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The Golden Reaper looked out the window with a worried expression.

Outside, there was the endless darkness that haunted every night.

However, unlike before, no matter how long he waited, morning did not come.

It was truly an eternal night.

The Purple Girl hadn’t eaten for several days, but she didn’t seem to be in bad condition.

However, worryingly, her sleeping hours were gradually increasing.

At this rate, it felt like the Attached Human might fall into an eternal slumber.

‘I need to do something.’

The Golden Reaper vowed as he looked down at the Purple Girl slowly waking from her sleep.

*

Before long, the Purple Girl found herself in a dream.

In the dream, the sound of a girl laughing echoed brightly as she ran on the well-manicured green lawn.

It was a garden so familiar to the Purple Girl.

A garden that was tended by numerous colorful Guardians, a place she visited every day.

Time seemed to fly in the dream, and soon the dream girl was practicing alchemy with a bright smile on her face.

Opening thick alchemical books, it was serious work as she infused her wishes into the potion and burned it.

Whenever she got tired of alchemy, a giant Guardian would show up, lift her onto its back, and run joyously through the garden.

This giant Guardian was something she had never seen even in her mansion filled with Guardians.

Dressed in a long robe that seemed out of place like an alchemist, it looked a bit ridiculous.

After taking a lap around the garden, the girl settled down on the fluffy grass.

Then, red, blue, yellow…

Guardians of all colors gathered around her to spend time with her.

They shared delicious sandwiches and refreshing drinks, as if they were enjoying a delightful picnic.

‘How envious…’

There were such friendly and cute Guardians…

It was a scene she could never witness in her mansion.

For the Guardians wandering around her mansion were like emotionless machines, silently performing their given tasks.

‘…’

The Purple Girl gazed wistfully at the happy dream girl.

Just watching filled her heart with warmth and satisfaction, but strangely, an inexplicable emptiness and sadness also seeped in.

Carrying these conflicting emotions, the girl began to slowly awaken.

Memories of the dream scattered like grains of sand, sinking deep into her heart.

“Umm…”

Rubbing her eyes awake, she felt like she had dreamt something important.

But the reason for it eluded her, leaving only a hollow feeling behind.

‘Human!’

Turning her gaze, she saw a tiny golden friend hopping up to look at her.

To soothe her emptiness, the Purple Girl lifted the worried little friend close to her face and hugged him tightly.

Then, the scent reminiscent of the sun warmed her empty heart.

It was a fragrance that matched so well with her friend, who always smiled bright like the sun.

The girl gazed outside at the darkness that continued to drown the window, where the sun had yet to rise.

*

At lunchtime, warm sunlight illuminated the courtyard of the Sehee Research Institute.

Having escaped the Attached Reaper of the Helmet Researcher, I sat on the rooftop of the Sehee Research Institute, observing the Saintess Doll.

A playful picnic was unfolding in one corner of the garden filled with Mini Reapers.

It was a picnic involving the Saintess Doll, the Lead Doll, and the Mini Reapers.

On a white mat, the Saintess Doll and Lead Doll sat demurely, surrounded by colorful Mini Reapers gathering around them.

‘The Saintess Doll and Lead Doll seem quite close.’

The Lead Doll was kind to all Mini Reapers and even the Hungry Ghosts but seemed to show a special interest towards the Saintess Doll.

The Lead Doll was constantly looking for opportunities to pet the Saintess Doll, but she would shyly refuse every time.

And each time she rejected him, the Lead Doll’s expression turned a bit gloomy, which was amusing.

They hadn’t known each other long, yet he showed that much interest…

It looked like the relationship between an Attached Human and an Attached Reaper.

‘Mommy!’

As I watched the Saintess Doll enjoy her picnic, the Golden Reapers came rushing over and began poking me.

‘Mom, it’s a big deal!’

When I turned toward the kids, the Golden Reapers started sending their wills at me with shocked expressions, each trying to convey something urgent.

‘The Golden Reaper is sick!’

‘He might die!’

‘He won’t wake up!’

Hmm.

However, I sighed a bit lazily and stood up, following the guidance of the Golden Reapers.

There were several reasons for this.

First, my senses weren’t signaling any danger.

If one of my kids was truly in danger, I should feel at least a hint of anxiety.

Second, the Golden Reapers had come directly to get me.

If it truly was an emergency, they would have called out with strong wills through the network.

This meant the Golden Reapers thought it wasn’t that big a deal.

In other words, it could also mean that they thought it would just be a nuisance to call me.

Arriving precisely where the Golden Reapers led me, I found myself in the middle of Seoul Forest.

The golden sunlight was gently fractured and fell on the leaves beneath the tree shade.

The Golden Reaper who was said to be sick lay sleeping underneath it.

And surrounding the Golden Reaper, those Golden Reapers were lined up, taking turns relentlessly pummeling his plump cheeks.

Poke poke.

It could be considered a scene of group bullying, but despite all their efforts, the sleeping Golden Reaper didn’t wake up.

‘What should I do…?’

‘A terminal illness…?’

The Golden Reapers’ initially confident expressions transformed into worried frowns when they realized he wouldn’t wake up no matter how hard they tried.

Those worried Golden Reapers spotted me and ran towards me, shouting, ‘Mom!’

I gently patted the heads of the Golden Reapers before placing the sleeping Golden Reaper on my palm.

‘It doesn’t seem to be an illness…’

Upon checking, I noticed the Golden Reaper’s consciousness was drifting somewhere.

I could forcibly wake him with my ability, but I felt that I shouldn’t…

*

Creak.

The Purple Girl slowly opened the door along with the Golden Reaper.

As the noise of gnashing teeth and scratching at the door faded away, an uncomfortably quiet stillness settled in.

She felt a bit nervous, thinking she was breaking the rules, but the moment the door opened, such thoughts washed away.

“Friend…”

The corridor was filled with darkness, yet it didn’t appear so to her.

In her eyes, she saw a yellow Guardian wiggling its bottom as it walked in the shadows.

A Guardian who loved flowers and tended to the flowerbeds.

“I used to be friends…”

Forgetting the dangerous situation, the girl walked down the corridor.

In the depths of the corridor’s shadows lay forgotten memories.

No, the shadows must have settled in the places where memories resided.

Memories the girl had wanted to forget, memories she hadn’t wanted to remember.

Guardians who felt like friends.

But with time passing, those friends had turned into empty dolls.

“Why did I forget you all…?”

The girl murmured as she gazed at the corridor filled with memories.

As she collected her memories like that, she slowly made her way toward the study.

The red Guardian who was a fantastic cook.

The blue Guardian who would always hide as a stone in the garden during tag.

And many other precious memories with Guardians.

They were friends so treasured that it felt regretful not being able to embrace them due to their heaviness…

After passing through the entire corridor, the girl slowly opened the door to the study, the place cloaked in the deepest darkness.

Swoosh.

The door opened smoothly, so much so that you wouldn’t believe it hadn’t been opened for a long time.

At that moment, a picture that had been resting on the desk fluttered down.

When the Purple Girl picked it up and checked, it was a drawing of a large white Guardian alongside Guardians of various colors.

‘!’

*

When the Purple Girl arrived in the study and picked up the picture to examine it, she suddenly vanished without a trace.

‘!!!’

The Golden Reaper was startled and looked around, but the Purple Girl was nowhere to be seen.

‘Human… Where are you…?’

As I wandered the study with a sad face, the resonance of magic I had heard once floated into my ears.

[Just a little closer.]

The Golden Reaper began to slowly approach the voice, which seemed to be the cause of the Attached Human’s disappearance.

As he neared the edge of the darkness, a presence buried in the study’s shadows began to come into view.

It was smaller than the white Hungry Ghost in the Mini Reaper Garden but considerably large.

However, there lay a white Hungry Ghost partially melted into a black liquid.