Sehee Research Institute, O Yerin's Apartment.

"Alright, I’m heading out. Keep an eye on the house!"

"Kyuu!"

Waving to the White Maw sitting on the lap of a leaden doll, Yerin left for the research institute.

Once she was gone for a while, the apartment grew slightly busier.

Kyuu.

Kyu-uu-uu.

Little white Maws made of marshmallows started squeezing through the gap of the front door, entering one by one.

The Golden Reapers peeked out from the darkened walls of the room, giggling and looking around.

"Hide and seek!"

After confirming the coast was clear, they dropped to the floor, swiftly sneaking around, hiding behind things like table legs with stealthy "shasha" sounds.

Just like little ninjas!

Their destination was the room where the leaden doll sat.

"Secret playtime!"

"Secret friend!"

The Golden Reapers didn’t know why they had to hide from Yerin, but it seemed fun, so they were copying the White Maw.

Thus, a crowd of Golden Reapers and White Maws gathered in orderly rows in the room with the leaden doll.

Like little puppies awaiting treats, they looked up at the leaden doll quietly.

"Today’s snack!"

"!"

"!"

One of the Golden Reapers took out a large cookie it had secretly stashed, and the others cheered with small jumps.

They circled around the cookie, nibbling at it in turns.

This was their so-called "Round Table Cookie."

Nom-nom.

With tiny hands, they tore off small pieces, chewing and savoring each bite.

The Golden Reapers, like little misers, nibbled on a single handful of the cookie and then turned to stare up at the leaden doll’s face.

The White Maw basked in the warm sunlight streaming through the window, smiling contentedly.

After spending time together in the morning sunlight, both the White Maw and the Golden Reapers stood up almost in unison, forming a line.

"!"

"Kyuu!"

The leaden doll slowly opened its eyes, casting a soft, golden glow in every direction.

"Mom!"

"Kind mom!"

Taking turns, the White Maw and the Golden Reapers nestled into the leaden doll’s embrace.

"So warm!"

"Kyuhihi."

With a gentle smile, the leaden doll softly hugged the White Maw and Golden Reapers who came into its arms one by one.

When the White Maw first noticed the doll opening its eyes, it could barely move. But since the rise of the seven-colored moon, the leaden doll had been able to embrace the White Maw and Golden Reapers on its own.

The leaden doll responded to the Golden Reapers’ attempts to communicate, although its answers were vague.

"Mom, do you eat pudding?"

"Are you really a mom?"

"Mom!"

The leaden doll simply smiled and held them close.

The Golden Reapers, hoping that someday they could play with "Mom mk.2," hugged the leaden doll in return.

Mini Reaper Garden, Marshmallow Plains.

"Nooo!"

When the rebellious ghostly Reaper’s "Filial Blade" was tied to the ankle of the Mini Hippo, the captured ghostly Reaper squirmed desperately.

Hehe.

After playing around with the rebellious ghostly Reaper for a while, I eventually grew bored and let it go.

The ghostly Reaper vanished in an instant.

Fast little thing.

The soft blade I had tied to the Mini Hippo’s ankle had also disappeared.

What to play with next?

While wandering through the Mini Reaper Garden thinking about it, the Yellow Reaper approached slowly.

"…It’s complete…!"

When I looked toward the Yellow Reaper, there was a mountain of Tyranno doll costumes.

All kinds of colorful dinosaur costumes.

All with the classic two-fingered T-Rex hands!

"Well done!"

I grabbed the Yellow Reaper in my hand, patting its head vigorously.

After patting and squeezing the soft, chubby Yellow Reaper for a while, a bit of curiosity stirred within me.

Poke.

I prodded the Yellow Reaper’s round belly with my finger.

The Yellow Reaper twitched, as if tickled.

Hehe.

I suddenly found it amusing and began tickling the Yellow Reaper mercilessly.

"Me too!"

The Mini Reapers, who had been sneaking closer at the sight of the mountain of costumes, began climbing on me, demanding their turn.

"Hehe."

"It tickles!"

After a while, I snapped back to awareness, finding myself surrounded by a crowd of Mini Reapers.

I stood up and emitted a command.

"Alright, everyone, put on your costumes!"

In an instant, hundreds of Mini Tyrannosaurus appeared in the Mini Reaper Garden.

"Dino bite!"

"Hey, who bit me!"

"Dino headbutt!"

As soon as the Mini Reapers put on their dinosaur costumes, they started nibbling and headbutting each other, filling the garden with chaotic energy.

Then, I sent out a signal to call the Mini White Maws.

"Kyu?!"

"Kyu!!"

The White Maws, alerted by the emergency signal, arrived looking confused, but they quickly grasped the situation and began to flee.

As the White Maws began running, the Mini Reapers realized the true nature of today’s game and pounced on the fleeing Maws.

Fire-breathing T-Rexes, time-accelerating T-Rexes, and more.

A variety of T-Rexes began chasing down the White Maws.

Kyuuu!

The garden filled with the mournful cries of the White Maws.

Hehe.

As I watched the recreation of the dinosaur era unfold, grinning, a group of Black Reapers thumped over, throwing frantic signals at me.

"Mom!"

"Disaster!"

"Steel Tower!"

Upon hearing their signals, I teleported to Seoul Forest, taking the panicked Black Reapers with me.

From there, I saw something ominous that couldn’t be seen from Sehee Research Institute.

A black pillar of light piercing the distant sky.

At the end of that pillar, a foreboding black star shone.

Something had gone wrong with the Steel Tower.

Late afternoon, Yerin's Apartment.

"I'm back."

"Kyuu!"

As Yerin opened the front door and returned home, the White Maw greeted her with a cheerful "Kyuu!"

Embracing the White Maw, Yerin happily began sharing her day.

"This morning, Sa-shin wasn’t in his usual spot."

"Instead, there were a bunch of Mini Reapers in adorable dinosaur costumes running around the courtyard. I wonder where he went?"

She skillfully put her bag away, turned on the TV, and gently patted the head of the leaden doll sitting with a serene expression.

"I’m back."

Yerin looked down at the leaden doll in its pretty dress, smiling with satisfaction.

After finishing her shower, Yerin came out into the living room, where a follow-up report on yesterday’s news was airing on TV.

["The American Object Association has released a statement regarding the sudden appearance of buildings and ruins."]

["According to the association, these Object Phenomena are being observed globally and could pose significant risks."]

["Thus, the association strongly advises avoiding these phenomena whenever possible."]

["Given the sudden appearances of structures like buildings and ruins, it’s believed that this may involve spatial displacement or overlap."]

["Currently…"]

Yerin, drying her hair and holding the White Maw in her arms, pondered aloud.

"Could it be that Sa-shin went to resolve that incident?"

As she muttered and walked toward the sofa, she felt something strange under her foot.

Crunch.

The sound of something crumbling.

"Cookie crumbs?"

When Yerin checked under her foot, she found crumbs from a cookie she didn’t remember eating recently.

"?"

Curious, she looked over at the White Maw, who averted its gaze like a puppy trying to hide something.

Seoul Forest, Center, at the former location of the Steel Tower.

The sun had long since set, and the colorful moonlight began to descend.

Night had fallen while we were investigating the area where the Steel Tower once stood.

Phew.

When I first arrived at Seoul Forest, the scene was a chaotic mess.

I had tried to teleport directly to the Steel Tower, but I ended up at the outskirts of Seoul Forest instead.

Where the Steel Tower had once stood, there was now a pillar of black light.

And above it, a sinister black star.

Golden and Black Reapers were dashing frantically through the forest.

"Disaster!"

"Mom!"

Golden Reapers fell from the sky suddenly, while others popped up from underground, as if gravity itself were playing tricks on them.

"?"

Though I couldn’t understand why, the moment I took a step into the forest, I realized the problem.

With a single step, I’d emerged in an entirely different location.

This place was spatially scrambled.

Teleportation didn’t work properly, and the Mini Reaper Garden wouldn’t expand as usual.

I had to traverse Seoul Forest on foot, but each step led me somewhere unpredictable, turning the place into a genuine labyrinth.

And with space warping in real-time, the paths continuously changed.

This solved a mystery.

The Black Reapers had told me the Steel Tower collapsed "late at night," yet they had arrived in the morning.

Due to the spatial distortion, the Black Reapers couldn’t return to the Mini Reaper Garden and had to navigate this maze, which had delayed them significantly.

It meant the Black Reapers who reported the Steel Tower's anomaly had braved this crazy labyrinth.

"Impressive. Well done."

Beep!

I patted the Black Reapers in acknowledgment.

"Still, I don’t understand much."

Though the Black Reapers had eagerly informed me about the anomaly at the Steel Tower, my investigation revealed little.

I learned only one thing:

The Steel Tower was now completely gone.

And aside from the warped space, Seoul Forest didn’t appear as dangerous as I’d expected.

"Hmm, what to do next?"

I held one of the Black Reapers, prodding it as I pondered.

Late night, near Seoul Forest.

A Blue Reaper was circling around the perimeter of Seoul Forest.

The Mini Reapers were blocking access to Seoul Forest simply because "humans might be in danger!"

Of course, the Mini Reapers’ "Mom" didn’t bother with such careful thoughts.

She simply thought, "Ah, I don’t care! I’ll think about it tomorrow!" and returned to Sehee Research Institute.

While patrolling the air, the Blue Reaper heard an unusual sound.

The faint voice of a human.

The sound was too distant to be clear.

"Humans in danger?"

Concerned that humans might be at risk, the Blue Reaper followed the sound into Seoul Forest.

The moment it followed the voice inside, the Blue Reaper found itself in a completely different place.

A massive ceiling obscured the sky.

A false floor with no real ground beneath.

A dim, almost lightless space.

The oppressive smell of oil filled the air.

Huge pillars stretched to what seemed like the very heavens.

And a girl with pink hair.

She was the only human the Blue Reaper’s senses could detect.

"Where is this?"

The Blue Reaper tilted its head, staring curiously up at the girl.