Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 510 - Reconciliation with Ulterior Motives

The rooms at the Three Cats Inn were mostly exceptionally cramped, with a desk, cabinet, and bed occupying most of the space. Although one could take in the entirety of the room at a glance, Shard still patiently conducted a careful inspection:

"Diviner, I am going to use the Arcane Technique to listen to the sounds from the past 48 hours. While I do that, try to perform divination on this room to investigate what Daknis might have done here."

The Circle Sorcerer who manipulated time had an innate resistance to time-related abilities. The True God Church would certainly have thoroughly searched this house, and although the possibility that the Church had a Circle Sorcerer who could listen to past sounds was low, the likelihood that they could hear Shard's voice was even lower. For safety, Shard didn't mention the name of the Arcane Technique, nor would he call Luviya by her name during the operation.

"No problem."

Luviya nodded her head and sat down in the chair at the desk, while Shard supported himself with his hands on the bed and sat down at the edge of the bed.

Although the room was somewhat small, the soundproofing was quite good. Plus, since Daknis lived here alone, and "Echo of the Past" tended to pick up human speech, Shard believed that after trying a few times, he would be able to hear the conversation that had just taken place between Daknis and the Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer, "Weeper" Helmons.

He was very curious why the Weeper didn't just kill the traitor directly.

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The Spirit Connection Element within his body used the Arcane Technique, and the sound of boots pacing back and forth reached his ears. Then, Shard indeed heard Daknis' voice. But it wasn't the recent conversation; rather, it was his "muttering to himself."

"The thing I need is actually in Yordle Palace? Is this script trying to kill me?"

"Isn't it quite normal to take some risks for power?"

The second sentence was in demon tongue, the horrid language that merely by hearing made Shard's scalp tingle. The demon's voice, speaking through the Fish Training Ring, was very low, almost a whisper. It was luring Daknis with a very seductive voice. Perhaps allowing the demon the power to speak was the most mistaken thing Daknis had done.

"If I were worried about risks, I wouldn't have come to Tobesk. But that is Yordle Palace after all, and even if you pay the price for me, the script will certainly see me running into some unlucky event during the action."

Daknis sighed.

"Yes, but it's necessary. The little bit of Human Pus you let out, wasn't it cleaned up quickly? I can feel that even excluding the True God Church, there are still many fearsome people living in this city, among them even my own kind, and just you and I are not enough to oppose them."

The demon continued whispering, and what it mentioned was probably referring to the Dream that Shard and the doctor had cleansed.

"Oh, my dear Ivan."

Even though not in the same time frame as the other, this tone still made Shard's skin crawl:

"Darkness needs to be understood by you yourself. The key to the ritual is in the Dark Realm, and how could artifacts with the power of the Ancient God 'Crawling Darkness' be found just anywhere?"

The demon kept whispering, and although it was tempting Daknis to take risks, what it said was actually true. Luviya had to pay a great price to obtain the Judge's Holy Bell for Iluna.

"The 'Puppeteer's Script' says that in the treasury of Yordle Palace there is the hilt of the 'Dark Sword'... The hilt of the ritual longsword 'Dark Sword,' once used by the priests of the Ancient God 'Crawling Darkness,' still harbors a trace of power... Now that I've embarked on this path, yes, I can't turn back."

He continued to pace back and forth in the room, then pushed the door open and walked out.

Shard waited a little longer to confirm that there was no more to that sound, then turned his head toward Luviya at the desk and asked:

"Do you know about the 'Dark Sword'?"

"I do. It's a ritual longsword used by priests of the Ancient Gods. Before the deities departed, those swords possessed power not inferior to that of relics. It's said because of the darkness's power, the sword was completely invisible, and only the Ancient Gods' priests could see it, hence it was also known as the 'Nonexistent Sword.' After the deities left, while the Dark Sword lost its invisibility, it remained a powerful Divine Item and Alchemical Item. However, since it's from an ancient time, recorded evidence of it only exists from the Sixth Era."

In their division of labor, Luviya was responsible for research and thus knew about those famous items imbued with the power of the Ancient God 'Crawling Darkness.'

"Oh, was this what was stolen last night?"

Luviya understood that Shard had discovered a clue.

"Yes, but only the hilt, kept as an antique by the Royal Family. Additionally, the price for using the 'Puppeteer's Script' is borne by the demon."

"The demon definitely didn't tell the truth, otherwise how could you have run into the Iron Right Hand and yourself last night?"

Luviya shook her head:

"Never trust a demon."

She continued with her divination, while Shard went on listening to sounds.

The second attempt brought sounds of the recent maid's complaints and the noise of mopping, as she griped about working hard and receiving low pay; the third and fourth attempts each brought the sound of the quiet wind and somewhat embarrassing noises coming from the next room.

On the fifth attempt, Shard finally heard Daknis' voice again. However, the sound seemed as if it were coming from an incredibly distant place, and it was accompanied by rustling background noises, making the voice exceptionally muddled.

Even focusing intensely on listening, he could barely catch parts of the conversation.

"What's going on?"

"Outlander, someone is interfering with your listening. The one has not targeted the power of time but has employed an Arcane Technique at their own temporal point to disrupt the propagation of sound."

"If Daknis were 'muttering to himself,' he surely wouldn't have used this method. So, it could only mean that I am hearing his conversation with someone else!"

Shard's heart leapt with joy, and he shifted his feet to make the sound clearer. At that moment, Daknis happened to mention something crucial:

"Mr. Helmons, are you sure you won't kill me, a traitor?"

It seems the conversation took place an hour ago.

"Ivan, you merely took a wrong turn, you are a promising Circle Sorcerer, I knew I could persuade you, that's why I came,"

This voice was none other than Weeper Helmons, his weak tone was very distinctive.

"So, what exactly do you want me to do? Are you aware of the Whispering Verses?"

"Of course I know, now, Ivan, I offer you a way to atone for your betrayal. Become the second Chosen One, and then come back to the New World with me. You must have heard that the organization has found the entrance to the Creation Chamber. If you succeed, I will give you a chance to enter that place."

"You mean... the Golden Humans?"

The voice of Daknis shook, and Shard also knew of the "Golden Humans."

The Blood Spirit School believed that the current Sixth Era was the Brass Age. In the distant past, human blood was gold in color. The humans of that Golden Age had greater powers, and the fundamental purpose of the age-old transcendent organization, the Blood Spirit School, was to pursue the "Golden Humans" and to purify human blood.

Supporting the Blood of Mercury was also because the School believed that mercury's blood was the bridge from the Brass Age to the Golden Age.

"We've only found the entrance; we haven't been able to fully uncover the power there. But you're different, Ivan, you are The Chosen One."

Shard heard the Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer cough a few times.

"After becoming The Chosen One, your Ring of Fate will turn to pure gold, which is one of the traits of the Golden Humans. After that, when you enter the Creation Chamber, I believe you will be closer to the gateway of the Golden Blood than anyone else."

Shard understood this to mean that Weeper didn't know how to use the Creation Chamber, but thought that The Chosen One entering such a space would receive special treatment.

"Ivan, I don't have the patience to wait for you to think it over. Tell me your answer now, whether you agree to my request. If you agree, I will help you complete The Chosen One Ceremony, I have prepared a lot for this, and my people are outside the city. If not, I think you know how the School punishes traitors."

Although Helmons' tone remained even, coming from a Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer, it was a real threat.

And the man who coexisted with demons was indeed very timely:

"Sir, please forgive my betrayal. I am willing to become The Chosen One with your help and then return to the School to help it approach the Golden Gateway."

"Very good."

Helmons laughed:

"Then tell me, how should your ceremony be done?"

Daknis obviously hesitated, but for the sake of his life, the hesitation did not last long. He spoke very cautiously:

"The ceremony requires me to consume darkness. Sir, I need to enter the core of the Angel-Level Relic, the Dark Realm."

"Alright, I knew you didn't risk coming to Tobesk because you had lost your mind. Do you have any other relics in your possession, anything else that needs to be prepared?"

"On my way to Tobesk, I went through some battles. Now all I have is the Murderer's Steel Needle, as you know, a Keeper of Secrets Level Relic, instantly lethal to normal people and can cause strong paralysis to Circle Sorcerers. Even a Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer would be paralyzed for at least half a second. The rest... must be taken."

This was a precious Offensive Relic, more expensive than all the relics Shard had bought combined. But Daknis clearly wasn't telling the whole truth, Shard knew the Fish Training Ring must still be in his possession.

"Then, Ivan, you have five minutes to pack your belongings. I was able to find you, and the True God Church will be able to find you sooner or later. You are truly bold, staying in such a place."

Then came the sounds of Daknis packing his belongings simply, followed by the two leaving together.

"There's a result."

Only after the complete silence around him, did Shard speak to Luviya again.

He briefly recounted what he had heard, the two key points being that Daknis had temporarily reconciled with the Blood Spirit School, and that the two had confirmed their intention to head to a small town in the southeast of the city, one that had been consumed by darkness and completely forgotten by the outside world.

"This time we've got trouble. Daknis is now aware of the darkness and has obtained an Artifact with the power of an Ancient God. Should he complete the Ceremony, killing him will become much harder than it is now. The Chosen One is protected by Fate,"

Luviya let go of the amethyst pendant in her hand:

"My Divination couldn't get as much true information as you did instantly. But at least I am certain they are not heading straight there. Even a Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer wouldn't recklessly enter the interior of an out-of-control location-based Relic without preparation."

"So you're saying, the situation is not yet so urgent that we need to follow them immediately?"

Shard looked into Luviya's eyes for confirmation.

"Yes."

The girl with purple eyes nodded her head, gathered her Divination tools, and appeared anxious:

"We'll split up next. I'll go to the black market and convey this information to the Church. Detective, you go find that Witch and tell her as well. The Church and the Witch should act immediately. At first, I thought maybe Daknis wouldn't even live to reach the Dark Realm, but now that he has an accomplice..."

The Female Diviner bit her lower lip.

Shard understood what Luviya meant; their original plan never included dealing with a Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer at full strength.