Chapter 172: Sorry, Little Grey, I Couldn’t Accompany You to the End (Two-in-One)
There was no blazing firelight, nor was there a raging storm.
For both matter and energy, even the weightless light had already been consumed by that void-like black hole, until the end of dimensions.
Only deep in the ocean, in that dust-free place filled with nothingness, was the evidence of that legendary battle that once occurred by the Broken Coast.
Rast gazed toward the lightless sea, the hint of mysterious silvery light in his eyes slowly dissipating.
He touched his chest, feeling the warmth of a flame that resembled sunlight, gradually cooling down in his chest until it extinguished completely.
This was the power left by Cecil within Rast’s body, meant to sustain his flickering life force.
And at this moment, the extinguishing of this sun-like fire naturally represented the passing of its giver, who had ceased to exist.
In the lightless sea, where Cecil once existed, the surrounding boundless seawater quickly rushed in under the impact of the height difference, filling that blank space.
The dim night curtain descended once more, erasing the last traces in the ocean, returning to the silence of perpetual night.
Rast gently closed his eyes, imprinting the final scene of that old man into his mind, standing at the end of the heavenly sea, the vast galaxy flowing endlessly beside him.
Even in the last moments of life, Cecil was still conveying information and messages to him… on how to completely k*ll the Gravekeeper legend.
After a long while, he finally opened his eyes again, gazing at the pitch-black sea before him.
The old man’s parting words seemed to linger in his ears.
“It seems… I have only a little time left.”
“So—”
“Do I have to… say goodbye to her in person?”
The howling sea wind swept across the Broken Coast, carrying away the boy’s last shattered words.
…
This was an expanse of boundless darkness, devoid of stars and moon, with no distinctions of front or back, left or right, indistinguishable from north and south.
Grey’s consciousness floated like flickering bubbles, rising and falling in this void-like ocean.
Until, at some moment, the bubble burst.
In the next instant, Grey opened her eyes.
She looked around in confusion, surrounded by scattered stones.
Not far away, the tide crashed against the black rocks, creating white sprays; the sound of the tide blended with the wind, resembling the whimpering of a small beast.
Looking at the scene of the rocky shore and feeling the moist sea breeze brushing against her face… a trace of bewilderment flashed in Grey’s emerald-like beautiful eyes.
If the memories in her mind had not malfunctioned, or were not rewritten by some external force.
Then her previous self should have impersonated someone to infiltrate Paradise City, wanting to stop Brother Rast’s ascension through the sacred text.
However, even after exhausting all her trump cards accumulated over these three years of training, she still fell short… defeated without suspense.
She had thought that after three years, having undergone more than one transformation, she would finally catch up to Brother Rast’s footsteps.
But now it seemed that the gulf between her and that boy had never been narrowed; it had only widened further.
Whether it was the sequence ability of Fate, the Library of Fools, or anything she possessed, Brother Rast had likewise and even better mastery over.
In terms of temperament, initiative, experience, and battle wisdom, she was far, far behind Brother Rast…
So far apart it was like the distance between heaven and earth.
And at the moment of her defeat, Brother Rast’s words were clearly describing an incredibly cruel fact—
In the future, the title of “Guardian” would be unknown.
In other words, in the future where Brother Rast resided, the fate of the Guardian of the Shore Organization was already sealed, destined to disappear in the river of history, leaving not even a name.
“So, after knowing everything and losing everything…”
“Do you still have no regrets about your choices and past persistence?”
The boy’s questioning, piercing through to the depths of her soul, seemed to echo in her ears, deafening.
Yet—
“But still… Brother Rast.”
“I still—”
“Long to become a Guardian.”
The grey-haired girl’s whispered introspection dissipated with the winds across the rocky beach, unheard by anyone.
Grey stood up, checking her body.
Aside from her worn and dust-covered clothes, her physical condition was even better than she had imagined, with not a single severe injury remaining.
Moreover, within her body or soul, Grey found no shackles or restrictions binding her freedom.
This was a reality beyond Grey’s comprehension.
Based on her experience before losing consciousness, after being defeated by Brother Rast… she should have been shackled and shackled completely, losing her ability to resist.
Then, as a meeting gift or an additional offering for the ascension ritual, she would be brought to the Gravekeeper Organization—this was the only logical development.
After all, previously, both Brother Rast and the Legendary Noah, the Gravekeeper, had hinted more than once about her uniqueness as the holder of the “Fate” sequence, which carried significant value for the Gravekeepers.
However, at this moment, she was not bound by any shackles but inexplicably appeared on this rocky coast.
Such confusion only just rose in the grey-haired girl’s heart.
But the next moment, her gaze froze.
Utilizing the moonlight that occasionally seeped through the dark clouds.
Grey saw not far away, a black-haired boy quietly leaning against a dark rock.
Clearly, in Grey’s memory, no matter when or where, Rast always maintained a calm demeanor, one that no one could penetrate.
Just like not long ago, during the battle that erupted over the sacred text… no matter what trump card she revealed, Brother Rast could always dissolve it with ease.
The black-haired boy gave Grey the impression of a tranquil deep pool, seemingly transparent, but no matter how intense the light, it could not illuminate that deep pool, where only pure darkness remained.
His calmness was never shaken by the outside world, whether facing legendary strongmen like Cecil and Noah, or true deities.
But at this very moment, with the intermittent moonlight shining through the clouds, Grey could clearly see the boy’s battered body and his pale face, devoid of any color.
Indescribable sorrow and grief surged suddenly from Grey’s heart.
Even Grey herself couldn’t discern the source of the intense emotions swelling within her.
But driven by that overwhelming sorrow, Grey could no longer care about anything else.
She rushed across the rocky beach, regardless of the sharp fragments cutting into her delicate skin, leaving bloody marks without a thought.
And when Grey ran across the rocky shore and finally reached Rast’s side, truly seeing his appearance.
That sorrow and grief suddenly expanded, overshadowing her entire soul like a collapsing mountain, suffocating her completely.
The boy’s originally black cloak was completely stained red with bl**d, his body covered in various penetrating and torn wounds, each injury piercing through flesh and crushing his organs.
Rather than saying he was severely wounded, it would be more accurate to say that Rast’s body had already shattered like a ceramic vase that had fallen from a great height, just that these fragments were forcibly glued together by some external force with poor adhesive, barely maintaining a basic form, and that was all.
“Brother Rast…”
The girl’s cry, mixed with the sea breeze, had become so distorted that even she herself could hardly recognize it.
Clearly, based on her earlier experiences, she and Brother Rast were still in a stage of hostility, positioned on opposing sides, the Guardian and the traitor, should have been on a path of mutual destruction.
But at this moment, Grey couldn’t care about that anymore.
She quickly knelt down, her emerald-green eyes shining brightly.
In an instant, twisted time swirled around Grey’s fingertips.
The mighty power of “Fate” was unrestrictedly called forth, then acted upon the boy before her.
“Reverse Time.”
Even with such severe injuries, as long as she could reverse Brother Rast’s body using the power of Fate… letting this body revert to the time point before it was injured, then Brother Rast would surely no longer be in a life-threatening state, but instead restore to the state of complete healing at his best.
It should have… been like this.
A vast river of time surged around Rast, continuously stirring up towering waves.
Yet the boy’s figure stood unmoved like a rock, facing the raging tides.
The once-unfailing power of Fate in Grey’s control washed over Rast but was met with failure, just like how no sharp sword could cut through an illusion.
Time boomed, Fate stirred.
But that battered and broken figure did not show a hint of improvement.
Moreover, Rast’s bl**d-stained cloak and his thin form devoid of color appeared to Grey to carry an indescribable sense of unreality.
Like a night-blooming cereus reflected in water.
Clearly, there was a manifestation of light and shadow, yet it was fleeting and ethereal; all it took was a ripple, and it would shatter completely.
“There’s no need to waste your energy, Grey.”
“My body’s condition is quite special, as the master of the Library of Fools… the powers of time and fate cannot take effect on me.”
On the rock, Rast barely opened his eyes, looking at his battered body and couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
“By the way, I really do look quite disheveled.”
“You’ve completely collapsed the persona I’ve worked hard to maintain in front of you for so many years… I bet I’m no longer the mysterious and omnipotent figure in your eyes, right?”
“However, this feeling isn’t bad.”
As if trying to save his last bit of strength, the boy gently closed his eyes.
His faint murmurs dispersed with the sea breeze.
“After all, always wearing a mask of hypocrisy and maintaining the most appropriate demeanor in front of others is quite tiring.”
“Occasionally being able to shed all disguises and defenses like now, revealing my truest self without concealment, living in this world…”
“Brings about a long-lost feeling of relief, as if I’ve returned to Canaan.”
Rast felt his sense of existence rapidly fading, being stripped from this world in an irreversible manner, heading toward the rightful moment.
As a Night Traveler, whether this was a projection copy constructed by the Night World or real history, Rast was an intruder not belonging to this era.
This echo of history had long since concluded, and he ought to have departed the Night World to return to the present… only recently, he had been forcefully interrupted in that process by that old man, allowing him to stay beyond the limit in this world.
But now, with the extinguishment of that sun-like fire, the previously interrupted departure process would naturally restart.
“Sorry, Little Grey.”
“It seems I can’t accompany you to the end.”
“The path ahead can only be continued by you alone…”
Rast’s words were calm.
This was already the end of the journey.
There was no tomorrow, no future.
Even if this was not a projection copy but real history, and Rast could even return to the Sixth Epoch through echoes of history… no one could predict the cycle and pattern of the appearances of those historical echoes, nor assert when Rast and Grey would meet again.
Perhaps decades, perhaps centuries.
Or maybe this farewell was truly a parting of life and d*ath, an alternate world.
Thus, in this final moment, Rast shed all his disguises.
In his words, there was less of the profound and mysterious past, and more of the tenderness that Grey had never heard before.
Pitter-pat—
Pitter-pat—
Warm liquid fell on Rast’s face, the wind carrying the sound of quiet weeping.
“Is it tears or bl**d?”
Rast did not open his eyes but reached out to touch his cheek.
“Whichever it is, it’s quite embarrassing to say, you are the new generation of Guardians, destined to be a role model for many people, even a leader that others can rely on… no longer that little girl who can dash into her elders’ arms and cry.”
“Timidity and weakness can only be expressed in lonely corners; in front of others, you should always maintain a confident and dignified appearance.”
“Little Grey, you are a symbol of hope. If the symbol of hope collapses, it would cause immeasurable panic and plunge countless people into despair.”
“So—”
He paused for a moment, wiping away the unshed tear stains: “I hope this is just rain.”
“A warm rain.”
…………………………
PS: The second update is scheduled for 12 o’clock sharp, finally finishing this part of the plot.
(End of chapter)
