Lord of The Mysterious Realms-Chapter 80: The Guidance of Fate
He infused a bit of spirit into Mr. Hunt's Fruit Platter, ate the single strawberry that appeared, and set the green and red apples aside. His cat, Chocolate, gave them a sniff but seemed entirely uninterested.
"The Church of Sun and Justice..."
He mused, holding the metal block, then softly recited, "The sun's brilliance is eternal; the light of justice illuminates the world."
This was the prayer of the believers of the Eternal Blazing Sun, much like Jenkins's own familiar invocation, "Your brilliance illuminates the path before me."
Nothing happened.
"It couldn't be this simple."
Jenkins muttered, carefully picking up a sheet of paper from his desk. It bore the holy emblem of the Eternal Blazing Sun, from which golden lines extended like some strange circuit diagram, stretching to the very edges of the page.
Most divine items could only be used by followers of their corresponding deity, but nothing in the world was absolute. The Orthodox Churches had developed a ritual that, using a special array produced by the church—that very sheet of paper—allowed a believer of one Righteous God to temporarily use a divine item from another they didn't worship. The only condition was that the other deity must also be a Righteous God.
Jenkins couldn't have obtained such an item on his own; he had asked Papa Oliver for the paper earlier today, putting him another thirty pounds in debt.
As for where Papa Oliver had gotten it, Jenkins had no idea.
"If this still doesn't work, it must mean this isn't a divine item of the Eternal Blazing Sun, but a confiscated artifact from some pseudo-god."
He placed the metal block squarely atop the holy emblem, drew the curtains tight, and recalled the steps of the 'Ritual of Divine Item Activation' he had specifically studied.
Chocolate lay at the edge of the bed, watching with curiosity as Jenkins sat at the desk and, using ink laced with silver powder, inscribed strings of strange letters beside the emblem.
Once that was done, Jenkins faced a mirror. Closing one eye and then the other, he gently drew the emblem of the Legacy Sage on each eyelid.
Since he was attempting to probe a divine item belonging to another Righteous God, he had to declare his own spiritual affiliation to prevent any unforeseen complications.
"If this works, the item should temporarily activate."
Jenkins spoke as he took a step back, then leaned forward to press his hand onto the paper. He first offered a prayer to the Sage, then slowly began to infuse his spirit into the array.
He leaped back as the metal block began to glow. Jenkins immediately activated his Eye of Reality, just in time to see the faint golden aura on the cube vanish. As the object cracked, a brilliant, dazzling golden light burst forth from the fissure.
It wasn't blinding, yet it was undeniably magnificent and dazzling.
"What's going on? Was the metal block just a container?"
Jenkins craned his neck forward and watched as the crack in the metal block widened, the block itself dissolving into a pile of sand on his desk.
Finally, all that remained on the desk was an irregular, cylindrical, gelatinous substance, about as thick as his little finger.
"Meow~"
Chocolate let out a sharp cry and leaped from the bed, lunging for the golden gel. Jenkins reacted in a flash, snatching the cat out of the air.
"You can't eat this!"
he warned, but Chocolate continued to struggle in his grasp.
"Just sand left?"
Without touching the gel, he poked at the pile of sand with a finger. "Could this have been the shell of some special kind of seal?"
He made a mental note to look up information on sealing rituals and the earring next time he visited the church, then reached out and picked up the golden gel.
He gave it a squeeze. It was quite elastic. He tried infusing it with his spirit, but there was no reaction whatsoever.
"Could it be some kind of material? Or maybe... food?"
He pondered uncertainly, but ultimately couldn't make sense of it. After putting everything away, he realized that despite it being his first night living alone with plenty to do the next day, he wasn't the least bit sleepy.
He lay back on his bed, bored, and gazed at the motes of light floating in his vision—one white, one red, one green, one purple, and two yellow. As he often did before falling asleep, he tried to focus his consciousness on the purple one.
Nothing happened... wait, no. The ornate thread of fate unfurled, its end extending out through his window.
"What's happening? Why did it activate?"
Jenkins scrambled to his feet, staring quizzically in the direction the thread had vanished. Chocolate was jostled off the bed and landed on the floor, meowing in protest.
"Well, I don't have anything else to do... why not go take a look?"
The thought struck him suddenly, and he shivered.
"Am I really the adventurous type?"
he muttered to himself, yet he couldn't just let it go. He paced back and forth a few times, remembering what happened the last time he followed destiny's guidance, and then firmly stomped his foot.
"You stay here! I'll be right back!"
he commanded Chocolate, not caring whether the cat understood, and rushed downstairs, still in his slippers.
Chocolate stood on the bed, the light of the red and blue twin moons casting an ethereal sheen on her black and white fur. She hopped lightly onto the windowsill and watched as her master, cloaked in shadow, summoned a black robe and took on the appearance of another person before cautiously disappearing at the far end of St. George Street.
"Meow~"
The little cat sprang up, her forepaws catching the window latch. She pushed it open, hopped onto the outer sill, nudged the window shut behind her, and then leaped down, vanishing into the night in pursuit of her master.
Jenkins knew he was tempting fate, but his curiosity was too strong to ignore. He'd brought every ritual component and supernatural item he could carry. His previous experience had taught him that as long as he didn't actively seek out trouble, he probably wouldn't die.
He still had no idea what conditions triggered The Unknown Path. He'd once assumed it only activated in moments of dire peril, but apparently, that wasn't the case.
The thread of fate led him on a straightforward path. Dodging the strange figures that lurked in the darkness, Jenkins soon arrived in an adjacent neighborhood. The purple thread passed directly through the main door of an apartment building, which bore a gilded plaque reading '112A'.
For a moment, Jenkins was reminded of that night he'd committed murder and robbery.
He hesitated for a moment, then noticed a mailbox to the left of the main door. He reached out and gave its little door a shake—it was locked.
"I am a respectable gentleman,"
he told himself, carefully producing a thin wire. He fiddled with the small brass lock for a few seconds. Click.
Moonlight illuminated the interior of the mailbox, revealing a single letter. After a quick glance to make sure no one was watching, he took it out. The recipient's name read: Verne Barnard.
He froze for a second before it dawned on him—this was Mr. Barnard's full name.
"Oh."
He breathed out, closed the mailbox, and then, in his current guise—a portly, middle-aged man in a light-colored woolen coat—he knocked on the apartment door.
"Who is it?"
A woman's weak voice answered from within.
"Good evening. I'm a friend of Mr. Barnard's."
Jenkins offered a clumsy excuse. "Is Mr. Barnard at home?"
"Oh, hello."
The woman opened the door without a hint of suspicion. She was tall and thin, and for some reason, her face was streaked with tears.
.
!
Chapter 80: The Guidance of Fate
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