It's been some time since I returned to Nuwa's Mirage. No one else is around at the moment; Mother Goddess Nuwa is still by the furnace, purifying the Heaven-Mending Stone. It looks like she'll be at it for a while, and I have no intention of approaching her to talk.
With nothing to do, I lay down on a rather large island. The island is covered with city buildings, but most of the structures are only clear on the outside—inside, they're empty. Many buildings are half-complete. I tried walking the streets and found most of them looked normal, as if these were memories of the cityscapes I'd seen before, preserved only as frontal images.
The world is motionless. I lay on a rooftop, staring at the empty streets and these buildings whose fronts alone I recognize. There's a faint loneliness in my heart.
After a while, I got up. The other beasts had returned to their own mirages. Although I invited Hayden Orion to join me, he declined. From his demeanor, he seemed to hold some grievances against Mother Goddess Nuwa, but he didn't voice them. I couldn't force him, and I couldn't reach his mirage quickly either. The only way is through Eugenia. When night falls in the mirage, the moon appears. Once the moon rises, I can try entering the Celestial Hound's mirage, then find the Moon Palace mirage from there—the place where the rabbit stays. Then the rabbit can take me to Hayden Orion's mirage.
Eugenia had already sent the other beasts back to their mirages, so she hasn't returned yet. I'm not in a hurry; I plan to quietly think over what Hayden Orion said and take a closer look at these islands that hold my fractured memories.
After living here for so long, I've gotten used to it. Each beast is different, and the mirage is boundless. But it is truly dull; the beasts in the upper mirage aren't as fierce and competitive as the rumors say about the middle layer. Most of them are probably just tired.
I wonder how the Merfolk are doing. When Eugenia returns, I want her to take me back to the middle layer of the mirage to have a look.
A faint crackling sound reached my ears. Instantly, I moved from above the city down into an alley. The alley seemed normal enough; I saw cracks appear on the wall. I walked over, surprised to see bits of stone falling piece by piece. It looked as if someone had struck the wall. This unsettled me—no matter how much force I use here, I can't harm anything, but now something abnormal has appeared, and it makes me uneasy.
I wanted to ask Mother Goddess Nuwa. As soon as I closed my eyes, my senses shifted to her side. I could clearly see her, brows furrowed, still busy purifying the impurities. I sighed helplessly and pressed my hand against the wall where the cracks had appeared. After a moment, I felt nothing—no energy at all—yet the wall kept crumbling, small stones still falling to the ground.
As time passed, the area grew larger. I felt something strange inside. These are my broken memories. Squatting down, I watched the scattered stones on the ground, noticing many had already vanished. My memories are erasing themselves.
Soon I reached a conclusion and drifted above the city, instantly turning into a white, luminous streak that swept through every corner. After a while, I understood—much of the city formed from memory fragments was damaged, parts were vanishing at different rates. I glanced around at the surrounding islands and decided to check the other memory fragment islands.
I quickly discovered that none of the other islands had this phenomenon. The only place where memory fragments were disappearing was this island holding the city's memories—eighteen spots in total. The first one I found, the left wall in the alley, was nearly gone.
Nothing was left on the ground; the scattered stones would vanish after a while. The entire city was slowly dying.
I was at a loss, so I forced myself to head to Mother Goddess Nuwa.
After a while, I arrived behind Mother Goddess Nuwa. She turned to glance at me in silence, then looked at the floating islands before speaking.
"Something foreign has invaded. You must find it."
My heart skipped a beat.
"I don't know what exactly has invaded. You'll have to find it yourself, within your own memory fragments."
I responded with a hum and instantly shifted back to the city above. The power of Dao—black and white—poured from my body, clouds spilling over the city. I sat cross-legged in the air, closing my eyes to sense everything.
But after a long time, I still couldn't find anything.
"If your senses can't find it, you'll have to rely on your eyes."
A voice sounded behind me. I turned to see Mother Goddess Nuwa, her eyes cold and fixed below, as if she'd already seen something. I began scanning the city, moving low above the ground, weaving through the city in search of anything unusual. Suddenly, I spotted a black shadow darting behind a house. Since only the fronts of these houses were intact, like wooden boards standing in the city, I instantly moved to where the shadow appeared, then crossed to the opposite side where it vanished. My eyes widened—a black humanoid figure, mouth agape, gnawing at the wall with a loud crunch.
This black humanoid had no eyes, just a white mouth. I rushed forward, grabbed its neck, and it immediately screamed in strange noises.
I squeezed a little tighter, and the black humanoid whimpered in pain. I quickly released my grip, dragging the figure up into the air. I've seen plenty of black humanoids before, but never one like this—eyeless, like some unknown creature, struggling fiercely in my grasp. I kept watching the city, and after sensing for a while, noticed that the disappearance of the city's memory fragments stopped as I held the black humanoid.
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"Where did you come from?"
I asked, but the black humanoid only made incomprehensible noises, struggling harder in my grip. Its strength grew, distorting the space around us; my sleeves began to tear, but I didn't let go. Mother Goddess Nuwa watched silently from the side.
"Law of Karma."
Mother Goddess Nuwa spoke softly. I stared at the black humanoid, even more confused and anxious. I seemed to recognize this thing—it begins by devouring flesh, then eventually consumes the soul and everything else.
With her words, I understood. The flesh on my arm twisted like a rope, my body warping under the immense power. My eyes widened—the black humanoid vanished instantly before me.
Black fragments floated around me. I stared quietly at everything before me and swallowed hard.
"If you know, then figure it out yourself. Even if you can bypass the Divine Law, as long as you've existed in the mortal world or the underworld, you'll carry karmic ties."
I responded with a hum. Mother Goddess Nuwa turned into a streak of colored light and vanished. I looked down at the city and began to understand what was happening. Though I don't remember where I first heard about the Law of Karma, I know that once it appears in an individual, it becomes troublesome.
I no longer have flesh or soul left for the Law of Karma to devour—only consciousness. And consciousness contains memory, so the Law of Karma started with my broken memory fragments.
With a grave expression, I looked around. I had to find a way. I could touch and destroy the manifestations of the Law of Karma, but more and more would keep coming unless I found a way to bypass it. A sense of crisis welled up inside me. I can't handle this alone—this is just one Law of Karma, but if more appear, I won't be able to cope.
The memories devoured by the Law of Karma didn't recover. I checked the damaged walls—sure enough, they hadn't healed. I need help from the other beasts, but I can't leave now.
How the Law of Karma will appear next, or when, is a mystery. I can't sense its presence; it creeps silently into my memories. I don't know which island it will target.
"Hey, make me something delicious!"
Suddenly, a breeze swept by, startling me. I turned to see Nan Feng carrying bags upon bags of food, looking exhausted. Eugenia laughed and joked; I immediately jumped in front of her, startling her as well.
"What's wrong, Qingyuan?"
"Help me—gather all the beasts here. I need as many hands as possible, even if I don't know them."
Eugenia looked at me, puzzled. I explained briefly, and she laughed.
"No problem. As long as you make them delicious food every day, that's enough."
I hummed in reply. Eugenia, a bit reluctant to part with the food, saw my urgency and turned into a breeze, disappearing.