Honkai: It’s broken, I have become the Herrscher of Corrosion?

"Hyperion has experienced an abnormality near the moon's orbit, and Theresa is missing. She must have... fallen into multiple dreams."

At Enosia's home, she was sharing the latest information with others.

"So... the Stigma Project has already begun?"

Cecilia was a little worried.

"No, it's not the beginning. Since the erosion of the Earth by the imaginary space has begun and Theresa has fallen into a dream, it means... the Stigmata Project is almost over."

"What do we need to do next?"

"...Stigma Awakeners like Ivan, as the Chosen Children, will be teleported to the New Atla Base on the Moon in a little while. By then, Xi'er, Li Sushang, Youlan Dell, and the children from the Raven Orphanage will all be there."

"Of course, to ensure everyone's safety, Alexandra will go there as well. If nothing unexpected happens, Bronya will know what happened after the second collapse with the help of someone."

"So, Ivan's mission is to protect the safety of Alexandra and even the entire New Atlas. When exploring outside, someone has to stay at home."

"Xilin, Bella and I will be teleported to different locations in the same space. We will reunite then."

"When the Earth is invaded by the imaginary space, a large number of imaginary creatures will inevitably take the opportunity to escape into the real world. Although Rita and Cheng Lixue can handle it, when most of the members of the Destiny have fallen asleep one after another, I am afraid they are powerless."

"Cecilia, you will go with Siegfried and deal with the troubles on Earth... Oh, and there is another helper who should be able to [return] to the battlefield."

"...You mean Miss Muliangta Himeko...her Soul Steel body is indeed complete, but...you're right, if she's not in a hurry to return to the battlefield, she won't be a good teacher who can teach Kiana the last lesson."

"Then Xilin, you can prepare to teleport. Because of me, the Gray Snake will use relatively [gentle] methods."

(Switching to Theresa's perspective...)

Theresa Apokalis looked around at the darkness. At this moment, as the incarnation of Vishnu, she had already swallowed the seven dreams, but she was still trapped in this lucid dream. Saint Freya. Destiny Airport. Klosten. Abyss City. Sky City. The Siberian Snowfield.

——These are all microcosms of the ups and downs of her and her students' lives. So... what does this empty darkness correspond to?

"Nice to meet you, Theresa Apokalis."

A cold yet slightly warm voice came from the darkness.

Theresa looked around vigilantly, holding Judas' chain tightly in her hand:

"……who?"

"Kevin Kaslana's shadow. An artificial consciousness belonging to Kaslana's stigmata. For convenience, you can also simply call me "The Will of the Stigmata."

(The will of the stigmata? I seem to remember Siegfried saying that... No, that's not right. Why did he appear in my dream, in the deepest part of this nothingness? To me, this is clearly just a "hearsay"...)

[Stigma Will]:

"…It seems that you don't understand why the situation has evolved to this point. You have clearly swallowed up the seven layers of dreams and reached the edge of consciousness. But this is an adventure without a destination - you still don't know why you are trapped here.

...Whatever. Let me show you the whole story."

A memory about Mei flashed quickly through Theresa's mind from Kevin's perspective.

Theresa:

"This is……"

[Stigma Will]:

"The real Kevin wanted to start the Stigmata Project, but Mei Raiden disagreed with his approach. He let her go, giving her a chance to do what she thought was right."

[Theresa]: "The Stigmata Project?"

[Stigma Will]:

"Yes. The Stigmata Project. In fact, it has already begun - that's why you were captured by dreams in Hyperion near the moon and ended up here. This place is just a step away from the core area of ​​Kaslana Stigmata space, a dark afterimage left behind by the real Kevin."

"But - compared to these, you must be more concerned about the "Stigmata Project" itself, right?"

Theresa:

"...If what you said is true, I'm afraid that thousands of people on Earth are already in desperate situations. How can I leave here?"

[Stigma Will]:

"You need to pass my test and become a true Stigma Awakener. Then, the restrictions imposed on you by the Stigma Project will naturally disappear. The Sanctuary of the Child of Destiny will be opened for you, and you will safely survive this great change in the world there."

Theresa:

“Compared to these… If you are truly Kaslana’s Stigmata Will – then please tell me how I can save everything from the Stigmata Plan that has already begun.

Since you said that the disaster has already happened, you should also understand that the information I need at this moment is definitely not "safely get through the great changes."

[Stigma Will]:

"Ah. You don't have to be so anxious. Understanding 'why you are in Hyperion and are deeply involved in this' will also be helpful in understanding the current development of the situation. Let me give you a reassurance first -

——So far, no one on Earth has "really" lost their life because of the Stigmata Project. So... don't panic. We still have time to understand what happened behind the scenes. "

A memory about the raven flashed quickly through Theresa's mind from Kevin's perspective.

Theresa:

"Kevin and Raven...is this also a recent thing? Wait - how do you know the inside story of these world snakes?"

[Stigma Will]:

"Didn't I say that? I am the will of Kaslana's Stigmata. I am not a member of your dream, but a real stigmata administrator in the world. Of course, I also have a way to receive some fragmentary memories of the real Kevin. And... because of the Stigmata Project, the "boundary" between us will become more and more blurred."

Theresa:

"Boundaries? Between you and Kevin? Or...between you and me?"

[Stigma Will]:

"Actually, both. I just said that up to now, no one on Earth has actually lost their life because of the Stigmata Project. Because at the end of this plan, the materialized Stigmata will replace humans. And humans will also turn into dreams and merge with the Stigmata space of the past."

Theresa:

"…Regardless of what this statement actually means, it does have something to do with my situation. Isn't that right?"

[Stigma Will]:

"That's right. The moon is the key node of the Stigmata Project. Since you approached the moon without knowing it, you became the first victim of the plan. But because of Vishnu's characteristics, you did not sink into the dream after all, but swallowed up all the illusions along the way, and finally ended up here."

Theresa:

"Wait. In other words, if they were ordinary people... they would be immersed in the original dream..."

[Stigma Will]:

"Yes. Their consciousness will change to the same existence as the stigmata, retreating from the real world to the gap between imaginary numbers. And correspondingly - the thoughts in the stigmata will become entities and gradually descend into the outer space. They will move towards each other and replace the humans who are sleeping quietly."

Theresa:

"The Stigmata...replacing humans...isn't the purpose of the Stigmata Project to do whatever it takes to screen out all the "Stigmata Awakeners" from humans?"

[Stigma Will]:

"The value of the Stigma Awakeners is naturally extraordinary. But they are just the intersection of "Stigma" and "Humanity", and are only the most primitive guarantee of the Stigma Project."

"——Let me give you an example, Theresa. If the characters in books and stories were born into the world, they would build a world on their own and extend their infinite possibilities into the future on their own... How do you think such a world would compare to the current human world?"

Theresa:

"...I don't know. But it shouldn't be bad."

[Stigma Will]:

"What if I tell you that the characters in books and stories don't suffer from "birth, aging, sickness and death", and don't face the danger of "world destruction" - would you still think that this is just "not bad"? "

Theresa's eyes widened.

"This... do you mean..."

[Stigma Will]:

"Since you have guessed something, let me summarize it this way... If the purpose of destiny is to "find the right destiny", and the purpose of anti-entropy is to "resist the wrong destiny" - then the purpose of the World Serpent is to "transcend destiny itself." "

“Perhaps there is no distinction between the three… but as has happened repeatedly in human history, when the goals of each other are no longer compatible, friction between “justice” and “justice” is inevitable.”

Theresa:

"So... in the eyes of the World Serpent, since the Stigmata Project can definitely prevent the Herrscher of the End from coming, all other costs can be ignored, right?"

[Stigma Will]:

"But it's not that simple. As I mentioned earlier, the current Stigmata Project allows the Stigmata to replace humans. They will inherit all of humanity's existing civilization - in this way, from a planetary perspective, the Earth will not only not lose anything, but will also usher in a form of sublimation."

Theresa

"The Earth...will ascend?"

[Stigma Will]:

"This matter is still too abstract for you who are trapped in a dream. Rather than forcing yourself to understand such a thing... perhaps the following memory from 50,000 years ago will be more valuable to you."

"That can be considered as one of the starting points of the Kaslana family."

Theresa saw two people, Kevin and a robot girl she didn't recognize. In front of Kevin, there was a sleeping baby.

"Kevin. How did you feel when you first met your child?"

"…He has her eyes."

【？ ？ ？】：

"Really? We designed the eyes according to your genes. After all, her mother is born with myopia... Never mind, now is not the time to be humorous. Do you know what this child will have to bear in the future?"

Kevin:

"He might have to kill me."

【？ ？ ？】：

Oh? You suddenly said something so "enlightened"... I regret it. You haven't even graduated from high school yet, but you're always talking about philosophy. You don't deserve to have [her] child at all..."

Kevin:

"I'm just stating the facts."

【？ ？ ？】：

"Then I will also "state the facts". When the Herrscher of the End comes, I will personally hack into his body - this way, when I reincarnate next time, I may be able to kill all your descendants with my own hands."

Kevin fell silent.

【？ ？ ？】：

"It's up to you what kind of father you want to be - but as a fellow so-called "hero", I'll give you a piece of advice. Since you've already taken on the Stigma Project, there's no need to involve Mei's child in it. The world after the end is so vast and boundless... Before the cycle of reincarnation starts again, he has plenty of time to enjoy the freedom of being a human being.

"You guys love that kind of 'freedom' the most, don't you?"

"Don't worry. The Stigma Project is absolutely fair. When it has the "capital" to come into the world, not only the end, not only fate, not only humanity - even you can rest assured that it will be crushed to pieces."

Kevin:

"...That would be great."

【？ ？ ？】：

"...Anyway, we are just living in a hole underground. Ah, I am not referring to this shelter now. Although several years ago, the people of this era had a lot of high-tech that they were proud of. Of course, I am also a product of such high-tech."

"But in front of the Collapse and the End, we are just a group of primitive people, sitting on the ground with our backs to the cave entrance, our hands and feet chained, and we can only see the boring stone wall in front of us with the help of the fire behind us. Occasionally, with the help of the firelight, the shadow of something will be cast on the stone wall - these shadows are the whole world in our eyes."

"For most primitive people, this is not a bad thing. They will devote their own efforts to these shadows and worship and praise these compiled stories."

"But what if, by chance, after a long time, a primitive man broke free of his shackles and came straight out of the cave? That wonderful world would be extremely gorgeous, needless to say...

But... do you think this person will stay outside or try to save his former companions?"

Kevin:

"…his companions did not necessarily need saving. But for him, something had to be done."

After a moment of thought, the mechanical girl showed a genuine look of surprise for the first time:

"Kevin, you wouldn't... think of yourself as a torch that casts a shadow, would you?"