Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

As he ascended, Shard didn't forget to fish out a mask from among the small toys in his pocket and put it on his face. But because he was rushing up too quickly, he nearly lost grip of the mask and dropped it into the sea.

"Oh!"

The tattoo finally emerged from the water, with raindrops striking Shard's face. Amidst the surging waves, Shard, too, leapt up. He spat out the water in his mouth and held tightly onto the fishing rod with both hands.

Looking around, the giant decaying corpse appeared right before his eyes. Its upper body was naked, only showing above the waist out of the water. The putrid and bloody smell rushed into his nostrils, and at the sight of the corpse, fear nearly made Shard let go of the fishing rod in his hands.

Further in the distance, the buildings of the ancient Merman Temple that surrounded the mermaid were now clearly visible atop the huge waves.

The stone buildings soared strangely high, their non-conforming spiraling structures revealing the peculiar deep-sea civilization. Damaged ancient runes on the buildings glimmered faintly under the dim sky, and clusters of bones were spread around the edges of these ruined structures. They radiated a phosphorescent glow similar to that under the dim sky, bizarre and chilling.

The more he looked at these structures, the clearer he could hear a melodious, rhythmic, and even wild ethereal chanting. The sound, unaffected by the noise of the rain and tides, was like the soft singing of a young girl, yet also like the hymns in a wild temple.

Rustic, grotesque, fearful, primitive, and spiral—these were the words that naturally came to mind as Shard looked upon the Temple structures.

Amidst the architectural cluster encircling the gigantic corpse, in front of the corpse's heart position, through the doors and windows of the Undersea Temple that seemed to be carved directly out of the rock hill, Shard saw a fire.

He saw dark gold flames, their flickering glimmer seen from afar, could make one feel their intense heat.

"This is..."

His eyes widened in the rain, this familiar sensation felt as if it was calling to him. The desire enhanced by the flesh of Desire urged Shard to touch it, to possess it.

"Indeed..."

The temple structures floating above the waves, moving with the giant mermaid corpse, were not an illusion or projection but rather the immense spatial influence wielded by the corpse's power, causing an abnormal spatial zone around the corpse which brought the ancient Merman Temple, long coexisting with the corpse, out from the Fishman City of Bygone Days.

The Church's High Ring Sorcerers were engaged in battle with a few Merman Circle Sorcerers of the Crimson Cult around the Temple of Bygone Days. The latter had been preparing for the ritual for years, and aside from the Cult's own sorcerers, even human magicians were helping them. But even though the Mermen could gain strength near the temple, they were still being suppressed by the Church. Read exclusive chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

As the waves moved forward, Mermen continuously emerged from the water, only to be quickly killed by the magicians on the warships. Perhaps they had prepared for years for the Sea Return ritual, but it was unfortunate to have chosen a day after Tobesk's Godfall. The True God Church wouldn't make a mistake again, and now, the magicians of the entire material world were paying attention to the outcome at Coldwater Port.

Meanwhile, the Academy professors were aboard a literal gold ship, following behind the mermaid. Various strange spiritual lights twinkled, affecting the giant floating corpse.

The professors weren't trying to defeat the corpse that lacked self-consciousness—they were attempting to appease it, to let it return to tranquility, to prevent it from bringing the waves to assault Coldwater Port.

The professors' efforts were quite effective, otherwise Shard wouldn't have needed to face the situation himself; waiting on the shore would have sufficed.

The Temple and the power of the mermaid's corpse greatly disturbed the Circle Sorcerers' perception abilities. Additionally, with everyone engaged in battle, when Shard flew over, astonishingly, no one noticed him in the sky.

However, when Shard looked up at the face of the enormous mermaid corpse, that ghastly, pale face with eyes tightly closed suddenly displayed a sinister expression. Before Shard could react, the mermaid's eyes actually opened, and within those eyes, Shard saw a spiral of blood-red color.

A mouthful of blood spurted out as he hastily closed his eyes.

He was pulled and flew into the Temple in front of the corpse's heart, crashing heavily onto the slick, damp floor, tumbling several times before coming to a stop. Looking up again, he saw the scene before him with a slight double vision, surrounded by bizarre fishman statues all over the stone interior. Horrific Desecration Runes and prayers excerpted from unnamed tomes were engraved on every flat stone surface.

Apart from Shard, there were seven or eight people fighting at the entrance of the Temple. Among them were Merman Circle Sorcerers of the Crimson Cult and Circle Sorcerers of the True God Church. The former were huddled together, using the Evil God's Divine Arts to barely contend with the two sorcerers behind them, whose Eleven-Ring Life Rings loomed. A Crimson glimmer enveloped them like a cloak, but each time they were attacked by the Church's sorcerers, the Crimson light would dim and the fishmen would become weaker, yet madness still painted their faces.

They were anticipating the giant waves engulfing Coldwater Port, at which point everything would be irretrievable.

"What are you going to do?"

The Eleven-Ring Sorcerer with the Sun Sacred Emblem on his chest couldn't help but ask Shard, who had just crashed into the Temple. Without speaking, Shard tightened his grip on the fishing line, feeling the direction his tattoo wanted to go, carefully bypassing the fighters. Out of the eight entrances in the temple forecourt, he chose the second one on the right and then ran along a corridor filled with sea mud towards the deeper parts of the Temple.

Neither side of the battle stopped him.

There seemed to be even more people inside the Temple than outside. As he ran swiftly forward, the sounds of explosions, angry curses, and rustling footsteps came from all around.

The ground beneath his feet and the ceiling above seemed to vibrate, with the sound of giant waves coming from every direction. At the end of the corridor was a small hall used for prayers, with bones piled in the mud and skulls used as bases for candles. Shard didn't pay any attention and continued to hold the fishing rod, moving forward led by the tattoo.

The further forward he went, the more terrifying the sights became. On the stone walls of the corridor sides, ancient murals depicted repeated ritual sites of the Fishman City of Bygone Days. Beneath his feet, the number of corpse remains increased, and their shapes turned more horrific. Apart from remnants of various fish, even fresh human corpses started appearing in the mud.

Shard could feel his heart pounding fiercely—not out of fear, but out of anticipation for what lay ahead waiting for him.

"However, this corridor does resemble the one I saw in ['The True History of the Fifth Era Witch Wars']."

It's merely a resemblance, which suggests they might have been built during the same era.