Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 1965: Mature Girls

The ascension was not the end. To strengthen their spirit against the impulse to fuse, they almost bit through their own lips. Enlightenment - [Endurance] first appeared on their Ring of Fate, and almost the next second, both of them acquired Miracle - [Fusion] together.

But the power gained from the ritual only intensified their desire to truly become one with the other person. Such rapid acquisition of Spirit Runes represented an extremely abnormal phenomenon in itself.

And yet, the existence of Shard, the vow to Shard, still drove them resolutely towards Angelina, whose face was already streaked with tears, unknown when it had started.

The short journey of less than ten seconds felt like an eternity to Lecia and Dorothy. By the time they finally left the scope of the ritual, realizing they were drenched in sweat, their trembling bodies were weak, but the intense impulse within them swiftly diminished to a mere trace.

"Sister."

The Ring of Fate retracted, and before Lecia could say anything to Dorothy, she staggered and embraced the crying Angelina who walked over. With her red long hair pasted to her cheek, Lecia turned to show a helpless smile to the equally pale Dorothy, and spoke softly to her in her heart:

"Look, Angelina is all grown up, yet she’s still crying."

The three of them and the cat were all safe and sound. Dorothy and Lecia checked themselves, and besides unexpectedly ascending in strength from the power seized from the ritual circle, their souls became more stable and strong.

It’s a good thing, but they still needed to find out where they were and how to return to the inn. The walls were vibrating, and blood mist spread around, making this place unsuitable for a long stay.

Fortunately, Grace and Helen had given them a Red Butterfly. But before the two Female Sorcerers could act, footsteps sounded from outside the archway. First came the sight of two Red Butterflies, followed by Miss Danester who came following them.

Lecia reacted the fastest, immediately trying to cover her face. Fortunately, the flying Red Butterflies collided with the three of them, and the Illusion Technique of Grace and Helen instantly disguised their figures and appearances.

Miss Danester, who followed the Butterflies and saw the three people and a cat here, and found the cat familiar, was first surprised, then more astonished when she saw the large ritual circle on the ground:

"Sun, Moon, and Stars? Here of all places! No, this is the core ritual of Edwards’ Ascension Technique!"

"Does that mean destroying it will end the ritual?"

Lecia immediately asked, and Miss Danester looked at her and shook her head slightly:

"If it were a few days ago, it might have been possible, but now it’s too late. Destroying it will only make the large tree above us lose its self-healing ability to some extent. This ritual is at its final stage; what matters now is not here, but the people on that tree."

She deeply impressed all the details of the ritual in her mind and then asked the three of them:

"The Butterflies led me to find you. You are... two Inner Ring Sorcerers and an ordinary person, oh, looks like you’re about to awaken... This cat... Shard’s cat? I remember it’s called Mia?"

"Meow~"

The Butterflies hadn’t cast an illusion on Mia.

"Madam, could you lead us safely back to the ground?"

Dorothy plucked up the courage to ask the Academy’s Librarian Miss, using the Casenric language.

The red-haired Female Sorcerer nodded:

"Certainly, I’m here to repay a favor, but what were you doing here... never mind, I won’t ask. But if you see Shard, remind him not to mingle with Humanoid Relics, no matter how beautiful they are. I know he has many lovers, but it’s too much if he even takes an interest in relics, isn’t it?"

Sighing at her troublemaking student, the three young ladies pursed their lips to hide their expressions:

"The Red Butterfly Twins are merely partners of Mr. Hamilton, not lovers."

"Let’s not go into that. Where do you want me to take you?"

Miss Danester asked again.

Lecia contemplated and exchanged glances with Dorothy. The Red Butterflies left by Grace and Helen flew out from their hands:

"Follow this Butterfly. If above us is Edwards’ Old House, we want to go there. Mr. Hamilton might need us soon. Since we’re here, we’re not leaving."

Lecia looked over at Angelina, who was clinging firmly to her arm, forcing her to just sigh without objection.

At this moment, the ladies beneath the island were unaware of the situation on the surface. On the island where all light had vanished, the only part illuminated by that massive red light was the remnants of the banquet hall among the treetops.

Shard, Iluna, and Megan stood together, the golden emblem of the Ancient God on the witch’s forehead flashing, helping her resist the instinctual urge to merge with that red light.

She grasped Shard’s clothing tightly, watching as Shard pulled over Durut Giles, who was slumped beside them. Whether it was because Laster Edwards passed on some of his power before dissipating, this man, despite the large hole in his chest, still had the strength to weep bitterly.

Shard, with heightened perception, even felt a part of his soul had undergone permanently irreversible changes due to the earlier "fusion".

"Actually, my initial plan was, if I really couldn’t stop Laplace Klein Howard’s two-century-long plan, I would let Durut Giles be absorbed as well. When the first and second candidates became one, the Chosen One Ceremony was likely to go wrong, and I would be able to separate them afterward."

Shard spoke softly, the brunette holding onto his sleeve nearly on the verge of tears:

"Why did you agree to the ancestor’s request just now? If you felt you could separate the absorbed family members, why agree to him?"

"Of course, he didn’t want you to suffer."

Iluna, whose floating dark golden balance protected everyone from harm under the brightening red light, seemed carefree about the current situation. Instead, she said to the witch:

"Megan, or should I say, Audrey."

Even though Iluna was much younger than the Witch, she saw things more clearly;

"Shard doesn’t want to lose you, even if it’s only temporary. I mean, don’t you have the title of ’Wisdom’? How can you not see even this?"

"But..."

Iluna interrupted her directly:

"If you are willing to trust Shard, then don’t hesitate and waver here. You know, I’ve always believed in him, from the very beginning."

She felt her face redden slightly from the boldness of her words but was pleased with her bravery, seeing it as a sign of her growth before her birthday.

"You don’t have to be sad, you will be able to see her again."

Shard, standing nearby, said to Durut Giles. The man, full of tears, looked up at Shard from where he crouched on the ground:

"Will Laster come back?"

Even though he had asked the Church to prepare the "Heart of the Undead" in advance, Shard still did not promise:

"Pulling a dead soul back from death is an absolute taboo. I can’t guarantee she can come back. I can only guarantee that you still have a chance to see her again."

After speaking, he looked at Iluna again:

"Do you understand the power of flesh fusion?"

The seventeen-year-old girl smiled, placing her hand directly at the center of her chest:

"Edwards’ Ascension Technique, I, like you, have understood it all."

Although they hadn’t found and killed the Diviner’s main body in advance, thereby failing to become the dominators of the "Edwards’ Ascension Technique," at least at this moment, as the ceremony reached its final stage, they all understood what the power of flesh fusion really was.

"So, Shard, are you ready?"

Iluna asked, and Shard looked at the dazzling, ever-expanding red light above, slightly shaking his head:

"Before that, I have one last question. Durut Giles, stand up, now, the three of you please answer me one question: what is the most distant distance in the world?"

Megan and Audrey answered together:

"Green Lake Central Island and this island are one, yet they will never touch."

Durut Giles, supporting himself on the ground, got up, sobbing, and said:

"It’s the distance between life and death, it’s the unfulfilled desires, past mistakes that can never be rectified now."

Only Iluna smiled and said:

"The most distant distance in the world is clearly the distance between hearts."

At this moment, she inexplicably appeared somewhat mature, not the kind of harsh and cruel maturity that Shard had seen in Mrs. Lemaire the Merman’s memory, but a more gentle and soft maturity:

"People can never truly understand one another, never open all the barriers of the spirit. But, though it is the most distant distance, it is also the closest distance that can exist between people. Space, with its merges and separations, is truly fascinating."

She seemed to have realized something, though she hadn’t decided how to express it before Shard handed her a "weapon." A pink crystal spike already lay in her hand.

Iluna Amelia Beath lightly bit her lip to calm herself, the gentle crystal spike making her feel like she might tremble, but she still forced herself to stay calm:

"So, is it the same as always?"

"Yes."

Shard nodded with a smile:

"Wait for me, it will probably take a few minutes."

Iluna also smiled, and everyone lifted their heads. The bloody red glimmer overhead was already as dazzling as the moon in the dark, gradually illuminating the areas of the island that had just been swallowed by darkness.

The lush, blood-red trees gently swayed. When that bloody red light truly illuminated every corner of this space, this place would also utterly transform from the reverse of the Material World into a space detached from the Material World.

And this is also the process of "Creation Space."

"What are you talking about, what is Shard going to do?"

Megan still did not understand, but Iluna shook her head and said no more.