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Kaleidoscope of Death #6

Kaleidoscope of Death Vol. 6

Not yet published
Expected 1 Jun 26
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Open the wrong door… and you may never return.

One ordinary day, Lin Qiushi discovers a black door in the corridor outside his flat—a door that shouldn’t exist. When he steps through, he finds himself in a world governed by a deadly set of rules, where cryptic villagers speak in riddles, and the only way out is to take their obscure “tests”. The reward for passing: a key. The penalty for failure: death.

From haunted villages to blood-soaked puzzles, Lin Qiushi must solve increasingly strange and grotesque mysteries just to live another day. But he’s not alone. Enter Ruan Nanzhu—gorgeous, enigmatic, and unexpectedly lethal—who shows up in his room one night and whisks him into a secretive organisation of seasoned door-crossers.

With each door they pass through, the truth behind the world grows darker, and the line between ally and monster begins to blur.

Grim, gripping, and laced with razor-sharp banter, Kaleidoscope of Death is a danmei survival thriller where logic is your only weapon, trust is your greatest gamble—and laughter might be your last defense.

Paperback

Expected publication June 1, 2026

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About the author

Xi Zi Xu

66 books55 followers
Associated Names:
* Xi Zi Xu (English)
* 西子绪 (Simplified Chinese)
* 西子緒 (Traditional Chinese)
* ซีจื่อซวี่ (Thai)

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5 stars
37 (69%)
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14 (26%)
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Profile Image for Kay.
42 reviews8 followers
February 10, 2026
5/5! This last volume is my favorite! Can't wait to reread this! Can't wait to purchase the physicals of vol 5 and 6!🥰🥰 please don't give up on reading this! The ending is well worth it!

Happy Reading!
Profile Image for V~.
105 reviews17 followers
Review of advance copy
February 9, 2026
5/5 🌟

"Ruan Nanzhu. Is it okay if I come find you?"
But Ruan Nanzhu’s answer came quickly. There was only a single word on it: "Yes."
Seeing this reply, Lin Qiushi’s exhausted expression broke open into a brilliant smile. He began to laugh, laughing so hard that tears fell from the corners of his eyes.

♡(˃͈ ˂͈ )

I apologize in advanced for this longass review.
( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)𐔌՞. .՞𐦯

The amount of tears I shed the last two days is insane. The psychological thrill and mental gymnastics that I experienced is unbelievable. This volume was brutal for me but also one of the BEST volumes in a novel I've ever read. It gives me those feels I felt with my favorite novel: TGCF vol 6 and 8.

I love it so much when two people who love each other so much, have an adversary too powerful for them to beat, but their fear of losing the other is greater.
It's them against the world.
Their love is much more powerful. (っ˶ ˘ ᵕ˘)ˆᵕ ˆ˶ς)

This was, since Lin Qiushi first entered
the eleventh door, the best sleep he'd gotten. Because he knew that Ruan Nanzhu was right by his side, and when the night came in, they would be able to see each other.
And come ghosts or monsters or death, nothing could separate the two apart. He was no longer scared. The giant cavity inside his heart had been filled with another's gentle soul.
What ought to have been terrifying evenings, because of Ruan Nanzhu's very existence, became something to look forward to.


It baffles me when I read reviews that say that there is no romance in this novel. Did these people not read the entirety of the last 3 volumes? Did they not read the entirety of the last door? The extras? (,,•᷄‎ࡇ•᷅ ,,)?

I was literally left in awe and I felt emotionally drained, in a good way. The last door had my mouth drop! The twist at the end tho!
I had already known that there was going to be a crazy plot twist at the end, but I never expected to be mindblown!

Not to mention, the side characters never ceased to amaze me. Though I wish we got to see more of some other side characters from previous volumes. Then again, I don't think such scenes would have been vital to adding to the plot. So I guess it's a good thing. (˶˃𐃷˂˶)

But some other side characters... Dear lord... I wept and wept. I wish it shown how our protagonist feel with what happens in the 11th door when others they know decide to stay in the realm.

⚠️ Spoiler ⚠️
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Ge... Don't be sad."

(I'm not okay!!)

My baby boy... You will be missed. And I hope that your soul is really living at peace in the illusionary realm with your brother. Cheng Qianli, you were never dumb, but a ray of sunshine. Your loss hurt me too!
(Great! Now I'm crying again! Goddammit! (ˊᵒ̴̶̷̤ ꇴ ᵒ̴̶̷̤ˋ) )
I knew of the death involving the twins, but I never imagined it was only Qianli that died. When Yixie wailed holding his diseased brother that died in his arms, and when Toast barked at his dead human trying to wake him up... Oh man, I lost it!
(╯;´ - `;)╯︵ ┻━┻
(which, whatever happened to Toast and Chestnut?)
Qiushi weeping was so heartbreaking, too!

It was like Cheng Qianli’s death had broken a mirage of tranquility in the mansion, and a particular heaviness began to spread throughout the house.... As for Lin Qiushi, he’d kept up a sense of unreality about the twins’ departure. It was as if any minute now, he could go back to the living room and see Cheng Qianli watching TV and giggling on the sofa. That illusion took until one night to break." (kill me pls)

"It wasn’t until Lin Qiushi got back to his room that he discovered he was crying. When Cheng Qianli passed, he hadn’t cried. He hadn’t expected losing control now.
He sat at the side of his bed and realized all of a sudden why Cheng Yixie left. Because in the mansion, the traces of Cheng Qianli’s life was everywhere, and all these traces were like a dull knife, slicing again and again at the flesh without drawing visible blood."


But when Qianli appeared in the realm and Qiushi got to spend one final time with him and said goodbye... It gave me hope that Yixie would be able to meet him again in the eleventh door and live with him ever after.

The chapter title is “雙生” which means twins, born together, dual lives, etc. It’s unintentional but the double meaning of Twin Lives (noun) and Twin Lives (verb) is literal. (I'm weeping again!)

Okay, enough with the tears! (╯˙ᵕ˙ )╯︵ ┻━┻

Let's talk about this mind blowing twist!
Ruan Nanzhu was the 12th's door god?? GUAT!!!! My eyes buldged from their sockets! I kid you not... I had to go on reddit to understand. But the final extra (that is only found in the Chinese print) explains it SO WELL.

"Gods were gods because gods had no
desires.
When the gardener began to play
favorites, it was as if a god had developed
desires--perhaps he was no longer suited
to this job.
Ruan Nanzhu was not careful and cut his palm on the rose's thorns. He looked at the blood in his palm and discovered just how similar the color of his blood was to the color of the rose.
If that was so, then could he also become a rose? This absurd thought suddenly surfaced in the gardener's mind.
As the time Ruan Nanzhu spent with the little rose grew, the love he had for the little rose too grew stronger. At last this exceedingly fervent love led the gardener to make a decision.
He relinquished his identity as a gardener and sought to become a rose, in order to go with his beloved little rose into the final challenge.
The name of that challenge was the Twelfth Door.
Ruan Nanzhu smiled gently. He molded a shape for himself and forgot that he was a gardener."
( ˶°ㅁ°) !!

So pretty much Ruan Nanzhu is the NPC for the twelfth door. In his lifetime, he watched Qiushi's life through a TV that looked at Qiushi's journey in doors 1-11, as well as Qiushi outside in the real world. Ruan Nanzhu fell in love with Qiushi and wished to become human, too.
So he stripped himself of his knowledge and memories he had, and when Qiushi walked into the Twelfth door, he fanfic-ed everything WE read in volumes 1-6 by inserting himself in the picture from doors 1-11.

Within door twelve, Qiushi fell in love with Ruan Nanzhu, he was later seperated by the illusionary realm, but kept his promise that he will never forget about him.
The eleventh door was terrifying... What made it even more terrifying was the fact that their time spent together every day was getting shorter and shorter... Will they ever see each other again? The world seperated the two, no matter how hard they tried to stay awake, they couldn't. The adversary of this realm was too powerful
But Qiushi found the key behind the clock, escaped the illusionary realm, and found out that as he left the twelfth door, no one knew Ruan Nanzhu.

Everything wasn't real.

He waited a year... Waited and waited, nearing insanity. Until one day, Ruan Nanzhu shows up because he too, found the key behind the clock in Qiushi's room in the twelfth door. They reunite and live happily ever after— the twelfth door never to be opened again. Others will never have to experience the twelfth door because Ruan Nanzhu... The twelfth door god, is gone from there, forever.
,; (ง 🔥 ロ 🔥 )ง ;,

GUAT!!!!
UGH!!!!!
My romance freak heart!!!
This is what true love looks like!

I'm exhausted!
That was amazing!
My review and explanation cannot fully describe how fucking amazing and beautiful this volume was. 𐔌՞ ܸ.ˬ.ܸ՞𐦯

Also, I love that the ghouls were nice to Nanzhu when Qiushi left.
Sachiko literally is cupid ghoul! The ultimate number one matchmaker! We. Would. Not. Have. This. Story. Without. Her!
(つ。˃ ᵕ ˂)つ ⸝♡ (っ˶ ˘ ᵕ˘)ˆᵕ ˆ˶ς)

Also, can we talk about Hako Onna hiding in Nanzhu's suit case! Hahahaha!

Though, I wish we knew how the doors came into existance.

Read 02/01/26
Profile Image for Stephrewritten.
42 reviews6 followers
November 5, 2025
I have so many thoughts and I don’t even know where to start. This danmei is SO WORTH THE READ. I also read it right after Panguan and it felt so perfectly timed. I know so many don’t love Modern Danmei’s but if you give one a chance, I totally recommend KOD. I went through so many emotions throughout this series and I feel like with every Danmei, I just connect SO deeply to the characters. This series was EERILY personal. I do think the modern setting helped, but just the depth and the level of balance of humor, connection, love, loss and so much more, really gets under your skin in the best way. It honestly surprised me in so many ways. I’m still reeling over the twist. I honestly don’t know how to feel. I love that it was thought provoking in why characters did what they did. Trying to understand the world of the doors, all of it. I honestly LOVED the concept of the doors and the tie in of the urban legends. It was perfectly spooky and made my heart race. Danmei is amazing at it, but the connection to the side characters was also incredible and I can’t tell you how many times I bawled reading this. I will be thinking of this one for a long time. I just finished and I miss them already. Nanzhu is SO funny and shameless. I love them.
Profile Image for Rachel Lam.
41 reviews
November 12, 2025
That final chapter was actually diabolical. I will now proceed to think about CYX and CQL for all of eternity.
Profile Image for Byul.
142 reviews1 follower
October 30, 2025
I read the webnovel of this series~ I hope for everyone this volume will include the 8 extras along with the 2 special extras that were released for the physical / print copies only, as it gives the readers a better understanding of everything and everyone should read them if they haven't!

rating: I went back and forth on whether it deserves a 3 or 4 star but settled on 3 star~ while I really enjoy the overall plot, I didn't care for and won't overlook the authors way of describing others which lowers my rating. I noticed the author would tend to talk badly about other women and even had odd remarks about anyone when they didn't meet certain beauty or "typical" standards.

review: I enjoyed lin qiushi and ruan nanzhu dynamic~ they both had their own strengths, not being weaker than the other(ish), but able to protect one another.
I really liked how each door was based on different folklore (with some changes of course) and the horror aspects of everything kept me at the edge of my seat always wanting to read more! All the characters and their bond with one another was well written~ I won't lie that I will miss them~
The ending came to no surprise to me as I had been previously spoiled (of my own choosing after watching the drama it was adapted from) but it was wrapped up nicely and as I said earlier, the extras give more details that help explain things. I do wish we got a bit more... but regardless I'm happy with the overall ending~
Profile Image for H4z9.
9 reviews
December 21, 2025
This is the craziest plot twist that’s plot twisted before in any book 😀
Profile Image for Anita.
311 reviews10 followers
October 30, 2025
”Lin Qiushi leaned back in Ruan Nanzhu's arms and felt the warmth coming from the other's skin. He said, "I used to think this is enough, but now..." A hint of sorrow surfaced between his brows. "I want to grow old with you. Is that too selfish?”

Wrapping this up I feel like most of my thoughts have been verbalized in the previous reviews, and all of it is still relevant. This series started out really strong, as a reader it felt like the author had a clear concept of where she wanted to go, and the main storyline felt solid. The doors mostly had well thought out concepts and there was a good mix between single and collaborative efforts. Unfortunately I keep waiting for the story to venture outside of the action and horror, to envelop up into this massive world and slowly unwrap all these characters that make up the struggles, acts of love and evil. But it never happened, as I reached the last page I felt that most of the side characters were still frigid shells, only meant to stay in the shadows and appear when convenient. It’s not until I reached the extras that I felt the emotional impact of the twins stories and to some degree Tan Zaozao’s.

The plot twist at the end didn’t come as a surprise as I’ve watched the dramatization, and truthfully I wasn’t blown away by it. My favorite part of this series was seeing the only constant relationship, the one between our mains, develop into such a lovely thing. I don’t know, for me it felt as if everything I experienced with them didn’t happen, and therefore, what’s the point? Still though, I love the way they loved each other and that together with entertaining stories within the doors was worth the tedious read.
Profile Image for Tazou.
11 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
January 18, 2026
review for the 6 volumes / spoils

I LOVED the whole series from the beginning to the end we’re not even getting bored once, it’s funny, creepy and angsty at the same time, it’s plot heavy and there’s no plot holes whatsoever, still maybe have some questions but I can live w it, every door is so interesting and the use of diff folklores is just so great every time.
The main couple is just…yeah shameless and I love this contrast with the horror concept. I LOVEEEE when romance is on 2nd plan but still influence the whole story ??? don’t read only for the romance it’s rlly rlly poor at the beginning, it doesn’t even develop before half of the novel and maybe even after ? Yet when they’re tgt it’s just perfect. Still I was so right to cheer for Ruanzu bcs that guy was down bad for his boy and wayyyy before he entered the doors… I want to pull a demon too Quishi you selfish bastard just share a little…
I’m never reading Quishi’s 10th door tho, the angst peeked there…not even Yixie’s 9th door where they both nearly died was as angsty as when Hako Onna got Ruanzu trapped in the room uh don’t even want to think abt it again.
The whole cast is just so good, ofc my favs support character died but well that was for sure I’m used to this now… they even had to make extras abt this ??? Awful

Basically ig it’s already my best 2026 read it’ll be hard to top this even if I can object some things to it it’s still a wonderful book that took me one week off my life to finish it and I was FOCUSED only on this the whole week, I’ll be mourning this wonderful week oh how to bring this feeling back 😔
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Cristuan.
18 reviews
January 4, 2026
Espectaculaaaaaaaar vaya historia vaya personajes VAYA GIRO FINAL, muy muy disfrutable si te gusta el terror de baja intensidad y los escape rooms.
Lo único que podría echar en falta es desarrollo romántico, LQS no parece darse cuenta de lo que siente hasta que en cuestión de dos capítulos esta involucrado en la relación.
En general una lectura fantástica que recomendaré a cualquiera que se me acerque.
35 reviews
Review of advance copy
January 30, 2026
Rating the story based off a fan-translated file I have! This story was so, so good, and made me feel all the feelings we feel. I won't spoil anything, but the ending did throw me for a loop, in both a plot twist way and also a I'm-confused-how-this-happened way. I still loved the entire story overall, will absolutely be re-reading, and is officially in my top ten list.
1 review
Review of advance copy
February 1, 2026
The other volumes were much more light hearted, but every part of this novel was so perfectly wrapped up and so so so well done. I wish I could erase my memory and reread this series once more just for the amazing plot twist at the end
Profile Image for Hane.
36 reviews
November 24, 2025
que broncaaa, hice la reseña en el primer volumen porque antes no estaban acá AAAAAAA
27 reviews
Review of advance copy
February 6, 2026
I still can't wrap my head around the whole idea of Nanzhu being the 12th door. I loved the ending my Jiushi and Nanzhu😩 also Bai Ming and his lover
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews

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