The crack that appeared right in front of me, splitting the space, was clearly inviting me in.

I wasn’t sure why, but that was the feeling I got.

However, I hesitated, wondering whether to enter or not.

Now that I was out of the illusion, I felt like I had already enjoyed enough adventure.

Besides, it didn’t seem necessary to go any further in the labyrinth without a Tyrannosaurus.

As I turned away from the rift and looked towards the black reapers, they all seemed genuinely happy.

They weren’t even fazed by the sudden change in surroundings.

Just moments ago, they were fighting fiercely, but now they were running around with bright expressions as if they had forgotten everything.

With the labyrinth floor transformed into well-packed sand, the black reapers were playing in it as if it were a ball pit.

They swam through the sand like it was a pool and picked up tiny grains to throw around.

Well, I could understand it.

A ball pit has an irresistible charm and fun factor.

I always thought that ball pits weren’t fun for adults due to their small size.

If there were a giant ball pit big enough for adults to play in, wouldn’t everyone enjoy it?

As a former researcher, I was sure I was right about this.

I should ask Sehee Research to build an extra-large ball pit later.

Hehe.

While everyone was having fun playing in the sand, there was one black reaper sitting alone, looking downcast.

It was the insubordinate reaper who had thrown that rebellious punch at me.

The insubordinate reaper looked as if he was melting, his body soft and gooey, probably worried about the beloved human girl.

He sat near her face, waiting tirelessly for her to awaken from her sleep.

At that moment, as if sensing something, the insubordinate reaper lifted his head abruptly and looked towards the girl.

“Uh… uh…”

The girl’s voice was so faint it was barely audible, but the insubordinate reaper’s eyes widened as he sprang up and rushed to her.

He trotted across the sand and clung to her cheek with a soft smack.

At the same time, emotions began to emanate from the waking girl’s body.

It was a clear sign that the insubordinate reaper’s beloved human girl was waking up.

The insubordinate reaper rubbed his cheek against hers with a look of pure happiness.

Seeing them, I suddenly missed Yerin.

I needed to finish things here quickly and head back to Sehee Research.

The first thing the girl saw upon opening her eyes was a sky of sand flowing like a river.

And a soft sensation on her cheek.

When she grabbed the thing stuck to her cheek and tried to pull it off, it wriggled as if protesting.

From its warm, soft texture and the way it moved, she quickly realized what it was.

Blinking her bleary eyes, she focused on the small creature in her hand, which was looking at her with an innocent expression.

Dark skin.

White and yellow glowing heterochromatic eyes.

An expression that openly showed affection.

It was the black sword and her guardian angel, the black fairy.

“Were you waiting for me to wake up?”

The girl smiled and lightly tickled the black fairy’s cheek with her finger.

The black fairy responded with a bright smile and clasped her finger tightly with its tiny hands.

After playing with it for a while, the girl slowly stood up and looked around, noticing that the environment was completely different from when she had lost consciousness in the labyrinth.

The inverted snow and trees were gone, replaced by a warm temperature that made her slightly sweaty.

“!”

But there was something even more surprising.

“The Gray Reaper!”

With his gray skin and glowing yellow eyes, he was Korea’s top-tier Object!

The girl looked between the black fairy in her hand and the Gray Reaper, coming to a realization.

The ‘black fairy’ was actually a ‘black reaper.’

Now that she thought about it, it made sense; they did resemble the famous Gray Reaper. Why hadn’t she noticed before?

But somehow, the Gray Reaper and the black reaper felt completely different.

Ah, it was the expression.

The Gray Reaper had an indifferent expression, full of discontent.

The black reaper had a bright smile that lit up everything around it.

And, of course, the cute, sharp teeth that were the black reaper’s charm point!

I wouldn’t have thought to compare them until I saw the Gray Reaper directly, given how different their vibes were.

So the Object in black armor must have been the Gray Reaper.

The black armor was similar in texture to the black sword of the black reaper.

A height of about one meter.

The black armor was gone, and in its place stood the Gray Reaper.

While I couldn’t be 100% certain, there was enough evidence for a plausible guess.

And buried in the sand were several black reapers, playing in what used to be the black armor.

A black reaper throwing sand grains.

A black reaper swimming through the sand.

And one digging up a large figure from the sand.

“Ah?”

The armor the black reapers were digging up was something the girl recognized.

It was an ancient-looking armor that had once hung in the corner of the Dog Meat Uncle’s general store.

“Uncle!”

The girl gasped and checked, only to find that Dog Meat Uncle was merely asleep.

She let out a sigh of relief.

Since she herself had been trapped in a dream, she quickly understood his state.

He must be trapped in the labyrinth’s illusion.

She placed the black reaper on her shoulder, deciding to watch the black reapers play while waiting for the uncle to wake up.

If a beginner like her could wake up, she believed that someone as knowledgeable about the labyrinth as the uncle would wake up soon.

“I suppose I have to go in, after all.”

I finally made up my mind to enter the rift.

This labyrinth Object might not be out to kill humans, but it seemed harmful enough.

Although I had broken through easily with the black reaper armor’s auto-hunting function, even the sparrows on the first floor were far too strong.

They were definitely not something an average person with a weapon could handle.

As soon as I resolved to enter, I reached my hand into the rift.

The unstable crack trembled and tore at the space around it.

It was a rough passage, so much so that even a mini reaper would struggle to get through.

Checking the state of the passage only made me more reluctant to go in.

But I knew that the more I hesitated, the more I’d dread entering, so I pushed my entire body into the rift without delay.

Swish. Swish.

Within the unstable space, my physically immune skin was repeatedly sliced and regenerated.

Is this what it feels like to be caught in a whirlpool?

Like a paper boat tossed about in a violent storm, I was jostled and flipped as I navigated through the space.

Finally, when I reached the destination, the chaotic flow of the unstable space ceased, and I found solid ground beneath my feet.

A solid floor of sand.

Above was an ink-black night sky devoid of stars or a moon.

Beneath that dark sky was a low platform with nine steps leading up to a throne.

And atop the sandy throne, fused with it and eroded into sand, sat an old man.

A kingdom of sand, where everything had been weathered away, including the throne.

It was immediately clear that this imposing throne and the old man were the core of the labyrinth.

[You’ve arrived.]

A weary presence filled the entire space.

It was a will suffused with the pain of someone who had pursued a single purpose for centuries but had seemingly gained nothing.

[Then let us begin.]

As this will reached me, the sand filling the desert slowly gathered and transformed into a sharp spear.

The spear then took aim at me, and with considerable speed, it shot forward.

‘Clang!’

I attempted to grab the space around me tightly.

But my spatial manipulation failed to activate, and my hand clutched at empty air.

Thud.

The large sand spear pierced through my abdomen, and I had no choice but to roll across the floor like a skewered piece of meat.

As I rolled across the rough sand, countless wounds appeared all over my body.

‘Why?’

The hole in my stomach and the scratches on my skin healed instantly, but questions swarmed my mind.

Why can’t I cut through space?

Why is my physical immunity not working?

Is it like when my abilities were sealed by the cult leader?

But it felt different from a mere ability seal.

In this dire situation, I instinctively activated my "Eye" to check the conditions for destroying the old man.

<Ascend the steps to the throne.> <Die in this world.>

My Eye displayed two conditions for destruction.

The text overlapped like a malfunctioning program, making it difficult to read.

Since this had never happened before, I immediately realized that one of the conditions was false.

As soon as I confirmed the conditions, I started running towards the steps leading to the throne.

For one reason.

I didn’t know the conditions for my own death.

I suspected it would be when I ran out of firewood, but I wasn’t certain.

Furthermore, although the sand spear was powerful, it took a significant amount of time for the sand to gather.

Even with my short height and lack of athleticism, there was enough time to climb the nine steps.

Feeling the sensation of my small feet pushing against the sand, I advanced quickly.

I reached the steps in no time, and the slow-moving sand showed no signs of gathering.

I’ve won.

Even if a sand spear flew at me now, I’d be able to climb up!

The moment I set foot on the first step, a searing pain consumed my entire body.

It felt as if I were being crushed into the steps.

Looking at my blackened hands and the flaming firewood, I glanced up to see a bright, glowing ring of light above my head.

The Halo had appeared.

I guess it’s not so easy to defeat a powerful Object.

But this much pain was manageable.

I gritted my teeth and took another step up.

As I planted my foot on the next step, I heard a popping sound.

Ah, ahhh.

The pain in my eyes was as if they’d been torn to shreds.

I clutched at my eyes, opening my mouth wide as if to scream.

Ah, I see.

My eyes had burst.

The two Halos above my head.

My entire body was trembling, on the verge of explosion.

From my vanished eyes, red firewood flowed endlessly.

It hurts.

It hurts so much.

I had climbed two steps.

There were two Halos above my head.

And nine steps in total!

Ha, hahaha.

Nine Halos?

That’s impossible.

The true condition was to <Die in this world>, after all.

The weight of the Halos pressing down on me grew heavier with each passing moment.

I could no longer stand on the steps.

If I exhaust all the firewood, will I die?

I drove my hand into my chest, trying to force out the firewood.

I could feel the firewood blazing with a searing pain.

Just as I was about to rip out the firewood—

A small sound came from my shoulder.

“Beep!”

It was the insubordinate reaper, who should have been playing with the beloved human on the other side of the rift.

“Mom, don’t give up!”

The insubordinate reaper exuded a determined spirit and quickly climbed up my hair, gazing resolutely at the two Halos above my head.

Then, with all his might, he leaped up and grabbed one of the Halos, moving it atop his own head.

Although the Halo was enormous compared to the black reaper, it immediately shrank to a size suitable for the mini reaper as soon as he touched it.

The tiny Halo on his head, the insubordinate reaper’s body was now being torn apart, and firewood poured from his eyes like blood, but he smiled brightly, radiating his resolve.

“It’s okay now! Mom!”