Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 530 -

"Let's save the scolding for when we get home," Shard told the wronged cat, snatching the ring from its mouth and lifting it out of the box for Tifa to hold.

He placed God's Gift Box at his feet; the box seemed to respond to the glimmer of the Balance in Iluna's hands, preventing the pus that covered the clearing and was spreading towards the Crystal Forest from reaching the three of them.

"Meow~"

Mia nestled into the soft embrace of Tifa, her large eyes fixed on Shard. The cat had a faint gold glimmer about her, reminiscent of the sun, yet also similar to the Divine Afterglow emanating from Shard at that moment.

"I think this is your ring,"

Shard displayed the Fish Training Ring before slipping it onto his finger. Now he wore a ring on each hand, which seemed more symmetrical. The shadow that had burst from God's Gift Box when Daknis's hand fell to the ground was obviously Mia. Mia had stolen the ring from the severed hand, and since the cat liked the Transmutation Ring, it might well fancy the Fish Training Ring too.

"You damn thief!"

A curse-like voice emanated from Daknis, but it wasn't his own; it was unmistakably the voice of a demon speaking in the language of demons. Amidst the bubbling sounds, Shard opened his mouth slightly in surprise,

"Without the ring, you can still borrow his mouth to speak? You really are trying to possess Daknis's body!"

In this pitch-dark area, illuminated by the gold glimmer surrounding the trio, Iluna's Balance allowed them just enough light to see Daknis.

"Ivan Daknis, answer me, who am I speaking with now?"

Shard asked.

"Do you want to snatch away my body?"

This time, the voice that came out of Daknis's mouth was indeed his own.

"Yes."

The language of demons, once again came from Daknis's mouth, but the man, now a second Chosen One, was not worried at all. Laughing in his Human Pus form, he said,

"Having been directly hit by that terrifying magic potion, taking so many attacks from a Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer, and even giving me all the power absorbed from the darkness to complete the ceremony, how much strength do you have left? I have become The Chosen One; I now possess vast knowledge and power beyond your wildest imagination. Did you think I wasn't prepared for you?"

In his pus-covered right eye, a crimson spark flickered. Daknis continued to mutter to himself, a scene probably familiar among Circle Sorcerers in their solitary conversations.

The demon spoke using Daknis's mouth.

"At the moment the Chosen One Ceremony was completed, were you truly unaffected by the power of the Balance? If it weren't for my effort, it seems you would temporarily not even have the power of the Inner Ring. Only The Chosen can kill The Chosen, and the one across from you is another Chosen One, unaffected by her terrifying balance.

Do you believe in the pull of fate? Be careful, my dear Ivan. That human beside her, he seems to conceal an even more terrifying power, and you still need my help."

Using Daknis's mouth to weave tempting words looked exceedingly odd.

Daknis's back seemed as if it were merged into the crystalline column, his height and bulk increasing, with more and more black pus flowing from his right side of the body.

But Shard was still waiting. As Daknis grew stronger, Shard progressively mastered the contact. Enough Spirit to let him leap levels and use Arcane Technique without wasting a single drop of Divinity.

"What do you want?"

Daknis asked softly, both his normal eye and the covered right eye turned towards Shard, though clearly he wasn't speaking to him.

Finally, the demon revealed its intention.

"I help you devour the power of the Dark Realm, elevate you from Six Rings directly to the High Ring. In return, share your power with me – I want six hours every day, in which I will have complete control of your body."

"Then you'll gradually extend that time with each request until you completely take over my body?"

Daknis laughed.

"You have no choice. Without my help, can you escape? Your opponent is a Chosen One who awakened before you, a woman with Witch Power, someone whose humanity is not even certain..."

Shard felt insulted by these words.

The demon whispered softly in its demonic language,

"You need me, don't you?"

Shard translated the demon's words for his companions. Tifa shook her head, not understanding Daknis, while Iluna glared hatefully at Ivan Daknis as he gradually faded from the edge of the light,

"We've all inherited the Ancient God Power, bearing that responsibility. Are you really willing to share your power with a demon, to tarnish the purity of the darkness, to stain your status?"

"Look, they're preventing me from helping you; they all fear me,"

continued the whisper of the demon speaking through Daknis, with Shard kindly translating.

In truth, the Spirit resulting from devouring the darkness and subsequent transformation was enough for Shard to incompletely initiate the Maze Lock of Little Match Girl. Even if he couldn't defeat Daknis now, it would be enough to help him and his companions escape, for Daknis certainly would not spare the time to deal with him here.

But Miss Galina was still here; Shard couldn't leave her behind. Besides, if he left now, he had a premonition that the church would definitely not leave Daknis behind.

He didn't know what the situation outside was, or whether Weeper Helmons had made other arrangements. Shard did not fancy being always concerned about a powerful enemy elsewhere, worrying about them suddenly reappearing in any danger, for it might take more than a decade to truly solve that problem.

So, he chose not to open the Maze Lock "Little Match Girl" to escape, but instead to try another possibility.

"How about we try a different method?"

The golden glow cradled by Iluna's hands in the Balance was being compressed, while Daknis was completely hidden within the Dark Realm. But the crimson radiance flickering from his pus-covered right eye was still there.

Before sinking into darkness, Shard clearly saw a strange, slime-like substance lying on his back, whispering softly in his ear.

Shard felt as if he understood what was going to happen next. Only this made sense:

"I see, this is what the demon actually wanted."

The fine whispering surrounded everyone's ears, the thick darkness and the Human Pus flowing on the ground seemed to be transforming this place into an abyss. Iluna was already struggling to stand, and Tifa hurried to support her. The cat that Tifa had been holding took the opportunity to jump onto the shoulder of the girl with brown hair, curiously looking down at the golden Balance she held.

The light of Ancient God Power reflected in the cat's curious and innocent eyes.

"It's about to end."

With the Divine Afterglow lighting up on his body, Shard spoke softly, ready to roll the dice.

A voice of the Human Pus Demon echoed from the darkness, using an even older language whose power seemed capable of directly corrupting any strong spirit in the world:

"How about it, my Ivan, let me become your 'other self'."

Iluna and Tifa both looked in surprise toward the crimson light representing Daknis's right eye; amidst the gurgling sound of the black pus, they heard Daknis's response:

"Why should I agree to you?"

"If you are to walk in the darkness alone, then let me become your shadow, forever, my dear Ivan, forever with you. It's all for, greater power."

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Only the sound of flowing pus was heard around them, and after a few seconds of silence, the three heard the response given by The Chosen One:

"You are me..."

It was a sentence spoken in the common tongue of Draleon, and with a sigh, Iluna knew that the most terrible thing was about to happen.

"...and I am you."

The ancient demonic language finished the sentence, the crimson point of light went out, and everything fell into silence.

After that terrifying moment that felt as if the whole world had gone silent, the sound of laughter once again came from ahead with a wind that tore through the eardrums. Not just from ahead, but from all directions, the crimson light of the demon spread from all around, demon whispers, horrific roars, and indescribable fears surrounded them.

"Silvermoon!"

Raising his right hand, Shard called out loudly. Because at this moment, they were under the protection of Iluna's Power of Balance, the light finally pierced through the darkness.

All three saw the only area under the tree where they stood that still had light was a hemispherical region. Surrounding them were towering black Crystal Stones, and from the pus on the ground, the black air, and the darkness overhead, countless horrors were taking form.

The combination of modern men and ancient demons was creating an even more terrifying phenomenon.

Thousands of demons, using the strength of The Chosen One merged with the Human Pus Demon and the power of the Dark Realm as a breeding ground, were coming to the present from the cracks of history and the past.

The light of Silvermoon on Shard's fingertips and the glow of the Balance in Iluna's hands were shrinking inward, while Daknis seemed to be omnipresent.

He had now taken the form of thousands of demons.

"To misuse The Chosen One's Talent without limits or reverence, it turns out leads to such terrible consequences, to actually communicate with history and mold those past demons with Human Pus. It seems we still underestimated the power within Iluna—without a bottom line, when The Chosen One no longer wishes to be human, he can be this terrifying... That's why Diviners search for them with all their might," Shard said softly.

He stood in front of the two girls:

"Don't worry, leave everything to me."

The demons beside them, in the sky, and even beneath the ground, all reached out hands or hand-like appendages. The darkness stretched towards them, the light had compressed to a small circular area around their feet, and even the Moonlight at the tip of the finger was about to go out.

But the scars on Shard's body were not affected at all; the demons were afraid to touch the light, hesitating to reach out.

He looked up at everything around him:

"Daknis, in the end, you were still devoured by the darkness."

As The Twenty-Sided Die of Destiny was thrown, it would immediately cause good or bad luck to occur, and the thrower would inevitably come to know. While the good fortune decided by the dice could not be directed, in life-threatening situations, the result of the die would have a higher chance of affecting the surroundings to ensure the thrower would know what the dice had influenced before death.

That's why Shard chose to save the guaranteed roll of 20 for now.

Before throwing the dice, Shard glanced sideways at the cat on Iluna's shoulder. At this time, Iluna and Tifa had almost turned black, but this cat, shivering with fright, was still completely normal. Not only that, with the surrounding light extinguished, the faint Glimmer on the cat's body was particularly noticeable:

"I knew it, after the second Night of the God's Descent ended, it definitely wasn't me who restored you from a doll," Shard thought to himself, tossing The Twenty-Sided Die of Destiny into the air:

"It's over."