Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

The location where Shard appeared was beside the round table of three, so the three only needed to turn their heads slightly to see Shard.

None of them spoke, clearly waiting for Shard, who emerged from the butterflies, to speak first. Yet Shard wasn't sure what language was used in this era.

"Um...hello?"

So he eventually used Delarion, but unfortunately, the "Worm Cave" did not have the effect of allowing normal communication for everyone. Fortunately, after a brief moment of confusion, the middle-aged witch understood. She gently tapped the table in front of her, and with a slight sound, a small drawer emerged from the side of the table, containing a wooden test tube.

The test tube was tossed to Shard. He pulled out the cork and sniffed it, detecting the stench he had smelled earlier in the corridor. He was almost certain that this magic potion was made with insects as the raw material.

Only after confirming it was not poisonous did he, suppressing his disgust, drink the magic potion in one gulp. Subsequently, he was temporarily able to understand the language of these people living in the Fifth Era.

"May I ask, are you the familiar of the Great One - Butterfly God?"

The witch, who appeared to be in her forties, hesitantly asked softly. Shard shook his head and walked towards the three:

"Although I'm not quite sure what the current situation is, I am quite certain that I am not a familiar of a deity... Why do you think so?"

"Because I cannot comprehend why a male would have the ability to cast spells. And we are all here to gain the favor of the familiar of the Thousand-Eye Illusion Butterfly - Miss Butterfly. Didn't you just transform into a swarm of butterflies?"

The seating arrangement was with the witch on the far left, a young lady on her right, and the man on the far right, maintaining some distance between himself and the two ladies.

Shard then sat on the round stool to the right of the witch, clasping his hands together on the table. The daylight was bright enough to illuminate everyone at the table:

"No, no, although I can transform into butterflies, I am really not honored enough to become a familiar of a deity."

"Then what are you?"

The witch asked with a slightly furrowed brow.

"Before I introduce myself, can you all give a self-introduction?"

Shard answered with a question, but the witch did not get angry and nodded, deeming it reasonable:

"Maggie Blachett. I came here to obtain new power."

The thirty-something lady clad in clergy robes on her left scrutinized Shard with some seriousness:

"Ollie Perry. I came here to gain the favor of the Butterfly God's familiar and obtain the witch's power."

Finally, it was the man in his thirties:

"Fred Lehman. Here to marry the Butterfly God's familiar... that's the goal."

"So, who are you, sir? Are you also a competitor?"

The witch asked the question once more, and Shard pointed to himself:

"I can't say exactly where I come from, but I'm definitely not here to seek anyone's favor. Speaking of which, do you know how to leave this place? What I want is simply to leave here."

The witch frowned slightly:

"After the festival, one of us will have the honor of gaining the favor of Miss Butterfly. Then, the God's Favored One will lead us out of this terrifying place, which lacks even the concept of time and space."

Shard then realized that the three sitting here were actually in a competitive relationship.

"I just want to leave here."

Shard repeated once again, as he wasn't familiar with anyone and didn't rashly offer his assistance.

He made eye contact with each person in turn:

"I swear on my soul, I am not your competitor. On the contrary, I'd be happy to help you host that so-called festival, and then let the God's Favored One lead us out of here... I never want to see a dreadful scene again where insects fall like raindrops."

Shard's description seemed to evoke a bad memory for the witch. Her mouth twitched slightly, while Miss Ollie Perry, the clergy member, also showed a hint of fear, and Mr. Lehman's reaction was even more exaggerated, with his face turning pale and his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

The witch quickly composed herself but suddenly asked:

"Yes, we all came here that way. But, you still haven't explained why, as a man, you can use supernatural power."

Shard hesitated for a moment, then softly spoke amidst "her" laughter:

"Actually... I'm not necessarily a man."

The witch stared at him, nodding slightly after a long moment. Miss Blanchett was still sizing him up, her gaze incredibly intense. Meanwhile, Mr. Lyman seemed reluctant to look at the witch, and therefore did not dare to look past her at Shard.

"I see there's just one table and you all. How is this Butterfly God festival supposed to be held? Is there anything that needs to be prepared?"

Shard took the initiative to bring up the topic, and the clergy member, Mrs. Perry, nodded slightly:

"Coming here is already the final step of the festival. I don't know if you are aware of this cavern, but the followers of that Butterfly God have lived here since ancient times. To see them, one must first please the deity, hence the need for the festival. Legend has it that this very table was used by that Butterfly God to host a grand feast with her followers, and therefore it possesses miraculous powers. A single knock on it can provide us with the food, drink, or even magic potions we need... Of course, these are all made from insects. What we need to do is host the feast again, an ancient ritual to summon the Earth Deity."

"Earth Deity?"

Shard frowned slightly, understanding the hidden meaning in those words:

"Is the Butterfly God related to the Ancient God, Earth Mother Goddess?"

"You know the Ancient God?"

The witch raised an eyebrow, while the two ordinary people had already instinctively covered their ears:

"Remember this — trees belong to the Father of Trees, flowers and grasses and butterflies to the Earth."

It seems that the Father of the Infinite Tree and the Earth Mother Goddess have overlapping clerical duties related to nature's power, much like the Sage of Silvermoon and the Secret-Keeping Mentor. The sources of Helen and Grace's powers seem to involve not only the Primordial Rift but also the Mother Earth. However, Shard had never seen them use the power of the Earth, so perhaps the appearance of the red butterflies was just a coincidence.

"Then, how should the God Summoning Ritual be performed? Is any crucial element missing?"

Shard asked again, contemplating the thought that perhaps this time he would have to return to his own time to find the missing materials for the God Summoning Ritual. It felt quite similar to his experience in the Forest of Thousand Trees, but he liked such missions that were straightforward, only requiring him to find things.

"Nothing is missing. Since the three of us have come here overcoming all obstacles, how could we lack ritual materials?"

The middle-aged witch said with a smile, and Shard thought this made sense.

Although the time he could stay at this point wasn't long, he did not urge the three to summon the deity immediately and instead said:

"I'm happy to help you perform the ritual. I think you would also require another person with supernatural power and knowledge of mysticism to participate in this ritual."

All three nodded slightly, and Shard extended a finger:

"However, before the ritual begins, I need to ask each of you a question. I... have experienced countless adventures, and in those adventures, sometimes companions are not just companions. So, I want to confirm that each of you is normal. You know how strange this place is, and you have suspicions about me as I have suspicions about you."

The witch considered this caution necessary, and since her powers were suppressed in these bug lairs, there was no need to create conflicts with unrelated people, so she nodded in agreement. Miss Maggie Blanchett and Mr. Fred Lehman obviously couldn't refute the witch's decision.

This middle-aged witch was not Thirteenth Rank and definitely not a demigod, but she was very close, a Twelfth Rank Witch. If Shard guessed correctly, her so-called pursuit of breakthrough was aimed at breaking through from Twelfth to Thirteenth Rank.

"First is Miss Maggie Blanchett. You came here seeking power, which is quite normal. But, since you are rivals with someone else, why didn't you... eliminate your competition first?"

Shard pointed to himself:

"I don't like to assume malice in others, but this point is indeed worth questioning."

The middle-aged witch smiled:

"That's an interesting question, but I can answer it. Entering this Worm Cave is akin to stepping into a deity's church. Sir, have you ever heard of anyone randomly killing people inside a deity's church? Besides, I'm not certain I can successfully perform the festival. If I don't succeed and there's no one else, how am I supposed to return?"

"Yes, your thoughts are quite correct."

Shard blinked his eyes:

"Alright. Then the next is Miss Ollie Perry."

The middle-aged woman examined him as if examining some curious animal.

"Tell me, as an ordinary person, how did you get here? When you introduced yourselves earlier, you didn't mention knowing this witch beforehand."

"I am a nun of the Sun and Earth Church. In seeking the witch's power, the church gave me an opportunity to pursue power on my own."

Miss Perry said, closing her eyes and drawing the Holy Emblem of the Lantern Bearer on her chest, which was quite familiar to Shard. In the current Fifth Era, the Five Gods Church had not yet achieved the absolute faith dominance they would in the Sixth Era, hence the Sun Church was likely just a slightly more powerful one among the Church of the Benevolent God.

However, this was probably the first time Shard encountered someone from the Five Gods Church in the Fifth Era. Although Miss Perry wasn't a witch, perhaps Shard could use her identity information to have Iluna of the Sixth Era look for records about this affair. As long as Miss Perry survived the Worm Cave, even if her memory changed, at least Shard could find some relevant clues.