When she awoke, a soft, cushiony floor was embracing her body.

As her mind slowly cleared from the fog of sleep, a sweet scent began to fill the air from all directions.

The delicious smell of sugar, and the smooth aroma of chocolate.

When she opened her eyes, a scene straight out of a fairy tale unfolded before her.

"Wow!"

A sea of hot chocolate stretched out before the blonde girl, with a snow-white floor of marshmallows.

She was certain she had fallen asleep in the mystical village of cloud fish, but now she had awakened in this fantastical place!

Her vision was still blurry, as if she were drifting through a dream, everything around her soft and surreal. Surely, this must be a dream, she thought.

Feeling delighted, the blonde girl stood up and began walking through this dreamlike world.

After a short distance, she saw a small red creature bouncing up and down on a round marshmallow, using it like a trampoline.

It looked genuinely happy, with a bright smile spread across its face.

The girl squatted down to get a closer look at the adorable creature.

As if noticing her presence, the red being turned to her and smiled brightly.

The face of the red creature was very familiar to her.

It looked almost exactly like the Gray Reaper—except for the pigtails and the red color, it was an uncanny resemblance.

It felt a bit odd, but since this was a dream, she decided not to dwell on it.

The red Reaper smiled warmly at the blonde girl, then gently grabbed her pinky finger.

For some reason, the red Reaper's gesture made it feel as though it had been waiting for her for a long time.

Even though it didn’t say a word!

Then, as if suddenly dissatisfied, the red Reaper let go of her pinky, folded its arms, and turned its head away in a huff.

Yet, it continued to glance sideways at her, sneaking peeks as if gauging her reaction.

‘So cute!’

The red Reaper’s obvious behavior was so adorable that the blonde girl couldn’t resist picking it up and pressing it against her cheek.

Because it was red, the Reaper felt warm and soft, like a living hot pack.

The red Reaper, though pretending to be annoyed, pushed against her cheek as if trying to escape, but there was still a smile playing at the corners of its mouth.

After spending some time cuddling the red Reaper, it eventually wriggled free from her grasp and began walking off somewhere.

"Do you want me to follow you?"

The red creature turned its head slightly and gave a small nod, then confidently marched ahead.

Thump thump.

With determined steps, the red Reaper led her to a massive marshmallow coliseum.

When they entered through the huge doorway, which towered far above her, she saw Mini Reapers of all different colors.

The Mini Reapers spotted her and began hopping around joyfully, their smiles wide with excitement.

Though they didn’t speak, the warm, welcoming feeling they projected was unmistakable.

Was this the Mini Reapers’ special ability?

Or was it just because she was in a dream?

It almost felt like the Mini Reapers were trying to communicate with her.

Following behind the red Reaper, she continued walking down a long corridor.

It seemed like the path was leading them to the central plaza of the coliseum.

As they walked, the Black Reaper and Golden Reaper were off to the side, cheering enthusiastically with marshmallow skewers in their hands.

Perhaps it was their cheering that made the air feel charged with excitement as they walked through the hallway.

At the entrance to the central plaza, the red Reaper stopped in front of a cookie fence separating the hallway from the arena.

With a serious expression, it clenched both fists as if saying "let’s go," looking ready to support something.

The blonde girl felt confused by this strange display of encouragement.

As they entered the bright plaza, the atmosphere was in stark contrast to the dark hallway. The sunlight was shining down, illuminating everything.

Behind them, the cookie fence closed, and from the opposite side of the arena, a water-like figure of the Gray Reaper began approaching with heavy footsteps.

Thud. Thud.

Wait... what?

W-what’s happening?

Is this a fight?

The girl, struggling to understand the sudden shift in events, could only look around in confusion.

The water-like Reaper, now poised like a boxer, danced forward with fancy footwork, throwing a punch at lightning speed.

Bang!

The impact was like a giant water balloon bursting in her face, and with that, the blonde girl lost consciousness.

“Unnie! Unnie! Come outside, quick!”

At the sound of her younger sister’s voice, the woman, who had been grinding herbs, hurried outside.

When she stepped out, her sister was waving her arms and pointing excitedly into the distance.

She turned to look in that direction and saw a massive cloud formation rising abruptly above the horizon.

It was a cloud whale that had descended to the ground.

“They say Sehee Lab is under attack by an Object,” her sister said, holding up her phone, which was displaying the news.

The screen showed the huge cloud whale lying on the ground.

Like a sick whale, it lay motionless with its eyes closed, resting on the earth.

The view from the helicopter showed a long line of cars fleeing from the cloud whale, while journalists and spectators gathered near it.

As the footage played, the news anchor’s voice narrated the scene.

[It appears that a group of cloud fish, which had been drifting over Songpa-gu, has descended on Sehee Lab.]

[This is unusual behavior for cloud fish, which are known to be peaceful and safe.]

[The Korean Object Association has yet to assess the situation fully and advises everyone to stay away from the area.]

The tattooed woman watched the news, her hand slowly stroking her chin as she pondered.

“Unnie, should we go to Sehee Lab? I’ve never seen a cloud fish up close before. Do you think it’ll be safe?”

Her sister asked cautiously, as if expecting her to say no, but the woman’s reply surprised her.

“Cloud fish are generally harmless, so I think it’ll be fine.”

“Really?!”

With a smile, the tattooed woman added, “Let’s pack up and head over quickly,” before turning back into the house.

A few days had passed since news of the Gray Reaper’s return, and the woman had already been planning to visit Sehee Lab soon.

Though she hadn’t expected to go this quickly.

After gathering a few alchemy items and the protector into her bag, she was ready. Walking out of the house, she joined her sister, who was eagerly waiting outside.

“Unnie! Let’s hurry!”

Though she wasn’t as outwardly excited as her sister, the woman couldn’t deny she was curious about meeting an old acquaintance from her hometown.

 

The whole world had turned white, and nothing was visible.

The sudden attack seemed to make the Mini Reapers tense, but nothing actually happened.

It was just that the entire world, now engulfed in white, had settled over Sehee Lab.

Voices of confusion came from the people lost in the white fog.

Sensing the growing anxiety, the Golden Reapers spread out in all directions, gradually increasing the brightness of their glowing bodies.

The Golden Reapers were shining brightly, like miniature suns!

They burned like logs in a fire, illuminating the fog to prevent people from getting lost.

The Black Reapers looked on, their faces filled with envy, seemingly unable to perform such a feat.

Thump thump.

Leaving the glowing Golden Reapers behind, I continued walking forward.

It felt as if someone was calling to me.

The deeper I went, the farther away the noise around me faded, and soon, the surrounding clouds began to take on a physical texture.

As I pushed through the soft clouds, dark clouds began to appear, and above me was the faint image of an orange moon.

It was a calm, non-threatening moon.

Most moons I encountered were hostile toward me, but not this one.

Curious, I gazed up at the orange moon, and then, a faint will was transmitted to me.

It was like a letter, conveying a message, much like the way the Mini Reapers expressed their thoughts.

‘Help me.’

The orange moon was desperately pleading for help.

‘Help me.’

The moon's desperate cry carried fragments of unbearable pain along with it.

‘Help me.’

The agonizing cry seemed to come from far off in the east.

The orange moon was enduring excruciating pain, as if its entire body was rotting away.

It could have easily stopped the pain, but it chose to endure.

In fact, it seemed to long for death.

Helping wasn’t a difficult task.

And since it involved the black goo, it was something I had to do.

For some reason, I had a gut feeling that if I let the black goo spread unchecked, things would get out of hand.

But for some reason, I didn’t feel like helping right away.

A cat-like stubbornness crept into my mind, whispering, ‘Why should I help?’

The mischievous defiance buried deep inside me stirred and roared.

But, as if anticipating my reluctance, a fragment of memory played out within the message.

It was an old, black-and-white memory, like an ancient film.

A purple moon, glowing ominously, dominated the sky. From its surface, black, sticky liquid poured down like a waterfall.

The sight of the black goo cascading from the moon made it look as if the sky and the moon themselves were weeping.

The black liquid spread slowly but steadily, covering the land and turning the seas black.

Endlessly. Ceaselessly.

Blackened rain fell from the sky, and the black goo seeped underground, even contaminating the water.

There was no place left for people to live.

The extinction of the flames.

The strange memory ended there.

The "black goo" situation seemed much more severe than I had anticipated.

I had thought it was just some corrosive acid that melted Objects, but acid that could infinitely multiply? That was going too far.

"Alright, I’ll help."

The moment I decided to help, the image of the orange moon grew fainter and then disappeared.

At the same time, the giant cloud whale took off, soaring back into the sky.

As the cloud whale rose, smaller cloud fish followed in flocks, ascending into the heavens.

Looking up at the sky from the now-cleared Sehee Lab, I saw a river flowing through the sky.

The cloud fish swam, one after the other, leading the way as they crossed the sky.

The colors of blue, white, and orange blended together to create a heavenly river.

The cloud fish river, which began above Sehee Lab, stretched endlessly to the east, disappearing into the horizon.

The white cloud fish glowed with a faint, mesmerizing orange light, as if they were carrying the last embers of the setting sun inside them.

Even in the dark sky, their beautiful lights guided the way, never outshone by the stars.

It was a galaxy of cloud fish, glowing orange as if they had swallowed the stars themselves.

Seeing the river of cloud fish flowing eastward, I knew exactly where I needed to go.

Pat pat.

A small hand smacked repeatedly against her cheek, waking her up.

When she opened her eyes, she saw an unfamiliar ceiling.

"Oh, right. I’m in the cloud fish village."

The blonde girl remembered arriving in the mystical village of cloud fish and renting a room before falling asleep.

But who woke me up?

Thinking it might have been the agent, she looked around the empty room, but the black-clad agent was nowhere to be seen.

As she glanced around the empty room, she felt a light tapping on the back of her hand.

Looking down, she saw the Red Reaper smiling brightly.

Smack.

Still wondering if she might still be dreaming, the blonde girl slapped her cheeks with both hands, but the Red Reaper was still there.

The Red Reaper tilted its head in confusion, staring up at the girl who had just slapped her own face.