Chapter 94: The Nation Destroyer Rast and the Queen of the Underworld Akshia (7K)
The ethereal night color that lingered in front of him gradually dissipated.
Along with it, his self-perception began to awaken little by little.
Rast opened his eyes, and before him was a wooden cabin. The interior was not luxurious, but it appeared quite clean and bright.
The windows were open, and the air was fresh.
A damp sea breeze rushed in, causing the curtains to sway slightly.
Through the window, he could faintly see the sea, with the waves crashing against the rocks and splintering into tiny droplets, the sound of the tide echoing between heaven and earth.
Rast lifted his head and saw the striking spire outside the window.
At the top of the spire was a silver insignia, completely shrouding the coastline with two pure white wings.
Rast was very familiar with the meaning of this insignia.
During the previous Calamity Echo in Frozen Water Town, he and Hiltina had fought while wearing such insignias.
However, compared to the badge he once wore, the insignia on this spire appeared more intricate and grander… the silver wings unfolding, seemingly obscuring the sun.
“The One Who Overlooks the Shore”
This was the symbol of the Guardians.
Correspondingly, the location Rast found himself in, along with the imposing spire adorned with a massive insignia, was clear as day…
“The Guardian Spire”—
It is also the headquarters of the Guardian of the Shore Organization, located at the Broken Coast.
To borrow Grey’s words from the previous historical echoes…
The most powerful individuals in the world sit here, making it the safest place in the world.
【Identity Background Introduction:
Rast, a name buried by time and forgotten by history.
You once walked in the Deep Blue Harbor at the end of the Golden Age, alongside the beasts known as the Iron Cross.
You also strolled through an unnamed town shrouded in mist, shattering the delusions of a girl.
And now, your identity is that of an ordinary Guardian in the “Guardian Spire”… However, it seems someone has faintly detected your past and wishes to entrust you with an important task.
This is a turning point of the era and the prelude to a grand event that will change the course of history.】
【Current historical echo category is “Echoes of the Era,” with no tier level restrictions.】
【Task Objective: As a participant in the epic, fully experience this historical segment and survive until the end.】
【Note: There is no fixed time limit for this echo, and it cannot be exited from the Night World due to time constraints.】
【Note: After fully experiencing this historical event, Night Travelers will have the freedom to choose to exit the historical echo or remain.】
【Note: Task rewards in the Night World will be distributed according to Night Travelers’ importance, participation, and specific accomplishments.】
【Note: Night Travelers will get a reasonable identity in the historical echoes and will be proficient in the basic common language of this world.】
Information re-emerged in Rast’s mind.
Looking at the lines of azure background information prompts from the Night World, Rast fell into deep contemplation.
Without a doubt, compared to the two historical echoes he had previously experienced, this Echoes of the Era was a significant leap forward in both map scale and the grandiosity of the background story.
After all, when Rast was in Deep Blue Harbor, aside from the pure background beings, the strongest entity he encountered was the Iron Cross Leader Langley, a mutated being who had awakened otherworldly abilities.
According to the current world’s classification of extraordinary individuals, even if Langley had absorbed other Iron Cross mutants and turned their abilities into his own complete form, he was at most at the tier of three to four.
The reason he and Hiltina had ended up in such dire straits was entirely due to the sheer number of enemies pursuing them—being hunted down by an entire city of Iron Cross.
And Frozen Water Town was even less significant; the ultimate enemy was just an activated Zhu Yue pollutant.
Although the ability to manipulate puppets and weave dreams was somewhat strange and troublesome… its actual tier wasn’t high, as evidenced by the restriction of three tiers and below for Night Travelers to enter in the Calamity Echo.
If it weren’t for that, Rast wouldn’t have managed to single-handedly crush the core of that activated pollutant.
But this time was drastically different.
Previously, he was confined to just a city or a town, but this time, the Echoes of the Era identified his birthplace directly on the Guardian Spire, the headquarters of the Guardian Organization.
Rast had already heard of the fame of the Guardian leader from various sources.
Perhaps he was the strongest figure in the order of this era.
And according to the well-known law when Goul planned game instances: “The stronger the friendly NPC, the stronger the corresponding enemy boss.”
Coupled with the title of this Echo—”Prelude to the Legendary Battle”
Legendary Battle.
As the name suggests, only both sides of a conflict that are legendary qualify to be named thus.
“It seems I have the chance to witness a significant spectacle this time.”
Rast exhaled softly.
Fortunately, he was currently only at the “Prelude.”
Since it was a prelude, it indicated that the current phase was merely one of strategic arrangements, with undercurrents surging; the real war should not break out directly in this historical echo.
Otherwise, given that he was just a step away from three tiers, if he were caught up in such a great conflict, even if he were evaporated by the aftermath, probably no one would know.
Of course, encountering such a grand spectacle was something Rast anticipated.
After all, this was “Echoes of the Era,” distinct from the characteristics of “Calamity Echo” and other ordinary historical echoes.
According to Professor Barbarossa, the historical background of Echoes of the Era consists of great events that mark turning points in an era.
And Night Travelers generally can’t play the unique main character in historical echoes like they can in others.
In most cases, Night Travelers are merely inconspicuous supporting characters in epic stories, flowing with the current of the times…
The true protagonists are the historical figures within the narratives.
Naturally, switching from a protagonist to a supporting character isn’t necessarily a bad thing for most Night Travelers.
When the sky falls, there are tall individuals holding it up; at least their survival rates are greatly improved.
“As a participant in the epic, fully experience this historical segment and survive until the end”
This completion requirement was both difficult and simple.
After all, if they didn’t care about the Night World task rewards and just wanted to survive… they could merely lurk on the battlefield’s edge during the others’ battles, tossing a few shurikens from eight hundred miles away, and it would constitute “fully experiencing this segment of history.”
However, compared to this…
What Rast truly cared about was the information regarding his own identity in the subsequent lines of text.
And—
“Grey”
“According to the conjecture from Starry University, the Night World echoes experienced by Night Travelers are entirely independent instances and reflections.”
“No matter what is done within them, even changing day to night, it should have no connection to real history.”
“But if that’s the case…”
“Why does the name Grey appear?”
The girl from Frozen Water Town with the “Fate” sequence was a character that truly existed in history.
Even without encountering Rast, based on the original historical trajectory, she might still be rescued by other Guardians or, by chance, escape the never-ending dream of Frozen Water Town herself.
It wouldn’t be surprising if she eventually passed the assessments of the Guardian Organization and became one.
But if so—
Her name should be Little Grey, not “Grey.”
Grey, this was Rast’s transliteration from the language of his previous life, a name he had granted that nameless girl.
It could not be explained away as mere coincidence.
“So…”
“Does this mean…”
“In Echoes of the Era, my past experiences in the Night World are still preserved?”
This was a situation Rast hadn’t anticipated before.
Was it that the Night World automatically generated relationships based on his past experiences?
Or perhaps…
The Night World was not merely a simple copy of old history.
Rast couldn’t help but think of the inherent skill “Fate Nexus” in the Library of Fools, the specific utility of which he had never quite understood.
Knock knock knock—
There was a sound of knocking at the door which soon stopped.
“Rast, a directive came from the Guardian Spire.”
It seemed the speaker outside sensed Rast was in the room.
“The leader wishes to meet you.”
The leader?
The leader of the Guardian Organization, that suspected legend?
Rast recalled a line from the background introduction.
【It seems someone has faintly detected your past and wishes to entrust you with an important task.】
So, the one who wanted to entrust him with an important task was him?
Rast’s thoughts raced as he opened the door.
Then, he nodded at the Guardian outside who also wore the insignia.
“I understand, lead the way.”
…
Unlike the Dark Tower, which was primarily a dark structure.
As the headquarters of the Guardians, the Guardian Spire was purely white, just like the silver insignia.
Rast followed the guide, ascending the pure white tower floor by floor.
Information library, weaponry vault, exotic materials storage…
Training grounds, combat command room, high-ranking officers’ offices…
Many people came and went within the Guardian Spire; they all had similar appearances, dressed in white coats and adorned with insignias, bustling about in the immaculate tower.
In a daze, Rast felt as if he had returned to Starry University.
And the Guardians before him, some busy training, some discussing intelligence, some just receiving tasks and preparing for journeys… resembled the Night Travelers back in the academy.
The guide paused before an imposing wooden door and made a gesture.
However, just as the guide was about to quietly depart, Rast’s voice suddenly rang out: “By the way, may I ask what year it is in the Catastrophic Era this year?”
The Guardian visibly hesitated.
Clearly, he hadn’t expected that his colleague would be muddled enough to forget which year it was.
He took a glance at Rast and then turned to leave: “The year is 103 of the Catastrophic Era.”
The year 103 of the Catastrophic Era.
In other words, it has been seven or eight years since the incident in Frozen Water Town?
That being said, if the Grey mentioned in the background introduction was indeed the one within his memory…
Then the timid, wild-haired little girl from Frozen Water Town…
Should have grown up by now.
With such thoughts flickering in his mind, Rast pushed open the wooden door before him.
The space behind the wooden door looked like a church.
A man wearing a linen shirt and with graying hair stood within the church, gazing at the endless blue sea outside the window as the smoke from his pipe floated gently.
Time had etched deep marks on his face, but the lines remained strong; his silvery-gray eyes shimmered with light as they gazed towards the sea.
Cecil, the current leader of the Guardian Organization.
He appeared to be in his fifties outwardly, exuding the demeanor of a mighty lion… but Rast could clearly sense that he was actually very old, much older than he appeared.
This was a judgment made by Rast, who had donned countless masks of persona, based on a near-instinctive intuition.
The front of a man who looked fifty, at the tail end of his prime, was merely a facade, a mask he wore.
Only in such a form could he embody the dignity and composure of an organization leader without allowing subordinates to feel the weight of age, still able to inspire with fervor and ambition.
Yet beneath the mask, one could glimpse the inner decay, as if history’s vicissitudes lay bare, unprecedentedly ancient.
At that moment, Rast confirmed—
This man was a legend.
Undoubtedly a legend beyond the sixth tier.
“Leader.”
Rast spoke softly.
He saw Cecil turning his head, glancing at him with a smile.
“I wasn’t wrong; I detected the aura of a fellow immortal from you.”
“Over a hundred years ago in Deep Blue Harbor, you single-handedly prevented a divine descent, delaying the outbreak of the Iron Cross Plague and the first year of the Catastrophic Era by six months.”
“And in Frozen Water Town, you, along with your companions, destroyed the activated Zhu Yue pollutant.”
“Despite leaving such a glorious record in the past…”
“If it weren’t for the new member who joined the organization, a girl named Grey, with the ‘Fate’ sequence who repeatedly inquired about you, I might never have discovered that such a figure as yourself is hidden within the organization.”
As expected.
His past experiences in the Night World, including in Deep Blue Harbor, had indeed become real historical events in this world.
Supposedly delaying the outbreak of the Iron Cross Plague by six months… which meant that after that, the Iron Cross Plague and the corrupted god eventually did descend.
But that was not difficult to understand.
After all, since the corrupted god could create one coincidence, it could certainly create a second or third.
Rast and Hiltina could only delay or alter the short-term trajectory but could not truly rewrite the grand course of history.
And since the leader of the Guardians, Cecil, had said this…
It implied that in his eyes, Rast was also considered one of the immortals who had lived from before the Catastrophic Era until now, experiencing a hundred years of time?
Thinking this way, Rast let out a helpless sigh.
“Even so, my sequence is rather special and I can’t find the corresponding advancement method.”
“Although I have lived from the Golden Age before the Catastrophic Era to today, my tier has remained stagnant at two, unable to advance.”
“Such power, in today’s chaotic world, can only be described as minuscule.”
This was the excuse that came to him in a flash.
The Sixth Epoch did not provide pathways for advancement like the current Night World; extraordinary individuals only awakened their sequences through the transmission of knowledge.
And because he couldn’t find the corresponding knowledge or advancement methods… being stuck at a certain tier, like Mr. Silver, was common in this era.
“The ‘Tower’ sequence, hmm—”
Cecil pondered for a moment but then seemed to suddenly comprehend Rast’s sequence.
“This sequence is indeed extremely rare.”
“However, one of our former Guardians was of the Tower sequence.”
“If it’s just knowledge for advancement from three tier to five, I happen to have it.”
“I’ll copy it out for you later; you can just go to the library to pick up a copy when it’s ready.”
Is it that simple to resolve?
Though it was just knowledge for advancement from tiers three to five, it meant that Rast would no longer need to rely on a one-time advancement task in the Night World.
He simply needed to have accumulated to the corresponding requirements and he could advance.
And the Tower was focused on the realm of mentality.
Regarding mental accumulation, Rast’s three hundred years of cycling in Deep Blue Harbor had already run deep.
With the knowledge of the Tower sequence, his power would reach an explosive growth period.
However…
After delivering the rewards—
Correspondingly, the “entrusting you with an important task” from the background description should also be coming soon, right?
As soon as that thought arose.
In the next moment, the voice of the Guardian leader, Cecil, rang out again.
“Rast, have you heard of ‘Paradise’?”
“Paradise”?
Rast pondered for a moment.
Before entering the Echoes of the Era, he had deliberately caught up on all the information regarding the Sixth Epoch from the Tower of Secrets.
Although due to Night Travelers still being in the early stages of exploring the Sixth Epoch, the specific details of various historical stages were extremely lacking.
Including the year 103 of the Catastrophic Era he was currently in, it was the most cutting-edge timeline of information from the Tower of Secrets.
What transpired after the year 103, until the end of the Sixth Epoch, remained unknown to all Night Travelers, engulfed in a complete black box state.
However, the term “Paradise” happened to appear in the information Rast had collected.
“I have heard of it.”
Rast nodded.
“It is said to be a peaceful and prosperous kingdom in the northern part of the continent, where the people can live and work in peace, creating their own world, completely free from outside interference…”
“Whether it be Iron Cross, corrupted gods, or activated pollutants, they are somehow blocked beyond its borders and cannot invade.”
“And so, countless people who have been driven away from home by the Beast Tide and Iron Cross disasters long to enter that land called ‘Paradise.'”
However, merely reiterating the content from the information caused Rast to frown slightly.
It was precisely because the description of “Paradise” appeared too wonderful.
Thus, it seemed overly illusory and unrealistic.
Besides, if it truly were possible to create a haven on the disaster-ridden continent that even corrupted gods could not intrude upon…
Then the civilization of the Sixth Epoch would likely not just come to an end like that.
“Although on the surface, it indeed appears to be an ideal land that protects the people from pollution, Beast Tide, corrupted gods, and Iron Cross, existing independently from the world.”
“In reality, it is clearly the realm of the dead, the Netherworld…”
“And those so-called people living happily and prosperously in Paradise are, at the end of the day, just beautifully preserved corpses—”
“A ‘specimen.'”
Cecil’s aged voice vanished into the sea breeze by the window.
“And more importantly, the core that allows this Netherworld to exist… comes from the relics of the ‘God of d*ath,’ which have also caught the attention of the ‘Graveminder.'”
He turned to face Rast.
That solemn voice felt more like a sincere plea rather than a command from a leader to a subordinate.
“Rast, I have a request.”
“I hope you can lead a group of Guardians into Paradise, as the Nation Destroyer, and k*ll the mistress of the Netherworld, the Queen of the Underworld… collapse Paradise and free those preserved corpses from their entrapment.”
“And find a way to seize the relics from her that sustain the existence of the Netherworld, the relic of the God of d*ath.”
“Finally, use this as leverage to contact the ‘Graveminder’ and infiltrate their ranks as a spy.”
…
At the Tower of Secrets, near the Era Tombstone that connects to the End of the Night World.
In front of Ophelia, the previously twisted and indistinct light curtain suddenly paused.
Then, rippling outwards in circle after circle.
Ultimately, it materialized into a clear image.
Mr. Silver’s spirit also perked up.
After waiting for so long, could they finally see something?
Of course—
Even though Akshia entered the Echoes of the Era, she still needed to follow the puppets’ guidance and find a way to meet with Rast.
In terms of the game’s quest framework, this was the most monotonous and tedious task, akin to “Deliver XX’s letter to x*x*x in XX city.”
There likely wouldn’t be much enjoyment in watching.
As soon as that thought crossed her mind.
In the next moment, Mr. Silver’s gaze suddenly sharpened.
Even Ophelia’s finely crafted eyebrows furrowed slightly.
What materialized within the light curtain was a magnificent palace.
This palace appeared to be located at the very center of a royal city, with endless and sprawling cityscapes visible through the four marble columns.
Yet within this towering palace, which rose like a granite pillar, there was not a trace of life.
The empty hall was shrouded in a profound twilight, appearing desolate and dim.
In the very center of the hall was a silver-white throne, seemingly formed from ice.
On the ice blue throne sat a woman with waist-length azure hair.
Her figure was slender, with an exquisitely flawless pale face resembling Akshia.
At this moment, this slender figure suddenly opened her eyes.
Those amethyst-colored beauties slightly fell upon her fair fingers.
Then—
Without any warning, a small clay doll silently appeared in her hand.
Examining the clay doll with black hair and eyes, clad in black attire…
The graceful figure atop the throne, which had originally bore a gaze as indifferent as ice and snow, suddenly sparked a trace of inexplicable curiosity.
…
“Throne? A monarch of a nation?”
Ophelia looked at the scene in the light curtain, her eyes flickering with surprise.
“Could it be that Night Travelers in historical echoes can actually have such an outrageous initial identity?”
The Night World would indeed provide reasonable initial identities for Night Travelers in historical echoes based on their powers.
But that was merely an accessory to help Night Travelers navigate within the Night World, mostly to prevent them from being mistaken for bystanders in some prosperous civilization due to lacking identity documents.
Even the legendary Night Travelers recorded could not possibly have such an exaggerated initial identity.
And Akshia was clearly only at tier five.
“No…”
Mr. Silver’s gaze fixated on the girl with ice blue hair in the light curtain.
At that moment, she was seated on the throne, curiously playing with the clay doll in her hands, occasionally pinching its face or adjusting the doll’s clothes.
Her bare feet dangled carelessly in the air.
Despite the fact that the girl on the throne resembled Akshia in every aspect, from looks, aura, to hair and eye color…
However—
“She is not Little Xiya.”
“Although she seems identical in many aspects, there are still some differences.”
Mr. Silver spoke seriously, making a judgment based on his vast experience from dining off others’ kindness.
Meanwhile, lines of text quietly appeared on the light curtain within the Tower of Secrets.
【Current historical echo category is “Echoes of the Era,” with no tier level restrictions.】
【Due to the uniqueness of fate being required, the Night World task changes and is automatically matched.】
【Task Objective: As the ‘Master of Paradise’ and the Queen of the Netherworld, fully experience the epic story in this segment of history.】
…
PS: The update was a bit delayed; I originally intended to write 8k in one go to catch up for yesterday’s absence but only managed 7k—I’ll make up the last thousand tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
