Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 1936: Edwards Brothers

"We need to confirm whether this talisman still works on the island."

Tifa softly reminded, handing her talisman to a girl nearby dressed in a black and white maid’s dress. The latter nodded, bent the talisman, and disappeared from sight, soon reappearing on the other side of the bonfire.

"It can be used."

Thus, the remaining six talismans in the hotel all gathered in Shard’s hands.

"We’ll wait for you here."

She said to Shard:

"If you encounter danger along the way or if you get hurt, bend the talisman and come back at any time. Although we can’t follow you into this dense mist, everyone here is your backup."

The girls, whom Shard couldn’t quite name but looked very familiar, smiled and nodded at him. Looking at the talisman in his hand, Shard realized that with these, the upcoming battle would indeed allow for more error tolerance. However, as he delved deeper into the mist, the effect of these talismans would also be affected, so he couldn’t treat them as a trump card.

Having confirmed all the relics he could use, Shard got ready to set off. Dorothy and Lecia each gave Shard a hug, promising they would wait for Shard to come back:

"You also have to promise that you’ll return safely."

Angelina waved goodbye to Shard while holding Mia, and Tifa, acting as the maid, slightly bowed to him once he walked out of the hotel’s door, as if genuinely seeing off a master departing for a journey.

The hotel, lit by firelight, quickly vanished behind Shard. His boots tread on the dark red ground, accompanied by the dense sound of rain and the thick mist, which caused both his mood and body temperature to chill completely.

Even though he had abruptly arrived on this island, the company of the other girls prevented feelings of loneliness and oppression. But now that he was alone once more, the inner cold surfaced from deep within.

"But this is what I’m most familiar with."

The area of Green Lake Central Island wasn’t very large originally. Now, although the surface land, plants, and the original island differed, the size and layout seemed consistent.

While avoiding the eerie enemies lurking in the rainy mist, Shard continuously activated "Enhanced Spatial Awareness," gradually filling in his mental map of the island’s terrain.

He hadn’t learned the ability to avoid rain, but by not activating any additional arcane techniques, he could better hide in the darkness. Though his hair and clothes were completely soaked, he felt that in this state, his slow breathing gradually merged with the island’s atmosphere.

Deep into the island, Shard wasn’t entirely alone. Facing the mist in the rain, he tried once more to place the "Impermanence: Space" before his eyes, hoping to see something different. Yet, he seemed to lack the talent of Joey Barton or Miss Aleira Andriana.

At least Sister Delphine’s ability to sense the position of the Primal Fire was entirely unaffected by the thick mist. As he moved forward, Shard increasingly sensed the burning flame awaiting him not far away.

The location of the Primal Fire, which coincided closely with the direction where Megan lay, meant Shard didn’t need to consider which direction to take first.

Apart from the Impermanence Card and the ability to sense the Primal Fire, there was actually another item that could help him here at this moment.

His hand gently stroked the silver flute at his waist, and the power of the Butterfly Summoning Flute remained usable even here, meaning Shard could summon Grace and Helen at any time.

However, he hadn’t done so yet, preferring not to involve Grace and Helen unless absolutely necessary.

"You’re deceiving yourself."

She softly spoke into Shard’s ear, the voice resonating with the sound of the rain, making it exceptionally clear.

Shard’s mouth twitched as he looked up at the night sky above the shadows of the trees. Clouds and mist together veiled the Star River, and although the three moons of the material world should cast light here, nothing could be seen now.

"Do you know my plan?"

He turned to grip the Philosopher’s Stone at his chest.

"You’re attempting to deceive the Chosen One Ceremony."

"I will succeed."

The dense mist filling the rainy night was even able to obscure the perception of the monsters. This was one of the most important reasons Shard could safely proceed. He soon found the forest path once more, where the watery, black-red soil made it exceptionally difficult to walk. Because he had to avoid the unconscious monsters wandering the forest, he stayed near the edge of the woods, silently moving forward.

"What smell is this?"

Suddenly sniffing the air, he realized it was the scent of burning wood:

"In such heavy rain, what’s burning on the island?"

Initially, he thought it might be the town at the forest’s edge on fire, but soon realized the burning point was much closer to him. As he continued forward, the smell grew stronger, until Shard clearly saw flickers of firelight through the fog.

The glow wasn’t on his path but rather to his left. Since he was walking on the left side of the forest path, the fire must be deeper within the woods.

"What’s going on? A trap? Or something else?"

He hesitated to check it out, but quickly noticed elements suggesting a conflict typical of Circle Sorcerers. Shard was certain that the young women from the inn wouldn’t come here, so it must be others who have arrived on the island:

"Who could it be?"

Whoever it was, appearing here under such circumstances meant they were likely adversaries of the Diviner. Seeing the firelight in such low visibility suggested that whoever it was, their location was quite close to Shard’s position, so he hesitated only for a moment before deciding to go take a look.

He crouched, moving through the rain, realizing only belatedly that the direction was towards Green Lake Central Island, at the public cemetery of Green Lake Town. It was where Shard and "Miss Apothecary" had contacted the spirit of the Blacksmith and obtained the first key.

Indeed, as the light of the fire became clearer, the contours of the small town cemetery, with a giant bonfire burning, appeared through the mist.

Rusted black fences surrounded the cemetery in the woods, and the tombstones weren’t very distinct in the rain and fog.

Shard could see a large group of people wearing rain cloaks gathering before the enormous bonfire. Upon reaching the fence, he saw that those people were actually confronting two individuals surrounded by them.

Those under the rain cloaks were strangers to Shard. They looked like normal living beings, yet they seemed intimately connected to the island, as if they were part of this eerie place.

Surrounded by them were two individuals Shard was familiar with: descendants of Hohenheim Edwards, the grandson of the third-generation firstborn, and the sons of Jarvis Edwards, cultist of the Tyranny Club from the fourth-generation Shard hadn’t met but were part of the Mirror Association, Wood Edwards and Grass Edwards.

The brothers stood shoulder to shoulder before the bonfire, their hair and clothes drenched like Shard’s in the rain. Though the distance made it hard for Shard to hear them, he could see the brothers seemed to be arguing with the group of cloaked individuals.

Behind the two, an Eight Rings Life Ring had emerged, but for some reason, it was entangled with tree roots. The traces of spirit and elemental fluctuations from the earlier sorcerer battle originated from them.

"An illusion? Or is it really them?"

Shard quietly questioned in his mind.

[The distance is far, but the chance of them being real is high.]

"I knew they would be on the island, but why are they here? Did they escape from the family gathering?"

Using the fog as cover, Shard took a deep breath and shifted sideways through the gaps in the rusty fence to enter the cemetery. Surprisingly, sounds within the cemetery became immediately distinct after passing through the fence.

The Edwards brothers were indeed arguing with the cloaked people, but the dispute seemed odd:

"Since Father has passed away, he should be buried here."

Wood Edwards, the brother with a blind left eye, argued rationally with the others:

"You are also residents of the town, why oppose us burying Father here?"

Peeking through gaps in the crowd, Shard saw another middle-aged man, one he didn’t recognize, lying at the brothers’ feet.

"Is this Jarvis Edwards, whom the Truth Society saved from the church?"

The cloaked townsfolk loudly replied in the rain:

"Death is not the end, especially not for us who live in Green Lake Town!"

The leader among the townsfolk, whom Shard only saw in profile but seemed to match the description Megan found of the last mayor of the small town:

"Your ancestors protect everyone here, death is not our end. Though all mortals must die and no one can change that, after death, if you follow the ’Unifier’ Laplace Howard, you can surely rise again! You are also Edwards family blood; how can you not believe this?"

Saying this, he led the cloaked townsfolk one step closer. The brothers exchanged a nervous glance, and to Shard’s surprise, these two Eight Rings Sorcerers seemed somewhat afraid of those ordinary people.

Behind the brothers was the fire, blazing even in the heavy rain, leaving them no retreat. They gritted their teeth and held each other’s hands. As the Eight Rings Life Ring entwined with roots behind them shone, each falling raindrop around them became a mirror reflecting the light. The light bounded among those mirrors, magnifying into a dangerous glow that swept over the insane townsfolk.