I, the final BOSS of the beta test server!

[Night travelers are requested to choose to exit the Echoes of the Era or continue to stay in it.]

At this moment, in Rast's mind, rows of azure light screens were slowly flashing.

The "Era Echoes", which can only be entered from the Final Night World of the Arcana Tower, have different clearance requirements from the Historical Echoes at other night world entrances.

The night travelers who choose to enter the Echoes of the Era will take a historical event that directly interferes with the progress of civilization as the background of the times, and will personally participate in this major historical event as a part of it.

And they don't have to meet the specified mission time limit or fulfill certain mission requirements like other historical echoes before they can successfully complete the mission and exit... They only need to ensure that the historical event advances to a certain extent, or that their participation in the historical event reaches a certain value, and they can directly meet the mission requirements of clearing the night world.

And at this moment——

As an undercover agent of the Shore Keeper lurking among the Grave Keepers, he became the new king of the Underworld... He presided over the ceremony of the Holy Scripture, and at the ascension ceremony of the resurrection of the old Death God, he single-handedly crushed the Grave Keeper's plan to resurrect the Death God, and even directly killed the half-body of a legendary rank.

That incarnation of abundance housed half of Noah's spiritual power. After it was destroyed, Noah's body, having lost half of his spiritual power, would inevitably become sluggish... and it might even have an impact on the situation in the Battle of the Broken Coast on the other side.

After performing so many earth-shaking feats, Last's historical change value in this Night World mission had naturally already reached the mission requirements... Although the score of this Night World mission has not yet been calculated, according to Last's own prediction, it will definitely be an "EX" rating.

He was originally a night traveler who did not belong to the Sixth Epoch. He only needed to choose to withdraw from the night world before the light of destruction completely extinguished the remaining power of the Abyss. Everything left in the night world, including the legendary battle that broke out on the Broken Coast, would no longer have anything to do with him.

And Rast himself was able to return to reality safely.

only……

Last closed his eyes silently, feeling his broken body drifting like a small boat in the roaring waves of light.

In the last bit of time that he could stay in the Night World while the power of the Nether Abyss was still exhausted, Last was thinking about and summarizing his experience in the Night World.

As early as the previous few times he entered the night world and participated in the remnants of history, Last had discovered some clues, an abnormality that was unique to him.

When ordinary night travelers enter the night world, the historical echoes they experience are nothing more than illusory reflections... They are similar to replicas, which can be reproduced infinitely. When the night traveler exits, the replica will also be closed, leaving no trace.

but--

Rast is different.

At the very beginning, the Deep Blue Harbor copy he entered for some inexplicable reason was a night world that would never truly close no matter how it cycled.

And in the subsequent process after he left Deep Blue Port, this abnormality became increasingly prominent.

However, Cecil will know about Rast's experience of stopping the God's arrival in Deep Blue Harbor and record it in the shorekeeper's file at the Watchtower.

The little girl with gray hair who had been saved from the aftermath of the disaster in Frozen Water Town and given a name by me, the little animal-like girl...

But in another night world, I will meet myself again in the watchtower ten years later, and when we meet, I will still remember every moment we spent together.

The only explanation that Last could come up with for all these anomalies was—

What I have experienced is not just a simple copy of the old days, but a real past.

What he was experiencing was not the echo of history, but the real history that took place in the Sixth Epoch...

And everything Rast did was to travel through time and space as a night traveler, rewriting the past and personally writing the historical process of the previous era.

Based on the information he had, Rast couldn't directly come up with a clear answer as to why he was able to travel through time and space.

The only guess that can be made is -

All these changes and anomalies may be related to his Night Blade called "Fool's Library" and the inherent skill called "Origin of Destiny" that he obtained from Gray and cannot be canceled.

The Shore Guardian organization of the Sixth Epoch and the woman who saved him from the ruins of Canaan in his childhood memories must have the same origin.

And his own Night Blade, the "Fool's Library", also came from the inheritance of the Shore Keepers. It was the fire that the original Shore Keepers had stolen from the Grave Keepers and passed down from generation to generation.

Because he traveled through time and space, there were supposed to be only one spark of fire, but there were two of them in the Sixth Epoch, and they now belonged to him and Little Grey respectively.

After understanding this preliminary information——

Long before Last entered the echoes of history, he had already set two goals for his trip to the night world.

The first goal that Last set for himself was to give Grey a profound lesson, the experience of failure.

Even on that rainy night three years ago, Gray had already tasted the bitter wine of betrayal... and in those three years, she had undergone a transformation, becoming mature and learning to become stronger.

However, this is far from enough.

Whether compared with the current leader of the Shore Watchers, Cecil, or the enemies she will face and the missions she will shoulder as the next Shore Watcher... Gray still seems too young and immature, and still has many unrealistic fantasies in her heart.

After all, before this, no matter what Grey had experienced, including the betrayal on that rainy night...she always had Cecil as her backer to protect her.

Therefore, she still lacked a complete failure and had never experienced the despair engraved deep in her soul.

Therefore, Luster designed the battle with Gray on the Paradise Scripture and the conversation in which he confessed everything to her.

When the unique sequence of "fate", when the strongest trump card "the library of fools", when all the unique skills and techniques you have painstakingly cultivated are also possessed by the enemy, and even used better than you...

When the enemy claims to be from the future and tells you that the shore guardians are destined to a dead end in the future that will no longer exist...

When you have seen the darkest night...

Can the ideals you once believed in, the beliefs you once held, and the bright and burning fire in your heart still remain unshakable?

This is the test that Luster sets for Grey.

The darkness that swallowed up the light and the deepest despair were exactly the nights that all the shore keepers, including Last himself, had faced in the past years.

And only after experiencing such failure and despair can one still stand up again and move forward again with the glimmer of light in one's heart... Only after passing such a test can Grey truly bear the name of "Shore Keeper" and become Cecil's true successor.

And in the end, Rast successfully achieved this goal.

The feeling of being defeated without any resistance, the pain of being betrayed by Lust twice, the despair of feeling that her own world was nothing but an illusory bubble...all of these would become the food that would propel Gray to grow, making her stronger and ultimately the power to climb to the top of the world.

Let her complete the final transformation and rebirth——

Even if he loses the support and dependence of himself and Cessel, he can still walk on the path of the shore guardian unwaveringly on his own and shoulder the weight of the fate of human civilization in the Sixth Epoch.

……

The second mission goal that Rast set for himself this time was to rescue Akshia from the deepest part of the abyss.

At the same time, everything left behind by the old god of death, whether it was the underworld, the abyss, the remains of the old god, the star cup, the authority... everything was buried.

Because only in this way, in the years to come, can Axia truly get rid of the identity of "descendant of the god of death, perfect vessel", and live in the world as an ordinary human girl.

Only in this way can Rast write a happy ending for the unfinished fairy tale...

This is not only for Axia, but also for the redemption of Rast himself——

"Fairy tales are fake, but love is real." Since this story originated from lies and deception, even this illusory emotion can eventually have a happy ending...

Then, even if one day - my own utopia, that Canaan between the night world and reality, dissipates like bubbles and is proven to be false.

Then, between himself and Amis, who was not sure whether it was real or fake, there was still an emotion called "love" that could be left.

At the same time, rescuing Akshia is also to complete the cycle of history.

The souls of Rast and Axia do not belong to this era, but for some unknown reason, they have entered the history of the Sixth Epoch as impurities... Only by returning these impurities to their original era and achieving a closed loop of history can many things avoid being drastically changed by the butterfly effect.

And now, Axia has returned the correct history.

All the mission goals that Last had set for himself have been successfully achieved.

His mission in the night world has ended, and it is time to prepare to leave.

"only--"

"I still feel a little regretful..."

Looking at his own dilapidated mental world where only gears were turning in the red wasteland, Last felt the most primitive throbbing in his heart and spoke the words of obeying his heart.

This is a feeling that the past him, the Last who moved like a machine, would never express.

In a mechanical code that prioritizes operational efficiency, the emotion of regret has no positive value other than causing meaningless self-consumption.

Apart from the necessary actions to achieve the goal, everything else can be discarded... This has been the code of conduct in Rast's past life, so he will not sigh unnecessarily, nor will he have worthless and unnecessary emotions such as regret.

but--

For him now, for Last, who had encountered Amis, Hiltina, Dean Yin... and so many people and things in Star University, and whose heart was gradually sprouting green in the red wilderness.

This is his most real and vivid feeling at this moment.

What a pity...

“I was unable to witness the farewell of Leader Sissel.”

"I wasn't able to... say goodbye to Little Gray properly one last time."

Luster gently stroked his left heart, feeling the clear and distinct heartbeat that slowly beat in his chest.

Not as a machine driven by gears, but as the heartbeat and pulse of a human being.

"From now on, we may not be able to see each other for many years."

"And during this time, she will have to live alone with her hatred and resentment towards me."

"He was clearly a little fellow who loved to cry and was terrified of loneliness—yet he had to shoulder the fate of the entire Shore Guardians and the Epoch on his fragile shoulders."

"It really is……"

“It’s a bit worrying.”

The last ray of dimness in the abyss was also swallowed by the light. Last's mind moved slightly, and he was about to choose the option of "escaping the night world" on the blue light curtain.

His whispers disappeared in the flowing light and were never heard by anyone.

The dim divine power was about to disappear, and the curtain of dark night quietly emerged in Rast's vision, enveloping him in silence.

This is a sign of leaving the night world. When the gauze-like night completely obscures Last's vision, it means that he will completely leave the night world and return to reality.

But at this moment, he heard a voice.

A voice pierced through the sky and the earth, penetrated the rock strata and the earth's crust, ignored the rushing light, and rang directly in Rast's ears.

"Don't you want to see that little girl one last time... tell her the truth and clear up the misunderstanding between you?"

"Are you really willing to leave alone like this, returning to your own time and space, without even being able to say a complete goodbye?"

"Don't you feel regretful about this ending?"

"If you feel regret, then stand up and make up for it with your own hands."

Along with the resounding voice that permeated the heavens and the earth, an old figure like a lion descended.

In the dark crack that suddenly appeared, the sun's light illuminated the curtain of eternal night.

The torrent of light was torn apart.

In front of the brilliant and shining sun, the Zenith Sword was dim, like a firefly in front of the bright moon.

This scene is just like the setting sun over a long river.

Cecil flashed in front of Rast, facing the holy sword that fell from the sky to the earth - the "solidified divine punishment" in ancient legends.

"But it is……"

"It's just a punishment from heaven!"

Chapter 165: Survive and hold on until the epic ending (5k)

A feeling of weakness spread from the depths of his soul, and the last bit of the power of the god of death in the underworld that had previously protected Last had been exhausted at this moment.

The curtain of night was silently enveloping him. According to past experience, this was a sign that the Night Traveler was about to completely leave the night world.

however--

Last had experienced this countless times. The process of exiting the night world, which he should have been accustomed to, was abruptly interrupted by some powerful external force.

It was as if a bright sun was rising at the end of the long, dim river.

The brilliant sun obscured the glory of the holy sword and shone at the end of the zenith.

The unkempt old man stood in front of Rast, facing the majesty of the sword on the top of the sky.

next moment--

The holy sword, which was falling from the end of the sky with gravity as its bowstring, slowly stopped in front of the old man.

The Zenith Sword, which had pierced through oceans and mountains, penetrated the earth's crust, and annihilated the royal city of Paradise, the entire Netherworld, and the legendary incarnation of abundance, was now blocked by the old man alone, and could no longer advance an inch.

Followed by.

The Sword of Scourge, which was made of a plastic heraldic ceremonial garment and a high-strength composite alloy, was designed from the beginning to be able to withstand the attacks of any legendary figure without being damaged. Suddenly, a crack appeared on its surface.

Then, it shattered in the corona of the shining sun and turned into a part of the brilliant sunlight.

Thousands of metal fragments scattered and turned into scattered silver-white light spots, scattered in the flowing light.