Chapter 372: Stars Reaver (1/2)

”Hehe,” Arthur snorted at the pun. Li, however, didn't seem to understand the wordplay. As Arthur stared at the wooden doll, he found that it didn't seem to be of the humorous type. ”Uh, I don't know.” He answered.

”Ja...” The wooden doll's jaws opened with a creak. ”Useless.” It said before resuming to pull the wagon away. Arthur looked at the contents of the wagon and found it to have countless doll parts.

”That was... eerie,” Li muttered, and Arthur couldn't help but agree.

They began walking behind the doll's cart, trying to see where it would go. The wooden doll pulled and pulled without feeling tired, going deeper into the city. The building became more elaborate, but they were abandoned as well.

Arthur and Li kept walking behind the doll as if it was their lighthouse. They didn't know what they were expecting to find, but it was better than wandering.

The doll stopped in front of a dilapidated building that looked different from the others. This one looked worn out as if it was older than the rest.

The puppet let go of the cart and walked toward the building, pushing its swinging door open. It disappeared inside with no signs of coming out as the two waited.

”I think we should go in, My...”

”Yeah, let's go in.” Arthur interrupted. He wasn't against being called a Lord, but making Li call him as such now feels like manipulation. He felt like he was using time travel to make Li admire him.

The rough texture of the swinging door touched his fingers as he pushed it open. Even though he was just a spiritual being now, he retained his five senses. The inside of the building was dark, and the sawing of wood was the only sound that separated it from a haunted house.

”Is this the carpenter the doll asked about?” Li spoke in the darkness, but Arthur didn't have an answer. The only light came from a lit room on the far end of the hall.

”I need fixing, old man,”

The voice of the doll came from the room. Arthur and Li stood at the door, watching what was happening inside. The puppet was talking to a figure standing by a workbench.

”Did you bring the other broken parts?”

The voice was hoarse. The language it used was fluent Yalveran, and it spoke it even better than Li. Arthur tried to peer the shape of the figure, but it wore a giant dirty cloak that prevented him from doing so.

”They are outside, but I need fixing now.” The doll demanded, desperate and with an edge to its voice. ”I kept looking for you in the city, but you always wander around.”

”I have things to fix, after all.” The figure replied gruffly. ”You also guided some guests over to me.”

Despite referring to Li and Arthur, who were standing by the door, the figure didn't turn to meet them. Instead, it kept talking to the doll, who also ignored them.

”I couldn't care less. Fix me now!”

”Granting you a powerful ego was my worst mistake,” The figure sighed and turned around. It reached out toward a screwdriver and grabbed the head of the doll.

”Ahh!” The doll gave a few shouts as its screws turned. After the process was over, the figure pushed the puppet away and returned to its post.

”Bring the broken parts and leave me alone,” The gruff voice said as it resumed working. The doll passed by Arthur as it left the building.

Li and Arthur looked at each other, not knowing if they can just walk into the room. They waited for a bit before Arthur walked inside after seeing that the figure had no intention to acknowledge their existence.

”Are you the carpenter?” Arthur asked as he stood behind the figure.

”That depends. Are you a doll that needs fixing?” The carpenter said without turning. ”If yes, I am. If not, I'm not.”

”I determine your identity by who I am and what I want?” Arthur asked with interest. The carpenter paused as it kept working, but Arthur knew it was going to answer.

”That's how you humans think it is, so why not?” The carpenter paused. ”All humans come to this place expecting spirits to fawn over them and beg them for a contract.”

”Spirits see it as a chance to be free, I guess,”

”Free?” The spirit stopped working as it slowly turned to Arthur. ”You think that by contracting humans, we are freed from the Spirits Realm?”

Arthur could now see half of the spirit's face. It had a charcoal woody face that resembled the doll they just saw. However, it moved like a human, unlike the robotic movement of the doll.