Mulling over the predicant he was in, Jenkins suddenly spoke up.
"If I were to offer you so Sin Coins, would you be able to tell what's going on here?"
"Oh?"
The bookstore owner looked up in surprise, adjusting his glasses. "Of course! Please, co in. Would you like so tea? I can prepare so pastries as well."
His tone had ward instantly.
Jenkins let out a quiet sigh of relief but shook his head, taking a slow step back. "I still have so things to attend to. Let's not be hasty."
Without waiting to see the shopkeeper's reaction, he turned, cradling his cat, and walked back out.
In truth, he had used up all his Sin Coins at the last funeral. The question was rely a test to determine if this strange situation was the work of so peculiar supernatural item or the bizarre ability of an Enchanter.
The result proved his suspicion: it was one of those numbered items.
Stepping back onto the street, he was reminded that an empty city was truly no place to live. He t the shopkeeper's gaze through the display window for a mont before turning and heading in the direction of the church.
The church was deserted, every office empty. He descended the steps to the lower level, where the Gate of All Things still stood, though it was now devoid of any spiritual glow.
He reached out and touched it, only to find that it was rely a tal plate shaped like the Gate of All Things, lacking even the ability to open.
"So it's really like this?"
This city had more than a few flaws. Aside from the items Jenkins carried with him, all other supernatural objects were gone. The sun in the sky never moved, and ti was frozen at a specific mont. The city itself had boundaries; encompassing the west side of Nolan City and part of the east, it would loop him back to the opposite end if he crossed a certain line.
The only place with a spiritual glow was the sky. Jenkins usually avoided looking up, as the sun's brilliance would make his eyes ache and tear up. But the glow in this sky was made of vast, dark patches of black, which stirred an inexplicable sense of dread if he stared too long.
Although the city's ti was frozen, the human body was not. When his pocket watch showed five in the afternoon, both his and Chocolate's stomachs rumbled in perfect unison.
"Shall we get sothing to eat?"
He rubbed his temples and closed the book he was reading, *Old Tis*. The collection of poems was far worse than he had anticipated; the author couldn't even spell so of the words correctly.
Even so, the book itself didn't seem to hold any clues.
He casually pushed open the door to a high-end restaurant on the street. The gas lamps were still lit, and several expensive musical instrunts lay scattered across the stage in the center of the dining room.
Clang!
The sharp sound of tal hitting the floor echoed unexpectedly from the kitchen. Jenkins froze, realizing with a start that he was not alone in this ghostly place.
His Black Robe rippled into existence, shrouding his body and altering his face and height into sothing unfamiliar. He didn't know who he was about to et, but if there was any chance of a fight, it certainly wouldn't be the peace-loving writer making an appearance.
As he approached the wall, he saw the tell-tale shimr of an Enchanter's aura, and it looked remarkably familiar. He patted Chocolate's small head, prompting his fur to turn a pure, snowy white, then coughed loudly before pushing open the kitchen door.
"Mr. Black Cat, long ti no see!"
A man with black hair was sprawled unceremoniously on the kitchen floor, the hem of his greatcoat collecting dust. He appeared to be a middle-aged man in his forties, with the typical features of soone from the continent's west coast—a high nose bridge and a plain, round face that made him utterly unmorable.
He wore a pair of black-rimd glasses, but the left lens was shattered, held together by bits of tape.
When Jenkins opened the door, the man was in the middle of lifting a piece of bread to his mouth, surrounded by an assortnt of food.
"Oh, you are..."
He stared in astonishnt at the stranger before him, then his eyes fell upon the cat, white as fresh snow.
"You're Mr. Candle!"
"Indeed. I never expected to see you here. But why are we talking in here? The tables outside are much more spacious, and I imagine you could spare so food for ."
"Oh, of course. God, I can't believe you're still looking out for !"
Mr. Black Cat must have been trapped here for so ti. Though his clothes and hair were still tidy and he carried no unpleasant odor, a weariness he couldn't quite conceal spoke volus about his dire situation.
They relocated to a table against the wall, directly beneath the brightest of the gas lamps.
Jenkins selected a few things he knew Chocolate liked and placed them on a white porcelain plate for his cat. He normally wouldn't do such a thing, as high-end restaurants rarely permitted pets inside.
"Good heavens, I'm so glad to have soone to talk to. How did you recognize ? I was certain I never revealed my identity at our gatherings."
"I have so special abilities,"
he replied vaguely, using a knife to cut the food on his plate. Since ti was fixed for these items, they wouldn't spoil easily. "But please, rest assured, this won't affect you in any way."
"I'm not worried."
The middle-aged man waved a dismissive hand. "I don't have any family or close friends in Nolan City, so it doesn't matter if my identity is exposed. Besides, there's still the question of whether we can even get out of here."
Jenkins nodded and asked with concern, "I rember at our last gathering, you said you were planning to leave Nolan City as soon as possible. I thought we might never et again. Why are you here? I, uh, happened to walk into an old bookstore, and when I ca out, I was here."
"It was much the sa for . I was planning to leave from the Nolan train station. Before boarding, I was worried the journey would be dull, so I had my carriage stop. I popped into an old bookstore on the street to buy so detective novels to pass the ti on the train, but I never expected..."
He undid the top button of his collar and shrugged at Jenkins.
"I imagine you an the old bookstore with the parrot."
"Yes. I'm sure you've figured out that fellow is the culprit, but no matter what I try, I can't get it to tell us how to get back."
At this, Black Cat paused.
"Oh, I assu you bought a book there as well. Rember this: as long as that book isn't completely destroyed, we are immortal here."
"You figured that out through trial and error?"
Jenkins was taken aback. He never would have expected Mr. Black Cat to be so bold. To discover sothing like that wasn't a matter of simple luck; it would have required a trendous amount of fortune and courage.
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