Nolan might be considered the most prosperous industrial city of the age, but its infrastructure couldn't hold a candle to Jenkins's hotown. The streets, though seemingly flat enough for carriages to traverse, would still jolt the passengers with a sudden lurch from ti to ti.
Inside the speeding carriage, Pops paused for a mont before continuing his explanation of the white basic ability, [Cycle].
"Don't just look at its effect. As powerful as this ability is, it's also incredibly dangerous. Evolution cos at a price. At the beginning of each cycle, the holder's soul suffers imnse damage, much like an insect undergoing the life-or-death trial of tamorphosis. According to the few records we have, most holders of [Cycle] end up going completely mad. The longest-known user went through seventeen complete cycles, ascending from a level 3 Enchanter to a level 9 demigod. They say he was just a single step away from becoming a level 10 demigod—a feat unheard of in this epoch. But in the end, he went mad all the sa..."
At the demigod level, mortals could only accumulate their spirit in vain, with no possibility of further sublimation. So, no matter how gifted one might be, continued advancent would only take them from level 9 to 10, or even 11, but it would not be a fundantal change.
"Doesn't that an Jenkins is in grave danger?"
Miss Bevanna asked anxiously.
"No. He is the Saint of the Sage. His soul is under divine protection. Have you ever heard of a Saint going mad?"
Pops shook his head and said, then turned to Jenkins:
"If this were a ti of peace, everyone would be thrilled for you to have acquired this ability. But things are different now. I don't think you have the ti to wait for it to cycle. Still, it's a good ability. Keep it. Besides strengthening its holder over ti, it can also amplify... certain numbered items. But that's extrely rare."
As he spoke that last sentence, a shadow passed over his face.
Hearing this, Miss Bevanna finally let out a sigh of relief. Jenkins, however, was still hung up on the fact that he'd just lost another blank bubble, leaving him with only one.
"But why have I never heard of this ability?"
The conversation continued as Miss Bevanna pressed on:
"I'd like to think I've read the vast majority of books in both the Holy See in Bel Diran and the church here in Nolan."
"How about this? Before we reach the church, I'll tell you both a few things I probably shouldn't."
He had Jenkins open the window. Imdiately, the thick gray fog tried to surge in, but Miss Bevanna dispersed it with a wave of her hand. They hadn't gone far from St. George Avenue, but they had to make a wide detour to avoid the area where the fog giant was active, which would add a considerable amount of ti to their journey.
"Jenkins, I imagine you've gathered by now that I wasn't always an antique shop owner. A long ti ago, I also worked in Bel Diran. Old Jack probably told you about it."
It was actually Miss Stevel who'd ntioned it, but Jenkins wasn't about to point that out.
"I used to be one of the church's Keepers of Secrets. Do you know what that ans for the Legacy Sage Church?"
Pops asked, his tone like that of a teacher quizzing a student. Jenkins pondered the question, stroking his cat...
"Wait a minute. How did Chocolate get here?"
He glanced down abruptly and saw his cat lounging comfortably on his lap, just as it always did, eyes half-closed as it enjoyed being petted. When the hand on its back stopped moving, the cat flicked the tip of its tail against Jenkins's wrist, prompting him to resu.
"The Keepers of Secrets bear the church's ancient mysteries, passing down the terrors and truths accumulated over countless ages. Not all secrets are ant to be known by the public, nor should all histories be spread. The Keepers bear and pass on this burden, ensuring that sensitive knowledge is neither lost nor leaked."
Jenkins supplied the answer, which he'd gleaned from Professor Burns's work manual—a little booklet that was classified, but accessible to him.
"Correct. Which is why there are things that even the church's demigods might not know. For instance... the fact that among the Twelve Orthodox Gods, three are unique: Nature, Death, and Destiny."
"Aren't the primordial three Nature, Earth, and Sun?"
Jenkins asked.
"Of course not. The 'primordial three' refers to those three great beings whose faiths spread far and wide at the beginning of the world, making them the most recorded deities in ancient texts. In truth, the gods of Death and Destiny are no younger than the gods of Earth and Sun; they were simply less prominent. As for what makes the three of them special..."
Pops's voice suddenly dropped, as if he were afraid of disturbing so monster hidden in the thick fog outside the window:
"The God of Nature is the god of all things, symbolizing the material world. The God of Death is the god of the end, symbolizing that all things must one day cease to be. And the God of Destiny... is Destiny itself, one of the most fundantal rules of this world. The other Righteous Gods have, to one degree or another, altered their doctrines or even their common nas over the long ages, but these three alone are immutable. The God of Destiny, in particular, is the ultimate expression of that immutability. You see, even the gods of Nature and Death have made minor changes to details over ti, but Destiny has never altered in the slightest..."
Jenkins took this to an that the positions of the gods of Nature, Death, and Destiny could not be easily passed on to others. The current God of Destiny might even be the very sa one who existed at the world's creation... The thought was terrifying. A deity who had existed since the dawn of ti, still looking down upon the mortal world today.
"But if that's the case, doesn't it an that other mortals who ascend to godhood on the path of Destiny have no possibility of advancing any further?"
He thought to himself.
But on second thought, this world wasn't one of those settings where mortals had to climb a ladder step by step, where lives were cheap and the strong road free. Becoming a pseudo-god was already the ultimate transformation and sublimation. No one demanded that a pseudo-god had to aim to beco a Righteous God. Besides, pseudo-gods were still genuine gods, no different in status from the Righteous Gods.
"According to certain reliable rumors, the first Church of the God of Knowledge was established with the help of the followers of the God of Destiny. That's why, among the churches of the ancient gods, we have the best relationship with the believers of Destiny. It's also a major reason I allowed Audrey to teach you. I hope you haven't been wasting your ti with her."
Pops added. And with that, Jenkins understood. Perhaps those who walked the path of Destiny didn't necessarily have to beco the successor to the God of Destiny.
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