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A girl with silver hair, sparkling like moonlight, entered the narrow room.

The dark cave ceiling and glowing objects visible through the window of the narrow room evoked the image of a night sky.

As fake stars faintly illuminated the window, the girl, who had returned from a long day, pulled something out of her pocket.

What lay upon her palm was a perfectly round fruit, shining like a jewel.

The girl stared at it intently and murmured, “What on earth is this…?”

It was too perfect, lacking scratches or even a stem, to be called a fruit.

It resembled an ornament used to adorn fine jewelry or furniture.

However, when she pressed it gently with her finger, she felt a soft elasticity, and bringing it closer to her nose, a sweet fragrance wafted out.

‘…’

Perhaps it was due to the sweet scent, the silver-haired girl felt a bit of saliva pooling in her mouth.

She couldn’t explain why, but this strange orb seemed like an incredibly delicious fruit.

Unconsciously, the silver-haired girl swallowed her saliva.

At that moment, the mini sprout reaper perched on her shoulder grinned with a happy expression.

It was as if to say, “Maybe she’ll eat the fruit soon!”

However, the silver-haired girl shook her head and carefully placed the fruit on her desk.

Even though she wanted to pop it into her mouth immediately, the education she had received so far held her back.

‘This is definitely mental pollution.’

Thinking that, the girl, enchanted by the fruit, could not bring herself to report this pretty orb to the “facility.”

‘As long as I don’t eat it, it should be fine. It’ll be okay.’

After staring at the fruit for a while, the silver-haired girl sighed and headed for her bed, soon falling into slumber under the covers.

The mini sprout reaper drooped its shoulders in disappointment.

‘Hmph. So she’s not eating it right away?’

Gazing down at the sleeping girl, the mini sprout reaper wore a sulky expression.

‘I wanted to look her in the eye and enjoy some interaction quickly…’

The mini sprout reaper wished for the attached human to eat the fruit soon so they could communicate.

After all, this underground city was a truly dangerous place, filled with harmful objects.

*

5:40 AM.

As always, it was the same morning at the “facility,” but the silver-haired girl’s expression was different.

Even as she repeated to herself that it was undoubtedly an absurd dream, she couldn’t shake the anxiety.

Especially after hearing during breakfast that someone would soon be “graduating,” her unease intensified.

The silver-haired girl’s steps quickened more than usual, and her gaze was sharper than normal.

Though the dream remained consistent, it felt increasingly vivid as time passed.

“I… must graduate first.”

The silver-haired girl bit her lip and muttered.

If the dream was too ominous and unsettling, she simply had to ensure it didn’t become a reality.

‘I just need to excel and graduate the fastest.’

However, there was a flaw in the silver-haired girl’s plan.

The lack of clear criteria on which child would be eligible for graduation from the facility was a significant problem.

Generally, children with powerful abilities and excellent grades tended to “graduate,” but it wasn’t a guarantee.

Still, the silver-haired girl had no other way and had no choice.

*

During the morning training period at the “facility.”

The silver-haired girl donned her training outfit and headed to the training ground.

Inside the enormous concrete building, the facility’s children’s training was ongoing.

As she opened the door, a familiar voice greeted her.

“You came early today!”

It was her best friend, a girl with brown hair.

Upon seeing the brown-haired girl’s bright smile, the silver-haired girl felt a clash of images, as though intestines were spilling out.

“Yeah, I thought I needed to work a bit harder.”

The silver-haired girl forced a smile.

Noticing something odd in her expression, the brown-haired girl looked curious but soon regained her usual cheerful demeanor.

“Really? You seem a bit strange lately. What’s up?”

The silver-haired girl couldn’t bring herself to tell her friend about the horrific dreams, so she weakly shook her head.

She simply concentrated on training more diligently.

Following that, during the assessments, the silver-haired girl’s records showed remarkable improvements.

Though her excessive power use caused blood to rise in her stomach, she forced it back down and continued training.

At least until the next “graduation” announcements, she had to maintain this pace.

‘Human…’

The mini sprout reaper watched, wanting to pat her sweat-soaked cheeks, but its ghostly hand merely passed through without contact.

After some time had passed.

The silver-haired girl consistently showcased the best results and displayed excellent skills during object response training.

However, beneath it all, anxiety and pain lurked constantly.

After finishing training and returning to her private room, she showered and continued to cough up blood.

And every night, the silver-haired girl dreamt the same dream.

A dream where the brown-haired girl graduates, and on that very day, she is slaughtered in a nightmare.

Each morning, the silver-haired girl awoke drenched in cold sweat, each time reinforcing her resolve.

“I… must graduate first.”

It felt as if her lifespan was being clipped away, yet the silver-haired girl did not stop.

Then one day, the announcement for candidates for graduation came sudden.

The silver-haired girl, with a gaunt face but a faint smile, checked the list.

‘My body is nearing its limit, so this is a relief.’

However, the moment she spotted the name on the list, her smile vanished.

The brown-haired girl’s name was written there.

Just like she had seen in her dream.

‘It’s really come true…’

Like a person stripped of all strength, the silver-haired girl could only stare blankly at the list, tears streaming down her face.

At that moment, the brown-haired girl rushed over to the silver-haired girl, bursting with joy.

“I’m graduating! Finally, I can fight for humanity!”

But the silver-haired girl could say nothing.

She simply looked at the brown-haired girl, tears flowing freely.

Startled by the silver-haired girl’s reaction, the brown-haired girl quickly embraced her.

“It’s okay. You’ve really worked hard, right? You’ll graduate soon, too. I’ll wait for you to come.”

But the silver-haired girl’s tears wouldn’t stop.

The mini sprout reaper also cried along with the attached human, gently patting her cheek with its insubstantial hand.

*

Early in the morning, in the mini reaper garden.

Waking up, I started walking through marshmallow plains when messages began pouring in through the mini reaper network.

‘Human, healthy!’

‘No problems.’

‘Mom!’

This was the morning check-in from several mini reapers stationed along the East Coast and Japan after witnessing the “mysterious fog incident occurring around the Pacific Ocean” a few days ago.

Some just giggled or shouted ‘Mom!’ but it was all good.

If there were an actual problem, they would have communicated it.

The trouble lay elsewhere.

‘So annoying.’

‘Super annoying.’

‘There are way too many mini reapers to report…’

That was what had become unbearable for me.

Listening to the reports for five minutes every day and checking for missing mini reapers was getting too tedious.

After the grueling five minutes of report time passed, I collapsed right onto the marshmallow plains.

‘This is hard… I absolutely must not have reporting duties like this again.’

As I lay reflecting on past mistakes, I spotted the discolored reaper, now sturdier, flailing its limbs as it was doing something.

At first, I thought it was dancing, but upon closer inspection, it was practicing martial arts.

Well, it’s worse at handling its body than me.

Watching the discolored reaper train somehow warmed my heart.

There are kids worse than me!

Hehe.

Just as I chuckled inside, a strange sound caught my attention.

Kyuhiheehee.

It was the mocking laughter of the white hungry ghost, as it awkwardly imitated the discolored reaper’s flailing limbs.

The discolored reaper seemed to be too engrossed in training to notice, but the mini reapers watching from nearby didn’t feel the same.

‘Bad ghost!’

When mini reapers that had been hiding behind the marshmallow hill suddenly sprang into action, the white hungry ghost panicked and began fleeing wildly.

It was like hunting down a mammoth, as water-made spears flew through the air and a vine suddenly snared the white ghost.

As the white ghost staggered from the sudden assault, a ghost reaper fell from the sky to finish the job.

‘It’s a knife!!!!!!’

Then, the mini reapers tackled the white hungry ghost and started devouring it.

Kyuhinghing.

‘Maahhhh?’

At that moment, the discolored reaper approached, having heard the white hungry ghost’s cries, and looked curious.

The response from the mini reapers was unanimous.

‘Bad ghost!’

Hearing that reply, the discolored reaper nodded and trudged over, lying down using the ghost as a pillow.

As I observed the mini reapers caring for the discolored reaper better than expected, a sudden thought came to mind.

The “End of the Spiral,” where desires seeped out.

‘I should check on the place I sealed away now that I’m reminded of it.’

Thus, I headed toward the gray liquid, the “End of the Spiral,” filled with wishes.

*

5:40 AM.

The silver-haired girl awoke, as always, from the same dream at the same time.

“Hah.”

Unlike usual, she looked extremely drained and somewhat anxious.

“Will it be okay? It’ll be fine.”

The silver-haired girl tightly clenched the fruit from the mini sprout reaper and murmured.

Though she didn’t know why, gripping the fruit made her feel a little more at ease.

Having brushed away her anxious expression, she finished her morning preparations and slowly approached the door.

“Hoo.”

Taking a deep breath, she boldly opened the door.

What lay before her was…

A corridor dimmed by a flickering fluorescent light and an unpleasant smell of burning food.

Hah. Hah.

The girl’s eyes widened in shock, and she breathed heavily, as if struggling to catch her breath.

“Th-This can’t be happening.”

She felt as though she might faint at any moment.