Fool's Library

She wiped away her tears: "But a father has to be much older than his child to be a father... You're about my age, so you can't be my father at all."

"What you said is not wrong."

Not far away, the little boy looked quite distressed.

"I finally came up with a way to stop you from committing suicide and save your life, but I never expected that we would get stuck here."

"I even put a lot of thought into it and made up my mind to take on the responsibilities of a father."

……

Beside her, Amys reached out and wiped away the tears on her face.

She looked at the little boy in front of her, who had a troubled expression, and smiled silently.

At some point, the grief and pain of losing her parents, as well as the irritability and rejection, all vanished from Amy's heart.

She stole a glance at the black-haired boy beside her, feeling a strange, warm emotion slowly flowing through her heart.

Although what the other party possesses is nothing more than a foolish, naive, and stupid ideal.

but.

Amys gently moved a few steps closer to the boy, then stole another glance at him—

His profile was shrouded in the dim moonlight, his features distinct and deep.

"It really is... dazzling."

Emmys murmured silently to the moonlight streaming down from the end of the cave.

That's right, from the very beginning, Amys knew perfectly well—

The burning and glorious ideal that belonged to Rust did not actually originate entirely from his sister Grey.

Long before the real Canaan, before there were superhumans, before the night world, before the library of fools... before all of this had happened.

At just six years old, Rust, an ordinary child in a small town, already dreams of becoming a "partner of justice" and is willing to risk his life to cross a mountain torrent and rescue a little girl he has only met a few times from a cave.

And Amys was the first person to witness firsthand the brilliance of Rust's ideals.

As for what happened later, inheriting the "Library of Fools" and becoming the guardian of the shore... it was just a natural development that the little boy inevitably experienced in the process of carrying out his dreams and beliefs.

For Amys, beliefs such as "partner of justice" and "guardian of the shore" were not very convincing.

However, she felt that the figure who was willing to take action for such a naive ideal when he was a child and persisted in it throughout his life was glorious and dazzling.

So, on that very day, she made a vow in her heart that no one knew about.

If a country girl named Amys also has a dream she wants to realize...

So, what is her dream?

It means being able to protect that boy forever, to safeguard his path of pursuing his dreams until the very end...

Until death will separate them.

Chapter 255 The Hero Who Will Come to Save Me If I Cry Out

For Raste, the experience of going to the cave to find Amys was just a fragment of his childhood life in Canaan.

Having lost both parents at a young age, the boy was raised by the adults in the town. Out of gratitude for their help and because he admired and longed for the knight stories in fairy tales, he sincerely wanted to become a "friend of justice".

Caring for the elderly, helping women care for newborns, lending a hand when the shop is busy, and searching for missing children in the mountains with the adults...

Although these were just trivial matters that happened in daily life, Rust had already put this ideal into action at the age of only six.

They found the missing Amy in the cave and spent a difficult night with her as she was distraught. When the floodwaters receded the next day, the adults came up the mountain to rescue her. For the black-haired boy, these events were just an insignificant microcosm of his pursuit of his ideals, and nothing particularly noteworthy.

However, it was different for Amys.

On that rainy night without stars.

In that dark, cramped, damp, and cold cave.

In her heart, Amy made a promise to protect that boy forever.

Even though that border town was later destroyed in the disaster of time-space collapse, turning into ruins and never to exist again.

Even though Rast had left her, losing most of his memories and going to a very, very far place, only in occasional moments, in the liminal space between the night world and reality, in that illusory dream... could Amys see that boy again, and feel the warmth of their hands clasped tightly together, their skin touching.

Yet she still held fast to this vow.

So even though the aftereffects of the spacetime collapse were severe and unbearable, and even though an overdose of painkillers had no effect, leaving her to lie in bed suffering unbearable pain, Amy never uttered a sound of pain.

So when her sister Grey proposed the "Artificial Angel Project," a project destined to be bleak and agonizing, Amy agreed without hesitation.

So even when she was in unbearable pain, filled with confusion and cowardice, she never showed it at all when she met Raste. Instead, she always presented a facade of gentleness, strength, and resilience.

This was done so that, instead of adding extra psychological burden to Rust who had already lost his memory, Rust could always see his most perfect and best self in the memories they recreated together.

All for the hope that one day, I can meet that boy again in the future.

However, even now...

Such persistence, such constant bravado, is finally coming to an end.

Amys could sense that the vast majority of her spiritual world had been completely devoured by the will of the Judgment Star Cup, by the embodiment of Heavenly Principle.

Whether it's her power as an angel or her memories, most of them have been taken away by the other party.

The angel of judgment, born after devouring her soul, memories, and emotions, and possessing an appearance identical to her own, has completely taken over the body and the world of her mind.

Although Amys carefully hid her most primal spiritual and emotional imprints, along with her most important memories of Raste, in the deepest corner of her inner world—in the small cave behind the dilapidated Canaan town, a place of special significance to Amys.

However, this was ultimately just a matter of prolonging its existence.

No matter how ugly the struggle, no matter how much one curls up in a dark corner, this game of cat and mouse will eventually come to an end.

In fact, this is the only natural reality. How could the insignificant soul of an ordinary human being possibly stand against the lofty principles of Heaven?

Rather, it's more accurate to say that the fact that Amys was able to maintain her sense of self for so long without being completely consumed is a small miracle.

click-

She heard a crisp sound, like something breaking, coming from the depths of her soul.

The moonlight at the cave entrance disappeared, and even the scenery inside the cave began to blur, eventually leaving only a void of darkness.

Amys knew that this was a sign that her mind was gradually collapsing and that her self-awareness was about to disappear completely.

I can finally admit defeat.

The thought crossed her mind.

For some reason, when this thought arose in her mind, Amys felt a sense of relief, as if her soul had been released.

In the cold and oppressive foundation of the night world, slumbering in a lightless tomb for an entire era, nearly ten thousand years of waiting, and the struggle in the face of the will of the Judgment Star Cup...

Such torment far exceeded the limits that a little girl from the countryside could endure; it was simply too exhausting.

Now Amys can finally admit defeat, because she is about to die.

From this day forward, the girl named "Amys" will cease to exist, and in her place will be the glorious and dazzling angel of judgment who possesses Amys's appearance.

"As expected..."

"No matter how strong you try, no matter how hard you try to disguise yourself."

"But in the end, I still can't become someone like Miss Hiltina, who always believed in herself and was beautiful and dazzling."

Inside the cave, in the endless darkness devoid of light, Amys heard the broken voice of her own heart.

No matter how much she disguises herself or dons a glamorous exterior, Amys's true nature is still that of an ordinary village girl living in a small rural town.

Unlike those glorious heroes who have the conviction to see things through to the end, even if it means death, and never regret their mistakes, she is cowardly, confused, and sometimes fantasizes about her beloved reaching out to her in times of despair.

So, two years ago.

On her deathbed before the Canaan illusion shattered, she parted ways with that boy for the last time.

Unable to suppress her inner urges, Amys pleaded with Rust, "You absolutely must come and save me."

"If it were Miss Hiltina..."

"Then she wouldn't have asked Rust for help under any circumstances."

Amy felt a surge of indescribable bitterness and regret welling up inside her.

She knew that as long as she sent out that cry for help, no matter how difficult the journey or how many obstacles lay in her way, that person would definitely overcome all difficulties and dangers to come and save her.

After all, that's just the kind of person a boy is.

As a "guardian of the shore" and a "partner of justice," the other party will surely respond to this cry for help and become the hero who will come to her rescue whenever she cries out.

However, this is clearly just a selfish act.

Only when Rust truly ascends to the Legendary level can he be free from the constraints of the Night World's matchmaking rules and successfully anchor himself to the Night World Echoes where Amys is sealing herself, by providing the spatial coordinates he himself gives to the other party.

But how long will that take?

Amys had no doubt about the boy's talent and potential. Whether it was legendary, angelic, or even higher realms above angels, given time, Amys believed that Rast would be able to reach them.

But that takes time, it requires the passage of years.

Even for someone as exceptionally talented as Gray, who ultimately became a true genius among the Angels of Destiny, it still took her more than five years to take that final step from the peak of the sixth rank to the legendary level.

As for Amys, she couldn't possibly hold on for another five years.

At this moment, her soul was on the verge of collapse, and it was in danger of being completely annihilated at any time, never to wake up again.

Of course, the mere thought of dying herself wouldn't have caused Amys such panic—she had already resigned herself to death long ago, after learning about her terminal illness caused by the time-space collapse and after accepting the "artificial angel" project proposed by her sister Grey.

What she was more worried about was the boy who, even after her soul dissipated, still overcame countless difficulties to find the Night World and save her.

Because of his momentary cowardice and fear, he dragged Rust into such a dangerous situation.

They were forced to enter this dangerous mental world, which was now completely controlled by the Angels of Judgment.

At that time, he, whose own rank is only legendary, will have to face a Judgment Angel in his prime, which is a truly hopeless situation.

If only I hadn't asked Rast for help.

Such a feeling of regret arose involuntarily in Amy's mind, then quickly expanded and occupied her entire being.

However... things may not necessarily develop that way.

A slight tremor ran through Amys's heart.

She recalled the angel of judgment, formed from the will of the Star Cup, who had the exact same appearance as her, but was far more beautiful and powerful.

As the erosion of the mind's world progresses, the Angel of Judgment is gradually devouring the memories that Amys possesses, and is becoming more and more like herself.

In this long tug-of-war, the will of Heaven, which was formed from the Star Cup, mentioned more than once that the relationship between Heaven and the Guardians was not entirely hostile, but rather there was a possibility of cooperation.

In that case.

If one were to give up struggling and resisting, and instead hand over the last remaining primordial imprint and memories to the other party, allowing the angel of judgment to devour them...

Then, the high and mighty angel of judgment will be able to truly become a new "Amys," possessing all her own intellect and memories.

At that time, Raste will also be able to receive assistance from an angel or even from the laws of nature.

That angel of judgment will undoubtedly be more powerful and more dazzling than himself... At that time, the boy will be able to receive incredibly strong assistance on his path to realizing his ideal of becoming a "Guardian".

That's right.

If Amys truly wanted to help the boy, then the best option would be for her to give up struggling completely and let the angel of judgment devour her.

only……

I don't know why.

When Amys imagined Rast entering the world of mental images and then reuniting with the angel of judgment.

Imagine that standing next to that boy is another version of yourself with the same appearance and all your memories.

A sudden surge of immense fear rose within her.

I don't want to be replaced.

I don't want to be replaced by the Angel of Judgment, taking the place that rightfully belongs to me.

The person who accompanies Raste, sharing his joys and sorrows, laughter and tears, is someone who looks exactly like her... Just thinking about it makes Amy feel like her heart is being torn apart.

I'm really not reconciled.