In the dim darkness, a girl lay collapsed.

Her eyes appeared weary, wearing an old school uniform and a neat bob hairstyle.

In that darkness, her eyelids quivered.

She opened her eyes, glancing around.

"Again, in this dream."

She was trapped in a recurring dream.

A dream that repeated countless times, making her feel as if she’d set foot in this world countless times, just as she wished.

A world where the sun had vanished.

In its place, a massive halo cast light over the land.

Under that halo, towering structures, resembling temples or cathedrals, rose high into the sky, evoking a sense of sacred awe.

"Sigh."

As she sighed, the sticky air filled her lungs, saturating her with the atmosphere of this strange place.

In this mysterious space, she would always meet one man.

[So, you have come again, girl.]

A deep voice echoed through the darkness.

The girl looked toward the source of the voice.

Despite the voice’s weight, the man’s face was surprisingly young, though his eyes bore the weight of countless years.

[The festival to fulfill wishes and claim desires will soon begin,] he continued.

[Today, you must make your choice.]

Her heart began to pound.

She understood.

This moment would decide her fate.

The man reached out toward her, holding a small orb in his palm.

Even smaller than a candy, it glowed faintly in the darkness.

[This is the key to your wish.]

His voice rumbled softly.

[The choice is yours.]

Her gaze fixed on the tiny orb.

It was mesmerizing, swirling with colors like the Milky Way, its beauty indescribable.

Yet, an odd unease rose in her chest.

The man’s words from their first encounter lingered in her mind.

'[The reward of this festival can even bring the dead back to life.]'

"Disturbing."

She bit her lip.

Such a thing couldn’t possibly come without a price.

But deep within her heart, a fierce desire stirred.

A desire so intense that it bound her to this dream, a longing she couldn’t escape.

The man had said that only those who genuinely wished to achieve something could enter this place.

In other words, her very presence here was proof of that longing.

[Still undecided, are you?]

The man’s voice broke through the darkness again, laced with understanding, sympathy, and something even deeper.

[Then take the orb, and see for yourself.]

Slowly, her hand moved toward the orb, inch by inch.

In that moment that felt frozen in time, a whirlwind of thoughts surged through her mind.

Was this the right choice?

Yet, her hand had already reached for the orb.

As her fingertips touched it, the world began to spin.

She was drifting further away from the dream.

An odd space, detached from reality, resembling a vast vortex drawing everything in like a funnel.

Breaking the heavy silence of the hospital room, her eyelids slowly opened.

Under the fluorescent lights, familiar white walls and medical equipment came into view.

It was the room where her sister had been staying for months.

The girl slowly lifted her head, looking toward the bed.

Her sister lay there, unmoving as ever.

Months had passed since her sister had been admitted due to a sudden loss of cognitive function.

Despite the doctors’ efforts, no cause had been found, and time continued to slip by.

Realizing she had fallen asleep by the bedside, the girl straightened up.

At that moment, something cold touched her palm.

Startled, she opened her hand.

There lay a small, round orb.

It was identical to the one she had seen in her dream.

As if proving that the dream was more than a mere illusion.

Clutching the orb tightly, she looked at her sister.

"Sis, there might be a way. I’ll go see for myself."

Outside, faint light from dawn began seeping through the window.

Although it signaled the start of a new day, to her, it felt like so much more.

It felt like a light of hope, promising that everything could change.

In the Mini Reaper Garden, at the Marshmallow Plains.

Wearing a newly acquired Halo of Words on my head, I was testing its abilities.

"Pudding!"

With a clear intent, I spoke, and a pudding materialized out of thin air.

"Hmm, so that’s how it works?"

The Halo of Words had a straightforward power, making it easy to understand with just a few tests.

Words, letters, or thoughts formed into words could become reality.

However, it didn’t mean I could do anything I wanted.

Naturally.

If I could do anything, that spider wouldn’t have stood a chance against me.

The issue was that creating words was more challenging than I’d expected.

Thoughts had to be refined and clear, which was difficult for someone like me, with so many random thoughts.

The only successful creations were cookies, pudding, and a few mischievous ideas.

"Become mush!"

"Ugh! Mom is teasing me!"

Wearing the halo, I aimed a word at a passing Golden Reaper.

Hehe.

The problem was that remote-control "mush" was already possible with Green Moon’s powers, and creating sweets was possible with the Halo of Fantasy.

No matter how I looked at it, this halo seemed hard to use practically.

Munching on the pudding I’d made, I continued pondering.

"A giant mommy golem made of marshmallow!"

With the halo on his head, the Blue Idol Reaper voiced a word, and the Marshmallow Plains rose, forming a massive golem.

"Well done!"

I clapped as I watched.

The Blue Idol Reaper looked exhausted but didn’t seem as pained as I usually felt when using it.

What began as a simple curiosity—wondering if a Blue Reaper already adept in word magic could wield the Halo of Words—turned out to be a major success.

The Blue Idol Reaper could handle the Halo of Words excellently.

While any halo caused me pain, the Blue Idol Reaper didn’t have that issue.

But unlike me, he could only use the Halo of Words.

Could it be that different halos have affinities?

Excited to test other halos, I summoned the Mini Reapers that seemed most promising.

Golden Reaper’s First Blade and the Orange Crown Reaper.

"Hmm?"

The Golden Reaper’s First Blade popped out of nowhere, looking up at me with his usual blank expression.

I gently patted his head, waiting for the Orange Crown Reaper, but he didn’t appear.

Instead, a faint message trickled in through the network connecting me with the Mini Reapers.

"Busy."

The relaxed tone, almost as if he were half asleep.

Odd, he doesn’t seem that busy….

Curious, I told First Blade to wait, then teleported to where the Orange Crown Reaper was.

I arrived on the deck of a huge cruise ship.

There, basking in warm sunlight on the railing, lay the Orange Crown Reaper.

The moment I saw him, I bit his head playfully.

"Ouch!"

In a major hospital in downtown Seoul.

Following the recent cognitive loss incidents, this hospital had become a temporary refuge for the patients.

With the police handing the case over to the Korean Object Council, the lobby took on a notably different atmosphere.

The spacious lobby bustled with a constant flow of people coming and going.

Patients, guardians, medical staff, and now council staff—all moved with purpose, filling the space.

Rows of chairs lined one side of the lobby for those waiting.

A large TV, objectively big, appeared oddly small amid the vast lobby and the crowded chairs.

The news played on the TV.

The announcer’s voice, though not quiet, was barely audible over the footsteps, conversations, and medical sounds filling the space.

"We have just received astonishing news regarding Seoul Forest."

"It has been confirmed that the Golden Reapers who were surrounding Seoul Forest have withdrawn."

"A team dispatched by the Object Council has discovered unexpected developments."

"The so-called ‘civilization destruction effect’ that once engulfed Seoul Forest has disappeared."

"In addition, the previously obscured Steel Tower has been completely destroyed."

"In light of these changes, the government has announced a large-scale investigation."

"However, they’ve also declared Seoul Forest off-limits until safety is assured."

Just then, a loud noise drowned out the TV entirely, filling the lobby.

"A Golden Reaper has appeared!"

"Where?"

Amid the murmurs, a group of Golden Reapers emerged, looking knightly and dignified as they rode atop a White Maw.

These Golden Reapers had scoured Seoul, consulted the Purple and Blue Reapers, and even inquired about the TV reports, all under the Gray Reaper’s command.

"I heard there are sick humans here!"

"The White Maw can track them down!"

"Scatter!"

The Golden Reapers, like knights grasping reins, took hold of the White Maw’s feelers, guiding it.

Squeak!

The Maws, working alongside the Golden Reapers, ran off proudly on their mission.

Above the bustling, adorable chaos in the hospital, a Golden Armored Reaper hovered, gleaming.

Its gaze was fixed on a girl leaving the hospital grounds, her short bobbed hair tousled in the wind, as she walked briskly out.