Chapter 2195: Chapter 2195

As the surge of power subsided, Jenkins gradually returned to his usual calm. With a soft snap, he closed the book. The massive bronze tome immediately dissipated, signaling that his opportunity to use the [Principle of All Machines] was over.

He stood on the scorched islet, hands clasped behind his back, and gazed up at the ochre sky that was on the verge of collapsing.

In that fleeting moment, he saw and understood a great deal. The balance of three distinct powers had brought him to the very precipice of pushing open the "Gate of Divinity" with his physical body alone—achieving godhood without relying on the strength of his soul. It was a path that both Alexia and Miss Audrey were pursuing, yet Jenkins, a latecomer with no such ambition, had now arrived at the destination.

Of the three paths to godhood—ascension as a Savior, ascension by shouldering all sin, and ascension by forging an entirely new path—Jenkins had now touched the gates of two of them. In a way, it could even be considered all three, for in a world where this Jenkins had never arrived, the other one had attempted to bear all the world's sins.

When the power finally settled, his body naturally began to glow with a golden luminescence, only to quickly return to its normal state. With a soul that had already attained a divine quality, he was now complete in every other aspect, poised on the final threshold just before godhood.

It was in this state that he would face the Difference Engine, and the final challenge.

The cat on his shoulder licked his neck. It wanted to laugh out loud but held back. Now, it was the only one left. The cat would save everything that was to come, and then Jenkins would know just how important it was to him.

Jenkins, however, truly did smile. He waved his hands toward the sky, and the pooled water on the ground shot upward. The fracturing heavens calmed, a thick fog once again descended, and all traces of the battle vanished as if time itself were reversing.

When only the faintest trace of that borrowed power remained, he flicked his right wrist, summoning a greatsword of spiraling crimson flame. Wielding this final authority, he slashed at the air.

With the sound of shattering glass, the arc of his swing tore open space itself, revealing a gateway of white light.

He adjusted his backpack and slung the demonic sword across his back. Patting the cat, he walked toward the final Mysterious Realm.

When a journey reaches its end, especially an end with an unknown destination, anyone would feel nervous. Jenkins was no exception.

As he stepped through the gateway on the river islet, he considered countless possibilities. He even imagined being ambushed by the Difference Engine the moment he landed, or that it had already planted thirty-five thousand tons of black powder in the Mysterious Realm, just waiting for him to appear.

But when his feet touched the ground, it felt just like any other ordinary entry into a Mysterious Realm.

It was a remarkably smooth landing; he didn't even fall flat on his face. Though a sense of dizziness lingered, it was much milder than before.

Jenkins figured he must have developed a resistance to it after traveling through so many Mysterious Realms in succession.

He was standing on Fifth Queen's Avenue, not far from Pops Antique Shop. It seemed to be a drizzly afternoon. The weather was a bit gloomy, but since the clouds weren't too thick, the surrounding light was still decent.

The rain pattered down, a pleasant sound. The ground was damp but not puddled, the kind of ordinary light rain Nolan often experienced.

There were pedestrians on the street, but most weren't holding umbrellas. They were frozen in place—some in mid-stride with a leg raised, others turning their heads to check for carriages, and a few simply standing under the awnings of shops to shelter from the rain.

It was as if someone had pressed a pause button on the world; only the falling rain flowed with the normal passage of time.

"How strange. Fifth Queen's Avenue, of all places."

Rain fell toward Jenkins and Chocolate, but it slid away as if deflected by an invisible barrier above them. It was a simple trick of manipulating spirit, one that Jenkins could now perform with ease. Official source ıs novel fire.net

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the eighth coin. It was made of emerald, with the emblem of the World Tree Seedling on the obverse and an image of the great bronze book on the reverse.

He let out a breath to calm his nerves. The cat was on his shoulder, his backpack and sword were secure. The final adventure had officially begun.

Although the environment wasn't the usual lightless dark, the final Mysterious Realm taking on the familiar appearance of Nolan was something Jenkins had anticipated. It wasn't too far-fetched, so for now, he decided to treat it as an ordinary domain. After all, the Difference Engine was certain to make its appearance at the very end.

Usually, the master of a Mysterious Realm would appear somewhere near the intruder. But as he scanned the street, all he saw were people frozen in time. So, Jenkins walked a few steps to the front of Pops Antique Shop, knocked, and then pushed the door open.

The familiar chime of the bell made Jenkins want to sigh. Inside Pops Antique Shop, Pops was there, of course. He was sitting in his rocking chair by the fireplace, reading a newspaper, also frozen and unmoving. But standing behind the counter, in the spot that should have been Jenkins's, was someone else.

It was, without a doubt, a mechanical man of gears and cogs. Its metal body was bare, with no skin to cover it, shamelessly displaying its inner workings and the runes etched upon its frame.

Its size and height matched human proportions, making it look not particularly frightening. From an aesthetic standpoint, it was actually quite pleasing to the eye.

Its brassy sheen was dazzling under the lights of the antique shop. Seeing Jenkins enter, it vented a plume of white steam from its shoulders and then nodded at him.

"You've finally arrived."

Jenkins kept a hand on the door, pausing at the entrance without stepping further inside.

"Difference Engine? Oh, just an avatar. I thought you'd have the nerve to appear before me in person."

He scoffed. If his opponent had truly dared to do so, he would have had to acknowledge it as a worthy adversary. But it was clear that a machine had no sense of dignity. Even with its incomplete soul, the Difference Engine was, in essence, still just a metal machine.

"Not yet. If my core were to appear before you now, both the sword on your back and the firearm forged in flame in your pack could destroy me."

"A fair point. As it happens, I found a bullet in an old well in that Blood Therapy Ancient Town. It's my final gambit for dealing with you."

At the time, the well contained a skeleton, a blood-drawing kit, a few dice, and that single bullet. Jenkins took only the latter two, burying the skeleton and the kit.

That bullet was itself a numbered item with a most peculiar aura.