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A city in Russia that was attacked by mechanical giants.

A man sat by the window, gazing at the shattered city beyond.

The once vibrant streets had transformed into a landscape of half-collapsed ruins due to the assault of the mechanical giants.

The scene outside looked like something out of a war movie.

Debris from the crumbled buildings was scattered across the road, and shards of broken glass sparkled in the sunlight on the asphalt.

The sidewalks, once crowded with people’s footsteps, were now filled with deep craters.

Flipped cars lay carelessly on the roadside, some completely smashed beyond recognition.

Yet, amid this thorough destruction, the city was still alive.

People in shabby safety vests were erecting temporary fences around the ruined buildings.

While the city’s spirit didn’t stop in the face of such a major event, what captured the man’s attention was something else.

Palm-sized mini reapers were bouncing around, following the construction workers.

They lifted tiny stones to help clean up the debris or closely observed the workers before mimicking their actions.

The mini reapers, like the humans next to them, were wearing safety vests and helmets, but it looked a bit out of place and made him chuckle.

“Where did those tiny clothes and helmets come from?”

The man muttered with a smile.

Just a few days ago, the people of this city had extreme animosity toward objects.

No wonder, as many had abandoned their hometowns because of an object called ‘The Moon of the Snowfield.’

However, the attack by the mechanical giants changed everything.

The sight of the mini reapers fighting selflessly to protect people moved many hearts.

The courage and spirit of sacrifice of the mini reapers, who spilled golden flames like blood, and above all, their cute appearance was enough to capture people’s hearts.

Turning away from the window to watch TV, similar stories had been playing for days.

It was about the mini reapers’ fierce battles happening across Russia.

This was quite an unusual event in Russia, which was extremely hostile towards objects.

“Looks like it won’t be long before we see golden reapers in commercials like in America…”

As he turned off the TV that had started airing commercials and got up, a golden reaper sitting next to him caught his eye.

The golden reaper, perhaps imitating him, was wearing glasses and holding a mini book it had somehow acquired.

Moreover, the golden reaper had a frown, its mouth tightly shut, and was leaning awkwardly in its chair.

“Could it be that you’re copying me?”

If someone were to imitate him, most would feel annoyed, but the man couldn’t help but smile.

“That book is upside down.”

He pinched the golden reaper’s chubby cheek and turned the book around.

‘?’

The golden reaper formed a question mark with its hair, tilted its head, then gave up pondering and smiled brightly at the man.

‘Human!’

It looked like a puppy jumping in to play.

*

On a scorching afternoon with hot sunlight pouring down onto the asphalt, the parking lot in front of Sehee Research Institute.

Feeling a bit bored, I wandered around until I was drawn outside by a loud commotion, only to stumble upon an unexpected sight.

The parking lot, usually crammed with cars of visitors to the institute, was filled with a vibrant scene unlike any other.

A colorful temporary structure occupied the middle of the parking lot.

This makeshift building, adorned with shining silver panels, completely altered the surrounding atmosphere just by existing.

In front of the temporary structure was a large LED screen continuously displaying images of the colorful mini reapers.

Above the entrance to the structure, a large and colorful banner fluttered in the wind.

It read, <1st Mini Reaper Fashion Show at Sehee Research Institute> in sparkling golden letters, decorated with the silhouettes of mini reapers around it.

Below the banner, a red carpet was laid down, creating an illusion of being at a Hollywood awards ceremony.

‘Looks like Sehee is up to something unusual again…’

A fashion show?

It was an unexpected event, but thinking from the perspective of the institute, it didn’t seem bad at all.

It surprisingly sounded like it could bring in some money.

The only concern was that Yerin would likely want to dress me up…

How she even found out about this fashion show was a mystery, but people were flooding in like a tide.

“Mom! Mom!”

And those people were accompanied by numerous mini reapers.

A black reaper dressed in a head dress and maid outfit.

A golden reaper sitting in a cat cage while donned in a flamboyant dress.

Even a person dressed in the same outfit as their attached reaper, hugging their attached reaper.

A truly diverse array of people were entering.

On both sides of the passageway leading to the event entrance, booths selling various snacks were set up, attacking the wallets of the attached humans.

“Human! That looks tasty!”

“Thank you, human!”

“Hehe.”

Although humans couldn’t understand the intentions of the mini reapers, there was no attached human who wouldn’t buy a snack if they pointed with a cheerful expression.

From the pricey special treats sold at Sehee Research Institute to toys favored by the mini reapers.

It felt like I could hear the sound of Sehee Research Institute becoming wealthy.

But still, it seemed like a place where everyone looked happy.

It was filled with the laughter of humans and the cheerful spirits of the giggling mini reapers.

As I entered the temporary structure, I was welcomed by slightly dim lighting and a cool temperature.

“Oh.”

And in the center.

Mini reapers were wandering down a long runway.

Of course, expecting a mini reaper to carry out poses or model walks was a bit much, so the mini reapers were simply standing on white hungry ghosts striking poses.

The ones doing the actual model walking were the white hungry ghosts.

The white hungry ghosts gracefully strode forward, extending their elongated feet while dressed in various clothes.

It was amusing to watch the mini reapers in different outfits, and I kept watching when an unexpected mini reaper appeared on the runway.

‘!’

It was an orange reaper that looked slightly pouty.

The orange reaper was wearing a red cheongsam dress, exuding a completely different vibe from the other mini reapers.

While the other mini reapers felt like cute babies or pets at a fashion show.

I wondered, was there another human who had taken the orange reaper as their attached reaper?

The orange reaper seemed to hardly make attached humans, so it must have happened while I wasn’t looking.

As the orange reaper stood on the white hungry ghost and exited the runway, a sudden curiosity emerged.

If I fused with the orange reaper, could I become like that too?

Hmm.

Not that I particularly envied it, but I was indeed curious.

*

James, wearing a Mental Pollution Prevention Helmet, stepped into the dark temple, and the golden reaper on his shoulder jumped up, landing on top of his head.

‘Light!’

Then it spread its arms like celebrating and emitted light like a flashlight.

With that, the mini reapers of the staff began to emit light in their own ways.

The place where James entered was a long corridor made of various colored jades.

The walls were filled with numerous representations of external beings created with colorful jade.

These depictions were not just simple pictures, but they created an illusion of being alive and moving.

An external being depicted in red jade resembled a fog-like monster that seemed to breathe, giving off a feeling of being inside a mist.

Next to it was an external being formed by black and white jades, forming an optical illusion that appeared to change positions as one gazed upon it.

“Is this it? The external being that caused the Pacific incident…?”

In the place James’s gaze stopped, there was a gigantic external being made of blue jade.

It seemed to cover the entire sea with its own body, with intricately tangled patterns resembling spider silk woven over it.

Beyond that spider silk were thousands of eyes carved into it, each one seemingly pursuing James.

As James slowly walked through this corridor, he couldn’t help but feel awe alongside an unsettling sense of anxiety.

To weave together all sorts of colors in jade to create such a chilling yet captivating mural.

Every time he passed in front of the wall for each mural that filled the corridor, James could feel strange emotions surging within him.

It was a mix of fear and an inexplicable attraction.

Just like a mental pollution object, it felt like it was gradually eroding his mind.

“There are no mental pollution levels.”

One of the staff, holding the same questions as James, measured the mental pollution levels, but interestingly, there was none.

‘…’

As he stepped out of the corridor, a very spacious area appeared.

It was a strange space that seemed broader than the temple’s exterior.

“Could that be the king or the god of the ‘external beings’?”

Immediately upon exiting the corridor, a gigantic statue occupied the wall.

It was a sculpture made of jade, positioned in what seemed like the most important spot.

A gray giant with its eyes closed, as if in slumber.

Yet unlike the external beings he had passed so far, its appearance looked quite normal, resembling an ordinary human.

‘It appears overly normal compared to the other external beings, which makes it suspicious.’

But as he cautiously approached for closer inspection, that ordinary impression completely disappeared.

It was a statue where all sorts of jades were densely embedded, creating a color-swirled gray.

On its surface, all kinds of living and inanimate objects, and geometrical shapes were chaotically entangled.

Amid that chaotic tangle, faint letters could be seen.

Those letters seemed like prophecies about the future, or tales of apocalypse and salvation.

The longer James tried to read the faintly scrawled letters, the more dizzy he became.

As James shook his head vigorously, the letters vanished without a trace.

“Was it an optical illusion?”

Just like the murals, there were no mental pollution levels detected.

The moment James snapped a photo of the statue causing dire optical illusions, the golden reaper above James’s head began to run off somewhere.

‘There’s something!’

Following after the golden reaper, James was able to reach a hidden room behind the statue.

A very narrow space.

In the center floated a black orb.

On the floor, black liquid sloshed up and down.

James flinched at the sight of the black liquid but soon relaxed and began to observe.

‘This doesn’t seem like… evolution liquid.’

The black liquid looked highly suspicious, but it didn’t have the distinctive petroleum smell of evolution liquid.

The golden reaper squatted before the black liquid, wearing a worried expression.

After passing by the golden reaper, James moved closer to the orb.

And the moment he looked at the orb, the helmet split in half.

‘What is this?’

An endless universe filled his vision.

A universe full of truths of every color.

A vivid palette of knowledge that could protect humanity.

And at the center were numerous frog faces.

At that moment, the golden reaper dashed toward James covering his eyes with its hands.

‘Don’t look!’