Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 1979: Fracture and Reunification

"An accident that should have been absolutely impossible, a breakdown spiraling out of control, someone’s desperate prayer... so that’s how it is."

Compared to the final words left by the Diviner, everything else no longer mattered. Shard stared at his own blurred reflection in the water, momentarily at a loss for words. He wanted to talk to "Her," but had no idea what to say.

The description Laplace Klein Howard had left about the rebirth after the collapse of the Bygone Era matched exactly the answer Divined for Shard by [Fate’s Pedestal] as to why he had come to this World (Chapter 1804).

When the long story reached its end, when the final act of tragedy played out upon the Apocalypse, the despairing girl wished to start everything over again. So she chose to destroy the Time of the entire Sixth Era, to let everything begin anew, to give both herself and the World a second chance.

But she still failed to seize that second chance, and so there was a third, a fourth, and then a fifth and a sixth.

And when that sixth Bygone Era: Sixth Era ended—when that River of Time shattered once more, when all things fell silent yet again, when the World, damaged many times over, suffered yet another grievous wound—at last, under the weight of accumulated strain, an Error appeared. Something that should have been absolutely impossible, something whose probability of occurring approached zero, something that was more deserving of the name "miracle" than any miracle—happened.

The Outlander raised his head and lifted his hand toward the heights, as though trying to grasp the Star River:

"The grievous harm done to the World allowed an Outlander from beyond the World a chance to enter it, to enter a brand-new Sixth Era on the verge of collapse. When the Outlander opened his eyes in the Seventh Cycle, in the year 1853 of the Sixth Era: Common Calendar, in this present World and at the bedside of Sparrow Hamilton, who was whispering his last words, he still did not know what a miracle his appearance truly was, did not know what had happened here, nor what was yet to come. When the trembling Outlander stepped out of No. 6, Saint Delan Square, leaning against the doorframe, eyes wide as he took in this intricate World, he had no way of knowing why he had come."

Now, however, a year later, the Outlander understood:

"So this is why I came. I came because of her."

The "Her" by his ear laughed softly; that laughter was lighter than this late-spring night breeze scented with smoke and fire, gentler than the Starry Sky Shard reached for with his outstretched hand:

[Outlander, the question of why "I" was born, why "I" am "me," is the ultimate answer all Life seeks.]

[You have glimpsed the beginning of "me." You have taken your first step upon the Demigod Road.]

"Last time you said I’d set foot on the Demigod Road; now I thought you’d tell me I’ve already walked its length."

Shard gazed up at the Starry Sky, sighing in his heart, speaking even as infinite melancholy filled him.

[You have only learned why you came, yet you still don’t know what the coming of the Outlander means for this World.]

"What it means... In these few short hours, I’ve already learned more than enough. My coming was a loophole born from the destruction of Time, an Error accumulated through repeated Space-Time cycles. So, since I came because of this, was I destined to witness all of this?"

[But I get the feeling that although you’re melancholy, you seem quite happy?]

"Yes. My coming is not someone’s conspiracy, and there’s no one pulling the strings from behind the scenes. Isn’t that something to be glad about?"

He looked up at the Starry Sky; "She" was still smiling gently. Now that he knew why "he" was "him," the Outlander felt very calm. It was like finally being able to rest a little on a long journey. Though the road ahead was still long, at this moment he only wanted to enjoy the scenery beneath the Starry Sky and savor the leisure after a sleepless night in this second life of his.

Shard’s estimate had been wrong: the great blaze burning on that blood-red giant tree had not died down even by the moments before dawn. The fire was still dazzling, and sparks and ash continued to dance in the air above the town. At the same time, the verdant giant tree on the island, the one symbolizing the Sealing of the "Kiss of the Tree," seemed ever more towering, and the Church’s Circle Sorcerers understood that this was the Sealing left by the God Summoner.

After all, the giant tree atop Sicarl Mountain Summit used to seal the Interstice of Life and Death, aside from the difference in size, was identical to this one in every detail.

Though Laplace Klein Howard had been defeated, there were still many matters on this island that needed attending to. And in the real Green Lake Region, the Circle Sorcerers also had to hunt down the monsters that had appeared in the city, countryside, and wilderness during the period of spatial instability.

No one knew where Shard was. Only when the Witches retrieved the [Night Watchman] and, bringing Luviya, Angelina, and Mia, returned to the Green Lake Hotel together with Durut Giles, Priest Augustus, Dr. Schneider, and Sister Delphine—and after they had cleared away the monsters around the hotel—did Luviya think that Shard might be down by the pier.

The six Grand Witches went with Luviya to look for Shard, to make sure he was not still fighting Laplace Klein Howard.

And when the six ladies and Granny Cassandra emerged from the woods and saw the small pier jutting out over the Lake, at the far end of the Lake’s surface, on the shore of the Green Lake reflected from the real World, the first ray of Sunshine was just then cast from the distant horizon. After a night of turmoil, it had unknowingly become Thursday morning.

And in that first ray of Sunshine, Shard stood on the small pier, holding in his hands that Feather which had only one last use remaining. Before him stood a girl with red Butterfly Wings on her back and red-gold hair.

Butterflies fluttered around her; behind her, the Six Rings Life Ring had transformed into a dark-gold Cubus. The tall girl’s skin, bathed in the morning light, shone with a captivating luster. She looked twenty-two or twenty-three, with a charming face adorned by a faint smile.

She stood before Shard, head slightly bowed. After the Feather cupped in his hands glimmered faintly and dissolved into motes of light, in the morning light it seemed as though a white robe had appeared upon Shard’s body, and behind him a pair of vast wings flickered into being and vanished.

He placed his hand on the bowed girl’s head, and she was wrapped in that dawn light. When the others could see her clearly again, Grace and Helen, hand in hand, and Lecia and Dorothy were already standing in front of Shard.

Shard was not surprised that he could separate her again. The Chosen One Ceremony did not impose some mandatory, irreversible fusion, and the fusion of Grace and Helen had always been reversible by nature. As for Dorothy and Lecia, their mutual fusion had not been a natural selection, but achieved through an Arcane Technique. Moreover, their souls had not been the only ones intertwined. Therefore, Shard had already known beforehand that they could still be separated.

"Oh! Dorothy!"

Luviya was the first to stumble over, giving the blonde writer a hug, then said to Shard:

"I almost thought I would never see Dorothy again."

Shard’s expression was serious as he gently shook his head:

"Their becoming one was in itself due to the effects of ’Love God’s Sting’ and ’Maze Lock - Clock Tower Lovers’. The Philosopher’s Stone may have made the Spellcasting reach its max effect, but it still could not change the fact that once these two Arcane Techniques ended, the state of being merged into one would inevitably end as well."

He then glanced at his own palm; the feather given by the "Lake Goddess" had completely vanished:

"It’s just that although the Arcane Technique made their souls become one with mine, their individual souls still unavoidably touched each other, so I had to use the feather’s final opportunity."

The four girls who had reappeared smiled at Shard, and Megan, who had likewise walked over, asked hesitantly:

"Then now, who exactly is the Chosen of Space... or does the Chosen of Space no longer exist?"

Audrey appeared at her side at this moment, the two holding hands. Aside from being unable to let go of each other’s hands, they looked no different from two separate individuals.

"The Chosen of Space exists; it is the four of us."

Grace, in a white dress and looking about fifteen or sixteen, said softly:

"But not the four of us as separate individuals; it is our form after we four fuse anew. Each of us alone is not the Chosen of Space; only when we close together as one are we the chosen one."

She once more took her younger sister’s hand. The two girls of about fifteen or sixteen were then transformed by the light again into a girl of seventeen or eighteen in a black-and-white gauze dress.

Lecia and Dorothy exchanged a glance, then smiled and joined hands again. The swarm of red butterflies circled them, veiling their figures, and when the red butterflies scattered, the two had become one. Standing before Shard was the girl with long red-gold hair.

Emerald eyes, fair skin, a tall figure, and facial features that combined the advantages of both Lecia and Dorothy. Except for the lack of wings behind her, she now looked almost identical to the "Chosen of Space."

Even Shard was somewhat surprised, while Luviya was even more taken aback:

"You two..."

"The Arcane Technique - Heart Connection that Shard granted us has now become the Arcane Technique - Duality."

She said with a smile:

"In this state, we can, just like Helen and Grace, become one person together."

"But your Soul Fusion..."

Shard was quite worried; he no longer had a second feather.

"Don’t worry. Because part of the Chosen of Space’s Power belongs to us, as long as we don’t actively intend to fuse our souls, our current state is not a permanent fusion. Of course, doing this will slightly worsen the fusion of our souls, so this state can only be maintained on the Day of the Red Butterfly... the rule of being able to meet only once every 21 days has not changed."

Her emerald eyes fixed on Shard:

"We promised you, and we have done it."

In this state, Helen Grace and Dorothy Racia still were not the true Chosen of Space. But when the "two of them" stacked their hands together, the girl in the black-and-white gauze dress turned into the butterfly wings behind the girl with long gold-red hair, and the Chosen of Space appeared once more:

"The Ring Mage Level of the Chosen of Space depends on the number of rings of Lecia Cavendish and Dorothy Louisa. But my Power is not only my Ring Mage Level; I also possess the Power of the Red Butterfly, so please do not regard me as simply Six Rings."

Her voice was different from any of the four, yet still very pleasant to hear.

"I see. So this is the true ’fracture and healing.’"

Miss Sylvia sighed softly in admiration:

"Compared to United as One, their current state better matches the Power symbolized by that Ancient God: Primordial Rift of Space—dispersed, they are fragmented pieces, yet each still has its own role; gathered, they are the true Power, but in doing so they lose their independence. This is so enchanting, so very enchanting."