It's almost 3:40 in the afternoon.
I arrived at my precious watchtower. So what? I can't buy it now. But, I can always save more money and buy it later.
Ting, T-Tring~
The door chimed again as I passed through. There's a newspaper on the reception desk. Probably delivered by our local paperboy.
I sit down and take a look at some news.
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༼SKYSHIP EXPLOSION OVER THE SPINDLE DISTRICT!༽
༼STRIKE AT IRONMIRE FACTORY STRETCHES INTO THIRD WEEK༽
༼A 7 YEAR OLD CIX GIRL MISSING. EXPERTS BELIEVE SHE'S BEEN ABDUCTED BY CRIMINALS༽
༼NEW TITANIC ARTILLERY BY GOD KYRGERYS༽
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And there goes my mood. Always these duck lickers. URGHHH!!!
I open one of the cabinets on the desk and shove that newspaper inside. After seeing Kyrgerys, I don't want to read any longer.
Ting, T-Tring~
Two kids came running in and are running in the middle of the reception hall. One of them is a little white Cix girl. Cix are a demi-human race. Their internal structure is almost the same as humans, but their external appearance is different.
Cix have an appearance mixed between cat and foxes.
Unlike humans, they are more efficient at night.
Another kid who's chasing her is a regular human... Uhh... but why does he look uhh?? His hair's side-parted undercut.
And he has a mustache???? A toothbrush mustache to be exact? He's also wearing a military general outfit. He's cosplaying someone? And looks familiar too.
The boy is chasing her with right arm raised. And then it came to my mind. Holy glory, he's cosplaying that painter.
The painter who failed art school two times. What the actual frozen chicken?
They're playing 'Catch me if you can.' It's been decades since I played this game.
It's a game combined with both Tag you're it and Hide and seek. The seeker will start to follow the prey. But the seeker has to stop as long as the seeker and prey meet eyes.
The Cix girl jumps and makes eye contact with the questionable cosplaying kid. She's walking backwards, keeping eye contact and freezing the seeker.
She left, then followed the cosplaying kid, still right arm lifted. While he was leaving he shouted "Hail!"
Whatever!
I take the stairs and ascend above. Countless shelves of books and spiraling stairs hugging and hanging.
The interior of the clock room is pretty dim. I click a button to start the bulb and run electricity. The windows are covered in dust, as well as the Oscillator. It's not even a week and it's already covered in dust.
I waved my hand to blow air and the dust flew away from the objects.
"03:52 in the afternoon." I say, while checking on Lorex and walking over to the small computer.
It's off by 3 minutes so I'll fix it again. As I adjust the time, the ticking blades also take the correct position.
It released a lot of steam while being adjusted. I take the ladder beside empty crates and climb on the roof.
The sun is casting golden lights from itself. The east side, buildings made from resin limestone, their houses are reflecting the sun ray back at sky.
On the west side it's Black Turquoise city. Its buildings are made out of turquoise and dark sapphire cements.
Their buildings are absorbing most lights and taking a shade of hot green.
There's the north side, its houses are made out of cements and metal rods, meanwhile south is completely made from copper.
The wind is blowing strong, as well as the dust particles high up here. I immediately rush down, lung cancer for a single glance at a golden light isn't worth it.
I walk up the stairs and then pull out a cane from my hat.
There's a pole that vertically stretches down till the floor. I don't know why it's made in the first place. But I can use it to magnetically go down. I stepped on a small pressure plate that was beside the pole.
The pole now has a magnetic field that's attracting both my cane and Lorex. Each pressure step can activate it for an hour.
I jump and slowly fall down while also circling its orbit. It took a minute to finally reach the ground floor again.
I go back to the reception table and take a look at the mini calendar that's on it.
"It's Evoncoil 13, 1864," I mutter and put it back where it belongs.
We have a 16-month calendar, and Evoncoil is in its fifth month.
Now that I think about it, it's been a while since I saw my grandmother's grave. It's perfectly 4 o'clock in the afternoon. If I start moving now, I'd be able to head home before dinner.
I could use magic to just instantly teleport there. But, I'd prefer a beautiful serene view over time. Again, I don't have anything to do that I need to rush.
I'm walking straight to the north, passing through the polished and smoothened buildings.
The streets are mostly filled with small shops that sell various kinds of goods.
It seems the trio rival bakeries are in a competition again. 3 of the stores are filled with customers in line.
During work times they might look like enemies.
But, after shift, they sit down and laugh while having a cup of tea and their special dish of the day.
Hold up? Is that my mother also standing in the line?
Naww I'm leaving from here. If she sees I'm out, she'd probably cook me. I quicken my pace and flee from the scene.
Ahem!
It's almost 05:14 in the afternoon, and I've reached the graveyard field. This graveyard is the biggest graveyard I've seen in my life. There are even larger, but I've seen those on televisions, not in real life.
Ignore that!
The graveyard is almost empty. Almost no one comes to visit, unless someone dies and needs to be buried.
Even my own family actually never visited grandma's grave. It's just me coming here once in a couple of months.
Every time I come here, I always cast a blessing so no monster crawls up here and steals the corpses.
I walk straight. This place is eerily quiet, but also it's peaceful. I'm seeing a kid digging beside a grave.
My curiosity brought me walking towards the kid.
It's a little Cix girl, she's wearing a greyish red tweed pinafore dress over a long-sleeved collared white shirt.
And a wide-brimmed hat with mustard yellow colour, featuring etched or painted designs of wheat stalks and oak leaves on the brim. It also has a decorative hatband with feathers and a leather-like tie.
"Digging grave for your lost pet, little princess?" I ask, with a formal tone.
"Digging a grave," she said, her voice barely audible. "Mama's in a grave too. Auntie told me about it." She proceeds to dig it with the tiny garden shovel she has. "When someone dies, they are put in graves for resting."
"Who are you making a grave for?" I ask, I'm standing behind her, keeping a distance.
"For her." She points at a nearby tall grass.
"May I know why, little princess?"
"If I don't grave for her, who will." She didn't ask it. She said it. "Will you help me? Can you go there and bring her body? I can't lift it."
"Sure, milady." I say and enter the tall grasses. It's a little unusual to see kids here. As long as I remember they are scared of this plac—
…
….
I run back, she's not digging, only a garden shovel and a rose brooch. She wasn't digging the grave for her pet. She dug it for herself.
I run back in the grasses. I've just seen the worst possible scene I could imagine. Her body filled with bruises, clothes torn. I can't explain any further. I can't even explain it to myself. I fall on my knees.
I hold her up and carry her over to the grave. My disgusting face is still smiling like a psychopath. A child her age shouldn't have this fate. Yet, she got it. I place her in the grave her spirit dug for herself. I painfully cover her corpse with dirt.
"May death lead your way to peace and fate shall never occur to any other." I chant my blessings. That's what I'm capable of. I am no god of time who can reverse time and save her. But, I can give blessings so you can rest in this grave.
I tie a red string around her grave and leave the spot. My clothes are dirty. But I don't mind it. At least she got a proper burial, at least she's safe in afterlife.
Can a person be a god if they are powerless?
I ask myself. It's a question that I can relate to myself. I have no power, yet I want to be a god. I have no knowledge, yet I want to know. I have no hope, yet I want to help them.
Is this enough? If no, then I want to make it yes.
By the time I ask and doubt myself, I'm already at grandma's grave.
"I apologize grandma. I couldn't save that child. Not even with your magic knowledge you passed on to me."
"May death lead your way to peace." I bless her grave. I miss her. She's the first person whom I said that I'll want to be a god when I grow up. In my mind, I carved every single word she said and taught me.
I grab the red string again from my hat and wrapped her grave with it…
Wait a minute? Didn't I wrap it last time I came to visit?
No one can see the string except me. Then how?
I look around, my guess is right. Someone did something to this grave. Not only her, but other graves as well.
Then I saw it. A tall figure standing distant under a tree.
It's foggy there, I can't see its appearance.
Then I heard its voice. With a throaty voice it said, "They're not resting anymore." And vanished into the fog.
…
I quickly tore the strings and start digging her grave.
Her corpse is missing…
"FUCK!" I swear. Why am I still smiling? "They're not resting... Wait... They're? WHO'S THEY'RE? WAIT NO DON'T TELL ME"
I was correct. They're not resting anymore. The child's body is also missing. Not only the child, but many graves are empty.
Why am I still smiling? Please, why?