From Corpse to Crown: Reborn as a Mortician in Another World-Chapter 101: The Mourning After

Slowly, the invisible veil over Vel Quen disappeared. The city looked the same, but now it breathed. Smoke billowed out of the chimneys, dogs barked, and windows opened to let in sunlight.

What happened...? Did it work?

Lucian opened his gray eyes and found himself in a clinic, tended by a nurse who was previously frozen.

"Good morning, dear Mortician." She was a friendly face, even if he could feel how cold she was. He scanned the room and saw Alice fast asleep in a chair next to him.

Her face was completely relaxed and he heard her snoring softly. "I guess even dolls can get tired after a mourning rite like that." He tried to stretch and found his arms and legs felt completely sore.

"Well, I shouldn’t be surprised."

The nurse nodded. "Mmhm, when that girl brought you in, you were dead weight. I feared we’d have to hook you up to an IV!"

"How long has it been since I was brought here, miss?"

She shook her head but her styled gray hair didn’t move an inch. "None of that ’miss’ business. My name’s Jill. Been in Vel Quen for 30 years now. Sometimes I even buried the babies I helped deliver."

"Thank you, Jill. But...how long has it been?"

Jill checked the candles in a small shrine. "You’ve been here three days after I reopened the clinic."

Three days?! I exhausted myself that much by--well, okay. I did encourage an entire city to resume grieving. That would do it.

He felt a weight on his lap. The Loom had shrunk to its travel size, but he couldn’t see its case anywhere. His Grimoire was closed, but it was still warm.

"Thank you. You had minimal wounds, but just completely exhausted."

Lucian had a few bandages on his fingers and wrists. She handed him a comb. "Unless you want me to comb your hair for you?"

He shook his head and took the plastic comb. "I’ll do it myself, thanks. Do you remember anything? Before you were frozen?"

Jill thought about it for a moment.

"I just...feel like we almost forgot something important. But now we don’t. So, thank you for that, Lord Mortician."

I see. So not everyone remembers. Might be better for them overall.

+

Cadrel, Merry, and a handful of newly awakened citizens were trying to coordinate back at the fifth spiral.

Some of them were just extremely confused, while the other half definitely remembered being paused in time. And then there were a rare few that just felt...completely empty.

"Hmm...I know. Maybe they just need extra time before the memories return." Merry set up a temporary "Grieving Garden" at the great ash tree so people could mourn.

The citizens that did remember, wrote the names of their lost loved ones. Next to their names, they added lilies from a vase Merry set up.

Her heart felt full as she set up a mini version of the grieving garden. Like this was her calling.

"Mama? Papa? Where are you?" A child called for her parents, but an older teenager said quietly, "Don’t you remember, Charlotte? They passed before the big freeze."

Charlotte’s ringlets shook as she cried, and Cadrel thought his heart would break a second time.

I know what that’s like. To wake up to nobody.

He knelt beside her and removed the shard in his armor. Cadrel used his blade to poke a hole in it and loop some rope around the shard, making a pendant.

"Here, Charlotte. Don’t worry. This remembers better than I ever could. It won’t bring your parents back, but you can still see them this way."

When her eyes lit up, Cadrel knew she was inside the illusion. It wouldn’t fix all of her problems, but saying goodbye to them in this form might help her move forward.

+

Deep within the Watchers’ former sanctum, Queen Abigail and Watcher-Serafina prepared to leave. While she was still solid, Serafina had no idea how long she could maintain this form. "When I was still a Watcher, things were pretty hazy," she said as they watched the queen’s attendants pack more items in their bags.

"Mmhm. But you won’t be here forever, Serafina?"

"No. I wasn’t meant to linger. But I’m glad I was heard. When I fully leave, this Watcher will stay behind—I’ll make sure she has my memories of you. She’ll help."

Queen Abigail nodded. "Before I pay my sister a visit, I’ll head for the Grave Weavers. I think the mortician will find out about them eventually."

It would feel strange to leave the fifth Spiral, especially since this was where some citizens remained frozen. But Vel Quen was slowly emerging out of its’ chrysalis, and she should do the same.

Serafina smiled. "You always wanted to see them, right? They stitch endings into people’s lives...to keep them safe for the afterlife."

The queen nodded. "I think it’s time I paid them a visit. I’d like to know if I should undo the seams I once praised."

"Forced you out of retirement, huh?" Serafina chuckled. "With what Meg has been doing, I think it’s for the best."

Abigail shook her head. "If I’ve been forced back into the fray, you have to follow, you know that."

Serafina twirled, the Watcher’s robe fluttering. "That’s why I’m allowed to stick around."

+

Under Vel Quen lay a series of secret tunnels, and one of them led to a vault. Here, the Spymaster rifled through a chest of drawers and retrieved a document labeled "Memory-Reversal."

His lips curled in smug satisfaction. "Let them mourn. But if they learned what Serafina traded to lead the First Rebellion...they might hate her, instead of thank her."

The Spymaster’s torso contorted like a pretzel as one of his long, long limbs packed the document into an envelope. It was left blank, so he could drop it in the next city Lucian visited.

"You think only one side is crooked, Lucian? You’d be surprised."

+

Alice sat near the temporary Grieving Garden with her sketchbook open. She had been drawing a map—her version of the Guide’s pilgrimage.

"I want to travel with him," she told Merry, who nodded in understanding.

"I think I’ll stay for awhile, with Cadrel. We want to help Vel Quen live again."

"Okay. I’ll miss you and Cadrel."

"We will too, but we’ll keep in touch. You really believe in him, don’t you?"

Alice nodded. "More than anything. And I believe in where he’s headed."

She looked up at the great ash tree and whispered, "Will other cities accept grief like this?"

The bark shifted, and she saw "Not Yet" clearly carved into the wood.

Not yet means there’s still hope.

+

In a crowded shrine, Auren tirelessly helped the lay brothers and the priests with a smile. He wasn’t a steward anymore—just a regular citizen. His antlers were made of regular velvet again instead of wood.

He tossed a threadbound mask in a fireplace and watched it burn. Then he swept up the white-hot ash and placed it in a bowl beneath Serafina’s name.

"She led us once. I can follow her again when I’m able...but without fear."

+

At dusk, Lucian and his companions checked into the nearby inn. Several minutes later, a Royal Courier in black and silver arrived with a sealed letter for him.

I wonder what she’s up to now. Lucian thought as he used the inn’s letter opener.

He quickly scanned it and frowned. It was equal parts thanks and warning.

"You’ve cracked something larger than Vel Quen. Come see me before the others do."

It included a Threadpass allowing Lucian into Atreaum territory, with a note:

They will see you instead of Elian, the damned traitor.

+

Lucian and Alice stood at the edge of Vel Quen while Cadrel and Merry stayed with the city’s people to see them off. Some had brought flowers, others had silence, and Merry gave them a satchel of her homemade bread with cheese.

"Thank you," One of the village elders said. "We remembered, and now we will rebuild."