Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 710 - : The Gift of Desire

Chapter 710 -710: The Gift of Desire

The sin of Gluttony was laid bare at this moment, with the Phoenix Fire as its source, as blood and flames spread throughout the entire hall. Blood seeped out from under Shard’s hands, as the black tablecloth gradually turned blood-red.

Shard, dressed in bloodied garments, sat at one end of the empty long table. As he rose from his prostrate position, the gold and silver cutlery began to fall from above, and within the firelight, the enticingly aromatic food shifted from illusion to reality. The shiny plates reflected the light from the gold candlesticks ignited by the Phoenix Fire. Snowfall was nowhere to be seen high above; on the contrary, the power of sin drew upon more of the corrupt forces that Shard had once devoured.

Like at a Divine Banquet, rows of sharp fangs hung down in the blood-light, and the heavy scent of blood even stained the scared statues hidden in the shadows with a tinge of crimson.

The interplay of blood and firelight made the dark banquet hall all the more elusive. Within the Fishbone Pirate Ship, Shard utilized the power of the Little Match Girl as a foundation to exhibit the strength of the Lord of the Blood Feast. And at this moment, by increasingly proficient application of the Gluttony power, he revived the eerie blood-red banquet with the Phoenix Fire alone.

“Has the Phoenix awakened?”

Mr. Armand Bernhardt of the Vampire Kind was not surprised by Shard’s display of power, attributing it instead to the Ancient One atop the mountain. And Sister Delphine, with her silver eyepatch reflecting the blood-light, slightly turned her head to look at Shard, as if faced with an incomprehensible question.

“Blood Feast…”

The owner of the mansion, that old, decrepit man, showed a look of surprise for the first time. He tried to stand up using the table for support, but failed, only able to stare wide-eyed at the young man dressed in bloodied garments at the other end of the table:

“What do you want to do?”

Though somewhat panicked, he maintained his composure.

“You just need to answer one question of mine.”

Even with the support of the Phoenix Flame, the Spirit within Shard still flowed swiftly through him. It was through the power of “Gluttony,” sedimented in the divinity, that he could recreate this scene time and again, but the consumption of this spectacle was even greater than the Maze Lock:

“When we were playing cards just now, did you cheat?”

The blood-clothed Shard asked in a deep voice.

The old man’s corpse-like pallid lips writhed slightly:

“Leave this place; consider that I have lost this gamble.”

“Do you admit to your sin?”

“Yes, I cheated. That is the sin of lies and deception, and I won’t deny it.”

“Hand over the pearl earrings I want, the Fire of Karmic Sin the nun desires, and the Blood Chalice this gentleman wants.”

“I can give them to you, but you too must answer my question.”

He lunged forward with his hands on the table, and at the same time, all of the statues around turned towards Shard, their eyes glaring fiercely at him. The spreading blood mist seemed to be hit by an invisible wind, and the hanging fangs above jostled against each other.

Representing the power of Karmic Sin, pure black lines invaded the Blood Feast. The red and black forces collided in the unseen twisted void, and the intense clash of blood and sin, fire and malice, shattered all the surrounding glass.

Mr. Bernhardt quickly covered his head and dodged, while the nun placed her hands together on her lap, the firelight and blood color reflecting on the flawless eyepatch as she continued to “stare” at Shard.

Clearly, although Shard had the upper hand, the mansion’s owner was not without any power to fight back:

“You are using someone else’s power to temporarily suppress the Sin Mansion, but this power doesn’t belong to you.”

He spoke in a suppressed voice, articulating Shard’s current state, his hands pressing on the table as the black lines representing the power of Great Sin resisted the spread of the blood-red:

“Gluttony, greed, sloth, you now possess the power of three Original Sins, but I can see that this is not your deepest Karmic Sin. Tell me—

Outlander, what exactly is your Great Sin? I admit I have committed the sin of deception and lies. What about you, Outlander, do you admit your own Karmic Sin?”

“My Karmic Sin?”

Shard frowned:

“God loves all people, and I…”

Mr. Bernhardt, shocked by the scene, watched Shard, while Sister Delphine lowered her head, arranging the cards before her amid the flickering light of gold and silver cutlery as if she had fully grasped the situation at hand.

“…I…”

[God loves all people, do you love them?]

“She” suddenly whispered in Shard’s ear, nearly causing his serious expression to collapse.

“God loves all people, I am not a deity, but I aspire to such a realm.”

Perhaps to Sister Delphine and Mr. Benhart, Shard meant he intended to be benevolent towards everyone like a god, but it actually meant Shard intended to become a god.

“No, this is not your Great Sin,”

the master of the mansion said in a low voice:

“Do you even lack the courage to face your own heart, Outlander? Bearing such a heavy power, do you really not know your own sin?”

Resisting the power of the Blood Feast from the Deity, his entire body was transforming. The dying old man’s appearance was just a facade; the true master of the mansion who had been consumed by the power of sin while digging for it in the ancient eras had long ago become a monster.

Shard recalled the many past events that had happened since his arrival in this world nearly four months ago:

“God loves all people, I love myself.”

With the sound of light laughter in his ears, the old man across the long table also burst into mad laughter. Shard even thought he would laugh himself to death:

“So that’s how it is; this world actually still harbors a madman like you. Go on, all of you leave. Your existence in this world is definitely more interesting than staying here. Great Sin! Desire! Very good, very good, you will be my companion, you are even crazier than I am.”

In the shadows of the firelight, figures presented a pair of pearl earrings and a simple-looking blood-colored metal goblet to Shard and Benhart. Shard, looking at the earrings that were clearly Relics, was well aware that they were the culprits causing the current situation. Meanwhile, Benhart’s face showed an ecstatic expression; the foreign noble couldn’t control his emotions at all.

Then, as if harvested from the abyss itself, filthy flames were thrown to Sister Delphine by the old man. She was immediately consumed by the black fire, and even Benhart across the table could feel the horror of the flames. But those flames were then covered by another fire and in an instant disappeared without a trace.

“Craving the Fire of Karmic Sin will only invite flames to consume you. Nun, I don’t know which Deity you believe in, but your end is definitely already guessed by the god. Because of me, because I unearthed the Fire of Karmic Sin from underground, I became like this… Go away, everyone go away.”

Shard stood up, waving his hand, his own Roder Cards then left the hands of Sister Delphine and Mr. Benhart. And as he rose, the Blood Feast, representing the power of Karmic Sin, was drawn into Shard’s body from the surroundings, but momentarily had no effect on him.

Sister Delphine and Mr. Benhart also stood up, while the old man was still laughing madly. The blood color gradually faded, and the vessels filled with abundant foodstuffs disappeared one by one.

Shard walked ahead, with the nun and Mr. Benhart closely following. They left the banquet hall, accompanied by an old man holding an oil lamp who appeared at the door. Yet, the mocking laughter still lingered in their ears.

“Am I really that foolish?”

Shard asked himself in his heart and immediately got an answer. She replied in a whisper, with the ancient language sounding like a gentle breeze passing by his ears; her voice was always the same in his ears, in his heart:

[You don’t need to belittle yourself.]

“Why?”

[Because…]

The group passed through the corridor, the one that Sister Delphine’s fire had destroyed, which had somehow restored itself to its original state. The Vampire Kind at the rear still gazed fascinatedly at the Blood Chalice in his hands, while the nun’s eye mask was directed at Shard’s back.

[…I am you.]

He remembered once more the memory in front of the Gate of Death, wrapped by a pristine arm radiating Silver Light around his neck.

“Will you always be with me?”

[Yes.]

She chuckled:

[My dear, Outlander.]

Having left the third floor, the sense of hunger still wrapped around Shard. Yet, since the master of the mansion had personally promised to let everyone go, the group safely made their way from the third floor to the first. When they came to the grand foyer, Shard hesitated for a moment and stopped:

“You all go ahead, I promised someone that I would send this back,”

Shard shook the pearl earrings in his hand, the ornament demanded by [Desire] was of course no ordinary item, it was a Relic with a significant presence of Whisper Element. With the way out right in front of him, there was actually no need for Shard to return to the cellar, especially since he no longer needed to leave through the cellar. But after careful consideration, Shard still didn’t want to deceive a level 0 Relic.

Shard could even imagine that if he left now, he might see a woman’s head popping out from the bathtub inside the washroom of No. 6, Saint Delan Square with all the gas lamps extinguished once he got home.

“I’ll go with you,”

the nun said softly.

Mr. Benhart hesitated for a moment, then looking down at the goblet in his hands, he gritted his teeth and said:

“Then I’ll go with you as well,”

This was his way of expressing gratitude for Shard’s help.

“There’s no need, it’s just a trip, and the dangers of the cellar… are actually greater than those of Sin Mansion itself.”

He didn’t know if the nun and the vampire had understood his meaning, but he turned and walked along the corridor toward the left:

“Wait for me outside, I’ll be out soon.”

Behind him, Mr. Armand Bernhardt hesitated before looking at the nun:

“Excuse me, are you the leader of the Spiritual Practice Order? Actually, I have something I’d like to ask for your help with, of course, for a fee.”

“We can talk outside.”

The nun said, and beside them, an old man holding a lamp had already struggled to push open the mansion’s grand door:

“Are you selling the oil lamp in your hand?”

The nun asked softly.

(Mia is running…)

No one in the mansion would stop Shard anymore, so after saying a temporary farewell to his companions, he returned to the underground cellar without any trouble.

After coming from the elevator to the bottom of the cellar, the glimmer from the gurgling water in the pool reflected on Shard’s face.

“You’re quick, and there’s a scent of flame on you, is it the phoenix from below?”

[Desire]let out a pleased laugh.

It seemed that since arriving at Sin Mansion, everyone knew there was a phoenix on Sicarl Mountain.

“Yes.”

He spread his hand, revealing the pair of golden pearl earrings inside. Under the effect of the sorcery [Move Object], the earrings slowly drifted towards the pool.

“I thought you’d come over directly.”

The woman’s head that emerged at the edge of the pool said with a smile, while Shard felt that after the pearl earrings floated a distance, he lost control over them. The earrings separated, flying gracefully to the ears of the beautiful woman’s head and fixing there:

“Do I look pretty?”

The “woman” with wet hair shyly asked Shard at the pool’s edge. But instead of feeling charmed, this scene made Shard somewhat frightened. Merely with a smile, the other exuded the power to enchant minds; it truly was Desire itself.

“Of course, you’re beautiful. To be honest, up until now, I haven’t seen a prettier face than yours.”

“Though you’re a bit timid, you’re still honest.”

A blush of shyness appeared on that beautiful face:

“Sloth, the new Karmic Sin turns out to be this, see, I told you, sin accompanies you.”

“But I think this seems to be a Karmic Sin you led me to acquire.”

Shard corrected, but the woman just laughed softly, that laugh was truly beautiful…

“Of course, it’s no match for you.”

He added silently in his mind.

[Thank you.]

“This is the gift I promised to give you, I think you’ll like it.”

As the water made a gentle sound, a pale right hand emerged, holding a rolled-up piece of parchment. Judging by its thickness, the piece of parchment would probably measure no less than 5 feet (about 1.5m) when unrolled. Although it had been taken out of the water, the parchment wasn’t wet at all.

“Desire” knew Shard would not come closer, so the ancient roll of parchment automatically flew towards him. Shard reached out to catch it, not feeling the slightest whisper element, which meant this thing was not a Relic.

“This is knowledge, more precisely, this is a book.”

“What book?”

Shard examined the hefty parchment scroll up and down, noticing some scorched edges.

“The Book of Pink.”

“Hmm?”

He looked up at the other person, then quickly averted his gaze. Now, two pale hands, one left and one right, were stretched out, embracing each other and resting on the pool table in front of their head. But what was odd was the absence of shoulders and neck still wasn’t visible.

“I know the Book of Pink, this is…”

“Not the copies you know, this is a transcription of the original Book of Pink, and I transcribed it myself.”

The woman’s voice was slightly husky, unusually captivating.

“The original Book of Pink dates back to an ancient era, yes, very ancient. In the process of transcribing, I altered its content to be suitable for the Supernatural System of the Sixth Era. With a few more readings, obtaining a Spirit Rune wouldn’t be difficult. I think, you will find it interesting.”

Shard had seen a copy of the Book of Pink on the shelves of Saint Byrons’s library the first time he visited. Later, it was only from Dorothy, who had read a lot of books, that he learned this book was… a tome to aid reproduction. Although it sounded indecent, the knowledge about Sorcery, Arcane Technique, and rituals contained within was actually very useful, but in this book, it was mostly applied in disreputable ways.

For instance, the infamous Grease Spell, Partial Petrification Spell, these ancient sorceries were still vibrant in the Sixth Era. And although Shard, due to the diversity of his Arcane Techniques, the advantages of Arcane Techniques over Sorcery, and his quick leveling, hadn’t yet spent money to pick out useful sorceries from the Academy’s vast list of sorceries, this did not mean he was uninterested in that knowledge.

For an average Circle Sorcerer, the number of Sorcery spells was normally three to four times that of Arcane Techniques, but for Shard, it was almost the opposite.

“So… thank you?”

He hesitated, accepted the parchment, and decided to wait until he was back home, to open it again in front of the Divine Statue behind the hidden wall, to prevent any accidents.

“No need for thanks, Shard Hamilton.”

She pronounced Shard’s name with great accuracy, then once again, a pleasing laughter was heard:

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“This chance encounter is probably arranged by Fate; I believe this won’t be our last meeting.”

Shard, on the other hand, greatly wished this meeting to be the last one.

“So, until… um, next time?”

He just wanted to leave now.

“Karmic Sin is also your power, I hope that at our next encounter, you can bring me more surprises, at least more than the crazy Phoenix this time.”

“Karmic Sin is not my power.”

Shard corrected, then heard the sound of water as if some huge creature was stirring the water below:

“Oh, how young, how naive.”

The two arms withdrew into the water and the woman’s head slowly moved away from the poolside, all the while smiling and looking at Shard:

“Answer me one question.”

As she spoke, the head had returned to the center of the pool.

“Please ask.”

Shard noticed that the head was slowly sinking into the water, but those beautiful eyes that seemed capable of absorbing human souls were still gazing at him;

“When the ultimate moment comes and everything steps into Ultimate Death, isn’t the power of Karmic Sin still power?”

She didn’t give Shard the chance to answer, and her lovely face completely entered the water, yet there was no trace of floating hair on the surface.

The rumbling noise of the water gradually subsided, and the light at the bottom of the pool also dimmed bit by bit. Looking again at the square pool, it clearly contained red wine.

The underground wine cellar returned to calm, and the Whisper Element restored to its original state within the Sin Mansion. Shard knew that Desire had already departed.

“It’s good that it didn’t stay in Midshire Fort; otherwise, the future of this city would have been too bleak.”

He glanced down at the parchment in his hand, turned it into a toy to stow away, and then turned around to leave.

But what he didn’t know was that behind him, in the dimly lit wine pool, that beautiful head had silently “risen” again. Eyelashes wet with wine, red droplets on the cheeks sliding down. Purple eyes squinting, the slender tongue licked the lips, and the pupils reflected the color of Silvermoon.

She ultimately did nothing, and in the wine pool, it seemed as if something huge was stirring the liquid, but all was silent.

The woman’s head sank into the wine pool:

“Then, until next time, fascinating soul.”