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The end of the adventure where everything crumbles into sand.

At the moment when even the sky turned to sand and collapsed, I realized.

“Oh, it was a trial in an illusion.”

And I began to understand the destruction condition that my ‘eyes’ had shown me.

It wasn’t the destruction condition for the labyrinth object, but the condition to break the illusion.

To meant that death could release you from the illusion.

With that realization, my consciousness, buried in the illusion, began to rise, allowing me to escape from it.

When I woke up, a whirlwind reaching up to the edge of the sky surrounded me, and in the center was the wreckage of a building that looked like it could crumble into sand at any moment.

Naturally, I thought I was in one of the flowing sand-filled spaces where a crack had opened or an inner room of a labyrinth.

But what greeted me were whirlwinds, ruins, and the Black Reapers.

The Black Reapers were clinging sleepily to my belly.

They must have come through the whirlwind to help me who had entered the illusion.

It must have been quite difficult to intervene in the illusion, as the light of the firewood was very weak, and its shape was somewhat droopy and melted.

“It looks like it was tough.”

I lifted the worn-out Black Reapers one by one and generously added firewood while petting them, when a different thought suddenly popped into my mind.

“If the Black Reapers hadn’t come, wouldn’t I have already died in the illusion and found peace?”

It was a very smart and logical thought, as I’d expect from my cold-blooded self.

Hmm.

I started burying the bloated Black Reapers in the sand after feeding them too much firewood.

Hehe.

It was somewhat amusing to see the heads of the Black Reapers sprouting up from the sand, like plants growing.

All the stress from going through the trial felt completely relieved.

When the Black Reapers woke up, they would surely show even more entertaining reactions.

I began to look around the ruins, leaving future enjoyment for later.

The rough sound of the wind constantly echoed in my ears, making it hard to hear anything else.

With sunlight failing to enter properly, the darkness was so deep that an ordinary person would have trouble distinguishing between heaven and earth.

Though it might have been tough for a human to navigate, it was not a problem for me, who emitted light from my eyes.

The ruins were quite extensive, but everything had completely weathered and collapsed, leaving hardly any structures intact.

I didn’t know much about architecture, but it seemed to be a huge building, possibly a castle?

Among those weathered ruins, there was one place that retained its shape quite well.

Though worn and weathered, the massive armchair shape of a throne remained intact.

The yellow color had faded, it was cracked and crumbling, ready to turn into sand at any moment, but the ground beneath it, made of solid stone, was the only firm thing in the sand-filled ruins.

And adorning that ground were huge pillars, forming a path leading toward the throne.

It felt like a royal audience room.

On that throne sat a skeleton, completely tattered, fixed down with large rock nails.

Each bone joint was tightly nailed down, unable to move at all.

Even though I wasn’t the one nailed down, I couldn’t help but feel horrified.

And on the skeleton’s hand rested a light ring, glowing white.

This skeleton appeared to be the old man who had created the labyrinth and trials using the light ring.

I didn’t know the exact reason for such actions, but there must have been some important reason, right?

It must have been something necessary enough for him to nail himself down.

Well, I lightly wished that having passed the trial would help him achieve what he desired.

*

I slowly climbed up the nine steps in front of the throne and placed my hand on the halo.

At that moment, light burst forth from the halo, starting to devour the surrounding reality.

It was as if an invisible hand in the midst of the ruins were delicately rewinding the flow of time.

The old, yellowed floor, about to crumble, transformed into a glossy marble floor, reflecting the sunlight that had begun to shine through.

The pillars, which were on the verge of succumbing to constant weathering, were reborn in pure white, regaining the majesty and strength they had lost.

The ceiling, which had lost all traces of its former glory, restored itself, returning with its splendid painted ceiling.

The red fabric that had crumbled over time began to flow across the floor like a river of scarlet silk, coursing through the pillars.

That red fabric slowly led to the center of the ruins, its final destination being the now colorless, gigantic throne.

As soon as the red fabric touched the throne, it regained its majestic appearance, shining with power and authority.

At the same time, the king, who had been silent on the throne, began to open his eyes.

Flesh and tendons wrapped around weathered bones, and a magnificent crown descended onto the brow of the resurrected monarch.

The reborn king sat on the restored throne and slowly began to look down at me.

“An illusion!”

Had I not undergone the trial in the illusion, I might have mistaken it for a time reversal, such was the intensity of its presence.

Truly an illusion on par with the ‘eyes’!

Now that I thought about it, I had broken the illusion but not the object that created the labyrinth.

Could that old man on the throne have been the object?

Though the illusion might have gone unnoticed by me, it wouldn’t work when I had awareness!

Just as I was about to summon the halo to nullify all abilities with a confident smile, I heard the old man’s cracked voice.

“At last, you have come, trial passer.”

His voice had an oddly non-hostile tone, infused with the old man’s sentiments of achievement and relief.

I decided to stay silent since he didn’t seem to intend to fight, and he continued to speak.

“Trial passer, before you hand over the god’s eye, may I ask you a question?”

“…”

Since I was quiet anyway, he sent out magic as if he could read my mind.

[It doesn’t matter if you can’t speak. We can communicate with mere thoughts.]

Somehow, it felt like he would force a question even if I didn’t want to answer, so I remained silent, and a rather trivial question came flying at me.

[Imagine two people wishing for each other to kill one another.]

[One of them has a noble cause and a valid reason behind their wish.]

[On the other hand, the other person is simply wishing out of anger and jealousy without any reason.]

[If you were to grant a wish, what would you do?]

Upon hearing that question, I thought.

‘Why should I care about such a thing?’

Even if I could grant a wish, I would just ‘ignore’ it.

Of course, I kept that thought to myself, imagining an outwardly usable answer I might say to the old man, when suddenly the voice came again.

[That’s correct.]

Without even sending magic akin to what I would to the Mini Reapers, the old man wore a satisfied smile as if he had heard my answer.

[This is the kind of god we wanted.]

At that moment, in sync with the old man turning to sand and pouring out, all illusions began to collapse.

‘?’

Why is this suddenly happening?

*

“I need help from Mother.”

A single thread of will entered the Mini Reapers of the entire world.

The Golden Reaper, who was exploring Seoul to find the Attached Human, was no exception.

Upon hearing that will, the Golden Reaper stopped what he was doing and reached out for the firewood to help Mother.

Though what Mother bore was enormously heavy, making her feel as if her whole body was on fire, she felt a deep sense of pride in being able to help her.

Even after curling up from pain and eventually losing consciousness, that feeling remained.

Curled up on the floor, the Golden Reaper, perhaps dreaming of helping Mother, smiled as if eating something.

As he happily dreamt, the Golden Reaper soon woke up, rubbed his eyes, and rose from his spot.

Then he stretched out his little arms to the sides!

Waking up a bit dazed, the Golden Reaper looked around and suddenly opened his eyes wide in surprise.

‘!’

Where is this place!?

He had been walking through an alley in Seoul, but somehow he found himself in a strange location.

It was a place that smelled of disinfectant, clean and white.

Though it was a place he had never been to before, he recognized it as similar to one he knew.

‘Sehee Research Institute?’

The Golden Reaper found himself in a place resembling another isolation room for objects at the Sehee Research Institute.

‘?’

As the Golden Reaper tilted his head in confusion, a person in a white coat, similar to a researcher from the Sehee Research Institute, appeared before him.

“Ha. Haha. If I succeed in isolating the Golden Reaper! I can establish a proper research institute too!”

She had a somehow twisted smile.

She radiated a vibe that would typically make one want to avoid her, but the Golden Reaper, looking at her, stretched out both hands.

‘Hug me!’

The Golden Reaper, simply fond of humans, hopped around with a smile, asking for a hug.