Night World Players

Chapter 147 Little Grey, the game is over (7k)

(PS: My schedule and updates have been a bit messy these past two days, but I've adjusted them now. I'll try to update more in the next few days to make up for the unstable and small number of words in these two days. This chapter is a 7,000-word chapter)
The clear voice echoed throughout the square of the royal city, it was a plaintive chant.

And in the girl's soft moan, time stood still at this moment.

The pointer on the clock tower suddenly trembled, and then changed its trajectory, turning counterclockwise.

The tea in the cup went from steaming to boiling hot, and then quickly flowed back into the pot.

The flickering lights went from dim to bright, and then from bright to dark.

On the square, the originally empty place suddenly became filled with shadowy figures...

Interfere with time and control destiny.

This was an ability that Gray had used in Frozen Water Town ten years ago, before she joined the Shore Watchers and inherited the fire.

However, at that time, Grey could not consciously control the great power called "fate" that was entangled in the depths of her soul - it could only be unconsciously triggered when her life was in danger or her emotions were in turmoil.

She even used her own good fortune to compensate for the bad luck she had gathered to deprive those around her of their good fortune, causing them to face a tragic end... She became a witch who brought misfortune to those close to her, just like a star from the sky.

Ultimately, Grey refused to accept the reality that Frozen Water Town had been destroyed, and she forced the entire town into an endless loop of the same day.

but--

Since the day I first met Brother Rast.

After making a choice based on his own will, walking out of that illusory dream, and choosing to face the magnificent thing called "destiny" deep in his soul.

Every day and every night during these ten years... Grey has been constantly diving into the depths of her own soul, trying to bring that elusive fate under her own control.

Using the will of a mortal, he attempted to challenge the majestic existence called destiny.

This is undoubtedly a stupid and arrogant decision.

In fact, in the first ten years, Grey's attempts had always ended in failure.

She is indeed the darling of fate, but this concept is closer to a "gift" rather than a power that can be truly understood by Gray.

Just as there are so-called "God's Favored Ones" in religious groups that believe in gods, the priests of the Church can also perform divine arts as agents through prayer and with the help of the power of gods.

However, it is ultimately just a magic that comes from prayer, a blessing bestowed by the gods out of pity for believers.

And if those favored by God or priests attempt to take the authority from God for their own use, then their status as those favored by God will no longer exist, and the wrath of the true God will burn everything to dust.

Grey's previous attempts had always failed for similar reasons.

She should have continued like this, failing all the time...

Until the betrayal three years ago.

That rainy night mixed with blood and muddy cliffs took away everything from the girl.

She set a goal in life because she joined the Shore Watch and made close friends like Janice.

Because of the reunion with brother Rust, because of the six months of happy life in the watchtower... and the longing and expectation for their future.

All of this was shattered and turned into nothingness in the torrential rain that night.

The bloodline that connected her to this world was cut off once again, and the distance between her and the joys and sorrows of the world became very far away...

Everything seemed to have returned to the time before he met his brother Rast——

The little girl, like a young animal, walked alone in the lightless wasteland, wandering among one wolf pack after another, but that was ultimately just a temporary habitat, not a home where she could settle down.

She once owned the whole world and was the happiest baby in the world...but all of this was taken back overnight, and Grey once again became a homeless ghost with nothing, wandering outside the world.

Since I have nothing.

Then, apart from my life, I have nothing else to lose...

It was with this awareness of death that Gray began her three-year training.

It doesn't seem like the three years of human beings, but more like the three years of evil spirits and Shura.

She thought she would die miserably in the devilish purgatory...but even Gray herself did not expect that she would persevere in the end.

After countless times on the verge of life and death, what has been tempered and grown is not only the fire inherited from the people of Shou'an, but also the power called destiny.

At this moment, the time travel that could only be triggered unconsciously in despair in the past was finally controlled by Grey and became an ability that she could fully master.

Three years later—

The reason why Gray chose to stand in front of Brother Rast again was because of her final trump card that she had not even told Chief Cessel about.

If I had completely mastered my "fate" and mastered the ability to "rewind time" -

Then, I should be able to catch up with Brother Rast.

Maybe even fulfill the wish you have been thinking about day and night.

If one attempt fails, then use the ability to go back in time to reset everything and try ten more times...

If you fail ten times, try a hundred times...

No matter how small the possibility of success is, no matter how weak your own strength is.

However, in hundreds and thousands of timelines, there must be a way to save Brother Rust from the wrong path.

It was because she regarded this belief as her lifeline and kept it in her heart that Gray was able to persevere through the three years of training to become a Shura and even a demon.

……

Such a thought only flashed through Gray's mind.

The scenery around her was changing rapidly, and even the concept of time itself was no longer so illusory. Instead, it flowed past the girl like a trickle and could be clearly perceived by Gray.

If time is likened to a long river flowing downstream, then at this moment the direction of this river of time has reversed, flowing upstream from bottom to top...

As the River of Time washed away the entire royal city, leaving only Gray, a grain of sand and impurities that had never flowed upstream in the long river of time.

Gray felt the flow of time around her slowing down little by little, and the originally changing scenery gradually became clear and audible.

It is still the square in the center of Paradise Royal City.

However, compared to when Gray suddenly jumped up after the holy sacrifice had been completed, there were many more people in the square at this moment.

This was the time point ten minutes ago.

The holy sacrifice has not yet officially begun, and the Holy Grail has not yet appeared.

Therefore, the dead in the square were naturally never used as sacrifices by the holy scriptures and refined into part of the Holy Grail.

The people in the square just stared fanatically at the young man who walked slowly out of the platform surrounded by his entourage, waiting for the wise king of the underworld to announce the official start of the holy sacrifice.

In the previous timeline, Brother Last should have anticipated where I would land after teleporting and set a trap accordingly.

After all, on the platform, next to Brother Rast, there are only a few teleportation points that can destroy the Holy Grail in the first place.

As for the fire I inherited from Leader Cessel, although the information is kept secret... Leader Cessel said that this fire originated from the Tomb Keeper Organization, and the corresponding information was told to Brother Rast by the Legend of the Fertility Sequence named Noah, so it is not difficult to understand.

In addition, Brother Rast knows my character so well that I can only say that he knows me inside and out.

No wonder, every move I made before was completely seen through by Brother Last, who even guessed my next move.

If we were to do it again in the previous timeline and wait until the Holy Grail appeared to try to snatch and destroy it... I'm afraid we would just fall into the control of Brother Rast again and follow his rhythm.

In this case, let's just activate the backup plan.

On the contrary, it is no longer about allowing the Holy Sacrifice to be completed and then taking action after the Holy Grail appears... but taking action in advance, directly hindering the progress of the Holy Sacrifice and the birth of the Holy Grail.

Grey hid her petite figure in a grey cloak, with her pretty face covered by the hood. She mingled with the crowd in the square, and quickly thought about her plan of action this time, combining her experience in the timeline before she went back.

Soon, the pale silver light in her beautiful emerald green eyes flickered again.

"The original text of supernatural power, "collective subconscious interference""

"Original Sequence, "The Demon of the Heart - Whisperer""

"Original Sequence, "Devil of the Heart: Mass Bewitching""

"Original Sequence, "Devil of the Heart·Soul Pollution""

"Original Sequence, "Devil of the Heart: Wide-Area Mental Suggestion""

……

In Gray's eyes, a faint flame was constantly flickering.

Every time the flame flickered, it meant that Gray had ignited the fire and put a volume of original equipment that could simulate sequences or supernatural powers ready to go.

The "Holy Grail" is the prototype of the Kingdom of God among the three elements of becoming a god, and is a symbol of the power of faith in reality.

And if——

He was able to deceive the people who participated in the holy sacrifice and taint their originally pure faith in Rast, the wise king of the underworld, and make the power of their faith tainted.

Then, the "Holy Grail", which is the crystallization of faith and the prototype of the Kingdom of God... will naturally be tainted by impure faith, and will be distorted due to pollution, losing its original function as one of the three elements of becoming a god.

This was the backup plan that Gray had prepared in advance, to be used when going back in time after failing to directly destroy the Holy Grail.

Starting with the people's faith, he destroyed the nature of the Holy Grail, turning it into the "Black Holy Grail" filled with filth and cursed.

certainly--

It causes chaos and unrest among the people, pollutes the people's originally pure faith.

Such behavior sounds no different from that of a cultist.

And the simulations that Grey prepared for this purpose, which are able to interfere with the thoughts of a large number of people in a short period of time, corrupt and confuse the people... are basically all from the "Inner Demon" or "Shadow" sequence, which sounds very villain-like.

However, at this moment, Grey naturally would not care about her seemingly villainous behavior.

As long as I can save Brother Rast from his wrong path and fulfill the wish I've been thinking about day and night...

Not to mention that she looks like a villain, even if she really falls into the path of Shura and evil spirits, Gray will not hesitate for the slightest.

"Just like the original sequence, activated."

The preset mental suggestion was quietly triggered.

However, just when Grey had made up her mind and formulated her action plan for this timeline, but had not yet actually started to act.

The next moment.

Gray noticed it clearly.

There was an indifferent and majestic gaze coming from the high platform towards where he was.

"I see, Gray."

"They gave up confronting me head-on and started directly with the people who participated in the Holy Scripture."

"Do you want to pollute the faith of all people and taint the Holy Grail born of faith, and prevent me from achieving the Seat of Death?"

Following the indifferent voice, Gray raised her head in confusion.

Then, he met the gaze that was descending from the high platform.

Those dark eyes were so familiar, yet so strange.

It has long been engraved deep in Grey's soul. Even after a hundred or a thousand years, Grey will never forget the name of the owner of these dark eyes.

how come?
According to my own attempts, after going back in time... except for myself who is protected by fate and independent of the long river of time -

Everyone within the range of the flashback should have their consciousness flashed back together, and lose all memories of their experiences in the previous timeline.

Looking at the black-haired boy on the podium, who was not presiding over the opening of the holy sacrifice as in the last timeline, but was walking straight towards her, Gray felt her spirit stiffen.

The time reversal she can currently master is of course not capable of directly affecting the entire world. It can only reverse the time in a specific area, just like how she distorted the Frozen Water Town and the surrounding areas.

Moreover, if a legendary strongman were in this area, Gray's time reversal would be ineffective due to the huge gap in rank.

Perhaps only when Grey herself becomes a legend can other legends be included in the scope of time travel.

However, if it was due to the interference of the legendary level, then his time reversal should have been blocked from the very beginning and could not be activated.

But at this moment, in Gray's own perception, the time reversal had clearly been initiated smoothly without any hindrance.

The entire world except for himself has clearly been reset to the node ten minutes ago.

In this case, how could Brother Rast, who should have lost his memory of the last timeline and should have continued to preside over the Holy Sacrifice, discover me and even fully understand my plan? Was it because I stood there thinking for too long this time, and seemed out of tune with the enthusiasm of the people around me who were participating in the Holy Sacrifice, and was noticed by Brother Rast?
Brother Rast is the King of the Underworld, and the entire royal city is his domain... He has incredible control over his own domain.

She could even notice such a detail as her moment of distraction among the tens of thousands of people attending the holy ceremony... Although it sounds incredible, at this moment, this was the only explanation Gray could find in a split second.

As her mind raced, Gray saw above her head a pale, bony hand falling towards her.

With just one glance, Gray clearly recognized that it was Rast's brother's hand.

With a dim yellow halo, it was not loud enough, but it cut off all possibilities for Gray to dodge and all chances of survival.

At this moment, since he had not equipped himself with any targeted original arts, once he was caught by this pale hand, his life and death would completely fall into the hands of the other party, and he would not even have the possibility of struggling.

Staring at the pale hand slowly falling, Gray's mind raced, and then she gritted her teeth.

"Destiny..."

The clear voice echoed in the square again. It was a young girl speaking.

The words were like spirits, creating ripples in the flow of fate.

The dim halo stagnated, time flowed backwards, and the noise turned into dead silence.

The scene that had happened once before was repeated at this moment, and the direction of the long river of time was rewritten again, surging towards a more distant upstream.

……

I felt the turbulent flow of time beside me gradually slowing down and finally approaching a state of stagnation.

Gray's eyes snapped open.

The wooden board beneath them was shaking repeatedly as they passed through the steep mountain road, causing Gray's body to sway as well.

What comes into view is a simple horse-drawn carriage.

Outside the window, the scorching sun on the blue sky has not yet reached the zenith, but is rising slowly from the east.

"Little girl——"

"You came to the Royal City for the Holy Scripture as well?"

Across the carriage, an old lady with silver hair and a noble temperament spoke gently to Gray.

"You came to the royal city alone?"

"Didn't your parents come with you?"

Without paying attention to the kind inquiry from the old lady in front of her, Gray took a deep breath and came back to her senses from the situation just now.

Another time travel.

However, the time span this time is no longer the ten minutes that Grey initiated the backtracking last time.

But -

four hours.

Directly from the point where the Holy Sacrifice officially began, it went back to ten o'clock in the morning four hours ago... At that time, Gray was still in the carriage leading to the Royal City from the outskirts of the Royal City, and had not actually entered the Royal City.

This is something Gray cannot be completely sure of, but it is the most reasonable guess.

After receiving the Death Star Cup, the entire royal city became the domain of Rast, the King of the Underworld. He had a thorough observation of everything within his domain.

It is very likely that his identity had been exposed long ago due to some details, and Last had noticed his existence.

That's why Brother Last was able to make many responses against me in advance. Maybe he had already suspected me but just didn't take direct action.

In this case - let's go back in time to the point where everything had not yet begun.

I haven't even entered the royal city yet.

No matter how amazing the control Brother Last has over the people in the royal city, there is no way they will be able to detect any signs of my arrival.

"Girl, are you sick?"

"Why do you seem a little startled?"

Seeing Gray's gaze gradually change from confusion and panic to determination, the old lady opposite spoke with some concern.

However, the gray-haired girl did not respond to the other party's kindness.

Gray was looking out the window at the end of the distant plain. The carriage was getting closer and closer, and the towering royal city was already in sight.

In her mind, she was thinking of countermeasures quickly.

Should we abandon this operation on the Holy Scripture and return to the Watchtower for help?

No, the current situation of the Broken Coastline is very critical. The forbidden creatures in the Endless Sea are ready to make a move, and a war may break out at any time...

Neither Chief Cecil nor anyone else in the Shore Watchers organization had any surplus to support themselves.

Moreover, except for Chief Cecil himself, even if other companions came to support him, the fate of Brother Rast would not change in the slightest.

However, this time the holy book in the royal city is his last chance.

If we allow Brother Last to obtain the Holy Grail and collect two of the three bronze door keys that open the path to godhood, then Brother Last’s strength will skyrocket and he will become even more difficult to deal with.

He even doubted whether his time travel could work on his brother Last.

The most crucial thing is that after absorbing the power of faith of the Holy Grail and all the people, Brother Rast's spirit and soul will inevitably be affected by the power of faith.

From a pure human being, he transformed into a true "God of Death" who looked down upon all living things and held the power over the underworld and death.

From man to God.

From "he" to "him".

By then, everything may be irreversible.

And the already slim hope of saving Brother Rast from his wrong path will become even slimmer.

and so--

No matter what, I must destroy this holy book.

However, how can I hide my plan from Brother Last after entering the royal city and his territory, so that he won't discover it in advance?

As her mind turned, Gray couldn't help but gently touch her delicate forehead.

She felt a hint of numbness and fatigue gradually spreading from the depths of her soul.

As the only holder of the long stage of the Destiny Sequence, Grey does have the conceptual ability to go back in time, almost like reloading a save file.

but--

Go back in time and reverse your destiny.

How could she, as the user of such power to rewrite the rules, not pay a price?

Rewind the time of all living and dead things in a specific area, while retaining complete memories...

It means letting your soul relive the entire time travel again in a very short period of time.

It is like putting a stone into an aging box for an aging experiment. In just a few minutes, the originally hard rock may be weathered and decayed beyond recognition.

This is the price Grey has to pay to go back in time.

Every time she goes back in time, her soul will be worn out to a certain extent due to the accelerated flow of time...

If one only goes back a few seconds, the degree of wear and tear is not serious.

But if this span is further increased, the "wear and tear" of the soul will continue to deepen -

Just like many immortals who have experienced a long life and thus forgotten their former humanity...it is very likely that their souls will be damaged, their minds will be damaged, and they may even lose some of their memories and personality.

At this moment, Gray realized that she might have forgotten some of her memories.

But at the moment, Gray herself didn't know which part was missing.

However, now is definitely not the time to dwell on this.

Whether you fall into the path of Shura or evil spirits, or experience the wear and tear of time, or forget your memories...

These were the choices Grey had already made, the vows she had made in countless midnight dreams.

Besides——

If only I could experience the wear and tear of a long period of time.

Then, perhaps I could also understand a little bit of what Brother Rast experienced as an immortal...

Can you truly empathize with him and understand what Brother Rast is facing, the pain and numbness he is experiencing?

With this thought in mind, Gray ignored the surprised looks of the others in the carriage and suddenly stood up from the carriage.

She had to leave here before the carriage actually entered the royal city.

He must stop the Holy Sacrifice, prevent his brother Last from obtaining the Holy Grail, and hinder the opening of the path to godhood... In other words, sneaking into the royal city is inevitable.

However, perhaps I need to find a more covert method of infiltration.

Perhaps his two previous timeline experiences were because he was too conspicuous when entering the royal city in a carriage, and was inadvertently noticed by his brother Last.

but.

That's when.

Gray noticed that the carriage she was riding in suddenly stopped.

This pause was not caused by realizing that he wanted to get off the bus...

Because just a second later, Gray heard the exclamations of other passengers.

"Is that His Majesty the King?"

"I was lucky enough to see the portrait of the wise king. If I remember correctly, it was indeed His Majesty Rast."

The passengers' exclamations were mixed with a hint of flattery.

"But why did His Majesty Rast come all the way to welcome us to the Holy Sacrifice?"

Listening to the puzzled expressions of other passengers.

Gray felt the blood flowing in her veins stop along with her own heartbeat.

She raised her head stiffly.

Then, he saw the distant sky outside the royal city.

The young man bathed in the dim light, walking towards him step by step.

"for……"

"What……"

Gray's trembling voice was drowned out by the strong wind blowing across the wasteland.

The world became silent, with only the king of the underworld ruling the world remaining in the blazing skylight.

"Little Grey."

This was a name that Gray was very familiar with, but hearing it at this moment, it made the girl feel a slight chill in her heart.

It was not until this moment that she realized the source of the abnormality that had been constantly emerging in the depths of her soul but had been ignored by her.

Since arriving in the capital, he had only activated the backtracking twice.

However, the degree of wear and tear imprinted on his soul far exceeded the value of "twice".

"game."

The young man's voice spread from the distant sky to the earth.

It was like a declaration, and also like a judgment.

"It's time to end..."

(End of this chapter)