Chapter 314


In the early dawn, the blue light gently spread along the street.

The Ashen Girl smiled softly at the Yellow Reaper and continued walking towards her destination.

Inside the Ashen Girl’s heart, complex emotions swirled.

‘Perhaps today is the last day we will talk to each other.’

For some reason, I had a sorrowful premonition that today would be the last day with the Yellow Reaper.

I was certainly on my way to bring everything back to “normal”…

But as if to shake off such sad thoughts, the girl began to share cheerful, lighthearted stories.

If I spoke seriously here, it would truly feel like the end.

While talking about family, school, and the joyful times spent with the Yellow Reaper, the girl’s will was tinged with poignant emotions.

‘Come to think of it, I feel like I can now understand the will that the Yellow Reaper emits.’

Am I getting even closer to being an Object?

Thoughts about getting closer to being an Object made the girl uneasy.

‘It’s okay.’

Whether the Yellow Reaper felt the Ashen Girl’s anxiety, it gently patted her cheek and conveyed its will.

The Yellow Reaper, sending that will, wore a wrinkled and timid expression as always.

But the Ashen Girl, having seen the Yellow Reaper often, could sense it.

That expression was the result of trying to appear as confident as possible.

As they approached the apartment complex, the Ashen Girl’s heart grew heavier.

Clutching tightly to the “Doll” that the Yellow Reaper had advised her never to lose, the girl struggled to suppress the rising sadness.

It was just an ordinary doll, but that gift from the Yellow Reaper was immensely precious to her.

‘I will never, ever let it go.’

Still, the Ashen Girl felt that this was the last moment with the Yellow Reaper.

And paradoxically, it felt like the moment when everything was returning to “normal.”

Walking through the street tinted bluish by the dawn light, the Ashen Girl deeply etched the last moments with the Yellow Reaper into her heart.

*

An ancient being was dreaming a dream as old as the time it had endured.

An era where strange phenomena unknown to humans swept through and killed them.

An era where there were “Alchemists” who, entranced by those strange phenomena, sought to become one with them through jade.

And finally, it was an age where the Black Giant that descended from the sky ended all of that.

At that time, a man began to hold a desperate wish.

He couldn’t become an “Alchemist” who had vanished with the flow of time, nor could he serve the Black Giant as a god; it was a great wish of the man.

‘I want to resemble the Black Giant, the god.’

Feeding on the human’s desires.

Crushing space with mere gestures.

Freely manipulating the fate of the world.

Manifesting all desires as phenomena.

The man was researching how to become such a god.

Even if the world perished, he would continue.

In the man’s eyes, it still seemed visible.

The shadow of the Black Giant’s gigantic hand stretching toward him.

[….]

And the old man opened his eyes in endless darkness.

[Dream….]

He thought he had long lost something like a dream…

At that moment, he felt the Yellow Reaper and a Plaster Doll walking into his realm.

The man vividly felt everything that occurred in the apartment complex.

The Plaster Doll began to carefully describe the scenes it had seen in the dream to the Yellow Reaper as they moved toward the center of the apartment complex.

‘If we go just a bit further from here, we’ll reach that place from the dream.’

Thus, the Plaster Doll was guiding the Yellow Reaper toward the man’s side as intended.

Not long after, the Yellow Reaper and Plaster Doll arrived at their destination, the Central Building.

‘Well then, I will go in.’

The Plaster Doll appeared to be extremely tense as it began to slowly push open the building’s glass door.

Creeeak.

The door creaked ominously, as if it hadn’t been oiled.

Inside the building where the Plaster Doll and Yellow Reaper arrived, there spread endless white sandy beaches shining brightly.

‘Here it is. I came here in my dream.’

The Plaster Doll mumbled as if entranced and started walking forward.

Crunch crunch.

The sound of stepping on the white shining sand echoed.

The white sandy beach was riddled with numerous large holes.

Rectangular pits that seemed to be dug for graves.

And inside those pits, people as dry as mummies were lying one by one.

So the Yellow Reaper and the Plaster Doll confirmed each pit as they ventured deeper into the sandy beach.

[This should be enough.]

As the man nodded his fingers, numerous Plaster Dolls began to rise from the sandy beach.

And the puppets, made of wire and plaster intertwined, rushed toward the Yellow Reaper all at once.

However, the sudden attack of the Plaster Dolls posed no threat to the Yellow Reaper.

When the Yellow Reaper swung its hand, mini Reaper doll costumes burst out.

Even though there were no mini Reapers inside, the puppet costumes moved on their own.

While they might not be as strong as the original mini Reapers, they were certainly strong enough.

[It seems this level can’t hold them back.]

As the man murmured this and pondered moving, the Yellow Reaper was already standing on the sandy beach.

*

As the Yellow Reaper handled all the suddenly charging Plaster Dolls, an alien voice echoed.

[It seems this level can’t hold them back.]

When the Ashen Girl turned her head, something white and red was looking down at her.

[At last, the final piece of the puzzle toward the god is in my grasp.]

An old-looking white robe.

Red, like blood, flowing where a face should be.

Black-stained arms.

And a broken halo perched above its head.

That grotesque appearance, even under the bright sandy beach, appeared infinitely dark.

‘Strong Object!’

The Yellow Reaper unleashed intense will and summoned a massive army of puppet costumes.

An army that filled up the white sandy beach.

[….]

As the White Object silently unfurled one hand, the air around them began to tremble slightly.

As if an invisible energy swirled around his hand.

And the moment he clenched his hand tightly, a black sphere formed in the air.

What began as merely a small dot rapidly expanded and began to swallow everything around it.

Air, and even light, seemed to be sucked into the abyss.

The space itself twisted and distorted around the black sphere.

Creak.

The puppet costumes floundered and struggled like a ship caught in a storm as they were sucked into the black sphere.

The puppet costumes tried to use their abilities to escape, but they could not get out of the distorted space.

In an instant, everything vanished, leaving only an empty space behind.

‘????’

The Yellow Reaper wore a bewildered expression at the sight.

‘Fake!’

Then the Yellow Reaper, pouring forth its rage, called forth even more puppet costumes, but…

At that moment, the broken halo of the White Object began to pulsate as if alive, scattering intense light.

The edges of the broken halo fluctuated erratically, making the surrounding air ripple.

And as remnants of the broken halo formed a complete halo, a pillar of black light soared into the sky.

From there, the black flash began to grow larger, filling everything around it.

A chilling sensation that felt like skin was being pricked.

Vibrations distorting the space.

A flash that seemed ready to trap the world in shadow.

And when that flash disappeared, all the puppet costumes vanished without a trace.

‘Strong… Mom beam?’

The Yellow Reaper, looking at the flash emanating from the halo, had a stunned expression.

At that moment, the White Object slowly reached out its hand toward the Yellow Reaper.

Releasing an overwhelming aura, just like when it formed the black sphere, the White Object began to dominate the surrounding space.

The space shook and began to twist, eventually swirling and engulfing the Yellow Reaper.

Thus, an endless silence descended.

And the White Object turned its gaze toward the Ashen Girl, who was bewildered by the sudden situation, and said.

[Well done. Now, dream the dreams you wished for even more.]

In that instant, the Ashen Girl’s consciousness was severed like a TV screen turning off.

*

In the early dawn, at the time when the Golden Reapers had not yet awoken.

I suddenly woke up for no apparent reason.

Looking around, I saw the softly blinking Golden Reapers and the sleeping Black Reapers making a small beep sound.

‘Hmm.’

I felt like I had woken up because I had something important to do.

What could it possibly be?

I tried hard to think with my head, which I didn’t usually use.

Making “Mini Bunny Skewers” while the Golden Reapers were asleep?

I would like to try it, but it doesn’t seem right.

Finding the golden comet that pierced the sky a long time ago?

I had forgotten, but that doesn’t seem right either.

‘Ah!’

At that moment, a thought popped into my mind.

I need to ask the Yellow Reaper to make a mini Reaper Tyrannosaurus doll costume.

Being woken up early this morning must surely have been a divine revelation to see the mini Reapers waddling around in Tyrannosaurus form.

And I thought it would be really fun to play with the Triceratops White Hungry Ghosts.

Having figured out my dilemma, I got out of bed and started walking out, waddling along.