216 Honkai, what exactly is it?
"Honkai, what exactly is it?"
A voice familiar to the players rang out, his voice was recognizable and hated by all the players.
He was the true culprit of nearly every evil in the game, and the one on whom all the Valkyries in Schicksal depended.
[As the name suggests, Honkai is Honkai, what else could it be? Sirin? (Wrath) ]
[I, the embodiment of Honkai!! (Picture an over-dramatic villain pose here)]
[Honkai is an unpredictable natural disaster, manifested by the arrival of Herrscher and the Honkai Beast.]
[So... the Herrscher is the enemy, right? (Looking at herrscher of void and Reason in the Valkyrie banner), he nodded solemnly, "That's right!" ]
Ignoring the complaints from the players, the video continued unhurriedly.
This brilliant man, seemingly at the pinnacle of human knowledge, appears ready to reveal hidden truths.
But instead of clarity, his narration becomes a muddle, a reflection of Otto's own mind.
Otto has dedicated his life to a single question, five centuries spent poring over records that stretch across eras.
He holds the world's deepest understanding of the Honkai, a claim no other living soul could challenge...
He knows more and more.
He knows less and less.
In the end, Otto comes to a chilling realization: he doesn't truly comprehend the Honkai at all.
The Honkai... where does it begin, where will it end? What triggers its birth, its destruction, the cycles of violence and eerie calm?
Is this 'Pool' a sentient Being, or an ancient law woven into the fabric of existence?
Doubt crashes over Otto like a relentless tide. He's swept away, thrashed and battered, dragged down into the darkest, most terrifying abyss of all – the abyss of the unknown.
Each unanswered question feels like icy water in his lungs, another step closer to drowning.
He wanted to move forward, but he didn't know where to go. He wanted to start his journey, but he didn't know where it would end.
Search and doubt became his constant companions, failure his shadow, confusion his guide.
Torment, relentless experimentation, raw suffering – these fueled his days as he plunged deeper into despair.
Five centuries slipped by like sand through his fingers. Countless theories were born, countless more were left to die, discarded and hopeless.
...
"What are you talking about?" Elysia asked,
"Reasoning and thinking," Mobius replied, her eyes raised as he looked at the subtitles in the game intently.
Naturally, the experiment will not be smooth sailing. This is something that any normal scientist will encounter. No one is an exception, unless he is not a qualified scientist in the first place.
But... Mobius looked at the people inside who had been experimenting for 500 years and still fell into deep thinking.
Each time she thinks she's starting to understand him, a whole new layer of mystery pops up. Frankly, she wouldn't waste five centuries on something so obviously hopeless.
"Can someone really think their way through this?" Vill-V's voice held a hint of amusement. "The conditions keep shifting so wildly, it's not a proper experiment anymore!" That familiar sly smile never left her face.
Five centuries stuck on the same impossible problem... this guy was even more crazy than she'd imagined. It can be said that, The subtitles only confirmed it –
Her suspicions were confirmed – this guy was seriously off his rocker, just like her!
"Hey, uh, anyone getting this?" Elysia glanced at the two deep in their own worlds, sighing dramatically.
She raised her eyebrows, a playful pout forming on her lips. They weren't even going to acknowledge her? Well, a girl could get a little miffed about that, even if it wasn't a big deal.
...
Answers flickered through his mind, taking shape only to dissolve and reshape again. Blueprints formed and crumbled in a relentless cycle of creation and destruction.
Through the swirling chaos, a hazy image began to emerge, a phantom gaining form...
"Now, imagine a tree – the tree of imaginary numbers." Suddenly, the voice sounded.
Instead of the restlessness and confusion everyone felt from the subtitles before, it returned to calm, like the relaxation and enjoyment after finding the answer.
"There is a tree whose top cannot be seen, and its branches and leaves cover the Heaven."
"Under the trees is a vast sea, its depths unsearchable, its boundaries untouchable."
"There is only one sea and one tree between heaven and earth, so they began an endless competition."
"The sea keeps expanding and rising, and the giant trees keep taking root and growing, trying to submerge each other while trying to absorb each other."
"Ages pass like grains of sand through the sea's relentless tides. The tree sprouts countless branches, each heavy with blossoms uncountable."
"In this endless process, in some insignificant corner, among the new leaf buds—"
"A civilization called human beings was born."
[ Wait, what? Trees? A giant sea? I'm totally lost here. ]
[Okay, the Quantum Sea makes sense – Seele was in there, remember? But this imaginary number tree thing? What's that about?]
[So, humans civilization are born on leaves? Are we talking Buddha under a tree or something? Why did We get to theology? ]
Obviously, every expansion of the system means the Honkai of a group of Honkai scholars, but this does not mean that this is the case for everyone.
For example, the two doctors of anti-entropy and some people who already know some 'principles' of the world.
"Damn it, this lines up with everything we've been theorizing!" Tesla's exclamation echoed through the lab, a mix of frustration and excitement battling in her voice as she watched the video.
Quantum mechanics and imaginary numbers – the sheer complexity of those theories has scared most researchers away, even here at Anti-Entropy. Yet, somehow, this video is breaking down even those fundamental concepts into plain language. It's astounding!
At one point, there was a breakthrough in the research on stagnation.
Einstein paused her work, the video's explanation swirling through her mind. "It's truly brilliant....a pity the game only touches on the basics. Imagine the leaps we could make if we understood the deeper implications!"
"Still, it's incredibly well-presented. This whole explanation, the way they link the two concepts... It's so clear and easy to follow."
"Right? Quantum mechanics and imaginary numbers can be such fuzzy ideas, but this 'tree and sea' metaphor makes it click. It might not be perfect for advanced research, but as a way to teach the basics for students with smooth brains? This is brilliant."
...
"Well, there's no surprise here. We've already got this stuff figured out, so let's let them have their fun."
Mobius wouldn't be surprised if some of this came straight from that old MEI's research notes – which is recorded into the void archive.
However, she didn't seem to have a good relationship with the Dr Mei. she don't know how much of Otto's ideas came up by himself or and how much he simply repackaged from her work?
"Hey, hey, hold on a minute! You never explained any of this to me!" Elysia's eyes sparkled with curiosity. Quantum mechanics, imaginary numbers... it was all gibberish to her usually, but Otto's explanation somehow made sense.
"Alright, alright," Mobius drawled, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Credit where it's due, he did at least break it down well."
"No, Mobius, seriously! Have we ever talked about this? I have zero memory of it!" Elysia waved her hands frantically.
Was it possible Otto explained it all, and she simply didn't get it? Impossible! A beautiful girl like her must be smart, right?
"Ugh, obviously you wouldn't get it. What does this have to do with me? Remember that time you insisted on some science lesson I talk, then fell asleep halfway through?"
Mobius stopped abruptly, realizing her slip-up. The others had definitely caught that.
"Ahem, to be fair," Vill-V chimed in, a mischievous smirk on her face, "the Void Archives do contain all that stuff... but it's a jumbled mess, not exactly a quick, easy summary."
She paused, giving Mobius a pointed look. "The Archives store tons of knowledge from the last era, but getting it out isn't always a simple task."
"So?"
"The guy's got brains, I'll give him that," Vill-V conceded. "Five hundred years of stewing in that crazy head of his – he probably figured some stuff out even without fancy lab equipment."
"Yeah, yeah, a hundred Elysias' worth of intelligence," Mobius drawled, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
"Hey, how could I be reduced to a measuring tool?"
...
Tree of imaginary numbers, the moment he touched this term, Otto completed his eureka.
Everything that was chaotic suddenly became orderly, and he suddenly saw a winding path extending out of the darkness.
He began to run in that path, each step a surge of adrenaline. With every leap forward, his eyes glowed brighter.
Before he knew it, he had reached the end of science.
Yet, just as he reached the end, the known gave way to a tempting unknown. His predecessors had stopped here, but he was driven to press on, to plunge into the vast, invisible abyss that lay beyond...
"Imagine it! Imaginary numbers are the starting point of mankind and the beginning of civilization."
"Time flows on the trunk of the tree of imaginary numbers, branching out into infinite worlds like the crown of the tree."
"Every branch is a form of civilized existence. Every flower and leaf is the present and past they left behind in the dimension of time."
"However, the development of the world requires constraints. In the competition with the quantum sea, the direction of growth of branches and leaves is constantly being screened and corrected by a mechanism."
"Nature provides those "mechanism,' a system born from the imaginary numbers. It nurtures, it provides... but it also tests, and it discards. This is the cycle, the endless baptism that shapes existence."
"For humans, that is a disaster called Honkai."
"Yes, yes, humans can never escape Honkai."
"Humanity can only move forward because the tree of imaginary numbers must grow. Otherwise, we will eventually wither like those failed worlds and become another bubble in the quantum sea."
"True, lasting peace... it means getting to the very root of it all, back to the imaginary numbers, the wellspring of civilization itself."
"And the answer I'm looking for must exist in the tree of imaginary numbers."
...
"This explanation... Mophead, what do you think?" Tesla looked at the other party's gloomy face and said so solemnly.
"Phew—unfortunately, it's completely correct, and it is consistent with his previous research."
Einstein pursed her lips and said,
She didn't expect Otto to be so strong in scientific research in the game. she thought that 500 years would be a limitation on his thinking, but the other person's thinking simply transcended the entire era.
She also felt tremendous pressure in this regard. If she wanted to ensure victory over Honkai, if the world in the game could defeat Honkai,
Obviously, Otto's role must be replaced by someone in this world.
But the better the opponent performs, the more pressure they have to shoulder.
"Alright, alright," Tesla muttered, a mix of irritation and grudging respect in her voice. "The guy explains this weird Honkai-civilization cycle perfectly. Brilliant, just brilliant – hate to admit it, but the man's got skills."
The quickest way to create admiration for someone is to naturally defeat the other person in the area they are best at.
Tesla can naturally say that she is good at electromagnetism and mechanics, but Otto is better at what is more eye-catching: isn't he the seat of the leader of Schicksal?
...
In the 559th winter of his life, Otto found the path to truth.
He explored the quantum sea, he surveyed the etheric anchor point, he searched for the creation of imaginary numbers, and He pressed the massive Second Divine Key into his own hands, a tool to further his goals.
Setbacks turned to scars. Obstacles became mere delays. Every failure burned like acid, but success hardened his resolve. Otto had no room for 'impossible.'
Because he willed it to be so, it had to be possible.
Otto Apocalypse would reach godhood.
Otto Apocalypse would climb the Tree of Imaginary Numbers, no matter the cost.
The golden light faded in screen, revealing the two figures who stood at the heart of this negotiation.
Otto's location was a strategic one – Nagazora City, saturated with Honkai energy, was vital for activating the beacon.
Three years ago, it left a singularity connected to the Tree of Imaginary Numbers. Even though the Third Herrscher fell into a dormant state, Honkai energy was still being continuously released from the singularity.
In a few days, it will reach the critical point of the outbreak and Honkai Eruption Will happen.
The light dissipated, the barrier separated, and Kevin walked out.
And Otto...
"——Cheers to the union of Schicksal and World snake."
He was particularly interested and in a good mood.
...
"And this... this is the culmination of Otto's five Hundred year of experience and experiment?" Kallen took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing thoughts.
Her eyes closed, a slow exhale escaping her lips.
"It's not what I expected – far more complex. Imaginary numbers, singularities... he's redefined the Honkai itself, talking of nurturing and culling as if they're natural laws..."
Kallen knew she had to try to understand this. As the supreme leader of Schicksal, she had this responsibility.
Her fight against the Honkai is her own, shaped by her convictions, Her leadership won't be a carbon copy of Otto's, it can't be.
Yet, to win this war, she absolutely must grasp the true nature of the Honkai.
Over the last five centuries, her own understanding has clearly diverged wildly from his.
...
"Certifiably insane," Mobius hissed from the shadows, her form flickering strangely.
"Indeed," Vill-V nodded in agreement, but her eyes also flashed with crazy color.
She is interested; she wants to replicate such an experiment.
She didn't like copying other people's experiments, but now she changed her mind.
"How could I let such a magnificent experiment slip through my fingers?" A flicker, similar to Mobius's, danced across Vill-V's form.
"So, don't you tell me what's going on now?" Mobius said silently, looking her and vill-V body that flicker with light.
"Hmm, well, clearly it's because of that little stunt you just pulled!" Vill-V shot back, playfully adjusting her hat. "Our resident social butterfly decided to interrupt our signal – how very rude of her!"
Mobius gritted her teeth – Elysia again! That woman meddled with absolutely everything.
"It seems that the other party has gradually become familiar with controlling the stigma!" Vill-V mused, fascination replacing her previous irritation.
Compared to Mobius, she has done nothing with this!
However, she doesn't care about such small things! Whoever cares loses!
"Hmph! " Mobius snorted coldly.
