"But I've passed the trials now, and I have these."
With a wave of his hand, four ice-blue chess pieces representing the swordsman, archer, knight, and astrologer materialized in the air before him. He possessed no telekinetic abilities, nor was this a feat accomplished through imnse spiritual power or mastery over his Bestowals. It was rely a simple application of his [Ice Solidification] ability, making them float.
"It is of no concern. Since you have obtained them, they naturally belong to you. God of Lies, my Lord sensed that the pact He made with the spirit of nature has been stirred, and that a bold mortal recently drew His gaze. Fearing the elental balance of the material world would be disrupted, He sent to aid mortals, and also to continue waiting for the one who can answer my question—and please, don't look at like that. I truly do not require your answer."
Seeing Jenkins nod in understanding, he went on:
"When this palace and I appeared, I observed a snowman that had been sealed by mortals escaping nearby. I intended to deal with it myself, but then I saw you. And just like that, all my questions were answered. I had been wondering why my Lord gave those items, as I clearly cannot use them... I see now. The thoughts of a great one are truly not for to presu to fathom... Therefore, with you here, my intervention in the elental imbalance and the mutations among the northern ice tribes is no longer necessary.
My Lord bestowed upon the tools to handle this matter, and you may take them before you leave. You are far better suited to resolve this incident than I, who rely specializes in ice and snow abilities. Moreover, I knew you had questions about this incident, which is why I invited you here. Is there anything else you wish to ask?"
Hearing this, Jenkins nodded with understanding. He now had a new perspective on the [Pact of Frosty Victory] and its connection to the Master. This was, however, the first ti he had encountered such a benevolent and responsible being of that level. The few he had indirectly encountered over the past six months... their personalities had all been rather...
Though there was neither rain nor snow, a sudden clap of thunder echoed through the sky. Jenkins instantly composed himself, daring not to entertain another thought. After a long mont, he finally asked again:
"Regarding your question, do you truly not require my answer?"
"I truly do not."
The ice sculpture of the old man slowly shook its head, firmly refusing Jenkins's kind offer.
"Very well, then. I do have a few questions I'd like to have answered... The material world still has a tradition of celebrating the Ice and Snow Festival. Is this festival, by any chance, related to the great [Lord of Winter]?"
"Yes. That was when my Lord had not yet achieved the status of Master, and was serving as..."
He paused for a mont before quickly correcting himself:
"That was a festival established by mortals to thank my Lord for His protection, back when His na was still known in the material world. It is indeed related to Him."
"What was he about to say?"
Jenkins wondered, pondering for a mont before hazarding a guess:
"It couldn't have been 'a festival from when He had not yet achieved the status of Master, and was serving as a Righteous God,' could it... Hmm? Actually, that seems entirely possible!"
He subconsciously raised a hand to his nose. It was so frozen he'd lost all feeling in it, but at least he didn't feel the tell-tale trickle of blood. His sanity, it seed, was still intact:
"If that's true, does that an all Masters ascend from the ranks of the Righteous Gods? No, that can't be right. While the history of the churches isn't exactly seamless, and there were fewer Righteous Gods in ancient tis than the twelve we have now, I'm certain that no Righteous God has ever just... vanished. The disappearance of a Righteous God would an the end of their church. That's a cataclysmic event. No matter how much history has been lost, sothing like that couldn't possibly go unrecorded."
A tangle of complex questions clamored for answers in his mind, but the frigid air felt like it was freezing his very thoughts. Jenkins found himself unable to reason any further, so he decided to focus on the imdiate situation.
"So this incident—I'm referring to the unusual weather and the uprising of the northern snowman legion—was it rely an accident caused by mortals?"
"Not entirely. We are at the end of an epoch; chaos and war are preordained. The seeds of this disaster were sown long ago, and the elental imbalance didn't begin just because that pact made by nobles was triggered. O God of Lies, your understanding of fate must be far deeper than my own. All of this was destined to happen."
The priest answered in a singsong tone, his speech still painstakingly slow.
"Very well."
Jenkins replied, feeling as though his very organs were frozen solid. Yet at the sa ti, he felt a clarity unlike anything he had ever known. His body, far from growing stiff in the extre cold, actually felt more vigorous than ever.
"One last question. How am I to resolve all this? Though I am a god residing in the material world, you can surely see that I am not in my fully divine state. Even with the weapon bestowed by the [Lord of Winter], I cannot be certain that I can quell the effects of this elental imbalance."
"That is simple. My Lord foresaw all of this. Please, accept this."
The priest clasped his hands before his chest, closed his eyes, and bowed his head slightly, reciting a short verse of praise that was unintelligible to Jenkins.
His form began to glow with a faint golden light, and a single golden snowflake drifted out from his body. It was pure divinity.
Jenkins reached out instinctively to catch it. The mont his flesh touched the golden snowflake, his soul was elevated to an indescribable plane of existence.
His mortal body collapsed as his divine self stood tall within a brilliant white pillar of light that reached for the heavens:
"Damn it! To think that direct contact with active divinity would trigger sothing like this!"
The divinity was already burning away. Jenkins's original plan had been to wait until he reached the front lines before making his move.
"Greetings, God of Lies."
The ice sculpture gave a deep bow, then bent and plunged a hand into the ice at its feet, pulling forth a casket of ice.
"This is the instrunt my Lord prepared for this matter. When you reach the skies above the farthest north of the material world, you must pour your power into it. A frost bearing the characteristics of your soul will then replace the rampaging ice, restabilizing the elental forces. My own soul is tied to ice; if I were to perform this task, there would be lingering consequences. For you, however, this should not be an issue."
"I understand."
With a wave of his hand, the god summoned the box from the ice sculpture's grasp, and it floated before Him. He could feel the imnse power contained within it; even in His current state, He could not fully comprehend what this object truly was.
"My task is complete, God of Lies. I wish you success on your journey. May we have the chance to et again."
The ice sculpture of the old man bowed low once more. Jenkins nodded slowly and pointed a finger at his collapsed body. It dissolved into motes of white light and vanished.
This was a crude application of divine spatial power. It had cost Him so energy to send the body back to his bedroom, but He could only hope it wouldn't frighten Chocolate.
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