Chapter 191

Thud-thud.

In the blurry vision, I was walking on top of mud.

It was as if time itself had stopped; everything in the world was frozen except for me.

Amidst this strange scene, I realized unmistakably that I was dreaming.

The mud, dyed black, rippled like a fast-flowing river, and atop it stood a bed that didn’t fit at all with the muddy surroundings.

A single bed jutted out inexplicably from the endless mud.

This bed looked eerily familiar—a large, soft-looking one.

It was the bed where the Blue Girl’s corpse had lain.

Had today’s creation of the Candy House to preserve the Blue Girl and her bed brought about this dream of hers?

I stepped slowly across the petrified mud in this stopped time, making my way toward the bed.

As I gazed down at the intricately carved, antique-style bed, a faint voice reached my ears.

It felt like an excerpted conversation from a moment frozen in time.

It was the playful, exaggerated tone of the Blue Girl.

“Humans killed God. And then they needed Him again. God was cruel but protected humanity.”

“Here lies the problem: ‘cruelty.’ Since God isn’t human, He couldn’t understand humans. Maybe the concept of ‘understanding’ didn’t even exist for Him.”

“Therefore, humans must become gods.”

With those words, the Blue Girl’s bed turned black and crumbled into mud.

“Humans must become gods.”

That statement lingered strangely in my mind.

After the bed collapsed, another object appeared far away.

This too was something familiar.

A statue of a man with his right fist clenched tightly, raised skyward, staring upward.

Though there were slight differences, the figure resembled the Leader of the Eye Sect.

From the statue, yet another voice emanated.

The calm voice of the Leader untainted by madness.

“Humans cannot become gods.”

“Even humans turned into magical books have all gone mad—there’s no way they can become gods.”

“We can only endure our trials and wait.”

Then, just like the bed, the statue turned into mud and collapsed.

And farther away, something else emerged.

A perfect sphere without a single blemish, resembling the mud not at all.

The Unchanging Black Sphere.

Approaching the black sphere, an incredibly small voice echoed out.

A voice so faint it sounded like the dying breaths of someone.

“If only the Book that Killed God would disappear, then God will return.”

“May my wish reach Him.”

As the voice faded, the blurred vision began to turn opaque.

With that, the dream ended.

Silence devoid of any sound and the warm embrace of my bed greeted me as I woke up.

The Quiet Isolation Room welcomed me back.

It was still before dawn, and the Sehee Research Institute remained tranquil. The Mini Reapers were sprawled all over me, sleeping soundly.

On my bedside table lay a pristine white wrist.

A deliciously scented coconut wrist.

Behind it, the Hungry Ghost Reaper stared at me with bright eyes.

Like a dog waiting expectantly for when it might get to eat the wrist, the Hungry Ghost Reaper rested its chin on the bed and watched me intently.

“Are you offering?”

Lifting my wrist and sending a signal, the Hungry Ghost Reaper nodded vigorously.

Every morning, like a cat bringing mice, does it?

I took a bite out of the jelly wrist that looked exactly like mine, save for the color.

As expected, it tasted good.

For some reason, it felt amusing, like I was nibbling on myself.

While enjoying the jelly wrist, a peculiar thought crossed my mind.

“Maybe the Mini Reapers’ wrists are tasty too?”

While idly pondering this and eyeing the Golden Reaper’s wrist, he suddenly woke up as if sensing my thoughts.

Awakening, the Golden Reaper tried to pinpoint the ominous feeling but eventually gave up, shaking his head before snuggling back into my arms and falling asleep.

I placed his tiny hand palm-up on my own and gently stroked it.

“Should I eat it or not?”

I kept wrestling with this difficult question endlessly.

Come to think of it, the Golden Reaper smells pretty appetizing too…

***

Piercing through the tangible darkness, there existed a mysterious city visible.

A city underground accessible through a hole in the park, created by Objects.

A Researcher slowly wandered around the chaotic jumble of civilizations, carefully observing.

There wasn’t anything particularly special, but the occasional ruins related to Objects suggested enough cultural value for study.

Of course, the Object Association’s assistant, “Golden Bug,” seemed entirely uninterested in such things.

He hadn’t shown up for weeks while employees were barred from entering the city, during which time he presumably transported heaps of gold out.

But once he deemed enough valuable items collected, he reopened access to the Association staff.

Now only a few of his soldiers remained, glaring around for any other valuables.

The researcher from the Association explored a room deep within the city, feeling a deep sense of regret.

Clearly, someone had been here before the Association arrived.

Dust accumulation patterns and signs of objects like pictures or mirrors being removed hinted at organized visits by many people.

The space that likely held the most important items was now completely empty.

All that remained were books written in unknown scripts and glass bottles—items that didn’t seem very significant.

Still, acquiring numerous books with entirely new language systems could be considered a decent harvest.

Thus, the Association researcher busily carried stack after stack of these books back toward the surface, lost in thought.

***

The Tattooed Woman sat in her workshop, gazing at the tower piercing the sky.

The James Tower under construction in Korea.

Built on cheap land purchased en masse in Songpa District, the James Tower heralded a wave of change in the desolate area.

With the tower’s construction underway, the previously barren residential areas saw increasing numbers of new tenants.

Her younger sister gleefully noted how the price of the house she bought cheaply had skyrocketed.

To the Tattooed Woman, it merely meant the local shops were becoming more active, making life slightly easier.

However, there was a much more direct and significant change for the woman herself.

Her workshop, once limited to drying and grinding herbs, had become much more alchemical thanks to tools taken from the Dead Alchemist’s Workshop found in the park.

“Do you want to try this?”

Her younger sister sat in a corner of the workshop, feeding small pieces of potato chips to the Golden Object.

“Mmm…”

The tiny mouth of the Golden Reaper chewed happily on the chips.

Beside him, the delighted younger sister watched.

Normally, the woman would have immediately kicked them out, but she let it slide because her current research subject was the Golden Reaper.

Given how easily the Golden Reaper disappeared if uninterested in anything, she had little choice.

This research began with a single drawing obtained from the Dead Alchemist’s Workshop.

A detailed depiction of the Girl with Blue Hair and the Gray Reaper.

Seeing the Gray Reaper-like features of the blue-haired girl unraveled countless mysteries.

The existence of the Blue Girl explained the sudden appearance of guardians in a world unrelated to alchemy.

Perhaps the Gray Reaper was the pinnacle creation of the Blue Girl, a great alchemist in her lifetime.

Thanks to the Gray Reaper, not only had lives been saved, but countless tools had been acquired from the workshop—all due to the “Blue Girl.”

Thus, this research started as a gesture of gratitude toward the Blue Girl.

An effort to create weapons, armor, or elixirs for the Gray Reaper derived from the Golden Reaper.

What began as a thank-you project quickly revealed fascinating facts about the Golden Reaper.

Definitely a magical book, yet bearing traces of alchemical modifications.

Possessing rare abilities like ghosting or time acceleration.

Among these intriguing aspects, the most captivating was “energy.”

The energy emitted from the Golden Reaper’s heart was potent despite its modest quantity.

Yet, oddly enough, the Golden Reaper utilized it inefficiently.

At best, it absorbed sunlight to emit beams.

Capitalizing on this insight, the Tattooed Woman crafted a weapon exclusively for the Golden Reaper.

Behold—the Golden Reaper’s Light Sword!

“Now, let’s begin the power test.”

Handing the hilt-only sword to the Golden Reaper, it lit up joyfully as if receiving a fun toy.

“Alright, prepare!”

The moment the woman spoke, a golden flame blade formed in the Golden Reaper’s hand.

With a cheerful expression, the Golden Reaper held the blazing lightsaber high above its head.

“Start!”

At the word “start,” the Golden Reaper swung the sword downward.

The blade stretched long and cleanly sliced through the targeted rebar.

Despite being made of the toughest “Great Object” alloy available in Korea, the rebar fell neatly in half without resistance.

Witnessing this, the Golden Reaper jumped happily.

Months of work culminated in the successful final test of the weapon.

When the woman turned her head, five smaller weapons designed for the Golden Reaper lay nearby.

Next to them was a large sword hilt intended for the Gray Reaper.

‘This should suffice as repayment.’

The woman smiled contentedly at the successfully crafted weapons.

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