Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"No!"

Shard could not accept this outcome at all, braving the piercingly cold black wind, he approached the towering grey stone doors amidst the repetitive whispers and murmurs of countless deceased. At this moment, the golden ashen traces on his body really stretched out like flames towards his back. The power he felt was even stronger than facing a deity in Saint Form.

"What exactly is death itself?"

Standing before the gate, stepping on the final footprints of Priest Augustus, he looked up at the full view of the stone doors in the darkness. All clues stopped here, the Priest had crossed through these doors and gone to another world.

He stood there, pondering everything. Suddenly, he raised his hand and pressed it against the stone door in front of him. The icy, bone-chilling sensation gave him the illusion of falling into an abyss – he didn't need "her" guidance anymore, as Shard could feel for himself what lay beyond the door.

Beyond the door was "Termination".

"Should it end here? Admit that Priest Augustus wasn't lying, that he truly is gone, and then turn around and leave..."

Shard asked himself, then looked down at the burning red thread on his wrist.

"Having crossed life and death, I've come this far, should I really turn back now?"

He looked up once more at the giant stone door, his eyes fixed on "the door", blood continuously seeping from the corners of his eyes. This door, the Great Divide of Death, possessed a Relic Level that was certainly not below Sage Level (Level 2).

"Are you content with this?"

Shard asked himself, his soul becoming icy and stiff due to the proximity of death. All things faced Ultimate Death, and beyond this door lay Ultimate Death.

[So, Outlander, what will you do?]

Even at this time, she could still chuckle lightly.

"May I ask, if I also step through that door, will I be able to turn back?"

He asked gently among the low whispers of the deceased, not in his heart but aloud. The golden light from his body shone on the door in front, creating only vague shadows.

[Every mortal dies once, yet you wish to turn back?]

She whispered softly in his ear, the ancient language so beautiful.

[But a soul that has embraced a drop of Divinity, a soul that has been cleansed by two drops of Divinity, can you truly still be considered a mortal?]

The sound of the wind brushed past his ear, and Shard wasn't sure if it was "her" presence or the wind of death.

"So, when I cross through this door, will I be able to turn back?"

[Only once you step to the other side will you be certain of this.]

"Is that so?"

Shard put a bit more pressure with his right hand on the door. The stone door remained immovable; it looked like he needed even more strength.

[But I can assure you, you can return.]

"Because of that drop of Divinity?"

To the gods, crossing life and death was all too simple.

Shard shook his head, moved from in front of the massive right door to the center between the two doors, and let the wind that represented the end of all things blow directly on his body through the gap of the doors.

His body became icy and stiff, his slowly recovering stamina and spirit, completely silenced. The wind bore the essence of death; he was getting closer and closer to the Spirit Rune of [Death].

If he could get a Spirit Rune in such a place, he couldn't imagine how powerful it would be.

He stretched out both hands, each pressing on one of the doors, then he bent slightly and exerted force from his waist, allowing his shoes to sink into the muddy ground:

"Ah~"

All his strength yearned to push open the doors, but they didn't budge.

[No, it is because I am with you.]

She chuckled, seemingly praising herself.

Shard felt himself being embraced, and this time it was no illusion, as he really saw a pair of silver transparent arms circling his neck.

"Help me."

He said softly, his voice in the vast darkness, audible only to himself.

[Do you remember how to say it?]

She was still smiling.

"You are me..."

A steam whistle wailed distantly, and the sound of bells rang from afar. Amidst the scorching steam mist, the Brass Life Ring covered with fine golden specks appeared behind Shard. The black wind passed by Shard's side, grazing the Life Ring and leaving scratch-like marks. The ring seemed as if it would shatter, but as the rust-like coating around the Light Trace peeled away, the golden Glimmer twinkled from beneath the brass.

Unfortunately, Shard did not turn his head, hence he missed this scene.

[...I am you.]

The silver arms overlapped with Shard's arms, but they separated again at the palms. Both sets of palms pressed against the icy, immense stone door, and as ten Spirit Runes on the Ring of Fate behind Shard simultaneously emitted a dazzling Spiritual Light, as the golden Light Trace that signified Divinity on his body grew increasingly bright, as the silver Moonlight in his eyes became more intense—

Squeak! Aah!

Shard took a step forward, and the door was pushed open.

A blinding white light shot through the gaps of the opened door into Shard's eyes, and as his entire vision turned white, he faintly heard the sound of the tide.

Leaving all his belongings at the door to prevent them from being affected, Shard walked toward the white light.

The gate behind him closed with a thunderous sound.

[Outlander, you have stepped into death.]

[Outlander, you have gained a deeper understanding of "death" and "sleeping".]

As for what death really was, the Outlander who had probably died once before arriving in this world, did not know. He had thought that the world on the other side would be an empty void of darkness, or perhaps some strange and bizarre sights, but when the white light in front of him disappeared, he found himself standing on the shore, facing the boundless expanse of water before him.

The sky was black and extraordinarily low-hanging, with a stone cliff behind him that stretched endlessly to the left and right, where the two gigantic stone doors were embedded, with only a stretch of tidal flats in front of the doors upon which one could stand.

Although he could hear the tide, the water under the low, black sky was unusually calm.

Looking up, he saw a giant silver moon resting in the distance on the horizon, but only half of the moon was above the water surface. The other half sank into the black water unseen. That silver Moonlight was so silent, so eerie, it even had a maddening Sanctity to it.

Although the silver moon seemed large, it also appeared to be at an extreme distance across the endless black waters, the moonlight casting flickering glimmers on the calm waters.

The water wasn't empty; shadows, countless white shadows wavered as they stood with their backs to Shard on the serene, boundless waters, as if moving towards the distance. The Moonlight illuminated them, but their features were not clear; their distance could not be discerned.

Shard knew these were spirits, on this limitless expanse of water, spirits of the departed were continuing their journey towards the half-submerged moon.

"Nether Moon, huh..."

The cold around him was extreme; Shard even felt he had lost the ability to perceive temperature.

He looked down at his hands, the crackling golden Glimmer was still dazzling in the darkness. Raising his hand towards the moon that could drive one mad, the Moonlight filtered through his fingers onto his face. His hand did not become transparent, it remained a colored entity. But he could feel the repulsion from this place, feel that force that once he fell back into Sleeping, there was no possibility of ever opening his eyes again.

"Is this the afterlife?"

He couldn't describe this place in words; he just felt utterly exhausted.

"Can you smile for me?"

So he asked in his heart, and that familiar voice chuckled lightly:

[Strange request.]

The ancient language and that lithe laughter slightly revitalized Shard's rapidly fatigued spirit, but then a voice came from behind:

"This is not true death, for death is a concept, not a world. This place is but a manifestation of what people perceive as death, the zone closest to death itself. Of course, you may also consider it as death—the difference isn't significant. However, the ultimate rest and the Wall of the Unbelievers are at the end of the water. People come from the amniotic fluid of their mothers; hence, they ultimately return to the water, that's the reason for everything you see.".

Shard turned his head to look, and there was an old man in a Cleric Robe, feet off the ground, set between the two huge stone doors behind him.

It was Priest Augustus, behind him a pair of tattered White Feather Wings with exposed bones and Flesh, much of the white feathers were scorched, looking particularly horrific.

The old man leaned on the gap of the closed stone door, his lower body seemingly merged completely with the two doors, and the wings almost entirely immersed into the door.

His feet were about half a person's height off the ground, with both wings spreading like tree roots across the entire door. The scorched wings and skeleton perfectly blended with the door's own scenery of death, as if the door was meant to be that way.

Shard's turn also allowed Priest Augustus to see his face. With the Outlander's back against the immense Silvermoon, the Old Cleric's eyes widened in astonishment:

"Hello, Shard... Hmm? Shard?"

The weary old man could only make a strange noise from his throat for a few seconds, even losing the ability to speak due to the shock:

"Shard? What happened? Have you died too?"

"Actually, I'm more curious about how exactly I managed to push the door open."

Shard said with a faint smile on his lips, speaking softly again, then looked up at Priest Augustus above the door:

"I'm not dead. Dr. Schneider and the others entrusted me to find you. It really hasn't been easy, you can't imagine how hard I've tried..."

The old man didn't look much different from their last separation at the Tobesk Train Station, even his clothes were the same; Priest Augustus seemed to always like wearing his Cleric Robe.

"How did you... Oh, aren't you curious about these wings behind me?"

The Priest seemed to want to reprimand him, but in the end, he just asked tiredly. Both their voices were almost silent in this realm of death, yet crystal clear.

"Aren't you curious about this strange appearance of my skin?"

Shard asked, adjusting to this world. He didn't even open his mouth, but his voice appeared directly in the Priest's ear.

The two gazed at each other, the Priest with the stone wall inscribed with scenes of death behind him, and Shard with the half-submerged Silvermoon and countless spirits behind him.

These questions, in truth, didn't need to be asked.