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Mini Reaper Garden, the End of the Spiral.

Upon hearing the will of the Golden Reapers, I arrived at a place enveloped in endless darkness.

The light that had been streaming from the ceiling completely vanished, and even the firewood’s glow emanating from my eyes was devoured by the greedy darkness.

The surrounding shadows writhed as if alive.

This didn’t feel like the Mini Reaper Garden at all.

The ground was slightly pooled with ‘Wishes’, and the gray liquid emitted faint sounds of water.

Drip. Drip.

A slight but clear sound of water.

As I listened, a dim silhouette emerged from the deep shadows, moving slowly towards me.

“Maah.”

The figure in the darkness, stumbling like a Mini Reaper, staggered forward as if a puppet’s strings were clumsily manipulated.

The sound of water, the unsettling darkness, and the silhouette that walked like a zombie—

It was a scene straight out of a horror movie!

I felt a sensation as if my already vanished heart was racing, waiting for the silhouette to approach.

A monster born from Wishes?

Or something related to the Old God?

I was bracing myself to shoot out a ‘Kkyek’ at high speed.

But the moment the shape in the darkness entered the realm of light from my eyes, it fell with a thud as if drained of all strength.

Huh?

As I approached through the splashing water to check, the silhouette turned out to be a white Mini Reaper that looked as if it had melted away.

“Maah…”

Struggling to keep its eyes open, it lifted its head with great effort, spilling out its will.

It looked like it was in pain.

It didn’t seem to be originally white, but rather discolored by Wishes.

I brushed the ‘Wishes’ off the body of the discolored Reaper and turned towards the outside of the spiral with the Golden Reapers.

Then I brought all the Golden Reapers that had not yet reached the end of the spiral outside as well.

Upon stepping outside, the first thing I did was to seal off the hole of the spiral.

It was a place I could not fathom, and given the danger, blocking it seemed the wisest choice.

So, I simply used ‘Kkyek’ to slice the entrance off entirely.

As I laid the unconscious Golden Reapers on the floor, the other Golden Reapers gasped and began to fuss.

“!”

“They’re hurt!”

“White!”

Seeing the golden Reapers covered in white stains as if bleached, they fidgeted, unsure of what to do.

“Will it get better if I shove in firewood?”

To think that even the perfectly fine kids would get discolored like this in the evolution liquid…

This was the first time I had seen a Golden Reaper’s color change.

I was a bit worried whether firewood would even work, but as I pushed in the firewood, the white stains instantly disappeared.

“Mom, you’re amazing!”

“Wonderful!”

At the sight, the Golden Reapers who were wearing worried expressions looked up at me and cheered.

“Resurrection!”

“They came back to life!”

Then the ones whose discoloration was healed sprang up from their lying positions and started mixing among the cheering Golden Reapers.

Maybe I had shoved in a bit too much firewood, but they moved with such spirit that it was hard to believe they’d been collapsed just moments ago.

After treating all the Golden Reapers, I turned my head and saw the discolored Reaper that lay still as if dead.

“New Younger Sibling?”

“Is it dead?”

The Golden Reapers poked it gently with their fingertips, but the discolored Reaper showed no response.

I lifted the discolored Reaper into the air and examined it slowly.

“Empty.”

Unlike the other Reapers, this one had nothing inside it.

It wasn’t empty in a physical sense but void in an ‘object’ sense.

With nothing inside, it was evident it couldn’t use any of the powers it originally had.

It looked as if it had been swept away by the torrent of Wishes, a reflection of its melted appearance.

And the discolored Reaper was dying.

Without firewood.

Moreover, since there was nowhere inside to store the firewood, even if I pushed it in, it probably wouldn’t come back to life.

“Is my younger sibling dying?”

No matter how I looked at it, there seemed to be no hope, so I thought about placing it next to the Blue Girl, but by then, the Golden Reapers had gathered around my feet and were shedding tears.

Seeing that made me feel a bit sorry, so I changed my mind.

“Alright, let’s try pushing in firewood at least.”

So I rashly shoved in the firewood, but they wouldn’t settle within the discolored Reaper and just trickled down.

So, it truly doesn’t work.

Just as I was about to give up—

Whoosh.

The firewood clung to the discolored Reaper.

Not on the place where a heart would be like the other Mini Reapers, but rather, it rested atop its head.

The discolored Reaper now stood on my palm.

“Maah.”

Not able to spit out a proper will, the discolored Reaper spilled out an incomprehensible presence.

Hearing that presence, the Golden Reapers seemed genuinely joyful that their sibling had come back to life, wearing happy expressions as they hopped around.

*

Near Songpa District, James Tower.

James was resting, soaking up the sun in a private room set in the tower.

As he rested, glancing out the window, he could feel that the area around Songpa District had completely transformed.

Since the Hungry Ghost incident, this area that had been utterly desolate was now bustling with newly built buildings and people moving around.

As he tore his gaze from the window to look towards the Golden Reaper, the Golden Reaper sat at his feet, drawing with a crayon the size of its own torso.

The crayon was so large it seemed tough to draw properly, yet with smooth motions, it diligently focused on its artwork.

“What are you drawing?”

Curiosity suddenly sparked in James, prompting him to take a closer look at the Golden Reaper’s drawing.

“!!!”

On the paper was a bizarre drawing that James had never anticipated.

A gray Reaper lay pitifully on the ground, while a uniquely shaped Golden Reaper grinned brightly, raising its arms.

It was hard to believe that this blob of a drawing was created by a Golden Reaper that immensely loved its mom.

“What on earth is this?”

As James asked, he produced a communication button for the Golden Reaper.

At that, the Golden Reaper held the crayon high and spilled its will.

“It’s a play that’s trending these days!”

“It’s a play the Yellow Sibling does ten times a day!”

“It’s fun!”

James repeatedly questioned to clarify what the drawing was about.

After quite the effort, James had a rough understanding of what the Golden Reaper’s drawing depicted.

“This drawing represents the play created by the Yellow Reaper.”

“The protagonist is a Golden Reaper sprouting horns, wearing armor and wielding a firewood sword.”

“The enemy is the evil Gray Reaper.”

I don’t know why the Yellow Reaper made this play, but I could figure out why the Golden Reaper drew it.

Was there a discord between the Yellow Reaper and the Gray Reaper?

Or maybe the Gray Reaper just permitted such plays from the beginning?

As James finished jotting down the facts he had learned, he received a call from the secretary’s office.

It was a notification that the Asia region officer of the American Object Association had arrived.

After allowing entrance, a considerably elderly Asian man casually greeted as he stepped inside the room.

“James. It’s been a long time.”

“Elder, it’s been a while. When did you return from Japan?”

The old man replied lightly that he hadn’t been back in Korea for long, pouring himself a cup of instant coffee meant for guests and taking a sip.

“What is this?”

The old man, who had skillfully made and tasted the coffee, was quite shocked and asked, pulling his lips away from the cup.

“Ah, I am slow to explain. The coffee in this room is all cocoa. Very sweet cocoa, at that.”

James added that it seemed the Golden Reapers had swapped everything around while he was working.

“Hmmm, this tastes like it could give me diabetes.”

Setting the cup on the table, the old man examined the snacks placed for guests, but they were all extremely sweet treats.

“Is it okay to eat only these things?”

The elder asked as he watched James eat a piece of cream cake.

“Well, I get health check-ups frequently, but there haven’t been any issues.”

“It must be your constitution. I envy you.”

Though he spoke this with a face full of envy, the old man swiftly changed his expression and handed a USB to James.

“This USB contains data about a missing person case that occurred in Europe.”

“It seems the incident itself is quite old. They were hiding information while trying to solve it on their own over there.”

“I brought it over because it might be linked to the butterflies that appeared in Korea this time. So check it out.”

“You’ll find more details in the USB.”

After briefly explaining the contents of the USB to James, the elder shoved the remaining cocoa into his mouth.

“Alright, I’ll check it out.”

Upon hearing James’ reply, the elder nodded and slowly left James’ room.

*

In the peaceful courtyard of Sehee Research Institute, a girl with golden horns arrived.

She was Junior No. 2 from the Yellow Detective Office.

Upon the arrival of Junior No. 2, holding an ornate cane, the Golden Horn Reaper joyfully dashed over.

“Human!!!”

The Golden Horn Reaper rushed to the long-missed Attached Human, rubbing its cheeks together.

Then it looked up at Junior No. 2 with a smile, giggling.

Junior No. 2, watching this Golden Horn Reaper, smiled slightly and spoke.

“Now, let’s return to the Gap Research Institute.”

“There’s still plenty left to prepare.”

Nodding in response, the Golden Horn Reaper leapt off Junior No. 2’s lap.

It then bid farewell to the Mini Reapers in the courtyard.

“Goodbye!”

“You must come back soon!”

The Golden Reapers hugged the Golden Horn Reaper repeatedly, appearing reluctant to part.

After saying goodbye to the Mini Reapers in the courtyard, the Golden Horn Reaper nestled into Junior No. 2’s arms and waved goodbye.

“Bye-bye.”

The Mini Reapers in the courtyard waved back, saying “bye-bye” as well.

Leaving the Sehee Research Institute, they tapped the ground twice with the cane in a remote area.

Tap. Tap.

Suddenly, a completely different place appeared.

A long corridor that resembled the research institute.

Isolation Rooms stretching out on both sides.

Before they knew it, Junior No. 2 and the Golden Horn Reaper had arrived at the Gap Research Institute.

Clop clop.

As they walked down the corridor, something faintly visible was seen in the isolation rooms on either side.

The isolation rooms reflected past scenes of the Gray Reapers doing something.

As they reached the end of the corridor and opened the door, a familiar voice greeted them.

“Have you arrived?”

At the end of the corridor stood a man in a yellow coat, welcoming Junior No. 2.