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Object Association Research Institute, Object Management Room.

In that deep place, there was an object giving off a strong smell of evolution liquid that resembled oil.

Most of its body had turned black and appeared to be decaying, but its shell remained purple—a hermit crab.

At that moment, voices could be heard from outside the isolation room where the hermit crab was located.

“I think it’s gonna die soon.”

Since it was first discovered, the hermit crab had been slowly rotting away due to the evolution liquid and now could barely move.

“But why aren’t we disposing of these objects?”

A man dressed as an object researcher looked around at the objects filling the space.

Surrounding the researcher were objects that had turned black from contamination by the evolution liquid.

They weren’t particularly valuable, nor were they difficult to remove, yet they were being preserved and isolated like this.

It was quite an unusual practice for the Object Association.

“That just means the higher-ups are really interested in this ‘evolution liquid.'”

“But most of the research on the evolution liquid has failed, right? It seems they concluded it has little utility…”

“And that’s why they’re leaving it alone and just isolating it. It’s too valuable to dispose of but also not worth researching—it’s like a ‘chicken rib.'”

It had been quite a while since the Gwanak-gu evolution liquid incident occurred, and most of the contaminated objects had been destroyed.

Among the remaining few, the hermit crab’s condition was rapidly deteriorating.

“It seems the hermit crab is going to die soon. We need to prepare for disposal.”

“Okay, I’ll get it ready.”

As the two chatting researchers left the isolation area, darkness and silence began to seep back into the space.

At that moment, the purple hermit crab lifted its eyes high up and started looking at the sky.

[Final Mission.]

In the hermit crab’s eyes, which could no longer perform their function, faded memories were surfacing from long ago.

It was the image of a girl with blue hair smiling brightly.

And the purple hermit crab gathered its last bit of strength and moved its body.

Far away from Korea, in the distance.

In the depths of Russia’s snowfield.

*

The Golden Reaper, who had eaten mom’s candy, was happily hopping along with a very cheerful expression.

In the hands of the grinning Golden Reaper was a huge cookie.

The softest marshmallow from the Mini Reaper Garden.

Sugar powder transparent as obsidian from the Black Sugar Desert.

Chocolate powder from the deepest part of the Sea of Hot Chocolate.

The most aromatic chocolate from the Cookie Forest.

It was a cookie made with great care from the tastiest things collected from the Mini Reaper Garden.

Without knowing that mom wanted the candy, this was the cookie made with each stitch of love.

It was a cookie made with gratitude and apologies for mom.

‘Mom will surely like it, right?’

The Golden Reaper had its hands raised to the sky, holding up the giant chocolate cookie, eagerly anticipating mom’s reaction.

‘Mom?’

But the moment the Golden Reaper spotted the Gray Reaper, the hard-earned chocolate ball fell to the ground with a thud.

What the Golden Reaper stumbled upon was the Gray Reaper handing candy to another Golden Reaper.

The candy that was said to exist in this world in only two pieces!

A sinister thought flashed through—the whole thing was mom’s scheme—but the Golden Reaper quietly approached to eavesdrop and confirm the truth.

‘Mom doesn’t really like it. It’s okay not to eat it.’

Mom had sent the same will she had to the Golden Reaper.

‘!’

The Golden Reaper was struck with shock.

Why this prank?

And in the Golden Reaper’s heart, the Gray Reaper’s credit rating dropped a tier.

Now the Gray Reaper’s credit rating had fallen from ‘Normal Object Grade’ to ‘Harmful Object Grade.’

So shocked it couldn’t move, the Golden Reaper heard a sound from behind it — a ‘thud.’

Turning around, the Golden Reaper saw another Golden Reaper who had brought a transparent candy like glass, standing in shock with candy dropped.

‘You too?’

Coming to its senses, the Golden Reaper asked, only to have the late-arriving Golden Reaper nod.

The two Golden Reapers charged angrily at the Gray Reaper.

Upon seeing this, the Gray Reaper left behind nothing but a ” Ugh” and fled somewhere.

*

Thud. Thud.

The heavy footsteps of the jelly pig echoed faintly beyond the window.

The vibrations from its giant body could have shaken the whole hospital, but the jelly pig’s body absorbed every vibration and impact.

As a result, the hospital maintained a calm atmosphere as usual.

The Black Reaper working at the hospital stood by the window and watched the Golden Reapers busily scurrying about.

The Golden Reapers were angry after the Gray Reaper had fled.

Over twenty Golden Reapers had fallen for the Gray Reaper’s tricks.

To see this many victims in just a single day.

It meant the Gray Reaper had been deceiving the Golden Reapers without a moment’s rest.

‘Why did mom do such a thing?’

The Black Reaper pondered inwardly, but no one knew the reason.

Unlike strong mom, whose reasons were clear, weak mom often acted without gain or reason.

Unable to find the Gray Reaper anywhere in the Mini Reaper Garden after searching, all the Golden Reapers gazed blankly at the sky.

The Golden Reaper Network, once used to rescue the Gray Reaper from the labyrinth, was now beginning to be used to track down the mom who played tricks and fled.

But none of the Golden Reapers could find her.

The Black Reaper pulled its gaze from the window and looked around the hospital room.

Inside the room, however, it was only quiet.

An alchemist sleeping more than half the day and the younger sister taking care of him.

And the hungry ghosts looking happy.

Since the Gray Reaper disappeared, the hungry ghosts appeared more tranquil.

It seemed to have something to do with the disappearance of the Gray Reaper, who occasionally came to tear at the White Hungry Ghost.

The hungry ghost was enjoying a peaceful moment with the Color Hungry Ghost, who had come to visit after a long time.

A small happiness brought by the absence of the Gray Reaper.

*

Two tiny footprints were stamped into the pure white snowfield.

Strange footprints made with bare feet, with toes alive.

Walking around in the snow with no shoes felt a bit odd.

I had escaped to Russia, evading the Golden Reapers who had caught on to my prank.

I was killing time to temper the Golden Reapers’ wrath while trying to create a Milk Bingsu Snowfield.

If I killed enough snow-related objects, maybe someday a snowfield would appear in the Mini Reaper Garden.

However, considering the Uprising Object incident, it was odd that no objects were visible at all.

Just an endlessly sprawling snowfield filled all around.

While wandering through the vast snowfield, I could sense a weak presence of an object.

It was a purple hermit crab, giving off the unpleasant smell of ‘evolution liquid’ and carrying the essence of an object.

It had long since died.

I wasn’t sure what connection the hermit crab had to the snowfield, but it was no use since it was already dead.

Just as I was about to abandon the crab and continue searching for objects, a faint sound emanated from within the shell.

‘?’

I pressed my ear against the crab and began to hear incomprehensible yet understandable words.

[Broken Moon. Repeating Past. Twisted End.]

It was a riddle-like statement that was difficult to comprehend.

*

The girl with blue hair, walking endlessly across the snowfield, exclaimed.

“Look over there! We’ve finally arrived.”

Saying that, she petted a White Guardian that was about her waist high.

Then, as if feeling a bit wistful, she spoke.

“Why are our hungry ghosts so hard and rough like stone? It would be nice if they were soft like cotton and squishy like marshmallows.”

The White Guardian made of white, hard stone rumbled as if to say not to speak such strange things.

The blue girl shouted eagerly, “Then let’s go!” as they approached the enormous city.

A beautiful city shining vividly under the purple moon.

And soon, a city that would all come crashing down.

In her faint premonition, she could see it clearly.

*

In the city under the darkened purple moon.

There, the girl with blue hair was vomiting blood in the city alley’s darkness.

A long blade pierced through the girl’s heart.

Gripped by a ninja clad in suffocating black.

‘How did it come to this?’

The girl felt her body growing colder and pondered deeply.

The purple moon she had tried to save was already beginning to turn black with the evolution liquid, and she was dying without obtaining anything.

And at the moment the girl was taking her last breath, the world began to rewind.

A desolate snowfield and the blue girl wandering through it.

And to the moment the White Hungry Ghost was present.