Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

The late Detective Sparrow Hamilton had taken on a particularly troublesome commission about half a year ago. The Baron of Tobesk City, Baron Huntington, tasked the detective with finding his missing maid. This maid had served the Baron's family for many years and had recently resigned of her own accord.

The Baron had his butler take a gift to invite the maid back, only to discover that she had vanished. Although the Baron possessed a certain social status, he was not the maid's family, and he seemed to distrust the police, which led him to hire multiple detectives for the investigation.

Truth be told, Detective Sparrow wasn't any famous detective, and his usual assignments were trifles such as looking into affairs. The only reason a noble had approached him for this task was due to the introduction from a former client.

Sparrow Hamilton took this matter very seriously; after all, a Baron was an important figure inaccessible to ordinary citizens. He investigated diligently, and this spring, after a month's effort and following various clues, he located the abandoned sanatorium on the banks of the Osel River and was convinced this place was the cause of the missing persons case.

"This sanatorium was probably abandoned about thirty years ago. I was just a child at the time, and I heard my family mention it,"

local Bill Schneider informed, gesturing towards the building complex that was gradually becoming more discernible in the distance. Although the fog outside the city was still thick, one could make out the clock tower next to the main building and the spires and crosses decorating the top of the towers.

"Back then, the Royal Family directed Tobesk City Hall to undertake a new urban planning to accommodate the massive influx of people and the development of the steam industry. The policy then, roughly, was to relocate hospitals and other fundamental infrastructures into the city, and factories to the outskirts.

This place was originally a sanatorium for the nobility, and by that, I hope you understand I mean for bigwigs that we can't even imagine. Following the call, the sanatorium completely moved out of Tobesk and relocated to a nearby city accessible by a half-hour train ride, which actually turned out to be more convenient than here.

So, the sanatorium was abandoned, and even the homeless wouldn't stay here. The area is desolate, and if you died here, no one would know."

The surroundings consisted of large patches of farmland and wasteland, with the nearest rural town over an hour's walk away. There was, however, a manor and a racetrack nearby belonging to a certain Earl. During the racing season, people would use this path that they were now walking on as a track, but currently, there were hardly any people around.

Although this was an era of rapid industrial development, traces of the Steam Age could only be seen in the big cities. Away from the cities, everything seemed to regress back to a bygone era, something Shard understood well.

The pair quickly made their way along the path to the vicinity of the abandoned sanatorium. The doctor did not mention its name, which seemed unimportant.

From the outside, the wall paint was completely peeled off, and all the windows and doors were missing. Surprisingly, the sanatorium's perimeter wall still stood, but the courtyard inside was almost as barren as the surrounding wasteland, with no trace of its former garden.

Tall buildings and spires stood solemnly in the wilderness, their fence gates decorated in a way that faintly showed past splendor.

"Follow me, and we'll talk as we go,"

said the doctor, kicking open the rusted-together pair of fence gates. They fell with a crash, startling the birds in the nearby forest.

Even at the city's edge, the fog had only slightly dissipated. The gloomy sky looked like it could rain any minute, and Shard regretted not bringing an umbrella.

They entered the sanatorium's courtyard, boots crunching through the overgrown grass:

"A Circle Sorcerer refers to those of us who possess the 'Ring of Fate'."

explained the doctor, glancing around and leading Shard toward the main building's front entrance.

"Ring of Fate?"

"Space-Time, Age, Fate, Era, Civilization, World—these are the Rings forged for us, symbols of our existence. Take heed! I will show you the complete Wheel of Fate, not just a fragment. Watch closely—"

The doctor, striding through the wild grass, spread his arms slightly, palms facing up as if cradling something, and raised them to shoulder level.

Everything behind him appeared hazy, as though a layer of white mist had been added. Yet he was unchanged, except for a faint smile on his face.

Then, to Shard's amazement, he heard the sound and echo of a train whistle in this desolate abandoned courtyard.

"What?"

He hastily scanned his surroundings through the waist-high grass, and suddenly his skin began to sense heat.

Turning around, behind the doctor was not mere mist, but steam. Scorching hot, unnervingly chilling steam that seemed to blur distance and space, and phantasmify everything behind the doctor.

Among that steam, a massive shadow approached, the mass of steam behind the doctor seemingly containing infinite space-time.

The whistle bellowed, steam exploded, and the shadow drew nearer. The rapid speed created a wind pressure that made the doctor's coat, the weeds in the courtyard, and Shard's overcoat flutter. He had to squint his eyes.

Even more unnerving was the rising sense of danger in his heart.

"What exactly is within that mass of steam?"

It was getting closer. Behind the doctor, within the depth of that mass of steam, a colossal hammer, carrying momentum and energy, emerged. It was silvery gray and as tall as an entire building, striking the doctor amidst a deafening boom.

The blast made Shard's ears ring, his vision blur, and he was overwhelmed by a strong urge to vomit, forcing him to clutch his chest. The ground shook, the wind howled, thunder flashed, and amidst these sequences of illusions, that hammer seemed to create the heavens and the earth, as if striking Shard's very spirit.

Yet only the doctor was struck by the giant hammer. Immovable, Shard nonetheless believed he saw Dr. Schneider squashed into a copper disk.

"Copper?"

He found himself increasingly uncertain about his own senses.

Indeed, it was a piece of copper, and after being hammered by a giant mallet, a huge rotating copper ring appeared behind the doctor, a brass-colored metal ring.

The steam gradually dispersed, and the brass metal ring with a pentagonal cross-section rotated slowly behind the doctor. Strange lights accompanied by more than twenty Spirit Runes wandered on this Ring of Fate.

The halo reflected on Shard's face, and the Outlander heard the light laughter of the woman in his mind, his eyes reflecting the magnificent, magical, and powerful ring.

"This is the Ring of Fate, a Circle Sorcerer will only summon it in full during all-out combat. Otherwise, one need not summon the entire Ring of Fate, or even just a part of it... Do you have any questions?"

The doctor stopped in the overgrown grass of the sanatorium courtyard and asked Shard, who was staring in amazement. Shard could still feel the heat of the vanishing steam from the doctor's back and the high temperature from the enormous brass circle.

The Ring of Fate was not an illusion; it was a physical entity:

"Why steam? Why brass?"

He didn't even notice the urgency in his own tone.

The middle-aged doctor laughed:

"Young man, one's success depends not only on personal struggle but also on the course of history.

I told you, the Ring of Fate represents oneself and the world. This era is the age of steam and mechanics, hence the Ring of Fate emerges from the steam, forged by the pounding of the hammer, exhibiting a brass hue. If this were the era of rainbows, the Ring of Fate might be rainbow-colored, and if it were the deep sea's era, then the ring would be water. Do you understand?"

Shard nodded with effort, his heartbeat accelerating due to witnessing the shocking scene:

"Understood."

He didn't even want to blink, preferring to imprint the full view of the ring behind the doctor in his eyes. But with a wave of the doctor's hand, the Ring of Fate slowly turned transparent and disappeared, leaving Shard to remember only a few of the runes.

Even without the knowledge given by the woman's voice in his head, Shard could understand and hear the common language of the Northern Kingdom, though he could not speak or write it. And now, Shard somehow understood the meanings of those powerful Spirit Runes he caught a glimpse of, which were "Joy," "Hound," and "Dust Particle"...

Suddenly feeling a throbbing pain in his head, as if someone had knocked on the back of his skull, he gave up trying to remember those powerful runes.

In this world, knowledge truly was power. Thus, it made sense that the Supernatural Organization the doctor invited Shard to join was an Academy.

"But if my special trait allows me to understand and hear all writings... In this dangerous world, is that really a good thing?"

Shard contemplated his secret, while the doctor continued walking through the weeds, explaining:

"The cross-sectional shape of my Ring of Fate is currently a pentagon, indicating that I am a Five Rings Circle Sorcerer, as well as a fifth-year distance-learning adult student at the Academy. A First Ring Circle Sorcerer has a flat, circular ring with runes on one side. The Second Ring also has a flat ring, but runes can be inscribed on both sides.

The cross-section of the Third Ring is triangular, and the Fourth Ring is quadrilateral... and so on. Do you understand? The higher the ring, the closer it is to the most standard shape of a circular ring."

"Yes, I understand."

The two of them talked and entered the inside of the building. Over the years, countless people must have visited here. There was no furniture left, a layer of dust on the ground that could kick up at the slightest step.

They did not linger on the first floor and walked up the seemingly unstable stairs to the second floor, Shard was worried about the safety of the dilapidated building.

"Spirit Runes are at the core of the Circle Sorcerer System; by inscribing Spirit Runes on our own Wheel of Fate, we accumulate Spirit, perceive the four main elements: 'Miracle,' 'Desecration,' 'Enlightenment,' 'Whisper,' and continually progress."

"Spirit? Elements?"

Shard asked, puzzled and excited at the same time, finally about to understand these things.

The doctor led Shard up the stairs:

"Regarding Spirit, in past eras, it has had many names. Magic Power, Aether, Mana, Spirituality, Light of the Mind, but the current era unifies it under the term Spirit. It is information, it is the element, it is energy, it is the sum of everything in the world you can understand, one of the displays of a Circle Sorcerer's mind interfering with matter.

The means of accumulating Spirit is through touching elements, and the safest way to touch elements is by reading those stories and knowledge from before the Era—culture, customs, hero tales, and myths passed down orally.

Touching this knowledge is also dangerous, as one can easily fall into madness if not careful. Hence, we usually read original manuscripts or translated versions."

Shard simply translated 'Spirit' into a blue stripe for himself.

"But merely accumulating enough Spirit isn't sufficient to advance to the next ring. The most important thing for a Circle Sorcerer isn't Spirit, but elements. By accumulating runes of the four main elements, one can effectively increase the upper limit of Spirit, sublime the soul, and refine the body. The four main elements can be perceived in many ways..."

Shard thought of the woman's voice in his mind, hinting that he had encountered "Whisper," "Enlightenment," and "Miracle," when he witnessed Sparrow's death, stepped onto the streets to see the world, and pondered the meaning of God.

"Merely perceiving and touching is not enough; the elements must be inscribed on one's own Wheel of Fate to prove the integration with the elements. With each advancement of a Circle Sorcerer, different combinations of 'Miracle,' 'Desecration,' 'Enlightenment,' 'Whisper' Spirit Runes are needed. This is something I'll explain to you if you decide to join the Academy.

For now, let me introduce you to the differences between the four elements."

The doctor paused, looked ahead with a smile and said:

"I think the person we are looking for should be right here."