Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"Prophet's Society."

In the crackling of the firewood, Shard's answer almost blurted out.

The Prophet's Society had never undergone significantly robust development and even dwindled to a regional organization during certain historical periods. However, the Prophet's Society never vanished; they had almost always existed alongside human civilization because the desire to know the future had always been an undying expectation among intelligent beings since ancient times.

By the Sixth Era, the association that unexpectedly prospered due to the Roder Card was probably the most powerful in history.

"Those people who always speak in halves, they indeed have ways to make themselves live longer," the Moon Witch whispered, noting that the Diviners' habits were the same across all eras.

"No, the Prophet's Society probably wouldn't have access to deity-contacting information; cautious diviners wouldn't store dangerous knowledge, and even if they had it, they wouldn't easily tell you, an outsider... Name another."

Miss Feliana spoke again, and this time Shard thought for a moment:

"Blood Spirit School."

He pursed his lips and added:

"I have a feud with them."

"That's normal; the reputation of the Blood Spirit School isn't good in our era either. I hadn't expected that those people could also exist for so long. It seems that the Evil God you mentioned last time is probably related to them. But I don't think they would have information on God Summoning, the Blazar Gate, as the Blood Spirit School's knowledge leans more towards blood."

Miss Feliana whispered, but didn't let Shard continue naming. She thought for a while:

"I've thought of an organization that might know about the ritual, and if it exists at your point in time, you might be able to interact with them and obtain the ritual information from them... Do you know this one?"

She didn't pronounce the name but extended a hand from within her robe and lightly traced a symbol on the ground.

The main body of the symbol was an equilateral triangle, with each of the triangle's vertices connecting to a small circle, and within the triangle was a winged human figure.

Shard was taken aback; Miss Feliana's lips curved into a smile:

"Do you recognize it?"

"Yes, but I've only seen it once. I had my friends help me to search for information about this symbol, but we never found anything. Let me put it this way, I am certain that the organization bearing this symbol existed at least until a hundred years before my time."

Shard encountered this strange symbol only once, in a Hidden Space behind a secluded wall in the basement of Saint Delan Square among various miscellaneous items, the bottom of every potion bottle bore this symbol.

Through deciphering the text on the parchment among the miscellaneous items, he understood that someone had entered behind the wall a hundred years ago, but couldn't reach the Ancient God Statue as he had. The organization knew about the "Spatial Labyrinth" and even found a lead to the "Creation Chamber," so they must have known more about the secrets of the thirteen Ancient Gods. Shard tried using this symbol representing the organization to understand more about the Ancient Gods, as well as the secrets of the spaces they left behind, but no matter what method he used, he couldn't find out what this symbol meant.

"What organization's symbol is this?"

Shard asked, pointing at the ground.

"Guiding Light Hermitage,"

Miss Feliana explained patiently. Shard noticed her beautifully manicured nails; witches possessed not only special powers but also a unique charm—another common trait among them:

"If the 'Blood Spirit School' can directly be categorized as the bad guys, then 'Guiding Light Hermitage' could be considered good people with a tendency towards bad. These people are firm apocalypticists, firmly believing that the apocalypse that will destroy the whole world will one day come, thus they actively prepare ways to help themselves and more people survive the apocalypse."

"A doomsday theory? There are still people who believe in that? And they have persisted for so many years?"

Shard appeared slightly surprised; he had initially thought that the organization capable of uncovering the hidden space beneath his family's basement was primarily ambitious seekers of the Ancient God's secrets. However, now they seemed more like a group slightly off-kilter.

"The inheritance of the Guiding Light Hermitage is exceedingly ancient. They believed that the apocalypse was inevitable even before the Fifth Era, and during the Fifth Era, they continued to believe in its certainty. Since you have also encountered their traces, it's certain that even after the Fifth Era, they continued to believe in the inevitability of the apocalypse."

The Moon Witch added from the side:

"You might find these people laughable now, but once you truly interact with them, you'll realize their rhetoric is quite compelling."

Miss Feliana nodded, unconcerned with the student's interjection:

"Yes, but precisely because of the Guiding Light Hermitage's perspectives, they possess a lot of hidden knowledge others wouldn't think of. I recommend this organization because as long as your objectives don't conflict with theirs, they are very willing to trade with unfamiliar witches. I can't predict whether the Guiding Light Hermitage is experiencing a resurgence or complete decline in your time, but it's good as long as it exists."

"How can I find them?"

Shard asked again, considering this method feasible.

"It's somewhat difficult, but not impossible. Seek out academic groups of ordinary people who advocate the doomsday theory. If you find that their views and logic are exceptionally perfect, it's highly likely related to the Guiding Light Hermitage. The Guiding Light Hermitage consistently funds similar organizations, as one of their core principles."
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But this method is like finding a needle in a haystack. In the prosperous Steam Age, where people filled their bellies and then believed the apocalypse would come, doomsday theories were not particularly rare.

"Is there any other way? This is my last chance to come here, and I cannot afford to spend decades searching for this organization and then wait a long time before coming back to see you all."

Shard asked again.

"You seem very anxious?"

Miss Feliana said with a smile, then shook her head:

"Your arrival was always an unexpected event for us. Even if you hadn't shown up, we'd have other methods, costly ones, to forcefully escape from here, but nobody wants to see that happen. So, you just need to try your best to find them, and it's okay if you can't."

She then pointed to the documents being transcribed:

"Having you search for these documents and materials is also to better understand that deity through more knowledge, to speculate the final conditions of the contact with the deity. The stories about the deity and its own power could point to the content of the Divine Descent Ritual."

Just like the Lord of the Blood Feast's descent ritual, it is related to hosting a feast.

Miss Feliana said this, which made Shard somewhat embarrassed. His original intent was not to linger too long with his Time Key, but he also wanted to help Miss Feliana and her group. Miss Feliana being the founder of the Academy was one thing, but more crucially, she had previously provided Shard significant help, and Shard was not the type to be ungrateful:

"I will try my best, even if I ultimately can't find the Guiding Light Hermitage, I might still try other methods."

Just like spending the last Blood Coin to have Luviya perform a divination of the ritual. Shard found it hard to assess which was more difficult—the ritual to become The Chosen or the ritual to summon the deity—but as long as conditions allowed, Luviya would surely be able to perform the divination.

But this led to another issue; one Blood Coin might not be enough.

Therefore, upon his return, Shard needed to do two things simultaneously: search for the Guiding Light Hermitage and seek more Blood Coins or similar "Relics."

The upcoming week became increasingly busy.