter)
