"Why does it feel like I ca here just to get my hands on these two bracelets?"
Jenkins wondered as he returned to the courtyard for the wedding. His plan was simple: once the ceremony was over, he’d find a random spot to bury the bracelets. That way, whether they carried a blessing or a curse, it would have nothing to do with him—a man from the future.
He still hadn't woken up in his bedroom, despite having resolved the issue. He guessed it was because the wedding wasn't officially over yet.
That guess was clearly wrong. Just as the townspeople erupted in celebration at the sight of the bride and groom, a long-bearded old man in a gray robe and a pointed hat approached Jenkins. He leaned on a long wooden staff, the gem at its tip radiating a dazzling golden light.
"One look at that outfit tells you're a wizard."
That was the first thing Jenkins said to him. The old man glanced down at his own clothes.
"Are you talking about this robe?"
"Not just the robe... Never mind, it doesn't matter. I assu you're looking for ? Here, take these back."
With that, he held out the two bracelets he had just acquired. The long-bearded wizard took them with his left hand, the one not holding the staff.
"You knew these were mine?"
His voice was ancient, yet remarkably clear, fitting the image of a wise elder capable of guiding the young.
"There are only so many coincidences in the world. The odds of stumbling into this wedding were already slim. For another wizard, completely unrelated to all this, to just happen to walk into the sa courtyard... well, you know how unlikely that would be."
"The odds are probably even slimr than a god showing up to solve the problems of a troubled young couple."
The old man winked at Jenkins. His eyes crinkled with amusent, and the expression on his deeply wrinkled face was surprisingly comical.
"You know who I am?"
Jenkins asked.
"Of course,"
the old man answered.
"Just as you've guessed who I am."
Jenkins knew exactly who he was. Through his Eye of Reality, the divine aura shimring behind the old man was unmistakable. But even without it, the answer had sprung into his mind the instant he laid eyes on him: this was a god.
"I don't quite understand. Why did you have to make things so difficult for them, and in this particular way?"
Jenkins nodded toward the young couple, who were in the middle of exchanging tokens.
"That's because of their parents. I'm rely here to collect a bit of interest. Even if you hadn't shown up, their lives would never have been in danger. They just would have been unhappy for the rest of their days."
"I doubt a reason that simple would require you to personally manifest in the material world, would it?"
He didn't know which Epoch this was, but a god appearing in the material world was always a major event, regardless of the era.
"God from the future, you've appeared here as well, have you not? We all have our reasons. They may seem trivial to one another, but every decision we make has the potential to influence the past, the present, and the future. Whether it's truly important doesn't matter. What matters is that we were ant to be here."
The old man hadn't answered the question directly, but Jenkins understood his aning. He, too, was a god. He, too, had appeared at this unremarkable wedding. And he, too, was here for reasons that were both tedious and necessary.
"I know you have many questions, but I'm afraid the past cannot offer the future guidance about an even more distant future."
Seeing Jenkins open his mouth to speak, the old man cut him off. But then his tone shifted, and he added with a smile:
"However, the past can shed light on events of the even more distant past. I don't know your initial reason for coming here, but I imagine it has sothing to do with this town, doesn't it?"
"Yes. I want to know what exactly happened here, in the far distant past."
"A creature capable of bringing disaster to the entire world was born in this town. That was in the very ancient past; even I was not a witness to it. Though the calamity itself left this town long ago, a strange spiritual residue lingers here, at its birthplace. Because of this, strange things are bound to happen on the very ground we stand on, in every era. Even if I hadn't appeared, so other mischief-maker would have. It is simply this place's destiny."
"A Beast of Calamity from the end of an Epoch?"
Jenkins ventured. The old man simply smiled and winked at him again, neither confirming nor denying the guess.
"Well now, it's about ti for to leave. I see a familiar mark upon you... If I'm not mistaken, you have a bracelet like this as well, don't you?"
The old man gestured with the two bracelets he was holding.
"Why don't you wear it?"
"Because..."
Jenkins hadn't forgotten the dual aning of the love bracelets—both blessing and curse. He had to admit he didn't believe he fit the definition of pure, innocent love.
"Don't you worry. If the love is true, the bracelet won't trouble you. Hmm, and it looks like it's ti for you to leave as well. Look..."
Following the old man's gaze, Jenkins saw the thin stack of old book pages resting on a nearby long table. They had been thoughtfully placed on a neatly folded napkin, safe from the surrounding food.
He woke up in his bed for the sixth ti. The moon was high in the sky; it was already midnight. Jenkins couldn't make sense of how ti flowed between these "dreams." So lasted only a dozen minutes in real ti, while others consud more than half an hour.
Tonight was a rare occasion: both the red and blue moons were half-full. Astrologers considered this an on of uncertainty and instability. They believed it was safest to avoid all activity during such a phase and simply stay ho and sleep.
"I might as well go back to sleep, then."
He sniffled, closing the book to check its thickness. He was already halfway through. At this rate, he could easily finish it by morning if he didn't sleep.
"The airship maintenance won't be done for a while, and it's not like I have anything better to do. Staying up till dawn is no problem... Losing myself in stories until sunrise... sounds a bit like a tale from the Arabian Nights. Too bad there's no beautiful maiden by my bedside, and I'm certainly no king."
He stroked his cat, leaned back against his pillow, and turned to the next page. The title of the next story was "The Traveler's Final Journey."
The weather was still gloomy; it seed the sky above Black Town was perpetually overcast. Jenkins woke beside a path in the forest just outside town. He took a deep breath, savoring the scent of the woods, then summoned his black robe and altered his appearance. But he didn't leave right away.
He stood there, watching the forest. After about ten minutes, a middle-aged man carrying a massive backpack appeared on the path, walking away from town.
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