Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1755 - 1754: Ancient God Form

The two of them went downstairs together, and when they reached the first floor, Ms. Helena Green and Mr. Soren Green were already waiting for them at the stairway.

The owners of the hotel greeted Audrey, and the witch formally introduced Shard:

"These are my nephew and niece. They are the younger daughter of the Fourth Generation, the grandchildren of my aunt, Maria Edwards."

Mr. Soren Green, who had already conversed with Shard this morning, winked at Shard, who pretended to just understand this:

"Oh~ so that’s how it is, truly surprising."

"Look at you talking, didn’t you guess it a long time ago?"

The brown-haired girl lightly slapped Shard’s arm and then said to the siblings:

"Let’s have everyone in the kitchen leave for now."

Mr. Soren Green went to inform the chef and helpers to come out for a midnight snack. Once everyone had left the kitchen, Shard and Audrey entered the kitchen together, then moved from the kitchen into the narrow storage room, pulled open the trapdoor, and went down into the underground storage room.

The summoned white light orb stayed by their side. Shard led the slightly puzzled witch to the end of the underground storage room to the wall at the end:

"Now, summon the Ring of Fate."

So the Eleven-Ring Life Ring appeared behind Audrey, adorned with over fifty Spirit Runes on its luxurious body, and with each advancement Megan made, she surpassed the level of more than four Spirit Runes per Ring:

"Illuminate the wall in front of us with the Spiritual Light of the Spirit Rune ."

The witch followed suit, and then they saw, in the light, the wall actually "melted" to reveal a dark hidden passage:

"This... I was standing in front of the wall, and could sense no elements or Spirits at all! How is that possible?"

"There was a hidden wall in front—this way."

Shard gestured for her to proceed, but he walked in first. Audrey followed closely behind, and as soon as their sight touched the hidden space at the center of the passage, the Divine Statue illuminated the surroundings with its light.

There was nothing else against the curved walls of the circular space, except for a white stone statue placed right in the center. The base was a circular platform, with a statue of a man with two heads standing on it, both heads faceless. The left hand held a book, the right hand pointed forward. The direction the finger pointed was precisely where Shard and Audrey stood.

"Ancient God!"

Audrey paused, then within the overwhelming spiritual pressure, understood what it was. Surprise mixed with fear overwhelmed the witch, making her subconsciously want to retreat, but Shard held her hand. Her golden eyes reflected the statue in front of her, the double-headed man in a trailing robe with bare feet, the faceless head looking outward as if staring straight at her.

The impact of the Miracle Element and the visage of the Ancient God made Audrey’s spirit uncontrollably surge within her soul, yet she did not retreat further, instead, her eyes widened as if she were frozen in place.

After quite a while, she finally exhaled sharply and turned to ask Shard:

"Is this the legendary Spatial Labyrinth?"

"It is. Legend says before the thirteen Ancient Gods left, they each left behind strange spaces. Inquisitor’s Court, Dark Dungeon, Witch Council, Spatial Labyrinth..."

When Shard mentioned the "Witch Council," the witch’s expression noticeably stiffened.

Shard pretended not to notice, then led Audrey closer to the statue, placing her hand on the warm stone material:

"Please recite with me: May the Primordial Rift, protect me in Infinite Space."

"May the Primordial Rift, protect me in Infinite Space."

White mist rose around them instantly, enveloping the two. And in the white mist, a path extended forward. To Shard, there were a total of seven signposts on the path, but to Audrey, there was only one.

"Spatial Labyrinth, exists in multiples. By touching the Divine Statues at different locations, you can establish signposts, and afterward, you can teleport between different signposts. Except for not being able to bring other life forms, you can carry other things. When I wasn’t at Green Lake, I used this to return home."

Shard explained its function, and Audrey listened intently before asking again:

"Didn’t you say you’re not the Chosen of Space?"

"To enter here, it only takes a space-type Spirit Rune, or even power related to the Ancient God ’Primordial Rift.’ I discovered the secret here purely because one of the hidden spaces was in the basement of my house. When we were renovating the first floor, the family cat ran around, leading me to the basement where I discovered the anomaly... Your family might be the Chosen, not me."

Audrey knew Shard was right, but she couldn’t help but ask.

After Shard answered, she also laughed. Looking at the mist-shrouded space, she gave Shard a hug:

"You’ve worked hard today, go back and rest. Tomorrow... you don’t need to come see me for now. I’m going to entertain a friend of mine; she’s a very troublesome woman, but I believe I can handle her."

She was really worried that Shard might encounter other witches who had already arrived locally:

"On Friday evening, I’ll send someone to pick you up at the inn entrance, and then we’ll go to the banquet together."

Red lips left a mark on the side of Shard’s face. She asked, pressing her lips together:

"Or, do you want to kiss me again before you go?"

"No, no, too much of that and I might have strange dreams. See you the day after tomorrow, Helen, Megan."

Shard waved his hand as if escaping; the witch smiled as she bid him farewell, tossing him a wooden key, a Time Key:

"Since you have the power of Time, this should be useful to you. A small gift, to thank you for everything you’ve done for us."

Shard looked at her in surprise, then also smiled and waved goodbye. After Shard left, the witch turned to look at everything in the white mist, finally resting her hand on the signpost.

Because he was delayed at the Green Lake Hotel, by the time Shard returned home, the Lunar Eclipse had already entered its waning phase. The city was once again illuminated by moonlight, and it was another peaceful night for Tobesk City.

Luviya’s stargazing work was almost done. Shard used Arcane Technique to make dinner, and he and Luviya chatted about today’s events while eating. Of course, Mia also seized the opportunity to get her supper.

The appearance of the demon was something Shard had anticipated; the confrontation with the Mirror Keeper had been foreseen weeks ago. The only surprise today was entering the Silvermoon Library again and the appearance of that Thirteen-Ring Diviner.

The space left behind by the Moon’s Ancient God did not garner much comment from Luviya; she was more concerned with the one who called himself "The Chosen One," Laplace Klein Howard. In a state of Divinity Overflow, Shard faced him directly; although they were still far apart, Shard sensed his condition:

"He doesn’t seem like a human, but more like some kind of monster with a human appearance. We don’t know what he’s done to himself over these centuries, but since he’s performed Human Alchemy experiments on his descendants and claims that the stack of Divination Cards he holds seals such experiments’ products, there’s no reason he wouldn’t do the same to himself."

On this topic, Shard had deeper thoughts. The way Laplace Klein Howard released monsters through the Divination Cards was remarkably similar to his release of the Twin Lovers.

"What I can be sure of is that he became stronger by abandoning his human identity."

Saying this, he spooned the meat soup into his mouth; the Dragon Maid’s skills were truly impressive.

"Beyond Thirteen Rings? A Demigod?"

Luviya asked, pressing her lips together. If so, the situation was worse than expected. Facing a Demigod Diviner as an opponent was something no one wanted to see.

"No. Luviya, when we say the Evil Creatures of Pantanal are strong, do we call them demigods?"

The purple-eyed girl immediately understood:

"You mean, Laplace Klein Howard might not even be a Circle Sorcerer anymore?"

"Yes."

Shard nodded lightly:

"I didn’t see his Ring of Fate, and he only released a card himself..."

"I know this; the association recorded his skills. Before his defection from the association during the Twelve Rings stage, he mastered a powerful Arcane Technique of sealing and releasing monsters with Divination Cards, the ’Laplace Sealing Skill.’ This ability is very similar to the Angel-Level Relic from the Mirror Association that the doctor mentioned, ’Fasha’s Cursed Mirror.’"

Luviya said, then added:

"Yes, this Arcane Technique was named after him. He combined multiple High Ring Sorcery techniques to independently develop the ’Laplace Sealing Skill.’ This person is truly a genius. Had he not gone down the wrong path, he could have become the president of the association in his era."

But Shard was more concerned about something beyond this Sealing Skill. He was reminded that today was the last day of the Sowing Moon. After midnight, it would be May 1854, traditionally referred to as the "Rain-Prayer Moon."

According to tradition, the rainfall in this month greatly affects the autumn harvest of crops, so people call this month "Rain-Prayer," also conveying a sense of hope.

Of course, Shard didn’t need to pray for rain; he was concerned about the black Time Key, which could finally be used for the second time. At the same time, the new Time Key that the witch just gave him could also be activated tomorrow, Thursday morning, signaling the start of another adventure.

"We currently have only one Coin, and many questions cannot be divined. But fortunately, I’ll be able to gather some other Coins soon, and then we must at least figure out what combination of the Chosen of Space is ranked in the top two positions... Speaking of which, since it’s going to be the Rain-Prayer Moon, Iluna’s birthday is also coming up soon."

Luviya suddenly said, not knowing what Shard was thinking. Trying to feed diced carrots to Mia, Shard was startled:

"Birthday? Oh, right."

The Outlander had arrived in this world on the 22nd day of the Sunshine Moon in June last year, and in the blink of an eye, almost a year had passed. A year had gone by, and it would almost be Iluna’s birthday again.