Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 632 - Corpse-Hiding Mirror
Chapter 632: Chapter 632: Corpse-Hiding Mirror
Chapter 632: Chapter 632: Corpse-Hiding Mirror
“I have a friend over at Midshire Fort, a captain, who asked me to inquire about the twin worship for him.”
Shard said offhandedly.
“Oh, Midshire Fort, I see.”
Professor Manning put down his teacup:
“However, I must emphasize that some of the texts I saw back in the day are forbidden by the church from being disseminated. I signed a contract with the church and some content must not be disclosed.”
“That’s alright, you can just tell me what you’re allowed to say.”
Shard replied:
“Firstly, I’d like to understand, does the prehistoric tradition of twin worship have anything to do with death?”
“Death?”
The professor was startled and then shook his head:
“What does that have to do with it? No, it seems it is not entirely unrelated. I was very young back then, not a main excavator, so I saw very little of the textual material. But I heard a saying locally in Midshire Fort that the twins could be seen as one person. Therefore, when one of the twins is gravely ill and likely to die, the death can be preempted by killing the other, thus preventing the death of the sick one…”
He glanced at Shard’s expression:
“Of course, this is just an ignorant practice. Even when I was young, it was already nothing more than a rumor used to scare children.”
In that case, the twin worship must be unrelated to the third Chosen One.
“Then, in the twin worship, is there a ritual that allows twins who are far apart and never to meet again, to send their thoughts to each other or even break the estrangement?”
“That’s a rather odd question.”
The professor spoke but still nodded:
“Of course, there is, but I have to remind you that I am a professor of history and archaeology, not a folklore scholar. I don’t understand all that mysticism; I’m only reconstructing the ancient knowledge with my own observations and understanding.”
“Yes, Professor, I have not seen any prohibited material from you tonight.”
Shard immediately said, and Professor Manning then smiled and nodded, calling his servant to fetch documents from the archive room on the third floor.
Professor Manning had not compiled the archaeological materials from his youth at Sicarl Mountain into a book but had written it into his teaching materials for lecturing the young:
“Look at this, the Red Butterfly, yes, that’s it.”
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He handed the paper clipped in a stiff folder to Shard, and as Shard looked through it, he said:
“The remnants of the Twin Order texts we excavated record that the Holy Emblem of the Departed Great Ones, the Twin Gods, is in an image resembling a butterfly. Later, after communication with folklore scholars and the Prophet’s Society, it was discovered that the ‘Red Butterfly’ divination symbol inherently contains meanings of sacrifice, twins, and so forth.”
“So, the means to break the barrier between twins is related to the Red Butterfly?”
“Yes, a strange and complex poem that I noted down back then simply because it interested me.”
Professor Manning narrowed his eyes reminiscing about the past, while Shard flipped through the materials as he narrated his lifelong lecture materials:
“The Red Butterfly spreads its wings to fly,
Flies over towering peaks,
Flies over dark rivers,
May the wind carry away the eternal yearning,
All the way to the end of life and death.”
What Professor Manning spoke was precisely the same as what was recorded in the documents:
“Sounds like a folk song too.”
“Yes, the poem and folk song should carry other meanings, at least that’s what I and most scholars believe.”
The professor nodded:
“Such nostalgia, when I first recited these lines, I was only a bit older than you are now. It’s hard to believe that in a blink of an eye, I’m already this old.”
He sighed, seemingly lost in thought.
As Professor Manning became wistful, Shard talked with him about things of the past, listening to his anecdotes from traveling around the Old Continent when he was young until he left around eight in the evening.
The second stop of the evening was Old John’s Pawnshop. Pawnshops usually close at ten at night, so Shard’s late visit wasn’t considered impolite.
When he pushed the door open, Old Man John under the gaslight was pouring himself a cup of tea, and he looked up at the sound of the door:
“Oh, good evening, Detective. I was just about to look for you. I’ve news for you regarding the special blood you asked me to find. I know you might be short on money, so I’ll give you a discount this time.”
“We’ll talk about the blood later, Old Man, first help me identify a relic.”
At this, Old John immediately showed interest. He put on his gloves and picked up the silver mirror that Shard had placed on the counter:
“Tsk tsk, a mirror, it’s quite rare to see a relic with such an appearance. Since it’s like this, it should be easy to find the information. Detective, wait for me a moment.”
He set down the mirror and walked up to the second floor of the pawnshop but returned after only five or six minutes with a look on his face that suggested he had found his answer:
“Found it, this relic here is a Poet-Level (Level 2) Relic – the ‘Corpse-Hiding Mirror’.”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t worry, it’s not an Undead class relic. It should be considered a Spatial class relic.”
“What’s it do?”
Shard asked, curious, as Old John casually returned to the counter:
“It’s known to have two traits, the first is that this mirror can almost infinitely contain corpses, yes, it allows carrying corpses hidden within the mirror. When Saint Byrons first took possession of this mirror, they got it from a grave robber. Of course, there’s a chance that corpses collected in the mirror may be transformed into low-level undead, so people surmise that the mirror was originally crafted by a witch skilled in Spatial Power and Power of the Undead.”
“Can it be used as a spatial tool to hold other items?”
“No.”
“Then the mirror seems somewhat useless.”
Shard shrugged. If he wanted to transport bodies, the Arcane Technique ‘Toy Making’ was enough for him.
“Don’t rush, hold on to the second trait. If you possess the mirror, you can enter the Mirror World.”
“What do you mean?”
Now Shard was intrigued.
“By owning this mirror, you can locate another mirror and then step into it. Oh, let me give you a demonstration.”
With that, Old John moved a floor mirror that appeared to be an antique from amidst the clutter of items in his pawnshop. He took Shard’s ‘Corpse-Hiding Mirror’ and then reached out to touch the large mirror.
The mirror surface rippled as if water was disturbed, and Old John just walked right into it.
The mirror surface reflected an image of Shard outside the mirror, but also showed Old John within, creating an eerie scene. Shard reached out to touch the reflective surface of the floor mirror, but couldn’t enter.
“Quite fascinating, isn’t it?”
Old Man John hid behind a shelf in the mirror, and he could no longer be seen in its reflection.
He emerged from the floor mirror, handed the ‘Corpse-Hiding Mirror’ back to Shard, and continued to describe its traits:
“While holding the ‘Corpse-Hiding Mirror,’ you can carry any non-soul-bearing items into a mirror, yes, this includes relics, and you can choose mirrors of any size. However, when you leave the mirror, any items you brought with you will also be expelled.”
Meaning, this small mirror couldn’t be used as a storage space.
But Shard suddenly thought of another possibility:
“If I hold the ‘Corpse-Hiding Mirror’ and enter another mirror, can the mirror I’m hiding in be moved?”
If that was possible, Shard would let someone enter the mirror, then he would transport the mirror through a statue of the Primordial Rift, achieving Spatial Movement.
“That can’t be done. When you select a mirror to enter, it fixes itself in space as if locked, absolutely immovable. Moreover, if the chosen mirror is broken, once shattered, the ‘Corpse-Hiding Mirror’ would be automatically ejected, and the person holding the mirror would be trapped forever in the Mirror World.”
Old Man John said, and Shard nodded:
“So, this means it’s not just for hiding bodies, but it’s also a kind of small sanctuary?”
“That’s right. Furthermore, once inside the Mirror World, it greatly reduces spiritual contamination and soul pollution from the outside world – a very useful trait.”
But the ‘Corpse-Hiding Mirror’ was also dangerous, not solely because storing bodies could potentially lead to the revival of the undead, but also because, if one stayed too long in the Mirror World, they might permanently lose their way.
The dangers of the Mirror World were many, and the explorations of the contemporary Circle Sorcerers were still far from sufficient. However, to Shard, this mirror was already valuable enough.
