Chapter 2213: Chapter 2213

"Speaking of which, don't tell me you've already reached the critical moment for your fusion?"

Jenkins asked again, but the automaton didn't reply. Instead, it opened a hidden compartment in its chest and placed the sixth diamond inside.

"Since you're not talking, why don't I venture a guess as to where your core is hiding in this Mysterious Realm. Given that the realm encompasses all of Nolan, the most likely location has to be..."

"You are not permitted to move about the Mysterious Realm as you please until the mission is complete."

The automaton reminded him.

That was the truth. After all, whether a machine with nothing but a fragmented soul could even feel fear was still an open question.

"Then you're worried I'll find you and force a final battle before you can complete your fusion."

"Impressively honest. That's one of your few virtues. Alright, then. If that's the case, let's begin our final adventure. It's getting late."

He glanced sideways, watching the afterglow of the setting sun spill across Fifth Queen's Avenue outside the shop window. Once the sun dipped below the horizon, dusk would quickly fade to night. The sky was already much darker than it had been when he was strolling down the street with the woman earlier.

"But let's not rush off just yet. We can talk a bit more."

He added. The automaton naturally wouldn't object:

"What do you wish to discuss?"

"Why set the nexus of this Mysterious Realm inside Pops Antique Shop? Is there some special meaning behind that choice?"

Jenkins stroked his cat while surveying his surroundings. Seeing that no fight was imminent, Chocolate slumped into listlessness once more.

"No, I did not choose this place. The location was already set. I simply left it unchanged."

The automaton replied. That, too, was the truth.

"But why here? A particular Mysterious Realm I once experienced also began near Pops Antique Shop. Can that really be a coincidence?"

The automaton didn't answer right away, as if performing a calculation:

"Perhaps this is what you would call fate. Nolan, on the west coast, is the vortex of destiny at the end of the 18th Epoch, and within such a city, there are bound to be certain special locations. It is like a complete opera; no matter how many scenes there are, one setting will always be the most important."

The automaton offered its explanation. Jenkins pondered it for a moment:

"I suppose so. A special location, a vortex of destiny, the very center of the stage... How very interesting."

He looked down at the map of Nolan on the counter. Only one location was left: the Nolan Clock Tower in front of the Civic Square. Since the Mysterious Realm was a re-creation of Nolan from a year ago, the clock tower still stood. In the present, however, it had long been replaced by the Difference Engine's nine-story black metal tower.

In other words, the setting for the final adventure was the same as the real-world location of the conflict—a result of Jenkins's own deliberate planning.

Next to the red dot marking the clock tower was a small brass figurine of a short man holding a ring of keys. Jenkins recognized him. It was the clock tower's keeper.

In the Blood-healing Town he'd recently visited, the clock tower had needed a bell ringer. Nolan's clock tower, however, was fully automated, chiming precisely on the hour without any human assistance. It merely required occasional inspections from mechanics and a hired keeper to handle security, clean the interior, keep out troublemakers, and coordinate with City Hall when the tower was opened for festivals.

Of course, Nolan's clock tower keeper was notoriously derelict in his duties. For instance, on the night Mr. Hood held his gathering in the tower, the keeper's absence wasn't because he had been "dealt with"—he had simply skipped out to go drinking at a tavern.

Likewise, on the night the clock tower was demolished by the first tier of the Difference Engine's metal tower, the keeper was once again not inside. He had luckily survived. Jenkins later saw his photograph in a newspaper, which was how he recognized the man.

In the late summer of 1866, he was never prosecuted for dereliction of duty. According to the papers, after the clock tower's destruction, the keeper was assigned a new job—apparently representing City Hall to watch over the public cemetery alongside the gravediggers from the Church of Death and End.

Here in the Mysterious Realm, however, at the end of summer 1865, he was still working the same dead-end job as the clock tower's keeper.

"That reminds me, I'm curious about something. You chose the site of the Nolan Clock Tower to erect your nine-story metal tower because your core is located directly beneath it. That being the case, did the civilization that sealed you away choose this specific spot for a reason? For instance, maybe Nolan's geographical location is uniquely suited to sustaining a sealing ritual."

"There is no special meaning. It merely happened to be this location. At the same time, the vortex of fate at the end of the 18th Epoch also happened to converge here. It is this confluence that has convinced me that the title of Calamity Beast can belong to no other than myself."

His words held a certain logic. After all, not even the Difference Engine could have precisely predicted the form and location of the epoch's end thousands of years in advance. It truly was all a coincidence—the kind of coincidence so perfect it could make a machine believe in the existence of fate.

"Is there anything else you need to say? To stall for a little more time, perhaps?"

Jenkins asked. The automaton considered for a moment before shaking its head:

"Good. Let's go, then... Hold on."

He picked up his cat, who had once again sunk into a low ebb upon realizing a fight wasn't happening just yet. Then he turned to scan Pops Antique Shop one last time. He knew every part of it intimately; countless stories had unfolded for him here, and he had personally scrubbed nearly every corner.

"The next time I see Pops Antique Shop, I imagine things will feel very different."

If he failed, there would be no next time. If he succeeded, he would return to the mortal world in the guise of a god. Either way, even though he and Papa Oliver had never spoken of it, Jenkins's life as an antique shop apprentice was effectively over.

That was why he allowed himself this moment of sentimentality. But it was only a moment. After a final look around, he shouldered his backpack, took up his sword and his cat, and with a single leap, plunged into the map.

The automaton, free of such sentiments, saw Jenkins go ahead and immediately followed suit.

After they had both departed, the map on the counter began to fade, its colors paling as it started to disappear...

Fini's hand shot out, snatching the map as it tried to disappear. Oviya took it, unfolded it, and laid it out on the counter once more. Behind her, a mythical witch in a long black robe approached the counter.

Oviya seemed to be shrouded in a soft glow, while the witch seemed to absorb all light around her. The now-adult Fini stood as tall as the witch, but the two possessed entirely different auras:

"Is this the end of the story?"

The witch's slender fingers traced the edge of the map:

"Compared to the spectacular final battle in the last Mysterious Realm, this adventure is hardly thrilling. I much prefer the image of the Savior standing atop a steel World Tree, swinging his sword at his foes under a sallow sky... You certainly have good taste."

In truth, they had been watching Jenkins all along; neither he nor the Difference Engine had been aware of their presence. And of course, in a final battle that would decide the fate of civilization in the material world, they were hardly the only ones observing.

"Spectacular battles aren't the only things that make a story magnificent. I thought you preferred tales with twists and turns. Or are you secretly just like that feisty cat of his?"

Oviya teased, but the witch didn't reply, her gaze fixed on the map:

"So, have you figured out how Jenkins plans to win?" Updates are released by NoveI-Fire.ɴet

"You already know, don't you? We are here for no other reason than to witness this moment."

Oviya tossed the map onto the counter. It was the control nexus for this pocket world; if preserved, it could be used to create a new Mysterious Realm. But neither she nor the witch cared for such trifles. The perspective of a god is vastly different from that of a mortal.

Meanwhile, Jenkins and the automaton had landed in Nolan's Civic Square. Their conversation in Pops Antique Shop had cost them some time, and by the time they arrived, night had completely fallen. In this era, Nolan had yet to install public streetlights, so the brightest illumination came from the light spilling from the windows of the shops and buildings surrounding the square.

The nightly police patrols had also begun their rounds. The Civic Square was located in the heart of Nolan, making it a focal point of their routes, so the area was generally quite safe.

Though it was late summer, the afternoon rain had left a chill in the night air. A moderate crowd milled about the square. While the concept of an after-dinner stroll had yet to catch on, it was still a pleasant place to enjoy the cool evening.

The fountain at the center of the square depicted a child holding a water jug, and the sound of the cascading water was delightful. The ground was still warm, so the dampness from the earlier shower had long since evaporated.

This was the night Jenkins had first arrived a year ago. It was a seemingly peaceful night, yet it was the night the original Jenkins had died. Of course, even if the Mysterious Realm could perfectly re-create this day, the frantic escape route he and Barnard had taken was a great distance from here. There was no danger of the past interfering with the present.

The people in the square paid no mind to Jenkins and the automaton. The pair passed through the crowd, heading toward the clock tower at the square's edge. It had been a long time since Jenkins had seen it, and he felt a pang of nostalgia.

Nolan's clock tower didn't chime on the hour, but rather at dawn, noon, eight in the morning, and six in the evening. The sound never reached St. George Avenue, right by the Docklands, but when he was running errands downtown, Jenkins had always found the chimes quite pleasant.

It was now past seven in the evening, so the bells had long since fallen silent. Arriving at the base of the tower with the automaton, Jenkins made a gesture of invitation. The automaton gave the door a gentle push, and the entrance, which should have been locked, swung open at once.