Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 784 - Cost and Punishment

Chapter 784 -784 Cost and Punishment

“Are you… Sister Delphine? Shard mentioned you to me, my name is Iluna Beath.”

Out of respect for the Eleven-Ring Sorcerer and astonished by the nun’s aura, Iluna cautiously introduced herself.

Sister Delphine maintained a calm expression and nodded slightly:

“Hello, Chosen of Balance.”

After that, she surprisingly extended a business card to Iluna with just the name Delphine, no surname, and her position as the Director of the Serpent Heart Hospital.

“This is mine.”

Iluna hurriedly looked for her own business card, feeling a bit shabby, but handed it over anyway, then introduced:

“This is Lat August the Cleric, a friend of Shard’s and a member of the Dawn Church.”

“Hello, Sister, I come from the Tobesk Parish.”

The Old Cleric said, also exchanging business cards with Sister Delphine, who, by the light of the fire, “looked” at Priest Augustus and hesitated for a moment:

“Hello.”

“Sister Delphine, how did you get in?”

Iluna collected the business card and asked curiously.

“I assisted two witches in combat against Joey Barton. Barton called forth some terrifying things, terrible things from the Fifth Era, which held the witches back. I chased him into the tunnel inside the mountain, and then we both fell into the well.”

The trio by the campfire busied themselves exchanging business cards while Shard, by the shore, turned his head again to look at Mr. Barton, who wore a somber expression:

“What will you do now?”

Mr. Barton sighed deeply:

“Of course, I must bring her here. Mr. Watson, you once asked me what price I was willing to pay to bring her back.”

The three by the fire now looked over as well. Joey Barton turned to look at Shard, with a powerful glow in his eyes:

“I am willing to give my everything.”

He braced his hands on the rock, struggled to jump down, and then, to Shard’s great surprise, he stepped towards the quiet expanse of dark water.

Mr. Barton didn’t sink into the water but stood on its surface, like the white shades, moving towards the distance under the Nether Moon.

Shard remained silent but watched his own feet. Joey Barton’s body, eyes closed, lay face-up on the shore of the mudflat, pale, the body of a deformed child cooling progressively. Looking up again, the soul had already departed far away.

He really had given his all.

“To be so deeply infatuated…”

All the other souls were similar-looking white shadows, barely distinguishable from one another, but Mr. Barton’s soul was so unique and real. He didn’t disappear, but stopped in the depths of the water, as if calling out or crying, yet Shard didn’t notice any shades halting their advance, nor did he see any souls return from the far reaches of the Nether Moon.

“Shard, you must stop him quickly.”

The voice of Augustus the Cleric came from behind, and as Shard turned, he found all three by the fire looking at him.

“If he does bring back a soul long gone, even without taking it out through this gate, something terrible will certainly happen—the boundaries of life and death will be distinctly broken. There is no danger to Midshire Fort, but it’s an extremely ominous sign.”

Augustus the Cleric must know many things; Shard trusted him:

“What should I do?”

“Chase after him, at the place where souls wander and leave, defeat him. The water surface is different from the mudflat, you can defeat it, but do not kill him. Five living people came in, and five must leave. With such pure death, if he truly steps into real death here, even the Holy Tree Scar could not prevent the Interstice from losing control.”

The nun spoke softly, still using that archaic grammar.

“Wait, apart from whether I can defeat him or not, Sister, are you saying that I also have to step onto this water surface?”

Shard asked in disbelief, and both Augustus the Cleric and Sister Delphine nodded:

“Here, only you can do that.”

“Why? Cleric, you…”

“I am just an old man, with not much strength, you wouldn’t expect me to do it…”

Augustus the Cleric looked up at Shard, his face reddened by the firelight:

“And moreover, my power is not complete.”

This statement was spoken softly, but everyone could hear:

“You possess great power. If there is one person here who can step on the water’s surface, it must be you.”

“Then, Sister Delphine, you…”

“I’m just a nun looking after the Primal Fire, I am still a mere mortal, there are some things I cannot do.”

The firelight danced upon her eye patch, and as the nun looked up, the intricate patterns slowly became clear. Shard had never been able to accurately describe the pattern on her eye patch, but at this moment, it almost resembled the sun.

“Iluna…”

He looked towards the gaunt girl, but immediately shook his head; Iluna was in no condition to stand and fight, she could not even leave the range of the Kiss of the Tree’s bonfire.

“Furthermore, I must warn you.”

Augustus the Cleric spoke again, watching Joey Barton standing far out on the water’s surface:

“He is delving deeper into death than any living person in history has ever gone. What exactly is this peculiar talent? On this tranquil surface of water, he will become even stronger.”

“Stronger than outside? Oh, Priest… well, how strong is that?”

Shard asked.

“It’s hard to describe.”

Sister Delphine immediately added:

“But you could think of it as battling a High Ring Sorcerer who holds a variety of level-zero Relics in his hand.”

“Yes.”

Lat August the Cleric agreed, somewhat surprised that the nun knew so much:

“The nuns are right. Shard, you must act quickly because none of us know what he might be capable of.”

Shard looked troubled, while Iluna leaned on her longsword, pursing her lips as she looked at the other two beside the campfire, feeling like she was the only one here who knew nothing. She tried hard to find information that might help the current situation within the knowledge she possessed as The Chosen One, while also catching the “other me” to feel this area that seemed so silent that time had stopped:

“Shard, if you are to step onto that body of water, I can use the power of the Ancient God ‘The Hanging Judge’ to give you some help, to balance the powers of life and death. It will lessen the impact on you while allowing you to harm him here.”

She said softly.

“Shard, don’t worry about how to approach that body of water, I will also give you a brief blessing, which will make you immune to some damage, and allow you to inflict more noticeable harm to Joey Barton.”

Priest Augustus said.

“Shard Hamilton, if you’re willing, I can allow some of the Primal Fire to adhere to your sword. Not even death could extinguish the fire from the world’s beginning. May the Fire of the Primordial be with you.”

Sister Delphine added.

Shard nodded his head, then shook it slightly;

“I was only here to watch, how did it come to this… Well, it seems I have to go. We are in an emergency, and I should set out immediately. However, I’ll delay for three seconds to go somewhere else to recuperate and seek help from others.”

He took the Time Key out of his pocket, walked back from the beach to sit down again by the campfire:

“This time, Joey Barton has to be defeated head-on, but even with your help, I think I’ll need some extra means.”

He laid out the Relics he had on him beside the campfire. Without the Divine Afterglow’s protection on him, the Relics need to be close to the Primal Fire to avoid sudden loss of control:

“Three seconds, and I’ll be right back.”

Iluna already knew the secret of Shard’s time travel, so she understood what he was going to do. Priest Augustus didn’t quite understand but still didn’t ask anything. As for Sister Delphine… she remained as she had always been, seeming not to be surprised by whatever Shard did.

After confirming that he had the five items related to Sun Power with him, Shard sat in front of the campfire, pointed the key at the pendant on his chest:

“May the World Tree bless me in time.”

Click~ The door on the pendant popped open and fluff-like white mist spilled out. Shard didn’t waste time; he put his finger through it. To the other three by the campfire, the leaking white mist quickly enveloped him.

As the mist vanished, the pendant fell towards the ground, clattering next to the Spear of Kindness, the string draped over the spear.

“Outlander, you have entered the ‘Time Corridor’.”

“A message from the ‘Father of the Infinite Tree,’ the Ancient God:

“Winter of Year 3024 of the Fifth Era, Midland, the Valley of Dead Silence.”

“Event: The destruction of the Gadis Library.”

“Duration: Thirty minutes (3/3).”

“You have received additional information.”

“The figure of the Father of the Infinite Tree continues to watch you.”

“The trial given to you by the Ancient God of Time shall continue.”

“Assist the Old God ‘Gray Robed Sage’ in recording the library’s documents.”

“The Father of the Infinite Tree will reward you with: Knowledge – Original Sin Magic, A Piece of True Information – Vampire Kind.”

After listening to these familiar pieces of information, Shard intended to step out and leave the White Mist Space to enter the Silent Valley. But this time, there was an additional piece of information:

“Outlander, you have violated the rules by using the Time Key within death.”

“Huh? Violated the rules? Where did I violate them?”

“The Father of the Infinite Tree detests the power of death. The Time Key should not be used amidst death.”

With “her” reminder in his ears, Shard looked at the white mist in front of him with slight surprise:

“There are still such taboos on the Time Key? But the professors from the History Academy at Saint Byrons never told me that… Oh, probably no one would use the key in such a place. If I could report this information to the Academy, I wonder what reward I would get. I still need a lot of practical lessons… Wait, what happens if I violate the rules?”

“A message from the ‘Father of the Infinite Tree,’ the Ancient God:

“The next activation of the Time Key will be postponed from one week to three weeks from now.”

Such a result was still acceptable to him; it just meant wasting half a month, and Shard was also thinking of taking a break after the Milestone incident wrapped up.

“The Father of the Infinite Tree bestows ‘Verdant Blessing’ upon you. The scent of death is cleansed, unable to entangle you again for a short time. Your life force is enhanced, your recovery strength is enhanced, and Arcane Techniques related to nature and trees are greatly boosted.”

“Outlander, you have experienced a miracle.”

“Outlander, you have gained insight into ‘nature,’ ‘life,’ ‘trees,’ ‘water,’ ‘plants,’ ‘blessings,’ ‘animals,’ ‘harmony.'”