Chapter 204

While standing in the middle of the Mini Reaper Garden where hot chocolate seas ripple, The Golden Reaper faced New Younger Sibling.

Hehe.

The Golden Reaper tilted their head slightly while looking at the sibling, sensing something was off.

The feeling of burning firewood emanating from the heart and a familiar vibe surrounded them.

It was definitely the sibling, yet something seemed strange to The Golden Reaper.

Instead of eyes, sturdy buttons were firmly planted where they should be.

Instead of a cheerful smile, neat round stitching formed a smiling shape.

Soft fabric replaced smooth skin.

With thinking becoming bothersome, The Golden Reaper quickly concluded:

‘Doll-clothes sibling!’

As The Golden Reaper decided this and exuded joy, New Younger Sibling began curling up and wriggling.

Then, a gray-colored hand burst through and out of their back.

‘?!’

Thinking the sibling was badly hurt, The Golden Reaper gasped and turned around to check.

A gray hand bursting out of a torn back—this had to be Mom’s mischievous prank!

But what The Golden Reaper saw wasn’t Mom’s trick but a hidden zipper slowly opening.

Like a butterfly shedding its cocoon, the new form of the sibling emerged from the doll clothes.

Out from The Golden Reaper doll outfit came a sibling wearing The Gray Reaper doll outfit.

And the sibling kept undressing endlessly.

Every time they shed, another mini-reaper-dressed sibling popped out.

If The Gray Reaper were to see this scene, they might say it resembled matryoshka dolls.

‘Wow!’

Watching this magical spectacle, The Golden Reaper clapped excitedly.

‘So cool!’

Seeing the delighted Golden Reaper, the sibling also smiled happily and handed over one of the leftover mini-reaper doll outfits.

The Golden Reaper took it, instantly slipped it on, and cheered loudly, radiating energy.

‘Revolution!’

The doll outfit The Golden Reaper wore was red.

***

I lay in the warm and cozy isolation room.

A bed like a cocoon embracing dreams softly.

A TV delivering all the world’s stories to me.

Transparent candies like intricately crafted jewels.

Chocolate soft as luxurious silk.

The gentle warmth of the isolation room seeping into every corner, making the air feel like a cozy blanket.

The isolation room remained warm and comfortable, filled with delicious snacks, but there was one thing that bothered me.

It was the people outside the isolation room staring intently at me.

Though it wasn’t particularly unpleasant since they brought firewood for free, I sensed it would become annoying if their numbers grew.

It’d be nice if just this number of people visited occasionally, like tasty emotional snacks during boredom.

The Golden Reapers seemed delighted by people sending goodwill through the isolation room window, sticking right onto the glass to peek outside.

While The Golden Reapers could easily sense emotions and detect how many people were present, their reason for sticking to the glass went deeper.

At first, it was simply because they couldn’t see well through the window.

‘There’s definitely a human out there, but I can’t see clearly!’

That kind of feeling.

But then a positive feedback loop began when people reacted positively to The Golden Reapers pressing their cheeks against the glass.

Happy Golden Reapers led to more glass-sticking, creating an endless spiral of happiness between people and The Golden Reapers.

As I looked away from the joyful Golden Reapers and toward the TV, an unexpected news report caught my attention.

Russia had been facing trouble for quite some time now.

[The Siberian zone declared off-limits is collapsing into darkness!]

Apparently, after evacuating and sealing off Siberia due to Object issues, a new problem arose.

The TV showcased a national-scale disaster threatening territorial loss.

Meanwhile, inside the isolation room, The Golden Reapers happily jumped around trying to grab attention.

This contrast between the TV and The Golden Reapers was oddly amusing.

While enjoying the sight of both, I opened the entrance to the Mini Reaper Garden.

By now, The Yellow Reaper must have been born, so taking advantage of the crowd distracted by The Golden Reapers, I quietly entered the garden.

***

Stepping out of the isolation room onto the marshmallow fields of the Mini Reaper Garden.

The garden still smelled sweet, but it had transformed in ways I never expected.

Red Reapers swarmed across the marshmallow plains, running in all directions.

When did the single Red Reaper multiply?

The Mini Reaper Garden had transformed into a fiery hammer-and-sickle-wielding square, shouting “Revolution!” with cheerful faces.

Despite the absurdity, upon closer inspection, something felt off.

Even though mental pollution masked the weirdness, I noticed something alien.

Those are button eyes.

Upon realization, the red reapers appeared to be meticulously crafted doll outfits.

Stacks of these doll outfits piled high in a corner of the garden revealed their source.

In front of the towering pile stood The Golden Reapers lined up orderly, picking up doll outfits one by one.

As soon as they donned the outfits, they conjured red scythes and hammers, joining the throng of red reaper doll-clad figures racing around.

The growing army of red reaper doll outfits.

Among them, leading the charge was the real Red Reaper, gleefully bounding around the marshmallow field as more red comrades joined.

Seems like this Yellow Reaper has the ability to create doll outfits.

Given The Yellow Moon’s powers of mimicry and fear manifestation, this ability fits within expectations.

Yet The Yellow Reaper remains nowhere to be seen.

Leaving the red square behind, I spotted another group of doll-clad figures.

These wore doll outfits resembling me, The Gray Reaper.

Unlike the chaotic red ones, the gray-clad children sat neatly in a circle watching something.

Of course, bearing the cultured and conscientious image of ‘me,’ they behaved properly.

Hehe.

Proudly, I let a satisfied smile spread across my face.

Curious about what they watched so attentively, I settled down near the group of gray reaper dolls.

In a setup resembling a theater stage, a golden reaper doll soared gracefully through the air, swinging a golden club.

Fake reaper dolls fell helplessly under its attacks.

The seated children clapped enthusiastically, admiring the golden reaper doll’s heroic feats.

Exciting fake reaper doll ambushes followed by the golden reaper doll’s valiant struggles continued.

Climactically, the golden reaper doll rescued a human in peril.

With that scene, all doll outfits stopped moving, deflating like punctured balloons.

The mini reapers watching emitted waves of admiration, rising to give enthusiastic applause.

Only then did I snap out of my immersion, having forgotten my search for The Yellow Reaper.

This was a play?

Simple yet satisfying, it captivated me enough to forget my mission.

Hmm, doll-clad reapers…

Peering into the First Sword doll containing The Yellow Reaper, I smiled happily.

Seeing The Yellow Reaper getting dragged around by other mini reapers sparked an amusing idea.

Hehe.

***

Amidst the flurry of doll-clad figures in the Mini Reaper Garden, one mini reaper in a red reaper doll outfit ignited flames around their body and flew toward the sky.

Their destination: the Black Sphere floating lazily above the Mini Reaper Garden.

Without hesitation, the mini reaper dove into the sphere, immediately shedding their doll outfit and stepping confidently forward.

This mini reaper was a Black Reaper with sharp teeth and black skin.

Once filled with Black Reaper corpses, the interior of the Black Sphere was now empty except for a colossal corpse lying centrally.

Though rarely entered by Black Reapers, upon realizing flight was possible with the red reaper doll outfit, this Black Reaper made the journey here.

The reason was simple.

‘I want to see Mom’s magnificent old body!’

Of course, the Black Reaper knew that when ‘too weak Mom’ became ‘strong Mom,’ this massive body would move again, but no one could predict when that would happen. So, they came to take a look.

Smiling contentedly at the sight of Mom’s giant body,

Sharp teeth, long and powerful arms.

A body incomparably larger than even the recent colossal fake reaper.

Far surpassing Mom’s current form in strength.

‘Strong Mom!’

‘Mom strong!’

Chanting odd slogans as energy, the Black Reaper explored every corner of Mom’s body after seeing her for the first time in ages.

Suddenly startled by an unusual discovery,

‘!’

Two eyeballs faintly glowing had embedded themselves in the previously vacant eyes.

Startled, the Black Reaper dashed out of the Unchanging Sphere to call for Mom.