Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"Have you ascended to a Demigod? Apart from those methods that abandon your independence and mortal identity, you’re the first Demigod of the Sixth Era?"

Shard looked at her in surprise, but Miss Isabella didn’t want to discuss the topic:

"The Age of Apocalypse no longer belongs to the Sixth Era... In any case, right now you are still unable to glimpse the fundamental Power of Time. Even something like ’Adel’s Time Stasis’ is merely a minor branch of Time Stasis Arcane Technique. This time, I’m going to teach you the Arcane Technique derived from the ’Power of Returning to the Past’."

"Is this an Arcane Technique you created yourself?"

Shard asked, and the witch nodded gently, without any sign of pride. The wind brushed through her golden hair, and the tear mole at the corner of her eye highlighted her charm:

"Yes, and its creation relates to the previous Great Witch of the Moon. She once watched Stellar Transference with me, discussed the Return of the Sun and Moon. It was on the plains beneath the Star Field where I understood the meaning of return, which led to the creation of this Arcane Technique - Adel’s Principle of Return."

The name sounded distinctive, and Shard worried that even if he learned it, he might not dare to use it in front of the witches.

Miss Isabella naturally did not know Shard’s concern:

"The Arcane Technique I created is very unique. To perform the ritual, you only need Time Talent, but to truly master it requires exploring step by step, not just a successful ritual to use it. [Adel’s Principle of Return] is not the most powerful Arcane Technique I control, but it is my proudest Arcane Technique. Now I want to teach it to you; I won’t require you to call me teacher, I only hope that after my time leads to annihilation, this lonely person can still do something for this world."

Seeing Shard’s solemn nod, she suddenly laughed:

"Don’t be so tense; I just believe in you. Besides, you might not truly be able to learn it. This is an Arcane Technique tailored for myself, even mixed with elements of certain Witch’s Secret Arts. Though Inner Ring can learn it, the difficulty is no less than the techniques of Demigod Witches. No one has succeeded in learning it to this day. The more important reason I’m teaching it to you is so you might understand the meaning of time more deeply and create your power."

She placed her hand on Shard’s shoulder:

"Now, Shard Hamilton, go and face this formidable enemy. At the right time, I will demonstrate the new Arcane Technique for you. When you return to reality, perform the ritual and practice on your own."

"Okay, Miss Isabella. Also, just call me Shard."

As he said this, the witch nodded gently, then stood by the wall watching the key transform into a Light Orb revolving before Shard. As he walked forward, it turned into the dark [Yggdrasil’s Staff].

Shard arrived at the center of the square; the gale swept through the yellow sand, the dim sky infinitely desolate. This time, there was no need to wait; in an instant, Shard saw on the opposite side of building ruins labeled as number six, a hunched humanoid creature leaping down from a high place as if diving into water, entering beneath the square’s surface. Like swimming, it moved swiftly through the sand toward Shard by the fountain statue remains, leaving a clear raised mark on the sand-buried square’s surface.

Even without seeing the opponent, Shard immediately understood his foe’s truth:

"This time, it’s the Earth’s Power!"

The raised line curved continuously toward Shard, who did not dodge but watched it arrive at his feet. As their positions overlapped, a withered hand with dense roots reached from beneath him, while Shard already gripped the [Yggdrasil’s Staff] in both hands and thrust it downward with force:

"Thunder Spear!"

Silver lightning plunged from the staff’s tip into the earth, but the jumping lightning was easily dispersed across the surrounding ground. This was using the Earth’s Power to channel the attack into the ground; Miss Benanis once said she could use similar Arcane Techniques while standing on the earth.

However, this time the enemy employed the method, and Shard’s counterattack failure meant the hand beneath had caught his ankle. Soon, fine tendrils on the hands penetrated his body through pores, and the eel-like flexible body beneath the surface accompanied the hands climbing Shard’s legs.

The next second, the underground humanoid creature ’slid’ out of the ground, its arms wrapping around Shard’s waist to leap upwards, its dirt-covered head behind Shard opening its mouth to bite his neck directly.

With a ’boom’, Shard’s body exploded into a Red Butterfly Swarm in the sand, while the hunched, dirt-covered creature landed lightly, as the Red Butterflies regrouped not far away to reform back into Shard.

He frowned slightly and looked at the thing that leaped up and then dove into the soil again as if it were jumping into water. Although its face was severely deformed and its body was twisted beyond recognition, Shard could still barely identify who it was. After all, he had only been in this world for a year and hadn’t met many people:

"Professor Drake?"

This was the old professor Shard had met during his search for the "Lake Goddess" in the City of Red Wine - Huntington City. The professor had been searching for the "Lake Goddess" for a long time, but once he found her, he voluntarily relinquished his memory due to fear of the supernatural power of wisdom and became paralyzed, always sitting in a wheelchair.

Later, after Shard found the "Lake Goddess," he took the professor to meet the Cherub "Cherub," which finally allowed the professor to let go of the past, admitting he chose to distance himself out of reverence for wisdom. At the end of the Huntington City story, Professor Drake decided to move to Velindale City to live with his son, where his two sons and a daughter resided.

Although the professor did not know Shard’s real identity, during the Year-End Festival, he also mailed gifts and cards to the White Valley Vineyard, and mentioned Shard multiple times in letters to his old friend, Professor Manning.

The professor’s statement, "We live on a small island of ignorance, surrounded by the infinite black ocean, and we should not set sail for it. A pitch-black tomb lies ahead, and I am willing to rest here, listening to the waves," remains vivid in Shard’s memory.

Shard had never seen the professor stand up from his wheelchair and did not understand how the old professor, who always lived in Huntington City and later just moved to Velindale, could be related to the calamity of Earth.

But now was not the time to ponder these things, as the monster that had burrowed again into the ground was quickly approaching Shard. Its speed was very fast, at least much faster than Shard moving on the ground.

It only took a few seconds for it to catch up to Shard again. Just like before, it reached out from the soil to grab Shard’s ankle, then the whole figure "slid" out of the ground and quickly clung to Shard’s body.

This time, Shard could no longer escape using the "Red Butterfly Incarnation," as the ground seemed to possess a massive gravitational pull that prevented him from easily leaving the ground. Fortunately, Shard did not intend to flee either; while the evil object grabbed him, two black chains slipped from his sleeves and bound the monster together with Shard himself.

Although Mr. Benhart’s half-undead soul was completely unaffected by the "Great Sin Chains," the lifelong quest-seeker Professor Drake was evidently still influenced by the power of sin.

Though the [Great Sin Chains] holding six runes were still unable to completely bind it, the evil object tied to Shard’s back struggled desperately against the chains. Amidst the clattering chain noise, Shard, to prevent attacks from the back, simply lay down on the ground, resulting in the bound pair rolling and grappling at close range.

"Hmm..."

Of course, the Grand Witch at the edge of the square could see this scene masked by yellow sand, a type of unbecoming fight she never expected.

As they rolled, the evil object attempted to drag Shard into the ground, but to its surprise, Shard’s weight was heavier than a mountain. The two rolled for half a minute; as Shard loosened the chains, binding one end to his wrist and the other to the opponent’s ankle, preventing it from readily entering the soil, they slightly separated and then charged at each other with raised fists.

Next came a pure contest of strength, with fist-whooshes and the sound of the square ground shattering under pressure, even sharper and more intense than the wind.

Although Miss Isabella still found such combat unbecoming, she also could not deny the pure physical power displayed by Shard and the evil object; undoubtedly, ordinary High Ring sorcerers wouldn’t dare face them.

Though not exaggeratedly "shattering space with one punch," the power from fists under the wind and sand was stronger with each strike. Shard had never felt he could so freely unleash his power to this extent; standing on Earth, Earth was his power source.

While the monster before him gained increasingly stronger power by contacting Earth just like him, this time Shard even possessed a greater affinity with this land. The part of him that had become "Filthy Earth Origin," continues to subtly influence his body and soul, and facing a similar enemy in this state, Shard more truly experiences what kind of ability he possesses.

Previously, every entry into a Bygone Era was suppressed by some strange Doomsday Evil, but uniquely this time, Shard stably held the upper hand. In their fist clash, even though Shard’s fist and arm were the first to crack and wound, he remains entirely fearless as if feeling no pain.

His upper body clothing gradually tore due to muscle tremors and the shake of power redirection, while the ground beneath their feet shattered, forming two deep pits. Finally, as his bloody and battered fist once again punched forward, colliding with the evil object’s right fist—

Snap!

The evil object’s right arm fractured into powder, and as Shard’s fist further penetrated its right chest, tiny cracks instantly spread over the evil object’s entire body.