Heart throbbing, blood boiling, and breathing like a dog in heat, Wu Xue Yue continued to trudge up the stairs.
With one last, heavy step, he planted his foot on the final step of the Arches Staircase, exhaling a few words to declare,
"I made it..."
He couldn't help but whimper through his heavy breaths, stopping his movement and struggling to stand.
There was no longer a wall to support himself with, nor were there any walls to use at all.
This was the second floor of the tower.
The courtyard held the first proof, Self Sacrifice, the square hall held the second proof, Receiving Love, the Arches Staircase was the First Detriment, while this second floor was the Second Detriment.
"All Beautiful Bodies..."
The size of the second floor surpassed the diameter of the tower from the outside. It resembled an endless dark, one which blurred the borders of floor, walls, and roof.
It was dark all around, and the end of the staircase seemed to have disappeared, leaving Wu Xue Yue almost completely alone in this dark expanse.
The only things accompanying him were these myriads of stone statues, carved from a dull grey material, and each bearing a similar visage.
A hot, throbbing heartbeat resounded in the otherwise silent void.
Each 'thump' insisted that Wu Xue Yue should move, but at his first step forward, intense heat arose in his stomach.
"Ugh... This is... no... what is this...?"
Wu Xue Yue felt an unfamiliar sensation rising from his stomach.
The heat born in his stomach converged with the heat in his chest, creating an unbearable sensation that could bring any man to their knees.
There were two conflicting sources of heat.
One was born of 'love', the love of Her Hallowed Visage.
However...
"This heat... this heat is..."
Repulsive, because of the bad memories that rose in his heart.
If Wu Xue Yue had to describe the other heat...
Sickening—would be the word—because he did not like the unfamiliar emotion that burned his guts.
'I can't accept that Her Hallowed Visage's 'love' carries this heat. I remember her love feeling cold. Then what is with this sensation in my heart?
'Not only that... Is this desire? My stomach burns with yet another unfavourable sensation.'
His thoughts paused in his mind as Wu Xue Yue's gaze was stolen by one of the myriad of stone statues.
It resembled a woman dressed in unique clothing, an aesthetic unlike the robes of Wu Xue Yue and his people.
Wrapped around her head was a crown that depicted leaves and animals.
This stone statue was also accompanied by a small doe.
Wu Xue Yue stared at the stone statue at a distance; it created a delicate scene of human-animal companionship.
But that delicate scene aroused such a sinful feeling in his stomach.
'That statue... the clothing resembles the clothing of her Hallowed Visage, but that woman is not her...
'And this feeling... this heat...' He felt it stir and worsen the already sickening sensation within his stomach.
With a shake of his head and a flimsy step, Wu Xue Yue walked forward, one hand over his stomach, clutching the fabric of his robes.
He passed by the delicate scene of the woman and doe with an awkward waddle, but just a few steps away was another statue.
This time, it was the woman alone, her clothing hung from her body in a provocative display; not completely revealing, but not modest at all.
It was an alluring sight, especially with the statue's fine details creating a very life-like image.
'These statues seem to pull me towards them... and as I near, the heat intensifies, and my stomach boils. But... my heart throbs with greater fury, as well...'
Wu Xue Yue shook his head again, clearing his thoughts and pushing down the rising heat through sheer willpower before moving on.
There was a statue that sat in a meadow of odd-looking flora.
There was another statue which held a bow and arrow, a quiver strapped to her back, and posed in a dominating position.
There was yet another statue...
In this dark expanse, only the dull grey of these stone statues stood out, and as Wu Xue Yue passed by each of them, his gaze lingered on their forms, taking in each and every detail.
Each posed differently, each wielding different objects, each accompanied by different subjects.
There were differences between most of them, but they all seemed to convey the same visage.
A visage of wild beauty, of nature, and of power.
Heat surged from Wu Xue Yue's stomach, rising to conflict against the heat in his heart.
'None... None of these are her...'
He looked down towards a statue just a few feet away.
'Hand... stomach... chest...' Each part of the statue was unfamiliar to him.
That was to say, they did not resemble Her Hallowed Visage's hands, stomach, and chest.
Yet, they still stole his attention.
'Woman, beast, bow, arrows...'
Wu Xue Yue passed by countless statues, absentmindedly wandering near them, before stumbling away in the other direction.
'Grass...? Flowers...? Robes...?
'Skin? Face? Brows? Eyes... Lips...
'Woman, woman, woman-?'
Halting his foot steps, Wu Xue Yue gazed around the dark expanse and looked over every statue—those near and those far.
He then slapped one hand to the side of his head, knocking himself out of his bewilderment.
"What am I doing?"
He stared at the hand clutching his chest, unable to figure out where to go.
'Clearly... I've been letting my stomach lead me...
'Should I try and let the heat in my heart lead my way...? But there was never any change ever since stepping on the Arches Staircase... Just what does this heat mean...?'
Resuming his movement, Wu Xue Yue continued to stumble absentmindedly.
From this point, he has walked about one thousand two hundred and thirty-six steps.
After a while, he had taken two thousand four hundred forty-two steps...
Later, it reached three thousand six hundred something steps...
Then four thousand eight hundred...
And so on...
Upon taking his twelve thousandth step, there was a subtle change in Wu Xue Yue's heart.
'The heat... It only changed by a smidge, but it undoubtedly changed...!'
It was a minute change, but in the otherwise stagnant state he was in, even the subtlety was a great influence.
Whipping his head around, Wu Xue Yue saw no immediate change in his vicinity; he could only wonder what had changed.
With a tentative step in one direction, he continued for another ten steps, then one hundred, grasping the heat of his chest through his fabric.
'It's waning... the heat is gradually dying down. Not only that, but the heat in my stomach is also clearing away...!'
Without a doubt in his mind, the two conflicting heats in his body had softened, but while they were still emanating from those two regions, they were no longer as painful or insistent as before.
'The heat in my stomach leads me towards these statues, but the heat in my heart burned hotter as a result. If the desires in my stomach lead me astray, the 'love' I received from Her Hallowed Visage causes me to suffer intense pain...
'But now... the two heats within me are wearing down...? Or maybe this is the next part of the Second Detriment...
'Either way, I must continue moving until a greater change occurs.'
However, without a clear direction in his mind, he simply continued forward.
'There was no other relation between my location and the heat in my heart; it only stirred when I got close to a statue. What could be causing it to wane?
'Was the amount of time I spent here the cause of this change? It can't be... These statues are so intricate, and this space is seemingly endless; it is meant to be explored. Otherwise, why would this Second Detriment be related to time if one could simply sit down without nearing the statues?'
As Wu Xue Yue was walking around, he gazed at the myriad of statues again.
The insistent heat in his stomach was still around, and while it had not dulled considerably, it no longer influenced his mind so greatly.
'All Beautiful Bodies... This must be a trial for one's devotion! If I embrace these statues, then I fail!
'This must mean that I have to keep wondering and await a change...'
Wu Xue Yue presumed.
The painful throb in his heart waned, and even if he drew near a statue, it did not stir greater pain; his heart gradually stilled to an orderly, calm rhythm.
The heat in his body also waned, and his steps became more controlled, and Wu Xue Yue no longer had an awkward waddle like that of a pregnant woman.
And so, Wu Xue Yue walked onward.
Six thousand steps...
Seven thousand and two hundred steps...
Eight thousand steps...
...
Upon taking his second twelfth thousandth step, the heat had completely waned from Wu Xue Yue's body; the change had finally been completed.
In this dark expanse was complete silence.
Only in Wu Xue Yue's ears did the calm, almost slow, rhythmic beating of his heart resound. There was also his soft breathing.
He stood tall, his back straight, and his gaze looking around the area.
'The heat is gone, and now... only the cold remains.
'But these statues also remain. They no longer rouse any heat within me, be it pain or pleasure, yet, they still remain...'
His gaze fell as Wu Xue Yue tilted his head. He looked at the floor... or, what should be a floor.
Only black resided beneath his feet, and he only stood on black.
There was nothing under him, but there was clearly something under him.
'Putting this change in otherwords. The sensations I experienced were temporary...
'The desire I had for other people has now disappeared, but the 'love' of Her Hallowed Visage had disappeared, too.
'That is, if it were the 'love' of Her Hallowed Visage.'
With a sudden realisation, light flickered in Wu Xue Yue's eyes.
"This second floor, this Second Detriment, All Beautiful Bodies, is not real!"
Raising his boot high, he sent a powerful strike to the black 'floor'.
And with that strike was another change.
Wu Xue Yue watched as the ripples emanating from the spot he struck rapidly spread outward.
As these ripples reached the stone statues surrounding him, the statues' visage grew blurry.
Beneath them, the floor, which was only black and nothing else, had also changed. Like a mirror, the statues were reflected in this new 'floor', but these 'reflections' were different...
"You are correct in your discovery..."
"That voice?!"
Whipping his head around, Wu Xue Yue desperately searched for the source of that voice.
"These statues are not of my own visage, but share the semblance of someone I knew; they are of Her Semblance. But they are mere reflections, nonetheless.
"As the moon shines in the lake, the reflection of the moon is not real. The statues around you are not real; they are the reflections of the semblance of that 'someone'.
"However, that also means that you reside within the reflection, too."
The statues around Wu Xue Yue were the reflections of the statues in the ground, but those statues were broken, as if worn down by time.
"You have realised the impermanence of Her Semblance, the impermanence of your desires towards other people, and thus, everything will no longer satisfy you.
"But, as you realise the temporary sensations you may receive from or direct to others, you will come to understand me...
"That MY love is permanent. That YOUR affection towards ME... is everlasting...
"I am no reflection. I am THE subject... and I am eternal..."
The ground rippled again, and those ripples distorted the reflections of the stone statues around Wu Xue Yue, causing the reflections to collapse into the 'floor'.
Rather, it could have been described as having sunken into the endless abyss of the dark expanse.
And so, Wu Xue Yue was alone again... till he looked down.
Pale feet stood against his boots.
Mirroring Wu Xue Yue's stance, there was a pale woman who was like a reflection.
When Wu Xue Yue took a step back in surprise, she also took a step back and connected their feet, acting as a reflection...
Of course, due to the nature of this place, Wu Xue Yue would be the reflection.
The pale woman leaned forward and looked down, which meant that she looked up at Wu Xue Yue, beckoning him with a lackadaisical tone,
"Tell me... just how do you see me...?"
...