Chapter 274: Shiltina and Emis’s First Meeting
It was an embrace after so many years apart.
Starting from the very first time Rast and Shiltina met at Deep Blue Port, that connection had stretched on until this very moment.
Only, this time was no longer like that moment in the icy seawater of Deep Blue Port—when they held each other merely to steady themselves and prevent the loss of body heat...
Now, the girl in Rast’s arms was warm, trembling ever so slightly.
Clack—
A sound of shattering rang beside his ear.
Yet what shattered was not a tangible object, but rather the very concept called “space” itself.
Across the sky above, at some unknown point in time, deep fissures had begun to spread.
In the next instant, the heavens broke apart.
The entire sky, along with the sub-dimension that had confined Shiltina and sealed her away from the present world, shattered as one.
All that remained were countless crystal-like fragments scattering downwards, like a meteor shower tearing across the firmament.
The once-stifling night sky vanished without a trace, replaced by the glow of dusk—flaming red sunlight burning the thick clouds as though the heavens were a copper furnace.
All around them, the palace—once reduced to ruins during the Battle of Angels—was restored to its pristine form. Evening wind, mingled with distant clamor, drifted toward them.
Rast knew that he and Shiltina had returned to the present world.
It was only natural.
The sub-dimension they had been trapped in earlier had been created by the Gravekeepers through the use of a Holy Relic, specifically as a trap targeting Shiltina.
But now, the mastermind behind that entire scheme had already been obliterated into nothingness by Rast’s Liberation of the Holy Sword’s True Name; naturally, that sub-dimension could no longer continue to exist.
“Looks like Little Ai’s side is done as well.”
Rast’s spiritual sense stirred, detecting on the far end of the Imperial Capital the distinct aura belonging to Emis—the Judgment Angel herself.
This time, both the Gravekeepers and the Cultists had mobilized their entire forces. Aside from the three Angels and Quasi-Angels that had targeted Shiltina, even within the Imperial Capital they had deployed power on the level of Angels.
Unfortunately for them, all of those forces seemed to have been completely wiped out by Emis.
Though at this moment, those Gravekeepers and Cultists had already been crushed to dust beneath the radiance of the Judgment Angel’s authority...
Rast could still, from the lingering magical fluctuations and traces of Divine Authority over the capital, roughly imagine the inhuman tortures and agonies those mythic beings had suffered in their final moments.
At first, he had been a bit worried. Although Little Ai’s rank had already ascended to that of a true Angel, she had never before experienced combat between transcendents—perhaps she would not easily adapt to the war between Angels.
But now, it seemed he had worried too much.
The rift-torn skies above the Imperial Capital, the rampant magical turbulence still hanging in the air—these alone spoke volumes of how terrifyingly brutal the Judgment Angel, embodiment of “Verdict” and “Destruction,” truly was.
He could not help recalling that first encounter back in the Historical Echoes of the Sixth Era’s End, when he had faced that mechanical angel who annihilated all things.
“Judgment,” after all, was a Sequence that reigned supreme through sheer, unadulterated violence.
Yet all this time, before him, Emis had always restrained that imperious divinity with utmost care—showing him only the humble side of a countryside girl from the Town of Canaan.
“No matter what, this incident has come to a perfect end.”
“The remaining Cultists and Gravekeepers active across the Western Continent have all been completely eradicated.”
“Though some remnants will inevitably linger across the lands… at least on the surface, the Western Continent will be able to enjoy a long period of peace.”
Rast exhaled deeply, a trace of relief washing over him.
He subconsciously tried to stretch, but realized the girl with the chestnut hair in his arms was still leaning quietly against his chest.
“Shiltina?”
He looked down at the girl whose long, silk-like hair cascaded over his arm. “Although those external enemies have been dealt with,” he said, “if I remember correctly, you still need to make your oath of succession before the Empire’s citizens and complete the final Coronation Ritual, don’t you?”
“I know.”
Shiltina’s gentle voice mingled with the evening wind, soft as a whisper.
“But… there’s still a little time left before the ceremony begins.”
“I know Little Ai came with you back into the present world.”
“This might be the last bit of time I can have you all to myself.”
“So—”
She leaned closer to Rast’s ear and whispered, “Let me keep you… just a little longer.”
Hearing Shiltina’s words, Rast froze slightly.
For some reason, he felt there was another meaning hidden within her tone and actions.
But in truth, he didn’t need to think further.
Because in the next instant, he sensed a presence descending from the edge of the heavens—one he knew all too well.
And floating in the air was that nostalgic scent of sandalwood he could never mistake.
In Rast’s memory, the fragrance of violets belonged solely to Shiltina—
During the two years he had lain asleep in that hospital ward, every time he caught a faint whiff of violets, it meant Shiltina had come once again to visit him.
And that cool sandalwood aroma—evoking thoughts of distant snowy mountains—could only belong to one person.
Emis.
…
“Nice to meet you, Miss Shiltina.”
“No…”
“Though it’s our first meeting, it would be more accurate to say—I have long admired you from Rast’s stories.”
A cool voice drifted from not far away.
Pale golden hair fluttered lightly in the air.
Rast turned back, only to see that Emis had somehow appeared behind them, arms folded across her chest, her expressionless gaze fixed upon him.
Behind her, sheets of silvery steel wings slowly folded inwards, fading until they vanished into nothingness—as though an angel had hidden away her white wings and returned once more to a human form.
“I see.”
“Actually, I’m the same as you. Although we’ve never met before, I’ve long heard about you from Rast, Miss Emis.”
Shiltina rose slightly on her toes, lightly stepping back two paces, slipping out of Rast’s embrace.
Then, with those soft hazel eyes of hers, she too looked toward Emis in the distance.
What Shiltina said truly came from the heart.
Back during that Nightworld replica of the Historical Echoes of Deep Blue Port, when she and Rast first met, she had already heard this name—“Little Ai”—from his lips.
According to Rast himself, it was precisely because of Little Ai’s existence that he had not fallen into despair during the endless time loops of Deep Blue Port, nor given in to self-destruction.
It was only that the two had always existed in different dimensions, different timelines.
When Emis had appeared that one time in the Nightworld of the Sixth Era, Shiltina had not been there.
Thus, this truly was the first meeting between Shiltina and Emis.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Emis.”
She lightly extended her fingers, sensing the residual traces of magic and Divine Authority in the air.
After a moment, the corners of Shiltina’s lips curved ever so faintly. “To be honest, I thought Miss Emis would be the gentler sort.”
“Is that so.”
Emis’s cool and beautiful face remained expressionless. “Miss Shiltina is exactly as I imagined.”
“That is undoubtedly my honor.”
Shiltina smiled. Her gaze lingered briefly upon Emis before turning back toward Rast.
“So, Rast—what do you plan to do next?”
“To be honest, I truly wish we could finish the wedding we failed to hold two years ago…”
“But I know—”
“That you, who dreamed of becoming an Ally of Justice and regarded the duty of the Shoreguards as your lifelong ideal… will still place the strategy of conquering Nightworld as your highest priority, won’t you?”
“After all, the day when all seventy-two Nightworlds are cleared and the Final Echo begins… isn’t far away.”
When Shiltina’s words fell, even Emis turned her gaze toward him.
It was clear that, though she kept a calm façade, she too was concerned about Rast’s answer.
Of course, in truth, both Shiltina and Emis had already guessed what his answer would be.
For all this time, the man named Rast had lived like a machine—
Treating “becoming a Shoreguard” as his sole purpose in life. Everything else was unnecessary—things that could be discarded.
Yet, in the next instant—
The young man’s reply defied both Shiltina’s and Emis’s expectations.
“Clearing Nightworld is inevitable—that is my duty as a Shoreguard.”
“But, Shiltina.”
“Only now do I finally understand the true meaning behind the words you once said to me, that day when we visited the Starfall University anniversary celebration together.”
Shiltina blinked slightly.
Then she remembered her words from back then.
“You told me that, as Night Travelers, it’s important to pursue the end of the journey—but what’s even more important is the scenery along the way.”
“And the one who shares that scenery with you.”
“In the past, I lived like a machine, always moving forward toward the goal… and in doing so, I missed countless people and things I should have encountered.”
“So, Shiltina—”
“Though it might be a little too late… before I continue throwing myself into the conquest of Nightworld, I want to stop for a while, to appreciate the scenery along the way—together with the one who’s there to see it with me.”
Shiltina’s expression froze for a moment.
Rast, however, had already turned his gaze toward the girl beside him, her pale-gold hair fluttering gently in the wind.
“Little Ai, do you still remember the promise I made to you, back when I cleared Deep Blue Port’s Historical Echoes and was about to leave Nightworld for the real world for the first time?”
“Of course. Even if a thousand years or ten thousand years passed, how could I ever forget something like that?”
Emis’s voice came with the evening breeze, carrying a faint tremor.
“I told you back then—if, in another world, there were those fairytale landscapes, you must go see them for me.”
“And then tell me about them—the rivers and mountains of that world, the floating islands, the water cities, and the golden grasslands.”
“That’s right.”
Rast nodded.
“I’ve already told you about them once, but hearing them in words is still nothing compared to witnessing them with your own eyes.”
“The floating islands drifting above the clouds, the water cities, the golden plains, and the vast deserts filled with sandstorms—”
“Little Ai, those rivers and mountains from the fairytale books—”
“Now that you’ve truly come to this world, don’t you want to go see them with me?”
Emis was stunned for a moment.
Within the crimson glow of the sunset, her sky-blue eyes shone brighter than ever before.