Chapter 172: We Will Surely Meet Again One Day
In the howling sea wind, those warm tears vanished without a trace.
In their place came the sobs of a young girl.
"Brother Rast... I..."
Listening to that hoarse, nearly unrecognizable, tear-choked cry, Grey’s words broke off halfway.
Countless thoughts surged within her heart.
At this very moment, Grey had so much she wanted to say to the boy before her, so many questions she wanted to ask Brother Rast.
Such as, on the cliff at Paradise three years ago during that rainy night, the truth behind the betrayal — why Brother Rast defected from the Shoreguards.
Such as the final outcome of the Divine Ascension Ceremony during the Sacred Rite in the Royal City… and the real explanation behind the simultaneous appearance of two instances of “The Fool’s Library” that Brother Rast had once told her.
Such as why Brother Rast had brought her to this pitiful and battered state, the whereabouts of Leader Sisel… and the final outcome of the Battle of the Fractured Coastline — where the Old Death God, the Shoreguards, and the Gravekeepers ultimately went.
But just as these words reached her lips, they were swallowed once more by the immense grief rising in her heart, making it impossible to voice them.
Brother Rast was going to leave.
He would disappear forever from this world, never leaving behind a single trace.
This was the premonition of fate — growing ever clearer and more vivid — heralding the final end of the black-haired boy whose figure stood shattered before her.
The boy who had once brought light into her life was going to vanish from her world forever.
Compared to this fact, so close and undeniable, the truth of the rainy night’s betrayal or the outcome of the Battle of the Fractured Coastline…
All of it felt infinitely distant and no longer important in Grey’s heart.
As though sensing the countless confusions and overwhelming grief within her, the black-haired boy — his figure already so faint it seemed transparent — spoke once more in a soft voice.
"How should I… explain this clearly to you?"
"If I were to just talk, I fear even a whole day and night wouldn’t be enough to finish."
Rast gently reached out, feeling the silent arrival of the night that, like a sheer veil, cloaked his form and made his broken body grow ever more illusory. He smiled slightly: "Besides, I no longer have that much time left."
"Since we are both members of the Shoreguards—"
"Then let’s use the method unique to the Shoreguards."
A method… unique to the Shoreguards?
Grey’s heart stirred slightly.
In the next moment—
The sea breeze from the Lightless Sea blew across Grey’s forehead, lifting strands of her grey hair.
Then—
A bloodstained fingertip, moving with extreme weakness, gently touched the girl’s smooth jade-like forehead.
And with that feeble fingertip’s touch—
Suddenly, countless phantom torrents surged through the boy’s finger, flowing into Grey’s Spiritual World.
It was a flood of information, of images, known as “knowledge.”
In that instant, uncountable fragmented scenes coalesced before Grey’s eyes.
In the highest conference room of the Watchtower, Sisel and Rast, amid the warm sea breeze, outlined the full scope of the “Lost Paradise” plan and confirmed Rast’s infiltration into the Gravekeepers to sabotage the Divine Ascension Ceremony.
Outside the palace of the Royal City of Paradise, before stepping into a certain death trap, the Shadow Maid Sister gave Rast her final farewell — "It was my honor to fight by your side."
On the rain-swept cliff, Rast and Sisel performed a flawless deception with no trace of weakness — a flawless play of mutual understanding.
And three years later, at the Divine Ascension Ceremony deep within the Nether Abyss, the boy falling backward, plunging into the depths with resolute determination.
The brilliance of the Sword of Zenith descending upon the world… Leader Sisel appearing unexpectedly and rescuing Rast from the collapsing Nether Abyss.
And at last, the Battle of the Fractured Coastline — the fiercest and brightest supernova explosion, and at the end of the brilliant Milky Way, the black sun that devoured all light.
Those events Rast had personally experienced but which Grey had never known, those hidden in the shadows…
Now, after erasing all parts related to the “Night Traveler” and the “Nightworld Rules,” were revealed as crystal-clear information and scenery in Grey’s Spiritual World.
Revealing to Grey the entire truth — the true story of the Shadow Maid Sister’s death and the rainy night’s betrayal, the Sacred Rite of Divine Ascension and the Battle of the Fractured Coastline, and the final fate of that old man.
And the knowledge and information meticulously woven by Rast and infused into Grey’s Spiritual World went far beyond just that.
Before the outbreak of the Iron Cross Plague, the level of civilization in the Sixth Era had remained at the tail end of the steam age. The early forms of electrical appliances had just begun to appear, but had not yet been truly popularized.
After the outbreak of the Iron Cross Plague, civilization regressed sharply, even beginning to decline. Many important branches of foundational science saw significant discontinuities.
Yet at this moment, countless complex foundational science and applied technology knowledge, originating from the future, were being poured into Grey’s Spiritual World.
This was the life’s research of Sisel — enough to elevate civilization from the end of the steam age into the electrical age, atomic age, and even the internet age — a complete blueprint of knowledge.
These extrapolated blueprints were further supplemented, corrected, and completed by Rast, who himself hailed from the Present World and had witnessed the sceneries of the future world…
And all of them were passed on to Grey.
…
Amid the swaying sea breeze, a phantom Spark manifested at Rast’s bloodstained fingertips.
At the same time, Grey’s pupils lost focus.
The full truth of the Lost Paradise Plan and the Battle of the Fractured Coastline, including the Resurrection Ritual of the Death God… along with the massive blueprints of technological knowledge capable of ushering in a new era for civilization—
Such a colossal volume of information, abruptly infused into the Spiritual World, would have been enough to overload a regular extraordinary individual’s mind, causing their soul to collapse under the burden of parsing such immense data, rendering them into a vegetative state.
But Grey was different.
That immense information and knowledge transformed into one illusory grimoire after another, faintly glowing within the pitch-black tower in Grey’s Spiritual World.
Then, each was sorted and categorized—
Ultimately stored within that black tower at the core of her soul — the one and only “The Fool’s Library.”
The so-called “The Fool’s Library” was a vessel of knowledge transmission.
From generation to generation, starting with the most basic knowledge such as hunting skills and fire-making methods, people continuously improved, supplemented, and enriched it… until it encompassed all things, encasing the entirety of existence within.
What Rast was doing now was no different.
Just like every generation of Shoreguards who turned their life’s accumulation and knowledge into grimoires and entrusted them to the next generation through the Library—
Rast and Grey, both being owners of “The Fool’s Library,” could naturally do the same as their predecessors.
All the grimoires he had collected were also shared into Grey’s Library… although the sequence this time was entirely different, completely reversed.
Even though at this moment, Grey couldn’t yet fully comprehend all the grimoires and information Rast had imbued her with, managing to parse only a small portion—
But as Grey grew stronger, as her exploration of the Fool’s Library deepened, and as her Spiritual Power increased… one day, she would be able to grasp every single piece Rast had left behind.
And then, she would lead humanity of the Sixth Era into a more glorious New Era.
"Grey."
Rast looked at the silver-haired girl before him, her vacant eyes dazed, her mind overwhelmed by the flood of grimoires and knowledge, and softly spoke.
"You are Fate’s Chosen, destined to carry the torch of the New Era as a Shoreguard."
"Like a seed just beginning to sprout, you will grow, and then bloom into a beautiful flower."
"You will reach the Legendary Realm, and grow very strong… far stronger than me, stronger even than Leader Sisel."
"But one day, you will also face failure, you will fall from great heights to the lowest depths, just as even the most beautiful flower will eventually wither and perish."
"But no matter what happens, no matter the trials and tribulations that await—"
"The Spark known as ‘Shoreguards’ will never be extinguished."
He gently raised his hand, caressing Grey’s soft and delicate cheek, brushing off the dust from her fair face.
Then, he tidied the girl’s long hair, which had been tousled by the sea breeze.
"So, though it may be a bit early, and perhaps somewhat irresponsible—"
"From this moment onward, you are the leader of the Shoreguards."
"From here on, I entrust everything to you."
"Let’s strive together, across both ends of the River of Time."
A bloodless hand slipped away from Grey’s dazed, delicate face.
And on Rast’s pale lips, a faint smile quietly formed.
"Also, if my guess proves true,"
"Then perhaps, at the end of time—"
"We will surely meet again one day."
The gauzy night fell quietly.
Like the night sky itself, it gently enveloped Rast and the entire shattered world together.
When the night faded, beside the Fractured Coastline, the figure of the black-haired boy was nowhere to be seen.
…
It was unclear how much time had passed.
When the light of the sun glimmered on the horizon, Grey slowly awoke upon the rocky shore.
In the long unconsciousness, Grey finally understood the entire truth, and the outcome of the Battle of the Fractured Coastline.
She gazed at the sea before her, cloaked in hazy morning light, her eyes gradually shifting from dazed to resolute.
This was the final act that Leader Sisel and Brother Rast had done for her — their final gift.
A world freed from its Shackles, with no more Legends walking the earth—
A wilderness full of danger yet brimming with opportunity, holding infinite possibility — a truly free land.
Grey gently lifted her head, gazing at the new world slowly awakening behind her in the morning light.
"At the end of time, to meet again, huh?"
"Then, watch me, Brother Rast…"
"See what I can do now."
"And what kind of future this once-ruined, now-reviving world will head toward."