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Isolation Room Made from a Converted House.

Compared to a real laboratory, the facilities were lacking, but at first glance, it looked quite lab-like.

Various experimental instruments were messily scattered on the desk, and numerous posters and notes were plastered on the walls.

However, amidst all these things, bags of hard biscuits were strewn about, making the room look extremely messy.

[Are you saying that the number of victims is considerably low compared to the scale and danger of this zombie outbreak?]

[That’s correct. Similar object incidents have occurred in other countries, but the numbers are distinctly lower here.]

In the room, along with the sounds playing from a small TV, the sound of something being chewed could be heard.

It was the sound of a small mouth gnawing on the hard biscuit.

As if completely uninterested in the story coming from the TV, the sound of nibbling on the biscuit continued without pause.

[The cause identified is the ‘Golden Reaper.’]

[Especially in Mapo District and Songpa District, where the Golden Reaper is often sighted, there has been almost no damage.]

On the softly illuminated screen of the dark room, an intriguing scene was unfolding.

A news studio where an announcer and invited panelists were sitting.

Among them was an ‘object expert’ participating as a panelist.

On the desk lay a transparent cage, inside which something sparkling golden was contained.

As the camera zoomed in on the cage, it became clear that it was the Golden Reaper shining with golden light.

The Golden Reaper was playing around with a rubber ball inside the cage, rolling about.

[So that’s the ‘Golden Reaper.’ It’s my first time seeing an object up close like this. Is it really safe?]

When the announcer spoke with a tone that felt somewhat distant, the expert confidently declared it was, of course, safe and opened the cage door.

At that moment, the Golden Reaper leaped onto the desk.

The Golden Reaper began to roll around on the desk as if it were the star of the show.

Looking like a small creature or a harmless baby, the other panelists couldn’t hide their excitement.

Even the slightly hesitant announcer relaxed as the Golden Reaper approached, slowly reaching out to pet it.

What was supposed to be a program analyzing this incident with several experts had unexpectedly turned into a performance of the Golden Reaper’s antics.

The woman watching the TV turned her head toward the Golden Reaper with a beaming smile.

“Look! Your friends are on TV!”

But the Golden Reaper nibbling on the biscuit showed little interest.

It didn’t even turn its gaze toward the TV, simply turning its back towards the woman.

Taking a bite of the hard biscuit, it would occasionally look up at the attached human.

When the Golden Reaper’s eyes met the attached human’s, it smiled happily as if it were delighted.

Despite being completely uninterested in who appeared on TV, the woman couldn’t help but chuckle and gently stroked the Golden Reaper.

The woman, who had initially looked haggard with anxiety, seemed to regain her color and wore a happy smile akin to that of the Golden Reaper, perhaps due to its influence.

‘By the way, the land prices in Mapo District and Songpa District are likely to soar.’

Now that such a cute and lovable Golden Reaper has broadcasted, it felt inevitable that it would happen.

Cute and adorable, and it’s even safe from object incidents?

Anyone would likely think along those lines.

*

The Alchemist’s Younger Sister was having a nightmare.

Lying on her bed, she was drenched in cold sweat, her hands flailing as though trying to grasp at empty air.

“Ugh… Sister.”

In her dream, horrifying scenes were playing out.

Her sister, pierced all over by a bread knife and bleeding profusely, glared at her with resentment.

“You killed me.”

“The dull bread knife slowly dug in!”

At the shout of her sister, who was crying tears of blood, the younger sister muttered in a small voice.

“I’m sorry.”

The younger sister kept crying as she apologized to her sister.

Lying on the bed, she too was shedding tears just as in her dream.

Seeing this pitiful sight, the Golden Reaper, who happened to pass by, rushed over.

It held her flailing hand and gently clasped one of its fingers.

As if trying to warm her pale finger with the heat from its own heart.

Feeling that warmth, the younger sister’s expression began to soften.

Likewise, the content of the dream started to change gradually.

The blue mist that had enveloped everything began to disappear like morning sunlight melting it away.

The scenery that emerged as the mist cleared was a mystical forest made of cookies, snacks, and chocolate.

Stick-shaped biscuits filled with chocolate.

Cream puffs decorated like stones on the ground.

And on top of the cream puffs were colorful sprinkles generously sprinkled everywhere.

It felt like a fairy tale forest bathed in bright sunshine.

And the resentful figure of her sister had vanished without a trace.

“Sister? Where are you?”

With her sister suddenly gone, the younger sister began to search by pushing through the stick-shaped biscuits.

After wandering aimlessly for a few minutes, the younger sister finally spotted her sister.

She was joyfully riding a white hungry ghost on a transparent, hard sugar surface, smiling brightly like clear ice.

And she was wildly swinging two gigantic lollipops like maces.

The sight was so happy that it made the younger sister smile instinctively.

But as she got closer, strange things began to stand out more and more.

“Um… Sister?”

Her sister, who was smiling brightly, still had the bread knife stuck in her body.

And from the wound where the bread knife was embedded, strawberry jam flowed instead of blood.

Her sister had transformed into a doughnut filled with the strawberry jam she loved.

‘It’s a nightmare.’

This was definitely a nightmare.

The younger sister became aware of the ridiculous situation and woke up from her dream.

What she saw upon waking was the Golden Reaper angrily beating up a Gray Reaper.

*

Yawn.

A yawn escaped involuntarily in the sleepy late night.

I was watching the suspicious ceremony of the Mini Reapers in the grand auditorium located in Jelly Pig Hospital.

The ceremony proceeded with clear rules.

Mini Reapers dressed in religious and extravagant clothing.

Ceremonial tools that embodied some style and culture.

It was a unique ritual that clearly didn’t seem to be something that the Golden Reaper had merely imagined or picked up from somewhere.

It was too complex to be imagined, and too unique to be something heard.

On the large circular altar lay an Alchemist, a Blonde Girl, and a Black Agent.

Around them, the Mini Reapers were spinning and gradually tossing in firewood into the center of the altar.

During the ceremony, one Mini Reaper, realizing they were running low on firewood, dashed towards me.

And just like I do with Yerin, it hugged me tightly to fill the firewood and then dashed back to its place.

Barely keeping my eyes open, I looked over the ceremony and began to gather who might have told them of this mysterious ritual.

Midway through, a Golden Reaper, forgetting the order of the ceremony, ran over to the Black Reaper to ask.

Well, it was too long and complicated for a Golden Reaper to remember.

Meanwhile, the younger sister was nervously fidgeting with an anxious expression.

“It’ll be okay, right? It has to be okay.”

Hmm, could it be that this was all a result of me cheerfully altering the dream with the ability of the Golden Tree?

Although the Golden Reaper was furious for noticing that I had manipulated the dream, I felt a bit wronged.

The younger sister quickly waking up from her nightmare, feeling happy.

And me, creating a fun dream making me happy.

It was a win-win dream where everyone was joyful!

Suddenly feeling an overwhelming sense of injustice, I tied the hair of the Golden Reapers on my lap together.

Hehe.

As I bundled up the Golden Reapers, the ceremony came to an end.

When the ceremony ended, the Girl and the Agent were still fast asleep.

Nearby, a Red Reaper with a gloomy expression was gently stroking the Girl’s cheek.

However, unlike the sleeping girl and agent, the Alchemist opened her eyes on the altar.

“Sister!”

The Alchemist, with a bewildered expression, tried to analyze her situation, but the younger sister seemed simply happy that her sister had woken up.

Upon inspection, I noticed that the traces of the Color Universe that had lingered in the Alchemist’s body had disappeared.

And it felt like she had transformed into an existence tied to the garden, like a Jelly Pig or a Sugar Flamingo.

If I were to dissect the Alchemist now, she might resemble an agent made of roll cake.

I checked the Alchemist’s condition and immediately returned to the Isolation Room.

I was too drowsy to stay here any longer.

*

As I lay sleeping in the warm isolation room bed, I suddenly woke up from a feeling of emptiness.

And then, I saw an endlessly sprawling space.

It was a space I had seen a short while ago.

A universe full of colors into which the Red Monster had been sucked.

No stars to be seen, just a chaotic space where colors flowed haphazardly.

Like paint slipping across a glass surface, the colors were gliding and flowing chaotically in the space.

It was an ominous yet beautiful sight, something not easily found anywhere.

However, even in this mysterious space, there were traps.

Just looking at it seemed harmful, as it was burning up the firewood of my heart.

Yet, it was a space that made one want to keep looking at it.

As I continued to stare, I noticed entities lurking among the colors.

In a space where colors didn’t mix like oil and water.

Among those colors, gigantic entities were floating around.

Giants of all shapes were present.

Monsters without fixed forms.

Those monsters drifted along in the flow of colors.

I stood on the gray-dyed ground, gazing up at such monsters.

‘Is this a dream?’

A space that felt like a dream but wasn’t quite.

That’s how I felt about this mysterious place.

The monsters drifting above didn’t seem to show any interest in anything.

‘When exactly will this dream end? Will it break when all the firewood is used up?’

While examining the characteristics of the monsters flowing through this wondrous scene, my gaze unintentionally met that of a certain monster.

At that moment, the monster, which had been aimlessly drifting, stopped gliding and began to stare at me intently.

And slowly, the monster started to approach me.

For some reason, I felt that I shouldn’t let that monster come near, so I tried to turn my head, but it was as if something was holding me back and I couldn’t turn.

I couldn’t take my ‘eyes’ off it.

I was forced to turn my head, but the firewood was running low.

I only needed enough firewood for one little ‘phew!’

I had used too much firewood while gazing at the universe.

‘!’

But at that moment, a warm sensation accompanied a brilliant beam of light streaming down from behind me.

Golden light filled with firewood.

When I turned my head, a vast ring of light was shining within the golden beam.

*

Upon waking up, I was filled with astonishment.

The warmth and coziness I felt behind me was none other than Yerin’s embrace.

When the identity of the golden firewood was revealed, it felt as if I had solved a mystery.

But at the same time, new questions arose.

What exactly was the ring of light?

What connection did it have to Yerin?

Was it merely a product of dreams, or did it contain something significant?

My mind was overflowing with curiosity.