"The Earthfire Worm?"
The appearance of the Star Spirit had montarily halted the tal worm's assault. Of course, it was also possible that the blast from his [Twin Demons] ability had injured it, making it hesitant to strike again.
That last [Twin Demons] attack was the most powerful Jenkins had ever unleashed. If even that couldn't wound the creature, he was out of options.
Furthermore, the Star Spirit's unexpected arrival had destabilized the Mysterious Realm. Though invisible to the naked eye, Jenkins could feel the space around them beginning to crumble. The Star Spirit was not a welco guest here, and with the realm's master dead, it no longer had a reason to exist.
"Yes, the Earthfire Worm," Rakul confird, "but this is only a fraction of its true power."
Rakul had recognized it instantly. Jenkins quickly filled her in on the situation.
"I understand,"
she said, opening the large book cradled in her arms. The power of the cosmos imdiately radiated outward, temporarily stabilizing the collapsing space.
"You must leave at once. This place cannot contain the three of us."
A Mysterious Realm could typically contain an imnse amount of power—after all, it was a place where anything could happen. But the simultaneous presence of a Beast of Calamity, a god, and an ancient entity was too much for even the material world to bear. Jenkins had to leave imdiately.
"I see it. The gate is on the worm's body,"
he said.
"I will handle this creature," Rakul offered. "Since it is not the true Beast of Calamity, I should be able to manage. However, to expose the gate... may I use one of your belongings? Be warned, it might be damaged in the process."
"I don't mind."
Jenkins nodded, unconcerned.
Without another word, the Star Spirit closed her eyes. A silver-blue light once again radiated from her translucent form. The star chart above her head blazed with a more potent brilliance, until its light completely consud the sky, as if the cosmos itself had descended upon the Mysterious Realm. It cast a silver-blue sheen on the tal cocoons below and even tinted Jenkins's hair.
"What item is she using to cause such a commotion... Ah, I see now."
An icicle erged from the 'starry sky' above his head, followed by the slow descent of the ice castle that rightfully belonged in the northern kingdom.
Right before his eyes, the massive castle and a connected swathe of snowy mountain plunged from above like a small peak, crashing into the sea of magma.
Jenkins couldn't find the words to describe the scene unfolding before him. The next mont, a cloud of white steam completely blinded him. The entire world shook, and the intermingling currents of hot and cold air overwheld his senses, making it impossible to gauge the temperature.
But the gate had appeared. The frigid ice castle had cooled the surface of the magma, and now it sat half-subrged in the molten sea, a constant battle between fire and ice.
A portion of the chanical worm was trapped within the newly cooled rock. The gate's white light shimred behind the thick clouds of steam, one half embedded in stone, the other exposed to the air.
The worm struggled, spitting flas from the pores of its tallic body to accelerate the lting of the ice. But the ice castle was a marvelous creation, a product of a master of ice and snow. It rapidly regenerated its lted sections, but while it could withstand the magma, it was no match for the worm itself.
"There isn't much ti. You must leave now,"
Rakul urged.
"Then I'll leave the rest to you."
Jenkins said, not knowing how else to express his gratitude.
"It is my duty. Besides, this is not so difficult for . After all, I am not bound by the rules of this place."
She gave Jenkins a slight bow.
"Savior, God of Lies, you carry the burden of civilization on your shoulders. Please, continue on your path, so that we Star Spirits may witness this great adventure from the cosmos."
As she spoke, she returned the fragnt of the Creation Slate to him.
This was the eve of the final battle. The Star Spirit could only help him this one ti. If Jenkins did not erge victorious, this would be their final parting. That was why she returned the fragnt to him now.
She also recalled the Star Spirits' decree that no new fragnts of the Creation Slate could enter the material world. But his current and future journey would take place within a Mysterious Realm, thus the rule remained unbroken.
Thinking of this, Jenkins couldn't help but suspect that when he first t the Star Spirits in the cosmos, they had already foreseen this very mont.
Starlight blood overhead once more as translucent, silver-blue figures began to appear, one after another. More and more Star Spirits materialized in the space, joining forces to contain the fracturing realm and the enraged worm. Among them were the elderly and middle-aged Star Spirits from his first encounter, but most were beings Jenkins had never seen before.
"Thank you for your help. If I get the chance, I will visit the Astral Plane to thank you personally."
He was still perched on the high stool and couldn't bow, so he offered a small nod of his head. Then, amidst the unified chorus of well-wishes from the Star Spirits, he grabbed the three dissected tal cocoons and his backpack, and flew toward the flickering white light of the unstable gate.
(Chocolate is running...)
Nolan, the material world.
After Jenkins entered the tal tower, it had begun to radiate a lethal black light, forcing the Church to fall back.
Alexia Miller hadn't stayed behind to wait for Jenkins's return. Instead, she had accompanied Papa Oliver and the others back to the Sage's Church.
The news that Jenkins was the God of Lies didn't imdiately spread upon the group's return. It wasn't because the Church was actively suppressing it; rather, the people who had witnessed the scene in the city square simply couldn't process what they had just seen and accepted.
If not for the resolute faith and unwavering will common among Benefactors, so might have suffered a complete ntal breakdown. Yet even those who accepted the truth found themselves subconsciously unwilling to share it.
Part of it was the fear of being dismissed as insane. The other part was a profound, instinctual reverence for the divine that made them hesitate to spread a god's secrets—a common sentint in a world where gods were real. So, for at least the first half-hour after Alexia returned to the church, people were more concerned with whether Jenkins had succeeded than with the fact that 'the God of Lies was in our midst.'
"Ti flows differently in a Mysterious Realm than it does in our world, so in theory, Jenkins could reappear at any mont, right?"
Hathaway Hersha had found Alexia Miller in the corridor. She braced a hand against the wall, her voice laced with worry as she spoke to the woman with a cat perched on her head.
Reviews
All reviews (0)