I, the final BOSS of the beta test server!

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 this is exactly what I should do."

"A soldier's mission is to use his body to pave the way for heroes." This is what Sister Shadow Servant once said to 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."

Chapter 224 Even if I exhaust the entire sea of ​​stars, I will definitely find her back

The rush of time washed away Gray's last figure.

Rast looked at the end of the river and remained silent for a long time.

At this moment, all the confusion and doubts in Rast's heart... finally disappeared, completing a complete closure.

Why do the memories of the Canaan ruins always remain in my memory, and why do I still miss the woman who hugged me tightly in the fire and showed her beautiful smile?

Why, when he had just passed the certification of the Night World and became a Night Traveler, he did not awaken from nothing, but directly revived the Night Blade called "Fool's Library"?

This was naturally because the woman who hugged him tightly in the fire and called herself the "Shore Keeper" was Grey herself, Grey after she became the Angel of Destiny.

After Gray's wish was twisted by fate and led to misfortune—

Gray passed down the "Fool's Library" to her childhood self and made her third wish, opening up the night world.

Then, she hid her childhood self in the historical echoes of the night world.

These things, like the "artificial angel plan" that Grey arranged for Xiao Ai, are all her best efforts to make up for the tragedy she caused.

All this is just to correct the distorted fate of himself and Xiao Ai.

From the Sixth Era that did not belong to him and Xiao Ai, he returned to the original correct history.

However, unlike Xiao Ai, who was forced to know the truth because she was in critical condition and needed to be hospitalized... I was still young and ignorant at that time, and far from mature.

Grey was worried that she might not be ready to know the truth at that time, so she hid it all from herself.

Furthermore, in order to prevent themselves from being trapped in the echoes of history and suffering mental collapse and self-destruction due to the long cycle of time... Grey and Xiao Ai also set up a phantom land called "Canaan" as an emergency mechanism when their mental fluctuation threshold exceeds a certain point and is on the verge of collapse.

It was like a safe haven, an isolated utopia... And it was precisely because of the harbor called "Canaan" that he had been able to persevere through the long years in Deep Blue Harbor, waiting for the turning point when the echoes of history were reopened by Hiltina and the correct history was restored.

Why was it that Xiao Ai, a fellow angel, could recognize him the moment they met, even willing to defy the power of history to acknowledge him? But when he met young Grey in Frozen Water Town, Grey didn't recognize him like Xiao Ai did.

This is naturally because, at this moment, Gray has fallen from the throne of angels... and has lost her status as an angel that is omnipresent and exists in every moment of history.

The person he had met in the echoes of history was not the self-projection of the "Angel of Destiny" Grey, but an ordinary human girl named Grey.

In the present world after the night world, at the current time point, Gray has been exiled by fate and is still wandering in the deepest part of the starry sea.

……

The world is silent, leaving only the long river of time around still roaring and echoing forever.

In the end, it was Dean Yin who took the initiative to speak and broke the eerie silence.

"I say, we don't really need to make the atmosphere so heavy, right?"

It shook its big, furry, snow-white tail and gently swept it across Rast's cheek, making him feel itchy.

"As the price of a wish to fate, an exchange of equal value... Little Gray will indeed have her angel's mark erased from history and be banished to the depths of space, the very depths of the sea of ​​stars."

"But this doesn't mean goodbye forever."

Dean Yin paused for a moment, and stared into the eyes of Rast beside him with his ruby-like eyes.

"Since exile to the depths of the starry sea is the price demanded of me for the 'birth of the night world'..."

"Then if one day you are able to completely clear the entire Night World, this equivalent exchange will naturally no longer exist."

"And little Gray will be able to break free from the shackles of this starry sky. Then—"

"Perhaps, you can meet again."

Listening to Dean Yin's words, Last couldn't help but smile.

"I understand, Dean Yin."

"So, you still don't understand the Shore Guardians... I'm not as fragile as you think."

"The so-called shore guardian is someone who has experienced failure over and over again, fallen into despair, and yet has been able to stand up again and again."

"Regardless of the situation, as long as we clear the Night World, we might be able to rescue Gray."

"Besides, even if clearing the Night World doesn't free her, it doesn't matter."

His gaze lingered for a long time at the end of the sea of ​​stars.

"In the final analysis, whether it's falling from the throne of angels, losing one's 'uniqueness,' being eternally exiled, wandering in the deepest reaches of the starry sea...it's all just a twist on the so-called fate, the so-called laws of the world."

"And fate is something that is born to be trampled underfoot."

"If the sixth level isn't enough, then become a legend. If legend isn't enough, then become an angel..."

"If even angels cannot fight fate, then I will surpass all myths of the past and present and become the strongest one, ruling over all angels."

"Even if I search every corner of the universe and the end of the sea of ​​stars, I will definitely find her back."

"But, having said that..."

Last's gaze withdrew from the depths of the sea of ​​stars and fell back on Dean Yin beside him: "I still have to thank you, Dean Yin."

"Just now, Dean Yin, you were worried that I was in a bad mood and giving up on myself because of my separation from Gray, so you were comforting me in your own way, right?"

"You seem so unreliable normally, but even when the murderous angel Xiao Ai appeared before me, Dean Yin didn't just abandon me and run away. Instead, you stood by me."

"Thank you."

"I must retract my previous assessment. Dean Yin, as a professor at Star University, is quite reliable at critical moments."

"you……"

Hearing what Rast said, all the hair on Dean Ferret's body stood up and exploded on the spot.

"I...I'm not saying this just to comfort you!"

"Stupid, stupid, stupid...idiot!"

"By the way, Dean Yin, your textbook display of tsundere is as reliable as ever."

Chapter 225: The Echo of the Era, the Disaster of the Intelligent Machine, Cleared

"Ahem, ahem, anyway, let's stop talking about this nonsense!"

Dean Yin shook his tail and coughed lightly, ending the topic of who is the ceiling of the tsundere textbook in the long river of time.

Its ruby-like animal eyes paused slightly above the time flowing around it.

"The Angel of Judgment... the power that little Amis left in us is about to be exhausted."

"Laster, what are you going to do next?"

"Should I find a way to return to the previous historical echoes and continue to improve this mission evaluation, or should I just leave the night world and return to reality?"

Dean Yin proposed two options.

The echoes of the era they entered this time were different from the most common historical echoes in the night world.

In the Reverberations of the Era, the final Night World quest evaluation and rewards are not only based on the completion of the main and side quests, but also based on the various actions of the Night Travelers in the Reverberations of History.

The greater the degree of change to the original plot of Historical Echoes, the greater the reward.

Therefore, after ensuring the completion of the main quest, many night travelers will choose the option of brushing points in the Echoes of the Era to seek higher-level night world settlement rewards.

However, after listening to Dean Yin's rather tempting proposal, Last just shook his head slightly.

"no need."

"Even if we were to travel back to the moment of this historical reverberation... all we would see would be an army of omnics, disrupted by the Judgment Star Grail, running amok and reduced to killing machines, and the ruins of cities completely destroyed by the omnic scourge."

He smiled. "Indeed, helping those who have entered the secondary dimensional shelter rebuild their homes, or annihilating the omnic armies roaming the ruins of cities on the western continent... these things might all help improve the final mission score."

"But, to be honest—after experiencing so much, and knowing so many secrets buried deep in the dust of history..."

Luster said calmly, "I am indeed a little tired."

"So, let's end this time's Echoes of the Epoch."

"tired?"

Dean Yin glanced at Last beside him in surprise, and said with a hint of disbelief: "I really can't believe you said this word."

After all, in Dean Yin's impression, Last had always given people the impression of a robot who was resolute, unscrupulous, and prioritized efficiency in everything he did...