Chapter 126: The Flame Seed of the Guardian (Two-in-One)
As the two legends reined in their might, the daylight that illuminated the night and dispelled the wild storms, along with the Abundant Domain, likewise vanished.
An illusory vortex swallowed the light, and Rast’s figure disappeared behind that twisted door, leaving only the howling winds weeping at the cliff’s edge.
It was as if everything that had happened here before—the confession resembling the end of a fairy tale, the battle between an admirer and the admired—had never occurred.
Heavy rain fell in torrents once more, and the endless night devoid of stars and the moon returned.
Grey instinctively reached out towards the edge of the cliff, in the direction where the boy once stood… as if trying to grasp something that was about to fade away.
But in the end, her hand found nothing but the rushing curtain of water, dampening this starless long night.
The downpour pounded relentlessly, the entire world fell silent, and Grey knelt on the muddy stones, the light in her emerald green eyes weaker than ever before.
After spending half a year that felt like a fairy tale, she had lost everything once again.
Everything seemed to return to Frozen Water Town ten years ago, the dreamy bubbles shattering beside her, the girl kneeling in the ruins, which had long turned to ashes, as if abandoned by the entire world.
…
“Do you feel regret, little one?”
“Regret for being weak, helplessly watching the things you cherish slip away from your fingers.”
Uncertain how much time had passed, a calm voice came from behind Grey, mingling with the howling wind and rain, yet every word was clear, engraving itself into her mind.
“If you feel regret, then do not forget this feeling of remorse.”
“Because it is evidence that you have not yet given up, proof that you have not abandoned yourself.”
“Cecil… Leader.”
Grey lifted her head slightly and saw the old man standing before her, like an aged lion.
“I…”
Watching the leader of the Guardians, she opened her mouth but wasn’t sure how to speak.
Clearly, Leader Cecil had long reminded her of Rast’s betrayal.
Clearly, all the signs had already been there.
However, she still refused to heed Leader Cecil’s advice, unwilling to accept the evident truth, insisting on climbing the mountain to confront Brother Rast.
And then, she found herself in such a dire predicament, nearly captured by Brother Rast who had intended to take her to the Gravekeeper as a greeting gift.
Though young and inexperienced…
Just hearing the conversation earlier, Grey realized that the sequence ladder on her body was evidently far more complicated than she had previously thought.
Whether it was Brother Rast or Leader Cecil, or that Gravekeeper legend, all had already noticed her unique capability to dominate “Fate” and its value…
Though she didn’t know exactly what would happen if she were captured by the Gravekeeper… just imagining it suggested that it must involve an enormous secret, something that could influence the rise and fall of the entire Guardian Organization.
Had it not been for Leader Cecil’s timely intervention, she might have already been taken away by the Gravekeeper, causing everything to plunge into an irretrievable abyss.
But—
Even so.
Knowing well that Brother Rast had already betrayed her.
Yet, when she saw the radiant light of Leader Cecil engulfing half of Brother Rast’s body, Grey instinctively spoke out, wanting to stop everything from happening.
That was something Grey did instinctively without thought, but it was undoubtedly irresponsible to the organization and a betrayal to the already deceased Sister Shadow…
Such complicated thoughts intertwined at this moment in Grey’s mind, making her feel utterly disoriented.
However, upon looking at the girl kneeling at the cliff, head lowered and muttering, the elderly man did not show any sign of reproach.
“You don’t need to explain this to me.”
“Although the Guardian organization is like a machine relentlessly moving towards a common goal, sparing no effort or means, regardless of sacrifice…”
“This cold machine is still composed of living, breathing individuals.”
“Whether it’s you or me, we are both ordinary members of this.”
“Long before you joined the Guardian organization, I had reviewed your records, and I am aware of the connections formed between you and Rast during the contamination incident of the Evil God ‘Zhuyue’ in Frozen Water Town.”
“Even as a leader, I must often set aside personal feelings to be responsible for the organization and the fate of this entire era of civilization, but that does not mean I cannot understand your feelings.”
“However—”
The old man crouched down slightly to meet Grey’s gaze.
“Do you not want revenge?”
“Or rather, it’s not revenge… but rather finding Rast and waking him up with your fists.”
“Telling him that the relentless pursuit of power, the willingness to abandon humanity for the sake of eternal immortality… that such thoughts and ideals were wrong from the very beginning.”
“Awaken his humanity, return him to the person you once admired and longed for.”
“And then, bring him back to the Guardians.”
The old man spoke steadily, yet his words made Grey’s lowered face raise slightly.
Soaked by the rain, the grey strands of hair clinging to her wet face… her emerald green eyes unconsciously widened, the once vacant gaze gaining a glimmer of light again.
Indeed, this was what Grey longed for, and it was also her only wish at this moment.
But soon, the brightness in her eyes dimmed again.
“However… with the current me, I cannot do that.”
“Right now, I am far too distant from Brother Rast in every regard.”
This was not Grey belittling herself, but rather a judgment based on reality—an undeniable fact.
Amidst the wandering lives spreading across the continent, and the growth brought about by the shattering of dreams… Grey had long learned not to pursue unrealistic fantasies, but to move forward step by step in a grounded manner.
Simply in terms of temperament, there was currently no possibility for her to defeat Brother Rast.
Even now, Grey still remembered that scene, the boy bathing in the flame of dawn, his skin and flesh burned almost entirely away, revealing pale bones… Yet he did not show a hint of pain, still able to complete his last action with precision, shooting the pollutant before his tendons and nerves were entirely burned away.
Grey asked herself if she could do the same.
Of course, she could continuously hone her temperament, and it was not impossible for her to reach that point.
On the other hand, although her sequence ladder capable of controlling fate had already been recognized by both sides as having talent, future potential, and value… Brother Rast had also contained the Grim Reaper’s Star Cup.
Moreover, Grey had a premonition in her heart, a ripple of fate rising from the depths of her soul…
Even without possessing the “Grim Reaper’s Star Cup,” the secrets concealed within Brother Rast were certainly not inferior to her own.
“Being able to acknowledge your own gaps and moving forward step by step is a good thing.”
“Rast is indeed quite extraordinary… Had he not chosen betrayal in the end, I might have even considered cultivating him as my successor.”
“However—”
“The distance between you and him is not insurmountable.”
In Leader Cecil’s aged eyes, a trace of nostalgic color quietly flickered.
Staring at the girl before him, whose eyes first sparkled with hope and then dimmed back to sadness…
For some reason, it reminded Cecil of the woman who recently passed away in his arms beneath the setting sun.
Back when he succeeded his predecessor and truly became the leader of the Guardians—
Sister Shadow, no… the way Sharona looked at him back then was so similar to how Grey looked at him now.
Gazing at that once very familiar yet now becoming strange and distant figure, wanting to chase after that shadow but fearing he could not reach it…
However, back then, he was lost in the glory of taking over the leadership of the Guardians and the overwhelming sense of duty… completely oblivious.
It wasn’t until that last shadow quietly melted away in the sunlight that he truly understood Sharona’s intentions.
But by then, it was too late, and all that remained was regret.
Such memories flashed fleetingly in Cecil’s heart, not perceived by Grey.
“I can give you a chance, an opportunity that is enough for you to catch up to Rast.”
The old man’s voice returned to its earlier calmness, but within that calmness, there was a solemn gravity.
“If you are willing to bear the corresponding cost that comes with it.”
…
“A chance to catch up to Brother Rast…”
“And the corresponding price?”
Grey’s lowered head lifted slightly, a touch of confusion flashing through her emerald green eyes.
“Yes.”
Cecil silently nodded, then slowly extended his hand.
The next moment, a faint point of light gathered in his palm.
Then it transformed into a flicker of illusory flame.
Compared to the radiant sun flame he had unleashed earlier that dispelled the darkness and turned the sky into daytime, this small flame in his hand undoubtedly appeared much dimmer, as if a mere wisp of breeze could extinguish it.
However, looking at this ethereal flame in his hand, Cecil’s gaze appeared exceptionally serious.
“This is something only the leader of the Guardians and their successors are qualified to know, a legacy shared among every leader of the Guardians.”
“In the beginning, it is merely a tiny spark.”
“But, as generations of Guardians refine it, entrusting all the knowledge they have accumulated throughout their lives, passing the torch from one generation to the next…”
“One day, those once barren seeds can grow into towering trees.”
“Transforming into a spark that illuminates a darkness deeper than night, igniting the entire world.”
Cecil’s expression changed; the old man who had previously gazed at the sunset with a touch of melancholy now appeared younger.
The lines on his face were no longer calm and silent, but rather like a waking lion. Every word and action carried weight, embodying the guardianship’s dignity and glory, as if he had returned to the moment he first took on the mantle of the Guardian’s leader.
“Facing your former ideals, facing that invitation you once craved and regarded as the very essence of your life…”
“This time, you have chosen to turn it down decisively.”
“From that moment on, you have acquired the qualifications to bear this flame.”
Looking at the flickering light that swayed in the wind and rain, yet remained fierce and clear, Grey unconsciously reached out her hand, wanting to touch that light.
But then, the next moment—
“The flame of the ‘Guardians’ does not represent the glory and brilliance you imagine.”
“It is also a shackle, a binding, and even… a curse.”
“A curse that will accompany you throughout your life, like a parasite that can never be shaken off until the end of your life.”
“You will bear the weight of human civilization’s fate… forever wandering in the crevices of eras and time, drifting in the depths of the starry sea.”
Cecil’s aged voice echoed in Grey’s ears.
For some reason, it reminded Grey of words Brother Rast had once explained to her in her memories of Frozen Water Town.
“So, before making a real choice—”
“It is better to think it through carefully.”
A flicker of silvery light flashed in Cecil’s eyes.
The next moment, the expression of the grey-haired girl suddenly twisted slightly.
She saw some shattered images, glimpses of Grey’s future… if she chose to accept the flame from Leader Cecil’s hand, the future that awaited her.
And within that fragmented vision… the end that awaited her after making that choice was solitary and tragic.
It was not from Grey’s own sequence ability, but rather from Leader Cecil… she glimpsed a corner of her future.
Why could the sun-sequence Leader Cecil predict the fate-sequence Grey?
Such confusion flitted through the girl’s mind, failing to stir any ripples.
She raised her head, looking through the rain curtain toward the cliff’s end, the place where Brother Rast once stood.
There was nothing left, only the scattered stones on the cliff and the charred remnants burned by sunlight, proof of the boy’s previous existence.
Grey reached up to touch the top of her head, her hair tousled but not completely scattered by the raging winds and rains… because of the crystal hairband.
This was a birthday gift from Rast, which Grey cherished dearly, and she wasn’t sure if it was just an illusion, but at this moment, feeling it brought a gentle warmth.
Sensing the warmth conveyed through her fingertips… Grey gently closed her eyes.
When she opened her eyes again, there was no trace of confusion in the girl’s gaze.
She looked once more at the old man’s palm.
Amidst the pouring rain, that illusory spark was clear and pure, unaffected by the wind and rain.
“It seems you have chosen a difficult path.”
“A path of rebirth… as a Guardian.”
PS: I am about to take a ten-hour flight, and tomorrow’s update may be slightly late.
(End of Chapter)
