Chapter 133: The Unshakable Mental Seal
“By the way, Dean Silver.”
“The next Epoch Remnant I need to prepare for shouldn't just be considered a personal mission of mine, right? It should also count as a publicly funded mission of the academy?”
“In that case, I should be able to apply for resource support from both the Ruins Institute and the Ashes Institute, correct?”
Rast didn’t linger in the Tower of Arcana for long.
After a short rest, he headed straight out of the tower.
The "Civilization Epic Event Line"—information regarding this unique mechanism in the Nightworld—was exceedingly rare even when viewed against the entire history of Nightworld exploration in the real world.
Perhaps the Nightwalkers of the past had occasionally triggered the "Civilization Epic Event Line", but back then, the recording and dissemination of information weren’t as developed as they are now.
Even if some information had been preserved, most of it amounted to only a few vague sentences, offering little practical reference.
So, even Rast and Dean Silver couldn’t determine how long the so-called “historical node lock” in the Nightworld’s prompt could last.
According to the prompt, this seemed to function much like a save point in a game dungeon.
If taken literally, Rast could theoretically hole up in the real world until he reached Tier Six, or even take decades to become a legend… transforming himself into a swordmaster from the Ten Mile Slope before returning to the Epoch Remnant and continuing the main storyline of the 「Battle of the Shattered Coast」.
However, the situation he faced this time was not a mere strategy game.
As a Nightwalker, Akxia was now trapped within the Epoch Remnant of the Nightworld.
Time in the Nightworld didn’t flow in sync with the real world.
Sometimes, hundreds of years could pass in the Nightworld while only a few days went by in reality… or the opposite could occur—anything was possible.
Therefore, no one could determine what Akxia might experience within the Nightworld while Rast remained in the real world.
She wasn’t a native of the Nightworld or the Historical Remnants… but a foreigner—an outsider—whose very presence was incompatible with the Nightworld and the remnants of history.
If she remained trapped for too long, it was highly likely that something unpredictable and dangerous could occur.
Akxia’s current situation, being trapped within the Nightworld, inevitably reminded Rast of his own past—of the time he was imprisoned within Deep Blue Port.
Back then—he too had been an outsider who didn’t belong to the Nightworld, ensnared in Deep Blue Port’s endlessly rebooting nightmare.
The entire world cycled repeatedly, and only his memories remained intact… If it weren’t for the presence of Canaan and Xiao Ai, Rast would likely have destroyed himself during those hundreds of years.
And the same kind of situation might now be happening to Akxia.
Therefore, with full preparation in place—
The sooner Rast re-entered the Epoch Remnant to continue the “Battle of the Shattered Coast” in this Civilization Epic Event Line, the better… Every day of delay exponentially increased the possibility of unexpected changes in the Nightworld where Akxia was.
Although he had just returned from the Nightworld, for Rast at this moment, he didn’t have a single second to waste on idling or resting.
…
“Of course—”
Dean Silver was still lingering in the main hall of the Tower of Arcana, watching the young man walking toward the tower’s exit not far away, and replied aloud.
“After all, the main reason behind Akxia’s current situation stems from our lack of understanding about the Terminal Nightworld and the Epoch Remnants—or to put it more bluntly… we got screwed over by the Nightworld.”
“But strictly speaking, if not for the decisions made by me and Ophelia, Akxia wouldn’t be trapped in the Historical Remnants right now.”
It swished its fluffy snow-white tail. “Before every Nightwalker of the academy enters the Nightworld, they’re already prepared to surrender themselves to the night, becoming a dazzling star etched on the Obelisk.”
“But that doesn’t mean the lives of Nightwalkers, or the concept of ‘companions’, are things we view as expendable.”
Dean Silver’s tone grew a bit more solemn, no longer the lazy, cutesy act it had put on earlier.
Perhaps in the earliest days of Starfall University, that soulless, militarized, mechanical violence organization… really did operate that way.
Turning Nightwalkers into emotionless consumables and killing machines—disposable tools to push through the Nightworld.
But that old headmaster—
Had spent his entire life transforming Starfall University from that heartless slaughter apparatus he inherited… bit by bit, into what it was today.
“Let’s set aside the fact that Akxia currently ranks number one in the Obelisk Sequence and is the Chief of the Round Table, and that as a Nightwalker, she has made countless contributions in exploring and conquering the Nightworld.”
“Even if she were just an ordinary student, we would never abandon any companion if there’s even a chance to save them.”
“Moreover, the Epoch Remnant you’re preparing for—the upcoming 「Battle of the Shattered Coast」—its significance isn’t limited to just rescuing Akxia.”
Dean Silver’s gaze grew heavy and solemn.
Only now did it no longer resemble a perpetually lazy, adorable ferret… but bore the presence of a proper Director of the Institute of Magical Creatures, and a long-rank Sequence Holder of the unique title “Moon”.
“The first Nightworld of the Sixth Epoch appeared decades ago.”
“Over these past few decades, with each new generation of Nightwalkers pioneering and exploring… our understanding of the full scope of the Sixth Epoch’s history has gradually deepened.”
“However, most of the Nightworlds we’ve explored so far centered around the early to mid periods of the Sixth Epoch—its golden age of rapid civilizational development… a time when the supernatural systems of the Sixth Epoch had yet to truly emerge, and the main theme was scientific progress.”
“But starting from the Descent of the Evil God that broke out in Deep Blue Port… after the Disaster Calendar began, Nightworlds and Historical Remnants set in the latter half of the Sixth Epoch started to appear in large numbers—and that only began after Little Tina and the others enrolled at Starfall University.”
“We know very little about the history after the Disaster Calendar in the Sixth Epoch, but that period is the most critical fragment of all Nightworld history… because it’s the closest to our current era, and thus holds the most relevant insights.”
As Rast drew nearer to the Tower of Arcana’s exit, the distance between him and Dean Silver continued to widen.
However, the ferret dean’s voice still rang clearly in Rast’s heart through “Moonlit Whisper”.
“And the Epoch Remnant you’re about to enter is already the frontline of the Sixth Epoch’s exploration in the real world.”
“Until now, no Nightwalker has ever advanced the timeline of a Sixth Epoch Historical Remnant to the point of the 【Battle of the Shattered Coast】.”
“Although it has yet to fully erupt, it’s already certain that this will be a war involving two… or even more legendary figures. The outcome of this battle could very well determine the future direction of Sixth Epoch civilization—if that weren’t the case, the Nightworld wouldn’t label it a ‘Civilization Epic’.”
“And for us, intelligence about the Battle of the Shattered Coast holds significance beyond imagination—if we can use this opportunity to uncover the truth behind the fall of the Sixth Epoch civilization…”
“Then it will greatly aid us in facing the Final Remnants that will emerge after conquering all seventy-two Nightworlds.”
Dean Silver didn’t spell out the last part, but Rast had already understood what it meant.
After all, in each of the six previous epochs, a final apocalyptic catastrophe had always arisen at the end, destroying the civilization of that age.
Then, there was no reason to believe that the world they currently lived in—the end of the Seventh Epoch—would not suffer a similar catastrophe.
Since it was already known that the epoch-ending calamity that would destroy civilization was destined to descend, it became a necessity for the Nightwalkers of the real world to gather as much intel as possible in advance and make preparations.
Perhaps some could face the end of their epoch and the downfall of civilization with serenity, waiting calmly for the day of judgment to arrive… but not everyone was like that.
Even knowing that hope was faint, and that countless civilizations had perished before, countless epochs had ended… still, they must fight with all they had.
In this respect, both the Shorekeepers of the Sixth Epoch and Starfall University shared the same belief.
“So go ahead and prepare freely.”
“I’ll apply for the highest level of clearance for you from the academy… As long as your actions serve the purpose of conquering the Epoch Remnant, all resources from the Tower of Arcana and the Ashes Institute will be open to you unconditionally, with no upper limit.”
Dean Silver fixed its gaze on Rast’s departing figure. “I know that in this Epoch Remnant, you personally witnessed the power that belongs solely to legends…”
“…However, you need not be disheartened because of it.”
“The path to becoming a legend depends on no external aid… If we’re talking about the number of legendary powerhouses, compared to the several epochs and long spans of time accumulated within the Nightworld, we may indeed be lacking.”
“But our civilization holds advantages that no past civilization ever had.”
“The 【Machinist】—this is a product unique to our era.”
“In the past, those failed civilizations mostly saw their technological progress halt abruptly at the critical point of the ‘Steam Era’, and with the arrival of some calamity, their golden ages came to an end, and technological development ceased.”
“But this epoch is different. Even when the first sparks of our civilization had just begun to glow… the appearance of the Nightworld allowed our Nightwalkers to glimpse many technologies of the future in advance, through the Historical Remnants.”
“Our era’s scientific level far surpasses that of any previous epoch… With the power of technology, even ordinary people with no combat ability might still have a chance to kill high-tier Transcendents—perhaps even legends.”
Dean Silver continued calmly, “Although the use of technological weapons in the Nightworld is subject to many restrictions…”
“…in the Ashes Institute, there truly do exist mechanical constructs designed with legendary powerhouses—and even ‘gods’—as hypothetical enemies.”
“For example, above the Tower of Arcana, in a low Earth-synchronous orbit, there is the Spear of Judgment—Damocles’ Sword—locked onto our current location.”
“Of course, most of these mechanical weapons are still in the design phase, but a few already have prototypes or early trial models.”
“If needed, I’ll have a word with the Ashes Institute to grant you access to that category of clearance.”
…
“You misunderstand me, Dean Silver.”
Rast’s voice was transmitted through “Moonlit Whisper” and rang directly in Dean Silver’s mental world.
“You actually don’t need to say all this just because you’re worried I’ve lost faith in our civilization after witnessing legendary power.”
“From the beginning, I’ve never doubted one thing—”
“【We will win】.”
“【And the cycle of epochal change, the collapse and rebirth of civilizations, will end with our era】.”
“This belief has been branded deep into my soul from the very start, like an unshakable mental seal.”
“Let outsiders call me ignorant, or accuse me of arrogant overconfidence…”
“But if I were to betray this belief, then Rast would cease to exist.”
He didn’t look back, merely waved a hand behind him.
“Before I enter the Epoch Remnant again, I’ll be going into seclusion for about a month—I might remain in the Ashes Institute during that time.”
“During this period, I’ll have to trouble you with collecting materials and the Transcendent items I’ll need…”
The young man’s thin figure gradually receded into the distance, and soon, he reached the exit of the Tower of Arcana.
“Ah, to be young… so pure, so determined, and always charging forward.”
“No wonder you, Little Snow Ferret, think so highly of him. If the old headmaster were still around, he’d probably like him a lot too.”
Barbalossa’s deep voice suddenly rang beside Dean Silver’s ears.
Dean Silver glanced sideways at the old gorilla professor acting all high and mighty, and couldn’t help but purse its lips.
If this brute knew Rast’s actual mental age, who knew what kind of expression he’d make?
“…However—”
Dean Silver’s gaze returned once more to the exit of the Tower of Arcana.
“That unfinished fairy tale…”
It stared at the young figure growing smaller and smaller, almost disappearing from sight.
Dean Silver had watched the entire first-person livestream from Akxia’s perspective, and naturally knew what the so-called unfinished fairy tale Rast mentioned actually referred to.
“So, not only Little Xia believed in it… even you took it seriously.”
“Fairy tales are fake, but is love real?”
“But, if it’s you…”
“Maybe you really can write an ending to that unfinished story—one that matches everyone’s hopes.”