Chapter 1261: Chapter 1261

"If you're telling me someone has dragged us back into the past, I certainly wouldn't believe it." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ NovelHub(.)net

Gazing at the scene before and behind them, the two were silent for several moments before Jenkins spoke. Alexia then added:

"It's an illusion. A remarkably sophisticated one at that."

She swept her hand through the air before them. Mottled patches of color flickered into existence where her palm passed, but a second later, the cityscape seamlessly reformed.

"While the source of my power and that machine's are fundamentally different, the way they manifest is similar. It seems whatever created this illusory world wants us to enter the city."

Alexia said with ease, feeling no pressure whatsoever.

"Perhaps thousands of years of solitude have made it terribly bored, so it decided to weave a fantasy world ."

Jenkins surveyed the scene with a sigh and held out his palm. Four ice chess pieces materialized from his spirit. He tossed them casually, and they tumbled toward the ground. As they landed, four flashes of icy blue light erupted in sequence, revealing a swordsman, a knight, an astrologer, and a priest, each kneeling on one knee beside him in a gesture of salute.

They no longer possessed the spark of humanity they'd had when they challenged him before the palace; they were now merely puppets under his complete control. Jenkins suspected their souls had returned to the world of the Lord of Winter, leaving behind only the pieces that embodied their power.

He gave a simple command. The figures rose and walked toward the city, soon vanishing from sight.

Jenkins closed his eyes, sharing the pieces' blurred vision. The cat and Alexia watched him with curiosity. A moment later, the young man's eyes snapped open. He swept his hand through the air, and the four chess pieces reappeared in his palm.

he announced, spinning around to scoop Alexia into his arms before leaping powerfully into the air. Scarcely a second later, a searing red beam shot from the distance, carving a steaming white gash into the ground where they had just stood.

"The ice plain at the start wasn't an illusion, but it wasn't the whole truth either. I saw through my pieces' eyes. The cube itself is completely sealed. Its influence extends only to its immediate vicinity. It was trying to lure us in."

Jenkins had been carrying Alexia when he jumped, but now it was Alexia carrying him as they flew.

Acting on Jenkins's warning, Alexia flew them to an extreme altitude. As they ascended, the illusion of the city vanished piece by piece, and the snow plain reappeared below. At the same time, a dense network of bronze-colored chains, previously invisible from the ground, came into view.

The massive silver cube wasn't floating in mid-air at all. It was pinned to the center of the plain by thirteen thick, constantly writhing chains.

The chains formed the main body of the seal, working in concert with a ritual array inscribed beneath the snow. For nearly ten thousand years, they had faithfully imprisoned the metal cube.

But time changes everything. Jenkins was certain that when the seal was first cast, the imprisoned object could exert no influence on the outside world. Now, however, it was capable of both illusions and direct attacks.

"I don't think we can destroy it completely. If the ancients couldn't do it, I doubt we can either."

Alexia concluded with a note of regret after observing it for a moment.

"I'm inclined to agree."

Jenkins had to admit it was true. While he had eliminated many similar threats before, it was always due to some specific counter or a stroke of luck. With his current level of raw power, he couldn't hope to easily destroy the object below... He didn't even know what it was.

"In that case, let's go look for the treasure the book fairy mentioned," Jenkins suggested. "I think the murals also referred to it."

Alexia carried him higher into the sky. Only after confirming they were well beyond the cube's influence did they begin to scan the vast snow plain for any place that might conceal a treasure.

It had to be said, fairies were far more reliable than those mischievous little sprites. After a quick scan of the area, Jenkins spotted a spiritual glow in the northern part of the plain, one completely different from the aura of the sealed object. When they landed, they found a small, solitary altar sitting in the snow.

As an antique shop apprentice, Jenkins immediately recognized it as an ancient altar, the kind used to pray for safety and divine protection. They were quite common; though their styles had changed over time, similar structures could be found among the earliest known ruins of human civilization.

The base of such altars often contained hidden compartments or secret chambers for offerings. If no deity answered the people's call, later visitors—provided they were bold enough and unafraid of curses—were free to take whatever was left behind.

It took some effort, but Jenkins and Alexia eventually found the entrance to a secret chamber at the base of the altar. Inside the cramped space, which was less than 100 square feet (about 9.2 square meters), the most conspicuous object was a metal slab lying flat in the very center.

Whatever alloy the slab was forged from, it had endured countless years without a single trace of oxidation. The face of the slab bore three sections of incised text. Neither Jenkins nor Alexia recognized the script of the first section, but they could just barely translate the second and third, which they soon realized carried the same meaning.

"So, it's the same message written three times in different scripts. Were they worried the languages might be lost to time? This was definitely left for posterity."

This wasn't particularly surprising. Seals imprisoning indestructible Cursed Items or even more terrifying entities often contained messages left by their creators, intended as warnings and guides for those who would come later. The text on the metal slab before them, roughly translated, read as follows:

"Month of Flowing Fire, 1888 of the Fifteenth Epoch. We had no choice but to seal 'It'. The city of Eir is lost. Everyone has gone mad. I should have known this was all a trap. The merchant who brought 'It' was, as suspected, that mad poet. I imagine this will all become a new poem.

I will use the last resort left behind by the Orthodox Church, before this region was sealed, to imprison 'It'. I do not know how many years this method will last. I can only hope it will not bring trouble to those who come to this land after us.

I hope that you who read these words can forgive me. I cannot give you much information, for 'It' can calculate everything. I cannot even tell you 'Its' specific designation.

But please remember, you who come after: 'They' are not singular. A dream in the night allowed me a deep glimpse into events from a more ancient time. 'They' are monsters and nightmares born from human intellect, terrible miracles born of gears and steam. The events in Eir were merely a disaster caused by the power of one of 'Them', exploited by that mad poet. You who come after, if you are confident you can resolve the matter of the thing we have sealed, then please take the 'weapon' in this chamber; I hope it will be of some help. If you too are unable to resolve this, please take the gift I have left for you, and tell the Orthodox Church of what you have seen here.

My apologies, you who come after. There is no treasure here. There is only a monster that destroyed my home."