Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 783 - : The Epic Protagonists
Chapter 783 -783: The Epic Protagonists
[Gate of Death] was the Arcane Technique Shard learned after returning from death, allowing willing spirits and the caster themselves to pass through. Since it was a one-way passage, Shard had never thought that one day he would truly step into death from here.
He knew Mr. Matisse was watching him, but he didn’t look back, instead stepping into the rift.
[Outlander, you have entered death.]
[Outlander, you have gained a deeper understanding of “Sleeping”.]
Cold, trembling…
A moment of nothingness and extreme cold almost made Shard’s consciousness fall back into the deepest sleep, but he soon realized he had reached his destination.
Without a sound, all was silent; the Nether Moon illuminated everything, and at this moment, it was the termination.
Behind him were the two huge stone doors, at his feet a faint Kiss of the Tree bonfire that was nearly extinguished. Ahead, the massive Silvermoon was half-submerged in the dark waters at the end, and the body of water in front seemed endless, simply looking at it could stir a primal fear in one’s heart.
Countless indistinct white shadows stood with their backs to the narrow beach by the water. They looked up at the cold Nether Moon, their bodies flickering as they gradually moved away, heading towards Silvermoon.
Here, there was no sound, not even the need to breathe. It was serene yet solemn, cold yet profound; this place was death itself.
Looking down at his own hands, cracks were spreading across his body, the glow of Divinity shining through, protecting Shard’s spirit from drifting away.
“Iluna!”
Removing his mask and quickening his pace, he approached Iluna, who had collapsed on the ground, placed [Night Watchman] in the ground, set down the kerosene lamp containing Primal Fire, and then carefully picked up the seventeen-year-old girl.
A dark gold Balance floated above her head, securing her safety, but Iluna, after all, was a living person, and she was extremely uncomfortable here.
Looking farther off, Joey Barton sat on a large rock at the end of the beach, his right hand resting on the rock surface, his left hand hanging naturally, his two feet unable to touch the ground due to his short stature. He was twisting his head, quietly observing the distant waters and the Nether Moon, which reflected his shadow on the pebble-laden shore, seemingly oblivious to Shard’s presence.
“You…”
“She’s fine, she tried to grab me when I pushed open the door, so she also came in. She too has a Talent for death, plus that dark gold marvelous Balance, and the leaf she had preemptively placed in her mouth, so she didn’t drift away with those spirits.”
Joey Barton’s voice was very calm.
Iluna was indeed temporarily immobile, but once in Shard’s arms, it seemed she was affected by the divine light radiating from him, her body temperature and breathing rate returning to normal. Struggling to open her eyes, she looked at Shard, her lips moved to spit out the ineffective pale leaf, and Shard immediately stuffed another into her mouth (note).
The seventeen-year-old girl wanted to speak but couldn’t utter a word.
“It’s okay, I will take care of the rest.”
He said softly, carrying Iluna back to the Kiss of the Tree bonfire. Observing the dwindling fire, he hesitated for a moment, then opened the lampshade of the kerosene lamp, carefully drawing out the faint Primal Fire spark, and let it fall into the bonfire.
There was no sound, but the nearly extinguished bonfire reignited. Even the spirit and stamina that had completely ceased to recover in death showed a slow tendency to come back.
Having planted [Night Watchman] next to the bonfire for Iluna to lean on, Shard turned and walked towards the end of the beach, coming to Joey Barton’s side.
It was only now that he could finally see the calm expression on his face. The light of the Nether Moon illuminated the somewhat deformed face of the young boy, the middle-aged man looking at the wandering and indistinct white shadows, Shard didn’t know what he was thinking.
“Is this your true appearance? You are really handsome…”
Joey Barton murmured softly.
“You still haven’t given up, have you?”
Shard asked.
“Yes, I am close to success.”
“So, the you speaking to me now, is it an avatar or the actual body?”
“One third of the actual body. I would not put all my eggs in one basket.”
“I see.”
His right hand was suddenly raised high, and when it swung down, the Moonlight Greatsword had already taken shape. Mr. Barton did not dodge; the Moonlight Greatsword chopped into his shoulder but as if it had hit an indestructible object, it had no effect.
“Mr. Watson, you really do not understand this place.”
“Understand what?”
Shard dissipated the sword in his hand and did not feel ashamed of his sneak attack.
“This place is death itself, and by coming here, we have already died. How can you kill again in a place where you are already dead?”
The tone was still so calm; he was stating the facts he had learned.
“Yes, this is death…”
Shard nodded, and no longer observing Mr. Barton, he put his hands in his pockets, turned around, and together with him, gazed at the water in front of them and the countless souls above it.
The tide was not calm, the surging water stopped in front of Shard’s boots, retreated, then surged again, washing over the small stones and pebbles.
“The only thing that can harm us here is to enter this body of water. Whether it’s you or me, without a special method, touching these waters means never returning.”
Mr. Barton continued to speak.
“So, how are you going to find the spirit you are looking for here?”
“By coming here, I have learned more, I am privy to more secrets. My wish, my beloved, lies ahead.”
His coarse, deformed fingers pointed towards the depths of death signified by the Nether Moon:
“Right here.”
“Why not take action now?”
“Because I am not yet complete.”
As his words fell, sounds arose from behind them. It wasn’t Iluna rising to her feet; a new guest had arrived at this place.
Turning around, another Joey Barton appeared before the Gate of Death. Compared to the first one, whose surface was intact, he looked much more wretched, with his right hand missing, and his body covered with various strange scars. Even half of his head was shorn off, yet he was still alive.
The second Joey Barton, as if he fully understood the situation here, walked past the bonfire towards the Joey Barton on the riverside rocks and merged with him.
Shard couldn’t stop the process, but he noticed that someone had arrived with Mr. Barton, the familiar Old Cleric.
Lat August the Cleric frowned as he looked at the scene before him:
“Really, I’m so old, why do I have to get involved in things like this?”
He walked to the bonfire, then carefully sat down on the ground, stretching out his hand towards the bonfire as if to warm himself.
“Priest Augustus?”
Iluna, who had somewhat recovered, asked quietly, her voice a bit odd due to the leaf in her mouth:
“What are you doing…”
Priest Augustus was a well-known cleric in the Tobesk Parish, even heathens recognized him.
“Good evening, oh, it’s Miss Beyas. I was originally participating in a ceremony at the mountaintop, then Joey Barton came up, and was severely wounded by three Thirteen-Ring Sorcerers of the Church, but he still managed to fall into the rift at the mountaintop. I originally wanted to stop him, and then, unfortunately, I followed him in… Well, I actively followed him. I couldn’t just watch him do evil deeds.”
The Priest shrugged:
“Relax a bit, let’s wait for Shard to resolve this matter. I’m not sure what Detective Mister is trying to do, but he always has a way… What is this fire? It’s really warm.”
“I’m actually very curious.”
At the end of the mudflats, the two men still conversed, gazing at the Nether Moon and the departing spirits:
“Why is it that no matter which of the three passages one enters from, the Gate of Death is always visible?”
Shard asked softly.
“It’s not just through the Interstice, no matter how one enters here, by any method or means, it’s all the same. Because that Gate of Death is indeed the only correct passage into this expanse of mudflats, aside from the normal process of death. Therefore, theoretically, the passage at the foot of the mountain is indeed the most stable.”
Joey Barton replied, this knowledge likely all stemming from the identity of The Chosen One.
“Then, do you know that the ‘Holy Tree Scar’ ritual is nearing completion, and now neither of us can leave?”
Shard asked again, and Joey Barton hesitated:
“I don’t know, but there’s always a way once she is met.”
Shard shook his head, knowing he could never convince the man before him.
They didn’t continue speaking, instead both staring at the far-off quiet and dark surface of the water, watching the flickering white figures appear, advance, and vanish at the edge of their vision.
“What do you think of this moon?”
Shard suddenly spoke again, and Mr. Barton did not immediately respond; he listened intently, then spoke:
“After the Ancient Gods left, due to some reasons, the Nether Moon, which should have guided death here, also disappeared. But now it has reemerged, and perhaps, just like myself, the one who deeply grasped the moon’s power, The Chosen One, is also carrying out their own epic.”
Shard shook his head; the appearance of this Nether Moon was due to the Priest invading his dream, the moonlight above the wilderness in his Dream casting light into death. But he couldn’t possibly be The Chosen One, Luviya had already said so many times.
“This moon is truly beautiful, the moon and death, two of the most primal forces, revealing themselves here, solidifying the rules of death, ensuring that every creature has their demise. If, if the Nether Moon could have appeared two Eras earlier, perhaps the Interstice of Life and Death at Midshire Fort wouldn’t have expanded so quickly.”
While he was speaking, sounds came from behind them again.
The third Joey Barton appeared, besides severe burns, his legs were severed from the body, his eyes gouged out, his nose and ears sheared off, and even his mouth sewn shut with cursed black threads.
After appearing, he immediately prostrated on the ground, then arduously crawled towards the end of the mudflats. The power of the curse was blossoming on him, the curse of the Witches. At the same time, Shard noticed that his chest was glowing as if an inextinguishable fire was burning his heart.
Even after the third Mr. Barton merged with the Joey Barton on the stone next to Shard, the latter still clutched his heart, showing an expression of unbearable pain.
The appearance of the third Joey Barton brought with it a new Circle Sorcerer.
Sister Delphine was as calm as ever, dressed in the gray-black silk nun’s robe, with a shawl of the same color on her shoulders. A silver coronet-like blindfold secured her silver-gray hair at the sides, the long hair down to her waist woven into a complex pattern behind her.
Her hands were crossed naturally in front of her, her head bowed slightly, yet her blindfold still reflected the light of the Nether Moon.
Flames, red fiery flames, slowly appeared on the nun. At first glance, it looked as though she was being set on fire, but soon it became apparent that fiery red rifts adorned her, not just the skin but even the hem of her dress and the tips of her hair radiant with flame. As the surging flames gradually calmed down, ashes fluttered out from the rifts, until the glimmer of Primal Fire fully stabilized, allowing her to remain here for an extended time.
Though blindfolded, Sister Delphine could still “see” everything.
She first nodded slightly to Shard, who had turned his head at the end of the mudflats, then walked to the bonfire of “Kiss of the Tree.” Not sitting on the ground like Priest Augustus, nor leaning against the “Night Watchman” like Iluna did, the nun moved a stone and then sat on it.
From the very first Era to today, this might be the day with the highest number of living people ever witnessed here.
