[Seoul – One Week After the Fall of the Gods]
The World Tree still stood in the center of Seoul,roots glowing faintly, leaves humming with residual code.But the sky above it was cracked — spiderwebbed with faint red fissures that bled light whenever the wind blew.
The cracks hadn't closed since the failed manifestation.Monsters still poured out occasionally, though the humans had learned to respond faster than before.After all, when even the gods were on your side, how bad could it get?
Apparently, very bad.
[The Architects' New Reality — 09:00 AM, Safe Zone HQ]
"We're late," Balance muttered, slamming a hand on the broken alarm clock."We're mortal," Entropy replied. "Late is our new divine right.""Breakfast shift starts in ten minutes," Faith said, tightening her apron. "They'll dock our food rations again if we're not there."
Yes — the once-omnipotent Architects of the System now lived like refugees, their powers reduced to faint glimmers.
Faith ran the healing tents.
Order worked logistics, trying to make inventory lists that refused to stay alphabetized.
Balance oversaw the defense training drills.
Entropy fixed things — mostly broken radios and people's morale.
And every morning, their bickering was loud enough to make even the soldiers salute from a distance.
"Where's Observer?" Order growled.
"He doesn't clock in," Balance said bitterly. "Claims he's 'above paperwork.'"
"He's above everything," Entropy said, sipping coffee that shouldn't have existed. "I think he steals from the dream realm. Beans taste like nightmares."
As if on cue, the Observer appeared — upside down, floating mid-air, reading a comic book titled 'Mortal Problems for Dummies.'
"Morning, colleagues," he said brightly. "How's humanity treating you?""Like a hangover," Faith said."Ah, that's progress."
He landed gracefully, brushing imaginary dust off his coat.
"Good news! The monster frequency dropped by three percent last night. Bad news — there's a new portal forming under a karaoke bar."
"Under what?""Oh, don't worry. I sent Order to check it. He's tone-deaf — the monsters will retreat naturally."
Order threw a cup at him. It went through his head.
[Meanwhile – Yurina Kaito's Quarters]
The night had been restless.
Yurina hadn't slept properly since the battle.Her dreams were full of echoes — a name she couldn't place, a life she couldn't remember, and a tree that called her back.
She sat up, drenched in sweat, the room faintly glowing from her barrier rune.
"Another one," she murmured. "Another dream."
Each dream was the same:A woman in a white field, hands stained with sap that shone like stars.A voice whispering: 'You must choose to give or to grow.'
And at the end, the same vision — a colossal tree, its roots spanning continents, its branches brushing the stars.When Yurina tried to approach it, the world would rewrite itself, and the Observer's laughter would echo faintly behind her.
She didn't tell anyone. Not even Aiden.
But the dreams were starting to bleed into reality.
Yesterday, she had passed a mirror and seen a reflection that wasn't hers —a woman with longer hair, different eyes, but the same sorrow.
Evelyn Park.
[Back to HQ – Afternoon Chaos]
"Balance! The generator's down!"
"Order! The food storage exploded!"
"Faith! The pigeons stole your healing scrolls again!"
The once-gods moved like reluctant firefighters.It was a disaster — yet somehow functional.
Faith restored power by scolding the lights until they turned on out of guilt.
Entropy fixed the generator with a hammer and a philosophical monologue.
Order reclassified the pigeons as 'unauthorized mana transport units.'
And Balance, clutching his clipboard like a divine relic, screamed into the void.
"We conquered dimensions! Why can't you people stack boxes in straight lines?!"
The refugees laughed.Children followed them around calling them "The Clumsy Angels."Someone even made fan badges.
The Observer loved every second.
"They used to delete universes," he whispered to Yurina one evening, smirking. "Now they debate lunch schedules."
"You're enjoying this too much.""Enjoyment is the only immortality worth keeping."
His gaze lingered on her, a strange softness hiding beneath the humor.
"You still don't remember, do you?""Remember what?" she asked cautiously."Nothing important," he said. "Just… who made that Tree you're standing under."
Before she could reply, the sirens blared again.
[New Crack Detected — 300 Meters Below Seoul]
A massive tremor shook the safe zone.The cracks in the sky deepened, spreading to the ground — this time forming underground portals.
Balance cursed.
"We need to seal it before the mana bleed corrupts the roots."Order grabbed his spear. "On it."Entropy sighed. "There goes lunch."
The Observer, however, just smiled wider.
"Ah, Act Two begins."
[Underground — The Breach Site]
They descended through the maintenance tunnels, light flickering off steel.The deeper they went, the more twisted the air became — like the walls were breathing.
At the lowest chamber, they saw it:A glowing tear in space, pulsing like a heart.From within, shadows of humanoid shapes pressed against the edges.
"Demonkin?" Aiden asked."No," Yurina whispered. "Something else."
Balance raised his hand to summon his power — nothing.Faith tried a blessing — it fizzled.
Order stepped forward and looked back at Yurina.
"Your barrier is the only thing still functioning."
She nodded, stepping closer.
And as the portal's light touched her skin —it recognized her.
The mana shimmered like it knew her name, and a whisper echoed through the air:
"Welcome back, Evelyn."
Everyone froze.
Aiden's heart stopped.The Observer's grin widened.
[Observer's Hidden Transmission – Layer Residual]
[Observer Log #9990: Excellent. She's touching the core again.]
[Architects Status: Severed. Connection: Lost.]
[Humanity Status: Screwed. Delicious.]
[Note: Her soul pattern awakening faster than predicted. Adjusting script for maximum chaos + emotional pain + comic relief.]
He tapped a small screen and sighed contentedly.
"Ah, this is going to be fun."
[End of Chapter 36 — "Heaven's Part-Time Heroes & the Woman Who Dreamed of Trees"]
"When gods fall, they complain. When humans fall, they rise. The difference is humility—and better breakfast."