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Hearing the nameless fool's calm words, Rast couldn't help but ask, "You actually know about things after the Age of Gods, so what exactly is your current state?"

"A ghost, a consciousness? Or a remnant soul like the old man with the ring?"

"It is neither a ghost nor a consciousness, nor is it, as you imagine, an old man with only a wisp of soul left, ready to possess another's body at any time."

As if guessing what Rast was thinking, the hazy, illusory figure seemed to smile.

"In real history, the nameless fool who created the Gravekeepers, the Stone Tablets of Eternal Night, and the 'Library of Fools' has long since passed away."

"Right now, I am merely a mark remaining within the Eternal Night Stone Tablet, and it won't be long before I am completely obliterated."

He slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping over the three of them one by one, finally settling on Rust.

"I have been waiting to overcome all the previous trials..."

"Enough to replicate the path I once walked, or even to allow the emergence of humans who surpass me."

“Wait, are you saying the trials of the Night World were within your expectations?” Last raised an eyebrow at the Fool’s Mark before him. “I thought you only created the Eternal Night Stele to record history, and that the Night World was born only because of Gray’s wish.”

"Once a sufficient number of historical echoes have been recorded, the night world, which will be used to test civilizations, will inevitably be opened up. This is the reason why I originally created the Eternal Night Stele."

The nameless fool shook his head: "The grand wish made by that little girl favored by fate only accelerated this process further, pushing the birth of the Night World forward by several eras."

"So why did you do that?"

Hiltina's voice rang out in the evening breeze.

This is a question that she, or rather every extraordinary person who has ever fought in the Night World as a Night Traveler, must have.

Her response was a brief silence from the nameless fool.

"Why? — This happened a very, very long time ago. What was the reason?"

"I was born in the most prosperous period of the mythological age, when humans lived entirely as appendages, supporting characters, or even servants of the mythical species that walked the world at that time."

"And so, from that time on, my only wish became to enable humanity to have a place on the land of mythical beings, no longer as vassals and slaves, but as an independent civilization."

The Fool's gaze, filled with a serene light, lingered briefly on Last, but quickly shifted away, landing on the distant, misty sea of ​​clouds.

"As a human being, I know better than anyone how weak the human race truly is."

"It has no sharp teeth and claws, no powerful physique, no bloodline or magic eyes that allow it to cast spells by birth... and it does not have the long lifespan of those mythical races that can easily last for thousands of years."

"All we can rely on is knowledge and experience."

His voice paused slightly.

"I believe that for every enemy, every danger, and every problem in the world, there is corresponding knowledge, as well as skills and tools derived from that knowledge, to fight against them."

"However, the knowledge, skills, and tools that each person can memorize, master, and accumulate in their lifetime are limited."

"Therefore, in order to fight against dragons, elves, vampires and other naturally powerful races with the inferior bodies of humans... I wove a kind of ability that only dull humans could use, which is what later generations called extraordinary knowledge."

Humans certainly do not have sharp teeth and claws, nor do they possess powerful bloodline talents or long lifespans.

However, the transmission of knowledge and the passing down of civilizations are treasures that only weak humankind can appreciate and use to defeat powerful enemies.

Even in the beginning, the knowledge passed on was nothing more than a few insignificant summaries of experience, such as hunting techniques or the method of making fire.

But as long as it can be passed down from generation to generation, with the passage of time and the progress of civilization, it will be perfected, supplemented, and filled in by each generation.

So, one day—

What was once a budding seedling can grow into a towering tree, encompassing all things in the world.

And the tiny spark will transform into a prairie fire, igniting the entire world.

then--

slowly.

Many years later, the era of mythology came to an end.

Ancient dragons, high elves, dire wolves, giants, vampires... these mythical races have faded from the stage of history.

Humans have become the sole protagonists of this era.

"However, at that time, I also saw the end of civilization, the inevitable end of an era."

"I tried every possible method and deduced all the possibilities, but in the end I found that it was an apocalypse that I could not fight against or reverse with my current level of civilization and knowledge."

"Therefore, I created the 'Library of Fools' to pass on my power, and the 'Eternal Night Stele' to record and safeguard the civilization of future generations... Just as my ancestors passed on their knowledge and experience to me, I also choose to entrust everything I have to future generations."

He paused slightly as he spoke.

"I choose to believe in the accumulation of knowledge over time, and in the power of passing on knowledge from one spark to another."

"I believe that even dull-witted humans, as long as they continue to accumulate and improve... will one day be able to weave a power that surpasses that of the gods and find a way to reverse the fate of civilization."

"This was the original intention behind the creation of the 'Gravekeepers'."

As he spoke, a sigh crept into his words.

"However, I overlooked human nature."

"Even the purest ideals and perseverance will eventually deteriorate over time if they are forgotten. They will forget their original intentions and decay to the point that they can no longer be seen as they were, which almost caused this kind of inheritance to be completely cut off."

"The tomb guardians that I created to watch over human history have instead become the greatest obstacle to the transmission of civilization."

"However, fortunately—"

"That library, which belonged solely to fools, after being sealed away for many years, finally found its owner in someone like you..."

His gaze once again settled on Last.

"Angels can occupy the entire river of time, existing simultaneously in every moment where their 'footprints' remain."

"Therefore, among angels, the more a being can leave its mark upstream in the river of time, the more powerful it is... because it is ancient, therefore powerful."

“You were merely angels born in the Seventh Age before, and the oldest traces left by the Eternal Night Stele were only from the Sixth Age.”

"But at this moment, as you have cleared this final night world and accomplished the great feat I once achieved—the footprints I left in the Age of Gods have been completely replaced and occupied by you."

"In other words, you at this moment are the beginning and the end of the entire river of time, occupying every node of history, surpassing all the gods existing in the world... the truly oldest beings."

The voice of the nameless fool was fading along with his figure, becoming almost transparent in the twilight glow.

As he said, he was indeed just a mark left in the Eternal Night Stone Tablet... After being baptized for seven epochs, his remaining power was already negligible, a flame on the verge of being extinguished without the need for wind to blow it out.

"Back then, I was unable to lead humanity to that glorious, infinitely vast future."

“But I believe in you…you who have surpassed me in the past, perhaps—you really can do what I couldn’t do back then.”

He looked at his increasingly ethereal body, which was almost disappearing, and spoke softly in a steady voice.

"It seems my time is almost up."

Silence returned to the twilight sky, and neither the nameless fool who seemed to be carried away by the wind, nor Rust, Hiltina, or Amys spoke again.

Looking into the distance again, one can see that even the parts outside the Night World Crystals have begun to crumble.

You can see the once boundless sea of ​​clouds and red sky gradually disappearing as they are swallowed by white light in the distant distance... The erosion of light is happening everywhere, and it seems to be slowly approaching here.

This is a self-evident fact. The so-called Night World is a world formed by the convergence of countless illusory historical reflections. And now, with the end of the Night World, all the magnificent reflections and echoes will cease to exist.

"Oh right, I almost forgot to tell you guys..."

As the white light finally reached the feet of the three, Rast heard the fool's voice once again in his ear:

“Last, Hiltina, and Amys.”

Congratulations!

"Congratulations, you have completely conquered the Night World."

As the old man finished speaking, a blinding white light destroyed everything.

Then, the continuously evaporating particles of light carried everything to another world.

……

P.S.: This story will end tomorrow.

Chapter 282 The Finale, Grey, Let's Go Home

The Threshold of Blazing Sky.

This is the gap between planets and deep space, attached to the prime material plane, yet a dimension that exists independently of the present world, also known as the "outer world".

In the eyes of many legends, the term "Cage of the Blazing Sky," originating from the ancient Elvish language, also carries another layer of meaning—

"A border that only the gods can traverse."

In this era of receding gods, mythical creatures such as ancient dragons, high elves, dire wolves, and phoenixes have long since vanished from the historical stage, leaving only a very few with meager descendants. The Crack of the Blazing Sky has become the last remnant of the era of gods, the final romantic history of that age when the gods walked the earth.

Those ancient gods who refused to perish with the receding tide of the divine era hid within the Threshold of the Blazing Sky, relying on slumber and self-sealing to resist the erosion of time, waiting for the rules of heaven to change so that they could return to the mortal world.

"The war has also ended... This is the third deity to fall in this era."

"Slumber and self-sealing can never completely prevent the loss of power—if we do not find a way to return to the mortal world, it may not be long before we follow in His footsteps."

As a realm that only angels can enter, the Seraphim's Throne is extremely special.

The concept of three-dimensional space does not exist in this realm. There is no distinction between up and down, left and right, north and south, east and west. The gods are clearly separated by infinite distances, yet they can communicate with each other at close range. Even the unchanging flow of time in the mortal world becomes extremely slow within the Blazing Sky Threshold.

This is why the Cage of the Blazing Sky was chosen by the ancient gods as their hiding place.

However, since time flows only extremely slowly here rather than at a standstill, it means that the Sky Cage is not an eternal utopia.

Seven eras have passed since the end of the Age of Gods. Even with the protection of self-sealing and the Blazing Throne, half of the ancient gods who fled here have perished in the passage of time, and the rest are merely clinging to life.

However, this ancient god's proposal was not accepted by the rest of His kind.

"Returning to the present world, that's easy for you to say."

"We are born with the Star Grail, born angels... The source of this innate power comes from Gaia's will, which is what humans call 'divine law.'"

"However, with the rise of the human race, the will of Heaven... the balance of the world has been disrupted."

"In today's world, the rules no longer allow the existence of us mythical beings. If we were to leave the protection of the Sky-Breaking Threshold, the erosion and loss we suffer would accelerate a thousandfold in an instant."

The ancient god who had spoken in rebuttal paused slightly.

"Of course, if that's all there is to it... then there's nothing to fear."

They are, after all, gods who have lived for millions of years.

Even though they are currently in a semi-crippled state hidden within the Blazing Sky Cage, they cannot simply sit and wait for death.

Through long-term research, the gods also discovered some ways... a method to bring power down to the mortal world through the World Wall within the Threshold of the Blazing Heaven.

The cults lurking in the shadows on the Western Continent are the work of these ancient gods—through followers, faith, prayer, and divine intervention, they are able to interfere with and exert influence on the present world while protecting themselves.

The culprit who desecrated the laws of nature, disrupted the balance of the world, and brought an end to the age of gods was the race called humanity.

Therefore, under the intervention of the ancient gods, various cults have been exceptionally active in causing destruction within human civilization, and evil gods have been involved in the mischief of almost every era.

If the gods are allowed to continue their relentless destruction, then perhaps after just a few more eras, the human era will come to a complete end.

At that time, the rules of the world will be reshaped once again, the human era will end, and the age of gods will return.

At that time, the gods will no longer need to hide within the Throne of the Blazing Sky, but will be able to roam the world freely as they did before the First Age, restoring the glory of the mythological era.

However, their little schemes, which had continued for several eras, have now met with utter destruction.

"The angel who wields the power of judgment; the inheritor of the 'Library of Fools'; and the wielder of the Star Sword."

"In past eras, there have been humans who ascended to the angelic realm... but this time, a total of three have appeared."

"Not only that, I also sensed the aura of a human breaking through to the legendary level in the astral plane... In addition, the Star Grail left behind by the Grim Reaper in the mortal world, in the worst case scenario, five angels may be born in the mortal world."

"With them in charge, all our arrangements on the Prime Material Plane will be destroyed—and they may even survive the end of this era."

"If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have raised a tiger to cause trouble."

"Raising a tiger to cause trouble? When that Holy Sword Envoy ascended the throne, it was our last chance..."

"We have joined forces with the tomb guardians, and with multiple divine interventions, we have already used all our trump cards, but what can we change?"

Upon hearing this, the Crimson Throne fell into a long silence.

This is a self-evident fact.

Both are angels, but the ones on the other side are newly promoted, wielding holy swords and the "Library of Fools"... newcomers with boundless potential.

On their side, there was a group of old, weak, sick, and disabled people who had been barely surviving for several eras, their power having long since been lost through self-sealing and slumber.