Starting from the Collapse World, I became the behind-the-scenes boss

"As long as you can live, I will be content."

She had no regrets about meeting Shihen, this flower-like young man, in the last period of her life.

"Sister Natasha, do you remember when we discussed the limits of Stigmata?"

Shihen asked with a smile.

"Even at a time like this, you still remember this..."

The raven looked somewhat helpless.

Even a Saintly Awakener could not withstand the power of three nuclear bombs, let alone protect so many people.

“Actually, you’re all wrong.” Pingjing shook his head, and Shihen’s eyes lit up with white light again. “The limit of the Holy Mark is not the Fusion Warrior, nor anything else, but… me!”

"I am now at the limit of the Holy Mark!"

"What do you mean?"

Raven looked up at the boy, a mixture of confusion and hope rising in its eyes.

"Since the limits of the Holy Mark cannot withstand a nuclear bomb, then I will break those limits." Shihen said calmly, a strange spatial fluctuation emanating from his body. "You all stay here and wait for me to level up first."

As soon as he finished speaking, the boy's figure vanished instantly, leaving only a fleeting wormhole in his place, inside which a vast, dark expanse, resembling a starry sky, could be faintly seen.

At this moment, there are only thirty seconds left before the three nuclear missiles arrive.

-------------------------------------

Headquarters of Destiny, Floating Island, Central Intelligence Room.

Looking at the giant Earth projection in the center, Otto, sitting in a swivel chair, gently swirled the wine in his glass, his handsome face full of leisurely satisfaction: "Amber, do you think that Walter can survive the attack of four nuclear bombs?"

"Based on the existing intelligence analysis, it is not possible."

Like a robot, Amber bowed her head and answered respectfully.

“Yes, theoretically speaking, he can only block one at most.” Otto took a sip of red wine. “But theory is just theory.”

There are too many unreasonable people in this world, so who can guarantee that things that are theoretically possible will definitely happen?

Hearing Otto's exclamation, Amber lowered her head and did not reply.

But the Bishop of Destiny doesn't need anyone else's approval, so Otto simply smiled and raised his glass towards the east: "Then let's wait and see if you can create miracles like the other Walters?"

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Path of Tianyuan

What exactly is the limit of Stigmata?

Walking through this desolate space, Shihen pondered the answer to this question.

To answer this question, we must first understand the nature of the Stigmata.

From a scientific perspective, the essence of the Stigmata is actually genes.

Due to methods left over from previous civilizations, humans in this era will more or less contain a certain amount of Stigmata genes.

However, in most cases, these genes are recessive and are not expressed.

As far as Shihen knows, there is currently only one effective way to promote the expression of the Holy Mark gene—Paradise of the Past.

When the number of dominant stigma genes reaches a certain level and forms a system, stigma patterns will appear on the host's body.

In layman's terms, could it be called a set?

Of course, the stigma pattern is not the only way to evaluate the stigma awakening level.

For example, people like Ravens, although they don't have holy marks on their bodies, their holy mark awakening level is definitely not low; it's just that their genes cannot form a system.

Even though Raiden Mei already possesses a complete set of Stigmata, she can still bear the power of the imprint and activate other Stigmata genes.

For the people of this world, manifesting the Stigmata pattern is only a stage in the development of Stigmata, far from the end of Stigmata power, and even whether or not the Stigmata pattern can be manifested is not important.

But for Time Mark, the manifestation of the Stigmata pattern is the end.

Theoretically speaking, he shouldn't have any unactivated Holy Mark genes within him. This is because his Holy Mark was directly bestowed by the system, not left over from a previous civilization.

Before today, Shihen believed he had reached the limit of the Stigmata, because he had used the Honkai energy adaptability and control granted by the Stigmata to the extreme, and even had a way to enter a burst state that overloaded his body.

If even this can't be called the limit, then what is the limit?

If we only consider the Stigmata and the physical body itself, then this path has indeed come to an end, and there is no way to go any further.

However, the Honkai world possesses a will attribute.

Through the cultivation method of divine sound, Fu Hua's lineage can even manipulate the enormous energy of Herrschers with ordinary human bodies, reaching a level comparable to gods with mortal bodies.

This is the effect that can only be achieved by tempering one's will to the extreme.

Unfortunately, Shihen could not obtain the divine sound inheritance in a short period of time, and he himself did not want this kind of shackle with a mental imprint.

Therefore, he had to find a new path for himself, a path different from the physical body and the genes of the Holy Mark.

However, despite all that, the Time Mark must ultimately return to the Stigmata itself.

In this world, even when it comes to judging Stigmata, there are actually two different standards.

One focuses on destiny and anti-entropy, emphasizing the adaptability and control of Honkai energy granted by the Stigmata.

Simply put, a good stigmata is one that can be used in combat.

The other one is undoubtedly the World Serpent. They don't pursue how powerful the Stigmata itself is, but value another characteristic of the Stigmata—allowing humanity to maintain its identity even in the torrent of imaginary numbers.

Only when this level is reached can it be considered a sacred mark truly recognized by the World Serpent.

Just like... the traces of time at this moment.

Even in the imaginary space, his mind remained clear, and his body was not eroded.

Theoretically speaking, he could even use this to directly access the Tree of Imaginary Numbers and obtain godlike authority.

However, theory is ultimately just theory.

If he actually did that, it would be a 1000% certain ending, causing the story to be prematurely ended.

"So, can we reveal ourselves now, Holy Mark Will?"

Suddenly stopping in his tracks, Shihen spoke to the void before him.

Swish!

In an instant, this world, which was originally as empty as the starry universe, changed.

Centered on the Time Mark, endless pure white spread outwards wildly, instantly covering the limits of the boy's vision, leaving him with nothing but white.

In real life, such white would be enough to cause dread.

But this is an imaginary space, where everything is given meaning by the traces of time, so he only felt it was ordinary.

"I thought you would think about it for a while longer."

A pure white figure appeared in front of Shihen and quickly transformed into a shape identical to his.

"It feels like looking in a mirror."

Without answering the question from the Holy Mark's Will, Shihen marveled at himself.

"You can interpret it that way, because I am you."

The Will of the Holy Mark said with a smile.

"You are just a shadow to me."

Shihen shook his head.

"Light and shadow are inherently one."

The will of the Stigmata still smiles.

Looking at the face opposite him that was exactly the same as his own, Shihen raised a finger and shook it: "You seem to have misunderstood something."

You are merely a shadow to me, while I... am your sole source.

A shadow is merely a footprint left at a certain moment.

As long as time continues to move forward, it will always leave new footprints.

But no matter how many footprints there are, their source is always the same.

"Oh, what a big tone."

The smile of the Holy Mark's Will now held a hint of mockery.

"I'm just stating a fact," Shihen shrugged. "On the contrary, if you can't even accept the truth, then your Holy Mark Will is rather pathetic."

"Heh, are you trying to provoke me?!"

The Holy Mark's will, enraged to the extreme, turned into a laugh.

"Provoke? You think too highly of yourself." Shihen couldn't help but chuckle. "I was just curious about your existence, so I chatted with you a bit more."

In any case, this is imaginary space, where all physical laws do not exist, not even time.

In other words, he has endless time here.

Even if he stays inside for a hundred years, returning to reality will only take a moment.

Everything in the imaginary space only has meaning when it is connected to the real world.

This is the only law of the imaginary space.

"Haha, you've really angered me!"

The anger on the face of the Holy Mark's will could no longer be concealed.

Seeing this, Shihen couldn't help but shake his head slightly: "Sure enough, a shadow is just a shadow, it can't compare to me at all."

Moreover, perhaps because it was born too recently, this Stigmata's will is far inferior to that of the Kaslana family.

She has no manners at all, and she makes a big fuss over the smallest things, which makes Shihen feel very embarrassed.

At least this is his shadow.

"You...go to hell!"

As if it could no longer be tolerated, the Holy Mark's will surged with white light from its eyes, and an incomparably surging aura burst forth.

A pure white baseball bat appeared in his hand, and the Holy Mark's will swung the bat directly at Shihen with lightning speed.

Bang!

A baseball bat materialized in his hand as well, and Shihen easily blocked the attack.

"Are you angry because you're embarrassed?" Looking at the oppressive white eyes of the Holy Mark's will, Shihen's expression remained calm. "But it's fine, in the end, we have to settle things with strength."

"I am you, and you are me. Our strengths are exactly the same, so what makes you think you can defeat me?!"

The Holy Mark's Will laughed loudly, and with a baseball bat, it slashed left and right, creating a storm of attacks.

Shihen chose to counter in the same way, and the two baseball bats immediately clashed, creating countless white afterimages.

In just a few breaths, the two baseball bats struck each other hundreds of times, creating a cacophony of clanging sounds.

It's fortunate that this is an imaginary space, not the real world; otherwise, the aftershocks of their fight alone would have been enough to destroy an entire neighborhood.

Bang!

The two baseball bats collided once more, and the next second they broke in two at the same time, and the Time Mark and the Holy Mark's will also separated.

"The same strength? You must have some misunderstanding about me." With a flick of his right hand, Shi Hen restored the baseball bat to its original position and said, word by word, "I was able to leave the real world and come here on my own, while you can only hide here like a rat. What makes you think that your strength is the same as mine?"

"Just because of...this!"

With a furious roar, the Holy Mark Will leaped high into the air, and the baseball bat in his hand, which had also returned to its original state, slammed down with a force as heavy as Mount Tai.

Faced with this powerful blow, Shihen simply took a slight step back, spun around to gather his strength, and then met the attack directly with his baseball bat.

Keng!

Contrary to Saint Seal's expectations, Shihen's baseball bat severed the one in his hand without any resistance, and the bat, still carrying considerable momentum, even hit him in the face, sending him flying dozens of meters backward.

"How...how is this possible!?" Covering his cheek, he struggled to his feet, his Saint Mark Will looking completely bewildered. "Our power should have been equal!"

“Yes, our powers are indeed exactly the same.” Shihen nodded as he slowly approached the will of the Holy Mark. “But apart from power, will is the key factor that determines the outcome of the battle.”

Especially in this space that belongs to him, the space of his sacred marks.