Chapter 1461: Chapter 1461
The angel paid no mind to the traveler's pleading soul, nor did it adhere to the tradition of keeping its feet from touching the earth. Instead, it swiftly descended to the ground and offered Jenkins a slight bow of respect.
A look of confusion spread across the traveler's soul's face.
“My Lord once said that I would meet someone unexpected on this journey. Though I cannot discern your identity, you must also be a person of great importance. It is a pleasure to meet you.” Content orıginally comes from novel_fіre.net
“I'm pleased to meet you as well...”
This was a turn of events Jenkins hadn't anticipated, and he realized the background of this story was likely far deeper than he had imagined.
“Feel free to carry on with your mission. I won't interfere with any matter concerning this place.”
At Jenkins's words, the angel bowed its head in gratitude.
“Mortal Carmel, do you know your sins?”
“Yes, O Messenger of God, I am guilty. I beg you, take me from this place of sin!”
“And what are your sins?”
“I have been stained by too many sins in this defiled world; my soul is hardly pure anymore. I have retraced the Path of Glory as written in the holy scriptures and finally died at my journey's end. Now that you have appeared in such a form, you must be here to take me away!”
He nearly prostrated himself on the ground, praying fervently to the angel.
Jenkins had heard of this Glory Ritual. It was an ancient rite; the predecessor to Saint Pym, who was revered by the Traveler's Church, had gained his following precisely because he had unintentionally completed it.
“Yes, mortal. You have followed the ancient ritual, retraced the sacred journey, and offered your life at its end. But I cannot take you away. Your soul is fated to languish here.”
The traveler snapped his head up, but instantly bowed it again after glimpsing the angel's featureless face. His soul trembled faintly, revealing the shock that coursed through him.
“Could it be... because I failed to offer myself with a true heart? Because I was not slain by an evil being as the ancient pact dictates? Is it because I chose to end my own life, attempting to deceive you?”
At least he was aware of his actions and did not choose to lie in the angel's presence.
“That is only part of the reason. It is a great pity, mortal. I see your resolve and your courage, but I also see your clumsy methods and your pathetic end. You cannot leave with me, for you are guilty. You are stained by the sin of this place. There are countless beginnings and endings to the Path of Glory. Why did you choose to finish yours here?”
“I don't understand what you mean.”
The traveler, Carmel, asked again, but Jenkins had already guessed the truth.
“You should not have died here. This ancient Path of Glory has long been tainted; you should have chosen another route. This, too, is a test from my Lord for his followers. A worthy traveler must possess the ability to avoid danger and choose their path. Lacking that, they should at least have sufficient luck... My apologies, mortal. You are destined to languish here. I chose to appear before you only out of pity for your courage and effort, so I wished to tell you the truth.”
The brilliant light surrounding the angel began to contract, and the pillar of light descending from the heavens started to dim. The angel was preparing to depart.
the traveler asked, his voice filled with disbelief.
“No! This can't be true!”
His soul let out a wail as, having lost all reason, he lunged at the angel, perhaps hoping the fading being would take him along. But the consequence of such a rash act was his soul being shattered by the angel's light. He should never have shown even the slightest hint of hostility in the angel's presence; the holy radiance had no capacity to judge a mortal's intentions.
The traveler's soul screamed toward the town in its final moments.
“I curse everyone who lives in this place! I curse you! My descendants will inherit everything I possess. One day, they will return with extraordinary alchemical items, slaughter every last one of you, and grind your souls to dust!”
The curse, uttered just before the soul shattered, connected with the strange spirits that already lingered in the town. That final cry, torn from the traveler's very soul, was pure malice. Before Jenkins's eyes, it actually formed a black, spiritual aura that began to spread out toward the town.
Of course, when the spiritual aura reached Jenkins, it naturally flowed around him. But everyone else, every living person here, would surely be caught in the curse's grasp.
Jenkins asked the angel, who had yet to depart. He then watched with a pang of regret as the traveler's soul vanished. He had admired the man, who had, in his own way, helped him.
“He walked the Path of Glory. Had he not chosen the wrong destination, he would have left the material world with me to meet my Lord. Therefore, to a certain extent, his soul was no longer purely mortal. The hatred unleashed at the moment such a soul is destroyed, layered upon the sins of this town, is enough to form a curse with far-reaching consequences.”
the angel explained with humility.
“What will happen to this place?”
“Soon, the townspeople who sense that something is amiss will leave, scattering across the world. Newcomers who settle here will not be affected. However, the descendants of the cursed townspeople will forever be under its influence, and the descendants of the deceased Carmel will, in turn, be driven by the curse to hunt them down. This will become a long and enduring ritual of vengeance, one that will likely take many Epochs to conclude.”
the angel said with compassion.
“And all this, because of something so simple that happened tonight?”
“Yes, great one. It is truly that simple. By successfully completing my Lord's Path of Glory, the mortal Carmel had already proven himself to be extraordinary. All of this is logical. It is a ritual of vengeance born of infinitesimal chance, and I cannot prevent it...”
The angel departed swiftly. Jenkins composed himself and prepared to leave as well. He returned to the deserted inn and, from the traveler's backpack, found the formula for the powder that granted understanding of any language. Inside the pack, he also found the page that concluded this story.
Waking with a start for the seventh time, Jenkins reached up to wipe the non-existent sweat from his brow.
“That traveler's surname was Carmel...”
He muttered to himself as he got out of bed and pushed open the window. The cool night wind drifted in, helping to soothe some of his anxiety.
So far, he had encountered two matters related to the surname Carmel. The more recent one was the cursed Carmel family, but that affair had been completely resolved; the only survivor of that ancient family was Mr. Hood, who remained oblivious to the truth. The other was an old goods shop that had appeared during the 'Real Illusion' incident. It had sold many forbidden items, even Cursed Items, and was somehow connected to the ancient soul within the All-knowing Treasure Mirror. But the shop had vanished without a trace before the Church could investigate.