C123 — The Path of Transformation

The moment he stepped through the door, Mu Sichen felt an intense glare assault his eyes.

The background beyond the Gate of Dusk and Dawn was white—not a simple white, but a white in which nearly all colors had been stripped away.

The ground was white.

The sky was white.

From the distance came the sound of tides, and when he looked toward it, even that seemed white.

All this whiteness flooding his vision was almost a kind of light pollution, stabbing painfully into his eyes.

Only the countless square grids drawn on the ground offered some relief—some of those squares were black, and when Mu Sichen fixed his gaze on them, he finally felt a little better.

He had expected to see crowds of people behind the Gate of Dusk and Dawn, because from the feather’s perspective, he had once seen many people walk into this gate.

Yet now, beyond the door, there was nothing at all—only the sound of the tide, and a single person sitting just inside the gate.

This person wore clothing that, like the Gate of Dusk and Dawn itself, was half black and half white. Their hair fell to shoulder length, and their appearance made it impossible to tell whether they were male or female—possessing a kind of androgynous beauty, as well as something strangely eerie.

The eeriness came from the fact that on every patch of exposed skin were grids upon grids, as if the body had been cut by square laser beams. Their entire face was covered in repeated “#”-shaped patterns, like a notebook filled with square graph paper.

Aside from the pupils of their eyes and their hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes, every other part of their body was white—their face was white, and their hands were white as well.

They looked like a character drawn from a black-and-white manga, with segmented cutting grids pasted all over their body.

The person sat on a pure-white chair. When they saw Mu Sichen and Ji Xian’an, they calmly looked at them and spoke in a voice that was neither male nor female:

“Welcome to the Gate of Dusk and Dawn, you two fallen ones.”

The words “fallen ones” set off alarm bells in Mu Sichen’s mind.

After breaking through so many “pillars,” this was the first time someone had so bluntly called out his identity as a fallen one. In the past, he had always hidden among the crowd, disguising himself as an ordinary townsman and clearing challenges quietly.

Was this going to turn into a direct battle?

Mu Sichen stretched his arms, curling his hand as he prepared to summon the crossaxe.

But Ji Xian’an was faster.

The instant she leapt forward, Mu Sichen saw her movement and widened his eyes in shock—but it was already too late. Ji Xian’an was far too fast.

She was someone whose actions always outran her thoughts. With a single bound, she rushed in front of the person, preparing to mechanize both arms and strike heavily.

However, her body did not transform.

Left with no choice, Ji Xian’an threw a punch with all her strength—only for her fist to suddenly disintegrate the moment it touched the person.

Her two arms broke apart into countless cubes about 0.8 centimeters in size, scattering across the ground.

These cubes were only black and white, with far more white than black.

Ji Xian’an’s face also became like that of the person seated on the chair, transforming into square grids measuring 0.8 centimeters each, and the colors of her body changed as well.

Both Ji Xian’an and Mu Sichen were normal people. Even if their skin was fair, it had always been the healthy pallor tinged with blood.

But now, the colors of their bodies had turned into the stark white of A4 paper mixed with black. Their bodies were assembled from cubes of the two colors, and from the outside they looked like oversized QR codes.

“No need to panic. Combat is forbidden beyond the Gate of Dusk and Dawn,” the person on the chair said as they gently stood up, addressing the two with refined courtesy. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am a retainer of the great ‘Dream Weaver,’ a Dream-Building Dependent. By the command of the great ‘Dream Weaver,’ I guard the Gate of Dusk and Dawn and protect the last pure land of Mengdie Town.”

As expected, it was a dependent, Mu Sichen thought to himself.

But he couldn’t understand what was really going on here.

Why was there nothing at all?

Why had their bodies turned into these black-and-white cubes?

Why was there no one else here?

Where had all the people who entered gone?

“As long as you don’t harbor malicious intent, your body will return to normal,” the Dream-Building Dependent said to Ji Xian’an.

Ji Xian’an took a deep breath and suppressed her urge to fight. Very quickly, the small cubes scattered across the ground flew back to her body and reassembled into her arms.

She immediately returned to Mu Sichen’s side.

This “pillar” clashed badly with her aura. More precisely, the entire Mengdie Town system didn’t suit her. She preferred pillars where she could fight directly—where she could kill grotesque monsters head-on.

Mu Sichen, on the other hand, was meticulous and calculating. This place was his arena.

Ji Xian’an stood behind him and decided to become a quiet tool. Whatever Mu Sichen told her to do, she would do it.

“You’re more friendly than I expected,” Mu Sichen said calmly.

“Because beyond the Gate of Dusk and Dawn, there is only beauty—no pain, no combat, and no death,” the Dream-Building Dependent replied.

“That kind of dream is something only people like you could come up with,” Mu Sichen said, deliberately trying to provoke him.

The Dream-Building Dependent was clearly a complete believer in the Butterfly. He had already lost his sense of self. He neither refuted Mu Sichen’s words nor grew angry at the insult to the great being he worshiped.

Instead, he spoke like a rulebook:

“I know your purpose, fallen ones. You want to find the location of the ‘pillar,’ destroy it, and shatter the most beautiful wish of the ‘Dream Weaver.’

“I will not stop you. I will even take you to see the ‘pillar.’”

The kinder his attitude was, the heavier Mu Sichen’s and Ji Xian’an’s hearts became.

This wasn’t normal.

“What are you plotting?” Mu Sichen asked warily.

The Dream-Building Retainer’s sharply black-and-white eyes swept over the grid patterns covering Mu Sichen’s body, and he said flatly, “As expected, only those with darkness in their hearts judge others by themselves. Within the Gate of Dusk and Dawn, there are no lies.”

He turned around and raised a hand toward the surface of the sea.

“Do you see it? The pillar is in that white ocean.”

Mu Sichen had excellent eyesight. He opened the Eye of Truth and indeed saw a beam of light at the center of the sea.

The Butterfly truly wielded the power of the ocean. All three “pillars” were hidden within it.

The pillar of the Ideal Restaurant lay at the edge of the Sea of the Mind.

The pillar of the Collective Dream lay in the Sea of Dream-Catching.

And the pillar behind the Gate of Dusk and Dawn lay plainly within this ocean.

Ji Xian’an’s eyes lit up. She quickly ran toward the white sea—but after only a few steps, she was blocked by an invisible barrier and could go no farther.

She struck the barrier with force, but the moment her fist touched it, her arm disintegrated into small cubes that scattered all over the ground.

Despite being disassembled twice, Ji Xian’an felt no pain. As long as she stopped thinking about attacking, the fallen cubes would return to her body.

Just as the Dream-Building Retainer had said, the Gate of Dusk and Dawn was a place without pain.

Mu Sichen pulled Ji Xian’an back and told her not to act impulsively, signaling for the Dream-Building Dependent to continue speaking.

Judging by his demeanor, it was clear he still had more to explain about the rules beyond the Gate of Dusk and Dawn.

Sure enough, the Dream-Building Dependent continued:

“I have seen many fallen ones like you—impulsive, violent, greedy, rushing toward the ‘pillar’ the moment they see it, regardless of consequences. But that’s all right. The great ‘Dream Weaver’ embraces everyone, even fallen ones.”

“Everyone who comes to the Gate of Dusk and Dawn wishes to draw closer to the ‘pillar.’”

“The Gate of Dusk and Dawn will fulfill your wishes. As long as you walk the Path of Appraisal, you may enter the embrace of the ‘pillar.’”

The Dream-Building Dependent stepped aside, allowing Mu Sichen and Ji Xian’an to see the road behind him.

They were still square tiles, and some tiles looked like they had words on them. But strangely, even when Mu Sichen used his “True Eye,” he couldn’t make out what the words said.

Ji Xian’an lifted her leg to step onto the tiles, but again she was blocked by an invisible barrier.

Annoyed, she glared at the Dream-Building Dependent. “How do we walk on this road?”

The Dream-Building Dependent said, “Those whose bodies are full of filth are not worthy of walking the Path of Metamorphosis. This is a road that will make you more beautiful—once you finish it, you will become someone possessing kindness, peace, gentleness, and all other wonderful qualities. Then the ‘Pillar’ will accept you and embrace you. And you will be eternally happy, forever joyful, never again feeling sadness.”

“Just tell us the rules.” Ji Xian’an was already irritated by his sermon-like speech.

“Take out a black cube from your body—that is your filth. Throw it onto the ground, and a number will appear on it. Whatever number appears is the number of tiles you may advance.” the Dream-Building Dependent said.

“What numbers are possible?” Ji Xian’an asked.

“Numbers 1 to 6,” he replied.

Ji Xian’an looked at the supposed Path of Metamorphosis and said doubtfully, “There are only about three hundred tiles here. My two arms alone have maybe twenty or thirty cubes. My whole body must have at least two hundred. Even if every throw is just one or two steps, it’d be easy to reach the end. It’s that simple?”

The Dream-Building Dependent gave a formulaic smile, raised his voice, and said brightly, “‘The Dream-Weaver’ does not reject anyone who yearns for beauty. As long as you are willing to step onto the Path of Metamorphosis, you are guaranteed to approach beauty.”

“Then this is way too easy. I’ll go first.” Ji Xian’an said, reaching for a black cube on her arm to toss it.

“Wait,” Mu Sichen finally stopped her in time and held out his hand. “Let me see that cube.”

Ji Xian’an handed the cube to him.

Mu Sichen opened his “True Eye” and examined the black cube carefully. Soon, he noticed a few small characters on the bottom of the cube: “Pain 4.”

“Give me another black cube,” Mu Sichen said.

Ji Xian’an immediately removed another cube from her arm and gave it to him. Before long, Mu Sichen had ten small cubes in his hand.

On them were written:

“Pain 2, 6, 8, 12, 17,”

“Impulse 1, 2,”

“Violence 3, 6,”

and “Fear 9.”

It was exactly as Mu Sichen suspected.

Their bodies had been split into different black and white cubes by some mysterious power—black cubes represented negative emotions or sensations, and white cubes represented positive ones.

This feeling was hidden extremely well. If Mu Sichen hadn’t guessed the truth and used the “All That Is Known Shall Be Seen” ability of the True Eye, even if the Big-Eyed One itself came here, without guessing the mechanism, it wouldn’t see the words on the cubes no matter how long it stared at them.

Of course, the Big-Eyed One wouldn’t need to look. With its power, if it could enter the realm behind the Dawn Gate, it could simply crush everything and destroy the domain from the inside.

“Will the cubes we throw out return to the body?” Mu Sichen asked.

“Once they’ve been shed, why cling to those garbage emotions?” the Dream-Building Dependent answered with a question of his own.

In other words, if Ji Xian’an used her black cubes as dice and kept throwing them, she would gradually lose her emotions.

By the time she reached the end of the Path of Metamorphosis, she would have almost no negative emotions left—only white cubes remained, the positive emotions the “Pillar” desired.

Wait!

 

Only the white cubes could approach the “Pillar,” and the “Pillar” laid within the white ocean!

A sudden thought struck Mu Sichen. He focused his mental energy and looked toward that ocean—sure enough!

It wasn’t an ocean at all, but a “sea” formed from countless white cubes.

“If we discard all our black cubes and reach that ocean… we’ll also break apart into those white cubes, won’t we?” Mu Sichen asked.

He thought the Dream-Building Dependent wouldn’t admit it, but unexpectedly, the follower nodded. “Exactly.”

“All of them—all the people who entered the Dawn Gate have become like this?” Mu Sichen asked.

“Exactly.”

Mu Sichen suppressed the anger boiling in his chest and questioned, “You call this transformation? You call this beauty? They don’t even have a sense of self anymore—not even the shape of a complete human being. And you call that beautiful?”

“It is,” the Dream-Building Dependent looked calmly into Mu Sichen’s eyes. His body held no black cubes, his heart no guilt, and he felt no anger at Mu Sichen’s accusations.

“On what basis?” Mu Sichen gritted his teeth.

The Dream-Building Dependent said mildly, “Why wouldn’t it be? Except for you corrupted ones who refuse to understand the greatness of the ‘Dream-Weaver,’ everyone drawn to the Dawn Gate is someone drowning in pain—people who cannot find joy even in Mengdie Town.”

“They seek release. They seek healing. The Dawn Gate gives them metamorphosis, allowing them to merge into the embrace of the pure white sea. They feel joy, and they share that joy with others.”

“No distinctions between individuals. No boundaries of ‘you’ or ‘me.’ What is wrong with that?”

Mu Sichen closed his eyes, silently watching the playback of the feather-vision.

 

He specifically pulled up the perspectives of the hundreds who had vanished before the Dawn Gate, carefully observing their expressions—painful, confused.

By reading their lips, Mu Sichen deciphered their murmured words:

“I’m in so much pain. This is supposed to be a dream. Supposedly I can do anything here. So why can’t anything make me happy? What am I supposed to do?”

“My family is slowly disappearing. How am I supposed to live alone?”

“I trusted the Dream-Weaver. I thought entering Its embrace would free me from the torment of the ‘Deep Sea.’ But why am I still in pain even after choosing the Dream-Weaver?”

“Someone… save me…”

“This looks like a ‘Pillar.’ I’m going in.”

“For the future of Xiangping Town. For General Qin.”

“….”

Mu Sichen opened his eyes and closed the feather-vision playback.

Yes, just as the Dream-Building Dependent said, they were all people caught in a vortex of suffering.

But tragically, they were also the rare ones in Mengdie Town who were still lucid.

They knew they were dreaming.

They remembered their past.

They knew what the world outside the town was like.

They wanted to immerse themselves in dreams to gain happiness, but even in the ideal utopia crafted personally by the Butterfly, they continued to drown in their inner torment.

Because they were still lucid.

But lucidity has no place inside a dream.

The Dawn Gate lured in these unhappy, conscious individuals.

The Dawn Gate devoured their negative emotions, turning them into one silly, smiling cube after another—floating on the sea, without even a human shape left.

Mu Sichen turned back to look at the enormous gate—half black, half white—symbolizing dusk and dawn.

Life naturally contained both the good and the bad, pain intertwined with joy. Time flowed through day and night.

But the Butterfly insisted on creating a pure white space, forcibly turning “dusk” into “dawn.”

Mu Sichen gazed toward the column of light and saw several white cubes vanish within it.

He pointed at the “Pillar” and said, “Did you see it? Did you see the ‘Pillar’ absorbing those fragments of beautiful souls?”

A moment ago, Mu Sichen had consumed too much mental energy watching so many perspective replays. His head throbbed with pain, and he temporarily closed the “Eye of Truth.”

But his left eye came from the Feather-Eyed Follower; its vision far surpassed that of ordinary people—he could see a fly ten meters away. With eyesight alone, he could clearly make out the Pillar devouring the soul fragments.

If he could see it, how could the Dream-Building Dependent, who had guarded this place for so long, not?

The Dream-Building Follower said calmly, “No one truly dies.”

“The ‘Dream-Weaver’ is gentle. It protects every life. The ‘Pillar’ never consumes all of a person’s pure white emotions; it always leaves at least two or three cubes. Every single person is still alive.”

“From beginning to end, they remain alive—just like you two won’t die. This is a necessary sacrifice.”

“A beautiful life always requires someone to carry the burden. Sacrificing a portion of pure white emotion is not a bad thing.”

“You’re not using ‘carry the burden’ correctly,” Mu Sichen said.

To carry the burden meant:

Qin Zu willingly abandoning his emotions, becoming the “Absolute Rational One” to protect Xiangping Town.

To carry the burden meant:

Qin Zu alone sustaining all eight pillars of Xiangping Town, refusing to let any townsfolk be sacrificed, and never allowing the Pillars to become a soul-devouring hell.

Same class of god-level monsters, same idealism, both wanting to protect their people—yet the difference between the Butterfly and Qin Zu was immeasurably vast.

Mu Sichen finally understood.

The Butterfly borrowed Qin Zu’s power, becoming a god-level monster. In the process, It felt Qin Zu’s sacrifice. It witnessed the safety of Xiangping Town. And It, too, wanted to create a town like Xiangping.

But tragedy—what It created was a grotesque imitation, a monstrous mockery.

He looked toward the Pillar and spoke:

“Butterfly… you envy Qin Zu, don’t you?
You long to be like Qin Zu, don’t you?”

Even without speaking its real name, a gaze crossed through time and space, falling upon Mu Sichen—filled with naked hatred and the humiliation of being exposed.

Facing that overwhelming hatred, Mu Sichen felt no fear.

Since hatred was already inevitable, he might as well speak boldly and tear apart the Butterfly’s illusion of a “beautiful dream.”

 

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TN:

That’s all I’ve got for now. See ya soon