Chapter 171 Was the Initial Promise Fulfilled? (Two-in-One)
No longer a brilliant sun, spreading infinite light and heat to the surrounding world.
But a black sun.
Lonely, it hung in the depths of the silver-blue sea, where millions of tons of seawater and countless silver-blue metal fragments slowly flowed toward the center of the black sun, then fell.
The galaxy hung upside down, whirling and swirling, merging into a magnificent vortex, as if it were the true star river in the deep void of the universe.
At the center of the galaxy was a void.
It devoured both matter and light, leaving only darkness.
“That little guy, you must be watching here now, right?”
“Even if you can’t hear the sound, you should be able to decipher the content through lip movements.”
At the end of the galaxy, Cecil softly spoke.
“Remember, if you ever encounter these core members of the Gravekeeper who have left marks on the Eternal Night Monument, then merely killing their physical bodies is far from enough.”
“Killing their flesh can only weaken them, but they can still return from the long river of history using the imprint from the monument…”
“To truly k*ll them, you must erase everything that remains of them in this world, not just their bodies and souls, but all their ‘information.'”
“Eradicate all of their ‘information’ and ‘knowledge’ from this world.”
“In this way… even the ‘Eternal Night Monument’ will not be able to capture their information or knowledge from the long river of history, and naturally, they will not be able to return.”
His words paused slightly: “Of course, erasing all the information left by a legend in this world is far more difficult than killing their bodies and souls.”
“After the ‘Supernova Explosion,’ the remaining stellar core collapsed into a ‘black hole’… This is the way I found after dedicating my entire life, a method not only to erase the body and soul but all the information and knowledge of a legend.”
“Only, whether it’s the supernova explosion or the black hole, I succeeded in simulating it by using my ‘Sun’ sequence.”
“The ‘Sun’ sequence has a uniqueness and is extremely dependent on mastering the abilities of the sun sequence. I spent hundreds of years gradually mastering it.”
“Even though I have left the inheritance of knowledge, using the ‘Library of Fools’ to replicate it directly would be quite difficult; it is not a universally applicable method… Not to mention that the cost of launching this skill is to burn myself out first, a move that leads to mutual destruction with the enemy.”
“If you encounter a true Gravekeeper legend in the future, and you do not want to perish with them, then it’s best not to easily replicate this idea.”
While saying this, Cecil couldn’t help but smile: “However, if it’s you…”
“I believe that even if you choose not to replicate the ‘black hole,’ you will find another way to completely bury those high-and-mighty Gravekeepers.”
Boom—
The greenish light crushed in, completely piercing through Cecil’s already depleted body, tearing flesh apart, leaving a huge void.
Through the hole in his body, one could see the slowly rotating brilliant galaxy.
At the moment the black hole appeared, Noah directly erupted.
Looking at that void, a huge alarm bell rose in his heart, stronger than any previous one.
Pure killing, even if it kills Noah’s physical body, using mental power to extinguish his soul, wouldn’t be terrifying at all.
After all, no matter how many times he died in battle, Noah could use the power of the monument to return.
As for the long sleep and restoration he would have to go through after returning from the monument to repair the deficiencies of his body and soul, although it might take a long time…
But the Gravekeepers have always hidden behind the curtain of history, intervening in the present world only in rare circumstances; whether they sleep or not does not make much difference to them, and this is not an unacceptable cost.
As a Gravekeeper, Noah’s life is truly “eternal immortality,” although he is human, he exists longer than ancient gods.
But at this moment.
Noah truly felt a sense of profound d*ath.
He would d*e, completely perish.
Not the kind of alternation that allows for immediate return after destruction.
But from this moment on, until the end of time, the existence called Noah would cease to exist.
It was as if the writing on a blackboard was erased by an eraser, all the information that formed the entity “Noah” would be completely wiped from the river of time and from the consciousness of countless beings, leaving not a trace in the world.
In this way, even if the power of the Eternal Night Monument is magnificent, even if it traverses through the long river of history, it would be unable to find a shred of information, and what is there to say about returning from d*ath?
At this moment, Noah truly heard the toll of d*ath ringing in his ears.
Not the so-called ancient god who merely bears the name “God of d*ath” yet has his carefully planned resurrection interrupted by a mere mortal.
But as if in the dark of fate, there truly exists a supreme being weaving destiny, passing down the judgment of fate in his ear.
Boom—
Abundant power erupted, piercing through every inch of Cecil’s bl**d and flesh.
As long as Cecil, the instigator, was killed, then the dark void would naturally come to a halt, this was Noah’s first thought.
On the other hand, Noah also exploded with speed at any cost, wanting to escape from the depths of the whirlpool of the galaxy, that void full of unparalleled silence, which had swallowed all light.
However.
“How ugly, such a hideous demeanor—”
Clearly, his body was pierced with a huge void, life on his flesh extinguished, now only the last remnant of spirit and soul remained on this corpse.
Yet Cecil’s expression never changed.
He looked at Noah, who was trying to escape the black sun, his face contorted with desperation, and spoke with a sigh.
“Once you enter the boundary of the black hole, not even light can escape.”
“Let alone yourself.”
His words were very soft, yet they seemed like an announcement of something about to happen.
In the sea of darkness, all matter was swept away by the whirlpool that turned into the galaxy, then fell toward the center of the galaxy.
The speed of the fall was slow, time’s flow around the edge of the void was distorted, as if the movie reel had been pressed to slow motion.
But no matter how slow it played, the spinning reel could only play forward.
And Noah was one of the captured substances within the boundary of the black hole.
The abundant power surged in the seawater, stirring up waves as high as mountains.
One after another, life-saving tools and divine relics of the Age of Gods were manifested in Noah’s hands and then he cast them out generously.
Countless glorious rays exploded in the galaxy, the silver-blue waves rolled, turning into a torrential rain pouring down on the surface of the sea, creating countless points of light upon impact…
These were the accumulations of the Gravekeepers, the accumulations from the Age of Gods to the present… enough to be described as terrifying, including many divine relics that would suffice to preserve Noah’s life even in the face of true gods during their heyday.
However, escape was impossible.
Nothing could escape the event horizon of a black hole, not even the massless “light.”
Just as no matter how hard you try, you cannot prevent tomorrow at noon from arriving.
Amidst the violent storm and shattered silver-blue splashes, the vast galaxy was slowly engulfed by the black hole, until the end.
Time flies but cannot be reversed.
“Spare me, Cecil!”
Looking at his form gradually falling along with the galaxy into that black hole, no matter how abundant the power and brilliance of the divine relic stirred, it was all in vain.
Noah suddenly erupted into a piercing scream: “I give up, spare me.”
“I’m willing to betray the Gravekeepers and act as your insider. You can leave restrictions in the depths of my soul, so long as I’m discovered, it can directly k*ll me.”
“I can actively tell you everything about the Eternal Night Monument and all the secrets within the Gravekeepers, even help you erase the marks of other Gravekeepers on the monument, letting them lose the ability to return from the long river of history…”
“Even including the various secrets of the Age of Gods and those ancient gods—there are indeed not only ‘God of d*ath’ waiting to be reborn amidst the ruins of the old gods, I can tell you all this, allowing you to directly acquire the divine relics left behind by those ancient gods.”
A tremendous fear enveloped Noah’s heart.
This was a feeling Noah had never experienced in his life; even at the time of the supernova explosion, his premonition was merely a strong warning of crisis, like a player facing a sudden huge crisis in a game, tense but always possessing a sense of composure from a high vantage point.
But at this moment, the once calm chess player genuinely fell to the mundane and entered the real game—
No longer sitting outside the world’s boundaries with countless chances for retries, but truly becoming a piece on the chessboard, possessing only one life.
When a person is killed, they d*e, which is a natural certainty.
But until this moment, Noah, as an ordinary human, once again felt the true meaning of this phrase.
The sudden arrival of overwhelming terror between life and d*ath caused Noah’s spirit to completely collapse, leading him to plead for mercy.
This was a disgrace that completely mismatched the demeanor of the indifferent legend and his legendary rank…
Even the legendary beasts like the Iron Cross King and Black Dragon would never choose to plead for mercy at such a moment.
Because it was a war with no deadlock; both sides had prepared for d*ath even before the war began.
But Noah was different; as the mastermind behind the “Battle of the Broken Coast,” he had never realized that he would truly d*e in this battle—this was just a game, a chess match, losing the game could be redone, losing in the chess match could also be played again, that was all.
So at this moment, his disgrace was so hideous, so servile and unscrupulous, no longer holding even a shred of a legendary strongman’s demeanor and dignity.
He had recounted everything of value he could provide to Cecil, seeking that one glimpse of life.
“Even if we perish here together, it is destined to be a mutual destruction with no winners.”
“Do you not worry about your Guardian Organization losing its footing after your leadership is gone? Even if the legends are dead, there are still Beast Tides and other Iron Cross and Cult Organizations… these are unpredictable uncontrollable variables.”
“Do you not wish to lead them to continue on?”
Noah’s words were rapid, pressing himself down to the lowest position: “I can join you and become an aid to the Guardians… no, not just an aid, even being a servant would be no problem.”
“With my assistance, you can completely eradicate the Gravekeepers.”
“In fact, we could completely storm the threshold of divine fire, thoroughly k*ll all the remaining ancient gods and eradicate all potential dangers to civilization in the cradle…”
“No, they don’t need to d*e.”
At the end of the galaxy, Cecil said softly: “But their divine thrones will be overturned by countless people.”
“On the broad road, prosperous city-states will be built, ships will sail from inland to the sea, high-speed railways will cover the land, crisscrossing like a spiderweb. Every age-appropriate child will be able to afford to attend schools funded by the government, and once-secret knowledge cherished by various academic factions will be accessible in common textbooks.”
“Human footprints will cover every corner of the world, from the depths of ten-thousand-meter trenches to the vast universe’s starry firmament… at that time, people will be able to see the customs of the world without leaving their homes.”
“Even if they lose my guidance, they will surely find a bright path amidst the dark fog.”
“Because someone once told me that humanity… is a species that never concedes.”
That fragmented self-talk walked to an end along with the flowing galaxy.
After the supernova explosion, all evolutions had become irreversible, solidified as established facts, regardless of whether the executor, Cecil, lived or died.
This was an inescapable causal chain, as if it were fate.
Noah opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something.
But he said nothing.
This abundant legend, the Gravekeeper legend who had survived since the Age of Gods, thus accompanied the vast galaxy and was irreversibly…
Little by little—
Fell into the event horizon of the black hole.
At the same time, the black sun collapsed.
The uncontrollable sun wheel converged toward the sole center, evaporating all the seawater, and at the center of the flowing lightless sea, a band with a diameter of hundreds of meters and no seawater remained appeared.
Not just seawater, not even a trace of dust or sand existed, leaving behind pure vacuum and nothingness.
Cecil stood at the center of that dustless land, as if standing at the end of the sky and sea.
He slightly leaned forward, looking at the shattered flesh on his body, his senses had faded to almost imperceptible, yet there seemed to be a scorching heavenly light brushing against his face, illuminating his eyes.
In the pure white heavenly light, Cecil suddenly recalled many years ago—his mentor entrusted him with that flame seed, alongside the duty of the Guardian on that afternoon.
It seemed to be an unknown coastline, where the tides rose and fell, and the sun shone brightly.
In the refreshing sea breeze, the aging elder looked at the vibrant youth before him, finally just gently patting his shoulder.
“Although it’s still a bit early, from now on, you are the new Guardian.”
“Work hard, don’t let your teacher down.”
To this day, the old man’s face in memory had already blurred, but Cecil still remembered the tone when that elder spoke these words.
The emotions within that sentence were immensely complex, filled with worry, reassurance, but predominantly joy over melancholy.
At that time, the girl who could manipulate shadows stood behind him, manipulating dozens of shadow clones, hurriedly starting to applaud and celebrate for him after the succession ceremony was completed.
“So, Sharona.”
“Was the promise I made to you back then, to resolve the misunderstanding between those two kids, fulfilled?”
“And, teacher.”
“As your disciple, as a Guardian…”
“Have I ever… disappointed you?”
This unspoken self-talk went unsaid.
The collapsed singularity of the black hole took everything to another world.
(End of Chapter)
