On the outer walls of the colossal tower,countless narrow slots were carved deep into the surface.Through each opening, Triple-Time Resonance units streamed in without pause,drawn by a single objective—to back up the records of humanity on Earth.

  Once the process was complete,they launched themselves straight back toward Earth,shooting away like arrows loosed from a bow.

  Awakening Day.A cycle that returns every sixty days.

  Whenever it arrived,the backup facility plunged into chaos.

  The massive monitors lining the control room offered no relief.As backup data converted into real-time statistics,streams of light and numbers flooded the screens without rest.

  After watching in silence,Captain Agnes of the Audit Division finally spoke,her voice low and steady.

  “Confirm that all human backup data managed by the Earth Branchis being routed exclusively through this facility.Check for any external storage—anything distributed elsewhere.”

  The moment the order landed,Agent Agatha answered sharplyand sprinted out of the hall.

  Agnes didn’t hesitate.

  “Verify that the total number of souls suppliedmatches the number of Triple-Time Resonance units entering the system.”

  “Yes, ma’am!”Agent Helena snapped back, already moving.

  Outside the tower,Agnes watched in silenceas streams of Triple-Time Resonance surged skyward without end.

  Decision settled,she turned awayand left the building.

  Beyond the backup complex,she paused and lifted her eyes to the sky.

  Starlight spilled down,washing over her like a quiet cascade.

  Agnes rose gently into the air,heading toward the Department of Soul Reincarnationon Titan’s far side.

  She passed through the upper atmosphere,then above the clouds,where the mist stretched beneath her—soft, calm, like a tranquil sea.

  She shifted her posture, almost reclining,and began to glide.

  Each time her long hair brushed the flowing clouds,a faint glow rippled outward,spreading in delicate waves.

  Normally,the Department of Soul Reincarnation was less than a second away.

  But not today.

  She needed time.Time to stop.Time to think.

  Slowing her pace,Agnes drifted across the serene skiesof Titan’s Heaven.

  Below her, mist slid past,and within it, scattered souls rested quietly.Spaced far apart,they looked peaceful.Free.

  This was the sky above Heaven itself.

  Agnes had lived here once—for a long time.

  Then, by her own choice,she volunteered for the Audit Divisionand left it behind.

  Her current assignment:a special audit of the Earth Branch.Her fifth.

  Looking down at Titan’s tranquil landscape,Agnes drew a deep breath.

  She rolled her shoulders,shifting her flight pathfrom downwardto upward.

  Beyond Titan’s sky,the black vastness of space opened before her.

  Fragments of starlight—shattered, scattered—slipped one by one into her brown eyes.

  The cold glow of the cosmos brightened her vision,stirring something deep within her,like memories long buried.

  Then, slowly,a massive planet emerged from the darkness.

  Its rings shimmered as they turned,unfolding with deliberate grace—layers of light locked togetherin flawless precision.

  Saturn’s rings were not mere structures.They were a vast design,formed from stacked layersof time and order itself.

  Light flowed along them,sending subtle ripples outward—ripples that pulled at her breath,her gaze.

  Agnes stopped breathing.

  As always,the awe threatening to rise at the universe’s mysterieshad to be pressed back down,swallowed behind closed lips.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Containing her emotionswas simply how she lived.

  But this moment—this one—was different.

  The pressure of Awakening Day.The weight of command.

  For a brief instant,both slipped from her shoulders.

  Gazing into the silent sprawl of space,Agnes allowed herself—just for a moment—to be free.

  Beyond Saturn’s rings,a small planet tinged with bluequietly entered her view.

  It wasn’t bright.It wasn’t loud.

  It simply existed—steady, patient, glowing.

  A light that kept travelers from losing their way,even in darkness.

  Cold, yet warm.Unfamiliar,yet deeply familiar.

  In the solar system,the most beautiful—and the most fragile—existence.

  Earth.

  On every other world she had audited,Heaven was overcrowded,packed with incoming souls.

  But Earth was different.

  Perhaps that was whythe Heaven of Reapers Inc., Earth Branchhad been built on a planetlarger even than Hell itself.

  At least,that was Agnes’s conclusion.

  Yet unease lingered.

  What was wrong with Earth?

  Why was it only on this planetthat murder and conflict,hatred and resentment,repeated themselves without end?

  Why were Earth’s souls aloneso deeply twisted?

  Drifting above Titan,cutting across the heart of the cosmos,Agnes carried those questions with her—

  alone,lost in silent contemplation.

  ------

  Early Sunday morning on Earth,Yoon-jeong’s voice carried through the house.

  “Honey! Wake Dahye up—now!If we don’t get her up right now, we’ll be late for church!”

  Every Sunday, without fail,the same war broke out.The never-ending Operation: Wake Dahyewas officially underway once again.

  After diving into YouTube until three in the morning the night before,Dahye wasn’t really asleep—her soul had already checked out.

  Gyeong-su stood outside his daughter’s bedroom doorand knocked lightly.

  “Hello?Anyone home?You alive in there?”

  There wasn’t so much as a twitch.

  After a brief hesitation,he opened the door, stepped inside,and yanked the thick curtains wide open.

  Sunlight flooded the room without mercy.

  “Hey. Wake up.If you don’t get up right now,I’m going to the district officeto file your death certificate. Got it?”

  Still, Dahye didn’t move.

  Gyeong-su sighed once,then ripped the blanket off in one clean motion.

  And then—

  The sole of her foot.With his fingers.Very slowly.

  Swipe.

  “Ugh—what the hell?!I’m exhausted!Just let me sleep!”

  Dahye shouted,then yanked the blanket back over her head,cutting off the world again.

  But today,Gyeong-su was acting under direct orders.Retreat was not an option.

  He let the silence hang,then finally played his hidden card.

  “Dahye…walking into your room just nowkind of brought back some memories.”

  A pause.

  “Why does it smell like your uncle in here?You know—the one who passed away.Is he… sleeping here or something?”

  Gyeong-su glanced around the room on purpose,nodding to himself.

  “Yeah.Definitely smells like an old guy.”

  He was quietly congratulating himself when—

  “What did you just say?!”

  Dahye shot upright, fury flashing across her face.

  “You walk into a young woman’s roomon a Sunday morning and say that?!Uncle smell?!Are you serious?!This is unbelievable!”

  Before she could say anything else,she kicked the blanket aside,jumped out of bed,and bolted for the bathroom.

  Dahye knew better.If she pushed things any further,Mom would come in personally.

  And that—was scarier than any horror movie.

  In the end,she retreated voluntarilyto the bathroom.

  An hour later—

  “Hey!Are you sleeping in there?!Get out here and eat!”

  After setting the table and waiting,Yoon-jeong’s patience was wearing thin.

  That was when Gyeong-su—who had been quietly watching from the sidelines—spoke up, carefully.

  “I mean…we could go to the evening Mass, right?Do we really have to wake her up like this?”

  He paused, choosing his words,then added—as if squeezing out every last bit of courage.

  “Dahye’s an adult now.Isn’t telling her what to do all the timea bit much?”

  The moment the words left his mouth,Gyeong-su knew.

  Under normal circumstances,this was exactly the kind of thinghe would never say out loud.

  The thought of Yoon-jeong’s temperexploding right theremade his stomach twist.

  And he knew—he was the only one feeling it.

  Yoon-jeong snapped the pot lid shut with a sharp clack.

  “Today,I’m going to the eleven o’clock Masswith Hyeon-pil’s mom.”

  The words hit.

  Gyeong-su nearly jumped out of his chair.

  “What?!Since when are you two in touch?Did you… call her?”

  Yoon-jeong didn’t even blink.

  “Last Tuesday.I took the afternoon off and stopped by a café.You hadn’t been eating all week,and you didn’t come home for two days.”

  As she continued tidying up,her voice remained calm.

  “Calling felt awkward,so I went to see her in person.I was curiouswhether Hyeon-pil was getting home properly.”

  A brief pause.

  “Well.Since I was already there,we talked for a bit.”

  That was when—

  The bathroom door opened with a soft hiss.

  Like an immortal stepping out of the mist,Dahye emerged slowly,a towel wrapped around her head.

  “Mom…do you really have to invite someone you just metto go to church with you?You’re honestly impressive.”

  Yoon-jeong’s familyhad been Catholic for generations.So wherever she went,church naturally found its way into the conversation.

  That day was no exception.

  At the café—

  the moment Hyo-jeong noticedthe rosary ring on Yoon-jeong’s finger,she spoke first.

  “Hey…do you go to church, by any chance?”

  Hyo-jeong wanted to close the distance.To lower the wall, even a little.

  And when her eyes landed on the ring,she saw her opening.

  A point of connection.Something Yoon-jeong would respond to.

  She didn’t let it pass.