A pitch-dark space.

The pink-haired girl walked slowly, relying on a faint light emanating from her fingertips.

In every direction, there were no landmarks or reference points, nothing to guide her.

The only thing leading her path was the rounded pipe below her feet, faintly illuminated by her own light.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The metallic pipe clanged beneath her steps, sounding like someone was knocking on an empty drum.

"So dark. I’m hungry. My feet hurt."

["So dark. I’m hungry. My feet hurt."]

"So dark. I’m hungry. My feet hurt."

["So dark. I’m hungry. My feet hurt."]

Her voice echoed through the darkness like a persistent, murmuring complaint.

The pink-haired girl, trudging along tiredly, grumbled without a break, her voice filling the silent void.

She wanted to lie down and rest right away, but the pipe was only as wide as her cheeks were, far too narrow for a nap.

She couldn’t see the bottom, and falling asleep only to roll off would be a disaster.

"I guess running blindly into this dark place to escape the Starlight Ants was a mistake… but then again, of course it was."

The girl thought about how she’d ended up in this situation, walking endlessly along the pipe.

Yawning widely, she stretched her mouth open.

"So sleepy."

There was nothing in this space but darkness.

Nothing to do but walk along the endless, straight pipe.

And it had already been a full day.

The more accustomed she became to balancing on the pipe like a tightrope walker, the more sleep threatened to overtake her.

Chomp, chomp.

To shake off her drowsiness, she pulled out a white petal and chewed on it.

Yuck.

The taste was unbearably bitter, and she scrunched up her face, sticking her tongue out in disgust.

As she picked out inedible samples from her alchemy supplies to chew on, she noticed a faint light in the distance.

"Light!"

Opening her mouth in excitement, she cried out and started sprinting along the pipe like an acrobat.

In no time, she reached the light and jumped towards it.

As she leaped into the light, she emerged from the dark building and found herself under a familiar night sky, facing a new landscape.

Instead of the metal pipe, she was now on a solid, durable stone floor.

The stone floor was covered with a soft white powder.

The white powder covered everything in sight, creating a landscape she’d never seen before.

The powder reflected the starlight from above, casting a gentle glow that left footprints wherever she stepped.

Looking up at the sky, she saw the familiar shroud that spanned the heavens.

An endless celestial veil that had covered the sky long before she was born.

The shroud was torn and ragged in places, revealing glimpses of the night sky beyond.

The sky beyond the shroud was a deep, dark black, but within that darkness, stars sparkled beautifully, like scattered jewels.

"Now, I can’t see the moon anymore."

One by one, the moons had disappeared over time, with the green moon being the last to vanish.

"The green moon is gone too."

Looking up, she murmured softly with a hint of sadness.

She had never seen the sun, and now, she’d lost even the moonlight.

And then—

A mysterious figure appeared before her out of the empty air.

It was a transparent blue, as clear as water.

Barely the size of her hand.

And it wore a large, floppy hat.

Deep within the Mini Reaper Garden.

I lay comfortably on the Marshmallow Plains, deciding to give up on solving the spatial chaos around the Steel Tower and just relax.

Even with my "eyes," I couldn’t detect any Objects in Seoul Forest—only chaotic space running wild.

The spatial entanglement felt almost like a "natural phenomenon."

So, I decided to leave it alone.

It didn’t seem related to the Color Universe, so it should be fine.

If there was an Object behind it, it might be as strong as a "moon" at best, and if it popped up, I could just deal with it then.

"So tired."

Having only slept for eight hours due to worrying about the Steel Tower, I felt like fatigue was clinging to my body.

The Golden Reapers, sensing I was about to take a nap, gathered around me in droves.

"Nom-nom."

"Mom…."

The Golden Reapers, lying next to me, fell asleep quickly, some nibbling on my hair, others clinging to me, calling for "Mom."

But sadly, I still couldn’t fall asleep.

Every time I closed my eyes, the ghostly Reaper would pop up in the corner of my vision.

The ghostly Reaper held a knife as soft as rubber, lurking and waiting for a chance.

Probably planning to poke my forehead again.

If I closed my eyes, it would creep closer, and when I opened them, it would vanish in an instant.

Even though I habitually closed my eyes to sleep, the ghostly Reaper, like the other Mini Reapers, seemed to think I saw things through my eyes.

So, I started pretending to sleep with my eyes firmly shut.

Creep, creep.

At first, it approached slowly, but the moment it was sure I was asleep, it darted over, stopping just above my forehead.

"Filial duty!"

With a burst of determination, the ghostly Reaper stabbed my forehead with its soft knife.

Plop!

A refreshing sensation spread from the spot, and my sleepiness vanished completely.

Last time it had left me feeling bad, but this time it actually felt good.

Was it genuine filial piety?

Surprised by the unexpected effect, I sat up abruptly, grabbing the ghostly Reaper.

"Ah!"

Startled by my sudden movement, the Golden Reapers who had been dozing on me tumbled down in confusion.

The Golden Reapers, momentarily bewildered, brightened upon seeing the ghostly Reaper and began bouncing with joy.

"Mom found the ghost!"

Oh, right, this rebellious Reaper was the ghost the Golden Reapers had been looking for.

The Golden Reapers, delighted, clambered up my arm and began sticking to the ghostly Reaper.

"Sister!"

"New sister!"

The Golden Reapers pressed their soft cheeks against the ghostly Reaper.

"They seem to like it even more than their other siblings."

As more Golden Reapers piled on top of the ghostly Reaper, forming a massive ball, I carefully set the large bundle down on the ground.

The ghostly Reaper, buried under a mound of Golden Reapers, looked like a giant moss ball.

Some of the Golden Reapers started peering inside the ghostly Reaper.

"!"

Upon seeing what was inside, the Golden Reapers pulled back in surprise, separating from the moss ball.

"Similar?"

"Similar!"

The Golden Reapers gathered, exchanging puzzled looks.

What could they have seen?

Curious about their reaction, I dug into the moss ball and peeled back the ghostly Reaper’s ghostly covering.

"Ah!"

What I found was a Mini Reaper that looked remarkably like me.

A tiny body, even for a Mini Reaper.

Yellow, glowing eyes.

Gray skin.

A broken, yellow-glowing halo.

Wild, messy hair that covered one eye.

The revealed ghostly Reaper smiled awkwardly, sticking its tongue out and licking its knife.

Though other Mini Reapers had resembled me somewhat, this one shared even my skin color, which felt strangely unsettling.

The Golden Reapers were the closest look-alikes, but their expressions were so different that they never truly seemed similar.

"Mini Mom's sister!"

"Sister!"

The Golden Reapers, having confirmed the ghostly Reaper’s appearance, rushed toward it.

They bit its chubby cheeks and even nibbled on its round belly.

"Ah!"

Receiving intense attention from the Golden Reapers, the ghostly Reaper looked at me as if asking for rescue, but I only chuckled and watched.

"No!"

The ghostly Reaper was completely buried under a pile of Golden Reapers.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Footprints of a golem began to appear in the white snow.

"Yes, this way."

<Marching forward, Mom Golem!>

The Blue Reaper controlled a small "Mom Golem" it had crafted, following the guidance of the pink-haired girl, while sneaking glances at her and smiling softly.

"Favorite human!"

Unlike other Blue Reapers, this one had never found a favorite human—until now, in this unfamiliar space.

Hehe.

For this reason, the Blue Reaper couldn’t stop smiling.

Though it wanted to hide and observe its new favorite human, it couldn’t bring itself to do so.

The pink-haired girl looked so lonely, and the place reeked of a dangerous alchemical odor.

<Climbing the stairs, Mom Golem!>

Perhaps because it was an entirely different world, the girl understood the text strings used by the Blue Reaper.

"Mom Golem!"

The pink-haired girl poked the Blue Reaper’s cheek, reading its words aloud and chattering nonstop.

"Come to think of it, I think I learned something like this when I was younger…"

"The relationship between alchemists and grimoires?"

"Speaking grimoires… grimoires… were they 'cute'?"

Lost in thought, the pink-haired girl eventually gave up with a loud, "Ah, I don’t know!"

"Favorite human. Doesn’t look well."

Though she spoke in a cheerful voice, the Blue Reaper could sense that she was very sick.

Probably malnutrition.

The Blue Reaper’s abilities couldn’t cure such an ailment.

"What’s that?"

As the Blue Reaper gazed at her with a worried expression, the girl’s curious voice cut through.

A transparent glass wall.

A modern structure of reinforced concrete.

The sign on the building read "24-Hour Convenience Store."

"Is this… writing?"

The girl had climbed down from the golem’s shoulder and was now examining the building closely.

Aside from the fact it seemed transported by a sharp blade, the structure was very familiar to the Blue Reaper.

After all, it was a convenience store near Seoul Forest.