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In the middle of an endless snowfield where blizzards whirled, the city of “Frost” stood tall like the last lighthouse left standing.

A massive steam tower rose sharply into the gray sky at the center of the city, surrounded by buildings made of brass and steel, tightly packed together.

The gray-haired chairperson, looking as white as the snow, leaned against the railing of a tall building and gazed down at the city.

The winter gear draped over his tattered suit barely shielded him from the biting cold.

He let out a deep sigh.

His breath turned into a white mist and vanished in the cold air.

“I can’t see any way out.”

His voice mixed with fatigue and despair.

He felt a sense of powerlessness, as if walking through endless darkness.

Frost had survived this long purely by sheer luck.

The chairperson knew that better than anyone.

If someone were to make a movie about Frost’s history, or rather about the chairperson’s life story, it would seem too contrived and unrealistic.

But that was the reality.

The global chaos caused by the object phenomenon, combined with the sudden drop in temperatures of the polar regions.

The land where the chairperson lived had been buried under endless snowfields, turning it into a death zone where humans could no longer survive.

The “Moon of the Snowfield” had wiped out all humanity in the polar regions.

However, miraculously, the place where the group of survivors led by the chairperson was located was one of the few safe zones not affected by the “Moon of the Snowfield.”

That was the first stroke of luck.

Just as their stored fuel was running low, they stumbled upon an abandoned oil drilling facility.

They were able to settle there and lay the foundation for the city.

That was the second stroke of luck.

What was even more astonishing was that the group of survivors led by the chairperson happened to include a considerable number of skilled technicians.

Without their knowledge and skills, Frost could never have formed into what it was today.

That was the third stroke of luck.

Just as they began to feel the limits of relying only on oil, they accidentally discovered the object known as “Blue Coal.”

This special fuel source breathed new life into Frost.

That was the fourth stroke of luck.

When an unknown object phenomenon began to damage internal combustion engines, the chairperson once again fortuitously acquired an object called “Mechanical Heart.”

Using this object, he built a massive steam tower for the city and breathed life back into its machines.

That was the fifth stroke of luck.

The chairperson looked back on all of this with a bitter smile.

Frost had managed to survive until now with a series of coincidences and good luck.

But now that luck had run out.

As the chairperson looked up at the sky, black smoke was staining the sky a deep gray.

The sky over Frost was as always a dark ash gray.

But today, it felt heavier than ever.

The chairperson sighed deeply as he looked out at the desolate landscape.

“It must all be my incompetence.”

His voice was laced with deep self-deprecation and resignation.

The luck that had once been seen as the salvation of Frost was now gradually eating away at the city.

Ironically, the very foundations that built the city were now hastening its downfall.

This place that evaded the “Moon of the Snowfield” was now practically isolated from the world.

They could not interact because of the “Moon of the Snowfield.”

Once seen as the saviors of the city, the oil technicians were now the council members wielding power.

They had shut the chairperson’s eyes and ears, blocking communication with the outside.

And in pursuit of their own interests, they squandered the city’s resources and pushed unnecessary policies.

The chairperson’s authority had long been rendered powerless.

The discovery of Blue Coal, which had initially been considered a blessing, had now turned into a curse.

The residents of the city were trapped in an endless cycle of labor for survival, driven into the mines.

The Mechanical Heart was the city’s lifeline but also a shackle.

Frost, now dependent on this object, could not dream of any further improvement or expansion.

The city was stagnant, and stagnation soon meant decline.

The chairperson turned his head to look heavily at the reports piled on his desk.

The temperatures surrounding the city were dropping daily.

Production of fuel was sufficient, but the rate of consumption was increasing even faster.

At this rate, they would soon face an energy shortage.

And the greatest threat was looming.

According to the latest report from the observation team, an unprecedented massive blizzard was heading towards Frost.

If this storm engulfed the city, it would face yet another trial.

A terrible ordeal was approaching.

But even as he tried to prepare, the council members who should be leading the city seemed oblivious to this dire crisis.

More production, more exploitation, more luxury, more power.

Those were all they cared about.

In fact, it was revealed that ever since the “Moon of the Snowfield” disappeared, they had shamelessly been burning Blue Coal, which was vital to the lives of citizens, and engaging in periodic smuggling.

Ironically, the chairperson realized only then that the “Moon of the Snowfield” had vanished.

“It was utterly ridiculous….”

The landscape of the city seen beyond the railing still appeared grand.

The smoke billowing from the massive steam tower, the buildings filled with lights, the bustling people.

But to the chairperson’s eyes, all of it looked like a prison.

In his hand, he held a note that he had secretly asked to investigate without the council’s knowledge.

[Large-scale transportation plan: Impossible.]

[The stored Blue Coal can only transport about 10% of the city's population.]

The chairperson squeezed his eyes shut.

His lips moved faintly.

As if in prayer, he whispered.

“Please… just one more time… may we still have a bit of luck….”

But there seemed to be no place for his prayer to reach.

The sky over Frost remained ashen gray, and the sound of the wind wafting from afar ominously echoed like the prelude to a great storm.

*

As the ash-gray sky slowly brightened at dawn, the outskirts of the city of Frost remained engulfed in frozen silence.

A faint beam of light began to seep through the abandoned facilities farthest from the giant steam tower.

There was a slight stir of life in the desolate landscape.

People awakened to the dawn light began to appear one by one between the old buildings.

Their breath rose like white mist in the cold air.

Though shivering from the cold, their hands moved skillfully.

Today, the daily struggle for survival was beginning once again.

“Come on, light the fire. It’s colder today than yesterday.”

A middle-aged man shouted to the people gathered around a rusty drum.

As the blue ore was piled into the drum, warmth began to spread around.

Attracted by the heat, more people gathered closer.

“Here are some beans and vegetables I brought.”

A young woman appeared, carrying a large bag.

Her face looked weary, but her eyes remained warm.

“Thank you. If it weren’t for you, we all would have starved to death.”

A large pot was placed on the fire, and in it went the beans, vegetables, and ice cubes in turn.

Thud. Thud.

The sounds of beans and ice hitting the bottom of the pot echoed in the open lot.

“Thank goodness we have someone working in the greenhouse….”

An old man muttered with a heavy sigh.

Everyone nodded, as if they understood his words.

Finding food in Frost was becoming increasingly difficult.

As the soup began to boil, a subtle aroma filled the air.

At that moment, a man looked around anxiously.

“Are the kids still not out? Someone go check on them.”

This small community consisted of a few orphans and the adults who cared for them.

They had gathered to provide at least a minimal amount of food for children too young to mine Blue Coal and survive on their own.

Suddenly, a scream echoed from a corner of the facility.

“We’re in trouble! A child has collapsed!”

In an instant, people rushed over.

Someone brought a blanket, and another began to ladle warm food into bowls.

As they carefully moved the collapsed boy onto a blanket, worried voices were exchanged.

“We need to feed him well during times like this….”

“I heard the greenhouse conditions have been bad lately. They need more Blue Coal to maintain the temperature.”

As they fed the pale-faced boy bit by bit, his color slowly began to return.

At that moment, a man looked around and asked.

“By the way, I don’t see that red-haired kid?”

The man anxiously glanced around.

His voice carried an unmistakable tinge of anxiety.

No wonder, as last night had been exceptionally cold.

“I’ll go look for him.”

The man said this to those around him and set out to find the coral-colored girl.

He carefully climbed up the crumbling building and arrived at the front of the abandoned steam engine room.

The moment he grabbed the rusty doorknob, he sensed something was off.

The metal that should be cold was lukewarm.

As soon as he opened the door, the man widened his eyes in surprise.

Warmth enveloped him.

The forgotten warmth spread throughout his body.

“What the….”

In Frost, one could rarely feel such warmth.

The city was always cold and desolate.

But here, this abandoned engine room felt like another world.

As the man stepped inside the engine room, an astonishing sight unfolded before his eyes.

The coral-colored girl he had been searching for was sitting in the center of the room, but she wasn’t alone.

In front of the coral-colored girl was an unidentified object.

It looked like a living flame, or perhaps a fairy.

The girl’s face bore a blissful smile the man had never seen before.

She looked like she met a long-awaited friend.

The red object was enjoying her touch, wearing a joyful expression.

The man stood speechless for a moment.

He couldn’t tell if this scene was real or an illusion conjured by the intense cold of Frost.

“Ahjussi?”

At that moment, the girl turned her head and looked at him.

“Ahjussi, look! This is my new friend. Now we won’t be cold anymore!”

The girl held the red object in her palm, smiling brightly.

*

In the depths of the Mini Reaper Garden, within the Golden Reaper Conference Hall.

I sat on a marshmallow, watching the meeting unfold.

“Oh no!”

As the vote concluded and his proposal was discarded, a Golden Reaper sprawled on the floor with a sad expression.

I poked the fallen Golden Reaper’s belly.

Hehe.

I enjoyed the squishy belly of the Golden Reaper while continuing to watch the meeting.

The proposal he had made was to create a giant pudding the size of a building.

Many Golden Reapers found it interesting, but ultimately it was dismissed due to opposition from other Mini Reapers.

After the number of Black Reapers participating in the meeting increased, it seemed that more practical proposals began to come up.

They even established a sign for Mini Reapers and created laws regarding Attached Humans and Attached Reapers.

Seeing that, I had a feeling the name of the conference would change soon.

Perhaps something like “Mini Reaper Conference”?

“Oh no! My cookie!”

“Ah no!!”

Feeling that I had sufficiently acknowledged the disgruntled Golden Reaper’s spirit, I stood up and headed to the Sehee Research Institute.

‘….’

As I made my way to the courtyard, the Sehee Research Institute employees were watching the TV placed in the courtyard with a serious expression that didn’t quite fit.

“?”

When I turned my gaze, special news reports were playing on the TV screen.

[Hello, this is Object News.]

[A powerful blizzard originating from the Arctic is moving southward towards the Korean Peninsula.]

On the TV screen, the blizzard looked like the side flesh of a white hungry ghost, slowly approaching the camera.

[This weather anomaly is believed to be not merely a natural phenomenon but an object phenomenon.]

[Accordingly, the Korean Object Association has requested cooperation from the James Research Institute and the American Object Association.]

[Some research institutions have stated that the intensity of this cold wave is nearly on par with an object known as “Ice Throne of Dobong-gu.”]

[Detailed precautions and additional information will be provided in the following news reports.]

[We urge the viewers to pay special attention.]

The news was that harmful objects had reappeared for the Sehee Research Institute and Yerin.

I felt vaguely bad, and glared at the TV screen with a fierce expression.