Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

"So this is the Eye of the Deep? I never thought you at Anti-Entropy were holding on to something this important. If I hadn't come over, you probably would have run right into that being from inside the Sea of Quanta."

Otto surveyed the City of the Deep.

It was a ruin from a previous era.

Ruins, he mused, were like water in a sponge; squeeze hard enough, and you'll always find something.

If you scanned a large enough area, you were bound to uncover more clues about the Previous Era.

The old policy of suppressing civilization's progress was shattered, so they had to find another path to elevate their civilization to a level where it could fight the Honkai—and fast.

Dr. Einstein asked, puzzled, "The Eye of the Deep leads to the Sea of Quanta. If the people of the last era had the power to reach parallel worlds, why were they trapped in this one and wiped out by the Honkai?"

To Dr. Einstein, it seemed almost unbelievable.

"Was it because they couldn't take enough people with them?" Welt Yang guessed that the only plausible limitation would be the number of people they could transport.

"That's a possibility," Otto said. "Theoretically, if our world experiences a Honkai Impact, then other parallel worlds will as well. That was likely the main reason the Previous Era couldn't colonize parallel worlds."

"But if that's the case, why are the parallel worlds Noldrei talks about so weak?" Welt didn't understand why the man from the future could just go around wreaking havoc on them.

"Parallel worlds... the key isn't the 'world,' but the 'parallel.' If we encounter a problem like the Honkai, another world will face the same issue. They are on a worldline running in the same direction as ours. It's less of a line and more like a river, or better yet, the branches of a tree."

Otto recalled the image of the Tree and the Sea from his memories. For him, the biggest problem was figuring out how to make a branch break off yet continue to grow.

Welt quickly grasped Otto's meaning. He nodded in understanding. "So you're saying the problems the Previous Era faced were likely being faced by their parallel worlds as well. And the parallel worlds Noldrei deals with... they're probably facing problems similar to those of his own time."

He now understood why the parallel worlds hadn't been conquered.

The emphasis wasn't on the 'world,' but on the 'parallel.'

If it were a world from the far future, the people of this era wouldn't be able to observe it. They could only perceive parallel human civilizations that were close to and similar to their own.

But just how wide that "parallel" span was, was hard to say. It could be a thousand years, or just a few hundred. And whether that millennium was a capitalist millennium or a feudal one was another matter entirely.

"So the Previous Era's development of Sea of Quanta technology was likely just a simple attempt to find a... solution to the Honkai in other worlds?"

As Otto said this, a strange smile crept onto his face. Noldrei's arrival was a joke-like accident, a deep mockery of both the Previous and Current Eras.

Newton had a famous saying: "Standing on the shoulders of giants."

But living people don't become 'giants.' Only the dead are labeled as such, because a living person would never let someone else stand on their shoulders.

Noldrei had stood on the shoulders of who knows how many giants.

His purpose in coming to this era was to ensure that those who were supposed to become giants, did.

Welt, however, wasn't thinking about Noldrei's philosophical implications. He was worried about whether they should even continue developing the Eye of the Deep.

So far, everything Noldrei had taken an interest in had become a hook on his fishing line.

Welt said worriedly, "Honestly, I suspect he'll use the City of the Deep as bait to lure out the next Herrscher. When that happens, he'll probably smash the entire city to pieces. In his eyes, this incredible parallel-world-traversing technology is probably just some ancient relic. Like the Spinning Jenny in a museum."

Otto was surprised that Welt could crack a joke. But it wasn't just a museum piece; it was more like WWII equipment on display in an exhibition hall.

They both faced the same difficult question: should they tell Noldrei about their discovery of the Eye of the Deep?

But even if they didn't, Noldrei would eventually advance his technology to the point of entering parallel worlds on his own.

When that time came, the issue would be far bigger than whether humanity evolved or changed.

"From my personal perspective, the benefits of telling him are greater. Besides, we aren't suited to explore the Eye of the Deep, are we? Only a body like his, a post-human form from the far future that can change at will, is capable of such a feat."

Otto knew this all too well. Noldrei possessed a body that couldn't be harmed even by the attacks of the Moonlight Throne—a particulate life form far beyond what modern humans could comprehend.

"He could carry all of humanity's genetic information, go to a parallel world, and create a new civilization of billions on the spot. But he clearly doesn't care about that. He just wants to see if the history of human thought can produce a different future."

"The Honkai, the Herrschers... they're all just tools in his hands. Compared to him, I almost feel like a paragon of virtue."

In Otto's eyes, the world Noldrei had created was far more tightly wound and insane than modern civilization. Next to the man from the future, Otto felt like an enlightened monarch, radiating with moral light.

Welt felt the same way, but he would never say it out loud.

"Einstein, what's the status of the survey on the Eye of the Deep?"

"With Dr. Tesla's help, we can complete a full survey in a short amount of time. It's just... I'm not sure what we'll find on the other side of the Sea of Quanta." Dr. Einstein had a bad feeling.

Welt was long accustomed to this sense of crisis. He said calmly, "Don't worry. The ones who need to be worried are on the other side of the Sea of Quanta."

Welt secretly hoped Noldrei would get interested in the inhabitants of a parallel world and never come back.

Dr. Einstein seemed to understand his thoughts. She gave a dry laugh and said, "We can't just throw Dr. Tesla into a parallel world too, can we? I mean, look at her. She doesn't exactly look normal anymore either."

Otto pondered for a moment before speaking. "It seems we'll just have to let the people in the parallel world suffer a little. We'll take the blame. I propose we inform our dear friend from the future about the Eye of the Deep. What do you think?"

Dr. Einstein and Welt exchanged a look and nodded in agreement.