The moment the countdown began, the air in the room stopped moving.
It was a small shift. A quiet one. But it was enough to freeze the lantern flame above Mammon's crib. The warm glow flickered once, turned thin, and then stretched like someone was pulling the light apart with invisible fingers.
His mother paused in the doorway.
Her smile faded.
She looked around the room slowly, like she stepped into a place that was no longer hers.
Mammon lay in the crib, tiny and silent. His body was helpless. But his mind was awake. Sharp. Watching.
He saw her fear before she said a word.
"Why does this room feel strange?" she whispered. "Like something is watching me."
She stepped closer. The lantern dimmed even more. A soft coldness touched her arms. Her breath caught. Her eyes drifted toward the crib.
Toward him.
Her voice shook.
"Mammon… why do your eyes look so old?"
His tiny chest rose and fell. Calm. Controlled.
Inside, Ryo Minami smiled.
She was right to be afraid.
The Greed System pulsed like a heartbeat in the back of his mind.
[Time until collision: 71 hours 48 minutes]
The countdown was already moving.
His mother rubbed her arms and whispered again.
"What is happening in this house?"
Mammon watched her closely.
If she became too scared, she could run.
If she ran, someone else could come.
If someone else came, the system could judge him weak.
He needed to act carefully.
Her bracelet caught the lantern light. Silver. Thin. Old. It was not valuable in money, but valuable in emotion.
Perfect target for his first quest.
Steal something of value.
Not expensive.
Valuable.
Emotional value counted. Human hearts were currency in every world.
His mother leaned over the crib and touched his cheek. Her fingers trembled. She studied him like she was searching for something hidden behind his newborn skin.
"Mammon," she whispered. "You are only a few days old. Why do your eyes look like they have lived a hundred years?"
Mammon blinked, slow and harmless.
She shook her head and sighed.
"Maybe I am tired."
She sat on the small wooden stool beside the crib and held her face in her hands. Her bracelet slid down her wrist with a soft sound.
Mammon heard it clearly.
The system whispered.
[Target identified]
The thrill ran through him again. Warm. Sharp. Addictive.
His tiny fingers moved under the blanket.
But his mother was still watching him.
He needed a distraction.
He breathed slowly and let his body shiver on purpose. A small, fragile sound left his throat.
A newborn cry.
Soft.
Weak.
Believable.
His mother looked up at once.
"Oh no. Are you cold? Come here."
She lifted him and pressed him against her chest. Her warmth surrounded him. Her heartbeat thumped softly under his ear.
He recognized the feeling.
Human affection.
Not something he cared for.
But something he could use.
She moved the blanket around him and adjusted her hold.
The bracelet was right beside his small hand now. Close. Very close.
The system glowed faintly.
[Quest progress: 0 percent]
He waited.
Timing mattered.
Movement mattered.
Distraction mattered.
His hand slid slowly toward her wrist.
She rocked him gently, humming a small tune. Her other hand smoothed his hair.
"It is all right," she whispered. "I am here."
He touched the bracelet.
A spark shot through his body. Not magic. Greed. His own greed responding to the object. It recognized emotional weight. It tasted it.
The system responded instantly.
[Value confirmed]
[Acquire it]
He closed his small fingers around the bracelet.
His mother did not notice. She was still humming. Still tired. Still unsettled by the cold air that lingered in the room.
Mammon pulled.
The bracelet moved slightly.
He tugged again.
His mother paused.
Her humming stopped.
He froze.
She slowly looked down at her wrist.
Seconds stretched. His tiny heart beat once. Twice.
Then she smiled.
"Oh. You want to play with this?" she said softly.
She lifted her arm and let him hold the bracelet.
He gripped it tight.
The system flared.
[Item acquired]
[Quest complete]
[Reward unlocked: Greed Seed]
A rush spread through him. Stronger than the first time. Warmer. More powerful. Like a new part of him woke up.
His mother's smile faded as the lantern flickered again. This time the flame stretched upward unnaturally, like something pulled it toward the ceiling.
She held Mammon tighter.
"Mammon… something is wrong with this house," she whispered.
The room grew colder.
Even Mammon felt it.
But it was not from the Greed System.
It was something else.
Something outside.
Something far.
A ripple through fate.
The system pulsed urgently.
[Warning]
[The collision has already started shifting your world]
Mammon's mind sharpened.
Collision with Morix.
Even though they were newborn and ten years apart, fate did not care.
The world was already bending to bring them together.
His mother stood slowly.
"I should call your father," she said. "Maybe he knows why the air feels like this."
No.
Mammon needed isolation.
The Greed System pulsed:
[New instability detected]
[Incoming event]
Mammon's mother carried him toward the door.
At that moment, the lantern exploded.
Glass shattered. Light burst across the room like tiny stars. His mother screamed and stumbled back. She fell to her knees and curled around him to protect him from falling shards.
Mammon stayed silent.
The temperature dropped even more.
A faint sound echoed from outside.
A distant roar.
Not human.
Not animal.
Something ancient.
Something tied to the Calamity.
His mother clutched him and trembled.
"What was that?" she whispered. "What is happening?"
Mammon felt the air pressure shift again.
Something went wrong in the world.
The system confirmed it.
[Morix has awakened his first resonance]
Mammon blinked.
Morix.
Only a few days old.
Already waking fate.
The collision was coming faster than expected.
His mother stood again, shaking.
"We cannot stay here," she whispered. "We need to leave."
Mammon looked at her carefully.
Leaving meant meeting people.
Seeing neighbors.
Being noticed.
He did not want that.
He needed to grow quietly.
He needed to rise without eyes watching.
He needed to hide his greed until it was too late for the world to stop him.
But his mother walked toward the door.
Mammon concentrated.
His newborn body was weak.
But his Greed Seed was not.
He held her bracelet tightly.
The system glowed.
[Activate Greed Seed ability?]
He answered silently.
Yes.
A faint red aura spread from his tiny hand. His mother stopped mid step. Her body froze. Only for a moment. But enough.
She looked down at him with wide eyes.
"Mammon… what was that light?"
She touched his cheek with shaking fingers.
"You are just a baby," she whispered. "So why do I feel like you are something else?"
Mammon stared at her quietly.
Inside, Ryo Minami spoke like a whisper of steel.
Because I am not yours.
Her breath shook.
She stepped back from the door.
Something outside growled again.
She hugged him tighter, terrified.
"Mammon… protect me," she whispered without thinking.
Her instinct was wrong.
He was not the one she should ask for protection.
But he liked hearing it.
The Greed System pulsed again.
[New temporary skill unlocked]
[Fear Extraction]
Mammon blinked.
Fear Extraction?
He felt it instantly.
His mother's fear poured toward him like warm smoke. It did not hurt her. But it fed him. It strengthened him.
A new line appeared.
[Stat increased: Will]
Something cracked outside the house. Wood snapped. Something heavy moved near the walls.
His mother gasped.
"Mammon… something is out there."
The system pulsed.
[Time until collision: 71 hours 19 minutes]
His mother rushed to the window and looked outside.
Her voice broke.
"There is something in the village," she whispered. "Something dark."
Mammon knew what it was.
A consequence of Morix's awakening.
Even fate trembled at Morix's awakening .
But the world wanted Mammon to walk toward him.
The collision was unavoidable.
His mother backed away from the window.
She held him tightly and whispered again.
"I need to protect you."
Mammon lay against her chest.
But his mind whispered back.
No.
I need to protect someone else.
I need to protect Morix.
The system pulsed darker.
[Greed Seed evolving]
[New passive detected]
[Fate Interference: Minor]
He felt stronger.
Sharper.
More aware.
His mother kept trembling.
He watched her quietly.
And then something outside growled again.
Closer.
The house shook.
The crib rattled.
The flame of the exploded lantern rose on the floor like a red snake.
His mother screamed.
Something enormous slammed against the door.
The wood cracked.
The system lit up in bright red.
[Incoming threat]
[Prepare for your first confrontation]
The door creaked.
Something pushed from the other side.
His mother hugged him to her chest so tight he could barely breathe.
"Mammon," she whispered, "what do we do?"
Mammon opened his newborn eyes.
They glowed faintly.
The system whispered:
[Your second quest has been unlocked]
[Defend what is yours]
The door shattered.
A shadow stepped inside.
The creature stepped forward with glowing red eyes, as if fate itself had sent a messenger.
Its gaze moved across the room.
It saw Mammon.
And it bowed.
Not to his mother.
Not to the house.
To him.
As if it recognized something inside him.
Something ancient.
Something greedy.
Something born to change destiny.
Mammon stared back.
The creature opened its mouth and whispered with a voice that shook the entire room.
"Master."