Whoosh-.

The sudden sound of flames made me open my eyes.

But, contrary to what I expected, there was no fire in front of me; only unfamiliar scenery stretched out.

I was confused by the unreal scene.

Is this a dream...?

In the dream, I was standing on a high cliff.

Above me, dark clouds covered the sky, and beneath my feet stretched a sea of black liquid all the way to the horizon.

The air was thick with the sharp scent of oil.

Jagged, strange rock formations rose up from the black liquid, protruding sharply.

It’s cold.

As the wind blew over the cliff, I felt as though the cold wind was cutting into my flesh.

Maybe it was because of the high altitude, but it was unbearably cold.

But strangely, no white breath came out of my mouth.

No, it felt as if I wasn’t breathing at all.

Slowly turning my head away from the vast, open landscape of the dream, I saw the entrance to a massive cave.

In the dream, I started walking toward the giant cave.

Srrrk. Srrrk.

A slightly unusual sound of footsteps echoed through the quiet air.

The cave entrance was pitch black, but strangely, the inside was clearly visible.

Could it be because it’s a dream?

After walking for a few minutes through the long, winding cave, a massive open space deep inside came into view.

Unlike outside, this space radiated a stifling heat.

In the corner of the space, a gigantic pig was burning itself.

Red flames enveloped the pig’s body, filling the cave with warmth.

Around the pig, there were people scattered on the floor.

They looked like refugees, wearing shabby clothes and lying on the cold cave floor.

Mom...

It sounded like a voice, but it wasn’t a sound. It came from deep within my chest.

Eyes turned toward the deepest part of the cave.

There, a truly massive figure loomed.

It had black skin, legs rooted to the earth like tree roots, and long arms.

Next to it, there were several black masses that looked exactly like the giant figure.

I unconsciously looked down at my hands.

To my surprise, they looked exactly like the figure’s.

Black skin, long arms, and claws that seemed slightly injured.

For a while, I stared at my arms, then I slowly crawled toward the enormous presence.

The closer I got to the figure, the more I felt an overwhelming sense of welcome, as if I had taken some drug that made me feel an uncontrollable warmth inside.

Mom...!

And the moment my hand touched the figure’s skin, a horrifying pain surged through me, and my hand started to melt.

Painful mom...

But strangely, in that moment, I felt more sadness in my chest than the pain from my melting hand.

No...

Don’t hurt...

Around me, black masses with nine glowing white eyes, like me, were weeping in sorrow.

It was an image that looked nothing like reality.

Where is this...?

Is this really a dream...?

Before I could think further, everything suddenly became blurry, and everything faded into darkness.

Mini Shinigami Garden's Marshmallow Plains.

The white jaws squeaked, and the white jaw incinerator golem played on the land.

When I arrived in the Mini Shinigami Garden with the newly discovered black Shinigami, golden Shinigami started gathering from all directions.

It looked like a golden wave crashing in.

They always do this...

The golden Shinigami would always swarm together and create a festive atmosphere whenever a new sibling arrived.

Was this their way of showing care for their new sibling?

Fluffy sibling!

New sibling!

Mom is also fluffy!

The golden Shinigami hopped around me and the black Shinigami, overflowing with happiness.

Then, they rushed to the black Shinigami, hugged them tightly, and started rubbing their round cheeks together.

Next, a golden Shinigami buried itself in the fluffy fur.

From within the black fur mass, a golden face popped out beneath the black one.

Warm!

Fluffy!

The golden Shinigami looked utterly delighted by the new sibling.

How strange.

They always looked so sad while eating stiff cookies at the golden Shinigami competition, so I thought they wouldn't like new siblings.

Well, if they were the kind of kids to care about that, they would have probably taken away the voting rights of the other siblings.

Fluffy!

Fluffy!

The golden Shinigami continuously shouted out fluffy, and they began to change their hair to become fluffy too.

As if all the golden Shinigami thought alike, golden Shinigami started turning into fluffy shrimp-shaped clumps, just like the ones I saw in the foreign shrine.

Now, the Marshmallow Plains were filled with golden-furred shrimp and black cotton puffs rolling around on the ground.

While watching the always happy mini Shinigami, I heard a voice again.

The voice of mischief, the whisper of the Orange Shinigami.

Hmm.

When will this fusion be separated?

The fusion of golden Shinigami happened quickly, but this one seems to be taking quite a while.

I guess if I leave it, it might never separate, so I thought, Should I try using the Fusion Halo to separate it?

While I was thinking this, I heard a particularly interesting trick from the Orange Shinigami's whisper.

Oh.

It was an idea that made me involuntarily admire.

I listened closely to the Orange Shinigami’s whisper and mulled over the idea.

The Illusion Star Candy Trick...

What a fun idea.

Hehe.

As soon as I thought it sounded interesting, I put on the Illusion Halo and stretched my hands out to stir the air.

Strings of sugar, made from illusion, sprouted from the tips of my fingers, dancing in the air.

These threads intertwined and gathered into a bigger mass.

The mass kept combining, transforming into colorful, delicious-looking star candies.

Countless star candies began to adorn the air like stars in the night sky.

Ah!

Candy!

Mom’s candy!

The golden Shinigami stopped rolling around and stared up at the star candies with wide, sparkling eyes.

Laughing, I snapped my fingers, and from the star candies, golden logs gently appeared.

A star-shaped candy as big as a golden Shinigami’s head.

The rainbow-colored, sparkling candy was full of temptations for the mini Shinigami.

Looks delicious...

The golden Shinigami stared at the candy with open mouths, mesmerized, looking at the star candies endlessly.

Then, I finally changed the Illusion Halo to the Halo of Command, and I added a rule.

A simple but extremely demanding rule.

[It looks like it will touch the Mini Shinigami, but it will never reach.]

Then, brilliant light burst from the star candies, slowly descending toward the golden Shinigami.

Wow!

Star candy!

The golden Shinigami, thinking it was the candy from their mom, smiled happily and jumped excitedly.

Star candy!

They jumped toward the star candy floating above their heads.

But the candy, as if alive, shifted just out of reach and dodged the golden Shinigami’s hands.

No!

The golden Shinigami used time acceleration and even turned into a ghost, trying to grab the candy, but they couldn’t reach it.

No!!

I watched them, giggling with the Orange Shinigami.

The golden Shinigami didn’t give up and kept chasing the star candy.

They ran around the Marshmallow Plains, trying to catch the candy, but each time they missed.

I almost had it!

Help!

No!!!

The golden Shinigami tried various methods, even helping each other catch the candy, all to no avail.

But with their powers, they couldn’t catch the star candy.

The golden Shinigami collapsed on the ground, reaching out their hands toward the unreachable candy, tears welling in their eyes.

No...

No matter how much time passed, they couldn’t catch the candy, so the golden Shinigami laid down on the ground, looking sad.

And they simply gazed up at the unreachable, sorrowful star candy.

Star candy...

In the darkness, a faint consciousness began to stir.

My eyelids slowly opened, and the first thing that came into my sight were the blackened crumbs.

The smell of oil, which I had smelled in the dream, lingered in my nostrils.

What are these crumbs? Is this not my bed?

Confused by the sudden situation, I tried to rise, but my body felt stiff.

As if I had been in a deep sleep for a long time.

Pushing through the charred crumbs and piles of trash, I finally managed to get up.

Only then did the surroundings come into view.

The sky was filled with dark clouds.

An open space, with no light.

The sharp stench filled the air.

Endless heaps of trash stretched in every direction.

“A landfill? Why…?”

I had suddenly ended up in a strange place, but the strangest part was how clearly I could see everything around me.

Everything was sharp and distinct, even in the pitch-black darkness.

It was just like in the dream.

In confusion, I touched my forehead.

At that moment, something sticky was on my hand.

Dried blood, now a deep red.

Carefully, I felt around, and I found a round scab in the center of my forehead.

Blood...? What happened?

I tried to remember, but nothing came to mind.

I couldn’t remember why I was here or how I got here; everything seemed obscured by fog.

My last memory was ordinary.

Like any other day, I went to work and came back home.

I searched my pockets but found no phone or wallet.

The clothes I was wearing were ragged, and there were dried bloodstains on my chest.

Is this... my blood?

Fear and confusion overwhelmed me.

It’s okay. Human.

But at the same time, an odd sense of calm also settled over me.

As if someone, or something, deep inside me was reassuring me.

In the darkness, my eyes gleamed.

Deep within my pupils, black waves seemed to ripple.

I slowly started walking down the narrow path between the trash heaps.

“First, home. I need to go home.”

Muttering with a confused expression, I walked toward my destination.