Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

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To be precise, the knocking sound arose at 2:27 a.m. on Saturday. And it wasn't the noise from downstairs that woke the sleeping Shard; it was the cat lying next to his pillow.

This timid cat was always extra alert when asleep, and after the knock downstairs startled it awake, it kept scratching the pillow with its paws to make noise. And as soon as Shard woke up, Mia immediately burrowed under the thin blanket he was using, revealing only her tiny head and looking around vigilantly.

"It's okay, don't be scared... Oh, who would come to find me at this hour?"

After grabbing the revolver from the bedside table, Shard yawned and walked downstairs in his slippers. The timid cat crept out from under the blanket and followed at his feet, but when Shard reached the hallway, the orange cat stood at the corner of the stairs peeking downstairs with a worried expression.

"Who is it?"

The gas lamp in the hallway glowed a faint yellow as Shard stood behind the door and called out to the other side. He hadn't lost his vigilance due to sleepiness; while his right hand held the gun, his left hand emanated a silvery moonlight.

"Shard, it's me."

Recognizing it was Miss Annette by the tone of voice, he opened the door just a crack, kept his body pressed against it, and peered out sideways. Seeing that it was indeed the brown-haired Miss Diviner, he yawned and unfolded the security chain:

"Good evening, Miss Annette."

Even Circle Sorcerers need to sleep, and Shard very much wanted to return to bed right now.

"Good evening, Shard."

Miss Annette, apparently in high spirits, wore an excited expression on her face. After Shard admitted her into the house, she pointed to the paper bag in her hand with a smile.

"Look, I got it."

"Got what?"

"A relic with the power of an Ancient God, just picked it up from the train station with Old John."

Now Shard wasn't sleepy anymore.

The gas lamp in the living room was adjusted to its brightest, and Miss Annette and Shard sat on sofas facing each other. Taking off her coat and draping it over the back of the sofa, she excitedly pulled out a cubic metal box from the paper bag, still wearing her white ruffled-sleeve shirt.

"Shard, I remember you once said you could understand any writing, so that's why I came to you so late. Please help me see, what's written on this box?"

The metal box wasn't the relic; the content inside was. The box itself was a special container for relics, sold to Miss Annette along with the relic, and was also an antique.

Shard closely examined the box under the gas lamp. Each of its six sides had different images, and in the corners of each image, there were dense ancient scripts resembling tadpoles.

After reading carefully and determining the order of the six sides, he began to explain:

"This roughly narrates the process by which ancient people sealed away this item. The first two images tell of a deity holding a balance falling from the sky, causing every statue of this deity in the material world to crumble."

"This should be the downfall of the Ancient God—The Upside-Down Judge."

Miss Annette analyzed, urging Shard to continue with expectant eyes.

"The next two images are about the uncontrollable nature of this item. This box likely isn't the original; it was recreated by later finders and so some words were engraved incorrectly. From my understanding, the gist is that the object inside was originally a weapon bestowed by the deity to mortals. But with the deity's departure, the weapon's power went out of control, causing great destruction...

The contents are a long-handled bell?"

"Yes, exactly, a bell."

Miss Annette nodded with a smile, and Shard, having known her for so long, saw her this excited for the first time:

"Being able to obtain this relic, I guess I'm quite lucky. This is a Keeper of Secrets Level Relic, the [Judge's Holy Bell]. Its effect is that, after the Circle Sorcerer rings the bell, the power of any Arcane Technique and Sorcery they use next will be greatly amplified."

"What about the negative traits?"

As Shard examined the writing in the light, he asked, while the cat lay beside him feigning sleep… or perhaps it was really sleeping.

"Prolonged contact with the bell will cause a drift in the user's personality. Calm individuals will gradually become irritable, those easily angered will become tranquil, the greedy will become indifferent to riches and honor, and the kind-hearted will lean towards evil. In summary, it reverses the most prominent traits in one's personality, and then reverses them again after a three-month cycle.

Each reversal makes extreme emotions even more extreme. But this doesn't affect Iluna Beath; her Balance Talent restrains such negative traits."

Shard then deciphered the meaning behind the final two images, which involved the process by which ancient people hid away the [Judge's Holy Bell]:

"The departure of the deity led to the collapse of the church, and the once divine artifact became a disaster. People paid with their lives to allow the ancient... the word does not have a modern equivalent; it probably means sage. They had an ancient sage craft this box to contain the Holy Bell and warned the descendants not to recklessly seek the truth about... the fall of Ancient Gods... "

The text at the end was very faint, and almost illegible in the light. He used a pencil and paper, pressing the paper against the surface and rapidly shading it to get a clearer impression:

"The truth of the fall of the Ancient Gods was not that They encountered an enemy, but that They willingly departed… Hmm?"

"What is it?"

Miss Annette asked in confusion, noting the look of surprise on Shard's face. It was then that Shard read out the last line:

"The Ancient Gods, They willingly departed... for the sake of this world."

He turned to Miss Annette:

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"What does this mean?"

"The age when the Ancient Gods fell is too distant from ours, and no one can recount in detail the stories of the thirteen original deities. However, some interpretations of the 'Whispering Verses' suggest that the thirteen Witch Empresses left behind the verses after being enlightened by the residual powers of the thirteen Ancient Gods.

As for why the Ancient Gods departed, this is the first time I've heard that they left of their own volition."

Miss Annette answered cautiously, realizing that Shard knew little more, so he stopped pondering and opened the box's lid to take out the bell nestled in the soft straw.

This was no trinket bell, but a gold rattle bell half the size of a palm. The surface of the long-handled bell had a fascinating spiral pattern, decorative rather than scriptural, hence undecipherable.

When he picked up the bell, it made no sound; it could only make a noise when the handle was gripped and shaken.

"May I try it?"

He asked the owner of the bell, and upon receiving permission, he gripped the handle and shook it gently:

Ting-a-ling~

In the quiet of the night, the sound seemed to spread to a farther place, its echo causing the cat beside Shard to look around.

A feeling of power suffused Shard, even giving him the sensation that his spirit had taken tangible form within his body; he voluntarily activated the Arcane Technique "Maze Lock - Little Match Girl," the technique he was not yet able to fully utilize.

Snowflakes fluttered down from the sky, and as Miss Annette reached out in surprise to touch the dancing snowflakes, she saw a phantom image of a little girl with a basket appear beside Shard. But it lasted less than a second before vanishing from sight.

The snowflakes drifted down from the ceiling, and Shard looked at the bell in amazement:

"Incredible, it doesn't just amplify the effect of Arcane Techniques, it even allows the use of techniques beyond the Circle Sorcerer's level."

But it still wasn't enough for Shard to utilize Maze Lock completely.

Miss Annette cupped her hands together, feeling the coldness while wanting to ask about the Arcane Technique, but she suddenly paused and tilted her head towards the door to Shard's study:

"Shard, there's something glowing in your study."

Shard turned to look and saw it was from his desk drawer. The faint white glimmer, like the rhythm of breathing, flickered softly and quietly.

"Glowing? What is it?"

He wondered, cautiously entering the study, and upon opening the drawer, was surprised to see that the glowing item was the page of "Poet Cohen's Manuscript" that allowed contact with the Academy.

A new line of text had appeared on the page:

["Shard, please dress somewhat formally when you attend Bill Schneider's study session tomorrow afternoon. Your request to view the 'Sublimation Codex' has been approved, and Librarian Miss Danester wishes to see you. — Hensinger Garcia"]

When Shard finished reading the last letter, the words on the page disappeared, and it ceased to glow.

He paused for a moment, relocked the drawer, and then turned back to the living room. Miss Annette was repacking the Holy Bell back into its box, looking very curious, but out of politeness, she did not inquire about Shard's private matters.

Instead, it was Shard who, after picking up Mia again, asked seriously:

"Miss Annette, has the Academy given you the task of surveilling the rest of the group?".

"Surveillance? The others?"

Miss Annette looked at him with a puzzled response:

"Why surveil others?"

"This... Let me tell you a story I haven't mentioned before. Actually, before today, I always thought it was possible that they had said the same thing to all five of us."

When Shard initially accepted the task of surveilling the other four, he had not fully trusted the members of the group, and thus had not shared this information. However, two weeks of interaction had gradually built his trust in Miss Annette, Miss Luisa, Priest Augustus, and Dr. Schneider, and he intended to disclose the matter when appropriate.

Now was a good opportunity to confide in Miss Annette.

He shared the contents of that night's conversation without any omission, explaining the issues of the other four, including Miss Annette, in turn.

Miss Annette had noticed something "abnormal" about Miss Luisa, was completely unaware of Dr. Schneider's issue, and after some thought, she offered an explanation regarding Priest Augustus's situation:

"The Academy's view is correct. Priest Augustus's joining Saint Byrons is indeed related to the Unclassified Level relic mishap, and it is true that he wants to uncover the truth of that incident. But as for the power he wields, even I am not sure… I only know that the Priest has a very strong Self-Healing Ability."

"How strong?"

Shard curiously asked.

"At a conservative estimate, any injuries can heal completely within ten minutes, as long as it is not fatal."
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Shard was startled by this level of "conservatism"; he wasn't the same as he was three weeks before, knowing nothing. He was well aware that such a degree of Self-Healing Ability went beyond the normal range.