Waking from a deep slumber, my body felt none of the expected soreness. Instead, a pleasant warmth, like sinking into a hot spring, enveloped . Even before I opened my eyes, I knew I was in a bed, the unique, fragrant air of a forest filling my lungs with every breath.
My eyes opened to wooden beams and a sloping roof, and I instantly realized where I was: the cabin in the Evergreen Forest.
“An unfamiliar ceiling.”
Jenkins uttered the line before Papa Oliver, who was standing nearby, could get a word in. The old man pursed his lips and shook his head, lanting the missed opportunity.
“ow~”
Seeing Jenkins awake, Chocolate, who had been curled up by the pillow, imdiately sprang to its feet. Jenkins pushed himself into a sitting position, playfully teasing the cheerful cat with his fingers.
“What ti is it?”
“Three in the morning on Saturday. You’ve been asleep for about five hours.”
Papa Oliver spoke, setting a magazine down beside a vase before standing to push open the window. A cool night breeze swept in, carrying the distinct, damp scent of the woods. The early spring air was so delightful that both Jenkins and his cat couldn't help but squint in pleasure.
The soft pitter-patter of rain tapped against the ground, the eaves, and the leaves, creating a delightful rhythm. The night was exquisite—the first rainy night of early spring.
Through the window, the lush forest swayed in ti with the evening breeze and the gentle rain, dancing beneath the night sky. The great river of stars hung suspended overhead. The twin red and blue moons were an eternal fixture in the darkness, and under their quiet light, the rain-swept forest was a vision of tranquility.
“Are you alright?”
“I was behind the Gate of All Things. I rushed over as soon as I heard what had happened here.”
He spoke as he picked up a teacup from the small wooden table. He lifted the lid with care, and a plu of white steam imdiately billowed out.
Papa Oliver handed the cup to Jenkins, who took a cautious sip, tasting a familiar sweetness.
“Are you okay now, Jenkins? How are you feeling?”
“I feel great. My body’s fine, and I have plenty of energy.”
He attempted to stretch his arms, but his right hand accidentally swatted his cat. The animal let out a piteous cry, forcing Jenkins to set down his tea and soothe it on the blanket.
“That’s good.”
Papa Oliver nodded, seemingly disinclined to say more.
“So... what exactly is the situation now?”
Jenkins still couldn't make sense of what had transpired a few hours ago. His plan had been simple: use his new weapon and the power of the Star Spirits to crush Pompey head-on. He had never anticipated the forest's resonance or the strange transformation of the animals that followed. He suspected it had sothing to do with his new weapon and his [Life Source] ability, but he couldn't be certain.
“The Skull Sword has disappeared, just like thirty years ago.
About an hour ago, Pompey's headless body was discovered in a city alley. Divination, bloodline analysis, and a less-than-successful attempt at spiritual communication all confird it was him.
The Church suffered heavy losses, but the tide of the undead has receded. Without the power of the Skull Sword to sustain them, the demigods are more than capable of handling the rest.
The effects of [Good night, my child] are expected to wear off in about thirty minutes. The bishops are eting right now, trying to figure out how to handle tomorrow's headlines...”
He paused, looking at Jenkins and seeing the confusion in his eyes. Papa Oliver knew exactly what Jenkins was wondering about. Both he and Miss Bevanna had attributed the recent events to a resonance between Jenkins's elven bloodline and the spirits of nature. While that was true to an extent, it still wasn't the right ti to reveal the whole truth.
“But tonight's events... they'll likely be pinned entirely on Duke Antak of the Cheslan Kingdom. You know who he is—I heard he even showed up at one of your public lectures. The Fidektri Kingdom will probably declare war on Cheslan in the near future. What happened tonight was far more serious than a minor war... poisoning the city's water supply to knock people out, leading his n to attack City Hall and the Church, desecrating corpses to prove he had the favor of so evil god... That's the gist of it.”
Pinning everything on Duke Antak was, without a doubt, the best solution they could devise on short notice. Besides, the foreign duke was hardly innocent—he bore at least half the bla for tonight. If he hadn't greedily conspired with Pompey to obtain a Savior's Emblem, Nolan would never have suffered such a catastrophe.
“Has the Church caught the duke yet?”
“Not yet. The Church's main focus right now is dealing with the threat of plague in the aftermath of the undead tide. I imagine we'll be spending the whole spring on disaster prevention. Business will probably be terrible this year...”
Papa Oliver paused, then added slowly:
“Besides, not catching him right now is actually for the best. Everyone knows he's a dead man walking. It's only a matter of ti.”
The Church still didn't know the part Duke Antak played in all this, nor, it seed, do they know about [Destiny's Stage]. Both the duke and Jenkins now command the [Stage] maze-lock, but neither knows how to evolve it into [Destiny's Stage].
Jenkins planned to activate the maze-lock again as soon as possible and make the duke appear right before him. It was far too dangerous to let a man like that roam free. Jenkins wouldn't give him the chance to try sothing like this again.
“So, it's all over?”
“More or less...”
Papa Oliver seed sowhat distracted. He sat on the edge of the bed with his head bowed, peeling an apple for Jenkins. The cat sat obediently on the covers, its wide eyes fixed on the plump, red fruit without blinking.
“Actually, there are still a few loose ends. Besides the cleanup, the incident revealed to the Church that the number of unregistered Gifted in Nolan is much higher than they estimated. But that's not the main issue—after all, they were a big help. The real point is that it wasn't just humans battling the undead last night. A great number of exotics were seen on the battlefield... In other words, Nolan is teeming with hidden exotics, and the Church is completely in the dark.”
“So that will be the Church's next focus, right? Investigating them along with the fog and the plague.”
As he said this, the man in the bed finally noticed how remarkably fresh the air outside was. The eerie fog had vanished. He sighed. One problem solved, only for more to spring up in its place. It seed a quiet life was out of the question.
“What was the deal with the fog last night? I've never heard of the Skull Sword being able to control fog.”
The patter of the rain washed away the scent of smoke from the forest. The fire in the woods was out, but the fog over the city had yet to dissipate.
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