Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"So, what needs to be done now?"

Having fully understood the situation and adjusted his mindset, Shard asked. The current situation seemed no more dangerous than when someone had pointed a gun at his head moments ago.

"Find the nodes of the ritual."

Miss Annette pulled her skirt over her feet and took a handful of shiny powder from a small pocket at her waist. She placed the powder in her palm, and with her lipstick-coated lips, she gently blew, scattering the powder, which seemed to hover in the air under the gaslight.

The blood mist had already blurred everything in front of her, and now with that dust, the corridor became even more elusive. Miss Annette took off her ruby hairpin, touched it lightly with her fingers, and handed it to Shard:

"I will use the Scribe Level Relic 'Dust of Truth' to enter the Illusionary Realm and cooperate with another version of myself. We will look for the ritual nodes from different perspectives. It should take about five minutes. During this time, you need to hold onto my keepsake to guide me back, or else I could fall into the seams of the Dreamscape."

"I just need to hold onto it?"

Shard asked, gripping the hairpin tightly.

"Do not stray too far from the third floor, or I will lose connection with the keepsake. A keepsake must be held by a conscious living being, I would have caught a cat or a fish from the garden if I hadn't found you. Remember, Detective, the Lord of the Blood Feast—God of Sin—is arriving in seven minutes, and I will be in the Illusionary Realm for five.

During this time, do not interact with anyone and wait patiently."

She paused, her expression turning grave:

"If I do not return within five minutes, leave via the main staircase. The team from the True God Church's Ring Sorcerers will ensure your safety downstairs. I am sorry, Detective, but you shouldn't have been involved in this being only at the First Ring." Read exclusive content at empire

She pursed her lips.

"It's fine since I am here too."

Shard clutched Miss Annette's hairpin tightly, his expression serious. He did not know what would come next, but since he was already here, there was no reason to leave:

"Though I have just awakened from my Blind Foolishness and haven't been acquainted with this civilization for long, since I cannot leave, I am part of this, and I should do what I must do."

Of course, this matter wasn't as dangerous as it sounded, which was also why.

The diviner girl with purple eyes smiled, winked as if she had made up her mind, and said:

"If I don't return and the doctors have been killed, then the only safe place tonight would be under the team of Ring Sorcerers from the Sun and Earth Church, led by the True God 'Lantern Bearer'."

They were that team of about a dozen people Shard had encountered twice tonight.

"More precisely, the safest place will be near the youngest lady in the team, Miss Iluna Beath."

"Why?"

Shard thought of that somewhat nervous, brown-haired girl, Miss Iluna Beath, whose hair color was very similar to Miss Annette's, though the Diviner had short hair.

"Because she is the Chosen One, the protagonist of 'Whispering Verses'—Poem Chapter... one of the thirteen Chosen Ones."

"What?"

Shard asked, his head snapping up as he grasped the severity of the information:

"Again, thirteen? No, that's not the point, what are the Whispering Verses?"

"I haven't even told the doctors about these things, but I would be happy to explain them to you afterward if we survive. Right now, there are more important things to do."

The Diviner with purple eyes shook her head slightly and then turned to walk into the corridor where crystalline dust hovered. Her figure, along with those illusionary dust and phantoms, disappeared into the bright yellow light, and the blood mist refilled the space that had just been occupied by the shining dust.

Only the surprised detective remained:

"What does that mean? Miss Iluna Beath is The Chosen One? Ancient God, God of Sin, Witch, Relic, Sublimation Incantation, Whispering Verses... What on earth is going on with this world? It seems like something big is about to happen in this era I've arrived in."

In that moment, the deathly silent manor seemed to harbor only Shard as the living soul, though a battle should be occurring on the second floor, not a single sound was heard. Standing in the blood-mist of the corridor, an unnerving sense of danger compelled Shard to seek a place to hide.

Yet, Shard dared not enter any rooms, merely finding his way to the third-floor banquet hall, where Dr. Schneider and the two others were confronting Lady Lassoya.

He had barely approached when a voice in his head warned him repeatedly of the four elements present, and Shard saw the densely packed rune shackles on the grand double golden doors.

He dared not interpret those runes, fearful of fainting at such a critical moment.

"Four more minutes, and Miss Annette will be back,"

Shard thought, nervously standing by the entrance to the banquet hall. The banquet hall faced the central main staircase of the Lakeside Manor, and he was highly concerned that the cultists, having defeated the True God Church's team of Circle Sorcerers, would burst into the third floor.

"It's not yet midnight; could this be considered good luck for tonight?"

He pondered trivial matters, continuously checking the time on his pocket watch.

In his mind, he wanted to take out the "Puppeteer's Script" to browse through it once more, hoping to find a way to resolve tonight's events in this last use of the Keeper of Secrets Level "Relic."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

But perhaps Shard's luck finally ran out before he could take out the small book, as the silent manor suddenly made a sound.

The next moment, a shocking explosion emanated from the banquet hall beside him, shattering the peaceful moonlit night.

The two golden doors were blasted open amid flames and smoke, and Shard, who was by the door, was directly blown away, coughing blood as he crashed against the wall at the staircase landing, tumbling to the cold ground along with the portrait of a bearded noble that had been hanging there.

"Oh!"

He tried to rise from the smoke and dust but found his body unresponsive; the impact had definitely caused internal injuries,

At that moment, he also discerned the true cause of the explosion. The blond Miss Writer had flown out of the banquet hall, her body having shattered the two doors. Now, Miss Luisa was lying near Shard at the staircase landing, half her body submerged in a pool of blood, her life hanging by a thread, her golden hair slowly staining with blood.

"I knew it wouldn't go smoothly."

Shard, enduring the severe pain in his left arm and chest, struggled to his feet, and touched the golden-haired girl's face, casting the sorcery "False Immortality" to ensure she wouldn't die within half an hour.

He wanted to help Miss Luisa flee to the other end of the corridor. Though he lacked the time to check his pocket watch, he knew that Miss Annette would soon return, and he couldn't leave the third floor now.

Another loud noise came from the banquet hall, and the white steam of the Ring of Fate emerged, dispersing the blood mist and almost completely obscuring the doorway. Shard heard Priest Augustus's angry roars and prayers to "Mr. Dawn," never imagining the old man could possess such strength.

"Hurry and go!"

Dr. Schneider's voice spoke from deeper within the banquet hall to Priest Augustus, but the next moment, a silver light pillar struck the Ring of Fate behind the priest, and he staggered out of the room to the corridor, where he also saw Shard and Miss Luisa.

Even though Shard had changed clothes and was wearing a mask, Priest Augustus recognized him:

"How do you..."

"Explaining this is very..." Shard coughed and coughed.

Not just Shard, Priest Augustus also coughed up blood, the air suddenly thick with the smell of blood:

"It's bad, the Divine Descent Ritual is about to start, we need to hurry."

The priest tried to help Shard and Miss Luisa up, but he too was severely injured, merely pushing through the pain. He barely took a few steps before collapsing heavily, and he too passed out, causing Shard too to reach out and touch the priest, now harboring a very bad feeling.