Night World Players

Chapter 126: The Spark of the Shore Guardian (Two in One)

As the two legends restrained their power, the bright sun that illuminated the night and dispelled the violent storms and the fertile realm also disappeared.

The illusory vortex swallowed up the light, and Rast's figure disappeared behind the twisted door, leaving only the howling wind on the top of the cliff.

It was as if everything that had happened here before, the confession that was like the end of a fairy tale, the battle between the admirer and the admired... had never happened.

The rainstorm came pouring down again, and the endless night without stars or moonlight descended again.

Gray subconsciously reached out towards the end of the cliff, in the direction where the young man once stood... as if trying to grab something that was about to disappear.

But in the end, her hand was empty, leaving only a curtain of rushing water, moistening the long starless night.

Heavy rain covered the sky and the whole world was silent. Gray knelt on the muddy rocks, and the light in her emerald green eyes was weaker than ever before.

After spending half a year like a fairy-tale, she lost everything again.

Everything seemed to have returned to the Dongshui Town ten years ago. The dreamy bubbles shattered beside her. The girl knelt on the ruins that had weathered into ashes, as if she had been abandoned by the whole world.

……

"Do you feel unwilling, little devil?"

"I am so weak that I can only watch the things I cherish slip away from my fingers, but I can't do anything about it."

An unknown amount of time had passed before peaceful words came from behind Gray. Although they were mixed in with the howling sounds of wind and rain, every word was distinct and clearly engraved into her mind.

"If you feel unwilling, then don't forget this regret."

"Because this is proof that you haven't given up yet, proof that you haven't given up on yourself."

"Cesare... Leader."

Gray raised her head slightly and saw the old man standing in front of her, like an old lion.

"I……"

Looking at the leader of the shore guards, she opened her mouth, but didn't know how to start.

Leader Cessel had clearly reminded him that his brother Rast had already betrayed him.

It was obvious that information from all sides had already indicated signs.

However, he was still unwilling to listen to the advice of Chief Cessel, and still unwilling to believe the obvious facts, and insisted on going up the mountain to confront Brother Rast.

Then, he found himself in such an embarrassing situation and was almost captured by his brother Rast as a gravekeeper as a gift.

Although young and immature...

But just by listening to the conversation just now, Gray herself could understand that the long sequence step on her body was obviously not as simple as she had thought in the past.

Whether it was Brother Rast, or Chief Cecil and the legendary gravekeeper, they had already discovered the uniqueness and value of being able to control their "fate"...

Although he didn't know what would happen if he was captured by the gravekeeper... But just thinking about it would tell him that it would involve a huge secret, and even affect the rise and fall of the entire gravekeeper organization.

If Chief Cessel had not arrived in time and taken action, he would most likely have been taken away by the gravekeeper, and everything would have fallen into an irreversible abyss.

but--

even so.

Knowing that Brother Rast has betrayed him.

However, when she saw with her own eyes that the scorching sun light of Leader Cessel had engulfed half of Brother Last's body, Gray still subconsciously spoke up, wanting to stop it from happening.

Gray did this subconsciously without even thinking about it, but it was undoubtedly irresponsible to the organization and a betrayal to her dead sister...

Such complicated thoughts were all entangled together at this moment, lingering in Gray's mind, making her thoughts extremely confused and difficult to sort out for a while.

However, looking at the girl kneeling on the cliff in front of him with her head lowered and stammering, the old man did not show any rebuke on his face.

"Don't explain this to me."

"Although the Shore Guards are an organization that is like a machine that keeps moving towards a common goal at all costs, at all means, and regardless of sacrifice..."

"But this cold machine is made up of living people."

"Whether it's you or me, we are just ordinary people among them."

"As early as when you joined the Shore Watchers, I read your file and knew about the fate between you and Last during the Evil God "Red Moon" pollution out of control incident in Frozen Water Town."

"Even though as a leader, I often have to put aside my personal emotions and be responsible for the fate of the entire organization and even the civilization of this era, but this does not mean that I cannot understand your feelings."

"only--"

The old man squatted down slightly, so that his eyes were level with Gray who was sitting on the ground.

"Don't you want revenge?"

"Or rather, it's not about revenge... it's about finding Rast and then beating him up with my fists."

"Tell him in person that pursuing power by any means necessary, and abandoning humanity in pursuit of immortality... such thoughts and ideas were wrong from the beginning."

"Awaken his humanity and find the man you once admired and longed for."

"Then, bring him back to the shore keepers."

The old man's words were neither hurried nor slow, but when they fell into Gray's ears, the girl's drooping face couldn't help but lift up a little.

Soaked by the heavy rain, hidden under the gray hair that was clinging to the face...the pair of emerald green eyes unconsciously widened, and the originally dazed eyes regained some of their luster.

This is indeed what Gray longs for, and it is also her only wish at the moment.

But soon, those bright eyes dimmed again.

"But... I can't do that with my current self."

"At this moment, I am so far behind Brother Last in every aspect."

This is not Grey being self-deprecating, but a judgment based on actual conditions, which is an obvious fact.

After a life of wandering all over the continent, and the growth brought about by the shattered dreams at this moment...Gray had already learned not to have those unrealistic dreams, but to move forward step by step with her feet on the ground.

Just because of the difference in character, there is no possibility for me to defeat my brother Last at this moment.

Until now, Gray still remembered the scene. The boy was bathed in the firelight like the sunrise. His skin and flesh were obviously burned away, revealing pale bones...but he never showed even the slightest expression of pain. He was still able to accurately complete the last action and shoot the pollutant before his tendons and nerves were completely burned.

Gray asked herself if she could do the same thing.

Of course, if one can constantly hone one's character, it may not be impossible to achieve.

On the other hand, although his long-stage sequence that could control fate, whether in terms of talent, future potential or value, had been recognized by the legends of both sides of the enemy...but his brother Rast also took in the Star Cup of the God of Death.

Moreover, Gray had a premonition in her heart, a ripple of fate from the depths of her soul...

Even though he has never possessed the "Star of Death", the secrets hidden in brother Rast... are definitely not inferior to his own.

"It's a good thing to face up to the gap between us and take one step at a time."

"Last is indeed extraordinary... If he had not chosen to betray me in the end, I would have even considered training Last to be my successor."

"It's just that..." "The distance between you and him may not be impossible to fill."

A few traces of reminiscence flashed silently in Cecil's old eyes.

Watching the girl in front of her eyes flicker with hope, then dim again, returning to the lost girl...

For some reason, Cecil was reminded of the woman who had died in his arms at sunset not long ago.

Back then, when I succeeded the previous generation and truly became the leader of the shore defenders—

Shadow servant, no...the way Sharona looked at herself at that time was so similar to the way Gray looks at her now.

Looking at the figure that was once so familiar but is now becoming strange and gradually moving away, I want to chase after that figure, but I am afraid that I will not be able to reach it.

However, at that time, I was immersed in taking over the position of leader of the shore guards, the glory and the extremely heavy sense of mission... I didn't realize it.

It was not until the last ray of shadow quietly melted away in the sunlight that I truly understood Sharona's feelings.

But it's all too late, leaving only regrets.

Such memories only flashed through Cecil's heart for a moment and were not noticed by Grey.

"I can give you a chance, a chance that will allow you to catch up with Rast."

The old man's voice returned to its previous calmness, but within the calmness, there was a certain solemnity.

"If you are willing to bear the corresponding price."

……

"The opportunity to catch up with Brother Rast..."

"And what is the corresponding price?"

Gray raised her lowered head slightly, and a hint of confusion flashed in her emerald green eyes.

"Ah."

Cecil nodded silently, then slowly extended his hand.

next moment.

There were faint spots of light gathering in his palm.

Then, it turned into an illusory flame.

Compared to the blazing flame that Cecil had erupted before, which dispelled the darkness of the night and turned the entire sky into daytime, the small flame in his hand at this moment was undoubtedly much dimmer, as if it could be extinguished by any breeze.

However, looking at the illusory firework in his hand, Cecil's eyes seemed more serious than ever before.

"This is something that only the leaders of the Shore Keepers and their successors are qualified to know. It is also something that is passed down from one Shore Keeper leader to another."

"In the beginning, it was just a tiny spark."

"However, as generations of shore keepers perfected it, they entrusted their lifelong knowledge to it, and passed it on from generation to generation..."

“A barren seed from the past can one day grow into a towering tree.”

"Become a spark that illuminates the darkness deeper than the night and ignites the entire world."

Cecil's expression changed. The old man who had been looking at the sunset with a bit of sadness now looked younger.

The lines between his eyebrows were no longer as peaceful and quiet as before, but like a lion awakening. His every word and action was full of thunder and lightning, the majesty and glory of the shore guards, as if he had returned to the time when he had just succeeded as the leader of the shore guards.

"Facing the object of your former admiration, facing the invitation that you once longed for so much and regarded as the whole meaning of life."

"This time, you chose to flatly refuse."

"From that moment on, you are qualified to carry this fire."

Looking at the flame that was swaying in the wind and rain but still burning brightly, Gray subconsciously stretched out her hand, wanting to touch the flame.

But, the next moment——

"The fire of the Shore Keeper does not represent the glory and brilliance you imagine."

"This is more of a pair of shackles, a shackle, and even... a curse."

"A curse that will stay with you for the rest of your life, like a thorn in your flesh, from which you can never escape until the end of your life."

"You will shoulder the weight of the fate of human civilization... forever wandering between the epochs and time, wandering in the deepest part of the sea of stars."

Cecil's old voice echoed in Gray's ears.

For some reason, it was somewhat similar to the words that Brother Last had explained to her in Gray's memory of Frozen Water Town.

"So, before you actually make your choice—"

"It's better to think about it carefully first."

A pale silver light flashed in Cecil's eyes.

The next moment, the gray-haired girl's expression suddenly twisted slightly.

She saw some broken images. That was Gray's future... the future she would face if she chose to take over the fire from Chief Cecil.

And, in that fragmented picture... the lonely and miserable end that I will inevitably face if I choose this path.

It wasn't Gray's own sequence ability, but came from Leader Cecil... She got a glimpse of her own future.

Why can Cecil, the leader of the Sun Sequence, make predictions about himself who is in the Destiny Sequence?

Such doubts only flashed through the girl's mind for a moment, without causing any ripples.

She raised her head and looked through the rain at the end of the cliff, where Rast had once stood.

There was nothing there anymore, only the messy rubble on the cliff and the charred remains from the sun's flames, evidence of the boy's existence.

Gray reached out her hand and touched her head. Her hair was blown by the storm but was not completely messy... because of the crystal headband.

This was a birthday gift from Laster, and Grey had been wearing it with great care. She didn't know if it was an illusion, but she could still feel a faint warmth when she touched it.

Feeling the warmth coming from between her fingers... Gray closed her eyes slightly.

When she opened her eyes again, there was no longer any confusion in the girl's eyes.

She looked at the old man's palm again.

In the pouring rain, the illusory fire was bright and clear, and was not shaken by the wind and rain.

"It seems that you have chosen a difficult path."

"A new... shore keeper."

PS: I'm about to take a 10-hour flight, so tomorrow's update may be a little late

(End of this chapter)