Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

With a cat in his arms, leaning against the sofa back, he slightly turned his head to look out the window at distant Tobesk. A late autumn morning, being idle at home, was especially pleasant for the Outlander who had been bustling about all autumn:

"I want to rest properly for a while. I've been terribly busy lately."

"You should rest. Oh, and one more thing, the observation of the Star Whale has ended. Last night, while the Witch and her followers dealt with the third floor issues, I used my astronomical telescope and saw the whale swimming in the starry sky, moving towards the Nether Moon. It was a beautiful scene. Of course, later, due to observing a fight between two Great Ones, my poor telescope shattered. Since many are waiting for those celestial beings, the God Summoners will probably become more famous than before. After all, no one has ever heard of a mortal summoning deity twice, especially that Silvermoon deity, who might be an Old God from a past era."

Luviya said with a smile, and Shard awkwardly shook his head:

"It's not a big deal if it wasn't necessary. I wouldn't want to become a vessel for Godfall. First, the Lord of the Blood Feast, then Vampire Duke Lowell; I hope I don't encounter any more blood-related Evil Gods."

Shard said with some lingering fear, and Luviya, not wanting to continue discussing deities --more so than typical Circle Sorcerers, Diviners were more averse to this topic-- changed the subject:

"Shard, I don't want to move the stargazing equipment on the third floor. Can I leave it at your place? This way... it's convenient for me to come over at night whenever."

The purple eyes looked at Shard.

[Do you know what this means?]

The voice sounded in his ear.

"Of course I do, I'm not a fool,"

Shard responded in his heart while nodding lightly on the surface:

"No problem, you can keep the key. If I'm away, you can come over anytime... and help feed Mia."

He and Luviya both laughed.

"The third Chosen One is Sister Delphine, the third stanza of the Poem Chapter is finally over."

Luviya exhaled a long breath:

"In short, so many things have happened this whole year since spring, but at least this time it's a decent ending. I hope everything goes peacefully in the remaining two months of this year."

It was already October, October 25th, Friday, in the Month of Withered Leaves.

"I also hope life can be a bit calmer. I haven't had a break all autumn."

Shard shook his head, thinking about the time:

"How about lunch together? Before Tifa left, she booked a restaurant for us. She said Miss Galina asked her to do so... After opening the Gate of Death on Wednesday night and before I came back at dawn, what did you and Miss Galina talk about?"

"About the Chosen Ones. We can talk about it later when there's time. I told some unimportant secrets, and she was willing to share more topics about the Chosen... "

She suddenly laughed:

"Shard, you have quite the appetite. I thought your breakfast already filled you up."

Luviya teased, then glanced down at the front of her clothes as if thinking of something. She then took out a pocket watch, checked it, stood up, and pointed upstairs:

"It's not even ten yet. Come on, before lunch, let me talk to you about the third floor matters. Miss Servit might have told you that the Traveler's Gate is broken, but there's more to it. I hope you won't be too surprised. Even the Duchess didn't expect this."

Holding the cat, he followed Luviya to the third floor, and Shard was delighted to find that the corridor was still in its original state, not the imagined scene of ruin.

However, all traces of the sealing ritual set up on the third floor were gone. After Luviya turned on the gas lamps at the stairway, Shard was quite sure the place looked no different from before.

The corridor had three doors in total; two were room doors, and one was a trapdoor leading to the attic. The oil paintings on the wall were chosen by Tifa, and the oil lamp's style was changed during renovations. Shard seldom used the third floor, but Luviya had been coming often in the past month.

"You might not believe it."

Luviya, holding her forehead in a troubled manner, had the four-ring Life Ring appear behind her, with an additional new black iron-colored Whisper Rune [Death], a gain from helping open the Gate of Death.

The glow of [Death] shone on the empty corridor, causing a distortion in the middle of the corridor's space. A black iron gate with railings appeared, almost symmetrically, lining the sides of the corridor.

Intricate ironwork etched the Holy Emblem of the Ancient God of Death, adorned with elderflower and mandrake flower designs along the rail gate's edges, black iron bars intertwining like vines. The black iron-colored hinges held the two gates firmly together, with no lock in sight.

This railing gate completely blocked the entire corridor, allowing a view of the other part through the gaps. Yet, from the gap between the two sides of the railing, white mist drifted out.

Not the cold mist of the Interstice, but another familiar white mist.

"This... "

Shard was dumbfounded.

"Yes, it's exactly what you're thinking."

Luviya said, reaching out to push the railing gate, but it couldn't be opened due to the iron chains. She tried to untangle the chain but couldn't move it:

"Due to my and Galina Cavendish's adventure, the Traveler's Gate malfunctioned, and unfortunately, the boundary also went haywire. But fortunately, combining both malfunctions seems to have opened a perpetually fixed gate here. The boundary turned into another... remarkable space."

She turned her head to look at Shard:

"Yes, it's the kind of space you're very familiar with."

"The Relic of the [Ancient God of Death], the Soul Graveyard?!"

Shard gave the answer but then asked in confusion:

"But how could it be, how could the [Soul Graveyard] appear here?"

"The spaces left behind by the Ancients are definitely not naturally formed, they are created by some great power and can be summoned through special rituals. You've mentioned before that when killing Daknis, you were present, and [Impermanence: Darkness] absorbed the [Dark Dungeon], allowing the door of the Dark Dungeon to be placed in the basement. You've also said that besides killing the Chosen, there are other ways to summon these spaces through rituals or special means, but the conditions are extremely harsh."

Seeing Shard nod, the girl with purple eyes continued:

"What we did that night was somewhat different from the unlocking methods of the Witches of the Fifth Era you mentioned, but it's very likely the ritual to summon the gate of the [Soul Graveyard]. That witch and I were truly amazed, but it's almost impossible to replicate the process."

In fact, it's completely impossible, Shard couldn't think of anyone else who would be trapped in death:

"Two doors in the basement, one door on the third floor, now I have three extra doors in my house."

He sighed softly.

"But the problem now is that neither Galina Cavendish nor I can open this door."

Luviya tried to jiggle the hinges on the gate:

"I think you should be able to open it, since probably no one understands these mystical spaces better than you."

She moved away from the gate, which slowly disappeared.

Holding the cat, Shard reluctantly accepted the fact that he had lost another Relic but gained an extra door. The Ring of Fate manifested behind him, the Spiritual Light of [True Death] illuminating the corridor, causing the gate to reappear:

"Based on my summary, to enter the spaces left by the Ancients, besides the position of the door, three other requirements must be met: Firstly, there must be a corresponding Spirit Rune, like [Death] or [True Death]."

Shard also walked up to the gate and placed Mia on the floor. The cat curiously looked at the gate and then slipped through the gaps between the bars—something easy for the small cat; it successfully reached the other end of the corridor.

"Next, a spell is needed. For instance, [World Tree Blesses Me in Time]."

Shard said, then examined the gate before him and finally recognized Elderflower as text:

"And for the [Soul Graveyard], it should be—[The Eternal End Blesses Me Before the End Point]."

As he softly chanted the ancient words, the hinges on the gate began to move noisily. They released the tightly closed double gate, winding around the iron bar on the right side like a metallic snake.

Luviya tried pushing it again but still couldn't open it:

"The third point?"

Shard smiled:

"The third point requires a special artifact, such as the [Time Corridor]—Time Key, [Judge's Court]—Ancient God Holy Emblem, [Spatial Labyrinth]—Ancient God Statue, [Witch Council]—Witch's Jewelry. The Gate of Darkness in the basement does not require an artifact or a Spirit Rune, only the spell words because it was obtained through special means; but this one's different... The problem is, what special artifact is needed to open this gate?"

Shard pondered and then casually pushed—

Screech~

The gate opened, but behind it was not the other end of the corridor where Mia was, it was the White Mist Gate with writhing white fog.

"Huh? Why did it open?"

[Place your hand on the bars.]

"Her" voice softly reminded, and Shard immediately followed the instruction, quickly receiving the answer:

[To open this gate, one needs to be tainted with the breath of death. This requires a complex ritual, but anyone who has emerged from death carries the breath of death.]

Hearing "Her" voice, Shard finally understood. He conveyed the answer to Luviya, who nodded curiously:

"Let's go in and take a look."

She grabbed Shard's hand; since the gate was opened by Shard, she needed to hold onto him to enter.

"Alright, I'm curious about its purpose too."

Mia squeezed out from the gaps in the bars again, with a shocked expression on her face as she looked at the White Mist Gate, unable to understand why the front and back of the gate were different.

Shard laughed and picked Mia up, then entered the mist-filled gate with Luviya.