Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1394: Place of Dusk

The body passed through the curtain and immediately sensed the patter of rain, yet the body didn’t feel the drops of rain.

In the art gallery just now, there was only dim lighting, whereas now the light was somewhat glaring. Shard and Fiona both instinctively squinted their eyes, then saw that they hadn’t appeared on the street, but rather on the high point of a certain building.

"Is this... a terrace?"

Looking back, below lay the rain-drenched city, with only a few buildings and streets still lit. Amidst the city’s darkness, some strange figures roamed. There were even giant, colossal beings moving through the city, yet all movements were silent.

They were actually quite lucky, having not encountered the most troublesome enemies.

Their current location seemed to be the top-floor terrace of an enormous obelisk-built palace. The terrace was quite large, semicircular in shape. The curved side was lined with a railing, whereas the straight side featured a wall and tightly shut double metal doors.

In the two corners of the terrace, there was a lamp each, with light resembling the most brilliant sunset, illuminating the place. On the two metal doors were patterns of a sunset and a sky full of stars. On the sunset door, ancient script read:

[Place of Dusk]

"Place of Dusk, so opening this door leads to the night."

Shard whispered, and Fiona nodded nervously:

"Yes, beyond the door should be the final destination."

"I can’t feel the power of The Great One."

Shard said while glancing at his hand, not seeing any trace of Divine Afterglow:

"We’re still in ’Dusk,’ so ’Night’ hasn’t arrived. If I’m correct, opening that door would let this city’s ruler, the Old God symbolizing the night, appear."

Fiona nodded nervously:

"So will you accompany me through and leave afterward, or shall we enter next time?"

"Next time, since it’s still unclear what Miss Feliana has prepared, and I’m running out of time."

Shard suggested:

"Rest here for now, and if you can recall what Miss Feliana instructed through the Dream of the Moon, that’d be best."

"Sleeping again."

Fiona said with a frown, knowing there was no other option.

Shard only had a few minutes left and couldn’t waste time chatting. Fiona retrieved the curtain, but the compass was left behind in the art gallery and couldn’t be retrieved.

Shard helped her set up camp, spreading soft bedding inside the tent and positioning a fence outside the tent.

The tricolored Moonlight Thorns clung to the fence, protecting the tent within. Fiona sat somewhat pitifully inside the tent, reaching her hand out to Shard. Shard paused, then remembered to take off his coat and hand it to her, since the last one had been burnt in the "Dragon Egg."

He turned Mia, observing everything around, into a toy and placed her in the chest pocket of his shirt. Just half a minute remained, and it was time to leave:

"Until next time, Fiona."

"Want to see my new skill?"

The red-haired girl asked. Her golden eyes already saw the white mist rising around Shard, leaving him no time to answer:

"Perhaps due to the ritual materials you used, I can now draw in the night. Yes, all I need to do is extend my finger to light up the moonlight."

Her slightly glowing fingertip gently traced through the night, leaving behind a trail of light.

The cursive name [Shard Suren Hamilton] was written between them. Shard smiled at the sight, then extended a hand to gently embrace her:

"Next time will be the last time, and it will surely go smoothly. Oh, if you can’t sleep, try drawing in the night, and I’ll admire your work when I return."

The red-haired girl bit her lip:

"Then farewell, Shard, please wish me goodnight... I’ve been sleeping way too much lately."

"Goodnight."

He leaned forward slightly, the red-haired girl closed her eyes and leaned her face forward, only to feel no touch for quite a while.

When she opened her eyes again, Shard had already disappeared.

"Really... I won’t let you off next time."

(Mia running...)

When Shard staggered out of the bedroom door of Luviya’s rented room at the Abundant Land Inn, Luviya was still sitting at the dressing table looking at her own face.

Hearing the sound, she finally shifted her gaze from the mirror to Shard:

"Where did your coat go?"

But she didn’t expect an answer from Shard and instead smiled and walked towards him:

"Let’s go downstairs for breakfast. I really like the little sugar cakes here in Randall Valley. You won’t find them back in Tobesk. The maple sugar here is hard to come by in Tobesk..."

Suddenly, she leaned in to sniff near Shard’s neck and suspiciously looked at him. Shard wanted to explain, but the purple-eyed girl covered his mouth with her hand:

"Shard, you’ve really worked hard."

While going downstairs for breakfast, Shard asked Luviya an important question:

"Last time Miss Danester came here to see you, did she mention where she’s staying now?"

"Yes, Saint Byrons has academy assets here as well, in a ship repair factory. Miss Danester and a few other professors sent by the academy are staying at the manor listed as part of the factory’s assets. She said I could find her if I encountered any trouble or danger."

Luviya provided Shard with the specific address and watched as he, with a troubled expression, fed the cat:

"Are you planning to find Miss Danester? Even though she probably guessed some of your matters, letting her know you’re running around freely isn’t really appropriate, is it?"

"There’s a problem with this Time Key."

His eyes glanced around to ensure no one was paying attention to them, and Mia took the chance to snatch away the whole little sweet cake Shard was planning to break and feed it.

Shard intended to reward the cat, so he didn’t mind and picked up a knife and fork to start slicing the sausage:

"Miss Fiona Drago still hasn’t remembered some things. We need to make a deal with an Old God, which will determine the establishment of Saint Byrons. If Fiona can’t remember what the price is, I’ll need to inquire with Miss Danester."

"This feels truly fascinating."

The purple-eyed girl said with a smile:

"On an unassuming morning, in the corner of an unremarkable inn, while eating a relatively cheap breakfast, listening to you talk about these matters."

She shook her head:

"Don’t ask my opinion. Besides you, no one can get involved in matters of the previous Era. Shard, ask yourself, and you’ll find the answer."

Shard nodded, and while he took a moment to think, Mia snatched away the freshly sliced sausage. It timidly bit the sausage and looked at Shard, expecting him to stop or scold it, but instead, Shard just gave it a nonchalant glance and then picked up a spoon to stir his thick soup.

This actually made Mia hesitate to continue eating.

After breakfast, Shard first sent Mia back home and then opened the [God’s Gift Box] in the basement to retrieve this week’s gift. After last week’s precious No. 1 Holy Water, this week’s gift was merely an ordinary ivory comb.

Though expensive, it was of no use to Shard. The task was to wash his hair twice within a week, which was simpler than going to church services.

Shard didn’t stay home long and then took a trip to Coldwater Port to collect fresh fishy grass to prepare for his upcoming fourth-grade Magic Potion class assessment project, the [Underwater Breathing Potion].

After returning from Coldwater Port, he went back to Randall Valley. By then, it was already ten in the morning. He borrowed a horse from the Wilder Opera House and rode towards the old cemetery of the Granger Family located northeast, outside the city.

Due to the distance, Shard reached his destination by almost noon. Now it was Earl Granger’s private forest, and to avoid being mistaken for a poacher or illegal lumberjack, Shard specially found the Forest Ranger’s Cottage and showed the letter provided by the Earl.

The forest ranger, a robust man in his forties who also served as a logger in summer and fall, was friendly towards Shard and even pointed out the location of the cemetery’s old site deep in the woods.

However, he kindly reminded Shard that although the site wasn’t reforested or developed as required, it had fallen into complete disrepair. Anything valuable had already been taken clean by the Granger Family and occasional thieves a century ago, so aside from possibly encountering hibernating animals, there wasn’t much else to see.

This old cemetery was destroyed in the Randall Valley earthquake of Common Era Calendar 1498. Even before that, the Granger Family was a prominent local family, so the cemetery was quite large.

Shard left the horse outside the ranger’s cottage and, following the ranger’s directions, proceeded alone through the woods. Around eleven-thirty, he saw the cemetery fenced in by iron bars.

The fence seemed to have been renovated in recent years and looked better than the haunted Worsent Manor. But inside, it was nearly ruins. Although the Earl arranged for someone to clear the weeds every year, three hundred years of neglect had erased most of the past.

Having obtained the key from the ranger, Shard entered directly through the front gate. Although the weather was gradually warming, the snow outside the city showed no signs of melting. In the snow, countless leaning steles stood. Besides that, remnants of a small church building remained, but the Tomb Guardian’s Cottage was nowhere to be found.