Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 749 - : Witch Echo: Violetta

Chapter 749 -749: Witch Echo: Violetta

As he gained a deeper understanding of the ritual, he discovered that the basic principles of the ritual left by the Witch Empress were very similar to those of the small-scale sealing ritual that Sister Delphine had taught him, only scaled down and avoiding the steps that required witch power.

This also meant that the Spiritual Practice Order to which Sister Delphine belonged had inherited some knowledge from the Fifth Era.

In any case, it took a full hour for the three of them to barely manage to set up the ritual site. Shard felt cold in his hands and feet, and the two witches also looked like they could hardly hold on any longer.

The small bell hanging by the wall chimed with the black wind, pulling at the silver wires tangled in the witches’ hair, forming a pentagram pattern centered around the well.

Most of the runes on the walls had been refilled, and the ground had been reburied with ritual materials.

The witches were greatly fatigued, but still joined Shard in braving the wind to reach the well. The power of death permeated from here into the interstice, making the golden afterglow on Shard and the glimmer from the two pieces of witch’s jewelry shine even brighter.

Still, they knew they had to leave the area as soon as possible.

So far, besides himself, Shard knew only two individuals who could stand unharmed in such an area. One was Priest Augustus, who possessed the power of the Primeval Angel, and the other was Sister Delphine, who possessed the Fire of the Primordial.

“Miss Aphrola, let me do it, please don’t come any closer.”

Shard extended his hand, and the lady with the brown wavy hair could only pass him the comb. He walked straight to the edge of the well against the wind, pressing his hand against the outer wall of the well to keep from being knocked down by the harsh wind that seemed to freeze souls. The wind pulled at the golden glimmers in the cracks on his body, making it look to the witches as though he was aflame with golden fire:

“I am about to throw it, get ready.”

Shard shouted loudly, but his voice was low due to the properties of the interstice.

His right hand holding the comb came directly above the well, the golden afterglow and the rainbow-colored glimmer surged upwards with the black wind. Knowing he could delay no longer, he let go, and the comb fell.

Almost simultaneously, golden light flared up behind him, Miss Aphrola’s Twelfth Rank golden ladder and Granny Cassandra’s Tenth Rank golden ladder appeared at the same time.

The light of the stairways illuminated the spot, the mottled murals, and the peeling runes.

The witches’ power permeated the surroundings, and the spiritual light spread along the silver wires in all directions. At the same time, a rainbow-colored light burst from the well, briefly illuminating Shard’s face and this circular space.

Shard, aided also by these lights, saw some antique debris and inscrutable stone sculptures by the wall, which the Witch Council would likely remove later.

“It looks like it was successful.”

Shard breathed a sigh of relief, wanting to retreat to a safe distance and wait for Granny Cassandra and Miss Aphrola to let the ritual recover.

But then, a voice whispered in his ear:

“There is a handprint by the well.”

“What?”

It wasn’t that Shard wasn’t observant, but the wind here blew so hard he could barely open his eyes. Fortunately, “her” senses weren’t limited by these factors.

“Where?”

“Feel to the right hand side… a bit higher… slowly down… yes, that’s good, you should have felt the finger indents now.”

Shard indeed felt the finger indents, the handprint on the outside of the well seemed like it had been forcibly pressed into the hard black stone by sheer force. It was noteworthy that even the winds representing death had not left a mark on the well’s rim over the passage of two eras.

While the witches were busy controlling the power and following the incomplete ritual traces to streamline the ritual pathways, they had no time to pay attention to Shard. So, Shard placed his hand over the slightly smaller handprint to see what might happen.

“Oh?”

The woman’s hesitant voice sounded in his ear, and Shard also received a prompt:

“Outlander, you have gained ‘Witch Echo: Wydon’s Guardian Violet Marshall’.”

“What?” ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

He surprisedly removed his palm, observing the handprint on the well wall emitting a faint golden light:

“Did that Witch Empress die here?”

“She” had mentioned that only where a voting member of the witches died could Shard absorb an echo.

“A sufficiently powerful witch can leave an echo behind even while alive. Just like, Mana Feliana.”

“But Miss Feliana was…”

He wanted to say that Miss Feliana was a genius witch of the Fifth Era, but thinking it over, a witch capable of becoming the Witch Empress by the end of the Fifth Era might not necessarily be less talented or powerful than Miss Feliana.

Looking down at the handprint on the well wall, which was still glowing and becoming brighter, Shard briefly stepped back, then heard an unfamiliar sigh in his ear. It was a young woman’s voice,

“The seal is finally about to give way?”

In Shard’s stunned expression, from the light of the handprint, the figure of a woman wearing a silk robe appeared, ethereal in form. Her long hair cascaded down, and her features were delicate yet solemn. Hanging from her left ear was a pentagram earring, while her right ear bore nothing:

Miss Aphrola and Granny Cassandra looked over in surprise:

“Shard, what have you done?”

The shadow merely talked to itself, paying no heed to the three onlookers. She moved at a walking pace from the well to the wall, then walked around the circular wall. As she moved, the golden hue from her body left clear traces along the wall, further reinforcing the seal.

Finally, the figure of Witch Empress Violetta Marshall returned to beside Shard:

“The situation is very severe, Witches of future generations, it seems you have really encountered grave troubles.”

“Are you talking to me? But I am not a Witch.”

“I am not talking to you; this is just a speaking shadow that has recorded my words and can only be triggered by a witch of the Council. This shadow, besides helping you reinforce the seal, can also detect the condition of the Interstice. From the current situation, it’s almost on the verge of collapse.”

The shadow was looking at Shard as it spoke. Shard hesitated and moved a step to the right, so the shadow slightly turned as well. Clearly, this imprint could track the person who activated it:

“I do not know how long your era is from mine, but from the current situation, the best solution is…”

Shard and the two witches looked on expectantly.

“…better run, the material world is so vast, abandoning such an area and designating it as a forbidden zone isn’t a big loss. After all, safety first.”

The shadow said solemnly, being a top Witch of the Fifth Era, the visage of Miss Violetta Marshall was absolutely top-notch. She possessed the classic oval face, with long hair flowing behind her, and her robe, though the details were unclear, clearly showed its opulence.

“Run?”

Shard hadn’t expected such a suggestion from her, and although pragmatic, surely it wasn’t something they could consider.

“Of course, there are other methods. The boundary between life and death is almost a natural phenomenon, impossible to resolve completely, but we can think differently. If we cannot solve the issue with the Interstice, clearing most of the Undead within the Interstice could reestablish the balance between life and death.”

This was indeed a sound idea as the cause of the impending disaster was the excessive accumulation of deathly forces. But if they could clear most of the Undead within the Interstice, then the outbreak would no longer exist.

A smile crossed her face again:

“Only, in our era, no witch was confident enough to accomplish this. The specific steps are as follows – First, open a huge breach from the material world to the outer space, it must be large and stable enough.”

Even in the Sixth Era, this alone was unachievable.

“Then, at that breach, piece together a pathway to True Death.”

This was even more impossible; even Shard could only open a rift to death, let alone piece it together.

“Lastly, delve deep into the Interstice, find a way to lead all the Undead within to the material world, then guide them from there into the opened pathway and onward to death.”

The last step was even more preposterous, not to mention how to guide the Undead, just bringing so many lost souls into the material world was in itself a catastrophe.

“The lost souls inside the Interstice cannot pass through the Interstice’s pathway to death, as this is a boundary. Hence, only by reopening a breach in the material world, can those souls lingering from ancient times to modern days complete their journey from the material world to True Death anew. I do not know what powers the people of this era possess, but in any case, good luck to you, future witch, may the Ancient God Chaos Witch be with you.”

With a light chuckle, the figure of the Witch Empress of the Fifth Era dissipated into golden light points:

“Apart from that comb, I’ve also left behind a scroll of parchment, hoping it can be of help to you.”

Most of the light points dispersed across the ritual site, using the last of their strength to help strengthen the seal. A few light points, however, gathered at Shard’s chest, slowly moving into his chest cavity.

The warm power swept away the discomfort since entering the Interstice. Simultaneously, the Enlightenment – “Light of the Witch” Spirit Rune, responded to the power from the Fifth Era, nurturing a new strength.

“Hm? Only a comb and parchment? Where did this ‘Time Key’ come from?”

The “Time Key” did not have a fixed way of appearing; it was always found occasionally in remote corners. The key just now probably appeared quietly after the seal of the Fifth Era was completed.

Witch’s power infused into the soul, following instinct, the Spirit Rune connected with the new power. Shard stretched out his right hand index finger toward the ground, a blazing ray shot out, leaving a bright trace in the air, though the heat dissipated rapidly with the black wind.

However, this ray left no trace on the ground.

“Outlander, you have acquired the Arcane Technique ‘Sunlight Ray’.”

“Outlander, you have received the blessing of the Witch Empress: The malice of the Undead in the Interstice is greatly reduced towards you. Duration approximately one week.”