Volume 4: Twilight Galaxy
In the dark of night, Qing Kong sat by the window for the entire evening, watching as the moon reached its zenith and then gradually sank toward the west. His eyes, deeper than the night itself, gazed quietly into the boundless sky. It was unclear whether he was looking at the moon or harboring a nearly impossible and humble wish, hoping to see someone’s figure streak across the night sky.
A black butterfly, concealed by the darkness, quietly landed among the branches and leaves of a tree outside the window. The hazy moonlight seamlessly blended it with the dappled shadows of the tree, completely escaping Qing Kong’s notice. The black butterfly gently fluttered its wings, resting silently among the foliage throughout the night. It wasn’t until the cold light of dawn crossed the horizon that the butterfly flapped its wings again, disappearing into the sunlight like sand.
Due to the previous night’s unrest, the morning in Zhu Si City had an added layer of caution and silence. The people on the streets hurried by, and the figures of adjudicators and priests were active throughout the city.
A furry ball stood by the window, looking down at the curfew-enforced Zhu Si City. It stroked its whiskers for a long time before glancing up at the sky. The bloody morning sun dyed half the sky in the blood-red color favored by the Twilight Clan. The orange-red afterglow spread lavishly, coloring the entire world and adding a strikingly vibrant hue to the otherwise sacred city of Zhu Si.
A short while later, everyone gathered around the table for breakfast. Ye Jian took the opportunity to explain what he had learned about the history of the Twilight Clan. He summarized their history into three key points.
According to the records, the first point was the birth of the Twilight Clan. The Twilight Clan believed that they were created by the God of Life from his own blood. Therefore, it was their duty and honor to worship the God of Life from birth. As long as they prayed devoutly and held faith in him, they would be blessed by the God of Life, gaining immense power, an immortal body, and endless life. Since their inception, the Twilight Clan had lived this way, growing stronger alongside the world’s consciousness through their devout faith.
However, a century ago, the second turning point appeared. The concept of the God of Death entered the records of the Twilight Clan. This was not surprising, considering that the Twilight Clan, with their immortal nature and infinite regenerative abilities, had never even considered the concept of death.
With the emergence of the first “Transformed”, more and more situations began to arise that the Twilight Clan could not control. The fluctuating emotions of the Transformed were incomprehensible to them. This uncontrollable emotion, like the flutter of a butterfly’s wings, led to the first genuine death of a Twilight Clan member—not by divine punishment, but by true death.
With death came an intense fear, which soon permeated the clan. Following this, more and more negative emotions began to surface and increasingly chaotic events started to affect the world. The Twilight Clan’s priests were forced to create new laws, implementing a set of regulations for adjudicating the Transformed. After the laws were passed, many Transformed met their end by the flames and swords of the adjudicators.
Although the Transformed still retained the Twilight Clan’s ability to heal rapidly, this power curiously did not work in the presence of loved ones. The closer someone was emotionally, the harder it was for the wounds they inflicted to heal. Thus, the task of adjudicating the Transformed often fell to their closest kin. This explained why it was Mu Yang, of all people, who carried out the adjudication on Qing Kong. The Twilight Clan’s blood flowed endlessly and their lives were unceasing. If no close kin could be found, then the Transformed would be executed by fire, their bodies burned to ash—one of the few ways to truly kill a member of the Twilight Clan.
After the adjudication of the Transformed, the Twilight Clan finally returned to stability. But then came the third turning point: the Invaders! About a year ago, new Transformed began to appear in the records of the Twilight Clan. These Transformed had grotesque shadows during their baptismal ceremonies, which would be noticed by the God of Life, attracting divine punishment.
This was the history of the Twilight Clan, as summarized by Ye Jian. According to his understanding, the first stage was the growth and development of the Twilight Clan. The second stage marked the beginning of turmoil, with the appearance of the God of Death, which coincided with a major meteor shower over Xing Chui Town, possibly acting as the trigger for the Transformed. The third stage was the formal invasion by the outsiders into the native people’s land.
Ye Jian took out a recorder and continued as he fiddled with it. “In addition, regarding the first Transformed to be adjudicated and the first natural death among the Twilight Clan, I found some very secret records. Since this event had a profound impact on their history, it was rarely documented, but they did manage to record a short video.”
As he spoke, the recorder activated, displaying a brief description on the screen explaining the content of the video, including the people involved, the time, and the location. At the end of the list of people involved, a few words stood out: “The Transformed’s child: Qing Kong.”
Everyone’s hearts skipped a beat as the video began to play in holographic form. They found themselves in a small, crowded square, one that looked quite familiar—Xing Chui Town, Qing Kong’s hometown. In the center of the square, a handsome man was bound to a pristine white stone pillar. At his feet was a red circular array, and as it lit up, a wall of fire burst forth, enveloping both the pillar and the man.
Suddenly, a woman in the crowd broke through the barriers and rushed into the square. Her clothes were disheveled, and soaked with sweat. She clutched a newborn baby in her arms. The infant, unaware of the world, was crying loudly. The woman’s eyes were filled with despair, but before she could reach the flames, other members of the Twilight Clan restrained her.
The scorching crimson flames twisted the air above the square. Accompanied by heart-wrenching screams and the wails of a baby, the man in the flames turned to ashes.
As the array faded, the square returned to its original state, leaving only a pile of gray ashes. A light breeze swept through, lifting the bone ash into the air and scattering it almost completely. The woman stopped crying. The baby, seemingly exhausted from its cries, fell silent. The square was now eerily still.
Suddenly, a scream shattered the silence. The Twilight Clan member holding down the woman released her in terror and the crowd scattered away, leaving an empty space around the woman holding the baby. Under the horrified gaze of the Twilight Clan, the woman’s black hair turned snow white, strand by strand. In an instant, she was fully white-haired. Her once-beautiful face became etched with wrinkles, which deepened with every passing moment. Her skin lost its youthful glow, turning gray and withered.
In just a few breaths, the once-blooming young girl had become an elderly crone!
No one dared take a step forward. What did aging mean? The Twilight Clan did not know, but they instinctively feared and rejected it. They could only watch as the now-haggard old woman shakily stood up, staggering toward the center of the square. This time, no one dared stop her.
The old woman’s steps were slow and labored, with each step making her appear older and more hunched over. It was as if she were moving in agonizing slow motion. After what seemed like an eternity, the old woman finally reached the center of the square. She gently set down the now-sleeping baby in her arms, and with hands that seemed little more than skin and bone, she scooped up the remnants of ash from the ground.
Tears fell one by one, mingling with the ashes, but no miracle would rise from them.
“With snow-white hair, I have not broken our promise…” The hoarse whisper, barely audible, dissipated in the wind. Who knew how long it was before the tears stopped falling, and the ash silently slipped from the old woman’s withered fingers, fine as sand, scattering to the ground.
The baby, placed on the ground, inexplicably woke up and began to cry again, its cries sharp and piercing.
After a long while, someone finally dared to step forward. With a light touch, the old woman’s frail, hunched body collapsed, clearly having died some time ago. A gentle breeze swept through, lifting the remaining ashes from the ground. But this time, instead of scattering, the ashes entwined themselves in the old woman’s white hair, clinging closely, melding together…
The video abruptly ended!
The room was plunged into silence. Shu Xun and the others remained in shock, unable to snap out of it. The first Transformed to be adjudicated was Qing Kong’s father, and the first Twilight Clan member to age and die naturally was Qing Kong’s mother! Their vow of “snow-white hair” had likely been a hope for eternal companionship, yet who would have thought that one day, the vow would be forcibly realized?
The food in Xing Kong’s hand had been held in midair for a long time. The boy’s eyes stared blankly ahead, still lost in the scene they had just witnessed. Mu Yang, on the other hand, quietly drew another healing talisman for himself.
Finally, it was Ye Jian’s usual cold voice that broke the silence. “The Twilight Clan’s abilities are influenced by their emotions. What’s unique about them is that their emotions can be transformed into energy. This makes them stronger, but also more vulnerable. Extreme emotions can even affect their physical bodies, resulting in phenomena like death and aging. These are the reasons why the Twilight Clan has come to define emotions as evil. Rich emotions, in this world, are regarded as evil.”
Hearing this, Lie Yang fell into deep confusion. “So, to avoid being overwhelmed by negative emotions, the Twilight Clan is left with nothing but devout faith, and all other emotions are dulled. In this way, they have no weaknesses and cannot be swayed by emotions, making themselves invincible, stronger.” Lie Yang paused, his brow furrowing. “But why does this form of evolution feel so uncomfortable? It feels like there’s a weight on my chest. Why has the world consciousness of this world accepted the Twilight Clan’s method of evolution?”
The furry ball glanced at Lie Yang and stroked its whiskers. “The world consciousness didn’t accept it—it’s that the world consciousness cannot judge. The concept of ‘emotion’ is too uncontrollable. No matter how powerful someone is, once they understand, know, and feel emotions, they become fragile. The moment you realize that someone in this monotonous world has become special to you, you will unconsciously want to be special too, even revealing your vulnerabilities, hoping that person will notice and soothe your unease. At the same time, however, emotions can make the weak strong—when you genuinely want to protect someone from the storm, you find strength from within. The world consciousness of Twilight Galaxy is severely lacking in understanding emotions. It cannot comprehend or judge them. It only knows that if there are no emotions, things might not be better, but they certainly won’t be worse. So, it chose to accept this.”
