"What do you plan to do with the Sin Coins?"
Jenkins pressed, then added a condition:
"If you can answer that one question for , I'll agree to cooperate with you."
He declared, his eyes burning with intensity, feeling he was on the verge of uncovering the truth.
The cat lay curled by Jenkins's hand, waiting for the reveal. It, too, was brimming with excitent, eager to see the expression on Jenkins's face.
"Oh, that is an excellent question... but... the rules... I can't..."
The once-eager insurance salesman stamred, hesitating even with the promise of cooperation on the table.
"The rules don't allow you to tell , is that it? What if we use a different rule? For instance, I'd like to purchase this information with Sin Coins."
"That is permissible, but such information is expensive. Very expensive."
The insurance salesman's eyes lit up, and he rubbed his fingers together expectantly.
"That's fine. I have so funds on ."
As he spoke, Jenkins slipped his hand under the collar of his shirt, felt for a small cloth pouch sewn onto his thermal underwear over his heart, and tore it off with a sharp tug.
Soon, an assortnt of coins was laid out on the table: six green Blasphemy Seeds, a single golden Soul Coin, and twelve jewel-like Rings of Misfortune.
After placing the nineteen Sin Coins on the counter, Jenkins quickly scooped up his cat. The creature was fascinated by the colorful pile, but Jenkins couldn't risk it swallowing any of them.
"Oh, you are wealthy indeed. It's been many years since I've seen so many different types of Sin Coins at once. Blasphemy Seeds, Soul Gold, and Rings of Misfortune."
The insurance salesman squinted at the collection, then raised his head to look at Jenkins, his gaze even more fervent than before.
"This is certainly a lot, but you must understand, the information you seek is far more precious than this. As much as I'd like to make a deal, this is not nearly enough."
"I don't need the complete story," Jenkins countered. "Just tell as much as you're able to."
With that, Jenkins picked up one Blasphemy Seed, the single Soul Coin, and one Ring of Misfortune, placing them back in his hand. He then pushed the remaining sixteen coins across the counter to the salesman.
"That, I can certainly do!"
He instantly swept the coins into his pocket before turning back to Jenkins with a grave expression.
"The essence of a Sin Coin is sin itself. This includes conceptual sins like greed, blasphemy, lust, ignorance, slaughter, and pride, but also physical sins like bone, blood, and soul. The aggregation of these sins forms the seventeen different types of Sin Coins. A mortal cannot hold them for long, lest they beco corrupted by sin and transform into sothing terrible. But sin is not without its uses. It can be..."
"...borne."
The answer ca to Jenkins in a flash of insight, the word leaving his lips before he could think. The insurance salesman's eyes widened in astonishnt, and he took an instinctive step back. It was, of course, the correct answer, but he had never intended to reveal it.
"How did you know?" he shrieked. "I said nothing! Yes, I said nothing at all! It wasn't who told you!"
He yelled as if he'd gone mad, his voice growing louder with each word until he abruptly turned and fled. He burst out of the antique shop and vanished down Fifth Queen's Avenue, not even bothering to continue their discussion about cooperation.
Jenkins didn't pursue him. Instead, he stared into the empty space before him, his hand unconsciously stroking his docile cat. The sixteen Sin Coins he had just traded had only bought him a seemingly useless phrase, but he understood. He understood completely.
"Through my divinity, I learned that 'that which can attain godhood is not of this place, cannot be human, and must bear the sins of the world.' From Peter, the native of the master's world who beca part of a Cursed Item, I learned of 'the Master's bestowal... the second path... a trial...' And just now, the insurance salesman clearly stated that 'Sin Coins are sin.'"
Jenkins took a deep breath, his solemn expression a stark contrast to the joy blooming in his heart. He finally understood that it was not impossible for a mortal to beco a god. All the chaotic clues had finally snapped into place. Even without the guidance of The Unknown Path, he could grasp their aning.
"A mortal follows the Master to another world, is chosen after passing a trial there, and returns to the material world through a Mysterious Realm. Here, in the material world, they can attain godhood by collecting Sin Coins!
Those people from the Master's world... they all ca here to beco gods!
Attaining godhood through Sin Coins—that is the second path!"
As this line of reasoning solidified, a vast amount of Spirit flooded into Jenkins's body from the void. He chewed on the idea, ticulously replaying every encounter he'd had with a numbered entity over the past six months.
It was a sound conclusion. By synthesizing the knowledge from his divinity, the hints from the Cursed Item, and the insurance salesman's words, Jenkins had finally found the second path to godhood.
Compared to becoming a god by being the Savior at the end of the epoch, this second path was undoubtedly far more arduous and long. If Jenkins were to choose this route, he would not only have to survive the so-called cataclysm at the end of this era but also travel to the Master's world. There, he would have to pass a trial to be chosen, then return to the material world through a Mysterious Realm ford from fragnts of that other world, all while hoping no one else—or at least no one powerful—entered the realm with him. After all that, he would still have to spend countless years collecting what was likely an imnse and unknown quantity of Sin Coins, and only then could he beco a god by bearing all that sin.
To put it another way, if Jenkins were to abandon the first path to walk the second, he would have to be an absolute fool.
But even with this revelation, Jenkins still had a mountain of questions. The gods watched the mortal realm from a higher dinsion; what was the Master's purpose in helping mortals ascend? How did the existing gods view this thod of apotheosis? Why could strange and dangerous Cursed Items also achieve godhood? What was the real difference between Cursed Items and Extraordinary items? Were they all qualified to beco gods?
Even after glimpsing this second path, Jenkins knew he was only seeing the tip of a colossal iceberg. And though he had no intention of walking it himself, he was determined to understand its aning. It was, he firmly believed, of great significance for his own ultimate ascension into true godhood.
"If there's a first path and a second path," he mused, "perhaps there are even more ways to divinity!"
As the thought crossed his mind, he gazed out the window at Fifth Queen's Avenue, shrouded in the dim yellow glow of the streetlamps. He was growing to love this fascinating world. Though he was just a stranger who had stolen another's life, this place now held people he cared for, things that mattered to him, and even a few who loved him...
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