Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Having confirmed that he had merely returned to the hidden space in the basement, Shard recited the Spell Words and touched the base of the statue again, returning to that white mist. This place was too much like the Mist Area he entered after passing through the Gate of Time.

"Since one can directly enter the past by stepping through the 'Time Corridor', what would happen if I randomly wandered in the so-called 'Spatial Labyrinth', instead of following the marked path before me... Would I be shredded by the chaotic flow of space?"

Shard didn't have the courage to do so yet. After pondering for a moment, he called forth his Brass Life Ring. Immediately, his skin began to crack inch by inch, and golden Light Traces shimmered beneath the cracks. The area named "Time Corridor" that was opened with the Time Key also exhibited this phenomenon.

"Indeed, the effects of Divine Afterglow can also be manifested here."

Suddenly, lifting his head, the divine light at this moment seemed to awaken something in the dense fog. The white mist billowed around him, and he heard a Whisper coming from afar. He tried to listen carefully, yet he could only distinguish that it was countless people praying.

He hurried to the marker ready to leave at any moment, but what awaited him was just a murmuring voice at his ear:

[The silhouette of the Primordial Rift watches you.]

[Offer a piece of "White Stone Crystal" or a drop of Divinity, and you can connect to another space marker in a specified direction.]

"Indeed, it seems that the powers of the fallen Ancient Gods are nearly omnipresent, but Divinity cannot be taken away."

Standing in the white mist, Shard shook his head immediately; though he wanted to know the secrets, Divinity was more important.

He had never heard of something called a "White Stone Crystal" that was seemingly a mineral, and it wasn't mentioned in any of the textbooks he had gotten his hands on.

The problem now was not the method of initiating transportation, but the area of white mist he was currently in. This mist could not be unrelated to the mist that appeared after the Time Key was used.

"Can any other information be felt?"

[That's all for now.]

The voice of a woman whispered in his ear, and Shard lifted his head to gaze at the peculiar, impenetrable white mist surrounding him:

"If the Ancient God of Time [Father of the Infinite Tree] has the 'Time Corridor', and the Ancient God of Space [Primordial Rift] has the 'Spatial Labyrinth', then what about the other fallen Ancient Gods—like the one Miss Annette mentioned, the Ancient God of Balance 'The Upside-Down Judge'? Do they also have... What is the significance of such spaces existing?"

He received no answer; these secrets would require him to find the answers himself.

The space housing the double-headed Ancient God Statue was definitely not naturally formed, but the builder was completely unknown.

As for who was the last to step into the hidden space in the basement and touch this Ancient God Statue, it was now impossible to verify. Without the state of "Divine Afterglow" and the special "other me", it would not be possible to obtain the information Shard knew, so he did not have to worry about others knowing the secrets here.

Leaving the white mist of the "Spatial Labyrinth" and returning to the circular space where the statue stood, Shard felt increasingly puzzled by the secrets of this world.

His eyes swept over the clutter surrounding this circular space. After some thought, he knelt down and meticulously began to sort and organize the pile of debris. Regrettably, even with an Ancient God of Space's statue erected here, the great force of time destroys all mundane objects, and these items with a history of hundreds of years were mostly rusted and rotted away.

The accumulated books had completely turned to trash, and the purpose of the corroded metal tools was unrecognizable. As Shard sorted through these items, the only useful thing he found was a rolled-up Parchment. Your next read is at empire

The Parchment seemed completely unaffected by time, and only after Shard repeatedly confirmed it was not a Relic but a mere ordinary item, did he unfold it. The Parchment was undamaged, but the ink on it was very faint, suggesting that while the Parchment was special, the ink was nothing out of the ordinary.

Shard took some effort before he could make out the three lines of text, "Literacy" allowed him to understand the meaning by himself:

"Common Era Calendar 1520, the twelfth survey log."

"Confirmation of the discovery of the Ancient God 'Primordial Rift' statue, the statue is suspected to be connected to the entrance of the 'Spatial Labyrinth', the method of opening is yet unknown."

"Location of the 'birthing room' left by the Creation Ancient God, further confirmation is needed, please reply as soon as possible."

There was no signature; the person who wrote these words didn't leave any identification. But judging from the date of 1520, this was a relic from three hundred years ago. And three hundred years ago, the building in Saint Delan Square seemed to have not yet been built.

He muttered to himself:

"Was there some accident? Such information was actually left here and not taken away... a 'birthing room'? Have I heard of this place before?"

Shard's memory was still good; on the night when two professors "visited" his home, he had read many messages in a letter from "Dwarf Rat" Peter.

Among them, it was mentioned that another powerful and illegal organization, the Blood Spirit School, which had originally agreed to help "Blood of Mercury," was limited in its support to the Silver-Eyed One because they were busy with the 'birthing room' in the New World.

"Interesting."

Shard rolled up the parchment and set it aside:n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"The secrets of special spaces left by Ancient Gods are not completely unknown. Since the ancient organizations are aware, could it be that the True God Church and the Three Great Magics Academies also know?"

But even if he knew about the 'birthing room', a place that seemed to be the same special location as the 'Time Corridor' and 'Spatial Labyrinth', Shard was powerless to do anything about it. The clues regarding the 'birthing room' were now in the New World, and he simply couldn't get there, nor did he need to concern himself with such matters.

Apart from the rotted books and metal items, after a thorough search of the "trash", he found about a dozen old-looking glass reagent bottles underneath some brown rotten fabric. Each bottle had the same symbol at the bottom.

The main body of the symbol was an equilateral triangle, with each of the three corners connected to a small circle, and inside the triangle was a human figure with wings.

"What is this symbol?"

Although he didn't understand, he still noted it down, confident that there must be someone who understood it.

Most of the bottles contained potions of various colors, but even magic potions have an expiry date. It seemed that the potions might be three hundred years old as well and were definitely not safe to drink.

He didn't take these strange potions and the parchment roll with him but left them there, to prevent them from being destroyed by curious cats should he be away from home one day.

After checking these miscellaneous items, he took the kerosene lamp and left the basement, signaling that tonight's "exploration" was temporarily at an end.

Regarding the hidden space with the statue of the Ancient God 'Primordial Rift', Shard could do nothing before obtaining the 'White Stone Crystal'. But the space behind the hidden wall was of use; if even the Church couldn't discover this place, then it was an excellent spot to conceal items.

Although Shard didn't have anything to hide at the moment, there would surely be opportunities to utilize this in the future.

Thinking this, he stopped, turned his head, and looked back at the wall:

"Speaking of which, the person from three hundred years ago might have had the same idea when they left those things there, only to never return… Hiss—is that a bit ominous?"