Through my blurred vision, I could see scenes unfolding that I didn’t recognize at all.

Instinctively, I realized I was dreaming, but it was a strange kind of dream—something felt off.

The world in my dream was chaotic, with time moving in every direction, rushing by at a thousand times normal speed.

I couldn’t tell where I was or even whether I was lying down or standing.

It felt as though I was drifting through the air like the wind, with only a faint sense of consciousness.

The world I saw in my dream felt like an ocean filled with wishes, hopes, and desires.

Amidst the chaotic mess, the sky was always the same.

In the dream, I was staring up at that sky.

“I want to fly.”

I could do anything, but flying—that was something I couldn’t do.

Even though I longed to fly, too many things were holding me down to the ground.

Resentment and hope. Aspiration and despair.

Then, a wish echoed in my mind.

[A god who grants all wishes is no different from a disaster.]

[It would have been better if gods never existed.]

Though my awareness in the dream was hazy, that wish remained oddly vivid in my memory.

After having that strange dream, I suddenly woke up and found myself back in the familiar isolation room.

Dark and cozy, it was the comforting isolation room I had grown used to.

I peeled off the Mini Reapers that had latched onto my face and placed them on the bed, then sat up.

Near the ceiling of the room, the Orange Reapers floated lazily.

It was definitely because of them that I had such a strange dream.

Feeling a bit annoyed, I caught one of the Orange Reapers and started tickling it.

The Orange Reapers were as sensitive as cotton balls, squirming and wriggling far more than the Golden Reapers as they laughed uncontrollably.

I wasn’t particularly envious of the Blue Reapers flying around on their brooms, but for some reason, the Orange Reapers made me jealous.

Was it because they could just fly with their bodies?

As I kept tickling the Orange Reaper, something felt odd.

It seemed much softer than the Golden Reapers.

Could it be?

I dug deeper into the fluffy cotton of the Orange Reaper, and though it laughed and tried to hide itself with its hair, I eventually pulled it free.

The body of the Orange Reaper looked slightly different from the other Mini Reapers.

It was a bit taller than the Golden Reapers.

And it had a more developed figure.

Except for being fairy-sized, its curves were more pronounced than mine.

How does it have everything I don’t?!

I kept tickling the mischievous Orange Reaper until the morning sun began to rise.

In a village located in Odaesan.

Several vehicles from Trinity were pouring in.

The second research director stood at the highest point in the village, looking down over the scene.

After discovering that the first research director had been meddling with something, he had come to confirm things himself.

There was concern that the first director might have left something dangerous behind, but aside from the village being somewhat wrecked, there didn’t seem to be any major problems.

“Phew, that’s a relief. If something had gone wrong because of the first director, it would’ve been a real headache, but there’s nothing here.”

In fact, there was a small gain.

Near the village, there were mountains of high-grade alloy walls, designed to contain Objects.

Checking the records, it was confirmed that this equipment had been taken from the first research facility.

“But how did this village survive? There’s no external contact, and they don’t farm.”

The man, who appeared to be the secretary, replied while flipping through a report.

“There are some outlandish claims, so we are still investigating the exact cause.”

“Outlandish? What kind of testimonies?”

Clearing his throat, the secretary answered.

“They claim there was plenty of food in the forest, and sometimes wild animals would just collapse and die suddenly.”

“That does sound ridiculous. But somehow, it makes it more believable. Could it be an Object?”

The secretary flipped through more pages of the report and continued.

“The villagers call it the 'Blessing of the Orange Moon.' They say good things always happened, and no one ever went hungry.”

The second research director took the report from the secretary and began reading quickly.

“It seems familiar.”

As he reviewed the report, the second research director thought that the 'Blessing of the Orange Moon' closely resembled the abilities of the Gray Reaper.

Under the blessing, fruits would fall from trees, and animals would trip over stones and die, much like how the Gray Reaper caused sinkholes and led creatures to their deaths.

While the Gray Reaper only brought destruction and death, the Orange Moon seemed to twist fate in a more beneficial way.

A village once inhabited by cloud fish.

Cloud fish that appeared at Se-hee’s research lab.

And now, the Orange Moon with powers resembling those of the Gray Reaper.

The second research director couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t just a coincidence.

“In any case, we should relocate the elderly villagers to Seoul. With the Orange Moon gone, staying here would be like asking for death by Object.”

He handed the report back to the secretary and headed toward his vehicle.

Taking advantage of Kim Joong-rye’s absence, I slipped away to the Reaper’s isolation room.

As usual, the room had a calm atmosphere, but the Reaper seemed to have lost all its energy and was stuck to the bed like a limp rag.

Holding the Reaper in my arms, I slowly fed it pudding, spoonful by spoonful.

Nom nom.

The Reaper ate the pudding, and I, in turn, nibbled on the Reaper’s antennae—a symbiotic relationship.

Ever since it disappeared with the cloud whale and returned, it had seemed down. I wondered if something had happened.

On TV, there was a report about the latest surge in cult activity.

As ridiculous as the religion sounded, it was surprising how many people believed in it.

It wasn’t just in our country—it was spreading simultaneously across various nations. In this era, when international travel had become so difficult, it was a strange phenomenon.

“It must be related to an Object, right?”

The Reaper kept munching on pudding, pretending to be indifferent, but the way its antennae flicked in my mouth made it clear that it was interested.

The story about the cult was well-known by now.

They claimed to make the lame walk and the blind see.

It sounded absurd, but in a world where Objects existed, part of my brain thought it might just be possible.

Could that be why the cult had gone global?

Well, at least it wasn’t one of those doomsday cults telling everyone to commit mass suicide, but I wasn’t sure how long this one would last either.

Seeing how interested the Reaper was, maybe it wouldn’t be around for long.

As I watched TV and shared a peaceful afternoon with the Reaper, the door to the isolation room suddenly burst open, and Se-hee unnie came rushing in.

She looked as if she had been running away from something.

“Se-hee unnie? What’s going on?”

Right then, Seo-ah unnie followed her into the room.

“Director Lee Se-hee! What is the meaning of this?”

Seo-ah unnie was unusually furious.

Could this be... embezzlement?

I glanced at the papers Seo-ah unnie was waving around and managed to catch a brief glimpse of the contents.

It looked like some sort of land purchase document. Were they planning to expand or relocate the research facility?

“Who buys land at several times the market value just to build a Gray Reaper theme park? With our research facility’s income, it’ll take 20 years to even start construction!”

“We can just take out a loan! The Gray Reaper is popular, so we’ll pay it back in no time!”

Seo-ah unnie rubbed her temples, sighing deeply at Se-hee unnie’s ridiculous reasoning.

Is the research facility going to end up with foreclosure notices?

A sense of unease crept over me.

The document handed to me by the association employee bore the symbol of the cult that had recently become so popular.

Below it were warnings and explanations of their recruitment methods.

As Rachel took the document, she felt her tension ease a little.

“They’re not here for the Golden Reaper.”

The association employee, who looked extremely tired, handed Rachel a flyer and said, “There’s been an increase in disappearances around here lately, so we’re distributing warnings and verifying the identities of the missing.”

The employee flipped through some papers and then, in a stern tone, added, “We’ve seen several people go out looking for these missing persons by infiltrating the cults themselves. Please, do not attempt such a dangerous thing. Many of those who went searching have become missing themselves.”

The employee added quietly, “Almost all of them, in fact.”

“Thank you for your cooperation, Rachel.”

With that, the employee gave a brief nod before slowly leaving.

Click.

As the door closed, a feeling of unease settled into Rachel’s heart.

“Could my mom and dad have fallen for that cult?”

Rachel thought about her parents, who lived in a nearby city, and picked up her phone.

She didn’t think it was likely, but the worry showed on her face, which remained tense.

The Golden Reaper, who had disappeared earlier, was now perched on Rachel’s shoulder, gently patting her cheek.

Its tiny palm was spread wide, and with a sad expression, it softly tapped her.

‘Don’t worry. I’m here for you!’

Though the Golden Reaper couldn’t speak or make a sound, Rachel felt as if it had just said those words.

As she waited for her parents to pick up, Rachel softly whispered, “Thank you,” and patted the Golden Reaper’s head.

But no matter how many times she called, the phone only went to voicemail.