"Ten days?"

Although Shard was slightly surprised by the timeline proposed by Sister Delphine, he still nodded:

"No problem, we just need to wait for the priest to make a move, and then the council finds Maria Edwards so we can plan to land on the island. Currently, the result of my negotiation with the Witch Council is to stop that Diviner and let Laster Edwards and the former tomb robber conduct the ceremony to become The Chosen One."

The nun did not answer immediately, yet Shard distinctly felt the eyes behind the silver mithril eyepatch were "watching" him:

"Hero of the Flame, you should understand who is truly suitable for this position. Since they left with Grandma, they are already prepared."

"..."

Shard lowered his gaze:

"I know they want to help me. But precisely because of this, I can’t let them... Moreover, the second candidate is not dead, it’s not their turn yet. Are we to kill Durut Giles prematurely?"

The nun remained silent, while Shard mentioned a new idea he got from Dorothy yesterday, which is the possibility of a fusion between the Edwards Family and Durut Giles.

Sister Delphine is a Circle Sorcerer skilled in soul power and is the Chosen of Death; thus, Shard thought she might be able to make a judgment. But the nun did not provide a conclusion; instead, she posed a new question:

"Is there a possibility for the first and second candidates to merge, and are there any other possibilities?"

The nun’s voice was very low:

"United as One is the true Chosen. If after the Chosen One Ceremony, ’one’ dissolves into ’many’ again, can the individual still be considered the Chosen of Space?"

Judging by the current status, the effect of "Edwards’ Ascension Technique" is definitely permanent devouring, and Laplace Howard will move toward his target under the embrace of his bloodline;

If Durut Giles and Laster conduct the ceremony, given their current state, it’s highly likely they will transform into a peculiar state like the Calamity Card - Twin Lovers in Shard’s hand, which is also inseparable;

If it’s Grace and Helen, although they can currently merge or separate at will, even if they separate, they are still considered one person, having never acted alone, thus once they become The Chosen, no matter what state they’re in, as the concept of "Red Butterfly Twins" they cannot escape the fate of The Chosen;

If it’s the least likely Lecia and Dorothy, their soul fusion would also be irreversible, and even Angel Feather can only separate them before the fusion is completely finished.

"Nun, are you suggesting using another separable method to achieve dual unity? After the Chosen One Ceremony, separating the Chosen, the individual components under such conditions might no longer be The Chosen? Isn’t this what I’ve always wanted to achieve? Dual unity with spirit, flesh, and soul combined threefold..."

Shard muttered to himself, and Sister Delphine did not speak further, knowing that the hero she chose already had a judgment.

Shard indeed had a very wonderful idea, but it all depended on whether he could obtain the final Enlightenment Spirit Rune of the Six Rings.

He was not sure if his idea was correct, but at least there was a possibility of encountering a slightly better outcome at Green Lake Shore.

Sister Delphine did not stay long at the inn and soon left. Miss Sylvia and Megan, who went to the meeting, had not returned from the council by dinnertime.

But Priest Augustus, who went out, returned to the inn before dinner. So, Shard called Dr. Schneider and Dorothy, and the four-member group, minus only Luviya, had dinner together on the ground floor of the inn.

After dinner, the doctor found Shard alone, handing him a gold coin in Shard’s room:

"It’s successfully made; check its effect. The Maze Demon - Yalu left us a lot of good things, so the effect should be good."

The coin was the size of a one-shilling coin but looked like pure gold. One side had a crescent moon symbol, and the other had a sun pattern. When Shard touched it, he didn’t immediately sense an elemental reaction. After examining it repeatedly, he recognized the signs of an alchemical item.

The doctor reminded:

"Even demons can’t easily tell this is an alchemical item, but if you keep staring at it as you do, it’s not easy to trick anyone. The usage is simple, with one side of the sun and the other of the moon, whether you flip the coin or someone else does, just before the coin leaves your hand, rub each side twice with your fingertip and then imagine the pattern you wish to face upward during the coin’s ascent, then the face-up side will be your desired one."

The doctor signaled Shard to try, and Shard flipped it three times, and indeed it always showed the moon:

"It’s really useful."

"Yes, and no matter how you check, there’s no way to discover you’ve cheated, this is a demon’s trick. Oh, in fact, this coin doesn’t have just two patterns."

The doctor took back the coin, rubbed both sides, and flipped it once, with the upward side ending as a five-point star pattern:

"We happened to have extra materials, and that bottle suggested it, so I added another face. Imagine the star pattern during the flipping process, and it can show this result."

Shard took the coin in its current state, and after flipping to the other side, found that the other side also turned into a five-point star.

He flipped the coin again, and after it fell, it returned to the regular sun and moon sides:

"Really interesting."

"Besides controlling three patterns, its final effect is a deadly poison to all demons but has an almost fatal special toxicity to ’Greed Demon - Priscine.’ As long as you can trick the other party into absorbing the coin, even if it reacts in time, in a short period it will lose most of its combat power. Even if you are at Six Rings, you could defeat it."

Saying this, he handed over another six identical gold coins:

"If you only carry one coin, it will seem too conspicuous; carry these as well, but these six are ordinary items, so don’t mix them up."

Shard nodded to show he understood, even believing that the doctor was truly an expert at dealing with demons, thinking of every detail. He then flipped the coin a few more times for practice and asked an interesting question:

"Did you let that bottle leave?"

The two of them were now in Shard’s room, but the doctor didn’t carry that Sage-Level Relic with him.

"Not yet, I’ll wait for you to finish this business."

The blue-eyed doctor pointed at the coins:

"Once it’s confirmed there’s no problem, I’ll let it leave."

"That’s a good idea, but I think it should be sufficient."

After meeting the believer of the Old God - [Golden Sovereign] in the morning and now having obtained the crucial coins, Shard planned to set off immediately to complete the final adventure at Black Mist Camp.

After the doctor left, he went to Dorothy’s room to find Miss Writer and placed the cracked Time Key on the coffee table, while Mia was placed on the side table:

"This is the key’s last chance, I’ll use it now. Once I contact this part of the story, I can immediately tell you the result of whether Mrs. Miles successfully found her lover. Aren’t you very interested in that?"

"Yes, it’s excellent material."

The golden-haired girl sitting at the table said with a smile, pleased that Shard still remembered her matter. Then she noticed the cat looking unhappy:

"Are you bringing Mia this time?"

"Meow!"

The cat seemed to understand Dorothy’s words and meowed at Shard, but that wasn’t enough to change Shard’s mind:

"Of course not, the destination is very dangerous. It’s better to let Mia stay here. Dorothy, then we’ll meet again in three seconds, let’s hope Mrs. Miles will get what she wishes for."

Then he added in his mind:

"I hope I can also achieve what I wish for."

"It’s rare to see you so anxious; it seems you really want to know the ending of that story. Stay safe, we’ll meet soon."

Miss Writer hugged the unhappy cat, stood up, and went with Shard to the washroom door, watching him insert the key into the lock hole:

"May the World Tree protect me in infinite time."

Click~

[Outlander, you have stepped into the "Time Corridor."]

[Message from the Ancient God "Father of the Infinite Tree":]

[Summer of the Fifth Era, Year 1576, Western Continent, Black Mist Camp.]

[Event: Transaction with the Old God - "Golden Sovereign."]

[Duration: Fifty minutes (3/3).]

[You have obtained additional information.]

[The Father of the Infinite Tree’s shadow watches over you.]

[The Ancient God of Time presents you with a trial.]

[Assist mortals in completing their respective transactions.]

[The Father of the Infinite Tree will grant you a reward: Sorcery - Oath Binding, a piece of real information - Silvermoon Library.]

The surroundings were filled with endless white mist; Shard didn’t step directly into the past using the key for the last time, but instead paused again to think. It wasn’t because the time changed from "20" to "50"; he wasn’t encountering this kind of event for the first time:

"I’m not using the Time Key now just for information on the [Silvermoon Library]. The two rewards this time will be of tremendous help to me, so I’m willing to take the risk and try."

[No one asked this question.]

"... I’m just talking to myself. If I could enter the library again with higher permissions..."

[What you truly expect is not information about the past and future, is it?]

"She" laughed gently, "She" certainly knew what Shard was really thinking.

Thus, Shard listened to "Her" laughter, taking a step forward, into the boundless dark plane filled with shadows and obscurity.

The chilling environment quickly lowered Shard’s body temperature, while the glimmer on Shard’s skin awakened the "sleeping" darkness. However, the vibrating ground and the writhing strange plants eager to chase him couldn’t capture his figure. With Lagre’s Leap and Red Butterfly Incarnation, he sprinted forward, swiftly following the footpath almost covered by wild grass, into the thick black mist, and soon saw the glimmer of campfire lights.