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The sky was shrouded in darkness, but breaking through that darkness was the mysterious purple moon.

It looked as if a gigantic amethyst were hanging in the sky.

The moonlight softly illuminated the city, and under its glow, the city appeared eerily calm and peaceful, almost like it was under a spell.

The blue girl was slowly walking the moonlit streets alongside a muscular man.

The buildings lining the street looked as if they had jumped straight out of a fantasy novel.

No matter how many times the blue girl looked at it, the street remained unfamiliar, like something she’d never get used to after years.

‘In such a fantasy world, how can there be no Tyrannosaurus?’

The blue girl grumbled inwardly.

The man noticed that the girl was lost in some useless thought, but he pretended not to and quickened his pace.

As they passed by buildings that seemed to be straight out of a fairy tale, they entered an open square where a large fountain located in the heart of the city welcomed the girl and the man.

The streams of water flowing from the fountain shone with an enchanting hue under the purple moonlight.

It was an absolutely magnificent sight, but the man grimaced at the sight of the crowd gathered near the fountain.

“Hmph, it seems that even up here in the north, ‘fake’ alchemists are swarming everywhere.”

“Well, it can’t be helped since I was the last real alchemist to exist.”

Unlike the man who was visibly annoyed, the blue girl laughed as if it didn’t bother her at all.

“Still, can it really be called alchemy when they can’t even handle a single mystery and only sprinkle that filthy evolution liquid?”

“Well, that does seem a bit true.”

Then the blue girl turned 180 degrees, turning her back to the fountain and facing the man as she continued speaking.

“But if you dig through old historical texts, there are records that call ‘ancient alchemists’ like us ‘fake.'”

And with that, the blue girl chuckled softly, adding, “Maybe we’re the ones being left behind.”

Seeing her, the man seemed to calm his excitement and rubbed his temples with his large hand as he spoke.

“Then why don’t you finally tell me what it is? What’s the job you need help with?”

“Oh, did you catch on?”

The blue girl laughed shyly, as if her inner thoughts had been exposed.

“You only call upon this master when you have something you need. Heartless creature.”

Saying this, the man playfully patted the blue girl’s head with his large palm.

“I need something like an old historical record. Should I say a stone with a lot of writing on it? That’s what I need.”

“….”

The man crossed his arms and looked down at the girl as if urging her to say more.

“But it’s something that belongs to the ‘Cult’….”

“Crazy girl.”

As soon as the blue girl’s words were heard, the man spoke in disbelief.

*

I was staring at the large mirror fixed to the wall.

Hmm.

The reflection in the mirror was of Yerin’s childhood no matter where I looked.

From the front, it was Yerin, from the side, it was Yerin.

Even when she opened her mouth wide, it was Yerin, and when she made a cute peace sign, it was still Yerin.

Even when I squished her chubby cheeks, it was Yerin.

The thought that Yerin moved freely as I wished brought a smile to my face.

I felt like I could play just by looking at the mirror for ten hours straight.

While I was lost in those thoughts, I heard a ruckus and clamor coming from outside.

Following the sound, I lifted my head and saw a small window high above, just out of reach.

From that window wafted cheerful voices and the delicious smells of food.

“Wow.”

I admired the person who designed this room.

Flames burning every day.

Mirrors that couldn’t escape from the burned appearance.

And the joyful sounds and smells from outside.

This room seemed to be designed to thoroughly torment this girl.

Gulp.

Smelling the delicious aroma made me suddenly hungry.

“Hmm, I should go out and eat something while playing, or rather, I need to gather information.”

I need to figure out what this dream is.

And what “” means, I need to find out.

Besides, the appearance of someone resembling Yerin in “The Moon’s Lantern” felt too coincidental to ignore.

Now, how am I supposed to get out of here?

I began to contemplate while looking up at the tiny window that seemed to be about 3 meters high.

*

Unlike what I saw on the snowfield, beneath the vividly vibrant purple moon, I had escaped from the mirror room and was now sitting in the bustling downtown area.

Luckily, I was able to escape easily since I could use abilities apart from regeneration, specifically that of another “Gray Reaper.”

At first, I thought of the simplest solution, “Ghosting,” but I gave up on that.

It was obvious that a 10-year-old kid roaming the streets naked wouldn’t be able to enjoy delicious food properly.

So the method I chose was to grab onto the space and climb up to escape through the window.

Sure, it would have been easy to smash my way out with a ‘bang,’ but I didn’t want to make too much noise, so I opted for a quiet exit.

Nom nom.

I took a bite of the moistly grilled meat skewers while enjoying the view of the city.

People in exotic attire bustled around me, and their cheerful laughter and chatter added life to the streets.

“Yum.”

The meat on the skewer was perfectly grilled, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

I had no idea what kind of meat it was.

Moreover, there were vegetables on the skewers that I had never seen before.

They were crunchy and a little spicy, making my appetite surge.

I had no idea what the vegetables were, either.

Although I couldn’t identify the ingredients, the juices that burst in my mouth with every bite made me carefree about such trivial matters.

Before I knew it, I had finished the meat skewer and walked toward the shop, extending my hand.

The shop owner hurriedly grilled some meat and placed a skewer in my hand.

“Enjoy your meal!”

After returning the shop owner’s greeting, I plopped down in an empty chair and started munching again.

It seemed the group that held ‘This Other World Yerin’ had a considerable influence; I didn’t need any money when buying things.

Listening to the conversations among the passersby and merchants, it seemed to be a group referred to as ‘Cult.’

Perhaps the ninjas are part of this ‘Cult.’

Curious about what this organization was up to, I tried gathering information, but I didn’t manage to uncover much.

However, I was able to find out one intriguing point.

The ‘Cult’ was a group that worshipped something, but no one knew what they worshipped.

There was no mention of the name, appearance, statue, painting, or even mention of the object of their worship.

They only worshipped and adored.

It was a religion that was utterly unfathomable.

Yet they handled ‘Magical Books’ without receiving anything in return, which seemed to earn them quite a bit of respect.

Nom nom.

I held the skewer and swung my short legs while enjoying the street scenery.

The colorful lights attached to the building walls mingled with the purple moonlight.

From somewhere, cheerful instrumental music could be heard, and people danced merrily to the rhythm.

But I heard a strange sound in my ears.

The noise made by a sharp blade.

It was surely a noise related to “”

Sigh.

I let out a deep sigh, quickly finished off the skewer, and got up from my seat.

*

In the city beneath the darkness of the purple moon.

There, the girl with blue hair was frantically running through the shadows of the city’s back alley.

“Master! My disciple is dying!”

The blue girl was desperately searching for the master she had promised to help.

But there was no sign of the passage the master was supposed to prepare anywhere.

“Really persistent, aren’t you? I just borrowed it to check the contents and was going to return it, you know?”

As she shouted while breathing heavily, she held a square object glowing green in her arms.

The object was made of sparkling green jade.

But those pursuing her showed no inclination to respond; they merely swung their sharp blades indifferently.

Even as the girl rolled around to dodge the blades, she couldn’t help but have absurd thoughts.

“I thought the Cult’s clothing looked like ‘ninjas,’ but they really are ‘ninjas!’”

The ninjas pulled off stunts that seemed unbelievable, popping up from the ground or jumping down from the sky, relying wholly on their physical prowess without any alchemy.

And in the final moments.

As the sharp blades began to fly towards the blue girl’s heart, cornered in a dead-end alley.

“This can’t be happening. Is this really how it ends?”

The girl who knew and trusted her fate couldn’t help but doubt this situation.

“I am a destined being! A necessary existence!”

Clap clap.

Just when she thought this was the end, she heard a small clapping sound.

And then the sound of light footsteps, pattering away.

In that moment, the ground beneath the ninjas collapsed, and they were sucked into an endless abyss.

Thump thump.

Turning my head at the sound of lively footsteps, I saw a child, about 10 years old, slowly approaching from the entrance of the alley.

With a nonchalant expression that did not match that of a 10-year-old girl.

As if flames had ignited in her eyes, she was coming closer, glowing with golden flames.