Chapter 2078: Ash Annihilation at Dawn (10)

Nina looked at Mutter thoughtfully and began to whisper:

"Hope and despair are the opposite of things. Both opposites and unity, opposites unity.

Once upon a time, the Tower of the Guardians of the Melson Stone existed. That's the remnants of ancient people. There are fragments of hope there. The light emitted by the shards can calm the surrounding beasts and protect the safety of a certain area centered on the tower.

But the shard can't do it on its own, and must be guarded by the Guardian in order to perform as well as it should.

The White Dragon God you have seen and destroyed is the guardian of the fragment.

Guardians have the duty to guard the shards, and while performing this duty, they are blessed by the shards and gain near-eternal life. But blessings and eternal life will gradually eat away at the Guardian's mind, driving the Guardian mad, and eventually even changing its appearance and turning into a monster. This is the curse that the Guardian must endure when he obtains the shards and has near-eternal life. Before he turned into a monster and became like that, the White Dragon God should have been another creature. ＂

"Cursed. Mutter muttered under his breath.

"I've been to the Tower of the Guardians of the Melson Stone, and I know you must have fought with the White Dragon God. The Black Rabbit Maiden looked at the Cat Man Boy, "I don't know how you defeated the White Dragon God, who was supposed to have an immortal body, but you did it. Then there is only one remaining possibility, the guardian of the fragment is no longer the Lord of the White Dragon God, and the fragment of hope has elected a new guardian. ＂

＂...... Is this really possible?"

"In extremely rare cases, yes, it is possible. The Black Rabbit blinked, her blood-red rabbit eyes looking a little eerie in the night: "As I said, the shards of hope will continue to eat away at the Guardian's mind and give the Guardian nightmares. Guardians who have been eaten away at their minds will gradually be consumed by madness, monstrous, and dehumanized. This process varies from person to person and has a lot to do with the will of the Guardian itself. When the current Guardian is mentally broken to the point where it is no longer considered to be able to serve as a Guardian, the Fragment of Hope may select the right person to take over the Guardian's duties among the new crowd. The old Guardians will be abandoned, driven further into madness, and killed. And the new Guardian will slowly eat away at the mind by the fragments, continuing the cycle. ＂

"This harmful thing has not been destroyed or sealed, it has always existed...... Mutter snorted, "The men of Melson Stone have sacrificed one person to keep the whole town alive. Their prosperity and stability are built on the suffering of others. So selfish. ＂

"And yet that's how they've survived for tens and hundreds of generations. Nina blinked again: "The Cat People are not a race with strong combat effectiveness, and they do not have a particularly strong ability to deal with Warcraft. Without the protection of the Tower of the Guardians, they would no longer be able to settle in the Melson Stone, so the sacrifice of the Guardians must have become a necessity. But Guardians don't die in vain. Guardians alone fight the curse of the Shards of Hope, and their spirits will break down quickly. Later generations used shrine maidens for this reason. ＂

"Mikoto?"

"It's the one in charge of guarding the Guardians. The black rabbit girl uncomfortably fiddled with her rabbit ears: "During her tenure, the witch can use some special secret method to harmonize with the guardians. After the harmony, the shrine maiden will share a part of the Guardian's burden and curse, making the process of the Guardian's mental collapse ...... Slow down. ＂

Hearing this, Muth suddenly guessed something: "And that witch ...... It's Luffy's mom, right?"

"You're quite right. Nina sighed: "It was because of that opportunity that I met Little Brother Luffy." His mother was supposed to take on the role of a shrine maiden and continue to guard the guardian's mind from the tragedy that happened that day in the Melson Stone. But Auntie, she seemed to have suffered a huge mental blow that night, and as a shrine maiden, she couldn't keep her mind calm, so the White Dragon Lord of the Guardian Tower lost control that night. What happened that night? Was it because you sent the body of Ruw's little brother back to the Melson Stone for Auntie to see and be struck by, or was it for some other reason?"

Mutter didn't reply. The real cause of the loss of control of the White Dragon God, the loss of light from the Tower of the Guardians, and the destruction of the Melson Stone...... Maybe it was a quote he had to Luffy's mom that night.

Every time I think of this, the cat man boy feels an inexplicable cramp in his heart.

"Don't you know anything?" the black rabbit girl Nina sighed again, "That's it." Let's not mention that yet. There's one thing I'm really concerned about------"

"Huh?"

"As I said, since the White Dragon God has been killed, it means that the duties of [Guardian] have most likely been transferred. I wasn't there at the time, I don't know what happened, and I want to ask you who were there. Do you have a clue? Have you seen anyone who has become the new Guardian?"

A drop of sweat broke out on the corner of the cat-man boy's forehead: "If you ask me like this, I ------ too"

"Please, please try to remember. Nina leaned in front of Mutter and continued to ask, "There were tens of thousands of inhabitants in the Melson Stone at that time, and the influence of [the fragments] was very huge, and it was impossible to find the new [Guardians] who were selected by the fragments without clues. You've definitely seen the shards react to anyone nearby, and if you've seen anything unusual, it's much easier to determine who the new Guardian is. ＂

"But what exactly are you talking about...... ＂

"Simply put, the Fragment will pick the most [desperate] people in its area of influence to become its guardians. People who are in great pain, people who are on the verge of death, the stronger the breath of [despair] emanates from them, the more likely they are to be the object of [fragmentation] picking. After all, no one wants to die. Knowing that he is dying, and being the guardian of [the fragment] will be saved, and one will sell even his soul. ＂

The cat man frowned, he seemed to realize something.

"Did you think of anything?" Nina asked.

"No...... No, I can't think of anything. Mutter replied, "But I'll try to remember." If I think of anything, I'll tell you. ＂

"It's a pity. The black rabbit girl sighed: "The situation is obviously very urgent, and it can't be delayed." ＂

"Huh? Why?"

"As I said before, from the moment a person is chosen as [a guardian], the spirit is cannibalized by fragments of hope. Nightmares will gradually catch up with him, pollute his mind, and drive him crazy. The new Guardian is still in a state of being guarded by a shrine maiden, and his mind will only be eaten away at more severely. ＂

"But isn't Auntie ------?"

"Luffy's little brother's mother is a shrine maiden of the White Dragon God, not a shrine maiden of the new guardian. She has no contractual relationship with the new Guardian, and she will not be able to support the spirit of the new Guardian. ＂

"That's right...... Hearing this, the cat man boy was a little uneasy: "There is no shrine maiden, if you have been letting the situation go unhandled...... What will become of it?"

"I don't know. Now the Britons have taken the [Fragment] away, and in exchange they have agreed to let the Cat People of Melson Stone immigrate to Great Britain. At least the cats won't be in danger for the time being...... Probably. The Black Rabbit Maiden rubbed her long furry ears uncomfortably again, "I don't know how Great Britain keeps [Fragments], and if [Fragments] and [Guardians] are far apart, it will have an effect on [Guardians]. I don't know. There is simply too little intelligence available. ＂

"Ugh. The cat-man boy stuck out his tongue.

"But it's still worrying. The Black Rabbit Maiden rubbed her ears harder: "The new Guardian is like a *, he doesn't know when he will explode, he doesn't know if he will explode, we don't even know where he will explode." Wouldn't it be terrible if the spirit of the new Guardian was still eroded, and in a short period of time it suddenly became insane, monstrous, and attacked those around him. What if he happens to be one of those cat people in Great Britain?"

"Have you spoken to the Britons about this?" asked Mutter, "It would be better for them to know about this and to take precautions." ＂

"Judging by their reactions, they already knew something. Nina pursed her lips and pretended to be angry: "I don't know what the old foxes in Great Britain are planning, I only know that they must be plotting against each other, lest the world be chaotic." ＂

The cat-man boy fell silent for a while.

"Alright! We don't have much to say! Daddy, get out of here!" On the other side of the living room, Patriarch Robble and Albert also began to quarrel, and Albert even issued an eviction order: "I don't need you to take care of my affairs at all, you continue to ramble about meows!"

"It's okay, who wants to worry about you? Do you think I'm idle?! But if you continue like this, it will only discredit the people in our Dawning Region, can I let you leave it alone? I will ask you, do you want to come back to the Dawning Region? Don't know how to play all day long, don't do your job!"

"Hey," Nina knew that the conversation was no longer going on, hearing the argument in the living room. The black rabbit girl sighed and said to the cat man, "It seems that I have to go too." I'm sorry to tell you all about it, and I'm sorry for you to repeat it to that stupid tiger. Maybe he'd seen something that could provide some clues. Goodbye then, little brother of Luffy. ＂

"I actually ------"

"Shhhh The Black Rabbit Maiden pressed her finger to the Cat Man's mouth to stop Mutter from continuing, "Whoever you think you are, let's take it all seriously." It would be sad not to think so. ＂

The stunned cat man boy did not reply, but stupidly looked at the figure of the black rabbit girl in the distance, in this night, in the noise of the tiger man father and son, in a dazed and overwhelmed situation, watching the two uninvited guests leave.