Chapter 1711: Chapter 1711

The voice behind him had softened to a murmur, a mere whisper. Jenkins tried to sense the speaker's build through his back, but unfortunately, despite the almost intimate way they covered his eyes and mouth, their body wasn't pressed against his.

The voice spoke again, this time addressing him by name:

“Jenkins, there are no coincidences in this world, only countless inevitabilities piling up to create other inevitabilities. Traveling through time never changes time; it only completes it...”

Having experienced the events in Black Town, Jenkins found himself in complete agreement with that sentiment.

“And the reason you stand here now is not to read the Millstone of Fate, but to meet me.”

This seemed to imply that the woman behind him was the very person who had brought him and Miss Audrey to this place.

“Wait... why do I assume the person behind me is a woman?”

Jenkins wondered, confused. Just then, he felt a weight settle on his shoulder and realized it was the person's head. It wasn't some horrifying gesture of a detached head being placed there; rather, they rested their chin on his right shoulder, like lovers in intimate conversation.

He felt strands of hair brush against his neck, confirming the person behind him had long hair. Still, he couldn't be certain of their gender—after all, no law dictated that only women in this world could wear their hair long.

As if sensing his confusion, the voice continued.

“It was the Millstone of Fate that invited you here. It invited you to open it, to add your own story to its pages. And I... merely helped it accomplish this.”

The already quiet voice had become as indistinct as words murmured in a dream.

“But now is not the time. Do not touch it. Do not open it. Jenkins, treat it as mere scenery on your journey. Pay it no mind and continue onward. The way back is ahead... and I will be waiting for you at the end.”

With those words, the cold hands released him. The very instant they left his skin, Jenkins, his movement restored, spun around to look. But behind him was only the oppressive darkness of the ritual site. Even observing through his monocle with the Eye of Reality, he saw no trace of any unusual glow.

He stood frozen for a long moment before turning back, a strange sense of loss settling in his chest. But after a brief daze, he accepted that some things were simply not meant to be understood right now. He seared the encounter into his memory, shook his head to reset his mood, and glanced one last time at the great tome on its stand. Heeding the voice's warning, he skirted the stand and walked toward the stone wall behind it.

He walked forward without the slightest hesitation, as if oblivious to the barrier before him. Just as he was about to collide with it, Jenkins instinctively closed his eyes, his feet never ceasing their forward motion. His next step met empty air, and he felt himself plunging into an abyss...

When consciousness returned, he was immediately aware of being submerged in water. The spirits of life all around told him he was back in the lake of the Evergreen Forest. At the same time, he felt his hand still tightly clasped with Miss Audrey's, just as it had been before he passed out.

“It doesn't feel like much time has passed.”

he thought, his body already moving to pull his teacher toward the surface. But the suspected time travel appeared to have side effects. As he moved, Jenkins felt a debilitating weakness wash over him; he nearly lost his grip on Miss Audrey's hand.

Miss Audrey clearly hadn't regained consciousness. With Jenkins unable to swim upward, the pair began to sink toward the bottom of the lake once more.

Alarmed, Jenkins was about to freeze the water around them—the buoyancy of the ice would at least push them upward—when he sensed an unnatural disturbance in the water overhead. Something was swimming down toward them.

He forced his eyes open underwater and, with the aid of his Eye of Reality, looked up. To his astonishment, he saw his own cat swimming toward them.

The cat was incredibly fast in the water, zipping to Jenkins's side in an instant. The little feline opened its mouth, clamped its teeth onto the fabric of Jenkins's shoulder, and began furiously paddling its four small paws. Despite its diminutive size, the cat's strokes were powerful enough to actually start pulling both adults through the water.

Clinging to Jenkins's clothes, Chocolate towed them slowly toward the surface. Once the cat and the two humans broke through, it didn't let go, still trying to drag them all the way to the shore.

The cat's strength had been sufficient in the water, but as they neared the bank, their legs got stuck in the mud. Chocolate was no longer strong enough to move both of them under such conditions.

Fortunately, a pair of hands grabbed Jenkins's free left hand just then. People carrying oil lamps were approaching the bizarre ritual site from the edge of the forest, and they finally managed to haul Jenkins and Miss Audrey onto the grassy shore.

His strength returned quickly once he was out of the water. Lying on his back on the grass, Jenkins felt almost completely recovered. He gasped for breath, then sat up and handed the soaking Miss Audrey over to Miss Bevanna, who had helped pull them ashore. Then he gently detached the cat, which was still latched onto his shirt, hanging from his shoulder.

A magical flame quickly dried both man and cat. Jenkins cradled his pet, staring into its wide, amber eyes, which shone with innocence and curiosity. He was at a loss for what to say.

“What sort of game were you two playing?” Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net

Nearby, Miss Audrey had also regained consciousness. Seeing how thinly she was dressed, Miss Bevanna had everyone stand back to keep the lamplight away. She also asked the nuns from the Church of Destiny and Equilibrium, who had been waiting at the edge of the site, to find some clothes. They quickly returned with a simple nun's habit for Miss Audrey.

“I never thought you'd enjoy playing such games with your student.”

Seeing that both Jenkins and Miss Audrey were unharmed, Miss Bevanna watched the diviner dress and fix her hair before launching into her playful teasing. Of course, while the scene had looked peculiar, Miss Bevanna knew a 'water scrying' ritual had been taking place; otherwise, she wouldn't have rushed over with reinforcements so quickly.

Miss Audrey shot her a look, clearly having no intention of rising to the bait. The situation had been undeniably awkward. Being fished out of a lake alongside Jenkins while wearing a soaked summer tunic was the sort of thing that invited gossip and misunderstanding.

As this thought crossed her mind, she glanced at the young writer. Jenkins was holding his cat, studying it with a pensive expression. The cat, for its part, was nestled obediently in his arms, its amber eyes fixed on its owner's face.

“If you know how to swim... then why do you always fight so desperately during bath time?”

Jenkins knew that cats could swim, and he knew his own cat could swim, but he'd never imagined it could navigate a deep lake with such skill. Though the cat had just saved his life yet again, and he shouldn't be too hard on it, the memory of their arduous bath times compelled him to ask.

That was presumably an answer, but Jenkins couldn't understand Chocolate's meows in the slightest. He could only look at it with a rueful expression. He couldn't push the matter too far—not after his cat had just saved his life. He wouldn't ask again.

The scrying ritual could not proceed after this. After a brief rest by the lake, Miss Audrey directed the nuns of her church to retrieve the candles from the shore. She then summoned two demigods from the Church of All Things and Nature, who were stationed in the forest for the night. They joined Jenkins in channeling the spirits of life to dissipate the strange, surging spiritual fluctuations that still lingered at the ritual site and within the lake water.

Only after this was done were all potential lingering effects finally nullified. Miss Audrey appeared to have recovered from the ordeal, but Jenkins was still left with a host of questions.

“You've advanced to demigod?”

As the group was leaving the lakeside, Miss Bevanna suddenly posed the question. Jenkins, the two demigods from the Church of Nature, and the members of the Sage's Church and the Church of Destiny all stopped, stunned. Miss Audrey, however, simply offered a reserved smile.

“Yes. I'm surprised you noticed.”

The night's events had been bizarre. Though likely unrelated to the End of the Era, they still had to be reported. Jenkins gave Miss Bevanna a brief summary and promised a full report by morning. He then sought out Miss Audrey to discuss what had happened, a request she naturally accepted.

A diviner of the demigod level was far more valuable than most demigods with other skills and professions. Miss Audrey, who already enjoyed a special status within the church thanks to her own teacher, was now among the highest-ranking figures in the Nolan diocese of the Church of Destiny.

Having advanced to demigod, her first duty should have been to contact the Holy See of the Church of Destiny. But Miss Audrey clearly considered her conversation with Jenkins more pressing.

“Was that really time travel? How is that even possible?”

The two of them strolled through the woods, speaking as they went. The night sky was clear, and moonlight spilled down upon the quiet, peaceful forest, making it perfect weather for walking a cat. Unfortunately, Chocolate was content to ride on Jenkins's shoulder and refused to walk on its own.

“It most likely was genuine time travel.”

Miss Audrey didn't offer a definitive answer, but the fact that she said it at all made it a very strong possibility.

“The ritual I prepared used a highly versatile base array; in principle, it should have been perfectly safe. I suspect what happened was most likely related to the subject of our scrying.”

Jenkins was only then reminded of the purpose of their scrying ritual.

“No, I didn't see the answer.”

the diviner stated plainly. She and Jenkins rounded a bend in the forest path. A small fawn that had been nibbling on ferns nearby froze at the sound of their voices and darted into the bushes, only to peek its head out again, watching Jenkins curiously.