Chapter 164: Don’t You Feel Regret for Such an Ending? (5k)
Beneath the crustal layers of the Royal City in the Night World, deep inside.
Or rather, that place once known as the “Abyss.”
Whether it’s the crust or the land… everything is pervaded and consumed by the agitation of radiant light, heading towards the distant night sky beyond.
Then, an explosion.
The crust and the layers shattered, revealing the night sky outside the Abyss.
Imprints of light were stamped on the celestial canopy, dyeing the entire starry sky above the Royal City crimson.
Immediately after.
From a distant direction…
The blast of wind that arrived a moment later dispersed the rain clouds, shook houses, turned forests upside down, shocked the earth, and swept past.
What was left afterward was only the reappearing beautiful bright moon and the boundless starry sky.
And at the tip of the sword of light—
That destructive wave surged straight towards the pinnacle of the tower where the young man’s broken form was located.
In an instant, the towering structure came to an end.
Before Rast, Noah—who stood higher than him—his avatar of abundance and the emerald domain, collapsed in less than ten breaths before the aurora of the Zenith Sword.
It transformed into scattered dust, extinguished in the brilliance.
Then, losing the barrier of Noah’s legendary avatar.
The torrent of light that transformed from the Zenith Sword poured unreservedly upon Rast.
His form bathed in the flowing radiance, a dusky yellow divine power rose, shielding Rast’s already battered and broken body from the annihilating light, but it quickly dimmed.
Yet Rast paid little attention to this.
He closed his eyes quietly, feeling in the spiritual realm that the Abyss—now under his control after killing the remnants of the God of d*ath—and all the powers of the ancient gods within the Abyss, were slowly collapsing under the oppressive weight of the Zenith Sword.
This was a matter of course.
As a “space-based weapon” with a planet’s gravitational pull as its bowstring, after being amplified by Rast with the “Library of Fools” using his true name—
The ultimate power erupted from the “Zenith Sword” far exceeded its initial definition in the forbidden catalog of the Tower of Secrets.
After killing Noah’s avatar of abundance, its power did not cease but sought to shatter the entire Abyss alongside it.
And naturally, this weapon did not possess such intelligent enemy identification functions.
Once the remaining divine power of the God of d*ath within the Abyss was completely exhausted, and the entire remains of the God of d*ath was annihilated to nothingness… what awaited Rast was, of course, the same fate as Noah’s avatar of abundance.
Of course, this was not a concern.
Be it the Grim Reaper’s Star Cup, or even the control over the Abyss that Rast gained after devouring the remnants of the God of d*ath—
These were mere illusions that Rast obtained in the Night World, like an illusory reflection… without the endorsement of the Night World, it was impossible to bring anything back to reality; thus, being destroyed alongside the Zenith Sword was nothing to lament.
Everything happening before his eyes was within Rast’s scheming, and he had long prepared his retreat.
[Your historical change value for the civilizational epic event: “Battle of the Broken Coast” has reached the basic requirement.]
[The basic clearance requirements for this Night World have been met.]
[The final score and rewards for this Night World mission will be calculated upon leaving the Echoes of the Era.]
[Please, Night Travelers, choose to exit the Echoes of Fate or continue to stay within.]
At this moment, lines of azure light flashed slowly within Rast’s mind.
The “Echoes of the Era,” which could only be entered from the end of the Night World at the Tower of Secrets, had different clearance conditions from other historical echoes of Night World entrances.
Night Travelers choosing to enter the Echoes of the Era would take a historical event that directly interfered with the civilizational process as the backdrop and personally participate in this major historical event.
They did not need to achieve specific task deadlines, nor complete tasks to exit smoothly as others did in different historical echoes… they only had to ensure that the historical event progressed to a certain extent, or that their degree of participation in that historical event reached a certain level to directly meet the task requirements to clear the Night World.
And at this moment—
As a Guardian infiltrated among the Gravekeepers, having become the new king of the Netherworld… presiding over the ceremony of the sacred text, and during the revival ceremony of the ancient God of d*ath, single-handedly shattering the Gravekeepers’ plan to revive the God of d*ath, he even directly killed a legendary-tier avatar.
After the destruction of the half of Noah’s spirit contained within the avatar of abundance, Noah—having lost half of his spirit—would surely be weak… and it could even affect the outcome of the Battle of the Broken Coast on the other side.
And after achieving such staggering feats, Rast’s historical change value in this Night World had naturally met the task requirements… Although the scoring of this Night World mission had yet to be settled, based on Rast’s own predictions, it would undoubtedly be rated “EX.”
He was not a Night Traveler belonging to the Sixth Epoch; he merely needed to choose to exit the Night World before that annihilating light completely extinguished the remaining powers of the Abyss, thus rendering everything left in the Night World, including the legendary battle that erupted at the Broken Coast, irrelevant to him—
And Rast himself could safely return to reality.
Only…
Rast silently closed his eyes, feeling his broken form like a leaf boat, drifting along the raging tide of light.
In the last moments before the power of the Abyss was exhausted, while he could still remain in the Night World for that final bit of time, Rast was thinking and summarizing his experience in this Night World—
Long before his earlier entries into the Night World and participation in historical echoes, Rast had discovered hints of his own anomaly.
Ordinary Night Travelers who entered the Night World experienced merely illusory reflections of historical echoes… mere products akin to dungeons that could be replicated infinitely, and when Night Travelers exited, those dungeons would close, leaving no trace behind.
However—
Rast was different.
In the very beginning, the deep blue harbor dungeon he entered for some inexplicable reason was a Night World that would never truly close, no matter how many cycles it underwent.
In the subsequent events after he left the deep blue harbor, this anomaly became increasingly pronounced.
Rast’s journey that prevented divine descent in the deep blue harbor would be known by Cecil, recorded in the Guardian files at the Watchtower.
Clearly saved from the calamity echo in Frozen Water Town, that grey-haired little girl, who he had given a name akin to a young beast…
Yet in another Night World, ten years later, they would meet again at the Watchtower, and upon their encounter, she would still remember the bits and pieces of their time together.
Such numerous anomalies led Rast to draw the only conclusion—
What he experienced was not simply an old dungeon but a palpable past.
What he was immersed in was not an echo of history, but the true history that occurred in the Sixth Epoch…
And everything Rast did was in the capacity of a Night Traveler crossing time and space, rewriting the past, personally inscribing the historical process of an era.
Based on the information he had, Rast could not directly deduce a clear answer as to why he could traverse time and space.
The only guess he was able to make—
Was that all these changes and anomalies might be connected to his Night Blade “Library of Fools,” as well as the unremovable inherent skill named “Fate Nexus” obtained from Grey.
The Guardian Organization of the Sixth Epoch, and the woman who saved him from the ruins of Canaan in his childhood, must have originated from the same source.
And his Night Blade “Library of Fools” came from the inheritance of the Guardians, the very first… stolen from the Gravekeeper Organization by the initial Guardian and passed down through generations as a flame seed—
Because of his time-traversing, what should have been a singular flame seed now existed as two in the Sixth Epoch; one belonged to him, the other to Little Grey.
Upon understanding this preliminary information—
Long before Rast entered the historical echoes this time, he set two planned objectives for his journey in the Night World.
Rast’s first goal was to give Grey a profound lesson, an experience of failure.
Even though Grey had tasted the bitter wine of betrayal on that rainy night three years ago… and had undergone a transformation during these three years, starting to mature, learning to grow stronger.
However, this was still far from enough.
Compared to the current Guardian leader Cecil, or her mission as the next Guardian facing adversaries, Grey still appeared too green and immature, harboring many unrealistic fantasies within her heart.
After all, before this, no matter what Grey had experienced, including that night of betrayal… she always had Cecil as her support to fall back on.
Thus, she lacked a thorough failure, having never felt the despair that carved deep into her soul.
Therefore, Rast designed that confrontation with Grey atop the Paradise Sacred Text, alongside confessing everything to her.
When the uniqueness of “Fate,” when the strongest trump card “Library of Fools,” when everything you painstakingly trained, all of your arts, the enemy possesses similarly, even better than you…
When the adversary claims to come from the future, telling you about the inevitable dead end awaiting Guardians in the future…
When you’ve witnessed the darkest night…
Can you still unwaveringly hold onto the ideals you once believed in and the bright flame in your heart?
This was the test Rast set for Grey.
The engulfing blackness that consumed the light, the deepest despair, were precisely the darkness that past Guardians, including Rast himself, had faced.
And only after experiencing such failure and despair could one stand up again, relying on the faint light in their heart to move forward… only by passing such a test could Grey truly bear the name “Guardian” and become Cecil’s real successor.
Ultimately, Rast successfully achieved this goal.
That utterly powerless defeat, the pain of being betrayed by Rast a second time, the despair of finding his world merely a fleeting bubble… would all transform into nourishment for Grey’s growth, granting her the strength to become powerful and ultimately ascend to the peak of the world.
Allowing her to complete her final metamorphosis and rebirth—
Even without the support and reliance of himself and Cecil, she could still steadfastly walk the path of the Guardians, bearing the weight of the fate of human civilization in the Sixth Epoch.
…
And Rast’s second task goal he set for himself was to rescue Akshia from the depths of the Abyss.
At the same time, bury all that was left behind by the ancient God of d*ath, whether it be the Netherworld, the Abyss, the remains of the Old Gods, the Star Cup, or their authority… everything to be buried.
Because only in this way could Akshia truly rid herself of the identity of “offspring of the God of d*ath, perfect vessel,” and live in the world as an ordinary human girl.
Only then could Rast write a complete ending for that unfinished fairy tale…
This was not only for Akshia but also for the redemption of Rast himself—
“The fairy tale is fake, but love is real,” since it originates from a story of lies and deception, that illusory emotion could ultimately also meet a complete ending…
So, even if one day—his ideal land, that Night World and the Canaan nestled between reality fizzle away like foam and are proven false.
Then between himself and Emis, whether real or false, there would still be an emotion named “love” that could remain.
Simultaneously, rescuing Akshia was also to complete the historical loop.
The souls of Rast and Akshia did not belong to this era, yet they entered the historical stream of the Sixth Epoch due to some unknown reason… only by returning impurities to their original era could the historical loop be achieved, preventing many things from undergoing drastic changes due to the butterfly effect.
And now, Akshia had returned to the correct history.
All the mission objectives Rast initially set for himself had been perfectly accomplished.
His mission in the Night World had ended, and it was time to prepare to leave.
“Only—”
“Still, I feel a bit regretful…”
Gazing at his broken and shattered, crimson wasteland where only the gears of his heart symbolically turned, Rast felt the most primal stirring in his heart and spoke words that followed his true feelings.
This was something the past him, the Rast who acted like a machine, would never express.
Within the mechanical codex prioritizing operational efficiency, feelings of regret offered no positive value beyond causing meaningless self-exhaustion.
Apart from the necessary actions to achieve goals, everything else could be discarded… this had been the principle of action in Rast’s past life, so he wouldn’t lament unnecessarily, nor would he harbor the worthless emotion of regret.
But—
For him today, and for that Rast who had encountered Emis, met Hiltina, encountered Mr. Silver… and so many others at Starry University, where greenery gradually sprouted on the crimson wasteland of his heart.
This was indeed his most genuine and vivid feeling in this moment.
What a pity…
“I couldn’t witness Leader Cecil’s curtain call.”
“Even worse… not being able to properly say goodbye to Little Grey.”
Rast gently caressed his left chest, feeling that slow, clear heartbeat in his chest—
Not as a gear-driven machine, but as a human heartbeat and pulse.
“From now on, we may not see each other for many years.”
“And during this time, she’ll have to live alone with her hate and loathing towards me.”
“Clearly, she’s a little one who cries easily and fears loneliness—yet she has to bear the fate of the entire Guardians and the era on her fragile shoulders.”
“Really…”
“Making one somewhat worried.”
The last streak of dusky yellow in the Abyss was devoured by the brilliance, and as Rast’s thoughts stirred, he was about to choose the option on that azure screen to “leave the Night World.”
His murmured voice vanished in the flowing light, unheard by anyone.
The dusky yellow divine power was about to diminish completely, and the curtain of darkness quietly emerged in Rast’s vision, enveloping him in tranquility.
This was the prelude to leaving the Night World; when that diaphanous night color completely obscured Rast’s sight, it signified he would entirely exit the Night World and return to reality.
However, just then, he heard a voice.
A voice that pierced through the sky and earth, through the layers of rock and crust, ignoring the flowing light, and directly resonated in Rast’s ears.
“Don’t you want to see that little one one last time… to tell her the entire truth, to resolve the misunderstandings between you?”
“Are you truly willing to leave alone, returning to your own time and space, without even leaving a complete farewell?”
“Don’t you feel regret for such an ending?”
“If you do feel regret, then stand up and personally make up for this regret.”
Accompanying that resonant voice that echoed through heaven and earth was an aging figure, as majestic as a lion.
In the suddenly emerging dark rift, sunlight illuminated the veil of eternal night.
The torrent of light was torn apart.
Before that resplendent sun wheel, the Zenith Sword dimmed, as if it were a firefly before the bright moon.
This scene resembled the setting sun over the long river.
Cecil thus appeared before Rast, facing the holy sword that fell from the sky to the earth—an ancient legend of the “Frozen Divine Punishment.”
“Just—”
“It’s just divine retribution!”
(End of Chapter)
