Hall of Endless Illusions

Since Pangu awakened from chaos, three have accompanied heaven and earth—first the sun and moon, then the stars. All things in the world are but drifting dust, rising and falling, their existence neither necessary nor lasting.

Before the irresistible might of the gods, humanity is as insignificant and humble as ants. Yet, even so, humans are divided into good and evil. For the sake of so-called profit, they slaughter one another, transforming themselves and others into terrifying, twisted beings. By the time they wish to stop, they find themselves long beyond control.

But after all calculations of the human heart are made, none can escape the destined cycle of cause and effect. Round and round it turns, ceaseless and unending.

Little do they realize, before the gods who rule the fate of all humankind, these schemes of light and shadow are already laid bare, and they are but performing their fleeting dramas with their very lives.

…

I stood atop Mount Buzhou, gazing down upon the multitudes of living souls.

I laughed aloud at their misery, yet in truth, I was mocking myself all the more.

The changing of the seasons passed before my eyes like falling stars, mountains and rivers, myriad forms—a landscape painting unchanged for a thousand years. View it often enough, and even the eyes grow weary.

As I turned to leave, a wind from nowhere swept me down to the mountain’s base.

Then came endless darkness. In that unknown space, I wandered like an aged elder, my steps faltering.

Unable to see, I simply closed my eyes, be