This operation was originally meant to find the descendants of Edwards within the Dragon Feast Cult, specifically Nadia Folan, the daughter of Edward, the second son of the fourth generation of the Furen brothers’ mother. However, the operation ended without any discoveries. Instead, the group found the cult’s laboratory in the deserted village and a lot of experimental "materials" related to Human Alchemy.

"One-Eyed Barry" represents the Cult of the Abyssal Drowned, whose direction with Human Alchemy is to create stronger Water Ghosts; as for the Dragon Feast Cult, they aim to better fuse dragons with humans. All in all, it’s quite disgusting information, and aside from proving that the Dragon Feast Cult has long cooperated with Laplace Klein Howard on the island, there isn’t anything new.

"The Church of Nature also clashed with the Dragon Feast Cult yesterday. This cult is quite troublesome to deal with; the few remaining Pureblood Great Dragons view them as mortal enemies, but this also proves the remarkable strength of the Dragon Feast Cult. They use consuming dragons to gain dragon’s power as their operational principle. Since Pureblood Great Dragons are rare now, any creature with dragon blood, they consume... even elves and humans too."

After the battle, while the other girls were searching the deserted village, Ciris quietly informed Shard. As for the blond Grand Witch, she was watching the burning Half-dragon corpse turn to ashes. The corpses of these cultists contain Dragon Poison, which, if mishandled, will contaminate the land, a point stressed by the Witch of the Earth.

Soon, a black-haired girl rushed over and handed Miss Benanis a letter they had just found. The letter was burnt one-third through, rendering most of the useful content unreadable.

However, due to hurried handling, the charred parts still vaguely showed the word "The Chosen One." Miss Benanis speculated it might be related to Edwards, checked and found it couldn’t be restored through normal means; hence, she handed the letter to Shard.

Shard touched the Ring of Immortality on his hand and slowly inhaled as a grey airflow went from the letter paper into his nostrils. The Breath of Ages reversed time, and the hastily burned letter returned to normal.

"The arcane technique of time is always so enchanting."

Ciris murmured, while Shard and Miss Benanis looked over the letter together, its contents unexpectedly revealed:

"Oh, this makes things easier. The main Circle Sorcerers of the Dragon Feast Cult have mostly withdrawn from the Green Lake Region; only at most a quarter of their forces remain here."

"Why? Did their negotiations with the Diviner not go well? Or is it, as Shard said, Edwards from the Dragon Feast Cult has long intended to resist against the Diviner?"

Ciris curiously asked, and Shard handed her the letter:

"When excavating Ancient Giant Dragon remains in the New World, the Dragon Feast Cult found a message from a Fifth Era Witch on the dragon bone. The first sentence seemed to imply ’someone was here’, typical of their ways. Following that, it involved fragments of a poem Chapter about The Chosen One of Light. Now with the main forces of the Dragon Feast Cult retracting, they have more pressing matters elsewhere and are no longer as concerned about the Green Lake area."

Shard sighed slightly, gazing at the clear sky:

"Although it’s good to have fewer enemies for the Green Lake showdown, there are more and more things to deal with."

"I recall the Ancient God of Brightness is often called the Radiant Dragon, the Great One is also the oldest Dragon God."

Ciris said, and Miss Benanis lightly nodded:

"Indeed, it can be guessed the unexpectedly discovered poem Chapter fragment likely involves dragons. However, there’s no need for urgent actions related to these matters; let’s first resolve things in Green Lake."

Shard set a meeting that night with Priest Augustus and Dr. Schneider to ambush the Ghoul Lich brothers on the south shore of Green Lake. Since they agreed to meet at eight o’clock in the evening, after leaving the deserted village, he didn’t return to the Green Lake Hotel but followed Miss Benanis and Ciris back to their residence in Mikaela Ironworks City.

The Golden Dawn Opera Group is currently staying at a hotel not far from the Glass Cask Opera House. After dinner, seeing it’s still early and coincidentally, the Golden Dawn Opera Group had performances that night, the two ladies brought Shard to tour backstage at the Opera House.

All the girls at the Golden Dawn Opera Group know Shard, as they got well acquainted during Randall Valley events. Upon seeing Shard come with the two group leaders, some daring girls even jokingly asked whether he thinks Miss Benanis or Ciris is prettier.

Ciris appeared composed, but Miss Benanis blushed immediately, looking at Shard expecting his answer.

Having been apart for quite some time since the battle of Randall Valley, Shard had many things he’d like to share with them. While wandering backstage, Miss Benanis mentioned she was preparing to ascend to the Twelfth Rank, which reminded Shard of something else:

"I’ve recently recorded a pretty good song using Magic - Sound of Music."

He said with a smile:

"But it requires lute accompaniment, and though I remember the tune, I can’t play the lute."

"I’ll accompany you."

Ciris offered, while Miss Benanis curiously anticipated what Shard would perform:

"Come over to this performance hall; there’s no one here for now. Any special preparations required?"

"No, I’ll arrange the scene. Just make sure nobody’s nearby, I don’t wish to cause too big a commotion."

Thus, besides the blond Grand Witch and Ciris, they invited several Inner and High Ring girls backstage as the audience.

The group proceeded to a small performance hall at the end of the second floor of the Glass Cask Opera Group, with other girls taking their seats, leaving Miss Benanis in a broad special seat in the center of the second row, smiling at the stage.

Shard walked out from backstage, dropped a small piece of silver:

"Sorcery - Traveler’s Camp."

Consuming precious metal to generate camping sorcery enables attaching differing transcendental effects through the metal’s quantity and quality. However, Shard merely wanted the camp’s appearance, so a small piece of silver set the stage with a camp composed of a bonfire and a worn tent.

The lights in the auditorium dimmed, and under Shard’s instructions, Ciris wove the threads of memory to transform the forest trees, surrounding them. Then, Shard even used an incomplete Maze Lock to "melt" the ceiling, revealing the Silvermoon and stars.

Everything was ready, and he and Ciris sat by the bonfire on the stage.

A girl with beautiful golden hair strummed the strings, and Shard said:

"Allow me to introduce the background of this ancient ballad—

It was a story from long, long ago. An old horse, a loyal dog, a parrot, a unicorn, and a traveler under the moon set out on their voyage. They traversed forests, crossed great rivers, spanned deserts, and scaled snowy mountains. On a serene night of their journey, as they rested by the bonfire, an encountered bard learned their story and composed this ballad for them."

He gave Ciris a glance, and as the lute was plucked, he used an Arcane Technique to bring the ballad sung by the deity that night to the spring night of the Sixth Era, year 1854:

"The lost travelers gather by the bonfire,

beginning a new journey together.

Pluck a white chrysanthemum to send them off,

with dappled shadows guiding the path ahead.

The reason for departure is not important,

may they enjoy the scenery along the way.

The returning old horse will eventually find distant relatives,

the uninteresting parrot becomes the protagonist of its own tale,

the jealous loyal dog remains faithfully loyal,

the naive unicorn gazes at her lover.

Oh,

do not forget the lonely traveler under the moon,

may he see clearly the unknown road ahead.

Through forests,

over rivers,

into deserts,

may you sleep peacefully on this night.

The journey ahead is far,

only in this moment is all well."

Shard did not even change the language of the Fifth Era used by the deity and sang the song in its entirety. The deity of the journey had an exceptional talent for performance, and their voice carried a perfect raspiness when singing the ballad. Accompanied by the breeze in the woods and the crackling bonfire, those who listened to the ballad felt a long-lost inner peace.

Although Shard relied on Arcane Technique to sing, he knew that his singing ability could never reach the level of the deity. Moreover, the atmosphere created by the dangerous environment of the "Lostwoods" at that time was completely different from the safe and comfortable opera house auditorium now. Therefore, back then, he could gain Sorcery solely with this song, but the effect now was definitely not as impactful.

As the song ended, Shard sighed softly, reminiscing about the companions he met on that interesting and challenging journey. Then, pulling Ciris’s hand, who seemed deep in thought, he stood up to thank the audience below the stage.

Only then did the young ladies who listened to the song withdraw their minds from the bonfire in the forest. Because there were few in number, the applause was not loud, but each person had their own takeaway.

The only one who did not applaud was Vanessa Benanis, sitting in the center of the second row. Her golden eyes watched Shard and Ciris holding hands. Even though the performance on stage had ended, her fingers still lightly tapped the armrest of the seat, and she continued to softly hum the ballad that had just ended.

Behind her, the dazzling Eleventh Rank Golden Steps appeared step by step in the dimmed performance hall.

Shard heard Ciris beside him counting softly:

"...nine, ten, eleven."

Above that final Eleventh Level step, a golden phantom stair appeared in everyone’s view. It was unstable, indicating it was not fully formed. Finally, a Brass Life Ring emerged amid the Steam Mist, and the rotating Ring of Fate allowed the Golden Stair to pass through it, while brand-new Spirit Runes appeared on the swiftly spinning ring.