Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1728 - 1727: Door in the Bottle

"The following second segment of memory is when, after being touched by Durut Giles, Laster Edwards followed him away from that island."

The nun continued speaking, and Shard then asked:

"Did you see the entire process of escaping the island?"

She nodded:

"Yes, although she was just a child, she possessed great power in her lifetime. At that time, she instinctively used her power to repel the enemies from another space on the island and the water ghosts beneath."

Priest Augustus thought for a moment and also agreed:

"Yes, I can also see that her soul power is strong. Generally speaking, a divided soul would be extremely weak, so we are encountering an unusual situation."

"The third memory, she was strangled to death by her father. Because of the damage to her soul, I couldn’t glimpse the appearance of that Thirteen-Ring Diviner. In Laster Edwards’ memories of him, there is a mixture of fear, sorrow, and reluctance... In that memory, I heard a blurry voice—my daughter, when we meet next time, you will understand how much I truly love you."

Sister Delphine’s tone was quite calm, but Shard’s mouth twitched a few times, not knowing what to say.

It was Priest Augustus, who was the oldest and most experienced, who commented:

"Thinking about anything now is just our own speculation. When we find out the true cause, we will know what it’s all about... Of course, I tend to think that the Thirteen-Ring Diviner is just a madman."

"The fourth memory is a memory from life, a scarlet door. Her memory of that door is extraordinarily clear, and that door is at the end of a long, narrow underground corridor."

"Does the door have any distinctive features?"

Shard asked, and the nun nodded:

"The door has a lot of keyholes, totaling 13, and all the keyholes are identical in size and shape."

Shard frowned deeply:

"What is the last memory, the earliest memory?"

"The memory at birth, yes, she has a memory of her own birth."

"Was she naturally born?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Yes, this can be confirmed. A man whose face could not be seen picked her up and then immersed her in blood-red liquid. Because it is a memory from the inception of life, deeply branded in the soul’s depths, even if the soul is divided, the memory is very clear. In the liquid, she opened her eyes and, in a blood-red world, heard the blessing she received upon birth—"

The nun paused and repeated:

"Quickly grow up, let the roots of the family sprout; quickly become sensible, help me realize an idea that no one believes; quickly walk, time has already started counting down; may the endless space bless you, my dear daughter, may..."

She paused again, but this time it was not to let Shard and Priest Augustus listen carefully. The nun slightly lowered her voice:

"May the ’Door in the Bottle’ bless you, my dear Laster."

"Door in the Bottle? I only know of the ’Cat in the Bottle’."

Shard was somewhat puzzled, while Priest Augustus showed a look of surprise:

"That Ancient Evil Entity, sealed by a deity in the Second Era, is actually in Green Lake?"

The nun nodded slightly:

"I don’t know much about it either; the Order’s library only recorded very basic information. You should introduce it."

"Shard, similar to the Evil Creatures of Pantanal I once mentioned to you, the ’Door in the Bottle’ is a very ancient sealed Ancient Evil Entity. If the Evil Creatures of Pantanal correspond to ’Tree,’ ’Corrupt Nature,’ ’Out of Control Life,’ then this ’Door in the Bottle’ corresponds to ’Space,’ ’Truth,’ and ’Origin.’"

It was the first time Shard saw the priest showing such a wary expression:

"According to legend, it was sealed by an Ancient God before they departed. Very, very ancient murals depicted its form, which is a black door contained within a glass bottle."

"Black, not the scarlet door with thirteen keyholes Sister Delphine just mentioned?"

Shard confirmed, and the priest nodded confidently:

"Absolutely black, and it also doesn’t have any keyholes. According to the legend, the only pattern on the Door in the Bottle is a black spiral."

This reminded Shard of the Unifier pendants mentioned in the rumors of the Green Lake Region. He had obtained quite a few from Rot-Eye Barry.

"Since the Door in the Bottle is a door, what’s behind it?"

"Oh, Shard, why do you think I would know?"

The priest shook his head, but Sister Delphine said:

"The Order’s records state that the door must never be opened. Behind it lies the termination of all things, the end of space, and the answers to the world’s origin. Even if the door is unopened, the intelligent beings around can constantly hear whispers about the origin of space and the truth of all things. Perhaps it is small in size, and perhaps its direct combat strength isn’t high, but it is more terrifying than the Evil Creatures of Pantanal."

This sounded increasingly frightening. Fortunately, no matter how powerful an evil object might be, it is no match for a deity, which is also one of the world’s rules.

"But you don’t need to worry too much, it poses little threat to you. Since the Ancient God sealed that entity, even a Thirteen-Ring Diviner can’t restore it to its full glory."

The priest thought more about it:

"Given its current state, it’s probably not stronger than the Evil Creatures of Pantanal and won’t be as formidable as Joey Barton standing over the Styx to fight you in true death. What you need to be concerned about now is what the Thirteen-Ring Diviner might do with it."

The three of them discussed for quite a while about the split soul. Mostly, it was Priest Augustus and Shard talking. However, the priest and the nun’s views were quite consistent: once a soul is divided, repairing it would be extremely difficult. But as long as the soul is on Central Island, the prophecy of the bloodline will definitely come true.

That is to say, the Edwards family’s Second Generation eldest daughter, Laster Edwards, will one day return to that place she fears so much.

Shard originally planned to have Priest Augustus and Sister Delphine stay for lunch, but the priest had to rush to meet with Bishop Owen at noon, so he hurriedly left at ten-thirty. Sister Delphine wasn’t in a hurry to leave; she wanted to meet with Iluna to discuss the upcoming events at Green Lake. So, Shard fetched Iluna and gave her the Ever-Youth Leaf while in the carriage.

When the nun and Iluna finished discussing things, it was already midday. Although Iluna wanted to stay for lunch, she had to attend a church luncheon, so she left reluctantly.

Shard intended for Sister Delphine to help with something else, so he asked the nun to wait a moment before leaving. He got up to see Iluna downstairs; knowing Shard isn’t Cat in the Bottle, she didn’t follow, standing on the sofa and looking at the nun who stood up, her head tilted to "look" at the "Honorary Doctorate in Historical Studies" certificate hanging on the wall.

The nun "looked" at the certificate and then lowered her head to look at the cat, whose amber eyes blinked curiously. Sister Delphine, however, remained expressionless.

"Sun."

She suddenly said softly, but no one could hear it. At this moment, a noise came from the bedroom that had been quiet all morning. Sister Delphine heard the sound of slippers, then footsteps approaching the door. The drowsy Dorothy opened the door and said:

"Shard, did Priest Augustus leave? I seemed to hear the priest’s voice just now."

She seemed half-asleep, as the priest had left an hour ago.

Dorothy’s voice echoed around the house, and the now awake, golden-haired, blue-eyed female writer saw the woman standing in the living room.

In a gray long dress, a black belt, her veil already removed, revealing a white cloth wrapped over her eyes. Her thick, gray-black hair was braided and draped down from her left shoulder. Her hands were together, naturally placed in front of her, as she raised her head to "look" at Dorothy. Because there was no restraint from an eye patch, the gray-black hair swayed with her head-nodding gesture.

Dorothy was stunned by the uniquely tempered woman in front of her. It was her first time seeing Sister Delphine, and she’d never met someone with such a unique presence. She then looked at the cat standing on the coffee table, seeing it act normally, realizing this must also be Shard’s guest.

"Sorry."

She apologized softly, then quickly closed the bedroom door. Even after hearing Shard’s footsteps going up the stairs, she didn’t open the door again.

"Did you notice anything?"

After Shard returned upstairs and met with Sister Delphine, he sent her back to Midshire Fort. After exiting the mountain’s ruined tower, the two walked side by side, watching the spring morning in the verdant forests of Sicarl Mountain, when Shard suddenly asked.

The nun shook her head slightly:

"If the golden-haired girl just now is the Dorothy Louisa you mentioned, I’m sorry, I didn’t find anything special about her soul. I... read part of her memory."

It was inevitable since Sister Delphine carefully observed Dorothy’s soul, so it wasn’t possible to completely shield all memories.

"The memories that impressed her most are mostly related to Lecia Cavendish and you. Her most profound memory of life was last year... the night you first introduced her to Lecia Cavendish."

Shard blushed; he, of course, knew what happened that night and fervently hoped that Sister Delphine only saw things soon after they returned home.

The nun did not show any unusual expression:

"Although her soul isn’t tainted with other powers, I can feel her soul’s greatness."

"Greatness... what do you mean?"

Shard didn’t quite understand. Sister Delphine looked up to the sky, obscured by tree shadows, and raised her right hand with burn marks. Her skin was very white, and the burn marks were like natural cracks on fine porcelain. A little red bird circled above them twice before landing on the nun’s right index finger.