Brain bloom

"Sister Morishita, shall we stop here? This is where I usually rest," Shan said. "I'll help look after Sister Yuan, so please don't worry."

"Oh, okay." Mori glanced around; the colors of time seemed even more vibrant in this area. Then, through some action by San, time was woven into a bed, clearly prepared specifically for Wan.

A strange place—but now she can rest easy, hoping the curse won't kill her.

All she needs to do is close her eyes, slowly pass the time in her dreams, and then wake up to embrace happiness.

It was truly difficult to get her here and lay her to rest on the bed of time, Mori thought. Effort had been made, and a long period of time had passed. Mori sighed; many things had been delayed because of this, but what could he do to help?

Go back now, and you can finally get a good night's sleep.

perhaps.

"Who exactly is this so-called gravedigger?" Mori asked casually, hoping that Shan might know something.

“I don’t know either, because the gravedigger is a being outside of time… I can’t see it, I can only talk about it. Therefore, I was just ordered to record time in this city.”

"Record time?"

"Yes, it records how long this clock city has existed."

Mori swallowed hard, silently noting these things down, and tried to ask, "So, how long has it existed?"

"Well..." Shan hovered beside Sen Shi. If Fu Fu was a new type of fluorescent lamp, then Shan was an old-fashioned tungsten filament lamp. "Actually, I don't know either."

"You do not know?"

"Hmm, I don't know how long it has existed, because here, time never flows; it's always frozen. But that's why the City of Clocks can exist. Even so, the gravedigger wants me to record time... It's such a contradiction."

With a furrowed brow, Sen Shi remained silent. She had personally visited this godforsaken place before she finally understood the contradiction that Shan had mentioned.

Well, since that's the case, there's not much point in staying. It's better to go back to the material world and talk to the tomb keeper. If she's not mistaken, the so-called tomb keeper is that devout, holy, pure, sturdy, and slender first pope.

She took out her tools and began weaving time near the wish, leaving a line that read "Mori was here".

It's about time to head back.

"There's nothing to see here, is there? It's all the same old time."

“Actually, I don’t know.” Shan flew around and explained, “The City of Clocks has always been in disrepair, so I can only stay here. I don’t know what the other places are like.”

"But I fixed it, so the other areas were opened?"

"Hmm—" Suddenly, Shan's voice shone with surprise, "Look, behind you, that's something that wasn't there before, how strange! Is it a guest that Sister Morishi brought in?"

A guest? No, she only brought Yuan in. Mori felt a chill run down her spine. In this eerie place, a strange presence had suddenly appeared behind her? Usually, this kind of situation was anything but good.

But Mori gritted his teeth and mustered the courage to turn back, thinking that at worst he could activate his true god form and fight the enemy to the death.

At first—she saw a hand, a girl's hand.

It was extending an invitation to her, gently shaking her hand, silently calling for Mori to come over. It looked quite frightening, but for some reason, the hand seemed strangely familiar to Mori... and the invitation it extended was surprisingly sincere.

"Shouldn't we go? Mori-toki-neechan?"

"...I fear it is some kind of trap that harms the true God."

Hearing this, the hand that had been calling out to Mori froze on the spot. She looked angry and aggrieved, her fist clenched and trembling slightly, almost as if she were complaining to Mori. Of course, this didn't touch Mori's soft heart.

Then—another hand quietly reached out.

He clasped his hands together in a praying gesture, and then made some gestures in the air, desperately hoping that Mori would understand.

The marks left behind are exactly the shapes of the sacred letters.

"—The first...Pope?" Mori asked instinctively, taken aback.

He was quite excited, giving a thumbs-up and clapping.

That means yes.

After a short while, the hands seemed to remember something and continued to wave earnestly at Morishi, hoping she would come closer. Morishi stood there, deeply moved. She finally understood why those hands had seemed so familiar…

It was the hand of the first pope!

The body is supported by bones, and its form is determined by bones. Although Mori had never seen these hands before, she was very familiar with the pair of holy skeletons. Without further hesitation, she answered the call of the first Pope and strode forward.

Gradually, she saw her arms and the connected upper body.

It was the upper body of a young girl, every inch of her skin bare, fair and flawless, as smooth as jade. Her figure was beautiful; Mori had just seen her spine, and indeed she was a graceful young woman.

Moreover, there are even sweeter, more charming curves that outline her full, rounded breasts. The evidence is irrefutable: the first Pope was a woman.

But what's infuriating is that before Senshi could even see clearly, a colorful line of time had already woven itself into a garment, wrapping around her body.

"What's there to be ashamed of? I'm a girl too." Mori couldn't help but sigh. "You're still the real god. Asking you to take off your clothes is just a matter of a word. Sigh."

Her body and hands seemed to be lost in thought, and after a moment's thought, she seemed to be about to unbutton her clothes.

Out of a sense of morality, Mori quickly stopped him: "Wear it, don't catch a cold—so, are you the gravedigger?"

The first pope did not answer.

He simply gestured for Mori to continue following.

This headless, lower-body-less girl's body leads Mori through the City of Clocks. They traverse every colorful segment of time, moving between wondrous buildings, yet their footsteps cannot break the silence.

Mori could hardly believe that this was how he met the first Pope.

Where are you taking me?

"..."

"Why did you establish the Holy Coffin Kingdom? And what about religion? Who exactly are you...?" Mori had a whole host of questions he wanted answered.

"..."

"How much do you know about me? Or rather, did you guide me into this world, this silent world?"

"..."

What's your name?

"..."

“My divinity was bestowed upon me by you. The wondrous divine name of the Coffin Bearer was also written by you.”

"..."

"By the way, where's your head? I remember I brought your head with me."

This did elicit a reaction; the first pope quickly waved his hand and pointed to his empty head, expressing strong denial, but Mori didn't understand what this meant.

Besides that—Moritoki had something extremely important, something she wanted to tell her. It was a thousand times more important than any of her unanswered questions. This matter had been buried deep within Moritoki's heart for a long time; it was her most profound secret, one that she could share with no one, not even a dandelion.

"Well, the meaning I used for the letters 'SB' was actually quite bad, not what you think it is."

The first pope remained unmoved, but it was clear she was quite excited. Like a girl strolling through a store, her hands were full of energy. Looking at this helpless scene, Mori was at a loss. Finally, she remembered the only thing she knew.

"In a silent world, we search for miracles..."

The first pope took Mori's hand.

Despite examining every emotion within him, Mori still couldn't understand why she was acting this way. Perhaps it was to avoid answering any questions or making any further statements? Or perhaps, these words held a special meaning for her...

It wasn't until an unknown amount of time had passed, or rather, how long time had seemed to stand still, that the first Pope brought Mori to a halt. Ahead, amidst layers of interwoven time fibers, a clock tower stood tall.

……

(ps)

Every plot point and description I wrote had meaning; it wasn't just filler to reach word count, but rather a process of building this world. After all, there are many ways to build a world, and this is the one I'm used to…

The plot has been progressing a bit slowly lately, and I'm well aware of that. But because there's so much content to include, and so much information, it requires a lot of words to support it, and I also have to consider various foreshadowing and transitions.

If I really wanted to pad the story, I could have directly added a lot of irrelevant and pointless plot points, instead of doing what I'm doing now.

Volume 1, Chapter 352: Saying Goodbye to You

In this city of clocks, everything except Mori Toki, the first Pope holding her hand, and Won, who is finally free from the curse's torment, is woven from frozen time. As a time spirit, Mori Toki also sees that her body and time share the same origin.

This wondrous city has finally found something new and interesting.

Time has built a towering structure, supporting a clock as bright as the moon.

Mori looked up from below, but because they were so familiar with each other, she could tell that the clock and the pocket watch she had repaired were made of the same materials and with the same craftsmanship. Each hand was stopped at the starting point, without moving an inch to record time.

"Is this what you wanted me to see?"

"..."

As always, she couldn't answer. Instead, she held Senshi's little hand even tighter. It was like a child proudly showing their masterpiece to their parents after playing in the sandbox.

The clock on this tower must be very important, but Mori felt a pang of regret; she was simply too ignorant to grasp its significance. Mori could only break the silence once more.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"..."

“We can communicate with pen and paper; I have some with me.” Mori reached into his bag, fumbling around as he spoke. “First Pope, you are a very special person to me. Although those misunderstandings make me both laugh and cry, I’m quite willing to help you, as long as you ask.”

Since she has appeared and brought Moritoki here, it means that Moritoki needs to do something or know something.

The first Pope did not take the pen, and her silence did not last long. This time, she conveyed a message… in her own way, using all the strength within her limited body. She delivered the necessary information to Mori Toki.

The surrounding threads of time are being influenced by her will, striving to form comprehensible symbols. These are equivalent to history, for everything in the world is carried by them—words.

"If you'd like, please get me together."

"……Understood."

Only now did Mori realize that the touch of the hand holding hers was actually very faint, because she was merely a soul. The effort to leave these words had exhausted all the power within her soul… then, it faded, became transparent, and vanished.

Not even a second was given to Mori to ask more questions.

There wasn't enough time for Mori to remember the feel of that hand he had once held.

Mori was now all alone, and the image of the first Pope seemed to have never existed. Only the remaining line of delicate handwriting revealed a trace of sorrow from who-knows-where.

"To get you all together... okay."

At least it wasn't all a complete mystery; he figured out what to do next. He could return to the material world, visit every church built because of them, gather the remains of the first pope, and then meet her in her entirety, right? For some reason, Moritoki found it rather romantic.

Just like what the dandelion said when it first came into this world—

Death is never the end.