Chapter 1979: Chapter 1979

Following the cloaked stranger, Jenkins walked along a path paved with ice blocks, deep into the heart of the temple. The air grew even colder here, and every decoration was fashioned from ice.

Beneath a massive, unrecognizable holy emblem, he saw a woman. Merely the sight of her back sent a jolt through Jenkins, as if he had been struck by lightning. He had experienced this feeling only twice before: the first time during his conversation with Augustus in a Mysterious Realm, and the second with Sigrid Capet in another.

This time, he was finally not in a Mysterious Realm, yet the being he was about to speak with seemed of the same caliber. This was definitely not her true form; it had to be a possessed vessel, much like the previous two encounters.

"But that can't be right," he thought. "I have deep ties to both life and death, which is why those two sought me out. But I don't recall having any significant connection to the power of ice."

He thought hard, combing through his memories of the past year for any loose ends he might have overlooked.

"There was that young diviner, Oviya, whom I met in a dream in Black Town... I received her help again later at Night Manor and found out she was still alive and had even written a book called 'Great Sin: Beast of Calamity.' But she has no connection to the power of ice, either."

While he was lost in thought, the white-robed acolyte who had led him here vanished. Standing alone in the center of the vast, empty temple, Jenkins felt a little lost as he looked at the figure with her back to him. Judging by the silhouette, it was a woman.

The voice seemed to echo from directly above him, but when he tilted his head back, all he saw was the magnificent, glittering dome of the temple, crafted from ice crystals. Sunlight refracted through it, painting the air with color, but there was no one there.

He gave a slight bow, simultaneously pushing down the little cat's head that was once again peeking out from his coat.

"Greetings, young new god."

"It is true that you and I are not deeply bound by fate. But perhaps you recall that I once sent a soul from my domain to hint at your true nature."

So, when the ancestor of the Stuart family told him, "Your true nature is your original form," that hint had come from the Sovereign of Ice and Snow herself.

"Thank you," he said.

"There is no need. Even if I had not told you, someone else surely would have. I came to see you for a single purpose."

A stream of golden light drifted from the woman and floated before Jenkins. An instant later, a round table of ice materialized before him, forming from top to bottom. On it sat a silver chalice, a round insignia, and a crystalline ice bracelet that seemed to glow from within.

"I need you to do one thing for me. You may consider it a transaction."

"Whether or not you can resolve the calamity of the Eighteenth Epoch in the material world, the smog that blankets the sky will inevitably usher in a long winter."

The Savior merely determines the intensity of the calamity; the calamity itself is inevitable. Whether it ends in the fall of civilization or merely a few years of abnormal weather will be decided by the final battle. Therefore, even if Jenkins defeated the Difference Engine, he could not make the strange gray mist vanish instantly.

"The coming winter will mark the dawn of the Nineteenth Epoch, a matter deeply connected to my power. If you are willing to deliver the insignia before you to the Church of All Things and Nature in the material world after you leave this place, you will not only earn my friendship, but the bracelet on the table will be yours."

"Forgive me, but I must ask: if I agree, what will be the consequences?"

"It will lead to an event a thousand years from now. You can consider this my way of preparing for the Nineteenth, and perhaps even the Twentieth, Epoch."

"Will it have dire consequences? Or, to put it another way, will the outcome be beneficial to the material world?"

"That is difficult to say. Fate, after all, is eternally inscrutable. Besides, I am not the only one who makes such moves, nor am I the only one who enjoys setting the board in advance."

Jenkins fell silent for a long moment.

"Then the matter of the Stuart ancestor, obtaining one of the Five White Ice Chess Pieces so long ago... was that because you foresaw my arrival?"

"That is for you to decide."

"Very well. I agree." The source of this content ɪs n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net

"Do not feel pressured. It may affect nothing at all. Who can truly predict the future?"

Jenkins suspected the Sovereigns most certainly could.

"The bracelet is yours. It could be considered what humans in the material world call a numbered item. It allows the wearer's body to briefly transform into ice and snow, enabling them to fly, pass through narrow crevices, alter the weather..."

Jenkins's heart leaped. Even if the bracelet was only a Series B Extraordinary item, its abilities were still incredibly useful.

"However, it can only be used by a woman."

"That... I refuse to believe that is a coincidence."

Why would she give him a gift only to restrict its use?

"Theoretically, beings from outside the material world should not interfere in the transition at an epoch's end. To help you is to interfere. I have no wish to alter the cycle that has existed since the birth of the world, hence this restriction."

Jenkins picked up the bracelet and, after a moment's thought, glanced down at the cat peeking out from his coat again. The kitten happened to look up at that exact moment, met his gaze from an awkward angle, and instantly understood his intention. It yelped in panic and quickly ducked back inside.

"I cannot help you directly."

So she could help him indirectly. All he had to do was give the bracelet to someone else. Considering his task was merely to deliver an insignia, the trade seemed more than fair.

"Young god, the bracelet is but a small token. The silver chalice beside it is also a gift. Drink from it, and the Ice Soul will awaken. Do not be surprised. The awakening of the Ice Soul is preordained, so this does not count as helping you—merely as pushing fate along its path."

Hearing this, Jenkins lifted the chalice and drained the clear liquid in a single draught. At first, it tasted like ice-cold spring water, but a moment later, a frigid sensation spread down his throat, flash-freezing his mouth, gullet, and stomach.

He instinctively reached for his throat, but his skin was still warm to the touch. When he focused inward again, the freezing sensation had vanished, replaced by a slender blue flame burning brightly within his chest.

The Ice Soul had awakened.

"It was that simple?"

"Were you expecting it to be more difficult?"

The woman chuckled, then added:

"I orchestrated this whole affair just to bring you here. Afterward, I will send you and your companions back to the material world. However, the malevolent spirit will return with you. How you identify it is a problem you must solve for yourself."

Jenkins already knew how, and he strongly suspected it was this very being who had delivered the information to him. Otherwise, there was no logical reason for that family of three to have coincidentally run into his group in the middle of such a vast, snowy wasteland.

"Before you leave, you may ask me one question. Consider it my apology for drawing you and these mortals into this."

"Can I ask anything?"

"You may ask. I will not necessarily answer."

Jenkins considered this. She would most likely refuse to answer any questions about defeating the Difference Engine or the end of the epoch. But since he had just been thinking of the young diviner he'd met in that distant time, he decided to ask about her. A question like that was surely unrelated to the calamity of the Eighteenth Epoch, so he might actually get an answer:

"Do you know of a book titled 'Great Sin: Beast of Calamity'? I'd like to know... how is its author doing now?"

She didn't refuse outright, but hesitated. That confirmed his suspicion—the author's fate was unrelated to the end of the epoch.

"She is a friend of mine, actually. We haven't seen each other in a long, long time. She helped me on more than one occasion, and to this day, I still study from the notes she left me. The progress is slow, but I can still feel the care she poured into writing them for me during that frigid, vampire-haunted winter.

For her to have lived until now, she must be far from mortal. Please, do not feel troubled. I don't need to know who she is. I only want to know... is she doing well?"

"Are you certain that is all you wish to know? You could ask a far more valuable question."

"No. This is all I want to know."

"Very well, young god. Your friend is doing quite well. And what's more, she has watched over you on more than one occasion."

"Is that right? That's wonderful."

A relieved smile spread across Jenkins's face. Chocolate seized the opportunity to peek out again, and only after confirming that he had no intention of putting the bracelet on her head did she retreat with a sigh of relief.

"I have not answered that question in its entirety, so you may ask another," the woman added.

"No, I am not so greedy. That is enough. Please, send us on our way now."

"If you insist. Then allow me to offer some information you would have discovered sooner or later."

"Thank you for your generosity."

"Do you know the meaning of a Sovereign's existence?"

"To separate the worlds tainted by sin, allowing the material world to enter the next cycle and begin accumulating sin once more?"

"That is their meaning to the world. But what is their meaning to themselves?"

"A god ascends to become a Sovereign and receives the honor of saving the world."

"Is it merely for honor?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know."

"Then you can find the answer on the Creation Slate."

"But..." he hesitated, "Why do I need to know the answer to that?"

"Young god, I am only obligated to answer one question."

The voice was tinged with amusement.

"Very well. Thank you again."

Jenkins said with a sigh of resignation. As expected, she only ever told half the story.