After returning to the church, Jenkins and Princess Sofia swapped identities again. Before he could even catch his breath, Alexia found him.
"You're going into that tower?"
"You heard the voice from the clouds?"
The Difference Engine's words had been ant only for the group within the black clouds. At such a great height, with the strange clouds acting as a barrier, Alexia theoretically shouldn't have been able to hear the conversation so clearly.
"The people from the Church of Music heard it. Hathaway passed the ssage to ... Are you really going into that tower?"
"Is there any other way?"
Jenkins sighed, his expression remaining calm despite it all.
"We've both been backed into a corner. As long as it stays underground, I can't get to it. Even if the Church found a way deep beneath the earth, the Difference Engine would flee faster than we could chase. And as long as it doesn't ascend into a Calamity Beast, it can't do anything to . It doesn't dare face on the surface, so it can't defeat , the Savior."
More importantly, neither of them could afford to wait. If they delayed any longer, the apocalypse would truly arrive. Everything Jenkins had done was to prevent that, while for the Difference Engine, the coming of the apocalypse ant the world would birth a Calamity Beast. If it didn't seize the chance to ascend, sothing far stranger would surely erge instead.
That was why, before Jenkins could make his move, the Difference Engine had used this thod to force a final showdown between them. Neither could wait any longer, so before the end truly ca, Jenkins and the machine had to settle things once and for all.
"But you now... nine..."
"It's alright. There's still ti, isn't there?"
It was eight in the morning, leaving sixteen hours until midnight. The Uncrowned King would certainly be no problem today, which left only Destiny.
But Jenkins believed that destiny was on his side. This wasn't just baseless confidence; it was because of the ti the Difference Engine had chosen for their duel. After midnight, it would be Sunday. It was August of 1866 in the Universal Calendar, the last week of the Month of the Hermit and Thunder. The following day would mark the one-year anniversary of his arrival in this world.
For the final battle to fall on such a day was itself heavy with the weight of fate. Whatever happened, this would decide everything.
Alexia stared at Jenkins, silent for a long mont. No matter how much faith she had in him, she couldn't accept the fact that he would be entering that black tower within twenty-four hours.
She knew it had to be done. Reason told her it was the right choice, but her heart wanted nothing more than to stop him.
Alexia didn't want to dwell on the conflict between her logic and her emotions, and Jenkins didn't let her linger on it. He simply stepped forward in the corridor and gently pulled her into an embrace.
"It's alright," he murmured. "We always knew this day would co, didn't we?"
They held each other until the sound of footsteps from the other end of the corridor made them part.
Before the eting, there was breakfast. Even if Jenkins had no appetite, he still had to take care of his cat.
Jenkins had to admit he was incredibly nervous about facing his final trial. But after his talk with Alexia, the edge of that tension had softened considerably.
As he ate, he pondered when he should ask the Church for the Bestowals. He decided to do it after his persona, Miss Fabry, officially announced her withdrawal from the race to be the Savior. That would make the request perfectly legitimate.
He still had one drop of divinity left. The Difference Engine didn't know he could use any Bestowal—that was his other trump card. The plan was rough: use the Bestowals to get through the first nine Mysterious Realms, and use his divinity to defeat the Difference Engine in the final one. He couldn't plan in any more detail than that; he knew nothing about the realms inside.
If only he had a week. The Church could have at least used the maps provided by Magic Miss to investigate the areas where the realms had originally existed and gather so information. But the Difference Engine wouldn't wait. Of course, it was also possible that it had sensed the Church was slowly unraveling the tower's secrets and decided to set the deadline for tomorrow.
His eyes shifted to Chocolate, who was diligently eating fruit at the long dining table. He knew he couldn't possibly take the cat into the tower, which ant he had to find soone to look after her.
"In that case, should I prepare a will? I'm confident, but I have to be prepared for the worst. I'll need a will to distribute my assets and find soone to care for Chocolate... I also need to write that if I die, Hathaway and the others can marry whover they choose. They don't have to wait for ..."
He lowered his head and took a spoonful of soup.
"I've known all along that I might die in the final battle, yet I still got involved with so many wonderful won. Isn't that a sin in itself?"
His mind churned with anxieties, and he had to admit that he was still nervous, that a part of him was terrified.
If the final battle had happened suddenly, he would have faced it with all his might, with no ti for such scattered thoughts. But now, it was a fixed appointnt, like a death row inmate being told the exact ti of his execution. That was the real torture.
"So, I have to get everything done today.
Write a will and find soone to look after Chocolate.
Bring Robert and Mary to the church.
Take a family portrait, just as we planned.
Request the Bestowals and take as many as I can carry.
et with every one of my friends and say at least one more word to them... good thing I don't have many.
Discuss the affairs of the kingdom with Jessica.
Ask Briny to look after the flower sellers' union; she's the best person for it.
Give all my knowledge to Alexia.
And to all of them, I have to say 'I love you'."
He realized he had never once said those words, and his heart ached with regret at his own carelessness. When he looked up, he saw Chocolate watching him with worried eyes. He knew the perceptive cat had sensed sothing was wrong. He smiled and stroked her small head, and she let out a soft, plaintive "ow~".
He was only halfway through breakfast when Miss Bevanna ca for him. Unsurprisingly, it was about the events that had transpired in the sky at dawn. After their group had returned, "Miss Fabry" had locked herself in her room without a word (in truth, she was having a private eting with Anastasia). Thus, it was the Church's demigods who had relayed the Difference Engine's "invitation" to the Savior to everyone on the ground.
By now, the news had almost certainly spread throughout the entire church, and likely even to the Evergreen Forest and the Holy See. With only two Savior candidates remaining, everyone knew one of them would have to enter the tal tower. The Church understood that it was sothing that had to be done.
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