Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 714 - : Heroes and the Sun

Chapter 714 -714: Heroes and the Sun

Because throughout Wednesday, Shard had spent a majority of his time in bed. Such a “slothful” life led Shard to believe he was under the influence of the “Sloth” Spirit Rune. However, with “her” laughter, Shard began to think it was seyu’s influence instead.

“No, that’s not right, I haven’t even opened the ‘Book of Pink’ yet.”

So, after ruling out Sister Delphine as the prime suspect, the possibility now fell on Priest Augustus and First Ring Sorcerer Joey Barton.

So early on Thursday, Shard set off for Midshire Fort. Naturally, he took Mia Cat with him, since he didn’t dare leave the cat at home alone now.

After figuring out a way to contact Priest Augustus from the Dawn Church, the two got a room at the Sicarl Inn.

Afterwards, using the key to the “Traveler’s Gate,” Shard reconnected his home to Milestone, and had Luviya come to the inn to keep a close watch on Priest Augustus.

“What exactly are you doing?”

Old Cleric, dressed in a gray robe, sat in the chair throughout and only after Luviya left, asked Shard curiously.

“Luviya’s divination skills have improved tremendously recently, and she wants to perform divinations for all her friends.”

Shard explained, and Priest Augustus had a sudden realization, giving it no further thought:

“The Blood Brew you gave me at the Fire Worship Festival dinner, I’ve finished analyzing it. Just as you said, it contains only some illegal hallucinogenic drug ingredients.”

“So the local Vampire Kind are actually just a bunch of drug traffickers, what do they want with so many Relics then?”

“Oh, Shard, there’s no time to worry about the Vampire Kind now, the real issue is with the Interstice.”

Priest rose from the chair, patted Shard’s shoulder, and said:

“If there’s nothing else, I won’t be joining you for lunch. The church needs my help. The large ritual will likely begin next week, or the week after. Once it’s over, I can return to Tobesk, and should be able to see you all before winter arrives.”

After speaking, Priest took his leave, while Shard stayed in the room. An hour later, he reactivated the key, allowing Luviya to return here.

“The prime candidate for the Chosen by Death is not the Priest either.”

The girl with purple eyes sat on the chair near the door and briefly replied:

“But what’s strange is, just like Sister Delphine, the Priest is also a probable candidate for The Chosen.”

“That’s not strange at all.”

Shard shook his head:

“I will visit the Witch first to ask about their findings in exploring the large cavity within the mountain. In the afternoon, I’ll take Iluna to visit Joey Barton. Tonight, we’ll perform divination again; this time, we must clarify the matter of the third Chosen One.”

“Then take care.”

When Shard arrived at the Cassandra Auction House, Granny Cassandra and Miss Aphrola were both present. It happened to be lunchtime, and the Witches invited Shard to join them for lunch.

During the meal, they also reported on yesterday’s findings. Just as Shard had thought, behind the platform on the other side of the large cavity within the mountain lay the Ruins left by the Witch Empress.

“Violet Marshall, the ruler of Wydon, the Witch Empress at the end of the Fifth Era. But she was not a participant in the last battle; strictly speaking, she was the penultimate Grand Witch of the Fifth Era.”

Granny Cassandra, knowledgeable as always, shared the circumstances while Miss Aphrola, with her teacup in hand, added:

“This Empress left many Illusion Techniques, traps, and ritual deceits in the mountain’s Ruins, making it hard to imagine the defenses still being effective after two thousand years. Granny Cassandra and I found something valuable only in the last room. It’s a notebook from that Grand Witch, containing some Witch knowledge and formulas for interesting Alchemical Items. Also, there was a Stele that detailed information about the Interstice Mountain passageway.”

“So, the passageway on the mountainside, is it really right in the corresponding position of the Interstice?”

Shard asked eagerly.

“Yes,”

The Old Witch nodded with great caution:

“We can’t delay dealing with the Interstice any longer, the Church is already preparing seals for the foot and summit of the mountain, and the seal for the mountainside must also be reinforced as soon as possible. Shard, if you decide to join us, come here at eight o’clock next Wednesday morning.”

One week’s time was for preparations; the Witches wouldn’t embark on sealing the passageway leading to the concept of death empty-handed. Moreover, after two earthquakes, the Evil Spirits in the Interstice were unquestionably stronger than when Shard entered a month ago.

“I will go with you. Don’t worry, if there really is danger, I can stay away from the passageway.”

Shard promised. It was clear that Miss Aphrola didn’t want Shard to join, but could not think of a reason to convince him otherwise.

“Additionally, regarding the issue of the four deceased who returned to the world of the living, have you heard about it?”

Shard asked again.

“Yes, we know. When speaking to the Speaker of the Church of the Five Gods, informing them that we will assist in sealing the passage halfway up the mountain, the church passed on intelligence to us. Among the current methods to stabilize the Interstice, both extracting those four nails and reinforcing three seals are of equal importance, but neither can completely resolve the issues of the Interstice.”

But for Midshire Fort, postponing the disaster as much as possible was the matter at hand to consider.

After lunch, Shard went to the local Sun Cathedral and found Iluna, who had sneaked out. Together they headed to the Raven Club located in Pig Tail Alley.

To prevent Iluna, The Chosen One, from being recognized by others, Shard once again borrowed a Keeper of Secrets Level Relic, the “Identity Card of Unknown Name,” from Granny Cassandra. This time, Iluna’s identity was Agatha Holmes, the fiancée of writer John Watson. Since last time Mr. Watson had witnessed the miraculous abilities of Joey Barton, he insisted on bringing his fiancée to try it out as well.

“Speaking of which, why do you look… handsome again?”

This question suddenly popped up from the seventeen-year-old girl as they got off the carriage. It seemed that the Phoenix’s flame really did have its benefits.

In any case, the two successfully met “Person of Reverse Life” Joey Barton in the dimmest room at the back of the club. The gentleman, who was about 5 feet tall (approximately 1.52 meters) with abnormally thick limbs but appeared very thin, was still dressed as he was last week. Only his headscarf had changed from brown to black, but Shard could tell he was bald.

Joey Barton remembered “John Watson,” the guest who was supposed to have died at the beginning of the year, and after exchanging pleasantries, Shard introduced his fiancée to him.

Following the principle of less is more, Iluna played the part of a reserved and shy girl. She simply nodded her head and then sat down next to Shard.

Mia was still following Shard, but he wasn’t worried about her revealing their identities. After all, little Mia was not very recognizable. She was extremely cute, but indeed, she was a mongrel city marmalade cat. However, Mia was somewhat uncomfortable with the smell of spices in the room, and she was also quite hostile to the raven in a cage near the doorway.

As for the raven, it seemed to be afraid of Mia. After the two with the cat entered the room, it huddled silently inside its cage.

“Mr. Barton, good afternoon. There’s no need to divine for me this time; please do a reading for Agatha and my dear pet cat Sherlock.”

Shard petted the cat’s head, and the cat immediately let out a gentle meow. The dim room could not hide its sleek, well-nourished fur.

“No problem, animals can be divined for as well, though the accuracy is not as high as for humans.”

Joey Barton obviously did not want to give another reading for Shard and therefore breathed a sigh of relief, and his smile became more genuine.

Just like last time, before the official death divination, he first used Divination Cards. After Iluna stated which card she wanted to draw, Shard flipped it for her, revealing “The Hero.” freewebnσvel.cøm

“A good omen.”

There was no recurrence of the previous situation; everyone was pleased.

Next was the turn of the marmalade cat to draw a card. Concerned that it might cause trouble, Shard held the cat close to the coffee table. The cat just stretched out its little paw and tapped on the second row of playing cards. Upon flipping it over, the card showed “The Sun.”

Divination Cards did not start off with the 108 cards we see now. It is said that the original set contained only thirteen cards, and “The Sun” was one of the initial divination cards.

“Mr. Watson, this is also a good omen. It signifies that your pet cat has a very strong life force and is in good health,” Mr. Barton said, dispensing with the customary niceties about not charging any Gold Pounds and gesturing for those across the coffee table to take their seats as he was about to start the divination.

He still pulled out the Roder Card that had no visible face and covered his right eye with it, then his left eye turned towards Iluna. The girl with short brown hair was a bit nervous, her right hand clutching Shard’s sleeve.

After waiting a few seconds, Mr. Barton put down the card, shaking his head with a hint of regret:

“Sorry, I can’t see anything.”

Though his tone was a bit perplexed, it wasn’t as shocked as it was when he did the reading for Shard last week.

“You can’t see anything?”

“Yes, it’s a rare occurrence, but not one I haven’t come across before. Just like the diviners of the Prophet’s Society can’t make accurate predictions about everything. Even I cannot see every person’s time of death, that’s quite normal… at least more normal than your case.”

Mr. Barton spoke, not giving Shard a chance to ask, once again covering his eyes with the card, and then gazing at the cat in Shard’s embrace.

“Meow?”

Mia crouched on Shard’s legs, her puzzled big eyes also turned to the “child” across the coffee table.

After a brief silence in response to the cat’s meowing, a mysterious feeling washed over Shard, letting him know that something was about to happen—

“Oh!”

Mr. Barton screamed in pain, bowing his head; he casually tossed the card in his hand onto the table. The middle-aged man who looked like a child, in reality, was in his forties. He clutched his face with both hands. Shard distinctly saw blood flowing through the fingers of his hands; his left eye was bleeding.