Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 266 Genesis: Balance

Miss Annette and Miss Beyas both took the water bottle from Shard's hands. Due to the great exhaustion from the recent battle, an almost depleted Shard couldn't create much water this time, only enough for the three of them to treat those potentially fatal injuries first.

After finishing this task, they then turned their attention to the tree:

"The last thing to do is to burn down this tree."

The canopy rustled loudly, but it didn't dare to attack the three people below. Shard's state of Divinity Overflow would end in two minutes, and its decision was the correct one.

"What do we do now? I still don't understand, this is after all a Keeper of Secrets Level Relic, how do we destroy it?"

Iluna asked, standing under the tree with the two ladies behind him. In the hollow beneath the ground, the huge tree emitting a pale blue light was indeed beautiful, but it would be better to destroy this thing.

"We can simply start a fire."

The woman's soul appeared before them again, and she still only spoke to Shard:

"My corpse has been absorbed by the tree and is almost fused with it. God's Favored One, you ignite the fire from the outside, and I will help from the inside. This is equivalent to the Keeper of Secrets Level Relic [Corpse Tree] self-destructing, which should destroy this tree."

Once she had said this, she disappeared again.

"Is it really that simple?"

Miss Beyas still didn't understand, but Shard did. The other side probably sensed the power originally belonging to the Old God within him:

"Let me start the fire, you two take a rest."

As he spoke, in order to prevent the Silver-Eyed One's headless corpse from also being burnt, Shard bent down to pull the corpse to one side. However, the vines wrapped around the corpse, preventing Shard from pulling it closer.

"Hmm?"

Golden light twinkled in his eyes, and the vines receded. Shard dragged the corpse to his feet, raised his right hand index finger, and a flame poofed into existence.

Then he blew on the flame, spreading the fire forwards.

"Oh no~"

Groans of pain emerged from the tree trunk in front of them, and then seemed to come from all around. Flames licked the trunk and in an instant, shot up into the entire canopy.

The great tree shook, as vines trembled ceaselessly above the heads of the three people.

Behind Iluna, a golden Ring of Fate slowly emerged, then transformed into a golden Balance:

"Balance."

The power of The Chosen One diffused into the surroundings, further suppressing the power of the Relic.

The burning branches and falling leaves crackled in the fire, but not a single piece of burning debris falling from the top of the canopy hit the three people below.

They looked up as the tree was swiftly engulfed by flames, the heart-shaking cries of anguish coming incessantly from all directions.

And as the flames grew more and more fierce and the cries more piercing, a striking white light appeared before them.

Miss Gina Angela Serwell, who died a thousand years ago, reappeared; the death of the [Corpse Tree] seemed to have completed her soul somewhat. Now she stood before the three people, her translucent body radiating a soft white light.

She wore a white robe, barefooted, and gave Shard a slight bow:

"Thank you for your help,"

"Are you a spirit who chose to stay and guard this place, or did you linger here by accident?"

The female Diviner was very curious. Under the wildly burning tree, the Holy White Spirit shook its head, the firelight illuminating the three living beings, but only Sanctity's white light was on the spirit:

"I am not lingering here; I have always been here, guarding this Relic."

"What will you do afterwards?"

Miss Beyas also asked, hesitantly looking around:

"This place has already been discovered by the 'Blood of Mercury,' and I'm afraid more people will break in later."

"So, may I ask you to transfer the Divine Statue, the Holy Emblem, the eighteen Golden Carvings, and the collected scriptures to the True God Church for safekeeping? (Note)"

Ms. Seville asked the brunette female Sorcerer, recognizing the Sunlight Gun and naturally knowing that Miss Beyas was from the True God Church:

"When my lord awakens and the Order is revived, we will reclaim these precious items."

"No problem,"

Iluna nodded:

"But the church might want to look through those materials, I hope you don't mind."

"No problem, as long as they are not damaged, you may copy them at will."

"And what about you?"

Shard also asked, as the flame he had Ignited was entirely out of his control. In just a few minutes, at least two-thirds of the canopy had disappeared, the temperature was rising, and fluttering black ash was falling to the ground. Even the tree roots beneath the floor were Ignited by the flames, revealing fires through the cracks.

The place had become dry and stuffy. Fortunately, the Ruins themselves had a unique gas exchange function, otherwise, the three would eventually suffer from gas poisoning.

"I will depart and carry on,"

she said softly, and Shard and the other two ladies all showed their deep respect. Not many people could face death so calmly, especially spirits that had been in the world for a long time, they were even less likely to want to depart... The two spirits in the graveyard were exceptions since they had no more attachments.

"Furthermore, my lord's creation."

She looked at the 'God's Gift Box' that Shard had temporarily placed on the ground, pausing for a moment:

"God's Favored One, you shall keep this item for now, and when my lord awakens, please return it to its rightful owner."

"No problem,"

Shard certainly wouldn't refuse.

"Furthermore, I don't have much that I can give you. My companions and I donated all our property before sealing this place. However, each of us kept one personal item. I do not have the authority to dispose of others' Relics, but my heirloom now belongs to you."

The Holy White Spirit pointed to the trunk of the tree behind it. Amidst the cracking sounds, the giant tree's trunk was licked by flames, revealing a hidden corpse within. The corpse was reduced to just a skeleton, but the bones were as translucent and lustrous as jade. The tentacles inside the trunk had been absorbing power from it over the years, but now both were to be completely destroyed by the fire.

Shard, puzzled by what the spirit intended to give him, looked into the flames.

However, it was Miss Annette whose vision was sharper. With a soft exclamation, she gestured, and a small piece of paper fluttered out from the corpse and tree engulfed by the fire.

Shard reached out and pinched the flying piece of paper between his fingers. Luviya and Iluna both stretched their necks to look; on the side facing Shard was an abstract design of the sun, the moon, and stars, stacked in a strange overlapping pattern.

```

"The Roder Card's back?"

Miss Beyas said, puzzled. In the light of the fire, the card's back seemed to flicker:

"But I remember, wasn't the Roder Cards issued centuries ago? Why would a Circle Sorcerer from a millennium ago possess a Roder Card?"

She asked Miss Annette, who came from the Prophet's Society. The latter's furrowed brow relaxed, and her purple eyes gleefully looked at Shard:

"I've understood. Have you guessed it?"

"Could it be..."

Shard stared dumbfounded at the card in his hand, not flipping it over to see the front, but instead lifted his head to ask the spirit before him:

"How did you come to possess this card? Was it your god who had you collect them?"

The Creator of Innocence had once suggested to Shard to collect all thirteen Impermanence Cards.

Miss Seville's spirit shook her head slightly:

"No, this was my mother's Relic; I don't know its specific origins. Keeping it close was to commemorate my mother. I actually didn't know what it was before I died, but surely something that does not perish in a thousand years couldn't be an ordinary item, right?"

Shard's fingers twitched slightly, and the card was flipped to the front. The card's face contained only white and black, and the cool tones near the two colors.

A man in a robe, his face indiscernible, spread his arms and hung upside down at the top of the card. His right leg, straight, touched the border above, and wooden tendrils coiled around his right foot, blending into the card's border. His left leg was slightly bent, resting on the knee of his right leg. In his left hand was a bell, curiously familiar, and his right hand held a set of scales. Below was the blurry appearance of a city, existing merely as a background.

The top right of the front displayed the number 7, and the top left, a small flower emblem. Between them, at the top center of the card facing the viewer, was a white circle with a black vertical line drawn within it, the emblem of the "Genesis" series.

At the very bottom of the card face, in a small blank space, a line of text was written:

[Use this card, if Points exceed 21, then Points reset to zero, all cards in hand are discarded, redraw cards.]

"Genesis: Balance?!"

Miss Beyas exclaimed in surprise.

Shard looked at Miss Annette, very puzzled by the timely appearance of this card. He corrected her in a low voice:

"No, it's Impermanence: Balance."

The crackling of the flames above their heads became quieter, and the unusual fire did not cause many leaves to fall, but rather seemed to engulf everything of this plant.

The faint glow of the fire signified the Corpse Tree reaching the end of its life, but it also meant that the spirit in front of them was about to depart.

"I hope this card will be useful to you."

She said to Shard, her smile making her surrounding glow even stronger:

"To stand guard over the Ruins alone for a thousand years, suppressing this Relic, enduring the darkness and solitude, I think, it is time to leave."

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"You truly are a person worthy of admiration."

Miss Beyas praised, coming from the same Order, she knew what such devotion meant.

"No, this is what I should do. The three of us volunteered to guard the Ruins, to accept such a future willingly. Only I remain now, it wasn't by someone else's coercion, this was my own wish..."

```

The flames completely engulfed her body within the tree trunk, yet they could not suppress the white light emanating from her body.

"I never regret," she said.

Before her words faded, the three of them, along with their souls, looked up. By now, the canopy overhead was mostly burned away, leaving only scattered ashes fluttering in the air. Suddenly, a heavenly light descended from above, enveloping the sacred white spirit.

"Hmm?"

Within the pillar of light, the white radiance around Ms. Gina Angela Serwell gradually gathered behind her, forming two pure white wings. At the same time, a golden brilliance within the column coalesced above her head into a striking golden halo.

The three stood agape.

"So, farewell."

Ms. Seville, not surprised by her own transformation, looked up with concern, in the direction above the ground.

Bowing slightly to the three one last time:

"Greater dangers will await you, please always believe in brightness, believe in justice. God's Favored One, I wish you luck."

Her voice sounded somewhat distorted. She shook her head and extended a finger toward the three. A white light from her fingertip entered each of their bodies, and then she flapped the wings on her back, ascending through the heavenly light and eventually disappearing from sight.

The burning trees around them were reduced to their last flames. Shard and the two ladies remained looking up at the sky, silent.

After a long while, Miss Beyas asked in a soft voice:

"Did she... become an angel?"

Miss Annette looked up at the now-empty sky with astonishment:

"It's like something out of ancient mythology, a devout believer in... wasn't her god long gone? I'm more curious about where an angel would go."

Shard also stared at the sky, unsure of what to say:

"Even though so many incredible things have happened tonight, this is definitely the most unbelievable."

After all, they had anticipated the other events before entering the ruins.

The light of the fire gradually extinguished, and the Whisper Element around started returning to balance. At their feet lay the headless corpse of the Silver-Eyed One, and further away in the ashes, a dark lump—the remains of the vampire—was buried.

Having witnessed an angel appear and disappear before their eyes, the three seriously doubted the reality of everything they had experienced today. But the sensations in their bodies could not be faked—the angel had healed them before she left, and apart from Miss Beyas' left eye, all the physical and spiritual wounds were gone. Even the drowsiness from the Divinity Overflow dissipated because of it.

Of course, this was mainly because he had not really exerted much power.

Yet, Miss Beyas' left eye remained absent, as the eye sacrificed to gain wisdom, and hence ordinary means could not restore it.

As the light of the fire dimmed and vanished, Miss Beyas' spirits gradually sank. Even as Miss Annette promised to find her a suitable Demon Eye, the young woman with brown hair couldn't help but feel heartbroken. She took out a prepared eye patch from her pocket and put it on, giving Shard and Miss Annette a forced smile.

In fact, Shard had just picked up the two silver Demon Eyes of the Silver-Eyed One, but obviously, she was not willing to use those.

By now, their mission in the ruins was completed, and the three prepared to leave, to avoid being trapped inside. As for the departing angel, the item that she entrusted to Miss Beyas to hand over to the True God Church for safekeeping was temporarily stored in a hidden chamber of the ruins. After all, the Blood of Mercury had not been found, and the church could recover it later.

The Keeper of Secrets Level Relics: "Thousand-Eye Gargoyle No. 3765" and "The Mirror Behind" were likewise left in the ruins, waiting for the church to reclaim them.

The Gargoyle, known as the 'Giant Divine Soldier,' was too large for them to move, and the mirror was too dangerous. Thus, these two items, along with the ruins themselves, were left in the care of the True God Church, as a fee for helping preserve the relics of the Order of the Creator of Innocence.