Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 1911: Call in the Dream

Amidst the sound of rain, that somewhat peculiar tune, yet inexplicably memorable whistle gradually faded. Thus, Shard thought to himself in front of the flower shop—

"Demon Vision."

The darkened view gained a slight curve, but aside from that, Shard did not observe any traces related to demons, and he was finally relieved:

"I didn’t sense any elements during the handshake earlier either. It seems I was just being paranoid. What an interesting person. In this world, there must be more such interesting people and stories, right?"

He pondered, then looked back at the wilted rose in the flower shop window, wondering where in which city he would next look up and see the demonologist Sean Asmon walking toward him.

[Do you really think it’s normal to meet this way every time?]

Shard slowly picked up the umbrella, extinguished the candle, and put away the half-burnt candle:

"So next time, when I arrive in a brand new city, I plan to always carry the [Demon Hunting Seal]."

With a "boom," the umbrella popped open, and the raindrops splattered on the umbrella’s surface:

"Every time I meet him, I gain a brand new Roder Card. Maybe I should not only consider him related to demons but also consider whether he is an external Roder Card vendor for the Prophet’s Society."

[Interesting thought.]

With "her" smile, Shard walked toward the illuminated canal:

"You know, actually, I can whistle too. But I’m not as good as him. Would you like to hear a tune from my hometown?"

(Mia running...)

"Shard! Shard!"

In the hazy sleep, Shard seemed to hear someone calling his name, and it was a very familiar voice.

"Shard! Shard! Open your eyes! Oh, Teacher, Teacher, I’ve succeeded again! Come quickly, I’ve finally met the goddess of luck again! This is truly a miracle, Teacher Feliana, you’re here too, come quickly! Shard! Shard!"

In the dream, he moved his gaze away from the moon in the sky, curiously looking around:

"Fiona?"

The voice of that lively Red Dragon Witch seemed to echo around him, yet Shard couldn’t see her. He wasn’t sure if it was his dream or if Fiona really transmitted the voice from the Fifth Era. The last time he heard Fiona’s voice was at the Black Mist Camp using the [Conch of Longing].

However, compared to the Fifth Era when Fiona could contact her past before she was born, this time directly contacting the Sixth Era seems even more incredible.

Shard was curiously wanting to wait and discern whether it was a dream or the big-tailed Red Dragon Girl really performed a miracle, when the voice calling his name echoed again:

"Shard! Shard!"

The tone changed, no longer Fiona’s voice, but more like Iluna’s voice...

"Hmm? Iluna?"

Shard finally woke up from the dream, opened his eyes, and saw the familiar ceiling backdrop, surprisingly it was Iluna’s face.

"Oh!"

He sat up startled from the bed, and as he suddenly rose, Iluna also withdrew her face that had leaned close to the bed. Shard looked out the curtains to see it was still dark outside, and the cat by his pillow was still lying there but with narrowed eyes, growling "woo woo~" menacingly at Iluna.

If Iluna hadn’t been familiar with this cat, Shard wouldn’t be surprised if it immediately pounced on the girl who had intruded into his home.

"Is this reality... Yes, Tuesday morning, half past five. Oh, Iluna, why are you here?"

Shard blinked while catching his breath, trying to clear his head. Then looking at the girl by his bedside, Iluna apologized:

"Something happened over at Green Lake; Sister Delphine is assisting with the Church’s intervention, and your butterflies didn’t dare to break into your home casually, so they sent me here. I’m really sorry, barging into your home like this."

Aside from Shard, the girls around him were only Grace and Helen, as well as The Chosen One, who could casually use the [Spatial Labyrinth].

Iluna hesitated in her thoughts, wanting to complain to Shard, he insisted on living at home rather than in a hotel. But thinking about how if he lived in a hotel, he might not have been sleeping with the cat, Iluna felt that Shard insisting on returning home to rest was actually a very good habit.

"No need to apologize, there’s nothing here you can’t see... Something happened? Oh, okay okay, let me clear my head... No problem, I’ll head over right now."

He said, letting out a big yawn, and the lingering voice of Fiona in the dream completely disappeared from his ears:

"What happened at Green Lake?"

"Space folding occurred."

"What?"

"An entire street in Green Lake City has completely overlapped with Mikaela Ironworks City. Matter, living people, everything you can think of, all overlapped together. The people from the church say this is a space overlap, a disaster likely to occur at this stage just like replicated spaces, connected spaces, hidden spaces, and extended spaces. Now that place simultaneously belongs to two cities, and with the right methods, one can travel to both cities from there at any time."

Iluna explained as simply as possible. Shard slightly parted his lips, then nodded:

"It finally appeared."

He picked up little Mia from beside the pillow, the cat that didn’t want to move because it wasn’t time to get up yet. At this moment, she was soft and warm, and this cat seemed to have a knack for becoming even more adorable while sleeping.

"Aside from that, after three in the morning today, reports of space anomalies have come from almost every diocese on the Old Continent. The crack in the sky over the Green Lake Region finally appeared at night and is gradually spreading across the entire Material World."

The seventeen-year-old girl pursed her lips:

"The church needs to control the fold of the two cities, which requires separating that overlapping street; otherwise, further space shattering around those two streets will occur quickly.

The Furen brothers have gone to help, but it’s not enough. The church’s Thirteen Rings can only temporarily maintain the phenomenon on that street from spreading too fast. The power of the Relic cannot be used recklessly, or it would accelerate the dissolution of space. Currently, the strongest user of spatial sorcery in the Material World is your Saint Byrons’ Principal, ’Silver Guardian’ Professor Pigman. Saint Byrons has urgently brought him in, but he says he is proficient in spatial sealing, not spatial detachment."

She looked at Shard:

"That Grand Witch of space also went to check, but she couldn’t handle this phenomenon either. Before I headed to the Green Lake Hotel, I received training at the Papacy, learning the ancient divine art to stabilize shattered space using the power of ’Balance’. But I’m not Sister Delphine or the Guardian of the Earth; I don’t have their kind of power... Shard, you have a way, right?"

Just awakened, Shard took a second to fully grasp her meaning:

"I... the Spatial Stabilization Aura, while it can prohibit anomalous spatial phenomena excluding myself within a certain range, the coverage is not large, and whether an already completed space merge still counts as an anomalous spatial phenomenon is not certain either..."

Iluna did not give up and continued to look at the man in pajamas on the bed. Shard, holding his head, thought for a moment:

"However, there actually is a way."

The seventeen-year-old girl broke into a smile:

"Then come with me, Shard. I ran out because I thought there might be a way, now let’s head back. Have that Miss Sylvia bring you in; solve the problem and leave."

"No no, it’s not me, it’s you. Come with me."

Saying this, he lifted the blanket. Iluna’s face turned red and she was about to turn away, only to see that Shard was sleeping in pajamas:

"Mia, I’m not going out, so you don’t have to follow. Iluna, come with me."

"Meow~"

The lazy cat lying by the pillow meowed, but still jumped off the bed to follow after Shard, who was wearing slippers and leading Iluna out.

The two people and a cat quickly went to the basement and entered behind a hidden wall. Shard had placed a lot of important items here; if a stranger broke in, they could probably clean out half of his belongings instantly. Fortunately, besides him, no one else could establish a waypoint without touching the divine statue.

"This."

The wooden box on the shelf was opened, revealing a rust-stained, crack-covered golden halo inside.

"This is..."

Though it appeared almost shattered, Iluna could still sense the powerful divine power within.

"An Angel Halo, a one-time use item. I used it on the Night of the Eclipse. At that time, relying on this, I resisted the Mirror Keeper and the ancestors of the Edwards Family. However, now it will completely shatter in about one or two seconds. Whoever wears it can temporarily possess the false rank of an angel, but it’s merely possession, not truly transforming into an angel. The main use of this item is near-unlimited Spirit, and a better casting of Arcane Technique."

Shard handed the box to Iluna:

"I’ll entrust it to you. It was a gift from a friend, but unfortunately, he can’t make another in a short time... Oh, let’s go to the Heart of the Earth Furnace and reinforce it a bit."

The space left by the Ancient God, the Heart of the Earth Furnace, now sits beside the basement staircase. It can strengthen items by consuming the "earth aura tainted after traversing the Earth" or by adding ores to the melting process. The Angel Halo given by Priest Augustus was so perfectly crafted that no matter how much one enhanced it, it was like gilding the lily, only polluting its purity with the earth’s power, so Shard initially had no intention of strengthening it.

But now, since the halo was crumbling, a little reinforcement might make it last longer.

As it turns out, Shard’s thought was correct, but he did not merely strengthen it; he also shaved down a part of the remaining half piece of mountain copper left from when he sold it to Megan and added it in.

After being reinforced by the Earth Furnace, the Angel Halo, though no longer bright gold but instead a rustic, almost coppery color, indeed appeared much more complete. Even though Shard was not much skilled in alchemy, he fully believed it would surely be more useful than before.