Night World Players

Chapter 248 In this day and age, what is false may be true, and what is true may be false.
The afternoon sun was warm, and a gentle breeze blew in through the open window.

Inside the hospital room, Hiltina held Rust's hand and poured out her heart.

The golden, tranquil moments slipped away little by little as the sun set in the west.

……

In the hallway outside the room, Ophelia silently watched everything that was happening through the isolation window of the ward.

Above her head, Dean Yin wagged his tail in slight surprise:
"I never imagined that little Tina would harbor such deep feelings for Last... almost to the point of being unforgettable."

"If I hadn't witnessed it with my own eyes, I really wouldn't have believed it."

"No, not at least not two years ago."

Ophelia shook her head slightly.

"I know Sister Wang too well; no one understands her better than me."

"Back then, before that unfinished wedding... my sister's feelings for Brother Last, while including romantic attraction, were mostly admiration, trust, and sympathy for each other as fellow pursuers of ideals."

"I have no doubt that this affection will eventually blossom and bear fruit, and Sister Wang and Brother Last will get together—but it is still lacking the tempering of time and the sedimentation of years to be a truly unforgettable, life-and-death love."

"But now it's hard to say."

Ophelia's gaze remained fixed on the ward, her tone distant.

"Even without Sister Wang and that wedding, Brother Last would probably have fired that shot and killed the quasi-angel who guarded the tomb."

“But in my sister’s eyes, Brother Last was in a vegetative state because of her... It was her confusion and weakness at that time that caused him to lie in bed and fall into this state of being neither alive nor dead.”

"Memories can beautify a person. Every time I visit the hospital, the guilt and feelings in my heart ferment my emotions. When the pain is deep, the sweetness is also deep."

"Memories are gradually eroded, and time adds its own embellishment. Two years have passed, how could Sister Wang possibly sort out the feelings in her heart..."

"In this day and age, falsehood is taken for truth, and truth is taken for falsehood."

Above Ophelia's head, Dean Yin stared wide-eyed in astonishment.

"Little Liya, I'm starting to look at you in a new light."

“Even I, a magical creature of the ‘Moon’ sequence, cannot perceive human emotions as clearly as you.”

Ophelia smiled and said, "After all, Dean Yin and Brother Last both said I'm a sister-complex, so as a sister-complex person... naturally I need to know my sister and the people around her very well."

"If I didn't even have this ability to see through people's hearts, how could I have made those nobles tremble at the mere mention of my name in the past?"

"Is it--"

Dean Yin scratched his head with his tail: "And what about you?"

"This cunning brat who claims to be able to see through people's hearts... can he even understand his own true nature?"

Ophelia did not respond, but remained silent, gazing at the ward through the isolation window.

"That fragment of the Epoch Stone seems to be taking effect," she changed the subject.

"Hmm, as expected of the hub of the Mystic Tower, even a fragment of a stone tablet can draw upon the power of the Night World."

"In a way, thanks to the effect of that stone fragment, this ward has actually been transformed into an entrance to the Night World—a passage that only those who resonate deeply with the Night World can enter."

Dean Yin didn't bring up the previous matter again, but returned to his previous lazy and indolent state, and spoke languidly.

"With the Night World as a medium, Rast's soul was able to break free from the limitations of his still barren and incomplete physical body and enter the Night World directly."

Although the official explanation given to Hiltina was that the soul healing plan proposed by Star University was the one being discussed.

However, the act of secretly bringing the fragments of the Epoch Stone Tablet that had fallen off the Mystic Tower to Last's ward was actually a plan secretly carried out by Dean Yin and Ophelia.

They managed to deceive Hiltina, as well as the numerous informants scattered around the hospital who were constantly monitoring Hiltina's movements.

"So, Dean Yin also believes... that Brother Rust's soul has been revived, but he can't wake up in reality because his body is still broken?"

Ophelia asked.

"Rather than saying I think Rast has been resurrected... it's more accurate to say that his soul was never truly extinguished."

Dean Yin yawned: "Those have survived since the old era—"

"Neither the purgatory of time loops, nor the corruption of evil gods, nor the reversal of the Iron Cross could shake its steel-like, unyielding spirit."

"How could the mere fatal wound inflicted by 'Fantasy Collapse' possibly kill that soul returning from hell, or extinguish that sneer of iron will?"

"The reason that kid became a vegetable and fell into a long sleep is simply because his broken body, which is like ruins, cannot match the strength of his soul at this moment."

"But for Rust, this is not actually a bad thing."

Dean Yin's voice paused slightly.

"The reason he fired that shot, besides hunting the gravedigger and helping Tina understand her true self, was also to forge his own legendary path."

"The power of the 'Library of Fools' is all-encompassing and all-encompassing... This was the foundation of Rust's past strength, enabling him to fight beyond his level and reach the peak of the sixth rank in less than a year. However, when facing the insurmountable barrier of the legendary realm, it also became a shackle hindering his further progress."

"The past owners of the 'Library of Fools,' the guardians of the shore throughout history, whether it was Gray or Cisel... after reaching the sixth rank, often needed to spend more than ten years searching for their own unique path within the vast world of the 'Library of Fools.'"

“But Little Last’s method was much more brutal and decisive.”

"His 'Tower' is inherently a long sequence of steps symbolizing destruction, chaos, disorder, and loss of control."

"Therefore, Rast simply destroyed and rebuilt everything he owned, both the sequence itself and the 'Library of Fools'."

Dean Yin pointed with his big, fluffy tail at Rust, who was sleeping soundly in the ward.

"His current physical condition appears dilapidated... After the tower collapsed, only a desolate wasteland remained."

"But in reality, beneath that desolate wasteland, something entirely new is being conceived."

"One day, on that desolate ruin, a new tower will be rebuilt... a legendary path that depends on nothing external, untouched by the traces of others, a path uniquely his own." "And at that time, that boy will awaken—"

"The moment to break through the legend, even to become an angel."

Dean Yin blinked his ruby-like beast eyes: "Of course, if you can't wait for him to wake up... you can also try to use the Night World as a medium to directly enter his mind and communicate with his soul."

"If I'm not mistaken, that guy's soul has already completed its transformation and reached the legendary level—it's just waiting for its body to complete its transformation as well, and for the moment it ascends the tower."

As he spoke, Dean Yin shook his head with some regret: "It's a pity I'm not human, so I can't be certified as a Night Traveler. The only time I entered the Night World was when that kid smuggled me in."

"Otherwise, I'd have to go to Nightworld and chat with that kid for a bit... I really feel a bit lost without him. While Tina and Shia are impeccable as meal tickets, they're both too serious and can't catch the jokes and punchlines I throw out."

"He's fast asleep right there, and I'm so bored I could die."

Dean Yin uttered a resentful complaint.

All I can say is that these people really don't know how to care for elderly mink living alone.

Upon hearing this, Ophelia nodded: "Then, Dean Silver, I'll try entering the Night World first."

This was a plan that Ophelia and Dean Silver, along with their sable, had discussed from the beginning: to create a miniature Night World passage in the ward using fragments of the Epoch Stone.

Then, using the night world as a medium, one enters and communicates with Raste's inner world.

"Okay, go ahead, I'll keep watch for you."

"I'll let you know when Tina is done... but based on experience, she'll probably stay here until sunset."

Dean Yin casually wagged his tail.

Hiltina makes time every week to visit the boy in the hospital and stay with him in his ward from noon until dark. This has become a regular part of her life, without fail.

Seeing this, Ophelia also retreated to the end of the corridor, to the edge of the entrance to the miniature night world in the ward.

Then, with a slight thought, she gently touched another small fragment that she carried with her.

In the next instant, the night, like a thin veil, quietly rose and enveloped Ophelia.

When Ophelia's consciousness returned, she was greeted by a completely new world.

On the distant horizon, burning flames are leaping.

In the gloomy sky, countless enormous gears, obscuring the sun, were interlocked and slowly rotating.

This is a world like an ironworks, with nothing but a hazy, dilapidated town on the red wasteland and a giant gear slowly rotating at the end of the gloomy sky...

Ophelia knew that this was the inner world of Raste, a mental landscape manifested by his soul.

And the black-haired, black-eyed boy stood beneath the dark sky, riddled with gears, at the heart of that crimson wasteland.

He was wearing a pure black trench coat, and his slender figure was exactly the same as Ophelia remembered.

"Although we had discussed various contingency plans with Dean Yin before the hunt began..."

"But it's still quite nice to see familiar faces again after two years."

As if he had anticipated Ophelia's arrival, the black-haired boy watched the slowly emerging girl and smiled.

"Long time no see, Ophelia. You are much more charming now than you were two years ago."

"Yes, it has been a long time, Brother Last."

Ophelia lifted her skirt and returned a standard aristocratic curtsy.

She noticed that Rust was noticeably more gentle now than he was two years ago—not insincere, but a change that came from within.

Ophelia had never noticed before that within the boy's heart, which was as persistent as a demon and as resilient as steel, there was such a soft side.

After a brief exchange, Ophelia recounted the many changes that had occurred in the Empire and Star University since Last fell into slumber.

"So, should I tell Sister Wang that Brother Last's soul has been awakened?"

Upon hearing this, Last shook his head slightly.

"While I really want to meet Hiltina, there's still one last step before my body truly recovers and I complete my transformation into a legend."

"Since that's the case, I might as well wait until I'm really awake and then give her a surprise in reality."

"in addition--"

He paused slightly before continuing, "If I'm not mistaken..."

"Hiltina, and the Granville Empire, are probably now being targeted by some ill-intentioned individuals lurking in the shadows."

"After all, I caused such a commotion in the capital, killing a tomb guardian quasi-angel, and Hiltina so publicly declared the Holy Sword to be her master, announcing her identity as the future empress."

"If the Tomb Keepers and the other countries of the Western Continent remain indifferent, then they are being far too patient."

Upon hearing this, Ophelia nodded slightly, tacitly agreeing with Rust's statement.

As the saying goes, "The tallest tree in the forest is bound to be felled by the wind," and the Holy Sword recognized its master again after a thousand years, with Hiltina achieving legendary status in a very short time.

Furthermore, Hiltina refused to compromise and directly announced to the world that the person who hunted down the tomb guardian angel was under the protection of the Empire, and anyone who dared to harm Rast would be hunted down to the ends of the earth by the Empire.

This is tantamount to declaring war on the tomb guardians, which would not only lead to a fight to the death but would also provoke hostility from other countries in the Western Continent.

The empire was already so powerful when Aaron was in power, and now the royal family has gained Hiltina, the youngest legend in the history of the Western Continent. Not only has she been recognized as the master of the Holy Sword, but she has also purged the empire in a very short time and unified the previously scattered royal power.

If things continue to develop this way, the other countries of the Western Continent will never have a chance to rise to prominence.

Therefore, the capital city may seem calm on the surface now, but this is merely the calm before the storm.

In the shadows, a massive storm was already brewing and gathering, centered on the capital city and Hiltina.

(End of this chapter)