Chapter 166 166: Project Stigma
"It seems you have an idea," Einstein said, looking at Welt and nodding. "It's a good thing you can rest for a while. Let's talk about that Kevin who came out."
"What exactly did you talk about with him?"
Einstein had actually been quite puzzled all along. Why had Welt suddenly stayed inside the Sea of Quanta and not returned? The only message he left was that he had encountered danger and had to stop something from coming back. After that, even they had no way of contacting Welt, because the signal seemed to have fallen into an infinite maze. Every time they collected information, it was different.
"I learned of a plan," Welt said, looking at Irene. "A world-saving plan that I cannot accept."
"It seems this is another story that's hard to explain clearly." Einstein knew right away there was a problem. "A world-saving plan... I have a feeling this will be extremely difficult to handle."
How should one put it? If a person wanted to destroy the world, their plan might be crude and cruel, but it wouldn't be impossible to resolve, because they were evil. But if a person formulated a plan to save the world, that would be hard to say, because that represented a kind of correctness. Moreover, there was no way you could persuade this kind of person by any means.
Any blow you struck against him might instead fuel his reasons for absolutely having to head in that direction. There were no shortcuts to take, no reasoning to be had. The only reasoning you could do was to prove that you were more suitable than him.
Therefore, upon hearing Welt say that the other party was going to carry out a world-saving plan, Einstein knew things were going to be bad. This matter would probably not end well.
"Let's get going first. We should catch up." Welt pointed at Irene, who was being dragged away by the chains. "Irene will probably explain everything together. She knows much more than I do."
"There's no need to emphasize that point." Tesla also turned her head to look at Irene. "This guy already revealed it to us earlier; she's someone from the Sea of Quanta. A world very similar to ours, but with some differences in many details. That's why she knows so many things."
"Is that so?" Welt looked at Irene's retreating back. "It feels like it's not such a simple relationship."
Irene's familiarity with them seemed to be beyond what could be explained by just being acquaintances from a parallel world. But it also seemed that there was truly no other, more accurate explanation right now.
"Who knows? Maybe it's just our misconception." Einstein shrugged and stepped forward to follow everyone back to the Hyperion.
Naturally, Einstein had also noticed something amiss. However, considering the things Irene had said and the traits she displayed—and the fact that Irene had indeed transformed into Wendy from a parallel world, or even, according to Himeko, transformed into Cheng Lixue...
There couldn't be two almost identical people in this world. Even if there were, it would be impossible for there to be two identical people who were also the same Herrscher at the same time. As for the latter, her death was something everyone knew about. Yet Irene was able to transform into her appearance. Setting aside the possibility of disguise, everyone also indicated that Irene had a trait—the souls of those people resided within her mind.
Unless Irene had arrived in their world ahead of time without any of them knowing, and simultaneously extracted Cheng Lixue's soul, again without any of them knowing. She even possessed a Judah that was completely different from Theresa's.
All these various points truly seemed to only be explainable if Irene was indeed from a parallel world in the Sea of Quanta, similar to theirs yet different. As for the 'amiss' feeling in their hearts, since there was no other reasonable explanation, it would just have to remain a feeling of being amiss. Regardless, Irene still stood on their side right now, and that point hadn't changed.
"Why think so much about it? As long as she's on our side, that's enough." Tesla rolled her eyes at the two of them and nudged Welt's stomach with her elbow. "Thinking about so many things right after coming back... hasn't your brain spun enough? And you, Chicken Nest Head, the two of you just think too much. You can turn nothing into something."
"Yes, yes, yes." Einstein shrugged indifferently. It was just that scientists' brains spun a bit faster. She wasn't planning to say anything either. Just like Tesla said, Irene was standing on their side, and that was enough. If they really wanted to nitpick over things, there were far too many things that shouldn't be scrutinized randomly.
On the other side, Irene currently had her wrists bound by Theresa using Judah, being dragged along like a prisoner being escorted. Irene followed behind Theresa with a look of utter helplessness.
"Theresa, is this really necessary? It's not like I'm not going to explain. There's no need to keep me tied up, right?" Irene shook her hands and looked at Theresa, feigning a wronged expression.
"Hmph, and what did you tell me before? That if something came up, you would let me help you." Theresa tugged at the chains. "And the result? Just how many things have you done secretly behind our backs? You never once thought of telling us that you've been shouldering everything yourself."
"Whether it's Sirin or Seele, you're doing everything yourself. You're even doing other things. Just how much have you hidden from us? Your leave of absence last time wasn't that simple either, was it? What did you do then, and why did you go to London?"
Irene looked at Theresa's back—which hadn't turned around once—and shrugged. "Of course it was to help Rin. I didn't lie about that, did I?"
"But you definitely didn't tell the whole truth, did you?" Theresa glanced back at Irene. "I don't believe you were just being good during the time you disappeared, just like with Kevin today."
"I just went with the flow, went with the flow! Is there a problem with that?" Irene shrugged. "When an issue was right in my face, of course I went to deal with it."
"I'm just afraid you did it on purpose." After Theresa snorted, she dragged Irene into a meeting room.
Irene glanced at the people inside the room. "Oh, everyone's quite gathered here."
Irene waved at the group, finally shaking the chains again, making them rattle. "Alright, Theresa, stop throwing a tantrum. Being here is enough, isn't it? It's not like I'm going to run away."
"Hmph!" Theresa retracted the chains. "You better explain properly. What exactly is the deal with that man... that Kevin?"
"Okay, okay, this was something I was going to explain anyway." Irene nodded, waiting a moment before turning her head to look at Einstein's group, who had just walked in. "But I must ask first... Miss Einstein, could you do me a favor?"
"Of course. What does Miss Irene need help with?" Einstein nodded very naturally, looking at Irene.
"Do me a favor and give Siegfried a call. I want to know if he can be reached right now."
Hearing Siegfried's name, Kiana, who was sitting down, suddenly had her eyes light up. "Dr. Einstein can contact my stupid dad?"
"He's with us at Anti-Entropy." Einstein nodded at Kiana, simultaneously pulling out her terminal to contact Siegfried. "The reason he didn't meet with you before was also because..."
"Because of me, right?" Right at this moment, Kiana's left eye turned golden, and her voice carried Sirin's tone. "He was afraid that his presence would trigger my awakening."
"That's right." Einstein nodded, confirming Sirin's words. "He was afraid that his presence would agitate you, so he chose to leave Kiana."
"Dad..."
Right then, Einstein frowned, looking at the call that was taking too long to connect. "Did Siegfried go slack off somewhere again? Why isn't he answering the phone?"
"That's unlikely, right? Isn't that guy brimming with motivation?" Tesla looked at Einstein's unanswered call. Although it wasn't good to put it this way, after learning that Kiana had been taken away, Siegfried was actually extremely motivated.
According to him, he was ready to unsheathe the Judgment of Shamash at Schicksal HQ anytime, anywhere when they needed it. How could he not answer the phone right now?
"Oh, then it's too late." Irene looked at the unanswered call in Einstein's hand and nodded. "Even though I warned Siegfried, he still got captured, huh."
"What? My stupid dad was captured?"
Siegfried had been captured!
Kiana and Theresa both slammed their hands on the table and stood up immediately, looking at Irene with shocked expressions. Kiana looked at Irene and asked, "Sister Irene, what's going on? Who captured my stupid dad? Otto?"
Before Irene could give a response, Einstein, standing to the side, was the first to shake her head. "I don't think so. Miss Irene, your change of topic just now to have me contact Siegfried—it seemed you had already anticipated that Siegfried wouldn't be able to answer the phone."
"The one who captured him probably wasn't Schicksal, but the faction represented by that man who appeared from the Sea of Quanta, right?"
Irene looked at Einstein with a smile and nodded. "Bingo. Perfect. That's right, Miss Einstein is absolutely correct. They were the ones who captured Mr. Siegfried. Then here's a bonus question: why?"
"Because of Kevin. Because of the Judgment of Shamash in Siegfried's hands." Einstein put away her communicator. "It seems what I thought on the way here was indeed correct. This Kevin isn't just someone with the same name. He should be the very first ancestor of the family, the MANTIS of the Previous Era, Kevin Kaslana."
"That's right." Irene nodded. "The origin of the Kaslana Family's bloodline, the first MANTIS of the Previous Era, bearing the Signet of Deliverance—Kevin Kaslana. Or you can just call him Kevin, because 'Kaslana' holds no meaning to him."
"Good thing our place here is big enough to hold all these people standing."
"Miss Irene, if you want to tell bad jokes, save them for next time." Einstein's brows furrowed deeply. "If they were only after the Judgment of Shamash in Siegfried's hands, then why would Siegfried still be out of contact?"
"Because he is a Kaslana. Because he has touched upon and awakened the Kaslana Family's bloodline." Irene looked toward Kiana. "It's because he is an extremely rare warrior, even with his personality issues and physical injuries."
"A mere severed arm is actually nothing in the face of the Kaslana Family's bloodline, as long as Siegfried can awaken that portion of the genes. Oh, but let's get back to the point. Why is Siegfried currently in a state of being out of contact?"
Irene tapped lightly on the table. "Does Miss Einstein know about the Kaslana Family's Stigmata?"
"The Stigmata passed down from their ancestors. I've researched it, but not much." Einstein looked at Irene. "But going by what Miss Irene just meant, they felt a sense of appreciation for his talent and want to help Siegfried restore his physical condition."
"Uh-huh, why not? Talents are very scarce, especially such strong talents." Irene nodded. "So they temporarily detained Siegfried. After Kevin goes over, he'll probably throw Siegfried into the Kaslana Family's Stigmata Space to undergo a trial."
"As long as Siegfried can break through the haze in his own heart, he will be able to come out. Though the possibility isn't very high, that is."
"Why?" Upon hearing this, Kiana immediately became somewhat anxious. "If he can't get out of the trial, wouldn't that mean he'll die? Even if he doesn't die, he would be trapped for a very long time!"
"Because, just like I said, he has to break through the haze in his own heart." Irene turned her head to look at Kiana. "Regrettably, this matter will probably be a bit difficult for Mr. Siegfried."
"It's not entirely incomprehensible, I suppose." A hint of understanding flashed across Tesla's face. How should she put it? Although Siegfried usually looked like he was just fooling around, he actually hid many things deep in his heart.
It could even be said that Siegfried was actually waiting for an opportunity to use his own life to pave the way for Kiana one last time. His heart was long dead; how could he possibly talk about breaking through the haze?
"Alright, let's stop talking about this topic for now. We'll leave it at that. If there's a chance, I'll figure out a way." Irene clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention over.
"Let's get back to what Kevin is going to do." Irene looked at the crowd, her gaze turning somewhat serious. "Even though everyone might not quite understand, what I can say is that Mr. Kevin is actually not an enemy in the strict sense."
"What he wants is also to save this civilization, to save human civilization. It's just that none of us can accept his plan."
Irene then disclosed the entire purpose of Project Stigma and the consequences it would cause.
"After the execution of Project Stigma, humanity will no longer suffer attacks from the Honkai, nor will they face the descent of Finality." Irene looked at everyone, who all had expressions of deep thought.
Everyone would enjoy the present, and everyone would be able to obtain their most desired ending. Everyone's fate would stagnate. The dreamscape would exist, and death would not descend.
The same went for civilization. As the main body of civilization, humanity would not die, so civilization would not die either. But it would merely be stuck in the second right before death—infinitely approaching it, yet never slipping down into it.
"But everyone will live forever within a phantom dream, forever stagnating in the present, forever enjoying the present, with no more path to move forward." Irene looked at the crowd, giving her final summary.
"After the Stigmata, civilization will not be dead, but it will be no different from death."
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