When Plotter and the girl returned, Rayen noticed Plotter's pouting lips. He also noticed the girl behind him, walking in an odd manner while clutching at the hem of her shirt. Director also eyed the girl as they arrived in front of the crowd.
Was she still in pain? Or... Did she transform into a boy now? She seemed more uncomfortable now rather than in pain, unlike earlier.
Dismissing his thoughts, Rayen just focused on what would happen next.
The girl—no, maybe it's the boy now—continued walking until she arrived in front of Iris Wyndham whom gently patted her/his head with a smile.
Rayen just had a funny thought.
'Why is this place full of gender uncertain people?'
Plotter glanced around the group of dead people before addressing them.
"I guess everyone has received their new Life Books?" He nodded to himself as if answering his own question. "Then, let's proceed with the grafting!"
'Grafting?'
Before Rayen could make sense of the term, he saw Plotter raised his hand. It reminded him of their meeting in the interview room. And just as Rayen had expected, Plotter snapped his fingers with a wide grin on his face.
The next thing Rayen knew, he was in a different place.
His short legs were running on a dirt road, knees scratched and bruised. He was running after someone's back whose hair was tied in a ponytail and swaying.
As he was trying to reach out his small hands, he tripped and fell once again, never to see that person until his death.
The life of the small child played out in Rayen's mind, as if he was re-living it.
After being abandoned on a dirt road by his older sister, he was found by a small sickly boy who later became his younger brother. The parents of the sickly boy treated him like their genuine child, and he gradually grew up into an amicable and kind man.
But his peaceful life ended with the death of his loving foster-parents.
That was the beginning of his unlucky spree.
When the scene switched again, Rayen noticed his body was bigger than before. Although he was still smaller than his original body that he was used to.
This time, he was a teenager instead of a child.
What disoriented Rayen wasn't his physique—it was his situation. He found his small self inside a smoke-filled hut, his lungs burning. A scorching pillar struck his calf, and he screamed in agony. It was unbearable.
The scene lasted until he was rescued.
Accidents upon accidents kept repeating that even Rayen became too numb of it.
One time, he almost drowned. Another time, a car came rushing at him as he walked along the sidewalk. Even while eating, he once choked on a fruit's seed and couldn't breath.
'Just how unlucky was this guy? It's a miracle that he even made it to nineteen years old.'
Finally, Rayen arrived at the scene of death of the unlucky guy. After countless times of brushing with it, he was finally claimed by the death reaper.
Perhaps it was even this person's saving grace. At last, he wouldn't be haunted by different accidents. At last, he could rest from his anxiety. At last...
He lay on the cold and hard ground, struggling to breath and keep his consciousness. When he was finding firewood in the mountains near their home, he somehow saw a wild edible mushroom on the side. Unfortunately, before he could get to it, he tripped and fell on the cliffside.
So unlucky!
The clear night sky was mesmerizing, the round moon too beautiful that he couldn't bear to close his eyes.
Although his death was peaceful, he suddenly felt a pang of regret in his chest as he remembered his younger brother.
Who would care for him after he died? He couldn't even fetch himsef a glass of water. How would he live?
But in his blurring vision, a dark silhoutte suddenly appeared at the corner.
"My silly brother, I told you not to go out this day. Look what happened."
Rayen couldn't see the person's face clearly, but Im Ra-yen, the person whose life that Rayen was re-living right now, knew who this was.
It was his brother that was supposed to be on his bed, battling an incurable disease.
Finally, Im Ra-yen closed his eyes forever.
...
Rayen gasped and found himself back in the dance practice studio, surrounded by a crowd of people with completely dazed expressions. One by one, the people regained the gleam in their eyes and looked around. They were confused of what just happened.
Plotter clapped at the forefront to catch their attention. "Okay, I've finished grafting the identity to all of you."
"What just happened?" someone in the crowd asked.
"I told you. I did a grafting on you. You can check the cover of the Life Books you're holding and see what I mean."
Everyone did as Plotter said, including Rayen. At first glance, he didn't see anything different on it. The golden name etched on the front cover was still the same.
No, something did change. Instead of "Im Ra-yen," it's now "Im Rayen".
'Didn't the hyphen just disappear?'
Rayen's lips twitched by the realization. Curious, he glanced at the Life Book of Adrian beside him to check the difference. Coincidentally, Adrian was also doing the same thing as him.
Simultaneously, the two of them spoke:
"Nice name," Adrian said.
"Yours didn't change," Rayen remarked.
...
On a certain library...
Towering book shelves stretched endlessly, filled by countless dark brown books. Golden names were etched on the book spines. The shelves' end seemed to extend infinitely in all directions; the ceiling was so high, no one could see it with the naked eye.
A man with a long white beard stood before one of the bookshelves with both hands behind his back, his gaze piercing above.
Though he couldn't precisely determine the number of Life Books in this library, he seemed to notice something amiss.
Turning his gaze toward the center of the library, where a large hollow globe was revolving by itself, his eyes narrowed.
"The fate has shifted once again... Those two kids. What are they up to again?"