With that, Jenkins took a deep breath and activated The Unknown Path. When the telltale purple light failed to appear, he once again scrutinized every detail of the ritual on the ceiling, even risking a closer look at the intensity of the black spiritual aura.
His mind brushed against the purple speck of light that symbolized destiny. A violet thread shot out, stretching into the air and plunging directly into the earthen layer of the ceiling. There were no ritual materials embedded in that spot, not even the faintest trace of chalk.
However, upon closer inspection in the faint candlelight of the basent, it was possible to see that the color of the earth in that spot was slightly different.
"How predictable."
He materialized his cane and jabbed it upward. The packed earth instantly crumbled. Amidst a shower of dust and dirt, a silver, ring-shaped object dropped down—the true core of the ritual, hidden within the ceiling.
It was a simple ring, utterly featureless. As Jenkins subconsciously reached out to touch it, a thought crossed his mind:
"A ring? Ti?"
The mont his right hand made contact with the ring, it humd, releasing a barely perceptible gray arc of light that expanded outward. All sound vanished. The candlelight ceased to flicker. The Doll of Silence on his chest dropped to the floor, and in that sa instant, Jenkins received the spirit required to eliminate the Gizmo.
Jenkins glanced at the ring in his hand, then at his companions, who were frozen in place. Finally, he looked down at his pocket watch. It had stopped.
He stood stunned for several seconds before heading up the stairs, leaving the basent and returning to the first floor of the main hospital building. Walking down the corridor into the lobby, he saw the female doctor was also frozen, sitting with her mouth open as if she had been in the middle of speaking.
Jenkins ignored her, using a 'true illusion' to transport himself to the rooftop of the main building. Three n were waiting for him there, all dressed in black suits, wearing black fedoras, black leather shoes, and carrying black briefcases. They were the Ti Paradoxers—unique, otherworldly beings who lived in the fissures of non-linear ti, responsible for stabilizing the tiline on behalf of their sovereign.
"Oh, you gave quite a start."
Jenkins remarked, shaking his head. He had expected the sovereign, 'Closing Circle,' to appear in person.
"What can I do for you?"
he asked.
Bigges Hospital was now in a state of temporal stasis, which ant he no longer had to worry about the loop resetting. He could converse freely.
Although the three n had distinct faces, they bore a striking resemblance to one another; most people would have easily believed they were brothers. They bowed stiffly in unison to Jenkins, and the one in the lead finally spoke:
"Future God of Lies, it is an honor to et you at this point in ti. We detected an abnormal surge of our sovereign's divine power and ca here. As per our sovereign's instructions, we are to assist you in resolving this temporal anomaly."
"Are you telling you didn't know anything about this place before?"
Jenkins, of course, didn't believe them for a second.
"We knew, of course. Temporal anomalies are quite common in the material world. We only intervene to address uncertainties that might affect the stability of the tiline."
"And you're appearing now because I'm here?"
"No. Your acquisition of this ring allowed us to discover the secret hidden here. And do not worry. While this ring once belonged to our sovereign, we have not co to reclaim it. It is part of an extrely powerful sealing ritual. Its removal signifies a problem with that seal. We are here to confirm its identity and to pinpoint the exact mont in ti the seal was compromised."
"Can you tell what it's ant to seal?"
"A temporal calamity—the Paradox Worm. Yes, it's exactly what you're thinking. Our sovereign sealed it away in ages past, but this creature ignores all thods of spatial and temporal containnt. A breach can occur at any point, so power must be present at every mont to maintain the seal. This is one of the reasons for our kind's existence."
Jenkins accepted this explanation and handed the ring to the man he'd been speaking with. The man took it, glanced at it briefly, and handed it back.
"Yes. It is indeed part of the seal."
"Before you go off to deal with that calamity, what's to be done about this hospital?"
Jenkins asked again.
"That is simple enough. The ring's power spread, creating a temporal seal that trapped any human with a talent for ti here forever. You have co to destroy the ring, a task only you can perform. We, in turn, will stabilize the temporal energy accumulated over tens of thousands of years of cycles. Once that is done, this place will turn to dust."
Jenkins now understood why the hospital's "original inhabitants" existed.
"Then what about the people trapped here? Can they return to their own eras?"
"They died long ago."
The Ti Paradoxer's reply was brief, but Jenkins understood his aning. Even though they were caught in a ti loop, the events of those dozen or so minutes that the Church knew of were a part of history. At the point where ti should have moved forward, everyone was killed by evil spirits. Historically, there were no survivors.
Besides, those people weren't from Jenkins's 18th Epoch. They were unfortunate souls caught in an accident from an ancient age. From a modern perspective, they were already dead.
"And if I wanted them to live..."
"If they were from your era, it could be done. But is it necessary?"
the Ti Paradoxer asked.
Jenkins didn't have an answer. He had only t the inhabitants for less than ten minutes. His goal was to free them from the infinite loop; he hadn't considered what would co after.
"Then let's ask for their opinion."
"Very well. Please, begin. The matter of the mortals can be resolved along with everything else."
Jenkins sniffled, gripped the ring in his right hand, and raised it over his head. He slowly squeezed. With a crisp crack, like shattering glass, fissures spiderwebbed across the ring's surface. Simultaneously, the building beneath him and the entire hospital within his sight began to fade, like a vibrant oil painting losing its color.
Blinding golden light shot out from the fine cracks on the ring's surface. Jenkins felt the power of divinity. It wasn't much—just two drops' worth—but for him, it was more than enough.
He didn't shatter the ring completely. After all, re-sealing divinity was no simple task. For now, cracking it was enough. The proof was right before his eyes: the hospital was vanishing like a faded photograph.
The three Ti Paradoxers raised their right hands toward the sky in unison. Much like the gray stream of light that had frozen ti upon their arrival, an almost identical gray light appeared, forming a massive ring that encompassed the heavens. At its center was a kaleidoscopic, dream-like luminescence, impossible to penetrate with sight.
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