Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 524 - Sublimation Incantation and Spiritual Practice Order

"No, we can't keep it open any longer."

As Shard and Tifa fully entered the area circled with black fountain pen ink on the map, Shard suddenly said.

Tifa was riding a horse, so it was Shard who observed the erosion status of the "Box of Darkness". Now, more than half of the surface area of the box had turned into a light-absorbing black, and Shard felt that this was already a warning sign.

"Alright."

Tifa stopped the horse to facilitate Shard closing the box. But as the undead creature that had been running for two and a half hours stopped, it simply disintegrated into a pile of bones, scattering in the pitch-black forest.

"It's reached its limit as well."

Tifa said somewhat annoyed, steadying Shard to prevent his fall, while Shard hurriedly knelt down to close the "Box of Darkness" again.

"It's okay, we're not far from our destination now."

Shard said, bringing his luminescent finger close to the map:

"Although the area of the 'Dark Realm' can expand indefinitely, the size of the core territory is very small. If nothing goes wrong, it will take us about twenty minutes to reach Miss Galina, even on foot."

"There's a strange feeling around here."

Tifa strapped the box to her back and whispered to Shard, then grabbed his hand. Only through this physical contact was the silver moonlight of an inexplicable origin on Shard able to help her weaken the influence of the darkness. Having entered the core territory of an Angel-Level Relic, even Tifa was almost at her limit.

That feeling of being watched by something became clearer in this area, and the phantoms of the past in the air grew denser. The core territory of the Dark Realm had definitely been the site of unimaginable events.

"Be careful, this way."

Shard checked the map and continued walking with Tifa through the black forest. The silver halo in the darkness had a strange sensation, making the surroundings seem slightly blurred when it illuminated them.

As he walked, Shard contemplated the events that could soon unfold and the forces he could wield in his hands. Then suddenly, a voice near his ear spoke up, giving new information for the first time in a while due to the heavy Desecration Element in the area:

[Outlander, watch your back.]

"What?"

Instinctively turning around to strike with moonlight, he instead saw a familiar face flash past. Before Shard could speak, the figure brushed past him and Tifa as if they hadn't even been noticed.

"Was that... Mr. Hog Lendel of the Sun Church with the Sunlight Greatsword?"

Tifa recognized who it was.

"Yes, it's a phantom."

Shard stated with certainty, trusting the voice's judgment for close-range targets.

"So, does that mean the core of the Dark Realm is now able to record short-term phantoms?"

Tifa asked.

"It seems so, but why is he running so fast? What is he doing?"

Shard wondered, then continued forward with Tifa. More real phantoms appeared one after another, most of which were magicians from the Church. Shard and Tifa even saw phantoms of Ivan Daknis and Weeper Helmons.

They proceeded forward, leaving the forest tainted by darkness, and entered a small village in the countryside so remote that not even those in slumber could find it. This place was likely the origin of the "Dark Realm"; the villagers had long since been dissolved by the darkness, and Servants of the Hidden roamed everywhere throughout the village.

The houses, gnawed by darkness, were dilapidated, and the walls had also turned pitch black. This place was even more terrifying than the haunted ghost villages Mr. Riddle had described to Shard.

Carefully avoiding the demons, even if they accidentally drew the attention of a few entities, Shard and Tifa together could barely manage to evade. And as they left the village and stood on the ridges of the fields, looking far into the distance, Shard could vaguely see a pillar in the depths of darkness, as if it propped up the world. But due to the profound darkness, he was unsure if it was just his imagination ascribing form to the void.

"Tifa, can you hold on?"

He turned and asked the raven-haired girl. Miss Maid, though slightly pale, was in much better condition than Luviya upon reaching Miss Galina's manor:

"No problem, I feel that Miss is probably nearby."

There are only thirteen witches in the Sixth Era, and other females with witch power derived their strength from the witches. Tifa's witch power was from the same source as Miss Galina, giving them a certain degree of sensing ability between them.

"Okay, we need to be careful..."

Before he finished speaking, an intense golden light burst forth from the fields shrouded in darkness not far away. As their eyes had adjusted to the darkness, the abrupt appearance of this light nearly brought tears streaming down Shard's face instantly.

Shard then heard a deafening sound:

[When the greatsword falls, the Sun shall shine upon the Earth.]

"Sublimation Incantation!?"

Before he could react, Tifa quickly moved to shield Shard.

Scalding golden glimmers surged forward, almost furiously cleansing all the filth from the land.

"Greatsword, falls, the Sun, shines, the Earth. Followers of the Lantern Bearer, the Sun and Earth God, the Sublimation Incantation of the Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer's Sunlight Greatsword!"

Shard, protected behind Tifa, heard her speaking. Even though he only saw her back, he could feel the brightness intensifying around him, and the surrounding scenery began to change.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

"We've been hit by the aftereffects of the Sublimation Incantation, don't move around, Shard. We absolutely cannot enter the range of the Sublimation Incantation."

Faint golden steps appeared behind Tifa and Shard, yet this power wasn't strong enough to counter the Sublimation Incantation of a Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer.

"Sublimation Incantation? Spatial Stabilization Aura!"

Invisible ripples spread from beneath Shard's feet, merging with the Witch Power around them, and the glimmers in the environment that began shining were immediately quelled. The Sublimation Incantation contained a spatial element, and at its powerful fringe, Shard and Tifa barely avoided being pulled in.

Darkness reclaimed the area, and Miss Maid seemed to be hurt, grunting before being supported by Shard.

"Is this the power of the Thirteen Rings?"

Shard took out a container of water to help heal her, and just then, a strong light unexpectedly flashed high above. Subsequently, two faint points of light appeared in the dark sky. One was gold and the other blood red, still seemingly in pursuit as they fell towards a region far from the core area.

"The Sunlight Greatsword has won," Tifa said softly, her complexion quickly improving under the silver light as she watched the direction where the two points of light disappeared.

"I'm not surprised. If the Weeper could contend with the top Thirteen-Ring Sorcerers of the True God Church, he wouldn't have hidden in the New World for so many years. It seems that due to the Church's obstruction, Daknis and the Weeper have been separated. Let's move on. It seems there's something else ahead, and the elements nearby are really chaotic," Shard said, ensuring that Tifa was relatively alright before the two of them pressed on.

The fields they were crossing had once been planted with crops that were now indistinguishable. The darkness's corrosion turned all the plants into a sludge-like substance, squishing underfoot, even corroding their shoes.

As they continued onward, black stains on the ground—resembling lichen or salt—began to accumulate into small black crystals, growing larger as they progressed.

"Very pure Desecration Element."

Shard dared to touch the black, menacing crystals with his hand, and the color of his fingertips quickly darkened, but was soon dispelled by a glow emanating from his fingertips.

"This is top-tier Alchemical Material. How come every time there's a major event, there are large quantities of alchemical materials?" he mused, gathering some in a small bottle he carried.

Meanwhile, Tifa appeared somewhat anxious, looking ahead as if she felt that Miss Galina was in an unfortunate situation. Yet, before they could meet the redhead Grand Witch, Shard and Tifa encountered another group of unusual women.

These women traveled in a group, and each one wore identical attire.

They donned overly large white gossamer shirts with hems nearly reaching their knees, and below, they wore long black skirts that trailed the ground, utterly unadorned. A black belt tightly cinched their outerwear and skirts at the waist.

What drew Shard's attention even more was the fact that all of the women wore silver metallic blindfolds over their eyes. Yet, on closer inspection, the intricately patterned blindfolds clearly doubled as crowns, only worn too low on their faces.

There were nine of them, traversing through the darkness. They didn't seem to hold any Relics, nor could Shard feel the workings of Arcane Technique or Sorcery, yet they were enveloped in a radiant white light.

This light was distributed evenly, as if the women were emitting it themselves.

Still at quite a distance, only Shard could observe them. After conveying his findings to Tifa, she immediately smiled:

"They are Nuns of the Spiritual Practice Order."

"The Spiritual Practice Order?"

Shard knew this Circle Sorcerer Organization.

Though referred to as an "Order", they did not subscribe to a unified belief system, but rather adhered to Animism, venerating nature, life, and death.

Active in the eastern part of the Old Continent, the Order was primarily composed of women, who lived simply and liked to assist in childbirth, working closely with children's welfare organizations and hospitals. They often advocated for environmental protection, which led to some friction with proponents of the steam revolution, the Church of Creation and Destruction, but they remained one of the milder Circle Sorcerer groups.

Wearing blindfolds was typical of Spirit Practitioners from the Spiritual Practice Order. They believed that covering their eyes not only expanded their "Spirit Sense," enabling them to better perceive the spirituality of the world but also kept their own Spirituality locked within, better controlling the powers of the Four Elements.