Is the person you sculpt as cute as me?

Please take leave and make up for it tomorrow

As the title.

Due to force majeure, I cannot write, and even if I write I cannot post. I will make up for it tomorrow.

Sorry.

I have to say that I have been sleeping well recently, but I have hit a bottleneck during this writing period. I have been trying hard to update more but have not been able to do so. Maybe I can use this day to adjust myself and then finish writing in one go?

Sorry.

286 The Past

"This naughty little fellow must have caused you a lot of trouble, right?"

Just when Yu Man felt that the box had exploded and wanted to quickly put it back into the backpack -

The owner of the repair shop—the puppet—spoke.

"I hope you can tolerate it, as always."

Like a night breeze blowing.

This exquisite doll, which has no gender and no age—it only has meaning and exists here alone—looks at Yu Man with sincerity and peace.

"Tolerance..."

"Its soul is very young. It's the youngest among us, just a little child. It's mischievous and moody. I'm sure it's caused you a lot of trouble since becoming your helper."

Having said this, the puppet waved.

Even if it possesses divinity and has reached the tenth level, it will still return to its maker obediently like a docile puppy out of instinct.

The puppet caressed the box, feeling nostalgic and full of fun.

“It tastes so good…”

The puppet's sigh faded slightly into the night breeze.

But the deep night still enveloped the dead city, and even the lively discussions in one corner of it did not blend in at all.

This is the end of a story that never goes any further, and so it will always be like this.

And this store is no exception.

In Yu Man's opinion, this repair shop displays a large number of strange mechanical products.

But rust or damage makes everything lose its vitality.

They lie quietly in display cabinets or on tables, forming a mess along with the oily parts.

There are two things in this repair shop that are functioning normally——

The first was the doll of the shop owner himself, stained with dark, dried blood, yet truly beautiful and radiant.

The second item is a clock hanging on the wall, covered in shadows.

It points to five in the morning, not a minute more, not a second less.

It is both bad and good at the same time.

After all, it accurately depicts the broken, stagnant world we live in, trapped in time.

"In any case—welcome to this world, everyone who has not yet withered..." The puppet bowed and offered a blessing. "I only hope your story will continue forever."

"……Thanks."

The puppet sat back in his seat and put down the repair tools at hand, without any airs of a shop owner.

It looked at each guest carefully, scanning them one by one.

First, the deer—it passed by without a ripple.

Next came the Ice Prison Dragon—it was slightly startled, but didn't linger for long.

Then came the serenade—it was startled: "Mortal? No...it seems you are the scariest."

"You don't know me?" Serenade asked back, "People call me 'The One Who Goes Against Everything.'"

"I haven't heard of it, but I remember it—eh? I can't remember it..."

Just as the puppet was struggling, its eyes swept over the person standing behind Yu Man.

It stood up in astonishment: "This..."

"Hello—people call me the 'Melting Dragon.'"

"...What a powerful existence, so...real and alive."

After muttering for a long time, the puppet silently looked back at the last one - Yu Man, who was also the front.

"And you—[Promise Keeper], that's... that's the word now. I know... I remember it now."

"Yeah, I changed it."

Yu Man's hidden profession, [Promise Keeper], was not called this before, but she is the only one in the world, so no matter how she calls it, this will become the only official name.

Since the puppet knows this word, it is indeed a reflection of the old world, an old god.

At least - the basic communication logic is established...that's good.

The puppet could see that Yu Man was the leader of their group, and couldn't help but be cautious about Man's words.

"I had no intention of coming directly to your world. I guess when I summoned you, Xiangxiang—that's the treasure chest monster next to you—established a relationship with you. 'Everyone in the world needs my forgiveness.'"

"That is indeed my name..."

"It's been a while. I've come across your name before, but at the time I thought it referred to some more oppressive, majestic, and magnificent Old God. I never thought someone with such a name... would be a beautiful puppet."

Yu Man's words did not please "Everyone in the world needs my forgiveness". It simply returned to the chair and asked, "How did you know my name?"

"You were secretly doing bad things, right? Doing bad things to the Old World, deceiving others and so on... Anyway, at that time, in my main city, Shimlabakken, a rebel leader summoned you..."

And apparently, "Everyone in the world needs my forgiveness" also responded to the call.

The result was that Xiang Xiang was sent by it to help, but ended up being grabbed by Yu Man.

Indeed—"Everyone in the World Needs My Forgiveness" does know these things.

"There are very few who can hear my whispers, and I do remember such a request. I see. So, you stole the treasure chest monster... and the story ended there."

"I ended it—or rather, it's my turn to continue the story."

Speaking of this——

Yu Man hooked her finger, Xiang Xiang hesitated for a moment, then stuck out her tongue and made a face at "Everyone in the world needs my forgiveness", then happily returned to Yu Man.

I don't know what it's thinking exactly, but maybe it's deliberately angry because "Everyone Needs My Forgiveness" didn't hug it or welcome it. As the old god said—Xianxiang is a naughty child.

"But now that I'm here, I know you're a very good craftsman... maybe even an old god whose godhead is 'creation'. Since you're opening a shop—is it open?"

The puppet hesitated for a moment, then smiled with relief and relaxation.

It was a smile and joy that came from the soul.

finally--

"Welcome—in this withered world...the only guest I can welcome."

It hosted Yu Man.

……

This repair shop was converted from a residential house, with bricks and stones cleverly stacked together. It not only has a large warehouse and living area, but also a very deep and large basement.

Now, everyone who comes with Yu Man is savoring this stagnant world in an "outsider's" way.

If "time" were there, she would probably call it - reading...

"This world is small, created with only this town and the wilderness outside." "Everyone in the world needs my forgiveness," he said, pointing to the entire town. "For me, this is both a stage... and my only and eternal home."

"So that's how it is. Then you are the protagonist?" asked the deer.

"No—I'm the villain." "Everyone in the world needs my forgiveness" laughed lightly, "A very scary villain."

"...How scary is it?" the deer asked again.

"Everyone in the world needs my forgiveness," he pointed to the door leading to the basement and said, "You can go and take a look if you are interested."

"...I always feel like something bad is going to happen."

This eternal darkness and strange town, coupled with the mysterious basement in the dark and dirty rooms.

All of this made the little deer feel bad.

She keenly sensed the danger—and this was soon confirmed by the villain himself.

"But... even if this world stagnates forever, the power of the Creator is still at work. The things in the basement are terrifying, and even you... might be in danger."

"Everyone in the world needs my forgiveness." Under the gaze of everyone, and under the influence of Xiang Xiang's sluggish aura—

Described like this:

"I am a practitioner of foul blood magic, a craftsman and a creator.

I confine my soul, which has reached its end, to the body of a doll, hoping to obtain eternity.

And—I pursue the forbidden end of blood magic—the resurrection of the dead."

Speaking of this, Yu Man thought of the great lord of Shimlabakken.

That blood-stained night was Xiaolu's first lesson in the evil of the old world.

So, that old fellow obsessed with blood magic must have also suffered the whispers of "Everyone in the world needs my forgiveness", right?

Indeed——"Everyone in the world needs my forgiveness" is really a great villain...

"I have tried many things and failed countless methods to revive the dead.

The residents and soul of this town became my experimental materials.

I plunder sleeping lives at night, use their flesh and blood as materials, and bind their souls in various creations in order to experiment with more wonderful mysteries of life."

Speaking of this——

"Everyone in the world needs my forgiveness." He looked at Xiang Xiang tenderly, "This one was created by restraining and branding the living soul of a lively and mischievous little girl. She is one of my most proud and cutting-edge creations."

"……Well."

"……what?"

Even Yu Man couldn't help but raise his brows.

But as a PVE player, she instinctively had doubts about the whole story——

"Wait, logically speaking, if this is the background story written by the Creator, then Xiang Xiang should be in a state of stagnation, just like this world. It's impossible for him to enjoy good food and drink at my place and then reach his current level..."

"I didn't say its soul was taken from this stagnant world."

"Everyone in the world needs my forgiveness" without any guilt.

"When you are in a world that has never stopped, your story can lead neither to good nor to bad. You exist only in eternal torment... Even you... will try to seek some change, stranger."

"So... you found a way... to seduce the rebels of Shimlabakken... and even the great lord?" Or even - more that Yu Man didn't know?

really--

All her suspicions were confirmed by the gentle nod of "Everyone in the world needs my forgiveness."

"Things made from materials taken from the living world will naturally function properly. This treasure chest monster's soul was taken from the small island called Shimlabakken, and the materials were contributed by them. I am merely a processor."

"you……"

The little deer felt very uncomfortable after hearing this and couldn't help but want to draw his sword.

Serenade, however, gently pressed her shoulder and took over the conversation from Yu Man who was lost in thought.

"That's not quite right. The soul of a box is very pure. If it were made with malice, it would become extremely evil and would no longer retain the innocence and innocence of a child. Old God, why don't you be honest?"

"Everyone in the World Needs My Forgiveness" and Serenade stared at each other for a long time, and finally seemed deflated.

"It's just that I heard the prayer."

"pray?"

"From a father and son."