Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

After Professor Garcia left, Shard continued to sprawl in his chair with his eyes closed. It was several minutes before he quietly squinted around the silent living room, making sure the other person had really gone, before he sat up straight.

He touched the sweat on his forehead and, under the light of the gas lamp, his face betrayed the expression of someone who had just woken from a deep dream. Of course, the act he had just put on was deliberate; it seemed his intentional performance had been the right decision. To the professors at Saint Byrons, even just witnessing the abode of a god shouldn't have been taken lightly.

Looking down at the basin again, under the brass gas lamp light on the living room wall, there wasn't a drop of water left. Only the dry elective course parchment roll lay quietly inside, with no text on the back.

"What just happened?"

He asked himself, while taking out a key from his pocket. It was the Time Key, indeed, but the surface of the key was covered with cracks.

"Why can the key be reused? Why did I encounter a mission from the Father of the Infinite Tree the first time I traveled through space-time? Why is that god called an Ancient God? The Old God mentioned the first thirteen..."

[Outlander, I am you, you do not know, and neither do I.]

The woman laughed lightly.

[So far, all the abnormalities that I've displayed stem from your special traits. The knowledge of the Draleon language came from the fragmented memories of a soul that had inhabited this body before me; the ability to sense relics from up close is a particular trait of the Outlander soul. I am you, this is your specialty. You don't know, and neither do I.]

Her explanation aligned perfectly with Shard's thoughts during the day.

Shard, listening to the voice beside his ear, leaned back in his chair and gazed at the ceiling:

"In this world, I've finally laid eyes on a deity."

He sighed, and after his spirit had fully recovered, he started to think about even more things:

"The thirteen Ancient Gods, why have I never heard of this notion before? The Father of the Infinite Tree... the thirteen Genesis series Roder Cards, the last thirteen Witch Empresses of the Fifth Era, what exactly is this coincidence? The number thirteen, must possess some special significance. Does everything originate from the Ancient Gods?"

[Perhaps you can guess on your own. I think you must already have some ideas.]

"Yes, but those ideas lack evidence..."

He sighed once more, summing up tonight's "adventure":

"This time, at least I haven't lost anything."

[You also acquired the Sorcery [False Immortality].]

"But I did not complete the mission, nor receive the reward in Arcane Technique and Spirit Rune."

[You still have two more chances.]

"I don't understand what the Old God meant by 'God's Afterglow'."

[But at least you're still alive, and you still have infinite possibilities.]

Shard sat up in his chair and laughed:

"Actually, I'm grateful that you can talk in my ear. Although I'm still not sure what exactly you are, it feels nice to have someone by my side all the time. Don;t comfort me, I'm not that fragile. Now that I've seen the opportunity to gain power, I won't let it go... God's Afterglow... Maybe Priest Augustus would have some opinions."

His eyes glanced towards the slightly ajar bedroom door, from which the tired orange cat, Mia, emerged groggily, but surely cats aren't that slim.

Her amber eyes looked up at Shard, her little legs took a running start, and she pounced onto Shard's knee. After lying down, she didn't feel Shard petting her for a good while, so she unsatisfactorily tapped Shard's leg with her paw.

Shard then reached out to stroke Mia's soft fur on her back; the orange hair was exceptionally soft and warm, like holding a little furnace.

"Meow~"

She rolled over on Shard's leg, kicking her little legs about, exposing her white belly to Shard and looked up at him with big eyes while tilting her head. It was only then that the Outlander felt completely free from the mental impact of what had just happened:

"Thank you too, Mia. Thanks for liking me so much."

He played with the orange cat with his hand and looked up at the window covered by thick drapery:

"Deity."

The Outlander murmured to himself.

(Little Mia running...)

The next day was the fourth Thursday of the Sunlight Moon. In the morning, while picking up the newspaper, milk, and sheep milk, Shard did receive a letter from the "Taylor & Wanda Mining Co." in the southern part of the Kingdom, containing the parchment roll that would let Shard contact the Academy directly, identical to the one Dr. Schneider had.

While having breakfast with little Mia, Shard hesitated for a while. Although Professor Garcia had said he could write the report for him, Shard eventually wrote another one himself and described his physical condition before sending it to the Academy through the parchment roll.

The Academy's reply came swiftly, and it seemed to be written by Professor Garcia himself, in a cursive that looked like a continuous vine. He advised Shard to rest and informed him that the credit and other rewards for this Investigator mission would be decided after the great assembly of the History Academy.

This almost god-like Investigator incident elevated the level of the Fifth Era: Year 1068's "Time Key" to Angel-Level. Thus, Shard speculated that having truly seen a Deity, it should be classified as an Unclassified Level 0.

After dealing with these matters and whispering a good morning to the woman in his head for the first time, he then slipped the parchment roll into the novel "The Silver Knight." The broken key was now locked in the drawer of his bedroom desk.

And the spell "False Immortality" he acquired yesterday, which required a gravely wounded state to use, made Shard reluctant to seriously harm himself or the cat, so he couldn't use it for the time being.

But at least he had acquired a new spell, and judging by its effect, it was no ordinary one.

He still hadn't figured out what exactly had happened the previous night and planned to try opening a new "Time Key" after the History Academy's summary of the incident, to verify if the previous night was an exception.

Though he was eager to receive the Fifth Era: Year 1068's mission rewards, the Arcane Technique - Blade of Chaotic Time, and the Spirit Rune "Echo," the Old God, Creator of Innocence, said he would need the power of "God's Afterglow" to complete the task.

So, until he understood what "God's Afterglow" was, Shard wouldn't waste the remaining two opportunities of the key in his hand.

"Could this be caused by the uniqueness of my soul again? I won't think too much about it for now; today's goal is the Prophet's Society."

He said this while adjusting his clothes in front of the floor mirror, with Mia rolling and playing on the bed behind him.

[Outlander, your soul is very special, and this is still an issue caused by your Trait. I am you; there's no doubt about that.]

The murmuring voice said, sounding pleased. Shard heard her speak like this for the first time; she seemed to be in a good mood, probably because Shard had said good morning to her.