Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 1992: Afternoon Tavern

Once alone with Sister Delphine, Shard couldn’t help but think of the scene when Sister Delphine used the "Love God’s Sting" in the early hours of Thursday. He tried not to recall that memory, but the harsh conditions required to trigger the "Love God’s Sting" left him no choice but to think about it.

The nun remained as silent as ever, and after arriving at the pier with Shard, she turned her back to the lake and raised her hands. A slender flame appeared in her burn-scarred hands, merging again with a split flame, but it didn’t cause a noticeable change to the Fire of the Primordial in appearance.

The sunlight bathed the beach and small pier outside the forest, and the shimmering waves on the lake reflected the best spring scenery. The silver eyepatch, under this bright light, reflected an unusual sheen as it always did, and Shard knew what Sister Delphine was about to do.

He knelt on one knee and placed his right hand in Sister Delphine’s palm.

When his palm touched the flame, the slender fire slipped through his fingers and entered his body. The searing flow of fire didn’t harm his body; on the contrary, as the warmth spread throughout his body, he could clearly feel his life force, stamina, and other basic physical attributes growing once again.

The knight slightly bowed his head, contemplating the essence of this strange flame’s power. The nun had a gentle smile on her lips, watching the Hero of the Flame she had chosen progress once more.

After a long while, Sister Delphine finally closed her hands and withdrew the flames, and Shard patted his knee and stood up:

"Sister Delphine, can I now safely use the ’Calamity Cards’ just like you?"

As he spoke, he took out the "Twin Lovers" and "Shadow of the Deep Sea" cards, and the nun nodded, gently instructing Shard on how to invoke the power of the "fire" within his body to suppress the calamity power within the cards.

This method sounded very simple, and after a little trial, Shard quickly understood it. He first threw the "Twin Lovers" in front of himself, and while it rotated along the axis, he tapped it with his flame-imbued fingers. Then, without using Arcane Technique, he stepped forward, appearing on the water’s surface.

As for the effect of the "Shadow of the Deep Sea," it’s a "Dark Magic" within a certain range, which keeps an area completely devoid of light.

The powers that these two cards currently grant Shard aren’t very important, but a notable advantage is that they don’t consume his spirit and stamina. It is possible that as the power of the "Fire of the Primordial" increases, he might be able to wield more of the powers of these "Calamity Cards." Perhaps one day, he could summon the monster represented by the card directly without any cost.

"That diviner left all his research materials to me. He must have also studied the Primal Flame on this island, and perhaps within those research materials could be the whereabouts of other Primal Flame sparks, which I will later search through."

Putting away the two cards, Shard spoke again to the nun standing on the small pier. But Sister Delphine only nodded lightly, more concerned about other matters:

"The Maze Lock that appeared incomplete during your ascension was observed by many people."

"Yes, probably a very few people can realize what it is: The Apocalypse, Apocalypse City: Tobesk."

He did not shy away from this topic in front of Sister Delphine, as she had already sensed some things when she first came into contact with the "Calamity Cards";

"Rest assured, I will not invoke the power of that Maze Lock. I can feel that even though the Maze Lock has been suppressed by me, if I wish, I can make it truly manifest at any time."

After all, the "scenery" of the Bygone Era really left a deep impression on the Outlander; his soul has been imprinted with that scenery, forever inextricable from the memories of "Apocalypse City":

"Once the Maze Lock manifests, there might be no need to wait for the material world to gradually present various calamities; I could directly push the world into the abyss. I will be cautious."

The nun nodded slightly, not because she distrusted Shard but because she felt it necessary to remind him:

"The Divination of the Prophet’s Society, although unable to touch non-existent eras and entities, they will understand it too. Just like how the former owner of this island did."

"Those prophets have long understood that when I... merged into one with you, we once heard the diviner mention the Roder Cards. Using stories, legends, customs, and the most ordinary bits of past and present life, they weave them into a web with the Enlightenment Element, gathering civilization, to combine power for the world, it’s quite incredible, truly incredible."

Shard sighed repeatedly:

"It is really hard to imagine how the rumored President Roder conceived such a ritual."

"When the flame dims, someone will always step out to do something."

The nun whispered softly:

"Just like him, just like the former owner of this island, just like you."

"Me?"

He shook his head and looked at the shimmering lake. Sister Delphine also turned around, standing one step behind, "gazing" at the lake under the bright sunlight.

The dense forest framed the scenery on the pier, with the wind gently blowing their clothes. For a long time, neither spoke, but they both knew the other was lost in thought.

Although Sister Delphine came here with Granny Cassandra, she doesn’t need to take the train back with them because there’s an Ancient God Statue here. She can return to the old tower in the mountains of Sicarl at any time.

As for the other blind nuns who came to the Green Lake region with the sister, except for one who was seriously injured on Wednesday night and needs to recuperate, and will immediately return to the ritual site on the Top of the Mountains through special means, the others will take the train back with Granny Cassandra.

Sister Delphine will stay on Green Island for about a week to observe whether the island’s seal is stable. Shard will also take this opportunity to confirm how much is recorded in Laplace Howard’s library about the "Fire of the Primordial".

However, this should be a big project, and even though he hasn’t yet seen all of the other’s collection, Shard is very sure that it won’t be small. After all, there are already three-digit numbers of parchment rolls and stone tablets scattered on the bookshelves behind the underground arch.

However, before confirming exactly how many of those collections there are, Shard has a very important thing to do, which is to meet Miss Danester.

That was after lunch this Friday, as the battle of Green Lake has temporarily come to an end, but the professors of Saint Byrons have not yet left. Shard met Miss Danester not in the small manor where the professors lived in the city, but still on Green Island.

But this time it wasn’t at the small pier, the meeting place was the only tavern in Green Lake Town.

With Edwards’ Ascension Technique being directly defeated, those villagers of lakeside villages who came to the island because they believed in the "Unifier", and the descendants of the Green Lake Town citizens who were abducted here, those still alive have been sent to the island in reality; the undead who were forcibly awakened have been cleaned up, so the town is quiet now.

Miss Danester’s note was directly sent to the Green Lake Hotel in the city district, so that’s how Shard knew to meet here.

It must be admitted, that diviner’s construction and maintenance of the town is really good. The tavern’s decoration and furnishings are very much in line with the form of a steam age pub. Although there is no bartender, seeing the neat table, the cups hanging upside down behind the counter, and the rag seemingly casually thrown in the corner of the counter, it looks as if it just closed after a night’s business.

When Shard pushed the door open and entered, the tavern only had one person.

Miss Danester sat alone at the counter, holding a cup of tea and reading a book, with other books beside her and a complete set of porcelain teapot and teacups. She heard the sound of Shard entering but did not turn around; only after Shard sat beside her and placed the cat on the counter did she close the book in her hand, "Dream of the Snail".

This is not a Circle Sorcerer’s book, but a very famous Draleon short novel.

The female sorceress still didn’t speak but looked Shard up and down until Shard felt a chill down his spine; only then did she say:

"Mr. Shard Hamilton, good afternoon."

The tone of intentional mockery was something Shard could still understand:

"Please, still call me ’Shard’."

The red-haired sorceress’s rose-colored eyes stared at him;

"Oh, do I still have that privilege?"

"Of course, no, I mean, haven’t you always called me by my name?"

She continued to stare at him, and just as Shard thought Miss Danester’s next words were to once again ask whether he’s the "God Summoner", the female sorceress shook her head, abandoning the topic:

"I saw the core ritual circle of Edwards’ Ascension Technique in the underground of Edwards’ Old House. That ritual circle is the pattern of Sun, Moon, and Stars we have been investigating. But now both Edwards’ Old House and the underground have been sealed, even I can’t get in temporarily."

Shard had already heard this from Lecia, Dorothy, and Angelina, and knew that Grace and Helen asked her to help them:

"I have more progress, I know the origin of that ritual circle. Laplace Klein Howard created it by referencing the prophecy symbol on the ’Roder Card’ back of the Prophet’s Society."

"Oh?"

Miss Danester slightly frowned, Shard said very confidently:

"This news is definitely not wrong, because it’s...that diviner, said it personally before dying. I specifically asked this question, he wouldn’t lie at that time."

The female sorceress looked at him with quite a surprise, not surprised by Shard admitting the source but surprised that at that time Shard still remembered this matter, instead of focusing solely on dealing with The Chosen One.

The originally somewhat serious expression relaxed a bit, and without even noticing herself, some smile appeared on her face:

"But how could the ritual circle be something he created? The Night Shrine of Randall Valley appeared with it, and it’s also in the Sicarl Mountain’s ancient ruins. Could it be that the Prophet’s Society’s traitor deliberately went to these ancient ruins, leaving his research content?"