Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"If it's not what we're looking for, we won't take it away. You have my word on that."

"No need to pledge your word, I trust you. From the four questions you just asked, you're the most upright person I've met... Are you really not the Saint Heir of some fallen Old God?"

Miss Beath asked with a smile, but she knew it was impossible.

Shard shook his head:

"Since you trust me so much, let's split this thing evenly."

Shard firmly controlled his own cat, then carefully placed the withered yellow phalanx bone he had been clutching in his hand onto the table:

"You stopped the person using the Relic, I discovered this Relic, so we'll split the ownership of this item. Now tell me what this Relic is. Does it really possess the trait of granting Immortality?"

Shard exhaled deeply, the cat's tail brushing against his chin:

"I'm very curious."

"Yes, I'm fully aware of this Relic's traits, after all, my dispute with Tomb Raider Hawthorn has been going on for a long time. It was when I was training at the Papacy; I went on a field mission with a squad to gain some experience in the world, and then..."

She paused, revealing a wistful smile:

"I encountered Tomb Raider Hawthorn and the Silver-Eyed One, and in the end, only I survived. The captain who took good care of me, as well as that witty old man who always told jokes during missions... Detective, today you have avenged me, well, half-avenged me."

This was the first time Shard learned why she was so persistent about the Silver-Eyed One:

"Next, I plan to dig out the eyes of the Silver-Eyed One with my own hands, only then will this matter be settled... But let's not talk about that now. Let me introduce this 'Relic', a Keeper of Secrets Level Relic, the 'Corpse Relic'. As for immortality, it indeed can achieve a certain degree of that."

She said, propping her chin on her hands, her tone laced with sarcasm.

"Are there any side effects?"

"The side effects are quite severe. During the full moon of the Red Moon, insert this bone into one's own heart causing death. Then, bury the corpse in a graveyard; after resurrecting in 24 hours, one attains an almost immortal body. One won't age, has no fatal points except if turned to ash in one go, otherwise, it's very hard to kill.

However, from then on, the user must ensure that the 'Corpse Relic' is never far from oneself and that no one else touches it, or else the immortality trait will disappear, and their own strength will rapidly decline until the 'Corpse Relic' is reclaimed."

This was the reason why Miss Beath had almost instantly won after Shard obtained the bone.

"Once having obtained Immortality through the 'Corpse Relic', the body is nearly the same as a corpse, but it doesn't rot. All emotions will gradually fade away, there will be no physiological reactions including eating.

According to what I researched in the church library, once immortality is obtained through the ritual I mentioned, the immortal will become more and more like a Living Corpse over 10 years, until the spirit and mind are completely eroded, becoming a true Corpse. This process is irreversible; even losing the Relic only means losing Immortality, not halting the transformation into a corpse."

"Oh, that sounds truly dreadful."

Shard commented dryly, for he knew that "Immortality" was not so easy to achieve.

He hugged his cat and moved away from the piece of bone on the table. But now that he knew its traits and understood that the inscriptions weren't activating a spell, he tried to interpret the meaning of those strange words—

"Those who fear death will eventually become part of death itself."

Although the side effects of this finger bone were powerful, the positive effect of granting the user a certain degree of "immortality" was equally strong—indeed, it was a rare Keeper of Secrets Level Relic.

Shard had seen and heard of relics of similar dangerous level, which were almost never simple: The Twenty-Sided Die of Destiny, the Transmutation Ring, the Forged Philosopher's Stone, and the disassembled Puppeteer's Script.

Shard's Spear of Kindness was countered by relics with immortal nature, and he had thought it would be a long time before he encountered something similar.

But neither he nor Miss Beyas had any intention of using the Corpse Relic; one was a rigorously trained Academy Ring Sorcerer and the other, a young Female Sorcerer with great potential in the True God Church, both with bright futures ahead. There was no need to obtain power through such dangerous relics.

Therefore, their final decision was to sell it, as they were both in dire need of money.

"I was transferred to this diocese only a few months ago and am not familiar with the local black market. Detective, you handle it. After it's sold, remember, half of the money is mine. Don't worry about the issue of stolen goods. The Church can't trace the items found on Tomb Raiders, and nobody knows where they dig them up from."

"You trust me that much? Aren't you worried I'll run off with the money? Or is it because of the four questions earlier?"

Shard asked, then heard the cat in his arms yawn. Mia, noticing that Shard was looking at her, buried her head in her belly and curled into a ball.

"I've said it before, I trust you. When there's trust, there's no suspicion. I have a unique talent for knowing the balance of good and evil in a person, which is why I have so few friends."

The young girl said, sighing as she looked at Shard's cat:

"Detective, since we're going to continue working together, I must remind you to be careful, especially lately. You are still a First Ring Sorcerer, and the world is very dangerous for you."

Shard had heard similar warnings, not for the first time.

"I won't say much about the recent incident at Lakeside Manor. Even more covertly, last night, around this time, the Evil God watched over the city, and then an unknow High Ring Sorcerer staged a Maze Lock in town, evaluated as almost a 'miracle'... Hamilton Detective, I have very few friends, so please be careful."

Shard didn't know how to respond to such words. He didn't plan to tell Miss Beyas yet that all those incidents involved him, but rather thought to wait until he had completely earned Miss Annette's trust before saying anything. Experience tales at empire

"I'll be careful."

"Detective, I really envy your life, so leisurely, safe, and free..."

Miss Beyas murmured to the lazy orange cat. Everyone has their own troubles; looking at the tired girl in front of him, Shard had a deeper understanding of that statement.

"By the way, how old are you this year?"

Outlander suddenly asked, and Miss Beyas froze:

"Seventeen, why do you ask?"

Only a young girl could mention her age so casually.

"Nothing in particular."

He felt even more compassion for her.

The voice in his ear was chuckling, as if in approval, or perhaps mockery. The Chosen One was entangled in infinite Fate; here sat Iluna Beath before Shard's eyes, and he truly felt fortunate to be just an "observer."