Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 678 - The Candidates

“…And then you left the dinner to confront the Silver-Eyed One, while the actual event was a ceremony for the arrival of the Lord of the Blood Feast.”

“She” added about the event from a few months earlier.

Shard couldn’t help but show a look of concern:

“Priest, I better not go. In Midshire Fort, I’m not suited to appear before so many people.”

“That’s fine.”

Old Cleric nodded, not insisting, and then brought up another matter:

“Also, I’ve heard rumors in the Church, the city seems to be troubled by the Vampire Kind recently.”

“Priest, have you been too idle in church, knowing everything?”

Shard joked, then confirmed Priest Augustus’s news:

“I know about this as well; the nuns from the Spiritual Practice Order mentioned that the local Vampire Kind have already acquired three Sage-Level Relics, and it seems they are planning something big.”

“At times like these, those filthy, bloodsucking creatures shouldn’t be adding to the chaos.”

The Priest muttered, as the Vampire Kind were not seen as a good race in the eyes of the True God Church.

After lunch, the Priest gave Shard an envelope containing new information about the Gap of Death that he had organized over the past half month. Although he had not entered the Gap again, he learned more during the time he followed the Church of Nature in arranging ceremonies and thus came to understand more things that even the Church did not know.

And when the two shook hands to part ways, another unexpected event occurred.

As Shard’s hand touched Priest Augustus’s palm, the Arcane Technique “Ancient Sound” activated on its own, giving Shard a piece of information about the First Era:

“Angels were the first deities created by the Deity in the First Era, the original angels were also the original creations. It knew of those ancient secrets but was forced to deplete its own power due to the departure of the Ancient God.”

“What’s going on, could it be that the Level 0 Relic Priest Augustus encountered in his youth is actually related to the first angel, and that relic, is actually inside Priest Augustus’s body… Speaking of which, over a month ago, the Priest and I met members of the Truth Society trying to merge with a relic outside the graveyard of Tobesk… ”

Shard controlled his expression, not letting the Priest notice what he was thinking. Afterwards, Shard delivered the documents to the House of the Blind, still handed over to the Church by the Spiritual Practice Order. Then, he set off to return to his home in Tobesk, and with the cat and the coin in hand, citing the “Divination Cat” as a reason, met Luviya again at the Prophet’s Society on Silver Cross Avenue.

First, there was a simple explanation about the rumors he had heard concerning Iluna and the steam hover zeppelin; then, he recounted his observations from that morning with the boy, Sister Delphine, and Priest Augustus.

It wasn’t until the end that he took out the Blood Coin and the Standing Coin, and slid them across the table to the purple-eyed girl:

“Just like the last time we divined Daknis, please perform a divination to ascertain whether I encountered The Chosen One today.”

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

Luviya’s “Divination of the Cost” couldn’t directly divine the identity of The Chosen One. In fact, the cost they would have to pay was simply unaffordable to them. However, indirect divination was still possible, such as this time he was seeking divination for “Shard’s observations,” rather than tracing directly back to The Chosen One themselves.

“Let’s not consume the Blood Coin lightly; it’s the only Relic we have that can detect its unique kind of Special Coin. Look at this, before Iluna left, she gave me this ‘Diviner’s Silver Coin’ and a Scribe-Level Relic said to be capable of finding the Dragon Clan Treasure, the ‘Dragon Blood Coin’.”

Luviya took out a silver coin, one side smiling and the other crying, along with a blood-red coin that was about three times the diameter of a shilling coin.

She pinched the Standing Coin and tossed it up in the air alongside the silver and blood-red coin. However, instead of turning to ash in the air, they landed back intact.

“The ‘currency’ attribute of these three coins isn’t very strong.”

Shard stated, unsurprised:

“Luviya, go ahead and use the Blood Coin; now is not the time to be conservative.”

After giving it some thought, Luviya bit her lip, a hint of reluctance on her face, but still she threw all four coins up into the air. Yet, just like the last time, the four coins failed to perform the divination.

“This is very strange. I remember when we divined Daknis, we only used a ‘Kolmor Empire Coin’ and the ‘Atonement Coin of the Grim Reaper.’ Why do none of the four work this time? Could it be because the deceased Chosen One is stronger… maybe it’s Sister Delphine from the Eleven Rings?”

“No, there could be other possibilities as well.”

Luviya held the coins and narrowed her eyes slightly:

“For instance, The Chosen One might actually be someone other than the three you are familiar with, someone you inadvertently came into contact with. Or Shard, have you considered that among those three positions, there might be more than one candidate?”

Before the ritual takes place, The Chosen One can only be referred to as a candidate for The Chosen One, and there is a hierarchy among the candidates, with more than one at each rank. Only if the higher-ranked candidates die before the ritual can the next in line qualify to perform the ritual. If the higher rank still exists or someone has already successfully performed the ritual and then died, the subsequent candidates, regardless of their efforts, cannot succeed.

If the candidates for the eligibility of being The Chosen One were to become aware of each other’s identities, a fierce hunt would most likely be inevitable.

The traits of The Chosen One described in the “Whispering Verses” all point to the first candidate, but other candidates with higher priority also exhibit traits similar to the first-ranked candidate.

However, when The Chosen Ones of balance and darkness emerged, Shard and Luviya immediately focused on the prime candidates, Iluna and Daknis, so at the time, there was no need to consider other potential candidates. Now, in retrospect, Shard even suspected that Dr. Schneider was one of the candidates for the “Chosen of Darkness,” a pity that Daknis had died after the ritual.

“Among the nun, the priest, and that boy, more than one is qualified, is that correct?”

“Yes, which is why the divination has become more difficult.”

Luviya nodded and added:

“Of course, it’s just a possibility. But at least I can confirm that among the Circle Sorcerers you’ve met today, there’s definitely at least one candidate, primarily among Priest Augustus, Sister Delphine, and that boy.”

“I do hope it’s the priest, but… never mind, I’ll find a way to inform Iluna when she arrives at Midshire Fort next Tuesday,” Shard sighed.

“That city really has no shortage of troubles.”

After saying goodbye to Luviya, Shard didn’t even have time to take the cat home and immediately took a carriage to Dr. Schneider’s psychological clinic.

He truly had a lot to do today; tonight he would join the doctor in dealing with the sealed Flame Demon, and Shard was now on his way to retrieve the key for the Scribe-Level Relic “Traveler’s Gate.”