Night World Players

Chapter 223 Now, it’s my turn to follow in your footsteps
"Although there are long years between us, you are at one end of history, and I am at the other end."

"But I do know that fate has hinted at me... Brother Last, you are on the other side of time, watching me."

"Then, although it's a bit hasty-"

"But this is our final farewell."

Gray's voice flowed with time, becoming increasingly ethereal and distant, almost inaudible.

"To be honest, I feel a bit nostalgic about bidding farewell to this world and wandering forever in the deepest part of the starry sea."

"I'm also looking forward to meeting you again sometime in the future when you've grown up and become a fully mature brother, Rust."

"However, if I hadn't made this third wish, if I hadn't liberated the remnants of history recorded in the Eternal Night Stele and gathered them into a brand new, old world..."

"If I had not passed on the flame of the 'Library of Fools' to you, my young brother, Rust... and hidden you in the echoes of the night world's history, allowing you to cross the vast passage of time, awaiting the opportunity to return to the right time—"

"Then, perhaps Brother Luster, who appeared in my life like the wind and disappeared like the wind in Frozen Water Town... doesn't exist at all?"

There was no excessive sadness in her voice, only a hint of emotion and determination.

“Fate…”

"Even though I am fate's darling, the angel of this long staircase, even today, I still can't help but admire its impermanence."

"If you, Brother Luster, hadn't come to Frozen Water Town, if you hadn't reached out to me, a young, clueless creature who didn't even know how to cry out for help... then Gray, the 'Shore Keeper' and 'Angel of Destiny', wouldn't have been born."

"I will not have a real name, but instead keep the ridiculous nickname of 'Little Gray', slowly growing old in the endless fog of Frozen Water Town, until I die unknown to anyone."

"And if I hadn't made my second wish, 'Let Brother Luster come to me immediately,' when I felt despair after becoming an angel... then, Brother Luster, you wouldn't have inherited the 'Fool's Library.'"

"Perhaps, Brother Last, you will still live in that small town called 'Canaan,' marry your childhood sweetheart, have children, and grow old little by little...living a simple, ordinary, yet happy life, without ever setting foot in the extraordinary realm, nor experiencing the magnificent scenery of the future."

"Fate... is truly miraculous."

"We are connected by thousands of years, living in different eras, and should have no connection at all..."

"These things, whose logical order was completely disordered and reversed, are now intertwined like a snake with its tails, and pieced together again to form a complete closed loop."

Gray spoke recklessly, ignoring the time rushing by beside her, ignoring the historical imprints that were constantly disappearing around her... and completely ignoring her own continuous fall, from an angel to an ordinary person.

Both Luster and Gray knew clearly in their hearts that this was the end of everything, the very last.

There is no tomorrow, and there is no from now on.

This is also their last chance to talk to each other.

Perhaps in a few tens of seconds, or perhaps just a few seconds, Gray would be exiled to the deepest part of the sea of ​​stars by the torrent of fate... and Rast would be swept away by the long river of time, escaping from the echoes of the night world and returning to the correct time node that originally belonged to him.

So, at this moment, Gray let go of her pride as an angel and the leader of the shore guardians, and also let go of all distracting thoughts.

He just quietly watched the downstream of the long river of time, transformed the constantly surging hot emotions in his heart into the most sincere words, and poured them out without reservation.

"To be honest, I really can't bear to leave you, Brother Last, and I can't bear to leave this world..."

"Although the civilization of the Sixth Epoch has been shattered, there will always be new seeds that sprout, grow, and eventually bloom again on the ruins of the old civilization."

"I also want to witness that new era and new civilization with you, Brother Last, and encounter countless people and events with you."

"Of course, beside you, Brother Rust, you also have Amys by your side. If it were Xiao Ai, she would definitely be able to do better than me..."

Her voice paused slightly. "In any case, being able to say goodbye to you, Brother Luster, solemnly like this is a great comfort."

"And indeed, this is what I should do." "A soldier's mission is to pave the way for heroes with his own body," these are the words Sister Shadow Servant once told me.

"And she truly lived up to this principle. Like Leader Cecil, she used her life to pave the way forward for me, a young and naive person at the time."

"Then now, it's finally my turn."

"Grey has left her role as a 'hero,' but before I completely leave the stage, all I can do is pave the way for you, Brother Luster, and Xiao Ai, and for the next generation."

“Believe in the wisdom of future generations, believe in the power of passing on the torch—even if it was a tiny spark in the past, it will one day become a raging fire.”

"Just like what those generations of shore guards did."

In the afterglow of the brilliant and flowing stars, the gray-haired girl waved gently.

"Well then, Brother Luster."

"Finally, can you tell me the answer to that question?"

Her voice wandered in the endless starlight.

"I am now..."

"Have you become a qualified shore keeper that you can be proud of?"

……

The roaring river of time washed away the last bit of strength left in Amis and also took away Gray's unfinished words.

Rast was thus swept away by the flow of time and washed downstream in the long river of history.

In the flowing destiny and glory, the thin figure of the gray-haired girl is gradually moving away, towards the end of the sea of ​​stars.

Luster subconsciously stretched out his hand, trying to catch Gray's receding figure.

But in the end, his actions came to nothing.

Time moves slowly but cannot be reversed.

He stood upstream of the long river of time, watching Gray's back gradually go away until it disappeared.

This was the price Gray had to pay to fate after making her third wish, the ambition to "open up the night world"—

He fell from the status of an angel, lost all the marks he had left in the long river of time, and wandered forever in the deepest part of the sea of ​​stars.

"Of course, I passed."

Luster spoke softly, answering Gray's question.

Even if he knew, the answer might have long been beyond Gray's reach.

"You no longer need to use me as a role model in life."

He recalled the woman who hugged him in the fire and smiled beautifully.

"Now, it's my turn..."

"To follow the footsteps you left behind."

(End of this chapter)