Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 131 Ancient God [The Upside-Down Judge]

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Hearing the name "Impermanence," Shard inexplicably felt a certain special connection. He looked down at the woman sitting on the high stool, supporting the moon on the card's surface.

"Sulun... Silver Moon."

He whispered, then felt the Miracle Element actually increasing.

Miss Annette, sitting opposite him, looked at him with surprise:

"What did you say? Sulun? Isn't that your middle name?"

"It's nothing, just lamenting my wonderful fate with the Silver Moon."

Shard said, and then asked Miss Annette:

"So, even the Prophet's Society doesn't know what these cards are really for?"

"Yes, but at least the Society has created the Roder Card based on these cards. In the past few hundred years, the Society has made more Gold Pounds than the rest of the Sixth Era combined."

Miss Annette said before she became interested in Mia, the cat that was lying next to Shard, but the lazy feline showed no interest in her.

"Thirteen Ancient Gods, thirteen Witch Empresses, thirteen The Chosen Ones, is there any connection between them?"

Miss Annette smiled:

"Good question, detective, you're very perceptive. To be precise, it certainly shouldn't be a coincidence. Clear evidence indicates that the Witch Empresses of the Fifth Era have commonalities with The Chosen Ones of the Sixth Era, yet there are differences. The biggest similarity is that they all have the power of the Ancient Gods.

You might understand it as, they are all humans favored by the fallen Ancient Gods. But why this is, I can't explain.

The Ancient Gods are the oldest and most mysterious deities. Their affairs are probably only known by those organizations with ancient legacies."

"Then, would the Witch Council know these secrets?"

Shard asked while stroking Mia's back, the cat glanced at him, and Miss Annette looked stunned:

"You know about the Witch Council? The Ancient Gods might be from what you heard from the History Academy professor, but who told you about the Witch Council? They are very mysterious, and all their members are female sorcerers.

As you can tell from the name, they inherited the power of the last thirteen Witch Empresses of the Fifth Era, and the Council's strongest thirteen Archwitches correspond to this."

"Really related to those witches of the Fifth Era? But the Witch Empress, it was more than 1800 years ago."

Shard was quite surprised; he originally thought they just wanted to use a nice-sounding name or were just lucky to have obtained relics related to the Witch Empresses.

"Those Archwitches of the Witch Council, can advance to High Ring at a very young age. One or two might be coincidental, but when all thirteen Archwitches across generations are like this, it's hard not to suspect that they really inherited powers from the previous Era. Maybe it's a special inauguration that allows them to level up quickly.

But it's only the thirteen Archwitches that have such power; the rest of the sorceresses in the Council are quite normal."

There was something off about Miss Annette's tone when she spoke of this organization.

"Are you a member of the Witch Council?"

Shard asked.

"Detective, what nonsense are you talking about? I've only dealt with them, and that experience was unpleasant."

The female diviner asked, leaning on the couch and swinging her fingers.

"Is the Witch Council also a wanted illegal organization?"

"Three requirements."

"First, one must obtain a relic imbued with the power of its corresponding Ancient God. The range of relics is broad; it can be an 'Artifact,' a statue, or even a broken Holy Emblem or an ancient sanctuary in the wilderness—but it must possess the Ancient God's power. The Ancient God of 'Balance' is called 'The Upside-Down Judge' by mortals."

The card image of 'Genesis: Balance' was the figure of a man hanging upside down from a tree.

"Such relics must be hard to find."

Shard commented, though relics of the Ancient God of Time would be far too easy to find.

"But I already have a lead, and the Sun Church probably has thought of something similar, so it's not really difficult."

She then raised a second finger:

"Secondly, the chosen one must deeply understand the significance of their eligibility as the Chosen One."

"That is something only Miss Beath can comprehend herself; we can't help with that."

Shard said again.

Finally, she raised a third finger:

"Lastly, and most difficult, the Chosen One must perform a ritual. The ritual requires no materials, only that a certain act is accomplished. It should be written in some part of the Poem Chapters. I'm trying my best to divine it, but due to the high cost required, I haven't made much progress yet."

"May I ask what cost you are paying?"

Shard questioned, and Miss Annette shook her head, her brown hair swaying at the back of her head:

"For now, I'd rather not disclose it. Once you're promoted to the Second Ring, I'll tell you. In any case, I'll handle these matters; what you need to do is gain strength as soon as possible. The epic tale of the thirteen Chosen Ones is just beginning, and I think we still have plenty of time."

She sighed, her expression momentarily sad. Shard didn't know what to say, so he refilled Miss Annette's teacup.

Before the Diviner left, she thought of the sealed first floor and took the initiative to offer to divine the matter of the house for Shard. Of course, it was just an ordinary divination.

She already carried a spirit pendulum crystal for divination and borrowed a water basin from Shard. After busying herself for a while, she sat in front of the basin, allowing the purple crystal to float above the water's surface.

Miss Annette might have been able to see some images in the water, combining them with "another self's" different perspective for divination, but Shard saw nothing.

"There's nothing out of the ordinary, or rather, everything here is normal."

Miss Annette finally spoke after a while, explaining her reason for saying so:

"In the mist, I saw your house veiled by a curtain, but the house itself did not reveal any weird colors. This means that even if there is an issue here, it has nothing to do with mystical factors. Of course, my divination could be wrong, after all, I am only a Three-Ring Sorcerer.

However, when you report to the Dawn Chapel for authorization to use other parts of the house, they will inspect it again, and their examination will probably be more reliable than my divination."

With that, she tucked away her purple crystal pendant, and Shard breathed a sigh of relief, now he could finally put Detective Sparrow's deceased bedroom to use with peace of mind.

"Detective, I am leaving you my address, you can contact me anytime if there's a matter. Be cautious these days."

The Diviner said, and Shard walked her downstairs, hesitating before he cautioned:

"Miss Annette, be careful as well. If there are any insurmountable dangers, like an Evil God or an Unclassified Level Relic, come and find me, consider me as the last resort... The power of Lakeside Manor can be used once more."

He truly saw Miss Annette as a friend, and he admired Miss Beath's character too. Reluctant as he was to give up divinity, he would not sting if necessary. After all, there was still a long way to go from the First Ring to the Second Ring.

"Shard, don't underestimate the strength of women. You're not the only one with secrets."

Miss Annette said, her purple eyes shining with mirth, calling Shard by his name for the first time.