Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 807: "Despicable" Nun

At the summit of Sicarl Mountain, due to the volcanic eruption, the Circle Sorcerers of the True God Church who were stationed there had long since evacuated. They either ventured into the mountains to confront the Evil Spirits attempting to enter the city, or headed into the city to maintain order, or joined the battle in the skies above the city.

The eruption of the volcano, the divine strikes on the summit, and Silvermoon sinking into the crater completely altered the landscape of the summit. Although the volcano had now ceased, the summit was left with only a few sparse trees, and the summit lake had turned into a deep abyss leading underground.

Countless white light shadows emerged from the abyss, and followed a silver path of shattered light towards the starry sky. On one side of the summit, a sudden cliff extended slightly over the abyss.

The wind was strong, and the night of late autumn was very cold. No one noticed a silver-white light falling from high above, followed by Shard landing on that cliff on the summit.

He curled up on the uneven ground, with the starry sky above him. Four Impermanence Cards spun and fell beside him.

"Oh!"

Shard groaned in pain. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go to the edge of Bena Lake, but the excessive use of his power only allowed him to land here at this moment.

It felt as if all the muscles in his body were melting, and his soul seemed to have shattered into fragments, with insects gnawing at each of those fragments. Last time, after burning his divinity, he fell into unconsciousness until Iluna and Luviya rescued him back. But that time, he was still in the "Divinity Overflow" state after swallowing the second drop of the Lord of the Blood Feast’s divinity, and the divinity within his soul could still protect him.

But this time, the divinity obtained from the Vampire God was used to defeat the Evil God, then he transformed into Nether Moon to guide countless souls truly away from the interstice. He had no divinity left at this moment. Though he wouldn’t die, the torment he endured made the Outlander truly feel that life was worse than death.

Miss Feliana had said long ago that although Shard’s soul could bear the divinity, a mortal body burning divinity always had to pay a price.

Due to that intense pain, Shard was in a semi-conscious state. He was tortured by the sensations of pain and emptiness, lying curled up on the ground with black blood constantly seeping from the corners of his mouth. His body felt as if it was being burned by flames, yet simultaneously as if being thrown in an ice cave in the Far North. It seemed like insects were gnawing at his internal organs, while also as if someone was slicing his muscles piece by piece with a knife.

The night was very quiet, and the entrance to the crater was right there, with souls walking along the shattered light path towards the starry sky. Shard, covered in sweat, was already on the verge of breaking down. If the pain could still be endured, then that extreme emptiness in his soul was something even Shard, who prided himself on his strong will, could not bear.

His soul and body had once ascended to a very high plane, but in an instant, he fell back to being a mortal. Without another drop of divinity to support him internally, the deep bone and soul-level emptiness made Shard feel his soul was turning pale, his body soon collapsing into flesh.

[Do you regret it?]

In his drowsiness, he saw many illusions and many faces, but the voice next to his ear was the clearest.

"I don’t regret it."

His blurred consciousness gave the answer, his hazy eyes gazed at the starry sky above, and at the lightband walking in the starry sky:

"At least I’m not dead yet. Helping these souls, it was my choice."

[Outlander, you truly are foolish.]

"She" laughed lightly, and under the star ocean, with his face up towards the moon, Shard saw the silvermoon at the end of the star ocean creating a shadow, splitting into red, silver, and yellow moons.

He closed his eyes in pain, his body convulsing and unable to move, not even having the strength to reach for the Ever-Youth Leaf.

Meanwhile, "She" sang quietly, it was the sacred hymn from before, that primitive, untamed song praising the moon.

Half-asleep and half-awake, it seemed a gentle let embrace surrounded him. In that embrace, his consciousness fell into a deeper layer, yet he also felt the embrace was so warm.

When he tried to see who it was that held him, he found himself still laying alone on the cliff at the summit. Far off in the city’s sky, the sounds of intense battles echoed again, with four-color aura and completely indistinguishable High-Ring sorcery fighting against the final forces of the interstice. He even saw the ancient phoenix falling into the mouth of a giant beast.

But those things no longer concerned Shard.

He didn’t know how long had passed, maybe just a few minutes or maybe a few hours. When Shard could finally control his arm, he shakily took out the pocket watch from his pocket, tried several times before managing to open the cover, but his hand shivered and the watch fell to the ground.

His fingers desperately touched the ground, trying to retrieve the pocket watch, but he heard footsteps coming from the direction of the staircase leading up the mountain.

Shard wanted to stand up, or at least crawl up, but eventually he could only change from lying to prostrating.

He didn’t know who had come, and the footsteps indicated only one person.

A pair of pale hands picked up his pocket watch from beside him but did not return it to him. Then, bright flames lit up beside him, someone had sparked a kindling flame.

On the cliff summit at night in late autumn, the flames were so warm. When the warm firelight illuminated half of Shard’s body, he sensed that the terrifying pain and emptiness were still there, but at least, he could barely prop himself up.

Presently in a prostrate position, he tried to use his right hand to support himself up but failed again.

But at least, he saw who was beside the flame.

It was Sister Delphine, still dressed in the black-grey nun’s robe, with a shawl of matching color on her shoulder and a silver crown-like blindfold reflecting the light from the fire.

The nun slowly squatted down until she kneeled on one knee before Shard. Behind her, Helen and Grace were lying next to the fire, while Mia cheerfully ran over, meowing with a voice filled with worry seeing Shard in this state.

It seemed Sister Delphine had gone to the lakeside at the foot of the mountain and brought them all here.

"The city... up above..."

"That’s the doppelgänger."

"Nun, please... give me the watch."

He lay on the ground, his eyes only able to see the pebbles on the ground, the nun’s left knee and robe as it touched the ground.

The pale hand that took the watch appeared in the firelight, placing the watch before Shard, its small shadow flickering in the flames:

"Help me... open it."

"No."

The nun refused. Shard wanted to raise his head in astonishment, but the intense pain still made it nearly impossible for him to control his body. Mia had already reached Shard’s side, rubbing her face against him as if trying to help him up.

"Why...?"

"Shard Suren Hamilton, do you accept the power of the Primal Fire?"

A cold and solemn voice asked.

"What?"

"Not everyone can accept the power of the Primal Fire. But you have already proven in death that you can. This power can support your hollow soul, partially replenish your missing strength. Now, all you need to do is reach out your hand to the flame I’m holding, and you can inherit the power of this ancient fire."

Sister Delphine knelt on one knee by the bonfire, holding the long thin flame with her hands before Shard.

"Nun, you lent me power in death, and now you appear here. How... how it seems you’re planning step by step, planning to make me... make me touch..."

He spoke intermittently, even saying these words took great effort:

"Sister Delphine, what exactly do you want... to do?"

"To find a hero capable of bearing the Primal Fire, to gather kindling fire with him, to light the firewood and keep the flame, now weak to the extreme, burning."

"You..."

"Proposing such a condition when you are so weak is indeed my despicable act. But the fire of civilization has already weakened to the extreme, if we do nothing, the end of the world will come sooner. Sorry, Moon’s protegee."

"What exactly do you want...?"

"Everything has an ultimate death, even the world. "

The nun’s voice was soft, she maintained the stance of kneeling before Shard, yet did not intend to help him up:

"Everything has an ultimate death, the world’s end is actually not far away. Since the ancient First Era until now, supernatural power has been waning, the material world has been shrinking. As the guardian of the Primal Fire, I believe perhaps the Sixth Era is the last era."

Shard lay on the ground, no longer wanting to speak. Beside him was the firelight from the bonfire, the cat already lying beside him. He wanted just to stay like this, rather than thinking about whether the world would be destroyed after a great battle.

"Maybe I am wrong, maybe this is just my illusion. But the vigor of the Primal Fire can revive civilization, although it is not the decisive factor, at least it can prolong this world."

"Shard Suren Hamilton, at this moment I am the despicable one, you are the noble one. I ask you, I beg you, to touch the flame, even if it is just with one finger."

For a moment, Shard thought Sister Delphine had gone mad, as her words were trembling.

He struggled on the ground, finally relying on his own strength to barely sit up. Sister Delphine was directly in front of him, her head slightly lowered, pale face flickering in the firelight; kneeling on one knee, lifting the slender flame burning in her hands before him.

Beside them was the silver path of shattered light leading to the Star Ocean, souls quietly headed towards the Nether Moon at the end, not paying attention to this scene at the mountain pass.

The wind at the summit was strong, Shard thought all matters tonight were finished, didn’t expect such a thing:

"Nun, you should have just told me directly, why do this?"

His voice still trembling, but ’she’ had already given a hint. Touching the flame indeed could effectively treat his current condition, especially the hollowness of his soul. Though it was not as powerful as divine power, it could at least temporarily restore the terrifying sense of emptiness.

"Because not everyone is willing to shoulder the responsibility. I am despicable, I am willing to compensate you by any means."

"No need, but after this matter, you must tell me in detail about the Spiritual Practice Order, the Primal Fire and your speculation about the apocalypse."