Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Awakening from Professor Drake’s memory, Shard looked up at the witch in front of him, Adel Isabella was also looking at him at this moment. Seeing Shard wanting to speak, the witch gently shook her head to stop him:

"Please don’t say farewell, Ok? I’ve experienced too many farewells already."

"But I will come back."

"Those people also said the same thing when they said goodbye to me."

She smiled with her lips, with no trace of sorrow on her face. So Shard closed his mouth and indeed said nothing.

[Embrace her.]

The "she" suddenly spoke beside his ear.

"Why?"

[Otherwise, will you two just gaze at the parting like this?]

"She" smiled tenderly, and considering "her" advice always being reliable, Shard reached out to embrace the witch with a tear mole at the corner of her eye before the white mist completely surrounded him.

Miss Isabella seemed a bit surprised, but didn’t dodge. However, the hug lasted only two seconds before it ended. The witch maintained the posture with her arms slightly closed, looking at her own empty living room with only herself in it.

Her body curled up a bit, gazing at the things Shard left behind placed on the white cloth covering the coffee table. It took quite a while before a sigh echoed in the living room where only she was left.

[Outlander, you’ve returned to the present time.]

He left from the northern Whisper Hills woodland of Moon Bay City, and returned to the same location as well. The darkness in the home just now and the woodland now looked the same, so the eyes didn’t need to adapt to the glimmer. After staggering to stand firm, he bent down to pick up the scattered relics on the ground, and after confirming that nothing was missing, Shard then headed towards the temporary camp beside the hillside stream.

The time adventure took three seconds, and walking back and tidying things up took more than twenty seconds, so indeed only half a minute had passed since he left.

At this moment, the frail Miss Belindel was holding a divination card, but when she saw Shard return, she frantically tried to hide it. Only because of her weakness, the card accidentally slipped from her hand, almost falling into the bonfire Fortunately, it was caught by nearby Miss Maid Matilda in time.

The maid discreetly tucked the card into her own pocket, Miss Belindel blushed, trying to act as if nothing happened, and said to Shard walking back again:

"Back so soon?"

Even though the half of her face covered by hair still shimmered transparently, judging from the previous behavior, her mental state seemed okay.

"I’ve found the solution, please listen to me."

Since injuries would heal after returning to reality, Shard seemed perfectly normal at this moment. However, once he approached, the maids and the blonde witch all noticed his clothes were visibly newer, and there was a faint smell of blood and earthy sand on him.

His injuries indeed healed, but the ladies present weren’t first-day circle sorcerers or witches, they certainly could figure out that he must have gone through something in the past half minute.

"Are you alright?"

Miss Belindel worriedly inspected him, reaching out to check, but her weak hand was stopped halfway by Shard:

"I’m fine. Let’s solve your problem first."

He also sat down by the bonfire, took out the [Calamity Card: Shadow of the Deep] and again used the "Dark Magic" to halt the glimmer spreading on Miss Belindel’s skin surface.

Miss Matilda glanced at her mistress and then naturally assisted the witch to Shard’s side. It was after Miss Belindel actively leaned against Shard’s shoulder that she realized her current state.

She looked incredulously at her maid who blinked, not feeling she did anything wrong.

And Shard was equally surprised that Miss Belindel would lean over, but he didn’t object. Instead, he briefly described the "solution he thought of" and the potential side effects if they were to seek help from the council.

The blonde witch was lost in thought while listening, and being so close to Shard, she was very certain that the bloody smell on Shard was definitely from his own bleeding after getting injured... This was an inspiration. At the same time, among the dizzy and somewhat embarrassing smell, she caught a familiar scent of perfume.

The smell was faint but indeed present. Others might overlook it, but even in such poor mental state, Miss Belindel relied on her strong inspiration to recognize that the scent was very similar to the perfume of Speaker · Time’s Grand Witch-Isabella.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible."

But because such a result was too outlandish, she couldn’t continue thinking.

Shad also finished speaking at this moment:

"This is pretty much the current situation. If we proceed with the method I mentioned, you can recover to normal by tomorrow, but we still need to consider the relic issue. [Source of Chaos] is just an option. The relic itself has the effect of inducing nightmares, so I’m not sure how much it affects you. So if you have any other sage-level relics related to glimmer, we could consider alternatives besides [Source of Chaos]."

Miss Belindel shook her head:

"Sage-level relics don’t just turn up whenever you need them."

Her golden eyes looked at him:

"You should know what kind of relic [Source of Chaos] is, Yellow Moon Orb, root of muddle, it directly symbolizes that yellow moon in the night sky. It’s considered a priceless treasure for those who harness moon power and astrologers; are you sure you want to lend it to me for healing?"

"Of course, it’s of no use to me for the time being... Actually, rather than experiencing its power, I prefer using it to solve mazes. My cat at home loves playing with beads, but I wouldn’t give this to it; playing with rings is enough."

Shard attempted a joke but noticed the Witch before him did not laugh. As he began to feel awkward, Miss Belindel slightly pursed her lips and looked toward her maid. Miss Matilda then handed over a coin, the Blonde Witch leaned against Shard’s shoulder, raised her hand, and tossed it:

"Then I’ll trouble you; I choose your healing plan... I will pay you a reward."

She did not choose the Council but rather trusted her divination results. Since she had heard about her character from Miss Galina, this was not unexpected.

"Forget the reward. You and Miss Benanis are both Council members; you should help each other. Oh, Miss Matilda, Miss Penster, Miss Vincent, please lend a hand."

The three maids stood up, and drew the ritual circle that could enhance the "Light Spell" on the ground, centering on the campfire. Around the ritual circle, they also prepared several "Light-Extinguishing Rituals" to prevent Shard’s spellcasting from surpassing the camp’s alert ritual limits.

While the maids were preparing, Shard rummaged through his pocket toys to find a pot and some herbal medicine, concocting the simple "Light-Absorbing Potion" as described by Miss Isabella. This potion mainly serves to make the human body more suitable for "light" energy and is the most crucial preparation before healing.

Miss Belindel sat there watching the maids and Shard busy themselves, observing Shard’s somewhat clumsy technique as he stirred the gradually heating potion. With his back to her, Shard was startled by the splattering bubbles due to being unprepared, unaware of the slight smile at the Witch’s mouth behind him.

When the magic potion was ready, Shard took out a black cloth band and handed it to Miss Belindel, who hesitated, unsure of its purpose. Shard instructed:

"Look at the firelight; does it let light through?"

She tried it:

"No, it doesn’t."

"Good."

Shard then took back the cloth and placed it over his face to cover his eyes, indicating he would do this shortly. The three standing maids witnessed this scene, naturally noticing their master’s complex expression:

"You..."

Although the ritual and potion were not complex, they took more than half an hour to prepare. Shard stood up to inspect again, then handed the potion in a teacup to the Witch. After she frowned and drank the steaming potion, Shard tied the black cloth band around his head, even waving his hand in front of his eyes, testing if he could see the light.

The three maids activated the ritual on the ground and stood in a triangle around the seated pair, each holding a piece of black cloth to cover them.

The night wind brushed over treetops, causing the campfire by the creek to flicker gently. The two people shrouded in cloth were now silhouettes barely visible from outside.

The starlight overhead was brilliant, and the moonlight gently illuminated the scene. The cloth swayed slightly in the breeze, but still through its shadows was visible the long-haired lady sitting cross-legged across from the man, shyly tilting her head and gently pulling down her collar from the neckline, revealing her shoulder and the edge of unspeakable parts.

Fallen leaves swept overhead, drifting from afar onto the cold creek water like this long night. The shimmering waves failed to illuminate the two’s silhouettes, visible only through shadows as Shard reached out to press on the exposed shoulder, in the Witch’s muffled groan, raising his hand to gesture. The icy moonlight created a wound on the shoulder, and his index finger pierced into the translucent flesh.

"Mmm~"

The maids heard their master’s muffled groan, worried yet knowing they must not interrupt.

"I’m fine."

They heard their master endure the pain and say, then heard the man’s calm voice:

"Silvermoon."

In an instant, silver brilliance bloomed by the creek outside the forest, as if the moon truly appeared between the three pieces of cloth. The sanctity and splendor of the moonlight were bright yet not domineering in the slightest. The Light-Extinguishing Rituals tried their best to prevent the light from spreading beyond the camp, but positioned within the ritual, the maids holding black cloth, felt the chilled tenderness as the light brushed over them, knowing it was merely an intangible thing, yet profoundly feeling the gentle warmth.

It’s hard to describe the feeling at this moment, like being embraced by the moon itself—a romance the fantasies of moonlit nights during girlhood never achieved.

As for within the black cloth cover, the pain brought by the fusion of two special lights colliding within the Witch’s body affected the soul. Even though Shard warned it wouldn’t be easy, Miss Belindel had prepared in advance, yet still couldn’t suppress her reaction to the pain at this moment:

"Mmm~"

Trying to stifle the sound, ultimately a moan escaped nonetheless. Unable to move her right arm recklessly, her left arm instinctively embraced the man’s neck before her; as Shard continued using the Light Spell to dispel the exotic white light, Bella Belindel, caught in elemental conflict and mental chaos, acted with an impulsiveness she would ponder over for many years—

She bit into Shard’s neck.

Luckily, she didn’t bite in a spot dense with blood vessels, so while Shard shuddered, he didn’t stop the healing:

"Good thing Miss Belindel isn’t of the Vampire Kind... Seems like nobody has ever bitten my neck before; it’s the first time it got hurt here."

The ladies preferred biting shoulders.

Silvermoon gentle and steady, with the exotic white light gradually "melting" into the Silvermoon radiance, the Great Witch of Destiny gradually utilized what was shared. And as her consciousness gradually cleared, she finally realized what she was doing.

That moment her heart nearly stopped, but she didn’t immediately let go, even as her head hazed, loosening her teeth slowly while her breathing still caught Shard’s scent, teeth and lips still feeling the powerful pulse of the blood vessel on Shard’s neck. Her whole face blushing yet relieved no one could see her complexion now; she then realized she was nearly embracing the man before her, and the irregular jumps of her heart would surely be noticed.

She wanted to push him away yet knew at this stage, interrupting the healing would require starting over. Heart hardening, she opted to maintain her one-armed embrace, resting her head on his shoulder. Although her teeth had let go of his neck already, she still dared not breathe deeply, afraid dizziness might consume her again. Squinting her eyes to calm herself, she suddenly realized she hadn’t been so emotionally stirred in a long time.

The night wind was very tender; the moonlight on the other side of her body even more tender. As the discomfort gradually faded, the exhaustion of her spirit brought a wave of drowsiness. Unbeknownst to her, she fell asleep inhaling the scent of the man she embraced.