Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 533 - Maze Lock, Human Pus, and the Ring

"Shard, you know what you must do."

The voice of Miss Feliana echoed in his ear, and Shard nodded. Facing the courage required to confront the dark, he understood what the "Kiss of the Tree" Spirit Rune's arcane technique was truly capable of. Now harnessing the lingering divine power, he cast forth the Parchment Roll given by Dorothy, inscribed with the story of the "Kiss of the Tree":

"Under the tree."

He spoke softly, his hands lifted slightly as if to cradle the roll of parchment:

"I have never lacked courage."

The roll of parchment blazed furiously in mid-air, the letters scattering and blending into the Ring of Fate behind him. The Witch, her divinity, and that faint touch within the darkness finally allowed him to fully recall the sensations of that last adventure in the Forest of Thousand Trees.

"Hm?"

Mia and Tifa lifted their heads to gaze at the sky, and to their astonishment, they could see the starry sky, spreading out like a canvas above them.

The surroundings had changed; the crackling sound of a campfire burning was now audible. The golden-red flames of the campfire had appeared beside the trio at some unknown point, imparting an unusual sense of peace.

Silvermoon hung high, together with the stars illuminating the earth. The treetops swayed, and giant trees stood tall behind them.

The night wind brushed through the sea of trees, causing the flames of the campfire below to flicker. The fresh air of the forest was refreshing to the spirit, and even the dark "Spring Eye" surging forth failed to ruin the moment's contentment.

"Is this... the Maze Lock?"

Tifa was the first to recognize the situation, then turned to look at Shard, who was before the campfire.

Shard did not speak but looked toward the campfire instead. The last time he had seen these golden-red flames, three other figures had accompanied him, but this time, he was alone.

Breathing in the air of the forest, the thumping of his heart seemed to merge with the sounds of nature under the starry sky.

Under the round moon disk overhead, streams of fire flowed from the campfire, forming spiraling dragons in the air as they surged toward the still oozing "Spring Eye."

If the functionality of the Maze Lock born from Shard's "Compassion," the "Little Match Girl," was to grant four virtually cost-free wishes, then the functionality of the Maze Lock born from "Courage"—the "Kiss of the Tree"—was to suppress and seal away any hostile force.

The flame stream swept over the demon that was still in the process of "turning over," Dalnis, or perhaps there was no difference between the two now. The fireball enveloped it, gradually pulling it toward the campfire. Once it fully merged with the campfire, the Maze Lock would complete its entire process of suppression.

If Shard could ascend to the High Ring and display this Maze Lock with his own power, then any Circle Sorcerer suppressed by the Maze Lock would regress to the First Ring for an extended period, and any Relic that was suppressed would be completely unable to exhibit any traits for a certain time.

At this moment, using the divine power smeared during the ascent and the help from Miss Feliana, the Maze Lock—"Kiss of the Tree"—was even capable of suppressing the Evil Spirit Demon of the Third Era that had not fully recovered: Human Pus.

The turning process initiated by suicide was still ongoing. The cries of Daknis within the squirming darkness and the roars of the demon were almost indistinguishable. Clear drag marks formed on the ground; it fiercely resisted but was inevitably entwined by the stream of fire, inching closer to its end.

Shard no longer paid attention to this already doomed entity and stepped past Mia and Tifa, looking toward the distant forest instead.

Once, during Professor Garcia's "Sealed Space" lecture, Shard asked what would happen if a sorcerer had multiple Maze Locks. The Professor did not provide an answer at the time, but now he knew; he could distinctly sense, from afar in the forest, that snowy street.

Although the Maze Locks were constructed from two different Spirit Runes, in reality, both Maze Locks were completely fused together. If Shard wished, he could instantly transfer the scene before him to the street of the unseen town in the distance. Of course, this would also greatly consume the spirit's energy.

"Shard..."

Mia nudged Shard, who then snapped back to awareness and noticed that the muck-like entity was mostly pulled into the campfire already. Daknis' face alternated with the black viscous liquid on the surface of the black mire, but what appeared more were countless tiny, densely packed human faces.

They wailed and cursed, the last residues of the souls that had once been devoured by the Human Pus, the by-products after the pus of humanity had flowed out.

Shard looked at the black mire, at Daknis' face that occasionally appeared on its surface:

"Chosen of Darkness, do you regret what you have done?"

Daknis' distorted face rushed toward the exterior on the surface of the mire but was again dragged back into the mass:

"Regret?"

Countless overlapping voices resonated as he laughed:

"I shall walk alone in the dark until the very end."

"But this is the end now."

Tifa reminded him.

"Therefore, I have already seen what's ultimate, behind the curtain of darkness, I've witnessed everything."

The terrifying face completely dominated most of the surface of the black mud, but this still could not prevent it from being consumed by the campfire:

"Outlander..."

"Hm?"

Shard raised an eyebrow:

"At this moment, I finally see the essence of 'Darkness.' When I crossed the veil that obscured the world, I saw all."

"What are you trying to say?"

Mia asked impatiently as only a bit of the black mire remained unlit by the campfire.

"The epic has begun, the Whispering Verses are the final chapter. Even if you kill me, reverse what has already happened, you cannot change the fact of that door having opened. I wait for you in darkness and slumber, Outlander, you are destined to be the most pitiable."

The campfire swallowed it up, and at that moment, the golden-red flames surged upward like a fountain, then scattered like little sparks.

As countless glowing dots fell from the sky like fireflies, the forest scenery under the starry sky above split open, revealing the black sky of the Dark Realm.

Yet, even the black sky was splitting open to reveal the true Star Ocean and the three moons within it.

With the Maze Lock dissipated, without the support of the Chosen One, the Dark Realm too would drift away.

The scenery of the late summer night gradually became clear, enveloped by countless drifting, reddish-gold points of light, they stood within Millwood Forest atop a small hill blanketed with green grass and clusters of flowers, as if the stars could be touched by merely reaching out at that moment.

The pus on the ground evaporated as the Dark Realm receded, and the multitude of specks shone resplendent under the moonlit night.

But lying before them was a black humanoid figure with a breath so faint to the extreme, this was the Human Pus: Daknis, whose power had been completely suppressed. The Maze Lock suppressed power but did not kill him.

"Iluna, you deal with it."

Shard said as he took out an empty glass bottle and began collecting some of the power-drained pus from the ground.

The girl with chestnut hair nodded, about to step forward when suddenly "Daknis" raised its head and opened its mouth. A black sword hilt shot out from his mouth, and Iluna quickly dodged to the side.

Taking advantage of this, the figure actually flew up, trying to make a final attempt at escape.

"Circle Sorcerer, Demon Mouth, Half-body Demon, Human Pus form, mutual self and others, suicide inversion. The Chosen One is indeed favored by fate, how many shapes can he still assume? Can he still escape like this?"

Shard took out the Holy Emblem from his pocket and, almost simultaneously with Iluna, said:

"Praise the sun—Sunlight Gun!"

Two golden bolts of lightning rose from the ground, piercing through the myriad lights, and struck the airborne black figure beneath the moonlight at the same moment.

In the wind, under the moon, beneath the Star Ocean, the Human Pus: Daknis exploded midair, with black pus shooting in all directions.

"Daknis is dead! I feel it, I've killed another Chosen One! Oh, it seems I've gained some power! Yes, we've succeeded!"

Iluna exclaimed in the moonlight, not noticing some of the luminescence seeped into Shard's pocket holding the Roder Card.

"But why did it explode so far? Oh, it seems the demon hadn't fully merged with Daknis, it had held something back, Daknis is dead but its true body is trying to escape."

Tifa cautioned while holding Mia.

"It's okay, let me handle this."

A gentle voice appeared behind Shard, and turning around, he saw that Miss Feliana had not yet left. However, her figure had already become faint, and it was time for her to awaken from her own dream.

"Are you wondering... if I will see you again?"

Shard asked softly, and the golden-haired witch smiled :

"Shard, in my life, I have seen you more than just once."

In the astonished gazes of Iluna and Tifa, she embraced Shard, and then gently kissed his forehead.

[Outlander, you have obtained "Witch Echo: Feliana".]

"Witch Echo" is a trace of the past that Shard could absorb from the death site of a witch with voting rights in the Witch Council. But clearly, Miss Feliana did not die here, this Witch seemed to understand deeper secrets of the Witch Council, therefore she was able to grant Shard this echo.

She let go of Shard, and with golden eyes looking at him, she opened her palm towards Shard:

"Shard, don't fret over parting, for one day we will meet again. Isn't parting just to meet once more?"

"Teacher..."

Shard had a thousand words to say but ultimately he only took off the Transmutation Ring, and under Mia's dissatisfied gaze, placed it into her palm.

"You really understand me."

Miss Feliana said with a smile, slipping the ring onto her translucent finger, and then looking one by one at the three of them.

"Since you can see me, I think I should give you a gift."

She said to Tifa, who seemed unsure of how to respond as the girl was somewhat awkward, and golden light began to flow from Miss Feliana into her.

"This is..."

Read latest chapters at freёweɓnovel.com Only.

Tifa hesitated in disbelief.

"I'm glad Shard has a friend like you."

She then addressed Iluna, the young girl was also nervous, blushing and somewhat shy to look at her:

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Feliana."

Iluna once expressed her admiration for Miss Feliana to Shard, during a window conversation amidst falling rain.

"If you wish to delve deeper into your talents, you might seek help from the witch corresponding to 'Balance'."

Finally, Miss Feliana looked back to Shard, but in the end, she just smiled at him, then addressed all three of them:

"My dream is about to wake, so why not do something interesting before awakening. Shard, while I draw attention, you can leave, there seem to be quite a few people below the hill. Now, look at this, never underestimate the power of a Relic, nor be deceived by its apparent traits."

She touched the ring on her finger:

"The change from positive to negative, marks the beginning of a new life."

Her figure dispersed into a burst of golden light, vanishing in an inexplicable white mist.

Then, red high heels emerged from the dense fog, followed by a black skirt hem. Holding on to a pointed hat atop her head, her golden hair swayed behind, the Witch of the Fifth Era, Mana Feliana, truly stood beneath the Sixth Era's starry sky.

The night breeze tousled her hair, swayed the brim of her hat, and fluttered the edges of her skirt.

The pendant on Shard's neck emitted a temperature hot enough to scorch his skin.