Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

At 17 Queen Mary's Street, Shard and the doctor carried their suitcase up the stairs to the second floor, when Shard suddenly laughed:

"Doctor, judging by what we just did, we seem like classic villains."

"Good and evil are relative,"

the doctor said as the two of them bypassed the first floor and entered the corridor on the second floor, walking further in.

"What do you mean?"

"No one is completely good or evil; one can do good deeds and bad deeds. It's all about keeping the balance,"

the doctor explained as he and Shard reached the room at the furthest end of the hallway. They kicked open the door and approached the window overlooking a safe alleyway.

"Balance... Speaking of which, I've always been curious if our school's name, St. Byrons, holds a deeper meaning,"

Shard asked.

He opened the window, peeked out to make sure no one was in the alley, saw people on the street hurriedly putting out fires and picking up money, then took off his mask, discarded the frog legs, and jumped directly from the second-floor window into the alley.

Taking off his gloves and shoe covers and stuffing them into his pockets, the middle-aged doctor also jumped from the second-floor window with his suitcase, his tone even as he explained his good mood:

"The name St. Byrons itself suggests balance. Miracles and desecrations are opposites; enlightenment and whispers are opposites; the Ring of Fate itself is a perfect circle; a Circle Sorcerer itself has another self behind it. St. Byrons believes that the fundamental principle of the Circle Sorcerer System is balance. Maintaining balance is essential to ascend without losing control."

He stomped his right foot which had gone numb from the landing and, after straightening their clothes with Shard, they headed toward the mouth of the alley.

The middle-aged doctor spoke leisurely:

"Shard, the more you live in this city, the more you understand the value of balance. This world doesn't need extremes. Where there is light, there is shadow; where there is kindness, there is evil. Even civilizations and states themselves need stability and balance, not extremes of good or evil."

They reached the end of the alley, where everyone on the street seemed to be screaming. Black smoke billowed out from a third-floor window of a detached apartment, and flames leaping out tinted half the sky red.

The two looked up at the window where the fire blazed, the flames rapidly climbing from the third to the second floor, but no one paid attention to them as they emerged from the alley with their suitcase.

Shard reflected on his fleeting experiences in this world, the stories that had taken him from the First Ring to the Second:

"We commit murder and arson, but we also protect the weak. We kill and plunder, but we always remember to keep our reverence."

"That's pretty much it,"

the doctor nodded, turning to leave with Shard.

The wind swept through the streets, making the blazing fire even more ferocious. More and more people ran past them, and the same gust of wind also caused the remaining blood-red toxic liquid on the third-floor windowsill to drip from the window.

It fell in the wind, tilting due to the strong breeze.

"Hmm?"

Shard felt something fall on his head, touched it, and realized it was just clear water.

Brushing past the running people, they walked past the shouting, screaming crowd or those who were merely watchers, turning their backs on the burning building and heading down the street into the distance.

"Even the other night, deity and deity, isn't that also a balance? The primary clergy of the true gods balance each other out, and when an evil god comes into this world, there are always forces of goodness to stop it. It might be mortals, or it could be other deities, but all of this is due to balance."

Shard paused, then asked the doctor:

"So, are you saying the true nature of the world is balance?"

"Not exactly, it should be said that balance should not be pursued; everything in this world inherently is balance,"

the doctor said with a smile.

"Not to be pursued?"

Shard slightly furrowed his brows:

"I don't understand." Experience more on My Virtual Library Empire

"You are still too young, too young indeed."

The doctor sighed and shook his head at Shard:

"You have a long life ahead of you to comprehend what I am saying. Futile attempts to discern what is good, what is bad, what is light, and what is dark, is merely wasting your life."

"Then how should we grasp our own balance?"

Shard asked, as the middle-aged doctor smiled:

"I have some experience with this. I often tell my patients: before you go to sleep every night, review the things you did that day. If, after reflection, you can sleep with a relaxed mind, then you've grasped balance."

The young Outlander nodded.

Behind them, the intense explosion of wood combustions resounded again. As the two of them continued down the street, people either came with basins and buckets to help or hurried away with frightened faces, but only these two proceeded at a normal pace.

Flames burst from the windows of a three-story building, the black smoke and firelight reddened the sky above Tobesk. On the street below the burning building, people holding banknotes talked about the recent events, a disheveled woman cried out loud, and those who arrived with basins were nervously unsure whether to enter the house.

The firelight reddened every face.

With their backs to the burning building, the advancing doctor raised his hand to his hat, the firelight reddened his back. Shard turned to look at the burning structure, the firelight reflected in his eyes:

"[The Sixth Era, Common Era Calendar 1853, summer, Thunder Moon. The firelight reddened your face, under the midsummer sky, you witnessed everything you had done. You had also offered your eyes to the Golden Scales, you had also judged a Deity holding the Blood Feast under the moon. The Chosen One was your partner, the young girl carrying everything stood by your side. The Golden Scales were balanced by your weights, and in your eyes, you saw the whole world. Outlander, you who control balance, do you long for the present story? Outlander, do you look forward to a vast epic?"]

The doctor stepped forward, lowering his head to hold his hat, a smile hidden under his hat.

A police squad with blaring sirens stopped along the street, shouting to maintain order, their faces filled with urgency.

On the street, people stood amidst the firelight. The Greedy Ones bent down picking up banknotes, the helpless looked up at the building, the brave waved their arms indicating safety.

A city hall carriage carrying water galloped from a distant block, and farther away, more and more people gathered.

Black smoke surged from the third-floor window, leaping beyond the flames, leaving behind a twisting upward trail under the overcast sky, reaching higher and higher.

Shard lifted his left foot, right hand holding a suitcase, twisting to look back.

The firelight flickered in his eyes, figures moved around him, a tumultuous noise entered his ears, and the smell of burning invaded his nostrils.

A thunderous rumble sounded overhead, the rising heat entered the clouds, water vapor condensed, thunder growled within the clouds.

The burning city was about to rain.

On Saturday in Tobesk, dense crowds moved like tiny ants in this Steam City. Outlanders, Circle Sorcerers, Deities, Cultists, fires... none of these affected the city's stability and balance.

After experiencing so much, the world, this city, was still as it was the day he arrived. Here, still was the northern jewel, Fog City Tobesk City.

Shard stood under the vast sky on this enormous Steam City, listening to the gentle laughter of the women nearby, suddenly feeling as though he understands something.

With his back to the smoky building and the crowds, he followed the doctor, merging into the bustling crowd.

"So, is balance among all things?"

In his pocket, "Genesis: Balance" Roder Card radiated a glimmer. A huge dark gold scale flashed behind Shard, but no one saw this scene.

"[Outlander, you have gained a new power.]"

(End of this volume.)