Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

It was like a dam collapsing.

First, small holes, then cracks.

Finally, in an instant, like the earth beneath being pulled away, it all came crashing down like a dragon diving into the sea.

By the time the floodwaters reached your head, it would be too late to consider why such a terrifying danger had arisen.

Hachiman Hikigaya secretly rejoiced in the preparations he had made earlier. Although many things hadn't gone as he expected, being prepared at a time like this was far better than being unprepared.

Women genuinely yearned for the innate physique and violence of men, and the jealousy and resentment emanating from the depths of their hearts chilled Hachiman to the bone and filled him with fear.

Men genuinely loathed the constructed image of weakness projected onto women, and the resentment against privilege, suppressed by the entire social system, coalesced upon the outward appearance of women.

No one could escape this simplistic and crude labeling of hatred.

Some were calling for a so-called diversion of conflict, but in reality, there was no such thing as a diversion of conflict.

The reason most ordinary people's attention was successfully diverted wasn't because they were stupid, but because the ordinary people simply didn't have the capital to sustain the fight until the exploitation and oppression were rectified in public opinion.

'Diverting conflict,' the dialectical movement it embodied was happening in reality. Some bastards were simply betting on the fact that the proletariat didn't have the material resources to hold out until public opinion turned around. Once the facts were recognized, the proletariat had to directly confront the diverted conflict.

For ordinary people, the moment the conflict was diverted, it had already cost them a huge and unimaginable price in reality. Once real material costs were paid, that conflict became genuinely real.

Unlike Anti-Entropy labs and Schicksal Valkyries, these organizations were born on the shore, constantly shouting and pointing at the loopholes in the dam, raising alarms.

Hachiman Hikigaya's work as a Public Safety cadet was more like desperately patching loopholes back and forth, only to watch helplessly as all his efforts turned to water, a nameless oppression sprouting in his heart and gradually turning into something twisted.

And his way of dealing with this was simple. He would sleep wearing his Living Stigmata armor, personally experiencing the clear contrast and insights the Stigmata space brought him in his dreams.

Hachiman had never felt comfortable in the Stigmata space.

In this crimson space, the dreamlike, non-dreamlike sensation made Hachiman feel like he was wandering in some kind of… some kind of…

Even with his liberal arts background, he couldn't describe the feeling.

In fact, he felt like he was wandering inside a giant creature, a feeling that was oppressive and uncomfortable, yet also 'safe' like returning to the womb.

But today, Hachiman felt that the Stigmata space had changed.

He clearly sensed that he was being watched by some strange presence.

Hachiman checked himself up, down, left, right, 360 degrees, but couldn't find any place where he could locate the entity monitoring him. He didn't even know if there really was someone watching him in this place.

"Could it really be just my imagination?"

He wondered for a while, then cast these questions to the back of his mind.

Now, he had to face 'another self', the Stigmata will that belonged to him.

"Looks like he's quite sensitive to what's behind the scenes…"

Noldrei was hidden within the Stigmata space. The only ones who could hide here were him and Kiana. Besides them, perhaps Hare, with her 'transcription' ability, could also manage it. Miss Mystelin was indeed a master of wandering in the Stigmata space.

"Just as you said, the turmoil of the mortal world will bring about changes in the human spirit. And changes in the human spirit will in turn act on the Stigmata will."

Hare sighed and said, "I just didn't expect that whether a person's spirit can become firm actually requires the turmoil of the entire world to shape it."

'Perhaps, this is why the will of those from the Previous Era to fight against the Honkai was generally firmer than that of people in this era.'

'More cruel and bloody conflicts also shaped the heroes of the Previous Era.'

Kiana was also hidden in the Stigmata space. She hadn't expected that her, the Kaslana Stigmata Mother behind it all, could still reap so many benefits.

The Stigmata wills of people in reality were being recorded into the Stigmata space one by one. The Kaslana Stigmata space became increasingly chaotic, all kinds of ideological conflicts converging together.

What puzzled Kiana most was that these things, when mixed together, actually manifested the visual imagery of an 'eye.' It resulted in her looking like a giant eye-tentacle monster in her own Stigmata space.

The 'eye' was a figurative representation of the cognitive system, and 'tentacles' were a figurative representation of the activity system, ultimately combining into a bizarre and strange life form.

Noldrei observed Hachiman Hikigaya's condition and calmly said, "Social changes will be reflected in people's conscious activities. The ideological and emotional forms of consciousness generated will in turn control the physical body in reality, further shaping the material world that it demands."

"Matter and consciousness complement each other, and this young man is naturally the same. If humans want to defeat the Honkai, they cannot only seek strength from material power, but must delve into the essence of the Honkai, delve into the essence of the Stigmata."

"There is no other way, but the Honkai will often not sit idly by. It will also choose Herrschers. Although we can use Herrscher cores to create Herrschers that meet our needs in advance, that is still not enough."

Noldrei was still looking forward to seeing what surprising performances some of the later Herrschers would have.

Kiana was a little puzzled, and she curiously asked, "What kind of people do you think the Honkai will choose to inherit Honkai energy and become Herrschers? Based on past information, Herrschers are often chosen from individuals who hate humanity, aren't they?"

Hare was also curious about how Noldrei controlled the Honkai's direction in choosing Herrschers.

In her view, being able to narrow down the direction of Herrscher selection to three million was already incredibly powerful. If he could control it to a specific individual, she couldn't even begin to imagine how.

Noldrei thought for a moment and said, "What do you think public opinion is?"

Hare thought for a while and replied, "It should be a kind of guidance for social values."

Kiana knew that whatever she said would definitely be wrong, so she simply gave up and didn't answer.

He remained silent for a moment, then explained, "'Public opinion' is a language-based power tactic wielded by those with discourse power against those without it. And the embodiment of discourse power isn't about making someone speak louder, manipulating the external form of discourse power, but rather, it is 'the greatest public opinion' itself."

Hare seemed to be deep in thought, but she still didn't understand why Noldrei suddenly became interested in the issue of public opinion.

"Have you ever heard about what happened when the steam engine first came out? Many workers hated the steam engine for taking their jobs, and then they smashed the steam engines."

Noldrei's question was a bit baffling to her.

But soon Noldrei explained to Hare what he was going to do next.

"Do you think those workers who smashed steam engines and hated the progress of social productive forces, would they be chosen by the Honkai to become Herrschers? Don't they also belong to the category of people who hate human society?"

Miss Mystelin's mind went blank for a moment, her thinking paused briefly.