Return to Blue Star

Kishiniur, capital of the Violet Kingdom. Sixth Avenue, Noble District.

Fiona Russell lifted her drink made from ground bitter beans and took a sip. The dark liquid flowed over her lips and tongue, its smooth bitterness teasing her taste buds.

As the treasured daughter of the Russell Family, she did not share other girls' love of sweets. She preferred bitter beans and their slightly bitter flavor.

She drained her drink, then thought with growing excitement, I wonder what's at the other end of those coordinates. Could there really be treasure? Could I be like Vancel in The Wonderful Adventures of Versailles and find treasure and win the loyalty of an Elder Black Dragon?

Even if it isn't an Elder Black Dragon, a Titan Giant would do.

As she pondered, a phantom crossed space and merged into her body.

She closed her eyes and carefully absorbed the information in the projection.

"Steam?"

The projection's final piece of information sent her curiosity soaring.

After a moment's thought, she rose and went into her study. She dipped a quill made from a Feathered Serpent's feather into black ink and began to write.

"Dear Teacher Albera, something has been troubling me. Someone said a False God has arisen in this epoch. But didn't you say False Gods had lost the conditions they needed to emerge back in the Fourth Epoch? How could a new one arise in the Fifth Epoch?"

"Also, Teacher, do you know what 'Steam' is?"

"Your student, Fiona Russell!"

A faint smile touched Fiona Russell's lips. She slipped the paper into an envelope, sealed it with secret clay, and placed it in a Letter Raven's beak.

"Little Raven, deliver this to my teacher quickly. Don't lose it, or I'll pluck out every one of your feathers."

The Letter Raven blinked its tiny eyes, lowered its head, and gripped the envelope in its long, pointed beak. Its white wings beat rapidly as it vanished into the sky.

The Bottomless Abyss, on the Blood War Battlefield.

The crown on Ieta Cavendish's head released a sweep of white light across the battlefield. Demons and devils alike were purified in its glow.

As the light faded, a wide stretch of battlefield around him lay empty.

With that done, Ieta Cavendish closed his eyes and reached up to shake the crown on his head.

"Prophecy!"

All at once, he saw a strange vision.

Mechanical gears turned with a steady clatter. Steam roared to the heavens. Guns and cannons, great ships and airships... He saw the curtain rising on a brand-new age.

"A new age! A new epoch?"

Resolve quickly settled over Ieta Cavendish's incomparably handsome face. "We're returning to the Main Plane!"

Graycastle, headquarters of the Church of Knowledge.

Avram Krell held a paper figure between his long, strong fingers. Its mouth moved, speaking without a sound.

After a moment, Avram Krell released it. The figure slumped limply to the floor, its spirit gone, nothing more than ordinary paper.

"Steam!"

Avram Krell's knowledge-born intuition stirred rapidly. His instincts told him this word would herald the opening of a magnificent age.

The tide of a new age is coming? Could it be a new epoch? But this epoch is only halfway through.

He pinched the spot between his throbbing brows.

A few minutes later, Avram Krell stood and took a thick, old book from the shelf behind him. He opened it and began to read.

"The First Epoch was the epoch of the primordial gods. The Seven Primordial Gods established the world's fundamental order: the rising sun and setting moon, the boundaries between life and death."

"The Second Epoch was the epoch of burgeoning races. One race after another appeared—serpentfolk, goblins, titans, dragons, and Elf—each taking its turn ruling the continent."

"The Third Epoch was the epoch of humanity. Humans ruled the continent, floating cities rose into the sky, and the many outer planes—including Heavenly Mountain, Elysium, the Sea of Chaos, the Wilderness Realm, the Bottomless Abyss, and the Elemental Plane—began to enter human awareness."

"The Fourth Epoch was the lost epoch. The loss of a brilliant civilization buried everything, and the fall of the ancient gods shrouded all knowledge of that epoch in layer upon layer of mystery."

"The Fifth Epoch is the epoch of planes. Newborn gods began to step onto the stage of history, and numerous material planes merged with the Main Plane. Our world expanded to more than a hundred times its former size."

Avram Krell closed the book, his expression filled with anticipation and awe.

Then will the Sixth Epoch be the epoch of Steam?

The image of a figure in white ceremonial robes flashed through his mind.

What is that Highness thinking? ...

"The first 'gathering' was a complete success."

Thinking back on the gathering, Jiang Hao felt his portrayal of a taciturn god had gone remarkably well. He had blended the speaking styles of the Lord of Dawn and the Lady of Night, with results better than he had expected.

But... the Church of Dawn actually sent five Legendary figures and a Demigod to form a godslaying squad to kill me. They have far too much confidence in my strength. Jiang Hao turned his attention to the intelligence Ieta Cavendish had provided.

If I run into them head-on, what are my chances of winning?

He considered the question and began to analyze it.

Legends pose little threat to a demigod. A demigod's divine nature grants immunity to most magic and attacks based on sheer force, so the core of their godslaying squad must be His Highness the Light of All Worlds.

We're both Demigods, but I got here in a single leap and have no combat experience whatsoever. Unless he's a first-generation child of a god, born a Demigod, he must have fought his way up and gained plenty of experience. That puts me at a disadvantage.

As for Divine Artifacts, I have the Yata Mirror, but it's unlikely they don't have one... The Light of All Worlds isn't a lone Demigod. He has a church behind him, and given how much the Lord of Dawn hates me, even if the Church of Dawn has no Divine Artifact, he'll grant them one.

I'm at a disadvantage in raw power. Reality isn't a game, and numbers alone can't decide a fight—many other factors affect the outcome. Still, the odds are against me overall. I need to grow stronger.

The most effective way to do that is to get another Divine Artifact, preferably one suited to combat... The Kusanagi Sword? The Yasakani Jewel? The Yasakani Jewel seems to be an artifact tied to rituals, while the Kusanagi Sword controls wind in the mythology of the Eastern Isles. Neither is really a combat artifact. But I don't have to limit myself to the Eastern Isles. Mythologies elsewhere have plenty of famous Divine Artifacts too.

One idea after another flashed through Jiang Hao's mind, until he settled on several Divine Artifacts that could serve as trump cards.

At a thought, a black vortex appeared in his mind. He reached out to it with his will, and his vision suddenly went dark. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back on Blue Star.