Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 458 - 210: The Cost of Growing Up_2

Chapter 458: Chapter 210: The Cost of Growing Up_2

She seemed more like a projection.

Malin frowned, then he noticed the carriage had started to decay rapidly and looked up to see the coachman’s dissolving form.

Instinctively covering his nose and mouth, Malin realized that the world... seemed different?

No, not different.

Jumping down from the disintegrating carriage, Malin stretched out his hand to embrace Pam, who happily hugged him back.

Malin looked at the world before him—it was a world completely destroyed, Rosslyn, once sprawled out in the distance, turned to ruins, when he turned around, the manor was gone, leaving behind half of a monument.

Turning around, Malin walked toward the half slab of monument and then noticed a line of text at its base.

In memory of every warrior who sacrificed themselves in the war against Chaos.

The signature was Mana Gaiate.

Ah, damn it, had he arrived at another timeline?

Malin felt somewhat helpless. Before, he would arrive in another world through sleep, but now could he do so without sleep during broad daylight? Or did he fall asleep the moment he leaned back in his chair?

It truly was an unsolvable mystery.

As Malin thought this, listening to the Baby Spirit’s soft songs in his arms, he remembered holding the children at the orphanage and patted the young one on the back.

What shall I sing?

Malin thought for a moment and suddenly remembered an interlude from the third part of the ’unlucky one who could die from falling down the steps’ trilogy, originally from a wedding. How did the beginning go?

While he pondered this, the Baby Spirit in his arms began to sing.

Malin was startled, feeling a resonance with the young spirit, yet he eventually asked her to stop.

The first line was already beyond the scope: the deities gathered here, turning it into relics.

This world had probably been destroyed for quite some time.

Walking on the dust-covered road, with the stone slabs underfoot now but fragments, Malin passed through the collapsed city gate and saw the remnants turned to history, uncollected skeletons.

No mournful Spiritual Bodies, no Chaos, and no so-called survivors.

Some inexplicable deep diving—yes, Malin had named his this particular cross-timeline venture with a name both trite and refined.

Deep diving, much like those knowledge-seekers of the old eras.

Following the street towards the Central District, in a square, Malin came across a thoroughly wrecked carriage that seemed to have lost control mid-journey, crashing into a fountain. On the only relatively intact piece, by chance, there was the Lillim family crest.

At this moment, the carriage and the fountain alike had lost their purpose.

Malin walked around but couldn’t find scattered Skeletal remains.

Perhaps they had escaped.

With that thought, Malin was about to leave when the Baby Spirit in his arms let out a shriek.

Malin turned around to see a small Wraith emerging from beneath the carriage—it’s alright, then, the wagon had crushed this unlucky youngster.

"A living person." The Wraith seemed capable of thought as it saw Malin: "Who are you?"

"...Malin." Malin smiled—out of respect for a Wraith that could think for itself, he responded.

If it had been shrieking and rushing at him, Malin would have had to scatter it everywhere: "What exactly happened here? It feels like the end of the world."

"It is the end of the world, sir."

The young child patted his clothing, completely oblivious to the fact that there was no dust to brush off.

Malin noticed the round horns on the child’s head... reminiscent of Lillim’s horns, truly, Malin’s chest and lungs had intimate knowledge of that.

Lillim is who to you?

Malin asked the young child.

"My mother, she died of illness in the city in the North. Before she died, she told me to head south, in New Rome in the far South, there are ships from the East waiting for us, ships that can fly, Thanan always come up with some inexplicable yet amazing things."

As the child spoke, he seemed to notice something on Malin’s face, staring intently at him, making Malin wipe his own face, though he found nothing.

"Is there something on my face?" Malin asked.

"...Daddy." The little Wraith gazed at Malin: "You look so much like Daddy when he was young in the photos. The young one seemed to smile, but then he squatted down: "Sorry, I must be mistaken, Dad died long ago in the North... he failed to protect this world he wanted to save."

Malin sat on the edge of the fountain, the Baby Spirit hopped out of his arms and confronted the child.

He reached out and lifted her: "It’s been a long time since anyone has come to this world. Last time someone did come, but they quickly went mad." Pointing towards the ruins not far away, the child continued, and only then did Malin notice a body lying atop the ruins.

Walking over, Malin found a set of Dog tags on the body.

Shaun Romne.

Holy Kingdom Mage Tower, Historian of the old era.

On the back was this line of text, prompting Malin to fall silent for a moment—the historians of the old era indeed had issues. Perhaps not all their deep dives were into the old eras’ past, it’s possible some ended up in a destroyed future. This Shaun probably died in madness once he understood the truth about the destruction.