Chapter 175: "Emis" Will Always Stand by "Rast"
The pale golden morning light, the melodious chirping of birds outside the window, and the dewdrops on the treetops reflecting the sunlight...
It was a bright and sunny morning, a morning that belonged solely to Canaan.
Rast slowly sat up from the bed and gazed out the window at the gradually awakening border town.
The collapsed Royal City of Paradise, the sea of corpses and blood in the shattered Nether Abyss, the desperate death battle with the remnant soul of an Old God, and the Fractured Coastline paved with the bones of legendary beings...
All that had occurred within the Nightworld, whether it was a grand and magnificent epic or a reenactment of the Mythic Era... everything had become infinitely distant and no longer mattered.
A trace of daze surfaced in Rast’s eyes, as if waking from a deep dream, momentarily unable to distinguish between dream and reality.
Until his gaze inadvertently fell upon the pristine white bedsheet beside him, and only then did some of the daze in Rast’s eyes fade.
There was no one beside the pillow, only the traces left by the crumpled sheets.
On the neatly folded quilt, the lingering fragrance of sandalwood unique to a young girl remained.
Outside the closed door, the bubbling sound of boiling porridge and a girl’s light humming of a country tune faintly drifted through.
Rast knew that this was Xiao Ai preparing breakfast for the two of them downstairs in the kitchen.
This border town named Canaan could not compare to the metropolises of the Present World—it had neither electricity nor the internet. Even staying up late through the night served little purpose, and so both mornings and nights came earlier than in the cities.
But like Emis, who rose every morning before five, when the sky was still only faintly bright, such early risers were truly rare.
According to Xiao Ai, she greatly enjoyed waking up early, staying by the bedside, quietly watching the still-sleeping Rast beside her—
In her own words, Rast on normal days always liked to put on a front of aloofness and unpredictability... but when asleep, Rast seemed more like a child. His sleeping face could be described as innocent and even adorable, making one want to tease him.
Of course, Rast himself never agreed with that statement.
However... this feeling of always having someone waiting for you to return was truly special.
From now on, no matter where he was, whether in the purgatory of time loops or the light-devouring Nether Abyss, he would never lose his way.
Because when he looked back across the vast wastelands, he would always see that quiet little town, where the melodious sound of bagpipes echoed day and night... and that girl with pale golden long hair would be waiting there for his return, smiling like a blooming flower.
This feeling was difficult to describe in words. It was as if they had already lived in this town for a very, very long time—long enough to have grown old together.
...
By the time Rast finished washing up and got dressed to head downstairs, the bubbling sound of steaming porridge in the kitchen had already ceased.
The simple yet tidy wooden table was already set with utensils. Breakfast consisted of creamy mushroom porridge and papaya milk—the latter being the drink Xiao Ai was most fond of in Rast’s memory. She loved it so much that it was a staple at every meal and even often had a cup during afternoon tea.
Rast had once asked Emis why she was so fond of papaya milk, but the girl had always brushed it off with various excuses.
It wasn’t until Rast escaped the loop in Deep Blue Port and entered the Present World that he got an answer from Dean Silver, the homebody ferret dean who was useless at everything except gossip and obscure trivia.
“According to hearsay, papaya milk is said to enhance bust size.”
“But why would you ask that question? The women you’ve had connections with in the Present World—whether it’s Little Tina or Little Shiya—are all well-endowed in that area. You shouldn’t have any such concerns.”
At that time, Dean Silver was lying on Rast’s head, ruby-like beast eyes filled with suspicion.
A moment later, she nodded in sudden realization and patted Rast’s cheek with her furry tail: “I see now... So that’s it. You’ve finally grown tired of living as a man and want to try a more diverse life?”
“Come to think of it, the Sixth Tier ability ‘Earth Mother’ from the Bounty Sequence seems to have a side effect of turning the user into a woman. You can only change back after becoming a legend... and coincidentally, you also have the Night Blade ‘Copy Eye’, which can replicate the sequence skills of others.”
“Do you want me to introduce you to a Sixth Tier extraordinary from the Bounty Sequence? I won’t ask for much in return, just a month’s worth of grilled fish cake...”
Before Dean Silver could finish, Rast had already balled her up and threw her out the window like a shot put.
Still... no wonder Xiao Ai loved papaya milk so much.
After all, his childhood sweetheart was flawless in every other aspect, whether looks or personality. But if there had to be one flaw, it would probably be her figure.
And if one had to pick the most fitting word to describe Emis’s figure—
That word would be “plank.”
The memories flashed through his mind, and a gentle light flickered in Rast’s eyes.
However—
As he descended the stairs, intending to enter the living room and enjoy breakfast at the table with Xiao Ai…
Rast's steps came to a halt at the edge of the stairs.
And in his heart, the uncertainty he had been forcibly suppressing surged once again at this moment, becoming impossible to restrain.
According to the information he had seen from the "Canaan Archives" unsealed from the Arcane Tower—
Canaan was a place that once truly existed in the Present World, located beside the Three Sages Snow Mountain on the northern border of the Western Continent, under the jurisdiction of the Fares Border Province of the Holy Kingdom of Fran.
However, around two hundred years ago, a sudden catastrophe, later named the "Fares Explosion" by future generations, abruptly descended upon that border town, erasing it completely from the map of the Western Continent.
The world knew very little about the "Fares Explosion". Only through soil samples from the ruins did researchers analyze evidence of an unimaginably chaotic space-time distortion. Based on the traces left behind, the instigator's power level was at least above the level of legend.
This was something Rast had almost completely confirmed through his own experiences in the Present World.
And based on that, combining it with his past and the events in the Sixth Era’s Nightworld, the most reasonable inference was—
He and Xiao Ai were actually born around two hundred years ago... true residents who once lived in that border town named Canaan on the northern border of the Western Continent in the Present World.
But around the age of ten, an abrupt space-time disaster suddenly befell Canaan for unknown reasons.
The entire border town, along with themselves—Rast and Xiao Ai—were swept into the spatial-temporal turbulence caused by the great explosion.
Perhaps it was during this spatial-temporal rampage that they, along with Canaan, drifted into an ancient era, possibly even to a point in time earlier than the known epochs.
This inexplicable space-time catastrophe, later called the "Fares Explosion" by future generations, corresponded in their memories to the great fire that nearly turned the entire Canaan to ruins during their childhood.
But—
Afterward...
Something must have occurred between himself, Xiao Ai, Canaan, and that woman who rescued him from the burning ruins with a gratified smile and claimed to be one of the Shoreguards.
It was during this gap in Rast’s memory that he ultimately obtained the Shoreguard Fireseed, that inheritance called "The Fool’s Library"... and became trapped in the Deep Blue Port instance of the Nightworld until he met Shiltina and returned to the Present World.
And the entire town of Canaan had become something incredibly unique.
It existed neither at a real temporal point in the Present World, nor in the past Nightworld... but instead dwelled in a rift between the Nightworld and Present World, between the past and the present.
As for what exactly had occurred to result in such a state... Rast still did not know. He had some suspicions but could not yet confirm them—they still needed verification.
However, there was one truth Rast could not avoid at this moment.
According to the information he had gathered, the real Canaan likely no longer existed.
What he saw might be something like a Nightworld instance, an illusory echo of the past—or perhaps it was just his own fantasy...
But no matter what it truly was, it should not be the real scenery, and it had entirely lost the possibility of returning to the Present World.
And if Canaan was like that... then Xiao Ai, who lived within it, should be as well.
That girl with pale golden long hair—her sandalwood scent, her warm breath... the tenderness during lap pillows, the softness when touching his cheeks—everything felt so real.
But reason told Rast that this was merely a vivid dream, a lie indistinguishable from truth.
Just like Queen Helen in the Kingdom of the Underworld, who was like a caged bird... everything had begun with a lie. The characters in the play, like actors, were trapped in a dream woven by an external force, unaware of the truth.
Or perhaps, even after knowing the truth, they still refused to awaken from the dream.
That was why Rast had made the resolution—no matter the cost, even if it placed him in dire danger, he had to save Akxia from the Nether Abyss...
His motive was not what Noah had once described as “a primal reproductive impulse triggered by glandular hormone secretion between male and female organisms,” but rather mutual empathy.
The mutual empathy between people trapped in dreams, unwilling to wake.
Rast’s steps paused at the edge of the living room, tinged with hesitation.
These thoughts that troubled him just now—if it had been in the past, Rast would have forcibly shut them down the moment they began to form.
After all, to a machine that prioritized maximum efficiency above all, such agonizing over gains and losses was nothing more than meaningless emotional waste—superfluous feelings that must be discarded.
But as Cisel had once said—
Since choosing to become a Shoreguard, choosing to embrace humanity... then while bathing in the brilliance of human nature, it also meant having to accept human flaws.
The fear of losing what one once had, the anxiety over treasured things and loved ones—that was precisely the weakness unique to humans.
The past him would have chosen to deceive himself and ignore such emotional struggles.
But at this moment, Rast neither could nor wished to escape this weakness.
...
"Rast."
"Rast..."
The wafting scent of sandalwood and that melodious voice like midnight wind chimes pulled Rast back from his trance.
In front of him, Emis had approached at some point, staring straight into Rast’s eyes from a close distance.
Her pale golden long hair bathed in the morning light, gently swaying in the breeze, her clear, bell-like voice carried a hint of concern: "Did something happen, in that world of dreams?"
"I'm fine, Xiao Ai, just still a bit sleepy and not fully awake."
Rast smiled faintly, forcibly collecting all the distracting thoughts in his heart.
He waved his hand and walked toward the dining table not far away: "Come on, let’s eat breakfast... If we wait any longer, the mushroom porridge will go cold, and that would waste your early-morning effort."
But right after that, Rast felt his hand being pulled—accompanied by a soft touch.
He turned around to see Emis holding his right hand with her soft, delicate hands.
"Breakfast and things like creamy mushroom porridge don’t matter at all!"
"More than anything else, I care about you."
The golden-haired girl’s usually gentle sky-blue eyes now shone with firm resolve: "Rast, you can’t hide this from me."
"I know every habit of yours, every subtle movement... So I can be absolutely certain that you’re not the same as before."
Her voice softened slightly, taking on a gentler tone: "In that dream world I couldn’t know or accompany you to... a lot must have happened, right?"
"That’s why you’ve changed so much—more than ever before."
Looking at the girl in front of him, earnestly gazing into his eyes, her gaze unwavering, Rast couldn’t help but let out a quiet sigh.
He had always considered himself the most perfect actor, able to seamlessly switch between various Masks of Personality without the slightest flaw... but he also knew clearly that while he might be able to deceive the entire world, the one person he could never fool was the golden-haired girl before him.
Emis had truly seen him without any Mask of Personality, at his most lost, most timid, and most real state.
And in Emis’s eyes, Rast did not possess the mysterious aura or the dazzling halo that others imagined.
They had already lived together for a very, very long time—long enough for their hair to turn white, long enough that they no longer needed words, only a subtle glance or an unconscious gesture to understand each other’s thoughts.
So of course Rast couldn’t hide anything from Xiao Ai. No matter how masterful his acting was, it would be completely ineffective in front of someone so close.
Moreover, in front of Xiao Ai, he never needed to hide anything to begin with...
With such thoughts in his heart, Rast spoke softly:
"Indeed, many things have happened, and my heart has changed a lot."
"However—"
He gazed at the rolling mountains outside the window, a trace of confusion flickering in his eyes. "To be honest, I’m not sure whether this change is good or bad..."
"After accepting the weakness of human nature, sometimes it feels like I’ve become a selfish fool, hesitating and overthinking everything, wasting all my time and energy on pointless emotional entanglements—"
Rast smiled lightly. "From an Ally of Justice who was once willing to give up everything for his ideals, a martyr of dreams, I’ve become someone who frets day and night, clinging to the things he treasures, unwilling to let go..."
"If Xiao Ai, if you found out, you’d probably despise someone like me..."
"No, I wouldn’t."
Rast’s quiet self-mockery was cut off by Emis’s sincere and unfeigned response.
She reached out with both hands, gently cupping Rast’s face with her soft, fair hands. "How could I possibly despise you, Rast."
"If you are an Ally of Justice, a martyr walking the Dead End for ideals... then I will be there with you, nailed to the cross together, perishing in the fire together."
"If you are a heinous criminal, stained with blood... then I’ll be your most faithful accomplice and partner in crime... just like you once told me—like the clown and his clown girl."
"If you fall into the abyss, I’ll fall into the abyss with you... if you choose to give up everything, to lie down and rot, then I’ll lie down and rot with you."
"If you become a timid, cowardly, selfish fool afraid of death... then I’ll accompany you into the deep forests and mountains, living freely... no matter how great the floods outside, no matter if all mankind goes extinct, it will have nothing to do with us."
Emis’s clear voice paused for a moment.
With her slender white fingers, she softly caressed the young man’s face with extreme gentleness. "I’ve said it before—I’m willing to accept and embrace everything about you, Rast."
"No matter what choices you make, no matter how your mindset changes, no matter how hideous, grotesque, or loathsome you become... even if you are betrayed by all your former companions, denounced by the whole world—"
"‘Emis’ will always stand by ‘Rast’."
"So—"
The golden-haired girl leaned close to his ear and spoke in a gentle whisper.
Her warm breath brushed against Rast’s neck, bringing a sense of warmth, moisture, and a slight tickle.
"Tell me."
"Tell me everything that happened in that world of dreams..."
"And your story with that queen of the Kingdom of the Underworld named Helen, and the Shoreguards."