Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 697 - Boundary Entrance

The doctor continued his inquiry, as the four of them stood in the foyer, looking toward the first floor and the staircase leading upstairs.

“The basement is without a doubt not problematic. Moreover, the Evil Spirit likely did not escape from the second floor. Last night, after waking up alarmed, I saw dense fog pouring from the staircase. So, the problematic area should be the first floor, which I temporarily left unused, as well as the third floor and the attic.”

He paused:

“The likelihood is greater for the third floor. Sometime back, when we assisted Dorothy in conducting a ritual, we encountered a Mirror Ghost. The Mirror Ghost tends to attack the nearest target; it didn’t go find Mia on the second floor but went straight to the attic instead, suggesting that it’s more probable the thing came from the third floor.”

“Then let’s split into two teams for the search. Luviya and I are both in the Five Rings; I’ll head upstairs, and Luviya can stay downstairs.”

He looked at Shard and Annette, who had recently been promoted to a Four Rings Female Diviner:

“Shard, you come with me. Annette, you go with Luviya.”

“Okay.”

Thus, Shard placed the newspaper on the foyer’s shoe cabinet, then, holding his sword, followed the doctor up the stairs. Downstairs, Dorothy threw out two parchment rolls. As the parchments burned, a spinning Princess and a Matchstick Girl with a basket appeared.

The two fairytale characters summoned walked ahead, and as Dorothy called for Luviya to follow them, she saw the Female Diviner behind her toss a coin and then frown slightly towards the shoe cabinet—more precisely, towards the newspaper placed there by Shard.

They had all been called by Shard early in the morning, and none had seen the news of that day:

“Dorothy, wait a moment please, I need to take a look at the newspaper.”

Dr. Schneider’s choice to have Shard follow him also carried the intention that he could use Demon Power without any reservations if a situation arose. But everything was calm on the third floor of Saint Delan Square; the first room stored Luviya’s astrology equipment, along with densely packed star maps hanging on the walls. The second room was completely empty, as maids came every week to clean, so not even dust could be found.

The corridor and the attic were also normal. The doctor even meticulously inspected the two high-pressure steam fire extinguishers that Dorothy had been too lazy to remove after her promotion ritual last time, but still found nothing abnormal.

“Luviya almost does her astrology here every night and has never encountered an Evil Spirit. Could it be that the problem is really downstairs? Or, could the Mirror Ghost and the pus-filled Evil Spirit from last night not be originating from the same place?”

Shard expressed his doubts and then together with the doctor summoned the Ring of Fate, using their sensitive senses as Circle Sorcerers to probe the space on the third floor, but the result was still normal.

Because they needed to check an additional attic, by the time they returned to the second floor, the girls had already returned to room one.

Dorothy was preparing hot tea in the kitchen while Luviya was holding the newspaper Shard had earlier placed on the shoe cabinet, seemingly having discovered some interesting news.

Of course, they hadn’t discovered anything unusual on the first floor. And when the four of them were seated on the living room sofa, Luviya finally placed the newspaper on the coffee table, pointing to a small square on the edge of page two.

The newspaper was the Terael River Gazette, different from the Steam Bird Daily, which currently only sells in the western part of the Kingdom and in a small part of Carsonrick. The former is available throughout the entire Draleon Kingdom.

From what Shard knew, the front and second pages of this newspaper should contain full-length major news. The appearance of a small news square could only mean that after the newspaper’s layout was finalized last night, some breaking news had occurred.

“Last night at midnight, there was another earthquake in the western part of Midshire Fort City in the Sicarl Mountain Region, and this time the earthquake was stronger than the last one.”

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Luviya recited the brief news, and Dr. Schneider was the first to react:

“I remember Shard mentioning that the Mirror Ghost appeared in his house when there was an earthquake in the Sicarl Mountain Region last time?”

“Yes, it was the same night. Only last time the earthquake happened in the evening, and the Mirror Ghost appeared in my house after ten in the evening.”

Shard nodded, as that night he was conducting a ritual for Dorothy, so both he and the blonde girl remembered it very clearly.

“Do these two events relate? There was an earthquake in Sicarl Mountain Region, and evil spirits appeared in the Shard household. Given the distance between the two locations, how could they be connected?”

Luviya started to speak, but stopped, glancing at Shard, knowing the answer already. As the host here, Shard had also thought of the answer, which was terrifying indeed.

Shard hesitated before saying,

“I have friends who are Circle Sorcerers at the church. Do you remember the Interstice of Life and Death in Midshire Fort City? The earthquake in the Sicarl Mountain Region was actually caused by instability in the Interstice. My friend said that as the largest boundary between life and death in the material world, and an unstable boundary on the brink of death outbreak, each vibration there synchronously causes changes in all the boundaries between life and death across the world (649).”

Dr. Schneider’s frown deepened as he suddenly looked up towards the third floor and said in a low voice,

“Detective, if I remember correctly, among the owners who died in this house a century ago, there were those who entered the third floor and then suddenly disappeared… just like Priest Augustus who disappeared in Milestone.”

“Yes,”

Shard nodded.

Dorothy also realized,

“The earthquake in Midshire Fort causes abnormalities at the life and death boundaries in the entire material world, and the earthquake there causes evil spirits to appear at the Shard’s home. Moreover, some of the former owners encountered misfortunes similar to those Priest Augustus faced in Milestone…”

She looked at Shard,

“So, is there an entrance to a life and death boundary on the third floor of No. 6, Saint Delan Square?”

This world does not possess what one could call the Netherworld, that much is certain; death itself is merely a concept. Including the body of water Shard had seen, all could only be considered extensions of a concept. Life and death themselves do not have a real boundary, but for reasons still unknown, throughout the past Eras, countless boundaries between life and death have emerged in the material world.

Those places belong neither to the living nor to where the dead should go, which is why, according to Mr. Edmund, the old Tower Keeper from the Guiding Light Hermitage, the life and death boundary is an error of the world.

The one beneath Midshire Fort is the largest of these life and death boundaries and has become known as the Relic because it was termed “The Interstice of Life and Death.” It includes three passages and is classified as level 0, the highest rank for a Relic.

And the other boundaries between life and death in the material world, although less dangerous than the one in Midshire Fort, are clearly places no one would want overlapping with their home.

“The scope should not encompass all of No. 6, Saint Delan Square,”

the Doctor responded fastest, pointing towards the adjacent house at number two:

“The ‘Traveler’s Gate’ bought by the detective could malfunction if used in a spatially abnormal area. Since the Relic placed on the second floor shows no sign of losing control, the life and death boundary parallel to this house must be limited to a very small area on the third floor, an event so rare it might not occur even in a hundred years. Recently, only because of the vibrations in the Interstice of Life and Death have evil spirits been released frequently.”

The doctor’s speculation gained support from the others. Luviya also admitted that during the half-month she spent astrologically charting on the third floor, she often used divination to assist map exploration, but her divination was never affected by any anomalies.

“I often leave Mia at home, and although it likes to scratch the walls in the neighboring number two or wander to the third floor, this cat seems to have never encountered anything terrifying.”

Shard said, touching his cat, feeling very apprehensive. He couldn’t imagine what horrific and cruel events might occur when the Interstice of Life and Death vibrates again, causing new evil spirits to emerge if only the cat were home.

“This makes things difficult. Shard also told us that the life and death boundary can only be sealed, not completely resolved. So, does this mean the third floor of the house will have to be permanently closed off?”

The blonde female writer also spoke up, looking very worriedly at Shard:

“I never imagined that besides the basement you mentioned, the third floor also has issues. Perhaps other floors… No. 6, Saint Delan Square, truly lives up to its reputation as a haunted house. Shard, if it comes down to it, consider moving. Buy another house in the city or maybe rent an apartment temporarily. I know of some nice places on Feather Quill Street; I’m quite familiar with the landlady there.”

“No, this is my home, and I absolutely will not give up No. 6, Saint Delan Square!”

The Outlander was very adamant about solving the problem:

“The Godfall this summer didn’t drive me away from Tobesk, so why would a few ghosts make me abandon my home?”

“Meow~”

Mia meowed softly beside Shard, its meaning unclear.

“I knew you’d say that. So, what do you plan to do?”

Luviya asked, while the Doctor glanced at the longsword resting on the coffee table:

“Surely you can’t hang this precious relic in the hallway on the third floor as a permanent warning device, right?”

“Of course not. I met some really impressive people in Midshire Fort. If it comes down to it, I’ll ask her if she can come through the next-door gate. She’s able to track the traces of boundaries with her eyes. But in that case, I would first need to transport the ‘Traveler’s Gate’ to Midshire Fort.”

Shard was referring to Sister Delphine of the Spiritual Practice Order, a deep-knowledge group about the Interstice who even helped Shard to rescue Priest Augustus.