Shard asked, as the witch eating an apple smiled:
"Yes, Shard, you are very perceptive, it is indeed temporary. 'Text with Threads' was last handed over to the Deity, 'Nameless Ritual Book' which describes the power of the sun was found but is sealed, currently unobtainable. However, 'Jaeger Scroll' which details the secrets of death has no such seal and can be acquired now. We originally planned to retrieve it after the long Black Snow had ended, but since you are here, let's get it now."
She glanced at Miss Samuel, who was pale as if she had a severe cold, shivering:
"Becky, you stay here and look after the luggage and my apprentice. Shard, you come with me; the Black Snow seems to have no effect on you."
"Yes, I'm immune to the power of instant death."
"That makes things easier."
She stood up, her cloak covering her laced-up ladies' long boots. Noticing Shard staring at her boots, she joked further:
"If you like to watch, then you'll have plenty of time during this journey to do so."
"I didn't mean that..."
She signaled for Shard not to overexplain and then led the way toward the door.
The nearby ruins are all part of the Gadis Library, but due to collapses and other strange reasons, it's not possible to reach every corner of the library from the hall where the bonfire is located, thus the need to find another entrance to deeper parts of the library.
Leaving the hall, the undead, revived by the Black Snow, noticed them again.
Miss Orland grabbed Shard's hand and took him back into the air. Together, they temporarily dispersed the evil spirits in the air with moonlight, but remained vigilant:
"Be careful, there are more than just spirits that can fly."
The tremendous roar made Shard worry it might trigger an avalanche. The dark spot appearing in the far reaches of the Black Snow seemed to be...
A gigantic skeleton with wings on the back and a tail covered with bony spikes. The red glow in its eye sockets flickered, vaguely reminding Shard of the people of Daknis in their Human Pus form.
"Bone Dragon. The Valley of Dead Silence holds many buried ruins; the Gadis Library is just one of them. This one flew in from somewhere else. Shard, hold on tight."
Facing the Black Snow, the Thirteenth Level Golden Steps glittered brilliantly.
"Moonlight Greatsword!"
This was a familiar name, but the great sword that extended from Miss Orland's hand was almost a hundred meters long:
The semi-transparent, amber-colored weapon swept forward, sweeping up the wind and snow, almost turning the sky yellow. The skeletal dragon had no chance to dodge and was destroyed under the sword.
The great sword disintegrated into tiny sparks that flew in all directions, and Miss Orland pulled Shard into a dark cavity in the side of the cliff. Once inside the building, the undead outside quieted down once more.
"That Moonlight Greatsword was really impressive."
Shard released Miss Orland's hand and praised sincerely, while she clapped her hands and then summoned three fireballs to guard them and provide light:
"The 'Moonlight Greatsword' is a rather ancient Arcane Technique, simple yet effective. Over the long years, its users have developed many forms and effects for it. If we have time, I can tell you all about it, but for now, please follow me."
Having checked and confirmed their location, they continued along this dark passage. The boots stepping on the dusty floor, the smell of mold was almost suffocating. The path was bizarre, with no doors or windows on either side, only faded murals, and at the end of the passage, there was no way forward, only a life-sized statue standing in front of the wall.
By the light of those fireballs, Shard saw the statue. It depicted a robed skeleton, its bony arms tightly embracing a slab of stone. The statue was made of bronze, but the surface was rusty and blotchy, having stood there for countless ages.
The rusting made the metal uneven, which made the skeleton seem to be covered in dense spines, giving it an even more bizarre and terrifying appearance.
The more Shard stared at it, the more he felt something was wrong. As his eyes met those empty eye sockets, a suction force seemed to want to draw Shard's spirit into them.
A pale hand blocked Shard's view, Miss Orland interrupting his gaze at the skeleton:
"Don't look at it; this is not something for the living to touch.
I've heard from a teacher about this, the Soul-Casting Skeleton. In the Second Era, people used twisted knowledge to create taboo alchemical weapons, just like the 'Giant Divine Soldiers', servants of ancient Transcendents. That stone slab is the 'Jaeger Scroll'; we found it when Fiona had an accident, but since we had to send Fiona back, we never tried to retrieve it."
She put Shard behind her and then reached out to touch the stone slab cradled by the skeleton.
A faint cracking sound was heard, and Miss Orland's palm even began to bleed from small fissures. She withdrew her hand, and as a green smoke covered the surface, the cracks slowly healed, thanks to the Elf's healing technique:
"Malice towards the living is a characteristic of these sinister alchemical weapons. Normally, it would be more troublesome, having to temporarily transform myself into an undead to deceive the statue, but since you're here, Shard, you take it."
She signaled for Shard to step forward.
"But I, too, am among the living."
"For this era, you have not even been born yet. Don't worry, nothing bad will happen."
A smile appeared on his face as he led Shard to the front of the skeleton statue.
Since she said so, Shard cautiously reached out his hand. Throughout the process of extending his arm, indeed nothing happened. However, just as his hand was about to touch the slab, the skeleton abruptly moved.
It did not attack, but its arms moved to block Shard's hand, preventing him from touching the slab:
"You are not living...what are you?"
The monotone voice used a language Shard had never heard before, likely the language from the era when the skeleton was made. After translating for Miss Orland, he responded:
"You are...a resurrected one?"
Shard had once entered and exited through the gate before that body of water, truly qualifying as resurrected. As it turned out, the third of The Chosen who "is linked to death" and "almost able to resurrect," Shard met all the criteria; his eyes saw the undead that normal Circle Sorcerers couldn't.
"Answer a question, and this book will be yours."
Shard raised an eyebrow, asked the witch behind him another question, then responded:
"Of course, what is the question?"
After translating for Miss Orland, who sought to reply, Shard smiled and stopped her:
"I know this question, I am quite clear on it."
Saying so, his left hand, which had not yet reached out, gently swiped through the air, and a black rift immediately opened. Beyond the rift lay the tranquil shallows before the water.
It was not the Netherworld, just a conceptual place of "death" that appeared due to the observation of the living, hence it lacked concepts of time and space. Theoretically, anybody from any era who opened the passage to this place from any location would always arrive at the same spot. However, due to this act of observation, what should be the same "place" becomes different.
Thus, at that moment, there was no "Kiss of the Tree" bonfire, no Light of the Nethermoon, neither was there the Gate of Death at the foot of Sicarl Mountain behind that rift.
"Look, this is death. The most true death."
Shard spoke softly, as if admiring the marvel of this Arcane Technique.
Miss Orland stepped back two paces, staring in horror at the rift. The skeleton didn't immediately react either, as if startled by Shard's action:
Accompanied by a sizzling sound, the skeleton uttered its last few words and then collapsed with a thunderous crash, scattering into a pile of thoroughly rusted metal debris.
The Jaeger Scroll's slab fell among the bronze debris but did not shatter from the fall. Shard learned his lesson and did not dare to examine the slab closely. He glanced quickly at the position of the slab, then took off his coat, planning to wrap it up.
"Shard, the rift just now was..."
"It leads to the concept of death itself, which can be understood as the most true death."
Shard explained briefly, certain that Miss Orland understood:
"I have stepped into death through a relic, the 'Gate of Death,' and then returned. Yes, through the power of the 'Blazar Gate,' the deity we met in the Forest of Thousand Trees."
"The Gate of Death... are you talking about a stone door that opens on both sides, and is it engraved with the story of death?"
Miss Orland asked suspiciously, to which Shard nodded, preparing to pick up the slab from the debris:
"Have you seen this door in this era as well?"
"Yes, but why would you enter that door?"
The elf-eared witch frowned and grabbed Shard's wrist to stop him from crouching down, trying to make sure he was truly still alive:
"In the present, this door is a tool for punishment, used by the Supreme Witches' Council to punish witches who have erred, employing the most dreadful of punishments. We do not use executions like hanging or beheading, which are not dignified. The condemned, they walk through the Gate of Death, then step into death."
"What exactly happened between the Fifth Era and the Sixth Era?"
This was the question in Shard's mind. Here in this era, a tool of punishment controlled by the Witch Council, suddenly becomes a key relic in the hands of the True God Church in the next era, used to help seal the Rift. The change of eras buried many truths, and even Shard, an Investigator who could step through past times, could not know all the truth.
"I have never heard of a living person who could walk out from behind that door again."
Miss Orland added, and unfortunately, Shard had heard of two.