Night World Players

Chapter 219 See you in Canaan~ (5k4)

Amy's voice was like a gurgling stream, gentle and melodious.

But her voice carries a warmth that is enough to melt icebergs, flowing from the distant past to the present.

It was not until this moment that Last finally understood Amis's current situation.

Time and years are like a long river that flows endlessly from ancient times to the present.

However, in the long river of time, there is also the concept of "current node".

After the "current node", the long river of time is like a big tree called time, branching out infinitely and having countless tributaries... Every tiny difference in details, every change in possibility, will give rise to a brand new branch of the future.

However, before the "current node", there is only one main road in the long river of time, which is the so-called established history, which is the history that has already happened, been recorded, and been confirmed.

For most lives, being in the long river of time, they are like a piece of gravel or sand in the river, and can only follow the flow of time, constantly drifting from top to bottom.

In this process of passing, gravel and sand will continue to be washed away by the river water, so that the originally perfect body and soul at birth will be constantly imprinted with the mark of time, gradually becoming tired, aged, and weathered... until they are completely old and enter death.

However, among the trillions of living beings who are like grains of sand, drifting in the river of time and constantly struggling to cross, there are very few exceptions.

After a long struggle, struggle and search, they finally broke free from the shackles of time, just like a stubborn stone standing in the river. No matter how the long river of time washes and beats it, the stubborn stone always maintains its original appearance. It does not need to drift with the flow like sand, nor will it be eroded, weathered and aged by the washing of the river.

They already have the qualifications to escape from the long river of time and reign supreme over time... They are the beings that the legendary gravekeeper Noah spoke of, those beings that are not bound by the changes of eras and can be truly immortal.

That is, the so-called "angels".

Only creatures of legendary rank have the ability to feel the passage of time in a very one-sided and limited way.

Only true angels can break free from the torrent of time, exist independently in the world, and no longer be affected by the passage of time. No matter how many years pass, their soul and body will always remain intact.

Therefore, although they retain the characteristics of their original race, in fact... every angel has completed the transformation of the essence of life, and has become fundamentally different from the original race that is still trapped in time.

The "uniqueness of time and space" mentioned by Dean Yin and Amys is the embodiment of this difference.

At the moment they become angels, they exist simultaneously in every moment of time, regardless of age, past, present, or future...

For mythical creatures that have truly become angels, there has never been a single moment of weakness in the entire history they have experienced.

Even if someone uses various means to travel through time and space and come to the past when the other party has not yet become an angel but is just a powerless baby, what he will face will also be an angel.

That is why, for true angels, traveling through time and space and rewriting past history... is as easy as eating and drinking.

However, due to the existence of the "historical correction force", very few angels will take the initiative to change the past - although angels can go back in time and escape the long river of time, it does not mean that they can ignore the inertia of that vast river.

It is a vast force that has been flowing from time immemorial to the present day, carrying with it countless epochs, billions of lives, and tens of millions of years. The power of an individual is nothing but a mantis trying to stop a chariot in front of that rushing river.

Just like a drowning person, he may be able to rely on his own strength to break free from the current and climb to the shore... But to rewrite the course of a vast river and build a dam to block the river from the sea is a feat that is thousands of times more magnificent than the former.

If one could simply travel through time and space to change some insignificant details of the past, or change the lives of one or two insignificant individuals, perhaps it might be possible... However, the huge wave called the trend of history can never be changed. If someone tries to rewrite the direction of past civilizations, the torrent called "historical correction force" will ruthlessly crush them into dust, even angels are no exception.

In addition, the vast majority of angels are creatures that have survived from the Age of Gods and have already lived through an incalculable number of years... Their perspectives have long since transcended those of earthly beings. They stand higher than ordinary people, and the scenery and world they see are also broader, as if they were gods overlooking the earthly world from the clouds.

After countless years, the divinity of these angels has long surpassed their humanity. They may have witnessed the separation of life and death that ordinary people see thousands of times - except for each other, who are also mythical creatures, and major events such as the change of eras, no one and nothing can stir up waves in their hearts.

Therefore, the vast majority of mythical creatures on the Threshold of Blazing Sky... not only will not take the initiative to travel through time and space to change the past, but will even take the initiative to maintain the past historical inertia and general trend in order to avoid causing waves in the long river of time and being affected by the force of historical correction.

however--

As the saying goes, "There are exceptions to every rule."

Among those angels who have lived in the clouds for a long time, there are exceptions like Amys.

According to the original history, the original course of time... At this moment, Amis should have fallen into a state of rampage, triggering the disaster of the "Omnic Crisis" in the Sixth Epoch.

She should be the angel of judgment who truly controls the rules of "destruction" and "judgment", slaughtering all living beings within her sight, which naturally includes Last and Dean Yin who intruded here.

However, at this moment, Amys refused to carry out all of this.

Even if this is established history, going against the original historical trend will inevitably lead to corrections in the long river of time...

Even though Amis knew that Last and Dean Yin had already made preparations for an emergency escape, even the attack launched by the rampaging "Angel of Judgment" could not really hurt Last in the slightest, they would definitely be able to evacuate safely in the end.

However, Amis still couldn't attack Last.

This was the boy she had once depended on for survival, and he was also the only hope and thought she had in her heart during the long time she spent sleeping in the watchtower while carrying out the "Artificial Angel Project".

Even if it was just a show destined to inflict no harm on anyone, a mere act staged to fool history and cope with the so-called "historical trend"...

But she didn't even want to act.

……

"Xiao Ai, is this... really necessary?"

Last looked at Amis's right hand, which was white and slender, but one could vaguely see some pale silver steel fingers inside.

There was clearly a slight haziness between the blonde girl's fingers.

The bright moonlight shone on her fair face, but the light was slightly distorted, giving it an unnatural hazy feeling.

It was as if time and space were distorted around her.

This abnormal feeling of time and space distortion... may be extremely unfamiliar to others, but to Last, it is very familiar.

Every time he passed through the entrance to the night world, entered the remnants of history, or left the remnants of history, he would experience the same process as Amys at this moment - his body was shrouded in the night, and time and space were distorted, causing waves.

However, this was the first time that Last saw in the night world that, in addition to himself and other night travelers, the indigenous people in the remnants of history also suffered the same time and space disorder.

He understood that this must be the backlash of the so-called "historical correction force" mentioned by Amis.

In the original history, the source of the "Intelligent Scourge" was the judgement angel Amis, who should have gone out of control and slaughtered all living things indiscriminately... but at this moment she chose to recognize Rast, rewriting the original course of history.

In this case, the inertia and corrective force of history were triggered... and backfired on Amis' body, pushing all of history back onto the original, correct historical track.

However, even though the whole body is shrouded in distorted time, it becomes illusory and misty, with a hazy sense of unreality.

But Amys was still smiling.

It was the same gentle smile that Last remembered.

"Of course it's necessary."

"Even if you don't want to admit it, I know it very well..."

"Although on the outside, Rust, you always like to act profound and mysterious, precocious...but in reality, deep down in your heart, you are clearly just a fragile little boy who is afraid of loneliness."

She smiled slightly, and gently stroked the outline of Rast's face with her slender white fingers, with the cold touch of steel.

Deep in those sky-blue eyes, there was undisguised nostalgia and attachment.

"You've clearly gone through countless hardships and such a long time of exploration... after all the ups and downs along the way, you've finally arrived here."

"After a long time, I finally found the truth about Canaan, and finally I can meet him again."

"And what if this reunion after so many years ended with only the angel of judgment being controlled by the Star Grail, leaving behind only the will to destroy and ruin?"

"Even if you saw that cold killing machine, with the face of your loved one, attacking you..." "Then even if you don't say it out loud, Rust, you must be heartbroken..."

Amys cupped Luster's cheek and gently pressed his forehead against it.

All that was transmitted through my skin was the cold sensation of Amis's iron body...

But ever since being trapped in Deep Blue Harbor, there had never been a moment when Rast felt his soul so close to Amys.

It is clearly a body of flesh and steel, a human and a machine, but the temperature transmitted through the soul is so hot and so warm.

"I don't want our first reunion in the real world after so many years to end in such a ridiculous and tragic way, with us having to fight each other."

"I don't want you, Rust, to be sad and alone because you didn't see the person you expected."

"So, even if it causes backlash from the forces of historical revisionism, it doesn't matter. This is the choice I made based on my own will."

Amys leaned over to Rast's ear and whispered.

This time, her words lacked the gentleness of before, but were filled with a resolute determination.

"I can't bear to see you sad, especially because of me—"

"Therefore, this matter is non-negotiable."

Such slightly overbearing words made Last's thoughts freeze for a moment.

After a long time, he came back to his senses and nodded slightly.

Ever since being trapped in Deep Blue Harbor, Last had grown accustomed to being alone, living only for himself, and trusting only himself... To the point where, for a long time, he had forgotten what it felt like to have someone to rely on, someone to support him.

This is clearly not a burden or a nuisance, but rather a joyful thing.

However, if it was Xiao Ai...

So, being weak occasionally and choosing to rely on the other person - this doesn't seem to be a wrong option.

The desolate wind blew through the steel wreckage, and on the silent ruins only two hearts snuggled together, growing hotter and hotter.

……

"Ahem, although this may be a bit of a downer, there are some things I still want to ask you clearly. After all, given your current state, if I don't hurry up, I might not have the chance to ask you."

Dean Yin coughed lightly. "Xiao Ai, you just said that even an angel, if they traveled through time and space, would suffer the backlash of the power of historical correction..."

"Even if one is as powerful as an angel, one might be able to rewrite some details of history, but one still cannot tamper with the established historical trend..."

"So, what's the matter with him?"

Dean Yin pointed at Luster with his furry tail. "The events he personally traveled through and participated in can't be described as 'minorities'—like the Battle of the Broken Shore and the disruption of the Death God's ascension ritual. These were earth-shattering events that directly affected the course of an entire era of civilization."

"Then why has he never been affected by the forces of historical revision?"

Hearing this, Rast couldn't help but stare intently.

This was indeed his constant confusion—what he was participating in was not a reflection or a copy of history, but the real past history... This was a fact that had already been proven by Grey.

If it weren't for Rast, Gray, the current "Angel of Destiny" who led the Sixth Epoch humanity out of the Dark Ages and established a prosperous federation, might not have existed at all.

"To be honest, I don't really understand."

Amys shook her head slightly. "Although I've become an angel, ever since I participated in the 'Artificial Angel Project,' I've been sleeping at the bottom of the Watchtower... Even though I briefly woke up midway due to a loss of control and rampage, once I re-suppressed the will of the Judgment Star Cup, I sealed myself away once again and fell into a long sleep."

"This state has persisted until today... To prevent myself from deteriorating over time, I proactively cut off all contact with the outside world and plunged myself into a long, deep sleep, just to reunite with Rast in the future."

"Therefore, I'm not entirely clear on what happened later, at the turn of the Sixth and Seventh Epochs, when ancient history merged with modern civilization."

"but--"

Her fingertips brushed across Luster's face again, somewhat reluctantly: "I think these abnormalities in Luster are..."

"I guess they can't escape their relationship with the shore guards... and Sister Gray."

A hint of reminiscence flashed across Amis's azure eyes. "Any angel of the Long Order can travel back through time and space, leaving their mark on every moment of time."

"However, of all the long sequences, only 'fate' truly touches upon the laws of space and time."

"And as the Angel of Destiny, Sister Grey's control over the long river of time, over time and destiny, is far beyond the imagination of us Outer Sequence Angels—"

"However, although I don't know what happened between Sister Grey and the outside world during the time I was asleep."

"However, I can allow Last and you, Dean Yin, to witness that scene with your own eyes...everything Sister Gray faced at the end of the Sixth Epoch."

She gently lowered her eyes, watching the increasingly distorted time around her, and her increasingly illusory, even somewhat transparent body, and uttered a silent whisper.

"Because I have tampered with the original history, my current state of consciousness will not last for much longer... The power of historical correction is gradually descending, rewriting this erroneous history back on track, allowing me to return to my previous form as the rampaging angel of judgment."

"However, before the backlash of the power of history correction completely arrives, I can still use my remaining strength... to send you further back in the long river of time."

"To witness the end of the Sixth Epoch, the death of civilization—and Sister Gray's final footprint in this world."

"Those secrets I don't know are probably hidden in the final moments of that era."

Dean Yin did not react at all when hearing these farewell-like words.

However, Rast was slightly stunned.

"and many more……"

This was a reunion after many years, and he had many things he wanted to say to the girl in front of him.

Especially - the most critical and important thing.

Since Xiao Ai successfully became an angel of the judgment sequence, she has been sleeping until the seventh era, the current time node.

So, where is the place where she sealed herself and slept?
What should they do to truly meet each other again?
It is not in this ethereal past history, in the echoes of the illusory night world history—

But in the real, tangible reality.

But the next moment, he saw the blonde girl in front of him silently raised her finger and gently touched his lips.

Amys tapped Last's lips lightly, glanced at Dean Yin who had his back to the two of them, then looked at Last, and a hint of playful cunning suddenly flashed in her beautiful sky-blue eyes.

"To be honest, I don't really like occasions like this with third wheel..."

"It's obvious that all along, we have been talking in a world of just the two of us, and you belong only to me..."

Her voice suddenly rang out ethereally in Rast's heart, and only they could hear it, excluding a certain ferret in the outside world.

"So, if you want to talk more, let's go somewhere else."

"After you, Last, witness the end of the Sixth Era with your own eyes, and the final mark left by Sister Gray in this world, and discover all the truths and secrets..."

"See you in Canaan~"

(End of this chapter)