The cold cobalt light of dawn faded, and the Bucheon Research Institute grounds gradually came to life as they were bathed in the morning sunlight.

A small sound of footsteps broke the early morning silence.

"The Smiling Theme Park flyer incident has been resolved!"

A blonde girl, her cheeks flushed from running, handed a newspaper to the black-clad agent.

"Smiling Theme Park Flyer Incident Resolved!"

"The government officially announced at 2 AM that the 'Smiling Theme Park Doll,' which had been quarantined at Sehee Research Institute, was completely destroyed."

The newspaper, handed over by the smiling girl, featured an article announcing the end of the flyer incident.

The agent took the newspaper, smiled slightly, and spoke to the blonde girl who was catching her breath with her hands on her knees.

"That's a relief, isn't it, miss?"

As he flipped through the newspaper, he saw a photograph of a fierce-looking woman.

A death row inmate who had been sent into an Object to avoid execution.

She did what she had to do to survive, but because of her actions, Seoul was now able to breathe a little easier.

"Mister, can we really be sure it's safe just because someone escaped from the Object?"

"It's usually hard to make that assumption. The conditions for escape and destruction are often different."

"Why do you think they’re the same this time?"

"Because two key conditions overlapped. First, after the death row inmate escaped, the related Object lost its power and was destroyed. That’s the most important factor."

The agent opened the newspaper and pointed to the relevant sections as he explained.

"Here, the testimony of the escaped inmate is noted. They had to clear nine different challenges to escape. Typically, the more difficult it is to escape, the more likely it is that the conditions for escape and destruction are the same. Clearing nine missions is quite challenging even among escape-type Objects. The fact that the escape was so difficult is the second key condition."

Hmm, hmm.

The blonde girl nodded as if she understood something after hearing the agent’s explanation.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar ceiling.

The ceiling of the containment room prepared for me.

As soon as I returned from the theme park yesterday, Sehee and Yerin had kidnapped me into the containment room…

Nom nom.

Looking to my left, I saw Yerin chewing on my hair.

To my right, Sehee was hugging my arm as if it were a treasure.

I couldn’t move…

I thought about ghosting my way out, but I decided to stay still today.

The theme park was fun, but it lacked humans, and I was feeling the absence of human interaction.

Besides, the bed was warm and comfortable, and my inner firewood was rapidly increasing, so staying a bit longer wouldn’t hurt.

I gained a useful ability in this theme park.

A very powerful ability.

No, maybe it’s not just powerful; it’s something I really like.

I now have a storage for the Golden Reapers.

When I close my eyes, I can see a space filled with Golden Reapers.

If I had to name it, I’d call it the Golden Reaper Garden.

It’s like Valhalla for the Golden Reapers.

A place where feasts of pudding and cake are always held, and a river of cocoa flows.

The ground is an endless expanse of soft beds, where the Golden Reapers frolic.

A sky made of bed canopies, with a soft, glowing light.

A place always filled with a dreamy atmosphere.

A dream garden.

A space that exists only within dreams.

As I entered the Golden Reaper Garden, one of the Golden Reapers hopped up and clung to me.

The garden was already filled with many humans and Golden Reapers, joyfully playing together.

They were people who had fallen asleep and had been invited by the Golden Reapers.

I found a spot to sit down and grabbed a pudding to eat.

This place really is wonderful.

It’s soft, and there’s plenty of delicious food.

Before long, Sehee and Yerin, who had also fallen asleep, were summoned to the Golden Garden.

Each had a Golden Reaper clinging to them, lightly tapping their cheeks.

It was a punch that felt like “Wake up and play!”

The two woke up in the Golden Garden, looked around in surprise, and seemed to come to some sort of understanding.

They probably accepted that it was a dream.

Well, it is a dream.

Believing it to be a dream, they began to enjoy the Golden Reaper Garden with a Golden Reaper perched on each of their shoulders.

They rolled around in the beds, ran around, and lay down to rest when they got tired.

I also rolled around with a Golden Reaper in the Golden Garden until I was thoroughly satisfied.

Looking into the mirror, I saw an unfamiliar face reflected back at me.

A towering woman covered in tattoos.

Perhaps to someone who could see spiritual entities, my face would appear differently.

A grotesque doll’s face with stitched eyes and mouth.

It would be hard for anyone who could see spiritual beings to overlook such a face.

In this world, it seemed that there were either no people who could see spiritual entities or very few of them.

Even in a place called the “court,” which seemed to play an important role, no one recognized me.

Just by cutting off the woman’s head and placing my doll head on it, I was able to accomplish something miraculous…

The power of the "Grimoire" truly knows no bounds.

Or rather, in this world, they call it an "Object," don’t they?

After roughly washing my face with water, I stepped out of the courthouse to be greeted by the moonlight.

Not seven, but only one moon.

A body completely different from before.

Streetlights that illuminated the way without using oil, gas, or Objects.

Under the streetlights, unfamiliar insects fluttered, casting shadows.

The unfamiliar music on the street, the architecture I wasn’t used to.

Light leaving afterimages as it moved, light flowing like water down the road.

Everything in this world made it clear that this was not the world I was born and raised in.

What I received from the court was a piece of paper proving my innocence.

And documents detailing "my belongings" and addresses that were unfamiliar.

Perhaps they were being unusually helpful because they assumed my memory was hazy due to the Object’s influence.

I used the information I had been implanted with—intended to help me guide "guests" in the theme park—to trace the address written on the paper.

"A house," huh.

I don’t even remember how many years it’s been since I last had a house.

The address led me to a place with a completely different atmosphere than the courthouse.

Dark, dingy, and close to misery.

Strangely enough, being in a place like this felt more like home.

Thump, thump, thump.

I knocked on the door written on the paper.

If the note was accurate, my sister lived here.

"Coming."

The door opened, revealing a small woman with a slightly timid expression.

"...Sister."

"Yes."

It’s family, yet it doesn’t seem like I’m particularly welcome.

I suppose this is because there are too many humans in this world.

If Objects reduced humanity to a hundredth, family would become even more precious.

It was difficult to engage in conversation with someone who flinched every time I spoke.

I ate unfamiliar food with unfamiliar utensils alongside unfamiliar family, then lay down in a small, unfamiliar room.

And that was how my first day in this other world ended.

When I opened my eyes, my newly found sister was stabbing me with a knife.

"Die! Die! Dieee!"

Blood from my stomach and chest soaked the room.

What did this body do to be so hated?

"Hmm, you can’t kill me like that."

I grabbed the girl’s hand, which was trembling at the sound of my voice, and lifted the knife to my neck.

"You have to cut off my head to kill me. Here, my neck is right here."

I may have escaped the curse of the theme park, but I’m still an Object.

All I had aimed for was to escape the theme park.

But after escaping, what did I gain?

A completely unknown world, society, body, family.

I tried to get rid of the Object, but I failed.

There is no home left for me.

So, maybe letting this girl kill me wouldn’t be so bad after all.

I doubt the original owner of this body would have ever considered such a thing.

Heh heh heh.

"It’s a shame that after 30 years, our reunion is like this, my son."

The bizarre laughter of the director echoed through the wrecked cemetery.

It was the sound of a man holding a head that looked like it had been forcibly torn from its body.

"My son. My son. Say it again."

"That you’re someone completely different?"

"Is it so strange that I’d take back the gift I gave you? I’d say I’m a pretty reasonable person."

Crack.

The head burst open as if it had been crushed by a press from both sides.

The blood-soaked man spoke with a face twisted like a demon’s.

"I am the director of the Central Research Institute. And, my name… I don’t remember it! Well, compared to research, it’s a trivial matter."

Heh heh heh.

The director began digging up a grave with a shovel.

It was the grave of the person who was once his wife.

When he lifted the stone coffin lid, the figure of a woman who had preserved her appearance from life was revealed.

The director then began to mutilate the corpse with his shovel.

Blood filled the stone coffin, and when the body was finally reduced to pieces, the director exclaimed:

"Here it is! The gift I gave you!"

What floated up from the remains was a small sphere.

"An Object that prevents decay and slowly heals wounds—this is what I needed. It’s no longer useful to the dead."

The director, now covered in blood from gunshot wounds, staggered as he walked.

He picked up a cane that had fallen on the ground, tapped it twice, and disappeared from the spot.

All that remained were the decapitated deputy director and the gruesome bodies of the guards who had been protecting him.