In the forest, sunlight filtered gently through layers of leaves, scattering across the fertile soil below. Tyler knelt on the ground, carefully pressing seeds into the earth with practiced movements. His hands moved steadily, almost instinctively, as if his body already knew the rhythm of farming better than his mind did.

Beside him, Chole squatted quietly, watching his every action with focused attention.

"Be careful with this one," Tyler said, brushing dirt over a row of freshly planted seeds. He gestured toward a cluster of herbs growing nearby. "That’s Shy Songgrass. Its leaves curl up very easily."

He gently demonstrated, using two fingers to open one of the curled leaves.

"When the wind passes through it, the grass makes a strange sound, almost like singing. That’s how it got its name," Tyler continued. "But when the leaves stay curled for too long, it interferes with its growth. At times like this, you need to help open them manually."

Chole nodded seriously, committing every word to memory. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity and admiration.

"This one was given to me by the Fruit Tribe villagers," Tyler added. "According to them, the leaves themselves count as a type of fruit."

He looked at her and smiled faintly.

"Make sure to take good care of it."

Chole nodded again, more firmly this time.

Tyler straightened up and wiped his hands against his pants. His gaze drifted toward the deeper forest beyond the fence.

"I’ll be leaving the forest for a while," he said calmly. "If anything happens, stay inside Serena’s storage space."

Chole froze for a moment, then nodded, though concern flickered briefly in her eyes.

Tyler turned his attention to the pocket-dimension pearl hanging nearby.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t the original.

It was a copy.

Yet even the copy remained bound to Serena. Tyler couldn’t activate it unless she was close enough. No matter how many times he tried to bypass it, the restriction held firm.

He let out a quiet sigh.

"Is it because I used Gacha to get my Infinity Cauldron," he muttered, "that I can’t access its full power?"

A voice answered him.

[You are right.]

Tyler stiffened.

"...Huh?"

He looked around instinctively.

The forest had changed.

The trees that had been swaying moments ago were now completely still. Leaves hung frozen in mid-air. Dust motes stopped drifting. Even the wind itself seemed to have been halted.

Chole was frozen mid-motion, her hands hovering above the soil.

Serena, riding lazily atop a giant butterfly, was suspended in the air, both cat and butterfly perfectly still. Dia is swinging in mid air but also froze.

Color drained from the world.

Everything turned black and white.

Everything, Except Tyler.

Then, space in front of him folded inward.

A cube-like object emerged, floating silently before him, its surface etched with shifting patterns that hurt to look at for too long.

"Decateron?" Tyler whispered, his eyes widening.

[It is Decateron.]

"Did you... stop time?" Tyler asked cautiously.

[Incorrect. We entered a domain formed in the fabric of reality. The time ratio here is approximately one billion to one. One second outside equals one billion seconds inside.]

Tyler exhaled slowly.

"...Same same but different."

A pause followed.

"Did I finish my mission?" he asked. "Is the trial over?"

[No.]

Decateron’s voice was neutral, neither approving nor condemning.

[Originally, this trial was designed for you to remain in this forest for decades. You were meant to farm slowly, accumulate karma, and naturally collect fragments of divinity scattered throughout the land.]

Tyler frowned.

[These fragments cannot be seen or touched by normal perception. However, they are mixed with Orion fragments. Over time, through your actions, you would have drawn them to yourself.]

"So... decades of farming?" Tyler repeated.

[Correct.]

Tyler scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "...Did I mess something up?"

[Not exactly.]

Decateron paused, as if recalculating.

[We underestimated the Infinity Cauldron.]

Tyler blinked.

[With it, you accelerated far beyond expected parameters. You reached your goal before the narrative could properly unfold. According to our calculation, it was supposed to be 20 years before you reach this stage.]

Tyler stared at the frozen forest.

"So basically," he said slowly, "I finished the story before it even started."

[That is an accurate interpretation.]

Decateron continued.

[At this point, collecting fragments through karma is no longer feasible. The structure of the trial has already collapsed.]

"...So what now?" Tyler asked.

[We propose an alternative.]

Decateron transmitted a sequence of instructions, complex, abstract, and layered with unfamiliar logic. Tyler listened carefully, his brow furrowing as he processed each condition.

When it ended, he took a moment to think.

"...Is that allowed?" he finally asked.

[Yes. Completing the trial is sufficient. Whether you obtain the fragments or not is no longer relevant. As long as the trial ends, you will provide the Infinity Cauldron as agreed.]

Tyler looked down at his hands.

"...Alright," he said quietly. "Then I’ll finish it."

Decateron pulsed faintly. Two small cubes appeared before Tyler.

[Give these ’things’ to the other two Cube Holders with you. They will be able to complete their missions independently.]

Tyler quickly caught those cube.

"Wait," he said quickly. "Is this world real? And how am I supposed to bring someone from this world to my world?"

Decateron paused.

Its answer came after a noticeable delay.

[This world may or may not be real.]

Tyler stared.

"...That’s not a freaking answer," he muttered.

The cube began to dissolve, its form breaking apart into fragments of light.

[Goodluck with your Trial.]

And then,

Decateron vanished.

Color rushed back into the world.

The wind resumed.

Leaves fluttered.

The butterfly flapped its wings, nearly throwing Serena off balance.

Chole blinked, unaware that anything had changed.

Tyler stood there in silence, staring at the soil beneath his feet.

"...May or may not be real," he repeated quietly. He clenched his fist.

’Then I’ll treat it as real’, he thought. ’Until the very end.’

---

Tyler called out softly, and Serena padded over at once. Dia followed soon after, skittering down from the ceiling on a thin thread of silk.

Tyler took out two identical cubes and held them out.

"These are supposed to help you with your missions," he said seriously. "I don’t really know what they do, but—"

He didn’t get to finish.

Serena leaped forward and snatched one cube midair with surprising enthusiasm. At the same time, Dia fired a silk thread from her mouth, wrapped it around the other cube, and yanked it toward herself.

The moment the cubes touched them—

They vanished.

Both Serena and Dia froze.

A soft glow spread across their bodies, brightening steadily.

Tyler’s eyes widened.

"...Huh?"

He sat down heavily and stared, not daring to interrupt whatever was happening.

The cat and the spider both slumped to the ground and fell into a deep sleep, their breathing slow and steady as the glow continued.

"Oh no," Tyler muttered. "Is this... wrong timing?"

Dia stirred in her sleep. Instinctively, she shot a silk thread toward the ceiling, pulled herself upward, and began spinning in midair. Thread after thread wrapped around her small body as she rotated, working with precise, unconscious skill.

Within minutes, Dia had sealed herself inside a thick, flawless cocoon that hung gently from the ceiling.

Tyler stared at it.

"...That’s impressive."

He turned to Serena.

The cat was sprawled out on the floor.

Sleeping.

That was it.

No light show. No transformation. No cocoon.

Just snoring.

Tyler squinted at her, then glanced back at Dia’s cocoon.

"...Look at your neighbor," he muttered. "And then look at you."

He shook his head in disappointment.

With both of them out cold, Tyler’s plan to leave the forest had no choice but to be delayed. He couldn’t exactly abandon the territory when both his companions were undergoing mysterious cube-induced processes.

So he waited.

Days passed.

Weeks passed.

Finally, a full month went by.

One morning, Serena stretched lazily and opened her eyes.

She yawned.

Then sat up.

"That’s it?" Tyler demanded immediately. "Nothing happened? What the hell? Did you even get anything?"

Serena blinked at him innocently.

Tyler pulled up his status window.

---

[Contracted Pet: Serena — A Sleeping Cat]

---

"...Seriously?" Tyler muttered.

Serena hopped over and patted his head with her paw, clearly unconcerned.

Tyler sighed and turned toward Dia’s cocoon. He poked it carefully. It didn’t open. But he noticed something odd.

It was bigger.

Much bigger than before.

"...Alright," Tyler said finally, standing up. "I’m going outside the forest. You two take care of the territory."

Dia, of course, didn’t respond.

Serena flicked her tail.

Before leaving, Tyler informed Chole and Kristina. They both tried to stop him at first, then ended up feeding him milk directly from the source while holding back tears, as if he were heading off to war.

Tyler left the forest shortly after.

The moment he was gone, Serena let out a long sigh.

Then—

Her body began to glow.

Chole and Kristina, who were nearby, froze in shock as golden light slowly enveloped the orange cat.

Meanwhile, far away, Tyler walked on—completely unaware.

He didn’t notice the change that quietly appeared in his status window.

---

[Contracted Pet: Serena — A Sexy Cat]