Chapter 1709: Chapter 1709
The woman who spoke offered no further explanation, as if tacitly assuming everyone present understood the meaning of "trial" and "second-to-last stage." Naturally, she also paid no mind to the young "boy" who had joined their ranks, his attire a stark contrast to their own.
After she finished, she motioned for the group to follow her onto the narrow path. Jenkins deliberately fell to the back, walking alongside Audrey.
"What's going on? Did we travel through time? That's impossible, right?" he asked in a low voice, finding it hard to believe.
Even a simple spatial jump was fraught with considerable risk in the material world, let alone a far more perilous leap through time.
He'd had a similar experience in Black Town, but that had been orchestrated by a higher power to resolve a past calamity—an act of great and necessary importance. This time, however, Jenkins couldn't see any such significance.
Of course, he had encountered other time travelers before, namely the future Williams girl. Unfortunately, she hadn't met with Jenkins then; only Alexia Miller knew what his niece had been planning.
"It seems it really is time travel, or perhaps we've entered one of my memories..." Audrey replied softly, her tone laced with uncertainty as she took in her surroundings.
"This should be the day I passed the Church's test and officially became a reserve diviner... Next, we're heading to the Church's sacrificial ground, the heart of the trial... If this truly is the past, you would be the first unbeliever to enter the trial in a thousand years... How could this be? The water divination ritual I performed was a bit large in scale, but could it really have an effect ?"
Her voice was hesitant as she spoke of the past. Jenkins didn't understand why, but his curiosity about what lay ahead was piqued.
"I don't remember. I was severely injured on this day. After I recovered, I found I had irreparably lost small, fragmented pieces of my memory... So I can't use the fact of your presence or absence to determine what's happening to us..."
"I see," Jenkins murmured, then glanced at the path ahead. The trail, carved through the forest, was clearly well-trodden, keeping the weeds and moss at bay. The scenery was that of a normal forest. With no stars visible in the daytime sky, Jenkins couldn't pinpoint their location in the material world. But every church had its secrets, and if what Audrey said was true, they had likely arrived at a place of great importance.
Unsure of their exact circumstances, the two decided to avoid doing anything that might deviate from history for the time being. They followed the group for a full hour before a small mountain faintly appeared in the distance.
Their true destination, it turned out, was the summit of that mountain. They walked from day into night, and from night into the dawn. There were no breaks for rest, no food, and no water.
Jenkins had arrived in his own body, so these privations meant nothing to him. But the younger version of Audrey now possessed the body of an ordinary person. Even if the strength of her soul could influence her physical form, going without food and water was still a struggle.
The other youths faced the same problem, but every one of them gritted their teeth and endured. This was likely part of the test, so no one raised any objections. Fortunately, the forest was not without plants. By steeling themselves, they could avoid falling behind due to hunger and thirst. But exhaustion was unavoidable. Thus, when dawn broke and the group finally reached the foot of the low mountain, everyone except the woman in the lead and Jenkins was overcome with relief at being able to stop.
Jenkins had been supporting Audrey for the latter half of the journey. When the group halted, the two of them followed suit, sitting down with the others. They looked up at the small mountain, but from its base, they couldn't see its full form.
It was easy to see, however, that the mountain was utterly out of place with the surrounding forest. Separated by a clean line, the area of the small mountain was devoid of any vegetation. The whitish soil looked like accumulated ash, and the ancient, towering boulders and weathered ravines made one wonder how such a barren, rocky hill could have formed.
"The sacrificial ground is at the summit. For the final part of the test, each of you will be permitted to gaze upon the sacred object and witness your own 'essence'."
The woman spoke, looking over the seated group. Seeing no questions, only a young "boy" with a bewildered expression, she elaborated.
"You are not yet Enchanters. In fact, even most Enchanters do not understand the meaning of 'essence.' For now, you can think of it as your talent. Only when you truly begin to explore the vicissitudes of fate will you come to grasp this term. Now, ascend the mountain. Follow your hearts to the sacrificial ground at the summit, and you will see the sacred object."
With that, she stepped aside, clearly not intending to accompany them. Jenkins hesitated. In his eyes, the entire mountain pulsed with an intense purple spiritual light. In other words, the mountain itself was a numbered item.
He glanced at Audrey, who evidently knew the mountain's origins but couldn't explain with so many people around.
Since they weren't required to depart immediately, most of the group rested a while longer before rising to their feet and advancing toward the bare, ash-white stone mountain.
Jenkins and Audrey mingled with the crowd, moving forward with them. There was more than one way up; in fact, the mountain had no real paths. All one had to do was walk and climb toward what they perceived as "up." Before long, the people around them had all but vanished.
Once they were certain no one else was nearby, Audrey began to explain. They stood before a rather high rock ledge, taking a moment to rest in its cool shadow.
"What we're standing on isn't a mountain," she began. "It's the All-Seeing Cards - Mountain. Jenkins, please tell me all the meanings of 'Mountain' in divination."
Jenkins thought for a moment. "Ascension, difficulty."
"It also represents that even if the paths are different, the destination is the same," Audrey added. Seeing that Jenkins was about to ask about the All-Seeing Cards, she continued, "The All-Seeing Cards are among the most mysterious Bestowals scattered across the material world. The same card can have different effects in the hands of different masters. The current user is the eldest diviner in our church, and she rarely does this anymore. Based on my memories and what I've learned from my teacher, there is likely more than one sacred object at the summit. Fate will guide us to see different things. What I saw back then... was a mirror, I think?" she said, her voice uncertain.
"Then what is this 'essence' of an Enchanter?"
This wasn't the first time Jenkins had heard the term. Salsi II had mentioned it just a few days ago, and much earlier, a being that seemed to be Death had spoken of it as well.
"It's difficult to explain. For those who understand, explaining its meaning is as hard as explaining why one plus one equals two. Let's discuss this after we leave this place. I have a feeling that once we reach the summit, we'll find a way to leave this point in time."
After a brief rest, the two set off again. The journey was arduous, but there were no man-eating creatures or malicious traps on the mountain, so it wasn't dangerous. All around them was barren land and ground covered in ash. Only the occasional bird streaking across the sky offered a change of scenery. For the most part, it was an incredibly dull expedition.
The mountain wasn't very high. Even with Audrey's current body, after a few rests, they soon reached what they judged to be the midway point. The scenery was still the same, and they couldn't see any of the others who had started with them.
"We shouldn't walk the rest of the way together," Audrey said earnestly as they stopped to rest. She was panting heavily, the physical exertion proving too much for her young body.
Jenkins recalled Audrey mentioning that before she became a diviner, she was just an ordinary girl of noble birth, not some kind of valkyrie who could shatter a ten-inch-thick copper plate with a single punch. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel(ꜰ)ire.net
"Though I don't know why fate has brought us here, the opportunity to witness one's own essence is exceptionally rare. We each have our own paths to walk. In my memory, this final half of the journey is very clear; I walked it alone. As for you, Jenkins, seize this chance. If this is truly a point in the past, you are about to receive an opportunity that is hard to come by even in our own time."
Jenkins knew nothing about their current situation, but since his teacher had requested it, he had no choice but to comply.
He watched as Audrey headed up a slope to the left. Jenkins stood there for a moment, looking around. He didn't use his Eye of Reality to search for the possible "sacred object." Instead, he gazed up at the sky for a while, thinking about his cat. Once Audrey's figure had completely disappeared, he started moving in the direction she had gone.
During the tedious journey that followed, Jenkins saw no one else. Unburdened by the younger Audrey, he could choose the highest paths forward, ignoring the treacherous terrain, and thus his pace quickened.
The closer he got to the summit, the more monotonous the surroundings became. The occasional extreme terrain posed no difficulty for Jenkins, thanks to his superb physical condition. The most troublesome spot he encountered was a section where the path abruptly broke off. A chasm, seemingly bottomless, separated the path ahead from where he stood, as if the mountain had been split in two.
But even this was a minor obstacle. With a running start and a powerful leap, he conjured a fragile sheet of ice mid-air to push off from, easily clearing the "hurdle."