Late at night.

Seoa returned home looking exhausted.

As she stood under the shower stream, her thoughts wandered back to Sehee Research Lab.

"So tired…."

The appearance of the Gray Reaper in Siberia, Russia, had piled up a mountain of tasks.

She had a stack of paperwork to submit to the Object Association.

Oh Yerin, the researcher responsible for the Gray Reaper, was always late with her reports, and Director Lee Sehee was more interested in real estate investments these days than actual work.

On top of that, Sehee Lab had grown so large that Seoa had more work than she could handle.

"I guess it’s time to hire someone new."

A researcher from the Object Association had recently sent in a resume. Perhaps it was time for an interview.

From what she’d heard from the Association, this candidate was good at handling mental contamination and had a solid work ethic. She had high hopes.

"I hope they’re not easily charmed by Mini Reapers, like Kim Jungroe was."

She glanced to her side and found the Sprout Reaper mimicking her every move under the faucet, precisely in sync, as if they were a mirror image.

"You know, you don’t have to do that."

Since the Sprout Reaper had broken the only mirror in the bathroom while goofing around, every time Seoa entered the bathroom, they would act as a living mirror.

Though it could be frustrating, Seoa didn’t mind seeing the usually mischievous Sprout Reaper try to be helpful for a change.

"Okay, time for you to get soaped up, too."

After finishing her shower, she gathered up a handful of soapy bubbles and called the Sprout Reaper over.

The Sprout Reaper stopped copying her and clamped their eyes shut, covering them with both hands.

Ever since a soap bubble had gotten into their eyes last time, they’d been terrified of it.

It was amusing to Seoa that an Object could be afraid of soap bubbles, so she let out a small laugh.

The Sprout Reaper must have heard her because they puffed out their chubby cheeks in mild irritation.

Seoa gently poked the plump little cheeks to deflate them, then thoroughly soaped them up.

Their soft cheeks and tiny body.

While bathing the Sprout Reaper, they looked so small and delicate, as if they might break with a touch.

But no matter how fragile they seemed, they were still an Object.

Moreover, as a follower of the Gray Reaper, their strength was undoubtedly far beyond that of humans.

After their bath, the Sprout Reaper was already seated on Seoa's pillow, patting it down with little thumps.

"Alright, time for bed."

As she lay down, the Sprout Reaper hummed a melody they must have picked up from the TV, using it like a lullaby.

"♩♩♬"

Listening to the gentle hum, Seoa softly muttered,

"Goodnight."

Back in the house, the Blue-Haired Girl and the muscular man pulled out various documents, and their conversation grew increasingly incomprehensible.

"But why did the 'Sect' store this tablet as a relic?"

"I’m not sure. But it seems that the Sect worships not the outer god, but rather that erased entity."

Their conversation veered deeper into alchemy, making it tedious to listen to.

Thump, thump.

I walked over to the window and took in the peaceful view outside.

There, on the windowsill, was a familiar shell.

An already dead Object.

It was a purple shell, like the one I had seen in the snowy plains.

Seeing the shell that had led me here, I reached out and picked it up.

Then, from within the shell, I heard a faint whisper.

"[Head towards the land of mirrors and glass.]"

As I pressed my ear to the shell, it disappeared into thin air, as if it were something that shouldn’t be here.

'It’s probably a clue about where I need to go to reach the proper conclusion.'

Clearing my mind, I began to admire the view outside.

The back alley under the mystical purple moonlight was unlike the modern world, exuding a unique atmosphere.

Smooth pebbles reflecting the moonlight.

Glass ornaments and windows reflecting the purple hue.

'For a fantasy, there sure are a lot of glass items here.'

No sooner had I thought of the glass ornaments than the serene street began to transform.

Objects touched by moonlight started floating as if defying gravity, and reflections in windows and mirrors grew increasingly distorted and grotesque.

Watching the objects twist within the glass, I thought of the hint the shell had given me.

I needed to get to the hinted location quickly.

Once I made up my mind, I turned to the Blue-Haired Girl and opened my mouth.

After a year of silence, it had become comfortable not to speak, but this situation demanded it.

I tried to keep my expression serious and relayed the current state as naturally as I could.

"Hey, something’s changed outside. The whole city looks different."

The Blue-Haired Girl’s reaction to my words was strange.

Her eyes sparkled with excitement as if she’d discovered something fascinating and clung to me.

A serious expression, but my words were clumsy.

"Thie, owtside ith weird now. The whole thity lookth different."

The girl in black-and-white clothes made an effort to speak, but her lisp made her sound endearing.

I had worried because she hardly ever spoke, but now I realized it was simply because she was unaccustomed to it.

The Blue-Haired Girl looked down at the adorable little girl, beaming.

But her overenthusiastic response caused the small girl to pout and fall silent.

Though I wanted to poke her plump cheeks, it wouldn’t have been appropriate.

The black-and-white-clad girl insisted we needed to head to a place full of mirrors and glass, which, fortunately, the Master knew of.

"There’s a 'Glass Craft Street' in this city where they make and store glass ornaments."

The girl’s reasoning seemed sound, given the distorted reflections, so we decided to head there.

As we ventured into the street, the city was in complete chaos.

People witnessing the inexplicable phenomena attributed it to the powers of magic or alchemy.

Like the 'sorcery' in martial arts novels, anything incomprehensible here was blamed on 'magic books.'

The current situation was beyond understanding, wondrous yet dangerous—truly a 'magic book' phenomenon.

Alchemy’s calling was to protect humanity from such threats, so we pressed on.

Meanwhile, the small girl looked around with an unusually confident air.

She didn’t seem frightened, which was odd. If anything, she appeared self-assured.

She didn’t seem curious, either, which made it even stranger.

Thump, thump.

I held the Blue-Haired Girl’s hand, following the muscular man through the complex city.

At last, we reached our destination.

A land filled with mirrors and glass—the Glass Craft Street.

"I wish we had White Jaw here; it’d make things easier. But entry’s forbidden. How annoying."

The Blue-Haired Girl complained, frowning slightly.

The surroundings, adorned with beautiful glass decorations and mirrors, felt unsettling and eerie.

Reflections in the flat mirrors warped like fisheye lenses; what should be reflected wasn’t, and what shouldn’t be reflected appeared.

Uncomfortable.

Why can’t humans sense things with their skin?

Twisting my head so much made my neck sore.

'Disgusting.'

As I cautiously moved forward, the grotesque face of a creature briefly appeared in the glass.

It had fingers instead of hair, a mouth where its eyes should be, and a nose where its mouth should be—a truly horrifying sight.

The enemy was definitely hiding somewhere in this street.

Using my 'Eye,' I scanned the surroundings, but I couldn’t spot the Object.

Just then, all the distorted mirrors returned to normal.

'…'

A moment of silence, with not a sound to be heard.

As I turned, tense, to look behind me, every mirror reflected that horrifying face, grinning at me.

Instinctively, I used my spatial cutting ability, shattering every mirror regardless of the blood that covered my hands.

But at the same time, the world began to crumble.

'Time reversal?'

It was the ninth time I’d seen the world rewind in a dream.

Why?

In the midst of this sudden time reversal, I turned to look at the Blue-Haired Girl and saw the creature in the mirror slit her throat.

The tenth iteration’s failure.

And the start of the eleventh.

The purple moon now seemed on the verge of total collapse.

In the blink of an eye, I found myself back at the entrance to the Glass Craft Street.

'...?'

I was perplexed.

I’d expected to start from the 'Sect' again.

But since there was something I needed to do before entering the craft street, I steeled myself and looked up at the Blue-Haired Girl.

Suppressing my embarrassment, I called out for a piggyback ride.

"Carry me, quickly!"

The Otherworldly Yerin’s pronunciation was clumsy; I’d sworn off speaking because of it!

But with no eyes on the back of my head, I had no other choice.

Was it wise to request a piggyback ride before a battle with a magic book?

The Blue-Haired Girl hesitated briefly but eventually agreed, charmed by the girl’s serious yet endearing tone.

Besides, she was confident that her white flames could handle most magic books.

And, of course, there was her little desire to give the girl a piggyback ride.

'Her feet are incredibly soft.'

Once on her back, an unusual sensation caught her attention.

'Soft?'

Lifting the black-and-white-clad girl’s feet, she realized they were indeed bare.

The girl’s long clothes had hidden it, so the Blue-Haired Girl hadn’t noticed.

Despite wandering around barefoot, the girl’s feet were spotless.

And so they headed into the Glass Craft Street.

The magic book, hiding somewhere in the glass street, kept appearing and disappearing through the mirrors.

Suddenly, like the calm before a storm, all the mirrors returned to normal.

The magic book’s traces vanished, leaving the street eerily quiet.

In that silence, the Blue-Haired Girl gripped her alchemist’s sword tightly, scanning the area.

As she relaxed in the calm, a grotesque face popped up from the mirrors.

Then, as if the mirrors were just a distraction, the magic book’s presence emerged from the empty air.

'Not a chance!'

The magic book brazenly targeted the girl on her back.

'Alchemist’s Shield!'

The Blue-Haired Girl swung her hand, sending white flames outward, forming a protective sphere.

Yet a purple-stained blade effortlessly pierced through the sphere.

'The power of the moon? But why?'

As thick blood sprayed into the sky, a horrified Blue-Haired Girl screamed.

The girl on her back, her head severed, sprayed blood in every direction, smiling as if she found it amusing.

Late at night, in an apartment near Sehee Research Lab in Songpa-gu.

In Yerin’s room, a faint glow began to emanate from the large Gray Reaper doll she clutched while sleeping.

The dim light originated around Yerin’s neck, flickering briefly before fading away.

The bedroom appeared unchanged, but there was one subtle difference.

Around Yerin’s neck was a faint scar, as if something had made a clean cut there.