As the night deepened, an expansive stillness blanketed the desert wasteland.
High above, the brilliant stars and the radiant crescent moon intertwined their luminescence, while in the center of the campsite, the flickering flames of the campfire cast a dance of light and shadow upon the faces of several individuals.
"So, are you saying we have all been dreaming the same dream? That the Minotaur tribe was merely an illusion? Have we really just been napping on the train all along?" Teemo inquired, extending his chubby little hand to add a touch of magic to the magically sustained fire, directing his question at the indifferent man seated beside it.
"Indeed, that is correct," the aloof man replied with a curt nod.
"Hmm, since you put it that way, reflecting on the scenes we witnessed on the train, I believe I understand," the little one mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully before continuing, "It seems everyone on the train has succumbed to a dream, and the four of us happened to share the same dream. However, there remains one question I cannot fathom: how did you… come to realize that all of this was a dream?"
"Exactly! Big brother, how did you discern that our experiences in the Minotaur tribe were merely a dream?" A little girl with fiery red hair, resting her chin in her hands, eagerly asked the indifferent man, "That dream felt so real; we could even feel pain within it, almost indistinguishable from reality. How did you know it was a dream, big brother? Annie has been puzzled by this."
"…" Casting a fleeting glance at the similarly curious silver-haired woman beside him, Xiao Mu Yu coldly replied, "Indeed, that dream was exceedingly real; everything experienced within it was nearly indistinguishable from reality. I only uncovered the truth later. Ultimately, however, falsehoods will always remain false; they can never truly become real. No matter how convincingly the dream weaver constructs the dream, certain flaws in the details are unavoidable. Once these flaws are identified and all the clues are connected, discerning the truth becomes quite simple."
"Uh… flaws?" The silver-haired woman tilted her head in confusion and asked, "For example?"
"For instance… the wooden doors of those tents," Xiao Mu Yu stated coldly, "The wooden doors are the most glaring flaw."
"The doors?" The three individuals by the campfire exchanged puzzled glances, bewildered. "Those doors… seem quite ordinary."
"Indeed, they appear ordinary, yet there is a detail you have overlooked," he continued, his eyes reflecting a chilling coldness, "The door handles on those wooden doors are positioned on the right side, which is quite abnormal."
"Uh… abnormal? What is abnormal about that?" Teemo inquired.
"…" With an indifferent glance at the silver-haired woman, who seemed to grasp something, Xiao Mu Yu replied coldly, "Riven, do you recall the question I posed to you? The one regarding whether the Minotaurs are predominantly left-handed."
"Hmm, I remember," she nodded, a look of understanding dawning upon her, "So that's how it is! Hehe… Mr. Mu Yu, you are quite observant to notice such details."
"Hmm?" Tilting her little head in contemplation, Annie beamed, "Ah! Annie understands now! You're amazing, big brother!"
"…" Observing the two women, one large and one small, who seemed to comprehend, Teemo felt a profound sense of humiliation regarding his own intellect. "Um… what exactly is going on? Why am I still confused?"
"…" The two women turned to look at Teemo, their expressions filled with a pitying gaze, as if they were looking at a pitiable child, which deeply wounded the proud Captain Teemo.
"Hey… why is this little kitten so slow-witted?" sighed Annie, adopting a tone of a mature adult, "Let me explain it to you."
"Little kitten, aren't most Yordles right-handed? Have you not noticed that your door handles are all positioned on the left side of the doors?" Annie continued, "Generally speaking, in a community where the majority are right-handed, door handles are placed on the left side for convenience. Only a species where most members are left-handed would position the handles on the right… Yet the Minotaurs are predominantly right-handed, yet their tent doors have the handles on the right side. Don't you find that peculiar, little kitten?"
"Uh… peculiar? What's so peculiar about that?" Teemo, feeling increasingly perplexed and embarrassed, asked, "Perhaps it's simply the custom of the Minotaurs regarding door construction; what's odd about that?"
"You… sigh, after all I've explained, you still don't understand. Truly a slow-witted little kitten," Annie continued, sighing as if she were a parent disappointed in their child's lack of progress, "Logically, the door handles of those Minotaur doors should be on the left side, yet reality presents the opposite; they are placed on the right side, which is entirely illogical… Hmm, little kitten, have you ever looked in a mirror?"
"When you look in a mirror, you should notice that the directions are reversed; for instance, if you are right-handed in reality, the reflection shows a left-handed version of yourself. This means that if the door handle is on the left side in reality, it would appear on the right side in the mirror… Big brother likely deduced from this that the dream world we inhabit is not aligned with reality."
"Uh… is that so?" Teemo timidly glanced at the indifferent man.
"Ah, indeed," the indifferent man nodded, continuing, "Yet, this single clue was insufficient to outline the truth. At that moment, I merely sensed something amiss, but could not fully perceive the entirety of the truth. However, the clues soon revealed themselves before my eyes."
"Regarding the curse of the Mother of Korlzon and the Ghosthorn Lone Wolf," Xiao Mu Yu stated coldly, "At first glance, this matter appeared flawless. However, when I first awoke from the dream, my consciousness experienced a brief period of confusion. This confusion was likely due to the disconnection between my memories of reality and the circumstances of the dream. After all, our last memory before falling asleep was on the Magic Train, yet upon awakening, we found ourselves in the distant Minotaur tribe, which was quite abnormal."
"To ensure that the reality within the dream seamlessly connected with our memories without raising suspicion, the dream weaver needed to implant false memories into our minds. However, these memories could not be detailed down to the very second; they were merely broad impressions, such as where we disembarked from the train and how long we traversed the desert. Yet, when it comes to finer details, such as what we had for lunch on a particular day or how long we ate, such intricate memories cannot be woven, for the immense mental effort required to craft those details is beyond even the capabilities of a deity."
"In other words, these memories cannot be overly detailed, yet at that time, I meticulously examined my memories," Xiao Mu Yu stated coldly, "While I found it puzzling that I could not recall certain details, I did not feel anything amiss at the time… However, I can assert that I scoured all my memories and found no recollection of the Ghosthorn Lone Wolf."
"I thought I could not have been careless enough to forget that we had slain a peculiar beast on our journey… However, upon hearing the Mother of Korlzon's speculation in her tent, memories of the Ghosthorn Lone Wolf suddenly resurfaced in my mind, and at that moment, I began to doubt the reality of this world."
"Psychic guidance?" Riven inquired.
"Ah… indeed, it is psychic guidance, or rather… psychological suggestion," Xiao Mu Yu replied coldly, nodding. "The events surrounding the Ghosthorn Lone Wolf were forcibly implanted into our memories by the Mother of Korlzon. This means that prior to our encounter with her, we had no recollection of this incident, but once she mentioned the Ghosthorn Lone Wolf, we subconsciously began to think—ah, our sudden drop in power must be related to the curse of the Ghosthorn Lone Wolf; perhaps it truly is the cause of our predicament."
"Moreover, those who slumber within the dream are closest to the sea of consciousness, making their memories susceptible to their own fantasies. Naturally, once they awaken, they will realize that everything was an illusion, but while within the dream, they do not perceive it as such."
Xiao Mu Yu stated indifferently, "Thus, when we were in the dream, as we believed our diminished strength was a result of the curse of the Ghosthorn Lone Wolf, our sea of consciousness would instinctively weave the most plausible memories regarding the Ghosthorn Lone Wolf. When we recalled it, we would think, ah! Indeed, we encountered such a peculiar magical wolf… and thus, everything interconnected."
"Uh… so what happens after we acquire this memory? After being guided to believe in this memory, what can the dream weaver do next?" Teemo asked.
"Quite simply, the ultimate purpose of this memory is to bind us," Xiao Mu Yu stated coldly, "Even within a dream, crafting such a perfect illusion that rivals reality is no simple feat, hence the scenes within this dream cannot extend indefinitely. If the scenes within this dream could truly extend endlessly, it would already qualify as a perfect world… Even if it is a false world, when a world can be constructed to such a grand scale that it mirrors a real world, it has already earned the right to be considered a true reality."
"Creating a genuine world is the ability of the goddess of creation; even deities cannot accomplish such feats, so it is certain that the scenes within this dream cannot be vast," Xiao Mu Yu continued coldly, "Given that the scene cannot be expansive, it is akin to a circle—everything we see exists within this circle, while beyond its perimeter lies a void."
"Therefore, to bind us at the center of the dream world and prevent us from reaching the edges of the scene to uncover the truth of the dream, a reason must be established to restrain us, ensuring we do not wander far from the Minotaur village, obediently remaining within the confines set by the dream weaver until… the dream weaver's objectives are fulfilled."
Xiao Mu Yu stated coldly, "This is precisely the role of the so-called curse of the Ghosthorn Lone Wolf. Since the Mother of Korlzon mentioned that she could help me break the curse, it means that at least during the period when the curse is lifted, we cannot stray too far from the Minotaur village, thus we cannot step beyond the bounds of the circle."