Chapter 2067: Chapter 2067

"Since it wasn't Papa Oliver, it could only be Audrey. Think carefully, when did you two ever discuss the topic of time?"

Alexia offered another hint.

With Alexia's guidance, Jenkins finally remembered. It was after Miss Audrey's "failed" water divination ritual, when the two of them returned from the past and fell back to the bottom of the lake.

After being "rescued" and brought ashore by Chocolate, who had dived into the lake, he had discussed time with Miss Audrey. They had brought up the subject of the blue moon. Miss Audrey's words had all but confirmed that the blue moon was a symbol of the Lord of the Closed Circle or a Righteous God, and that the blue moon was also central to many secret rituals involving time (Chapter 1709).

The example she mentioned at the time was the ritual [Contact the Time Paradoxers]. Although she mentioned the ritual, it didn't necessarily mean Miss Audrey knew all its details, but it was at least a promising lead.

"But the problem is, Audrey was also in the missing convoy."

Alexia remarked, and Jenkins nodded.

"Yes, I remember she and Miss Brolignans were in the carriage behind ours..."

With that thought, he pushed the window open again and shouted loudly:

Displeased with Jenkins's coarse behavior, Chocolate buried his head in his little paws and curled into a tight ball on the soft seat cushion.

He shouted three times before Alexia stopped him. Of course, no reply came from the vast, ash-strewn fields. This was to be expected; Jenkins had just been trying his luck.

"Since Miss Audrey knows about this ritual, perhaps others in the Church of Destiny and Equilibrium do too... I'll go back to the church and try my luck."

It was the only option now.

"Alright. I'll stay here, look after your cat, and try to contact Audrey. Don't worry about us. Just go do what you need to do. We need the help of fate now."

"Yes, we need the help of fate."

Alexia was using "fate" as a stand-in for the diviners, but Jenkins was suddenly struck with an idea:

"Maybe I don't need to go to the church. I can see if fate will help me right now."

As he spoke, he activated [The Unknown Path], and the purple thread symbolizing fate's guidance actually appeared.

Seeing the look in his eyes, Alexia knew he had made a discovery. Only after asking did she realize:

"That ability of yours reacted?"

"Yes. This means not only have I learned all the necessary information, but this very moment is a critical juncture that will influence the future."

The long purple thread of fate pointed to Jenkins's overcoat pocket. Jenkins decided to empty out all the miscellaneous items from both pockets.

The side pockets of his overcoat were very deep and large. Inside, Jenkins had stored, among other things: some dried flower petals, a few raisins, a handful of seeds, two packets of colored powder, the Air Bomb Ring, a wad of banknotes worth about three pounds, a ticket stub from an opera house he didn't remember putting there, a piece of blue chalk, a short silver dagger in a wooden sheath, a full and heavy box of bullets, his own set of keys, a fountain pen scratched by the keys, a carefully preserved notebook, and three thumb-sized vials filled with liquid.

Although it sounded like his pockets were a junk bin, all these items were kept in smaller pouches before being placed in his pockets, so it wasn't actually a mess. He didn't usually carry so much, but lately, with the constant threat of unexpected incidents, he had to keep everything important on his person.

In fact, there were even more small items hidden in the secret compartments of his overcoat's side pockets, at his waist, in his shoes, in the lining of his hat, and in his turned-up cuffs. For example, the metal block that stored his divinity was kept in a pouch at his waist, right next to his pistol.

He picked up the notebook. It was a gift from Oviya, the young diviner from ancient times, a collection of her own divinatory knowledge that she had painstakingly compiled. The one in his hand wasn't the original, of course, but a copy he had drawn using the [Book of Memories], since one couldn't bring things out of dreams.

Although the notebook wasn't very thick, its contents were immense. Coupled with his own lack of talent in divination, he had only managed to closely study less than a third of it, despite flipping through and studying it whenever he had time since leaving Black Town. He knew all its contents, but he had merely memorized them like a drawing, unaware if the unstudied sections held any secret records.

Following fate's guidance, he flipped from back to front, stopping somewhere past the middle. On the edge of a page illustrated with a pencil-drawn star chart, he found the same elegant handwriting as elsewhere, transcribing a long string of text.

These words were the complete details of the ritual: [Contact the Time Paradoxers].

He sighed, stroking the page. Alexia made no comment. She leaned over for a look, attempting to translate the ancient text into modern common language:

"This ritual is remarkably simple."

It was extremely simple, not even requiring any ancient materials.

The core of the ritual was the blue moon, meaning the ritual circle could only be activated under its light. Additionally, it required three items symbolizing "time." These symbols didn't have to be supernatural, but they had to be related to time. Next, it required three items connected to the ritual's caster, symbolizing the "present," "past," and "future." Finally, it needed three items related to the current point in time, capable of symbolizing the current era.

The nine symbolic items were all the materials the ritual required. The method for drawing the ritual circle, the incantations to be recited, and the techniques for activation were all written down by Oviya in the notebook.

The nine symbols were very easy to find; after all, "symbolism" was one of the most important concepts in mysticism. The "blue moon," something he usually paid little mind to, had instead become the main obstacle for this ritual.

Although it was night, dark clouds covered the sky, blocking the light of the twin moons. Even the unicorn couldn't ascend through the black clouds to break through the cloud layer.

"Since it only requires a blue moon, not the real blue moon, perhaps you could try a different approach."

Alexia added. In her presence, Jenkins often felt as if he hadn't learned a single thing from Papa Oliver all year.

"What kind of different approach?"

"The reason a blue moon is used as the ritual's core is because it symbolizes the power of the Lord of Time. So, theoretically, any other item that can symbolize the Lord of Time's power could also serve as the core... Do you have anything like that?"

"No... but then again, maybe I do."

The last time he dealt with the time loop incident, he had the Time Paradoxers help him construct a method to create a temporal anomaly for forging the King Soul. Although the pocket watch his brother John had given him, which had stored that power, could only be used once, it had been imbued with a special temporal energy. It could certainly be used as the core symbol of time's power.

With that settled, there were no more problems. He gathered a pocket watch, a wristwatch, and a mantle clock as symbols of time; a piece of old clothing, a lock of his own hair, and the ring of his kingly authority to symbolize the past, present, and future; and a wisp of gray fog, a schematic of a steam engine, and a handful of soil to represent the era. For safety, he made sure to leave the carriage and perform the ritual outside the dense fog.

As the ritual began, an ambiguous gray light hovered above the ground. The sound of footsteps filled the air, but no one was visible to the naked eye. The clicking of turning clock hands echoed in his ears. As the ritual progressed, phantoms from different times and places were pulled into this moment by the uncontrolled, intersecting forces, only to be quickly expelled by the world itself.

Then, the figures of the Time Paradoxers gradually solidified into reality. While these beings rarely acted alone, usually appearing in groups of two or more, the simultaneous arrival of over thirty Time Paradoxers—all dressed in black suits, black hats, and black leather shoes, carrying black briefcases—still gave Jenkins a start.

"Greetings to you, God of Lies."

They spoke in unison.

"Greetings... You really didn't need to send so many... Was there something wrong with my ritual?"

"No, your ritual was perfect. It is this point in time that is unusual. We must remain vigilant. In fact, even this many of us is far from enough."

"Yes, this fog is highly unusual, so you need more people... Can you disperse it?"

The one in the lead spoke, but considering the Time Paradoxers all looked nearly identical, Jenkins couldn't distinguish him from his companions.

"This fog is a byproduct of a creature's appearance. As long as we banish that creature, or reseal it, the chaotic temporal fog will naturally dissipate."

The Time Paradoxer stated.

"So you're saying there's a monster hiding in the fog? How come I didn't notice anything... Never mind, that's not important. What kind of creature's appearance could create such a terrifying fog?"

"The Paradox Bug... hmm? I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Jenkins suspected he had misheard.

This was the second time Jenkins had heard the name [Paradox Bug]. This creature was a Beast of Calamity closely tied to time, a Beast of Calamity from a past epoch. Even without knowing the extent of its power, the name alone suggested it was anything but ordinary. A look of panic crossed Jenkins's face.

He pointed at the fog behind him, then at the group before him: Thɪs chapter is updated by Novᴇl_Fire(.)net

"That thing... has escaped its seal?"

The last time he encountered the Time Paradoxers, in the time-looped hospital, they had come to deal with the seal on the Paradox Bug.

"The Paradox Bug has escaped to this point in time?"