A woman, dressed in casual clothes that were entirely unsuited for the desert, appeared in the distance.

She was wandering the desert, clutching a child in her arms.

The child’s face was flushed red, and their breathing was shallow and weak, a clear sign of heatstroke.

In the relentless desert, devoid of shade, the sudden catastrophe that had befallen Gangseo had driven many residents into desperate circumstances.

The woman walked across the scorching hot sand without shoes.

The soles of her feet were blistering on the burning sand, but she continued to wander, desperately seeking a bit of shade or a cup of water.

In the distance, she saw what appeared to be large tents, as if in a mirage.

The grand structures, composed of tall pillars and wide canopies, contrasted sharply with the undulating sand dunes, creating a striking silhouette.

The soft fluttering of the tent fabric in the wind caused the shadows to dance gently.

Beneath the tent’s shade were rows of fruit.

Each fruit, juicy and full of moisture like a watermelon, was displayed in abundance.

The woman, dressed in her ordinary clothes, began to run frantically toward the tent, praying that it was not a mirage or a hallucination brought on by her suffering.

As she approached, the tent seemed more and more real, not a mirage.

But the closer she got, the more uneasy she felt.

Under the tent, people were sitting in chairs, but they were completely still, as if frozen in place.

When the woman stepped inside the tent, the cool air, so different from the scorching desert outside, began to soothe her heated skin.

"Ah, a guest has arrived."

As she entered the tent, an old man sitting closest to her spoke up.

The elderly man, grasping a large cane with both hands, was covered in deep wrinkles.

His attire was excessively ornate, adorned with jewels to the point of extravagance.

"Ah! My child has heatstroke. Could I give him some of the fruit here?" the woman pleaded.

"Of course, of course. You may take as much as you like, if you promise to entertain this old man with a simple quiz."

The old man’s kind smile seemed forced, almost unnatural.

But the woman was in no position to care about such oddities.

"Yes, yes! I promise!"

Desperate, she hurriedly agreed and began cutting a watermelon, feeding it to her child.

The child’s condition seemed to improve in the cool tent air.

Seeing her child’s improvement, the woman took a bite of the watermelon herself.

The fruit was juicy and refreshing, with a mysterious aftertaste that lingered, something that shouldn’t be present in ordinary watermelon.

The strange taste snapped her back to reality, and she began to take notice of the oddities—the old man and the tent.

An Object!

[Ah, have you already figured it out? This world is peculiar indeed, for the ignorant to catch on so quickly.]

Click, click, click.

When she looked up at the old man, his wrinkled skin began to crumble away, turning to sand.

The old man’s voice could no longer be heard; only the sound of his skeletal jaws clattering together in laughter remained.

Around the skeletal old man, other skeletons armed with swords lined up like a wall.

[Well then, as promised, here is your quiz.]

The voice of the skeletal old man, now speaking directly into her mind, was filled with malice and darkness.

The swords held by the skeletons reeked of blood.

As the ominous atmosphere thickened, something unexpected appeared.

Thud, thud.

A small golden figure emerged.

It wasn’t a creature she had ever seen before, so it must have been an Object.

The small Object, hands on its hips, glared at the skeletal old man.

It looked weak at first glance, but the old man’s reaction was surprising.

[Ugh...]

The skeletal old man groaned and began to retreat slowly.

Then, suddenly, golden faces began to pop up everywhere—grasping the fluttering tent fabric, emerging from the fruit, peeking from under tables, behind pillars, and the backs of chairs.

The sight of so many cute little faces was almost endearing, but the old man’s reaction was the complete opposite.

He threw down his cane and started to flee.

And the result was unexpected.

The golden Objects bounced forward and shattered the skeletons and the skeletal old man into pieces.

Every skeleton that was struck by the golden Objects crumbled into sand and scattered.

The Object that dealt with the old man rushed over to the woman, seemingly seeking praise.

She froze, her entire body stiffening as the Object approached.

In a way, it had saved her life, but she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.

A cute-looking Object—a combination that modern people were trained to fear.

The golden Objects looked disappointed, their expressions sad.

They shimmered with a beautiful golden glow, and a pleasant scent wafted from them.

The longer she stared, the more she felt a baseless assurance that they wouldn’t harm her.

Cautiously, she extended her hand, and one of the Objects slowly crawled onto her palm.

Wait a minute...

On closer inspection, it looked exactly like the Gray Reaper!

Startled, she flung the golden Reaper away.

The golden Reaper, lying limply on the ground, looked heartbroken, its expression despondent.

"Oh... I’m sorry."

The sorrow in its eyes was so overwhelming that she found herself apologizing instinctively.

When she extended her hand again, the golden Reaper glanced at her cautiously before carefully crawling back onto her palm.

It clung tightly to one of her fingers, as if determined not to be thrown off again.

"I’m sorry. I won’t throw you again!"

As soon as the golden Reaper clung to her cheek, the other golden Reapers scattered in all directions.

All that remained was the single golden Reaper in her hand.

Yet, oddly, she felt an unexpected sense of security.

The atmosphere in the cave was tense after the sudden death.

In the midst of it all, researchers from Trinity Lab gathered the attention of the people around them.

"Everyone, please listen!"

People turned their attention to the voice of the Trinity Lab researcher, hoping for some answers.

There was an expectation that the top research lab in Korea wouldn’t spout nonsense.

Once the researcher was sure he had everyone’s attention, he raised his voice and began to speak.

"We’ve managed to decipher some of the structure of this Object. Let me explain further—please follow us to another area."

The Trinity researchers led the group deeper into the cave.

They arrived at a spot beyond the large lake, where a massive statue and altar stood.

"Here, you can see some inscriptions. Thanks to our ongoing research at Trinity Lab, we were able to interpret these writings. We’re fortunate to have this knowledge."

The researcher alternated between praising Trinity Lab and explaining the deciphered inscriptions.

The interpretation confirmed what the Black Agent had feared.

If more than 100 people are inside the cave, the statues will kill everyone.

If you try to leave the cave, you will be killed.

The people nodded, finding the explanation reasonable.

It made sense that such an oasis would have some kind of trap.

"So, what we need to do is simple. Stay inside the cave, and drive away anyone who tries to enter."

A series of questions followed, ranging from inquiries about why Trinity Lab had kept this information hidden to questions about how the inscriptions were deciphered.

"As junior researchers, we hope you understand that we can’t speak freely."

Of course, the Trinity researchers rarely gave clear answers.

As people gathered around the inscribed walls, discussing the situation, the blonde girl wandered toward the altar.

"Mister, the altar is covered with bat carvings! What do you think it means?"

"I’m not sure. Perhaps you should ask one of the Trinity Lab researchers?"

The blonde girl asked a researcher with a bright smile, but the answer was, "I don’t know."

"Since the inscriptions haven’t been fully deciphered, it’s understandable."

"It’s not that I’m disappointed they couldn’t explain it, Mister. It’s just that the altar seems more important than the inscriptions on the walls, don’t you think?"

Indeed, the altar seemed far more significant in size, scale, and decoration than the statues or the inscribed walls.

•  

Based on Trinity Lab’s interpretation of the Object, people began driving away anyone who tried to enter the cave.

"Get out of here!"

They armed themselves with whatever weapons they could find and threatened those who approached the cave, driving them away.

But many people, exhausted by the heat and dying of thirst, continued to arrive at the cave, drawn to its shade.

Though they couldn’t enter the cave, they began gathering in the nearby shadows.

The blonde girl looked worried and asked, "What if they suddenly decide to rush in?"

"They probably will at some point. We need a solution. Right now, the numbers are in our favor, so they’re hesitant to attack, but that advantage won’t last long."

The Trinity researchers observed the standoff with a meaningful gaze.

Thud, thud.

I wandered through the desert.

Place the red skull at the center of the desert, light it on fire, and dance on top of it.

The condition was still ridiculous.

How are people supposed to figure out how to destroy it if they can’t see the condition, like I can?

My journey to find the red skull continued.

I decided to have the Golden Reapers spread out across the entire desert to locate its center.

The spot where the Reapers converged would likely be the desert’s center.

Although the Golden Reapers usually didn’t follow my intentions very well, this time, they were spreading out as I had hoped.

Despite searching for the red skull, all I found were more ordinary skulls.

There was no sign of the red skull, but I frequently encountered people with Golden Reapers perched on their shoulders.

"Gasp, the Gray Reaper!"

These people would initially fear me, but eventually, they would approach.

"Did you send this golden Reaper? Thank you."

Fear and gratitude mixed in their expressions.

As I collected energy and stared at them blankly, some would even approach cautiously and hug me tightly.

It was bothersome, but I needed the energy, so I put up with it.

At this rate, who knows when I’ll find the red skull.

•  

While collecting energy and searching for the skull, I noticed something suspicious in the distance.

A massive cave made of red rock.

From afar, it looked like the open mouth of a skull. Could that be the red skull?