Seoul Object Story

Chapter 425

As I shifted my gaze along the road, I saw the endless stretch of asphalt disappearing beyond the horizon.

On both sides of the road, a barren grassland spread out, with occasional small shrubs swaying in the wind.

The distant hills, shrouded in a hazy silhouette, seemed to meet the night sky, evoking a strange feeling, as if gazing upon the end of the world.

'It's colder than I thought.'

I felt the chill emanating from the asphalt beneath me, muttering to myself.

They say the desert nights are cold, so perhaps this desolate plain is similar.

An empty road, devoid of any passing cars, was filled with silence.

Occasionally, a strong wind blew, sending dust across the vacant road.

If it were daytime, this would surely look like a scene from a western movie…

I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.

Thud-thud.

Only the sound of my footsteps echoed in the silence.

As I walked, waiting for contact from the Mini Grim Reapers, I noticed a rusted road sign standing by the side of the road.

It was the only man-made object jutting out in this barren landscape.

I paused for a moment and looked up at the sign.

Since it was written in English, I couldn’t make out what it said.

From what I could infer based on the Mini Grim Reapers' locations, it seemed to be somewhere in America, but…

Looking up at the sky, I saw shimmering starlight and multicolored moonlight shining down on me.

Though it wasn’t as bright as daytime, the night sky sent enough light to illuminate my surroundings as I waited for the Mini Grim Reapers' contact.

'How soon will they find it…?'

I had mobilized all the available Mini Grim Reapers, so it wouldn’t be long before they found it.

'This Object… whatever it is, I’ll torment it by turning it into a snack.'

Just as I was letting my imagination run wild, I suddenly felt a call from the Green Grim Reaper.

'Mom! There's a strange Object here!'

Finally!

Given that it was the Green Grim Reaper’s call, I was certain they had found something.

Although there had been a few calls from the Golden Grim Reapers, they’d always reported suspicious but ultimately trivial things.

They had reported seeing a Magic Mirror, saying, "It appears on this side, but not on that side!" among other useless findings.

Of course, those Golden Grim Reapers who made such foolish reports had all been turned to dust.

With high expectations, I teleported to where the Green Grim Reaper was.

'…'

When I arrived, I saw a particularly dark-looking building, and in front of it, the Green Grim Reaper was waiting for me.

Although streetlights were brightly shining all around, the building seemed to be consumed by darkness, as if it were devouring the light.

'Mom! There's a strange life form!'

The Green Grim Reaper pointed out a life form that existed without substance or a body, simply existing in a strange way.

Indeed, after hearing the Green Grim Reaper’s words, the malicious presence I had felt earlier seemed to be the same thing.

'Well done.'

I patted the Green Grim Reaper’s head with a grateful heart.

The Green Grim Reaper beamed, as if having done its job, and waved goodbye to me. Then, as if busy, it returned to the Mini Grim Reaper garden.

I waved as I saw it off and slowly walked toward the building in question.

'…'

As soon as I stepped inside the building, a stifling smoke stung my nose.

It was a peculiar mix of iron scent and the faint smell of volatile gas.

It smelled like a gas lamp.

I definitely remembered having smelled this odor somewhere before.

Squeak. Squeak.

A small but unsettling sound shattered the silence.

As my feet hit the floor, the sound of creaking wood echoed through the building.

Passing through the hallway and entering the living room, two figures hanging by their necks came into view.

They were corpses, hanging, their bodies dried out like mummies, as if an Object had been involved in their preservation.

There were no signs of struggle, no suicide note, and nothing particularly odd.

It seemed as natural as someone waking up in the morning and casually hanging themselves.

I sensed the faint smell of a lamp and the foul odor of a harmful Object lingering in the air.

'It must have been a possession-type Object, possessing these people and causing them to commit suicide.'

Leaving the corpses of what appeared to be the owners of the house behind, I slowly made my way deeper into the building.

The darkness grew thicker, like a dungeon filled with evil.

Then, from somewhere, the ominous scent of the lamp wafted through the air.

At the end of the hallway was a door swallowed by the darkness.

<? ? ? ?'s Room.>

Every room in the house had nameplates that matched the furniture, but this door’s nameplate had its name scratched out as if by a fingernail.

As I grabbed the doorknob, a chill spread throughout my body.

It felt as though a breeze was blowing, and the darkness clinging to the door brushed against my skin.

Ignoring these ominous signs, I opened the door.

[Ugh!]

In that instant, a mass of smoke, resembling a mummified human form, lunged at me.

I quickly seized the space and pinned the smoke to the air.

'This is…'

The mass of smoke seemed like a ghost.

But it wasn’t a human ghost.

Though it may have been human once, there were no traces of humanity left in the smoke.

'You’re the one who tormented my children.'

With a fierce expression, I slowly, very slowly, began to tighten the space around it.

[!!!!]

The mass of smoke writhed in pain, but it couldn’t move in the space I held it in.

It was slowly dying in agony.

After tormenting the smoke for a long time until it was almost completely gone, I pressed it down with all my strength.

[Ugh....]

With what seemed like the expression of liberation, the smoke mass disappeared, and I sent a message.

'You won’t escape, even in death.'

I haven’t yet gotten back all the suffering you caused my Golden Grim Reapers.

The man opened his eyes.

It felt as if the cold chains that had wrapped around his body had disappeared.

Like a bird freed from heavy shackles, he inhaled deeply.

However, the air felt hollow, empty.

Looking around, he was surrounded by endless darkness.

There was nothing beneath his feet, and when he looked up, only a deep night sky with no stars greeted him.

But in this silent darkness, the man felt a rare sense of peace.

But in that moment, horrific memories surged in his mind.

Now freed from the lamp's chains, he had to confront all the sins he had committed.

The days when he borrowed other people's bodies to experience freedom, and the innocent lives he had stolen in exchange.

"How could I… do such a thing?"

His voice echoed in the void.

Regret and self-blame weighed heavily on his heart.

He realized.

The lamp's power was not just a poison that consumed people.

The moment he accepted the lamp, he had already ceased to be human.

He knelt and cupped his face in his hands.

Hot tears flowed down his cheeks.

He spent time in endless darkness, blaming himself.

"Ah, this must be hell..."

Would he forever be condemned to self-blame like this?

But the man thought that perhaps this was better.

He thought that this was his penance for all the people he had killed, including his parents.

At that moment, a warm sensation began to fill him, and a bright light slowly spread before his eyes.

At first, it was faint, but it grew stronger, pushing the darkness away.

When he looked up, light was spilling out from a rectangular space like a door.

The light looked so beautiful, so peaceful.

Curious, he peered through the gap and saw a world beyond.

Under a pastel-colored sky, the ground was filled with sweet-smelling earth and houses made of candy.

Birds made of sugar flew through the sky with clouds of meat, and flowers made of jelly swayed in the breeze.

It was a scene that seemed straight out of a fairy tale.

'Is that… heaven?'

He knew instinctively.

If he stepped through that gap, he could become a part of that peaceful world and live forever.

At that moment, something harmless appeared before him.

Pew.

The white being, round and cute, looked like a messenger from the land of fairies.

The white messenger kept urging him to hurry, repeatedly saying "Pew."

The man hesitated for a moment.

That world was so beautiful, and a desire to enter it grew within him.

But he shook his head.

'No. I don't deserve to go there.'

Recalling all the sins he had committed, he made his decision.

And slowly, he turned his body and began to walk back into the darkness.

'I must live here, forever atoning for my sins.'

His voice was resolute, but a sense of bitterness seeped into his heart.

But he thought this was the fate he deserved.

In that moment, something grabbed him strongly from behind.

Startled, he turned around and saw a pair of eyes burning with ominous yellow light, glaring at him from the darkness.

Those eyes were not human.

They were the gaze of something vast and terrifying, like a god.

'!'

The man, paralyzed by fear, tried to move, but he was already caught in those eyes.

Strangely, the moment he looked into those eyes, the fairy-tale world no longer looked like heaven.

'No…!'

The man shouted, but no sound came from his mouth.

No matter how hard he tried to resist, his body wouldn’t move, and overwhelming terror surged through him.

As he was dragged out through the gap, he realized something had gone horribly wrong.

Pew hee hee.

In the fading consciousness, a laugh that didn’t belong to the fairy-tale messenger echoed faintly.

The sky, stained black, was covered in endless darkness.

The moon was absent, and instead, the faint light of stars dotted the sky, casting eerie glows.

The stars flickered like the afterimage of an ancient presence, spreading a sinister energy.

With every breath, the sharp scent of petroleum pricked at the nose.

The stench was thick in the air, making everything dizzy.

The Second Junior, covering her nose and mouth with her hand, looked around.

The ground beneath her was dry and cracked, and dark liquid pooled in various places.

Standing on the edge of a cliff, she looked down.

The black liquid below seemed to writhe like a living creature, swaying with the momentum to rise up the cliff.

The liquid wasn’t just water; it was the "Evolution Liquid" that had consumed this planet.

The Second Junior had arrived in this ruined, blackened world to fulfill the Saint’s wish, reaching the highest peak of the mountain.

A cold wind brushed her skin, and a faint whisper echoed in her ears.

It sounded like the whispers of the starlight falling from the sky.

The landscape of this world, where the sky, earth, and air were consumed by darkness, weighed heavily on her heart.

'Can I find the jade tablet here?'

She sighed deeply and moved forward.

With every step, the dry earth cracked beneath her, and wherever she looked, the horizon of black liquid stretched endlessly.