The joyful breakfast of live anglerfish steak came to an end.

Yerin seemed to think that having a sweet marshmallow for breakfast wasn’t ideal, so she ordered room service instead, cradling the mini anglerfish in her arms while watching TV.

Well, it would be a bit tough to have a marshmallow the size of a head for breakfast.

Sneaking over, I laid my head on Yerin’s lap and looked up, only to see the tiny feet of the mini anglerfish.

As I tried to secretly take a bite, Yerin swiftly moved the white anglerfish out of my reach.

“This one’s mine, so I’m not giving it to you.”

She’s so petty. It would regenerate anyway.

Summoning a new white mini anglerfish, I stuffed my mouth with it and turned my gaze toward the TV.

On the screen, a news anchor was frowning, speaking in a heavy tone about a recent catastrophe, a new drug that had surfaced.

The report mentioned that the drug was incredibly addictive, undetectable, and cheap, causing widespread headaches.

‘It’s probably a drug made from an Object,’ I mused, biting off a large chunk of the anglerfish. A disgruntled squealing sound came from the marshmallow.

As they analyzed the trendy new drug, the anchor said its main component was completely incinerated protein, but it had burned so much that they couldn’t even identify what kind of meat it had been.

It seemed the Drug Enforcement Administration had concluded that this drug was linked to Object-related crimes and had requested assistance from the Object Association.

The screen then showed pictures of people who had taken the new drug.

Their skin was dry and cracked, like withered, dead trees.

Their bodies were as gaunt as mummies.

Their eyes glowed ominously.

They looked eerily familiar, like I had seen something similar before….

As I thought about it, I realized they resembled the monster I had seen in Seoul Forest.

Just as I was pondering, the TV suddenly turned off, and Yerin’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Ugh, they look so creepy. It’s like something out of a nightmare.”

Yerin shuddered at the sight and turned off the TV.

Then, she hugged me tightly and said, “Reaper, let’s go to the hotel pool! They say there’s one inside, and since there are no other guests, it’ll be just the two of us. It’ll be fun!”

And so, I was carried in Yerin’s arms as we left the hotel room.

Inside one of the relatively intact conference rooms in James City, James, the Deputy Mayor, and members of the Mini Moon Observation Project gathered.

“You look tired. How about taking a break, James?”

Though he still wore a tracking collar around his neck, the Deputy Mayor, temporarily released from isolation, spoke to James, who responded with an indifferent expression.

“It’s better to get all this hard work done now. We can’t keep the guests from Korea waiting any longer.”

James continued, his eyes fixed on the projector screen.

“Now, let’s talk about the gray moon.”

In response to James’s words, the Mini Moon Observation Project coordinator switched slides.

“These are the photos of the moon we observed yesterday.”

The slides showed images of a massive moon among the Mini Moons, all of which had a distinctive gray hue.

“As you know, the color of the moon is influenced by the weather and time of day. However, since yesterday, no matter when or where we observe, the same gray moon appears.”

Pictures taken from various locations and times flashed by, yet each showed the same gray moon with remarkable consistency.

“For now, only a few people have noticed the anomaly, thanks to the appearance of the navy-blue moon. But soon, more people will become aware.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t turn into something as big as the Red Moon event,” the Deputy Mayor muttered, and the others nodded slightly.

When the Red Moon first appeared, apocalyptic theories spread like wildfire, leading to chaos, suicides, and incidents of rapture. Cleaning up the aftermath had been exhausting, making them almost envious of the stability in Korea.

Once the discussion about the gray moon ended, the slides transitioned to a different document.

It was a handwritten report.

Seeing this, the Deputy Mayor stood up from his seat.

“It’s my turn now.”

The report detailed eyewitness accounts, offering interpretations from an Object expert and a physicist. Given the high likelihood of mental contamination and hallucinations, the story was thoroughly analyzed.

After delivering the detailed presentation and flipping through the slides, the Deputy Mayor added a brief concluding remark as he sat back down.

“To sum it up, I’m sure of it. Although space-time was distorted, it wasn’t a hallucination—we observed the navy-blue moon. And we also saw the gray Reaper destroying it.”

“Finally! We can be 99% certain that the gray Reaper caused the Mini Moon phenomena.”

Relieved, James expressed his satisfaction, having long suspected the gray Reaper’s involvement after the Red Moon incident.

The meeting then moved on to discussing future observation schedules and whether to relocate the research institutes currently housed in James City.

“This concludes the meeting.”

With that, the exhausted participants left the conference room, visibly drained.

“This is uncomfortable,” the Deputy Mayor complained, fiddling with the tracking collar around his neck.

“It’s probably quite uncomfortable. According to the regulations, since you’re classified as a level 2 mental contamination suspect, you’ll need to wear it for a month.”

James, who had worn a level 3 suspect collar for a week, added this, watching as the Deputy Mayor was led back to the isolation ward for suspected mental contamination.

“Well, see you in a month.”

“Yeah.”

With that, the Deputy Mayor, who had no further tasks in isolation, parted ways with the busy James.

The atmosphere in the hotel pool was peaceful yet unexpectedly charming.

Since there were no other guests, we could enjoy the pool with just the Reapers.

It would’ve been nicer without the security personnel from James’s research lab, who stood tensely nearby, but that was probably asking for too much.

The gentle sound of water lapping against the pool’s edge and the splashing of the Golden Reapers as they jumped from the 10-meter diving board played like background music.

Splash, splash.

One of the Reapers was paddling aimlessly, lightly kicking its legs while I held it by the armpits.

Though the hotel pool’s rides weren’t as intense as those at James’s research facility, the Golden Reapers seemed just as delighted.

Lately, I’d started to feel a bit strange about the Golden Reapers.

They always seemed so happy.

Normally, after experiencing something more fun or delicious, everything else would seem dull in comparison, but the Golden Reapers didn’t show any signs of that.

But it didn’t seem like they lacked preferences, either.

Perhaps their reactions changed depending on the person offering them something?

While playing in the water with the Reapers, James, looking utterly exhausted, appeared at the hotel pool.

“I’m glad to see you’re relaxing.”

“James, you need to rest. You look really pale.”

James insisted he was fine for now and called us to the hotel’s central hall.

Even though he looked ready to collapse at any moment, James summoned Yerin and me.

It was probably related to those 0-Level relics or whatever they were.

After finishing our swim, we arrived at a massive hall filled with an overwhelming number of antiques.

There were items that looked like ancient relics, as well as others resembling sophisticated, vintage antiques.

An incredibly old-looking fountain pen.

A strange mural that seemed to have been torn from the wall of a temple.

But none of them felt like Objects to me.

And just as I suspected, none of the 0-Level relics reacted to me.

“Nothing’s responding.”

James seemed a bit surprised.

However, there was one item that kept catching my eye.

A large marble mosaic decorating the floor.

It depicted a sky with seven moons rising, a massive tower, and animals as large as the tower itself.

Noticing my focused gaze, Yerin examined the mosaic, and James offered an explanation.

“Oh, that’s a mosaic we bought from Korea. It was found in the house of the head of Trinity Research Institute’s third division.”

With a slightly puzzled expression, James continued his explanation.

“We purchased it because its style and patterns closely resembled those of 0-Level relics. But upon investigation, it was found to have been made using modern techniques, so we believe it’s a reproduction inspired by the original.”

For some reason, the words uttered by those blood-clotted masses kept echoing in my mind when I looked at that mosaic.

<Humans killed the gods. And then needed them again.>

<The gods were cruel, but they protected humanity.>

Once filled with towering trees, the majestic mountain range now bore no trace of its former glory.

The earth was coated with a black liquid that resembled oil, which flowed endlessly, stretching far beyond the mountains.

There were no ordinary plants or animals to bring life to the land, no chirping, rustling, or whispers to be heard.

In this desolate landscape roamed a massive beast, the kind one might only encounter in myth.

A pig, as large as the mountain range itself.

The pig constantly spewed fire from its mouth, burning the black liquid beneath it. With every strike of its hooves against the ground, a thunderous echo reverberated.

The flaming pig, the ruler of this forsaken mountain range, wandered endlessly, consumed by insatiable hunger.

Its burning eyes lifted toward the sky, gauging the timing.

Three moons hung in the sky above.

An orange moon, a yellow moon, and a green moon, all shining like suns, casting shadows over this twisted world.