Chapter 1754: Chapter 1754

Sigrid stood in the rain, oblivious to Jenkins's gaze. Her own eyes were fixed on the space before her, unfocused. After a long moment, she gasped for air and slumped against him completely.

Jenkins wasn't sure if it was because of the torrential rain or the momentary trance she had just experienced.

"What's wrong... Did the thunder frighten you?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he realized how foolish they sounded. He'd heard from Papa Oliver that Enchanters from the Church of All Things and Nature sought enlightenment from the natural world, and listening to the clap of thunder was an essential part of their practice.

"No. I just feel like I understood something from what you said."

Sigrid shook her head, then boldly leaned right into his embrace, nearly crushing the cat in his pocket. Jenkins, on the other hand, felt a little unused to such intimacy and shifted carefully. The blonde girl paid it no mind.

After that terrifying peal of thunder, Pomphey's corpse fell silent. Once Sigrid had recovered, the two of them worked in the downpour to bury it completely.

Soon, the eerie green flames ignited once more, consuming the body until only white ash remained. When Jenkins cleared away the pile of pebbles for a second time, he saw a jade bracelet.

He rarely saw anyone wear jade. People of this era still favored gold and silver. Moreover, the material world's primary jade mines were located on overseas archipelagos far from the main continent. Thus, apart from Enchanters who required jade for rituals, significant quantities of jade artifacts were only found in ancient ruins from before this epoch.

The surface of the jade bracelet was covered in extraordinarily delicate patterns, but they were so fine that one could only discern their contents by touch unless held directly before the eyes. Jenkins traced the circumference with the pad of his finger and determined the carvings depicted a ring of interconnected morning glory vines. In truth, he couldn't be certain they were morning glories; it was just a feeling he had.

"Humanity may still remember this bracelet."

From across the stream, the elf's voice carried through the downpour. The intensity of the rain could not muffle his words, and both Jenkins and Sigrid heard him with perfect clarity.

"It is C-01-2-3841, the Ring of Heartlight. Legend says it was formed from the purest spiritual light,凝聚ed from the lingering essence of the most pristine spirit-kin who, moved by emotion after death, refused to dissipate. Wearing this ornament can even resist the mental influence of some Cursed Items and grants permanent immunity to mind-control abilities initiated by mortals. Furthermore, as it was once blessed by my Lord, any elf or half-elf who possesses this jade bracelet will receive the favor of nature."

He did not explain what "the favor of nature" entailed, but Jenkins understood this was likely a treasure even more precious than the Sacred Spring Flask from before. Without hesitation, he once again pressed the Bestowal into Sigrid's hand. She flinched just as he had upon touching the jade, and Jenkins knew that the Ring of Heartlight had chosen her as well.

It made sense, really. In front of the vampire's manor in Bel Diran, Sigrid had unlocked the unique ability of Mindlight after resolving the conflicts surrounding her family. This Bestowal, which had an undeniable connection to the light of the heart, choosing her was a perfectly natural outcome.

"Are you certain you want to give this to me?"

This time, Sigrid did not refuse, but instead posed the question to Jenkins with utmost seriousness.

Only by doing this could he shamelessly ask for the final third of the World Tree Seedling when they left. If he could give Sigrid a few more things, Jenkins thought he might even be able to get the Tree Soul out of this deal.

She pursed her lips and watched him intently in the rain. For a fleeting moment, Jenkins had the ridiculous thought that she was about to punch him. But in the end, he was not assaulted for some unfathomable reason. Sigrid carefully stored the Bestowal within her spirit, then murmured to Jenkins:

Foolish Jenkins, he actually detected something unusual in her tone. But before he could begin to ponder it, the elf across the stream began to sing again. This time, the song was no longer so sorrowful, but rather like a gentle breeze sweeping over a boundless forest—faint, yet capable of making the entire wood tremble.

"The world was born of light, Yet darkness shapes it, too.

The obverse and the reverse, All things in nature's view.

Only the truest eyes perceive

The clearest, simplest truth.

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As flowers bloom upon the plains, And listen silently, To the first bloodline, Recounting the oldest story."

Jenkins suspected this poem was probably improvised on the spot, and not by the elf himself.

Moreover, he had noticed something interesting from the recent events. The scope of the Lord of Blossoms's power might not be as narrowly defined as the "Life" he had originally assumed. It was highly probable the Lord of Blossoms was the master of Nature itself. Correspondingly, the domain of the ancient god of death was likely not a narrow "Death," but rather the master of "The End."

Thinking along these lines, it was highly possible these two were the even more ancient gods of Nature and Death, the original deities who predated the current Spirit of Nature and the God of Death and End.

Of course, this was only speculation, with no evidence to support it. It was only because the elf's first song had encompassed death within the domain of blossoms, combined with the earlier questions about the cycle of nature, that Jenkins had arrived at such a conjecture.

This poem was shorter, but after singing it through once, the elf began to repeat it until the next corpse appeared. During this time, Jenkins and Sigrid spoke in low voices, with Jenkins mainly asking if she could bear standing in the downpour for so long.

If she couldn't, he would "plant" his cane on the pebble beach to provide them with shelter, but Sigrid insisted she was fine. Her spirits did seem high, and considering she was also an Enchanter trained by an Orthodox Church, she probably wasn't that fragile, so Jenkins didn't press the matter.

The third corpse emerged in the same manner as the previous two. Based on his experience, Jenkins assumed it would be another acquaintance. But after dragging the body ashore, he found he didn't recognize the middle-aged woman's face at all, nor could he find any related information in the original Jenkins's memories.

He looked up at Sigrid and saw, as expected, surprise and a hint of fear on her rain-streaked face.

"This is... the first person I ever killed."

The subject made Jenkins try to recall the first person he had killed. He thought back. It was likely on the day he first went out with Papa Oliver to inspect goods, the day that ended with a great fire. But he couldn't remember what the person he had killed actually looked like.

"Was she a bad person?" Jenkins asked.

"Yes. She was the high priestess of the heretical cult, the Cult of the Worm's Tread. They worshiped the evil god known as the Crawling Worm of Chaos. It was my first mission. I was unfortunately separated from my teacher in the dark and ran into her... I was only ten... back then."

She didn't finish stating her age, a sensitivity perhaps common among ladies. Jenkins wasn't concerned with the other details. Confirming that she wasn't a good person, he bent down to gather pebbles, following the same rapid burial method as before.

Their movements grew more practiced, and eager to leave this damp, rainy space, the two worked even faster this time. But the corpse still spoke before it was completely buried. It grabbed Sigrid's hand and uttered words that Jenkins didn't understand.

"Why do you believe humans are superior to animals?"

Jenkins sensed there was more to the story of what happened all those years ago. But it was clear Sigrid was unwilling to explain it to him, even avoiding his eyes as she spoke to the corpse.

"Humans are not superior to animals," Sigrid said, her voice sounding a little hoarse in the rain. "All things have spirits; there are no ranks."

"No, you're lying. You do believe humans are superior. Otherwise, you would have been the one to die that day, not me."

Jenkins had the urge to cover his ears. He felt it was best not to hear what came next, or things would become even more awkward later. But this was a Mysterious Realm, and there was nowhere else to go. He could only lower his head and continue gathering pebbles, at least making a show of not listening.

"I have long since changed the way I thought back then."

His Lie Godhood was alerting Jenkins. He struggled to keep his expression neutral.

"I am not the person you killed, but I am not entirely unrelated to her. Here, in the domain of a great one, can you not speak your true thoughts? Between a human and an animal without wisdom, which is superior?"

Jenkins was profoundly grateful he wasn't the one being interrogated. Answering such a question was a minefield, and trying to smoothly evade it seemed inappropriate.

He hunched over, trying to diminish his presence, though he was intensely curious about the conversation that was about to unfold.

"All things have spirits..."

Sigrid's voice struggled to carry through the downpour. Jenkins held his breath, afraid to miss the ensuing dialogue.

"All things are very important to this world."

"Then which one is more important?" the corpse pressed, relentless.

"The great Spirit of Nature teaches us that all things have spirits, and people should respect all things..."

She had started reciting the church's sacred texts. Jenkins, pretending to gather pebbles nearby while secretly watching the scene, noticed the corners of the corpse's mouth curve slightly upward into a very strange smile.