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When I opened my eyes, what I saw was a brick wall softly glowing.

Flames beyond the wall swayed through the cracks between the bricks.

The ceiling flickered as if draped in red fabric, with black tendrils of smoke swirling upward like dancing vines.

In the thick, suffocating air, it was so dense that I struggled to see, and the smoke had a creamy, heavy texture that filled my vision.

In that frustrating haze, as I struggled to turn my head, I saw the Golden Reapers sprawled around me in a circular formation.

Except for the light from the firewood that had been glowing, the Golden Reapers lay there peacefully as if asleep.

Choosing not to revive themselves so as not to burden me with the remaining firewood, they had opted for a restful slumber.

With a grateful heart, I raised my hand to stroke a Golden Reaper, and that allowed me to clearly perceive my current state.

My arm was weighed down with an heaviness I had never experienced before, and my fingers, forced to move, crumbled like sand.

My skin was deteriorating into fine particles like dry sand, slowly dispersing.

I was on the brink of death.

There was barely any firewood left.

It was the first time I had become this depleted since meeting Sehee.

Even when I tried to stroke the Golden Reaper, my hand crumbled like sand, and there was hardly any firewood to share.

I could only lie there dazed, waiting for the firewood to rise again.

Moving my arms felt like my wrists would break, and taking a step would cause my ankles to crumble.

I just gazed slowly at the ceiling that was burning away.

Fortunately, the firewood was rising quite quickly.

Like the firewood sent by the Songpa District residents during the Central Research Institute incident, negative emotions like fear and chaos flowed abundantly around me.

Something was clearly happening outside.

I wonder if Yerin is alright?

In the midst of the unsettling atmosphere, I could feel the firewood recovering to some degree.

I slowly propped myself up, gathered the Golden Reapers scattered around, and held them close.

Then, I gradually moved the firewood in.

As if a burnt-out fluorescent light was igniting, the bodies of the Golden Reapers flickered and began to slowly glow again.

“Mom!”

The revived Golden Reapers, like long-lost children, buried their faces in my arms and nudged around.

“Is that really you, Mom!”

Yes, yes, I’m here.

I responded to the Golden Reapers, holding them tightly.

By the way, I really almost died.

I nearly met my end in this unfamiliar world with this strange body.

Just thinking about it made me feel like I could do anything, like everything was possible, but the efficiency of the firewood was this poor….

Perhaps it was a result of forcibly moving a body that had already died.

What on earth was that world?

Could it be related to the Artifact Number 0?

Many questions arose, but for now, it didn’t seem to matter.

Upon rising, the Golden Reapers looked up at me from the floor with very worried expressions.

Some of the Golden Reapers seemed to think I might lose my firewood at any moment and held tightly onto my hair, refusing to let go.

It’s okay.

Don’t worry.

Conveying my intent to reassure them, I set off down the path.

Pitter patter.

Like a family of ducks on a journey, I walked step by step towards the ground in lively fashion.

Though the path was complex like a maze, and visibility was poor due to the smoke, it wasn’t a major issue for me and the Golden Reapers.

Pitter patter.

The worried faces of the Golden Reapers seemed to light up with joy as they walked beside me, gradually returning to their usual cheerful expressions.

Feeling like a kindergarten teacher, I led the Golden Reapers until we reached the surface, where a huge anomaly awaited me.

Despite it being late at night, it was bright as day.

But unlike the sun, a sinister blood-red hue enveloped the streets.

The spirit barrier that had obstructed my view now roiled like a massive wave, burning red.

*

Crimson light crashed in through the window.

When I awakened, my surroundings were filled with unknown shouts, and the disarrayed atmosphere was palpable even within the serene hotel room.

Looking out the window, the night streets were no longer shrouded in darkness, but instead were bathed in red light.

It flickered like flames, but the scale was unimaginably vast.

Just to be sure, I pulled back the curtains on the other side, and a wave of intense heat rushed towards my face.

Beyond that heat stood a colossal wall of fire towering high.

It was a wall of flames, flickering as if ready to pour down at any moment.

Now that I thought about it, the Reaper had already disappeared from the hotel room, and among the numerous Golden Reapers, only one remained by my side.

The last Golden Reaper clung tightly to my face with a very worried expression.

I could sense the determination in that Golden Reaper not to let go.

“We need to get out of here quickly!”

At that moment, a secretary with a very urgent expression rushed into the room.

The secretary confirmed the absence of the Reaper, but grabbed my hand and guided me out of the hotel.

“Let’s get moving!”

Once in the hotel parking lot, the secretary handed me a motorcycle helmet and seated me on the back of the motorcycle.

“Hang on tight!”

As we rode the motorcycle out of the hotel, it felt as if the air was collapsing, and a sound echoed from above.

The burning spirit barrier began to buckle under its own weight.

And through the wall of fire, massive pigs came crashing down into the research complex, shaking the ground.

In that hellish scene, the motorcycle driven by the secretary sped away at high speed.

Farther from the barrier, to a safer place.

The road was already filled with abandoned vehicles, and corpses lay strewn about the street.

People burned to death.

People whose brains had been sucked out.

The fire-breathing pigs boldly revealed themselves, burning people alive.

And among the people, the ghost-type objects could only be inferred by the corpses they left behind.

In the midst of this scene of chaos, the secretary skillfully navigated the motorcycle, a blend of resolute will and desperation evident in their expression.

The motorcycle darted around the wreckage of the crumbling world, adeptly evading the pigs’ flames and pursuits as if dancing.

It was like a scene from a movie, and we seemed set for a successful escape.

But destiny was always capricious.

With a jolt that almost made my heart stop, the motorcycle collided with an unseen obstacle, flinging both me and the secretary onto the asphalt.

Thud. Thud.

I regained consciousness to the sound of the Golden Reaper tapping on my helmet.

Had we rolled along the asphalt for quite a while? The completely wrecked motorcycle was visible far away, and the secretary lay motionless nearby, seemingly unconscious.

“Ugh.”

A pain jabbed at my side.

It felt as though something was broken.

Letting out a groan, I looked up to see the Golden Reaper gazing at me with a worried expression.

It felt like my ribs were broken, but my overall condition was surprisingly good.

Considering how I had been flung from a speeding motorcycle, it was a relief to still be alive.

Perhaps the Golden Reaper had protected me.

At that moment, a pig that had spotted me and the secretary approached slowly, gazing at me like prey.

Thud. Thud.

The heavy footsteps sounded like the unavoidable death drawing closer.

I couldn’t escape with broken bones.

Hearing that sound, the Golden Reaper boldly jumped in front of us.

The massive pig puffed up its belly, preparing to unleash flames.

The air shimmered as if laden with heat, and the Golden Reaper charged forward to block the flames with its small body.

In that instant, space tore apart.

The pig, made of lava and flames, met its end not with a thunderous roar but with a grave silence, collapsing into a final defeat.

That pig, once so menacing and seemingly unbeatable, was split in half, its body unable to maintain that horrendous form, crumbling away.

Amidst the paper-thin shredded pig and the scattering flames and smoke, a glowing light flickered yellow.

Beyond the severed pig, a silhouette shimmered.

A glare piercing through the darkness.

Long, flowing hair.

A small stature and a burning heart.

And finally, gray, soft-looking skin.

“!”

The Reaper, accompanied by numerous Golden Reapers, revealed itself.

“Reaper!”

Forgetting the pain in my side, I limped toward the Reaper.

Seeing the Reaper’s face brought a rush of relief, and I felt the reality of having survived wash over me.

*

Approaching with a limp, Yerin embraced me warmly, rubbing her face against mine.

“Reaper, are you in pain?”

She looked down at me with a worried expression.

“You seem more haggard than usual. And your light is much weaker….”

Gently stroking my sunken cheeks, Yerin expressed concern while looking into my eyes’ flickering flames.

But to me, Yerin looked much worse.

Her body was covered in scratches, and her side appeared to be in considerable pain.

Compared to that, I had merely run low on firewood.

When I tore the space to save Yerin, the firewood that had slowly been rising had fallen again to the ground.

Yet, the firewood, previously depleted, was beginning to surge upward at a rapid pace.

Worries, relief, goodwill, affection.

All sorts of emotions poured from Yerin, restoring me.

Whether it was due to worry or the bypassing of the death threat, Yerin seemed to have a stronger supply of firewood than before.

As I turned my gaze from Yerin, the chaotic street came into view.

Ghost objects filled the sky, pigs roamed the earth.

And in the distance loomed the root of this catastrophe, the Giant Shadow.

The Pig King, a being of formidable presence.

The Pig King’s face began to peer through the thick smoke, locking its gaze onto me.