Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"There's no need to remind me, my eyes are fine... I didn't expect that it would take runes related to space to open it. That's why the church couldn't find it. If it weren't for you hinting at the nearby elements gathering, I wouldn't have been able to find this place."

Shard speculated in his mind and looked down at the passage in front of him again, but the blood-colored footprints did not extend in:

"Two Sorcerers of Nine Rings a hundred years ago, at least one of them knew about this place and tried to use blood to open the passage, which is why the bloodstains on the wall look smeared. But they ultimately didn't make it in because the method to open it had nothing to do with the bloodstains. Did they fight over this secret? But why did they both die? Did they truly go mad?"

[You have come in contact with "Miracle".]

"Are you sure there are only Miracle elements ahead, and no Desecration elements related to the Evil God or Whisper elements related to the Relic?"

Shard asked, the whispering voice of the woman by his ear was actually quite useful.

[At least not for now.]

After reflecting for a moment, Shard bent down to pick up the oil lamp and, holding the cat, entered the passage that had appeared on the basement wall, and after passing through the hidden wall, the wall became solid again.

The passage was not long, and it opened into a vast space at the other end.

The oil lamp illuminated the place, a standard circular space, only slightly taller than the underground chamber outside. The air was filled with a strange orange scent rather than the decay of a basement long without people. Around the curved walls lay a pile of sundries and books, while in the very center of the space stood a white stone statue.

The base was a circular platform, on which stood a two-headed male statue with no faces on either head. He held a book in his left hand, and his right hand pointed forward. The direction of his finger, which was where Shard and Mia stood.

The two-headed man wore a loose, floor-length robe and was barefoot. Because of the style of the sculpture, it conveyed an exceptionally holy posture.

Under the dim light of the kerosene lamp, time seemed to have left no trace on the statue. After being observed by Shard, the statue began to emit a soft Holy White Light, slowly becoming brighter than the light of the oil lamp, illuminating everything around.

Taken aback, Shard stepped back, not because of the light, but because he had seen this double-headed statue before.

In the hall of the Prophet's Society on the first floor, among thirteen oil paintings of the Genesis Series Roder Cards, there was clearly one that featured this statue.

But the image on the card was not of the statue but of a real man, back turned to the outside of the card, with one hand holding a book and the other pointing towards the "inside" of the card, the card's background being the bizarre bubbles in the infinite starry sky.

"I remember that card was named—Genesis: Space... Is this a statue of an Ancient God? Right beneath my house?"

He thought with surprise in his heart, and with only the hint of Miracle elements in his ear, Shard did not retreat. He placed Mia and the oil lamp on the wall, instructing the cat to not wander off. Mia too instinctively felt uncomfortable in this space, so she just watched Shard apprehensively as he approached the statue.

Standing on the edge, he felt nothing, not even the discomfort he had experienced when in contact with the statue of the False God, the Vampire Duke Lowell, a short while ago.

But the closer he got, the more he felt his head swell, countless overlapping Whispers echoing in his mind, and his skin could feel a sensation of tearing, as if a blunt knife was lightly scraping against his flesh.

By the end, it gave Shard the same sensation as when he had seen the Old God Saint again. Fortunately, the state of Divine Afterglow was enough to negate the discomfort.

A mere statue of an Ancient God had the same oppressive aura as that of an Old God Saint.

"The first Ancient Gods were indeed different from the later Old Gods."

He thought to himself.

There was a line of conspicuous inscription on the base of the white stone statue, and after the Box of Darkness incident, Shard should not have tried to read it. But with just a glance, he involuntarily understood the words, beyond his control, resonating with the statue's power and Shard's own.

He involuntarily touched the somewhat warm base, the Holy White Light spilling on his face, and Shard uncontrollably recited the phrase:

"Primordial Rift, protects you in Infinite Space."

Only after finishing did the wondrous state disappear, Shard quickly stepped back two paces. Seeing that nothing else happened, his alarm subsided. He frowned and looked at the statue in front of him:

"This phrase sounds familiar."

Murmuring to himself, he remembered the phrase on the Time Key, "World Tree blesses you in time," while the spell for using the Time Key was "World Tree blesses me in time."

"Could it be?"

Shard suddenly had a daring idea.

He immediately distanced himself from the statue, then picked up the somewhat frightened cat from the wall and, holding the oil lamp, left the place. After passing through the hidden wall, the wall automatically returned to its original state.

Shard left the first floor and returned to Room No. 1 on the second floor, leaving the cat there, then grabbed his weapons and the Relic. At the staircase entrance, he took a deep breath, ready to return to the basement once again.

As he passed through the hidden wall and gazed at the statue, the twin-headed statue lit up once more. Shard recited the spell words while pressed against the wall, but nothing happened, so he approached the Ancient God's twin-headed statue nervously. Placing his hand on the pedestal, he whispered:

"May the Primordial Rift bless me in the Infinite Space."

Barely a second later, a thick white fog rapidly enveloped Shard.

Standing in the cloud of mist that seemed vaguely familiar, Shard heard the whispering voice next to his ear:

[Outlander, you have stepped into the 'Spatial Labyrinth.']

[A message from the Ancient God of the Primordial Rift:]

[Current spatial signposts: 1.]

"So it is!"

Within the hazy white fog, a blurred path emerged, and Shard saw a bare wooden signpost standing in the middle of the path. The wood was dilapidated and skewed, as if it had weathered a century of exposure in the wilderness. The style of the signpost was ordinary, with an arrow pointing the way and several awkwardly carved letters on the wooden stick supporting the arrow.

It was Ancient Script, and the combination of several letters spelled out the word for "1."

His mood slightly excited, he surveyed the short path in front of him:

"Can this teleport? The Time Key of the Ancient God of Time allows entry into past times, and the statue of the Ancient God of Space enables spatial movement?"

He dared not step into the surrounding white fog lightly, but he could step onto the murky path. After some thought, he walked over and touched the wooden signpost at the end of the path.

A woman's voice softly reminded him in his ear:

Experience more on empiren/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

[The Primordial Rift will guide you.]

The white fog swept over the path, completely enveloping Shard as he touched the signpost. He felt dizzy, and when the dizziness subsided, he found himself in a circular space with a white stone twin-headed statue.

An expression of excitement immediately appeared on his face:

"Is this a new statue? Have I truly been teleported? Where am I now? How long is the statue's cooldown?"

He asked himself, but then heard the woman's laughter.

It was then that he considered a certain possibility and immediately observed the walls. The oil lamp he had set down and the pile of miscellaneous items that were there a few minutes ago were all in their original places:

"So, this is... Saint Delan Square to Saint Delan Square? The one existing spatial signpost, is it actually here?"

He didn't know what kind of expression to make.