Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"Wait a moment, I need to step out for a bit."

Shard gently petted the obedient cat, making sure that he had all the items he might need with him. Then he informed Miss Galina, who was in the direction of the bedroom, that he would be leaving for three seconds. The Duchess, who was in a good mood early in the morning, didn’t mind and replied lazily from the bedroom:

"It’s just three seconds, wouldn’t you be back by the time you finish saying that? I’m still waiting for you to tell stories by the dining table. Shard, have something to eat before you leave, don’t go hungry."

The atmosphere at home was very pleasant this morning, dispelling the gloom Shard felt about having to swim in the sea later.

He smiled and nodded, picking up a piece of sweet sugar cake from the breakfast spread on the dining table. As he took out his key to depart, he noticed that Mia followed his steps to the side bedroom door:

"Meow~"

The cat rubbed against Shard’s pant leg, and after Shard picked her up, she looked very docile.

"Do you want to eat too? No, oh, you want to go with me? You should think it over, if you follow me, it will be thirty minutes before you can eat, but if you don’t, you can eat in about one or two minutes."

"Meow~"

The cat rubbed against Shard’s hand again. Shard thought for a moment, grabbed a towel hanging nearby, and turned Mia into a toy, placing her in the pocket close to his heart.

[Why did you agree to let her follow you this time?]

The voice beside his ear softly asked, as Shard was already inserting the key into the lock:

"This cat is so afraid of water, she definitely won’t dare to run around this time. The environment of the Sea of Darkness seems dangerous, but that plank is absolutely safe. Since she’s willing to go out, I can’t always keep her at home."

She laughed softly beside Shard’s ear, and Shard turned the key in his hand.

Click~

"Gulp, it tastes really good. The maids’ skills are getting better and better. It seems they added milk inside, so it can be done like this... May the World Tree bless me through time."

He swallowed the last bite of the sweet cake and then stepped into the white mist behind the door.

[Outlander, you have entered the "Time Corridor."]

[Message from the Ancient God "Father of the Infinite Tree":]

[Spring of the Fifth Era 5180, Outer Sea, Sea of Darkness.]

[Event: "Radiant Messenger" shipwrecked cruise ship.]

[Duration 30 minutes (2/3).]

[You have received additional information.]

[The Father of the Infinite Tree observes you.]

[The Ancient God of Time presents you with a trial.]

[Assist the Old God "Giver of Dreams" in completing four fishing sessions.]

[The Father of the Infinite Tree will grant you rewards: Arcane Technique - Dragon Roar, Arcane Technique - Corrupt Blood Fog.]

After confirming the information hadn’t changed, Shard stepped out into the thick white mist. Even though he was prepared for it, the sensation of stepping into the icy seawater almost took his breath away.

The water was quite heavy, but Shard still managed to bring his face above the water. Whether it had something to do with the blessing he received at sunset yesterday, this time swimming in the sea felt noticeably easier than last time... It had felt like his waist was bound with a huge iron block before.

His eyes glanced around, and the surging seawater in the dark sea realm was wildly crashing due to the gale. In an entirely lightless environment, finding that sole campfire glimmer was rather easy.

Shard didn’t want to know what nearly grabbed his ankle last time, and he still remembered seeing the sea’s densely packed bodies under divine guidance just before he left.

Thus, as the huge creature under the deep sea stirred with his arrival, his body scattered into a swarm of red butterflies, skimming the sea surface towards the distance. The action was quick, and the danger disappeared before even emerging. The dispersed red butterflies regrouped at the edge of the metal plank, with Shard soaked all over wiping the water off his face and hair, only to realize it was now raining.

Looking around, the silhouette of the little boy fishing on the edge of the plank almost blended into the darkness, yet the fishing line extending from the rod didn’t sway with the wind at all. Shard tidied his clothes, respectfully greeted the Deity - [Giver of Dreams], and then made his way to the center of the plank.

Surrounding the campfire, the four ladies, not evenly distributed, were wrapped in blankets and the warm clothing Shard left last time. No one came to greet Shard, and only upon getting closer did he realize they had fallen into a comatose state again, just like the last time.

Shard’s memory is excellent, and he recalled that among the four people before him, besides Miss Teresa who he last fished up with a real body, the others were in a half-undead state. Therefore, he didn’t immediately attend to the other three, and hurried forward to embrace the golden-haired girl with dozens of braids.

Miss Teresa’s round glasses were still with the Deity at the moment. Without her glasses, she looked quite different from Shard’s memory.

After testing her breath, Shard placed his hand on her forehead. The Arcane Technique - Cyndia’s Silvermoon Blessing created a dim glimmer suppressed by darkness, and then the young Witch’s rain-drenched eyelashes trembled slightly. Her bewildered eyes opened to see Shard’s worried face, and she immediately embraced his neck and sobbed lightly.

Compared to the other Witches Shard encountered in bygone eras, Schultz Teresa was noticeably more fragile. After all, she had lived in the Academy and this was just her first journey after graduation. Even with a Maid by her side, whether that Maid was trustworthy in her current state was uncertain.

After crying for a while, she barely controlled her emotions. The warm embrace assured her that she had returned from the nightmare to reality, and the burning warmth of his chest settled her cold and chaotic soul.

"You... you finally returned."

The warmth of a living person was something she craved, and the faint scent of sweet buns on him made the young girl reminisce about those days of yawning in morning classes, yet sneaking to the Academy canteen for a quick breakfast.

Noticing Shard was softly consoling her, the young girl finally couldn’t hold back her grievances and anxiety, and she hugged his head to kiss him.

Though saying so might be unpleasant, Shard hoped that the food remnants from a minute ago when he ate wouldn’t affect the girl in his embrace during the kiss, even though he had brushed his teeth that morning.

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to care about those things at that moment.

"What happened while I was away?"

Seeing the fluctuation in her emotions, Shard asked gently. After finishing the kiss, the golden-haired girl nestled in his embrace with a flushed face and replied softly with a "Hmm":

"The three of them, when they fell asleep or fainted, I’m sorry, I can’t tell, they would crawl to the edge of the float, wanting to cast themselves into the sea. But it seems we can’t easily leave here; there’s an invisible barrier at the float’s edge preventing departure. So they would scream frantically and perform strange rituals in prayer."

Inhaling Shard’s scent, the salty clothes still retained the fragrance of soap filled with lavender and daisy:

"When they got tired, they would return to continue fainting or sleeping. I also didn’t dare to easily touch them. Once during their joint prayer, the surface of the water appeared, with thousands of rotten hands of the dead."

The young girl pursed her lips, her eyes slightly red, but she didn’t cry out again.

"It’s okay, it’s okay, at least this time I can ’wake up’ at least one more person, if I’m lucky, maybe two. Although I will leave again, at least you won’t be alone this time."

Shard said, and Miss Teresa’s grip on his arm lessened.

However, Shard posed another question:

"Are you sure, besides you, the other three were human when they were alive? My memory isn’t wrong, your meeting with Her Majesty Violet at Lost Lake with me was fine, so you’re normal. But the three of them, your Maid Miss Vaine Maxim, Professor Sarah Evans from Zaras Literary Academy, and that ordinary girl Miss Maggie Malone, are their backgrounds truly real?"

This was something Shard pondered for a long time after he left last time; considering anything was possible in bygone times, he had to hold such suspicion.

The girl in his arms pursed her lips and looked up at him:

"I understand your implication; I’ve accompanied Aunt Violet to meet Professor Ivins before; I’m sure that person exists. As for that ordinary girl, I haven’t seen her on the ship. Regarding my Maid, my memory tells me she was sent by Aunt."

"I’ve watched your memory while fishing; in your memory of the last correspondence with Miss Violet, her name was also mentioned... but are you sure your memory is definitely correct? Moreover, is the Maid in your memory really this one here?"

Shard continued to inquire, but the bewildered girl shook her head:

"I... don’t know anything."

"It’s alright, it’s alright, not knowing isn’t a problem. This time I’ll first try to ’fish’ that Maid; no matter what the result is, it will bring you peace."

Miss Teresa nodded, realizing Shard was about to release her to awaken the others. Despite her reluctance, she followed him, preparing to climb to the other side.

"Oh, wait, almost forgot this."

Shard suddenly tapped his forehead and then retrieved the drenched cat plush and his coat from his soaked clothes. Using flames cautiously, he dried them off and changed into dry clothes before conjuring Mia amid the rain.

"Meow!"

Realizing it was raining, the newly appeared cat immediately burrowed into Shard’s clothing, with its tail accidentally brushing Shard’s chin before fully entering. Inside Shard’s chest, the cat wriggled to readjust its direction, sticking its small head out from between the buttons to look around curiously.

When Shard used the "Lost Lake 5177" key for the second time, he had brought the cat along, so Miss Teresa recognized it. Seeing the beautiful cat lifted her spirits. She reached out to touch its furry little head, only to be blocked by the cat’s paw.