Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

[Outlander, you have stepped into the "Soul Graveyard."]

After the familiar prompt, the surroundings remained filled with thick white fog, with dense tombstones looming in the mist. There were square tombstones slanted into the ground, upright cross tombstones, and wooden tombstones almost rotten, right beneath the feet.

These tombstones varied in size and shape, but the only common trait was the absence of any inscriptions.

"Truly interesting."

Shard crouched down and touched the rough surface of the square tombstone before him. "She" sensed the information and conveyed the results to Shard.

Shard said to Luviya:

"By engraving the names of the deceased on these blank tombstones, you can summon their spirits. It does not matter how they died, even if the spirit is shattered, only fragments will remain. This place connects to the tranquil waters behind the Gate of Death, allowing spirit summoning conditions to be ignored."

"Just the name is enough?"

Curiously asked Luviya.

"Besides the name, a publicly acknowledged title, nickname, or alias, you also need the birth and death years and a relatively specific cause of death. Additionally, there must have been some form of contact. Even a brief glance suffices, but it can't be a person seen only in newspapers..."

Shard paused briefly:

"You can't summon spirits outside of the Sixth Era either."

"What can be done after the spirit summoning?"

"Anything you want. Shattering the spirit, asking questions, or even bringing them back to the real world. But bringing back to the real world requires a price, which is fair. This is the resting place of spirits in the cemetery; those alive visiting here become temporary masters of the spirits. Compared to the Time Corridor and Spatial Labyrinth, this place has significant importance. If Joey Barton could enter here, he wouldn't have ended up defeated by me..."

Shard's fingers touched the tombstone, frowning slightly, as if remembering something important (note):

"Additionally, shattered spirits brought here will be repaired by the cemetery. If a physical undead is brought here, it can undergo some... curious transformations."

Luviya looked around with great interest:

"The Circle Sorcerers who control the undead would likely go mad with excitement here, but I'm only good at divination."

Shard silently inquired to himself:

"What's the extra information?"

[Sacrifice a drop of divinity or the Heart of the Undead to safely open the door to True Death—a one-time, two-way door.]

Though Shard had the Arcane Technique "Gate of Death," the additional functionalities of the [Soul Graveyard] were still very useful, even uniquely useful. Although, Shard didn't currently know what it could be used for.

"What exactly is the Heart of the Undead?"

He searched through the Witch Echo residuals silencing in his mind, then sought knowledge from both Elf and Vampire Kind, but found no answers.

Quietly, he asked Luviya, and the Female Diviner thought for a moment:

"I think I heard about it in the Academy elective course 'Time and Fate: The Fleeting Death.' I'll check my books and let you know."

Whether he knew what it was didn't matter, Shard never wanted to set foot in that shallows and waters again. This autumn's death voyage at Midshire Fort had been enough for him.

At noon, he leisurely had lunch with a cat and the violet-eyed girl. Luviya originally intended to stay at No. 6, Saint Delan Square tonight to carefully check Shard's physical condition after the battle at Midshire Fort and test his fitness level. But Tifa had mentioned when she left earlier today that Shard was required to overnight at Miss Galina's manor tonight to inform the witch about Wednesday's events and await new news from Midshire Fort, so Shard regretfully declined Luviya's invitation.

Seeing his disappointed look, Luviya kissed his cheek in the carriage:

"There's plenty of time in the future, my knight. Dorothy has a class for you on Saturday, how about Sunday night? I'll bring the wine, and you prepare a candlelit dinner in advance."

The carriage stopped in front of the Prophet's Society's entrance, she bid goodbye to Shard with a smile.

"Wait, here's a gift for you."

Yet Shard called the violet-eyed girl again:

"Soul Tears."

He gave Luviya the spoils he had obtained from the House of the Blind:

"Your special divination puts great strain on your spirit; when Priest Augustus returns, ask him to make this into a potion to repair spirits."

Luviya looked at Shard with some surprise but didn't refuse.

"And you managed to guess immediately how to open the door on Wednesday night—impressive. Tifa said you seemed like you had everything prepared in advance."

Shard praised her again.

"I'm quite an excellent diviner."

Luviya pointed to herself, kissed Shard on the cheek again before exiting the carriage.

Shard waved at her with a smile through the window, watching as she entered the Prophet's Society.

[So, exactly which spirit are we trying to heal?]

"Her other self has suffered severe damage, and it was you who told me about it."

Shard softly responded in his heart, recalling that when he kissed Luviya, he sometimes felt like he was kissing two people at the same time:

"Everyone has their own secrets, but Luviya, you are really worrying."

Miss Galina's carriage came to pick up Shard at around three o'clock in the afternoon. Before that, Shard returned home and took stock of his gains from this adventure.

Advancing from Three Rings to Four Rings was the biggest gain, although it meant the gradual fading of the Divine Afterglow State, he only needed to find the next drop of divinity.

Besides that, the task with the Year 3024 of the Fifth Era key was completely finished, he acquired more uses of the Moonlight Greatsword, temporarily lost Illusion of the Moon Shadow, but gained Power of the Red Dragon. Before bidding farewell to the gray-robed Sage, the god's story provided Sorcery: Library Retrieval. The Desecration - Red Moon gained from absorbing the divinity of the Vampire God was temporarily sealed, but it called forth extremely useful sorcery Scarlet Butterfly Form and Red Butterfly Illusion.

"Of course, the most important thing is this."

Shard carefully turned Miss Orland's black cloak from a toy back into a physical object. Though brought back from the modern era in toy status, the originally new cloak now appeared old.

This was a new souvenir, like Feliana's Notes from Forest of Thousand Trees, Card of the Man of the Future from Horror Fortress, and the black-and-white headband from Night Manor, all mementos marking the end of a journey. Shard added another rack in the basement and hung the cloak carefully on it, storing it in the hidden space of the basement.

The rack was draped with the headband of Grace and Helen, Feliana's Notes and the Card of the Man of the Future beneath it, next to God's Gift Box. In the future, this place will likely hold more collectibles, allowing Shard to reminisce about past endeavors during leisure:

"We'll meet again."

This cloak was an intimate item of Miss Orland, with finely stitched Elvish Runes forming unnoticed patterns that endowed the cloak with traits of maintaining body temperature and being hard to stain. Although its value wasn't as significant as Feliana's Notes, to Shard it was equally important.

[I thought you might place your nose on it and sniff the fragrance of the bygone Era.]

As Shard softly thanked God's Gift Box, "She" teased him with a laugh.

"Why would I do such a thing?"

Shard immediately retorted for the sake of his reputation, but after pondering, he asked:

"But, having traversed the millennia, the cloak itself having experienced the washing of time, would it still retain any scent?"

"She" merely chuckled, not providing an answer.

Of course, besides the cloak of great commemorative value, there were other important gains from this adventure. Genesis: Death is self-evident, and the Keeper of Secrets Level Relic, Higgs Dragonhead Stone, while only causing harm to enemies with the traits of being "Dragon" or "Giant," is very useful in appropriate scenarios.

Shard buried it in salt for containment, placing it in the bowl of salt in the basement.

The silly cat was quite interested in the white substance, pawing at it, and before Shard noticed, extended its tongue to lick its paw... Cats shouldn't consume too much salt, so Shard grabbed Mia and forced her to drink several drops of treated water with Satiety Food.

Red Butterfly Pendant is certainly considered a relic, a potent one at that. It is key for resolving the issues of Lecia and Dorothy. Shard planned to mention it to Dorothy during their meeting at the doctor's tomorrow afternoon, and discuss Joey Barton's story as well.

"Vampire Ring... Where did this come from?"

Firmly taking the blood-red metal ring from Mia's tail, this ring could transform any other race into the Vampire Kind through incantation by someone other than the wearer, but the wearer would contract a terrifying Bloodlust Syndrome. Even though a kitty couldn't speak or become a "Vampire Cat," Shard still believed this item posed a significant danger to Mia.

Especially since the traits of the Transmutation Ring, Fish Training Ring, and Vampire Ring seemed to form a clear conditional chain.

But the most difficult gain to deal with was the Blood Brew created from a quarter of Joey Barton's soul. Shard initially hoped to use this to exchange for the Red Butterfly Twins from the Vampire God, but the deity dismissed the wine as "garbage."

Therefore, Shard was forced to keep the Blood Brew. It undoubtedly possessed power, but Shard detested enhancing strength by "consuming humans," hence he wouldn't drink it himself or sell it to others.

One quarter of Barton's soul would remain in his basement forever. Many, many years into the future, when Shard's life ended or he successfully ascended to godhood, he would seek out Marilyn Handel and Joey Barton, evaluate their earthbound actions, and consider returning this soul to them.

"I am indeed a good person."

Shard was content with this.

The lost Night Watchman was currently with Iluna, and it would soon be retrieved. Though the Soul Fishing Rod had unfortunately "sacrificed," its sacrifice was meaningful, and Shard would forever cherish it and promptly search for another relic potentially capable of usurping divinity.

Shard hadn't forgotten the help from the Creator of Innocence, hoping to witness the resurrection of the departed Old God within his lifetime and personally express gratitude for their benevolence.

"Though the pursuit of The Chosen is perilous, the rewards are truly substantial."

The high-purity Holy Water No. 2 acquired from the Interstice Chapel was locked in the study drawer as strategic material, and the collected relics were re-sorted for storage before leaving home.

While organizing his belongings, Shard discovered an unfamiliar parchment. After thinking for a moment, he recalled receiving this as remuneration for guarding the church from Mr. Lacan Matthis, the Twelve-Ring Sorcerer of the Sun Church in Milestone Parish, before slashing the Gate of Death with his sword (chapter 782).

"I remember it's Arcane Technique - Heaton Seal."

Sitting on the sofa and opening the parchment, Mia, still angry from Shard forcing her to drink the "potion," immediately wandered over and extended her head, only to be stripped of the Vampire Ring from her tail once more, causing the cat to get even angrier. Soon, however, she received the Transmutation Ring and forgot her rage, meowing happily as she lay on his lap.

"Don't always wear the same relic ring, you will be affected by its power. However, you can alternate them. I still don't get why you prefer such tail accessories over a collar bell... Remind me to ask Sister Delphine next week where this ring came from."

Shard muttered to himself in the air.

[Alright.]