Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Fear, panic, despondency, terror...

Body temperature dropping rapidly, unable to stop trembling, the color draining from his arms, his soul seemed to be shuddering. Enjoy new chapters from empire

Facing the room door just ten steps away, both he and Miss Luisa felt it. Behind them, in the profound darkness, something was watching them.

It was darkness, it was chaos, it was the deep sea, it was... the Evil God.

Both of them almost simultaneously fully understood the current situation; the uncontrolled merman disease had attracted an unknown Evil God. It hadn't descended, but it was watching this place at this moment, causing the environment to exhibit abnormal traits.

Actually, this situation wasn't dangerous, as long as they left the watched and gradually mutating area, they would be safe.

The golden light traces on Shard's body suddenly exploded, and the gaze from the higher dimensions slowly faded away. Luisa, trembling, almost fell but was steadied by Shard again.

"Let's hurry..."

In her green eyes, reflected the image of Shard, as if golden flames were igniting upon him. Shard nodded, supporting her forward.

And after that terrifying gaze left, the door in front of them was actually closing bit by bit,

"I'm sorry."

After a soft apology, Shard directly picked up Miss Luisa, but even so, it seemed that the door would still close before they got there.

"Shard, put me down, you go alone..."

The small figure appeared in front of the door, the fifth merman, who had not shown up, thin and small, propped the door, allowing Shard and Miss Luisa to make it to the doorway in time. They both saw the figure, still wearing shreds of the dress from the night before, and on the only human feature left, her legs, she was still wearing those shoes.

Shard's hand held onto the door, the residual glow of divinity dispelling the power of the Whisper and the Desecration Element, preventing the door from closing.

"She is..."

Miss Luisa covered her mouth.

With Shard holding the door, he watched the small merman leave the doorway, crouching at the edge of the light given off by Shard's golden radiance. It looked at them, its decaying fish face was expressionless.

It wanted to see them leave this place, while it could not leave. The high-dimensional god, it was for it that it watched this place.

Both Shard and Miss Luisa stood still without moving, then it was Miss Luisa who spoke first:

"We can't save her, let's go, Detective."

The golden-haired girl tugged at Shard's hand, her eyes rimming with red. Shard continued to hold onto the door frame, looking at the decaying merman. He knew he was powerless to do anything, getting Miss Luisa and himself out was already the limit.

Turning to look outside the door, there was moonlight outside, Shard, particularly sensitive to the[Silvermoon], knew it was the real moonlight, the outside was a safe place:

"But... I really want to save her."

"There's no way... We cannot change any of this. Detective, this isn't an Ancient Fairy Tale, not everything will have a happy ending. We've done our best."

The golden-haired girl's tone was tinged with sadness.

"Reality isn't an Ancient Fairy Tale..."

He understood this, so he didn't utter foolish words about saving the girl and her family.

At this moment, looking at the moonlight outside the door, he thought of many things, from his hometown to here, from the current time to the past.

He thought of the joy and sorrow when he first read fairy tales in his childhood back home. He thought of the worldly melancholy that belonged to adults when he recounted that story to three children in this world.

From outlander lands to here, from now to the past. Standing on the soil beneath his feet, feeling the Four Elements coursing through his soul, contemplating his current situation, Shard truly understood for the first time the sensations that the sad story had brought to him.

It was a feeling that touched his heart.

"This consciousness can influence the real world, maybe I'm not powerless. Although I am weak, I can still make some attempts."

He reached into Miss Luisa's pocket and, under her surprised gaze, took out the rolled-up Parchment Roll.

With the confusion in his heart, the touch, and the thought of "wanting to save," the Parchment Roll actually ignited on its own in his hands. The pages that recounted the Ancient Fairy Tale and possessed mystical power returned the power of Enlightenment to him.

Faced with the problem of the Old God, he had once given an answer. At this moment, he gave that answer again:

"I want to save her."

In a daze, he actually saw a young man wearing a Jester's hat smiling at him. Shard knew what he had to do.

Turning around, he looked determinedly into the darkness, feeling the power emerging from deep within his heart. Enlightenment represented civilization, and he, from another civilization, brought the story here and understood it anew.

Plus, the translation of the book from which he had gained the sediment of the power of "fire"—

Steam Mist spurted out, with whistles and bells tolling long.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Brass Enlightening Aura, like never before, twinkled on the Ring of Fate. In this brightness, Draleon's common language characters flew out in bunches around Shard, constructing the story that Shard had never written in this world.

Miss Luisa's eyes widened, the brass light illuminating her face with the characters reflected in her pupils. She recognized it; it was "The Little Match Girl."

Facing the darkness behind, he let the Ring of Fate appear behind him and listened to the whispers by his ears, surrounded by stories from his homeland. The story from another world ultimately became a part of this civilization.

The power he possessed was not strong but sufficiently pure, for it belonged only to Shard.

The sound by his ear arose perfectly at this moment:

[On a snowy winter night, a lonely girl lit four matches. Firelight, food, gifts, affection. She departed in the dark, having briefly touched brightness. And you, longing for the miracle to save everything.]

[You have listened to the fairy tale you recounted, you have learned of civilization's Enlightenment.]

The golden Light Trace illuminated the surroundings, the Ring of Fate behind him spinning faster than ever before. Amidst the gushing steam, the floating characters in the air gathered back towards the Ring of Fate, the Brass Enlightenment Aura shining, all the text converging on one spot on the Ring of Fate, condensing into a new power.

[Outlander, you have inscribed the Brass Enlightenment Spirit Rune - The Little Match Girl.]

On the searing Ring of Fate wrapped in steam, a second ancient Spirit Rune stealthily appeared. Its flickering brass spiritual light almost overshadowed the Desecration Element [Gluttony] from the power of the Evil God nearby.

Miss Luisa, dumbfounded, wondered if everything that happened tonight was just a dream:

"Even though at Lakeside Manor you've done more outrageous things, but this time it's just too..."

From above, a Glimmer appeared, brightening the scene. The blonde girl looked up to find that the Star Ocean had replaced the ceiling; they were standing outdoors. A massive Silvermoon, as if about to plummet to the ground, appeared in the night sky. Cool snowflakes fell on her face, softly descending snow.

In disbelief, she reached out her hand:

"Is it snowing?"