"I know my sins, please punish me," the Dream Master said weakly. "Here and now? That's beyond my power to grant. Before leading you to that honey spring, I will Tuning so that you can no longer make a sound."
The doll coldly delivered its verdict. "The world believes it to be a creation of ' Destruction,' for it is often accompanied by calamities. I will dispel the shadows before your eyes, so that you may once again look directly at that all-encompassing power, and worship the mercy descended from its three faces—'The Cancer of Harmony,' the Stellaron."
"Wh... what?" Hanxing was stunned. He had previously thought that the Blade of Ending used the Stellaron for power simply because of its extremely high energy density, but he never expected that the reason why the Stellaron and his Path power were so compatible was actually this.
"Did the ' Dream Master ' already know back then that the Stellaron was actually a creation of the ' Harmony ' Path... and that he was forced to manipulate the Stellaron according to the Family's orders?" Firefly was also somewhat shocked by these truths. "I would like to defend him, but to say he was forced would be self-deception..." Dominicus confessed, "He said he was 'powerless,' not that ' Xipe taught us we shouldn't do this.' Regardless of the Family's true nature, Gopher Wood at this moment is no longer a believer in ' Harmony.'"
"What if it were you standing there?" For some reason, Firefly asked this question. "Perhaps you would also betray ' Harmony.' But in any case, that would only mean believing that the Family is not worthy of obedience, and being unable to defend the great evil the Dream Master to commit." After saying this, the Dominicus turned to Firefly:
"... Miss Firefly, have you ever pondered fate? I often wonder, if we could face our past choices again, would we really make different decisions?" The three remained silent, continuing to walk up the steps. Soon they arrived at another high platform, where a jigsaw puzzle appeared before them, but one piece was missing.
"In the doll's hands." The Dominicus pointed to the doll. Hanxing's gaze fixed on it, then vanished in an instant, returning to its original position. When she looked again, the puzzle piece was in Hanxing's hands, which she then handed to Firefly: "Take it and put it together."
As the puzzle piece came back together, a familiar wheelchair appeared before the three. "Rest in peace, old friend," a voice sighed from nowhere. " Mikhail... Could it be the ' Dream Master ' who did it?" A suspicion arose in Hanxing's mind.
"Is the Dream Master, as you know him, so utterly wicked?" The Dominicus's tone was somewhat sarcastic. "He was once the Dream Master's close friend, but due to differences in their views on the dream, they eventually parted ways. Mikhail once gave the Dream Master a wristwatch, which he still treasures to this day, even though it's broken."
The audio reappeared, and the figures of the Dream Master and the Watchmaker appeared, but Mikhail had already passed away. "I have come for 'confession,' old friend. I want to hear more about how death feels to you—" The Dream Master seemed to be anticipating Mikhail's response. "I have died once, yet returned to the world. If you were so fortunate, would we still go our separate ways?"
"In my view, you are able to hold onto hope precisely because you have not faced your inevitable death. Will you blame me? Mikhail, will you? I tried to uncover the third face of Xipe, but I was wrong. It was not ' Propagation. ' Yet fate was so merciful, allowing me to discover that ' Propagation ' could, through the fear created by locust plagues, constantly awaken people's yearning for ' Order.' When Swarm Disaster, it is also when ' Order ' reaches its unprecedented peak."
Hanxing pondered silently. The Dream Master's words were indeed reasonable. In interstellar history, " Order " was a force that resolutely resisted the Swarm Disaster. Although this did not mean that " Order's" path was correct, it did show the duality of Path.
"But afterwards, the God-King deliberately instigated a divine war, which led to his own downfall—he did not want Order to tread the divine ladder of lies." The Dream Master sighed deeply, "He was wrong too. The God-King wanted to restore justice to the world, but what people prayed to Him for was not justice, but 'no fear.' Will you forgive me? Mikhail, will you?"
"I will transgress and correct the errors of the gods—I will put the missing hand back on the great clock of the stars, and show death to mankind. I know my sin, and my sin is always before me—but I will never repent." The scene of Tuning fades away, and everything returns to normal.
"Using ' Propagation ' to lay the foundation for the Eternal Paradise... at that time, he meant..." Firefly made a bold guess: "To recreate the Swarm Disaster, using fear to force people... to pray for the return of ' Order '?" "Perhaps, your friend was killed because of this—" the Dominicus replied, "The ' Dream Master ' wants to know how the Glamoth Iron Cavalry obtained the power of ' Propagation '."
"That's not a power that can be easily mastered; we need to quicken our pace." Firefly's expression turned serious. "Then leave it to me." Hanxing stepped forward, tearing through space with his bare hands, leading the two to a platform. "Through here lies the main hall at the end of the Oak Mansion." Dominicus looked around and slowly said, "And before us lies his final choice—where will he go after abandoning ' Harmony '?"
"Since you want him to choose again, which side do you want to take?" Firefly asked Dominicus, the two large doors, one purple and one red, symbolizing the unknown future. "Go according to your judgment. As for me, I will step into the remaining path." Firefly looked at Dominicus with some doubt.
"Rest assured, I can't change anything. Even if I suddenly realize my mistake, it will only bring peace of mind to the Dream Master. He deserves severe punishment and must be stopped," the Dominicus declared firmly. "Then you still made a different choice," Firefly said with a smile, looking ahead again. "We will stop him."
"May all be well—let us part here." The Dominicus remained silent, no longer interfering with their choices. "Then let ' Propagation ' once more unleash heavenly fire, demonstrating the lament of 'death.' Then let ' Harmony's ' lie be instantly exposed, revealing the sharp dagger of 'truth.'" A voice, seemingly from nowhere, spoke. Firefly hesitated for a moment. "Let's go, let's go to the purple door."
Hanxing nodded, tore through space with her bare hands, and arrived at the last section of the corridor. "Alright, we shall go our separate ways. You shall live, I shall die—only the gods know which is better." The Dominicus left behind these words. "What a dilapidated sight." Firefly looked around and said, then stepped into the Oak Mansion with Hanxing.
"There doesn't seem to be anything strange around here." Hanxing looked around; everything was just like in the dream. "Let's keep going, no matter what," Firefly encouraged. The two quickly arrived at the last large door. As the door opened, a giant cocoon came into view. At the same time, Tuning audio quietly began to play.
"There's no mistake, this is it." Firefly seemed to sense something. "We apologize for not greeting you sooner, Ms. Firefly, Mr. Hanxing." Only then did their gazes turn to the end, where they saw Dominicus's figure.
"Could it be that another passage leads here as well?" Hanxing asked warily. "Then what is this thing up there?"
"It is a fear that people do not want to recall, the ' Deathly Stillness of the Fallen ' of the Swarm Disaster," the Dominicus coldly replied.