Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 413 - 413 Genuine Desire

"Are you surprised that I have my own cards? I told you, I can satisfy all your desires, including playing cards."

The woman's head emerged from the water as she spoke, still pushing the deck toward Shard with one hand, while Shard still hadn't seen her shoulders.

"Do you want to check? I don't have any special cards."

"No, I think I'll pass, but I have special cards."

Shard shook his head, he definitely wouldn't approach that pool of water before winning the card game.

"No matter, add your Impermanence Card to the mix, it'll make things more interesting."

The woman chuckled lightly, and Shard gave her a surprised look, reaching into his pocket, he added "Genesis: Balance" and "Genesis: Silver Moon" to the pile. Now, Shard's deck of 54 cards had a total of eight Special Rule Cards.

This woman actually knew about the Impermanence Card, and even that he had it on him. Her danger level was higher than Shard had anticipated.

Even now, the Outlander still did not know what he was facing. The only certainty was that she was a Relic, but he knew nothing about her danger level, traits, or even her basic outward appearance.

There was nothing recorded in the book stolen from the Merman. Shard could only vaguely guess that she was related to desires. Wealth, power, flesh—the woman could stir the most primitive desires and emotions at the bottom of a person's heart, but fortunately, Shard's goal was clear, and she still couldn't satisfy his desire for deification.

The woman asked:

"So, how do you want to play the cards?"

Her fingertips caressed the top of the deck gently, then, because she only had one hand out of the water, she simply extracted a card from the middle of the deck and placed it on top, repeating the motion a few times before stopping her shuffling.

Shard also stopped shuffling his cards with both hands, thought for a moment, sat down against the door frame, and placed his own stack of cards in front of him. Then, he looked at the beautiful woman's head:

"We'll play using the most basic rules, three rounds, best two out of three. If there's a tie, then the tie doesn't count."

"Okay."

The woman smiled, she drew the first card, not using the arm without a sleeve to draw, but biting the top card from the deck with her mouth. With a shake of her head and a few water droplets flicked from her wet hair outside the pool, the card flew in front of Shard.

Moon Three, of course, the face of the card wasn't a numeric symbol, but a special design. It depicted a lavish lady's dress worn on a puppet, and even though Shard was a man, he admired the design style, the color combination, and the small ornaments on the cuffs and hem.

Shard also drew a card, Moon Five.

Both continued to draw cards, the woman's second card was Star Thirteen, depicted as a ruby cushioned on velvet in a wooden box. Shard's was Flower Seven, which was "Genesis: Balance." Holding this card, if he busted this round, he could discard all his cards and restart.

"Oh, Impermanence."

The woman whispered softly, her smile growing more evident:

"The emotions you are bursting with right now are quite interesting, this card is connected to your ultimate desire, I can feel it, and this desire is simply delightful."

Shard did not respond, then both drew again. The woman's card was Sun Six, unfortunately, she busted. Shard had Flower Five, totaling seventeen points, and he won the first round.

Neither had cheated, it was purely luck. Shard did not understand why he had won, yet she could still smile so happily. It wasn't a forced smile, but one that came genuinely from the heart.

"What do you gain from playing cards with me?"

He couldn't help but ask.

"I can see through your heart, see your desires."

This answer was not unexpected, and Shard did not start the second round immediately, but asked again:

"So, how do you view my desires?"

"You are the greediest person I have ever seen."

Since it was a best of three series, if Shard won once more, he would truly emerge victorious. While drawing his cards, he felt that even without the luck brought by the two Genesis Cards, the woman still couldn't beat him this time.

As expected, the first card Shard drew was the King.

The woman smiled at the result, although she could try to draw a 21 to beat the King, she gave up directly:

"You've won, you can leave now."

The iron door across the pool creaked open automatically, letting more sea breeze in. Faintly, the sound of waves could be heard, indicating that the exit was very close behind that door.

"You can open the door yourself? Are you truly imprisoned here? What exactly do you want to do?"

Shard put away his cards, frowning in puzzlement.

"I originally wanted to lure you in to obtain a new soul and free myself from here. But that's enough, I have tasted your desire, and that is sufficient for me."

"You... can leave too?"

"What, exactly, did you see?"

The head asked, almost humming.

Shard noticed the skin on his exposed hands was dissolving, signs of blood about to seep out, and he realized that staring closer at it, his inner dark illusions began to emerge again.

The Outlander clenched his teeth and stood there, blood streaming simultaneously from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears:

"I saw..."

He had intended to describe the monster's appearance, but as the pool's halo swayed, the scene he saw had changed. The monster disappeared into the pool, and the water became murkier and murkier until, like an oil painting, another scene was revealed.

"What did you see?"

The voice still inquired, but it seemed not to be in the pool anymore but all around. Shard, shocked, observed the scene displayed in the pool, even momentarily ignoring the pain in his body and mind:

"Is this... my desire?"

"What did you see?"

The voice was still questioning, this time coming from behind Shard:

"Behold me, if mortals don't collapse, then they can see their most authentic Desire, which will make you thoroughly understand what you truly want. The most genuine..."

A pair of hands, dripping with water and painted with red nail polish, climbed onto the Ring of Fate spinning behind Shard; "Gluttony" and "Greed" were emitting an intense Spiritual Light.

What Shard saw wasn't himself achieving deification, nor possessing endless wealth, nor surrounded by girls, nor the Roder Card and cats, nor even the gradually abandoned idea of returning to his hometown.

He saw himself standing in the bathroom on the second floor of Saint Delan Square, facing the mirror. Outside the mirror was Shard Hamilton, but inside the mirror was a faintly visible woman with long silver hair.

He held his breath:

"I see... another me?"

The Outlander, struck by lightning, was stunned at the sight, unexpecting such a scene.

"Interesting, the true nature corresponding to your infinite desire is the craving for self. Your desire, is yourself?"

The enchanting voice rose beside Shard's ear. Unlike before, this time there really was something behind him, he could even sense the sweet-smelling breath brushing his ears.

"My desire is to obtain myself?"

Shard's eyes widened as he stared intently at the image in the basin, trying to discern what the woman reflected in the mirror looked like.

Ever since the Outlander came to this world, his initial question was "Who is she." At this moment, he vaguely understood that maybe his greatest craving was to become a deity, but the deepest craving in his heart was actually... he felt incredibly ridiculous.

"I know the Circle Sorcerer System of the Sixth Era, although your 'another me' is a bit strange, but she is you, and you are her, do you actually have desires for yourself?"

The woman's voice continued to Whisper, her tone laced with amusement:

"So this is it, hence the terrifying strength of that desire. The Id, Ego, Superego — Me and another me, the soul's facade and the soul's rear. Self-love, narcissistically and pathologically pursuing, the desire for oneself, the desire for desires, and the desires for the desire of desires..."

Because of the woman's breathing, Shard's ears tickled a bit.

The Outlander stood beside the pool, and unbeknownst to him, the "Mermaid" had already left the pool; her terrifyingly fleshy form coiled around him like a python. Those pairs of legs clung together, those hands grabbed onto his Ring of Fate, and that beautiful head was right behind him, its elongated eyes now exceedingly eerie.

"The Mermaid" was preying, yet the prey beside the pool remained motionless.

In the dim room, only the bottom of the pool emitted a blue light. It clung to Shard's body, whispering softly, almost like singing in a low voice:

"'Gluttony,' sinking into oneself, unable to extricate oneself.

'Greed,' never satisfied, thirsting for oneself.

If you could have been born in the First Era, you would have been eligible to compete for the Great Sin Brand;

If you could have been born in the Second Era, you might have...

If you could have been born in the Third Era, you would certainly become an Evil Spirit Demon after death;

If you could have been born in the Fourth Era, the chaotic dark age would have been even more interesting;

If you could have been born in the Fifth Era, even Witches would marvel at how terrifying you are as a man.

It's really too interesting, yet you were precisely born in the Sixth Era."

The dangerous and elongated arms wrapped around his neck:

"Man, please tell me, why in the story of the Sixth Era, is there you?"