Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1747 - 1746: The "Mermaid" at the Bottom of the Lake
In the night sky, the shadow that devoured the three moons is still moving slowly, and the remaining size of the March moons is becoming increasingly smaller. Darkness is engulfing the Green Lake Region, all is silent, and it seems that everything tonight has already ended.
In this darkness, Megan and Shard sensed the flight traces of the thirteen-ring sorcerers from the church who had already appeared by the lake. Hence, Megan let go of Shard, pressed her forehead against his, feeling the abnormal trembling of Shard’s body:
"After returning, I..."
Before she could finish speaking, she was suddenly pushed away by Shard. The next moment, a beam of light emerged from the center of the lake, pierced through Shard’s chest, and shot towards the distant shore.
Megan couldn’t even react immediately to what had happened; she stared wide-eyed at Shard’s pale face, looked at the light green lake water beneath their feet that had changed without them noticing, and saw the clouds behind them disperse, revealing the strange island surrounded by jagged rocks and the ancestor watching the scene with hands behind his back.
She thought everything tonight was a dream:
"This is crazy... No, no!"
Shard lowered his head to look at his chest, then his body fell towards the water’s surface. Megan reached out trying to grab his hand, but missed by just one centimeter, watching his "corpse" sink into the water.
She was shocked as she looked at her hand stretched forward, then heard a voice:
"Miss Edwards, the troublemaker has disappeared for now, please look here."
The demon of the maze, the figure appearing as a bald man, was tossing a black cubus, appearing at the edge of the thinning mist without anyone knowing. The mist from behind it gradually drifted further away over the lake surface, the mist that had shrouded Green Lake Central Island for over a hundred years began to disperse:
"Night of the Eclipse, the unstable space of the Material World has a tendency to become more unstable. The chaotic space of Green Lake Central Island will cover a larger area. Only the offspring of the Edwards Family, relying on their own Talent, can prevent tonight’s anomaly."
It looked up at the sky, where only the last third of the moon was left:
"Please save all of this, Miss Edwards, that man is not important. Do not waste time, what you need to do now is save this world."
Underwater, in the dark.
Shard is falling in the water. Although this scene is similar to last time, it’s actually completely different.
The Blessing from the God of the Deep Sea Drowned, to restore injuries in water, is working, but in truth, these injuries are barely serious; he didn’t even trigger the "False Immortality". After all, the heart at the left chest is not Shard’s fatal part.
He was merely influenced by that immense and twisted Power, temporarily losing control over his own Spirit, causing him to fall into the water.
And with a stream of bubbles escaping from his mouth and drifting upwards in the water, Shard gradually regained control over his body. Spirit and elements flowed once more within his body and soul, and the illusion that his soul was imminently detaching from his body became increasingly apparent:
"Actually ambushing me!"
Even in water, he can clearly Perceive the state of the three moons in the starry sky; he can even precisely know, through the countdown, that only the last three minutes remain before the eclipse completely swallows the moons.
"What exactly does that mean for me?"
Bubbles gurgle upward, Shard spread his arms, trying to adjust from a head-down falling position to a more convenient posture for swimming upward. But at this moment, a soft and enchanting laugh first appeared, then as the shadow drew nearer, he heard that raspy yet gentle voice in the water:
"Yes, what exactly does it mean?"
Some kind of huge and terrifying thing swam past below Shard in the deeper waters. Even without seeing it, Shard felt suffocated. The sense of panic made him realize he absolutely couldn’t continue falling downward, yet he had no chance to adjust his position.
Because, behind him, the laughter drew even closer, and as he continued falling downward in a tense, head-down posture, warm and smooth arms, glowing white in the dark world of water, embraced him from behind. Shortly thereafter, he felt something warm and soft press entirely against his back.
He felt warm currents brushing past his ears, and soon the head of a beautiful woman appeared on his left shoulder. His legs were slapped with something akin to a tail, and the thing swimming behind him held him, slowing his descent, as if he was falling towards the lake bottom together with a real Mermaid.
If he was truly embraced by a Mermaid during a fall, Shard might be quite happy, but right now he only wants to escape quickly.
"You did very well just now."
The woman’s head rested on Shard’s shoulder, the raspy voice whispered in his ear, warm currents flowing past his ear:
"Making that dual soul give a genuine kiss willing to sacrifice everything. Yes, this is what I wanted to see."
Even though the lake water is cold, it doesn’t stop Shard’s body from rapidly heating up. He contemplated what Arcane Technique could suppress his body’s poor performance at this moment; ’Desire’ was right behind him, he had never imagined encountering this level 0 Relic underwater, even the first meeting wasn’t this troublesome.
"Can you... let me go? I need to return to the surface now; they need me there."
He clearly understood that the one who had ambushed him just now was most likely the ancestor of Megan and Audrey, the Thirteen-Ring Diviner. Since the latter had shown themselves, it couldn’t have been just a mere "ambush." He could clearly feel the unstable area covered by the thick mist expanding; he needed to address this issue immediately. The anomaly on Green Lake Central Island must not expand.
"Why are you in such a hurry? Didn’t you want to seek answers from me?"
In the darkness, it seemed that only the glowing arms encircling Shard were visible. Desire whispered softly, and every hair on Shard’s body stood under the water, his trembling becoming even more intense. The woman’s head on his shoulder was less than a centimeter from his ear, and he even felt the fine hairs on his ear touching the vivid red lips of the other in the water.
"Emotion, the fusion of souls; desire, the collision of flesh; love, the connection of spirit; affection, the promise of two becoming one."
She softly recited the sentences left by Chloe, and Shard felt the "woman" behind him speeding up the fluttering of her tail, indeed slowing their descent:
"It’s simple, flesh and soul, merging because of emotion. Just like the pair of Red Butterflies in your cage, duality, trinity, this is the meaning of these words. And to achieve this..."
Her voice grew hoarser and more seductive:
"It requires power beyond the ordinary. The merging of souls requires one to have a sufficiently strong soul, and your strong soul is enough to bear the burden. Therefore, you only need the Secret Technique with a strong emotional connection. As for the merging of bodies, it requires the Enlightenment represented by the tale."
"Lovers of the Bell Tower..."
At the end of that tale, the Knight who died merged with the remains of their loved one.
"Yes, you understand, you’ve always understood."
Her arms exerted a slight force, as if she wanted to merge her form into Shard’s body. The scattered black hair brushed Shard’s face in the water, making him feel even more enthralled.
"Promise me, promise me one simple request, a small test for you. I can not only tell you the Secret Technique for the soul fusion but also how to address the current situation on the lake’s surface."
Even not daring to turn his head, Shard could imagine the slightly squinting, mesmerized purple eyes beside his head:
"What test?"
Even though "Desire" had helped him many times before, he still couldn’t fathom why she was being "extraordinarily kind" this time.
"Stories carry emotions. You’ve already proven your compassion, bravery, sacrifice, wisdom, honesty. This time, use your ’loyalty’ to prove your love story."
Shard immediately fell silent, letting the "Mermaid" behind him embrace him, sinking further into the depths:
"My loyalty... my true... loyalty?"
Towards Draleon, he was never loyal, no matter how much Director Anlos appreciated and utilized him. As for love, Shard could hardly say he was loyal; he never deceived himself.
"That’s why it’s a test. An interesting soul, if you truly value those girls, truly believe in your love, more than the desire I represent, prove it to me."
She laughed softly in Shard’s ear, voluntarily revealing the Secret Technique for soul fusion and how to solve the problem on the surface, then whispered an addition:
"Of course, even if you don’t prove your loyalty to love, I won’t do anything. But in that case, you would lose to me, wouldn’t you?"
"Desire" asked, seeing Shard’s complicated emotions, saying no more, gently separating from behind him and then using both hands to push him towards the surface:
"Until next time, interesting soul."
The pale hands exerted force, and Shard felt himself uncontrollably ascending, moving away from the "woman" sinking into deeper depths.
"Are you confused? Unsure if you truly love them, or is it just desire?"
"She" asked gently.
"No, I will prove it to her. I will not lose to desire. I have never feared desire, never feared confronting..."
The Outlander thought confidently, never confused, never fearing his own thoughts. Thus, driven by an indescribable emotion, as he ascended through the water, he mustered the courage to adjust his posture and looked back towards the direction he came from under the water.
