Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

Noldrei stared in utter shock at the Stigma Will Kiana had created.

The Stigma Will, feeling his gaze, looked a little embarrassed. She nervously tugged at the hem of her skirt, as if trying to cover her exposed thighs.

"This is the form you created for your Stigma Will? A micro-miniskirt, asymmetrical... fishnet underwear or thigh-highs? Gaudy, colorful eyes? Useless metal bits that you could probably hit yourself with in a fight?"

"A one-piece racing swimsuit from the beach covers more than this 'character skin' of yours. Tell me, if you encountered a liquid lifeform like me in battle, and every hit caused me to evaporate or adhere to your body as suspended droplets, then corrode your flesh, how would you deal with that?"

Noldrei suspected that Kiana, having grown accustomed to her new body, had created this Stigma Will without any consideration for practicality.

Kiana's new Stigma Will wanted to explain herself, but she couldn't come up with a single good reason.

Kiana, however, retorted, "But don't you think I look beautiful like this? When I run, there's an elegant, iridescent trail. Anyone can tell that's the aura of a powerful being."

Noldrei was speechless. "Why didn't you just add giant golden wings and a flashy magic shield while you were at it?"

"Don't think I haven't seen those old MMORPG ads! This is completely different!"

Kiana's explanation was hollow. She had indeed redesigned her Stigma Will's image according to her own aesthetic preferences.

Perhaps she had been corrupted by the Herrscher of the Void. Ever since seeing the Herrscher's cool and flashy design, Kiana had dreamt of one day wearing such a flamboyant dress herself.

It was undeniably beautiful, but it wasn't exactly suitable for her Stigma Space.

"You really are an idiot. Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

Noldrei poked Kiana on the forehead. "Think about it. What if the people connected to the Stigma Space try to break through to the fifth stage and awaken their own personal Stigma Will through the Kaslana Stigma?"

"At that moment, they will witness you, the Mother of Stigmas, the Lord of the Kaslana Stigma. Before, you could use the original image of the giant eyeball as the manifestation of your will. But now you've created a temporary Stigma Will to replace yourself."

He pulled the Kiana Stigma Will to stand right in front of the real Kiana, pointed at her outfit, and asked, "So now, when people enter, instead of the Mother of Stigmas who is there to test their willpower, they see a pretty girl with zero intimidating presence, a girl who makes them want to lick her thighs? Do you need to get a grip and realize what your job actually is?"

"You're going to test the students of Academy City with this? I guess in a way, you'd be testing their willpower from another angle! Now get rid of those foul, primitive aesthetic values from your head! Why on earth would you create such a concrete human form in a place of consciousness?!"

"The more concrete the image, the harder it is for others to perceive the will you're trying to express through your existence."

The Kiana Stigma Will awkwardly explained, "Actually, I quite like this outfit too."

"You be quiet. Once you become a Stigma Will, you have no room for improvement in this life. She still has a chance to go to university, while you're stuck with a high school diploma for the rest of your existence," Noldrei said, ruthlessly employing a modern-day academic burn.

He instantly crushed the Stigma Will's "rebellious" spirit.

"Abstract expression is the primary mode of communication in the future," Noldrei said, crouching down to pinch the Stigma Will's thigh. He shook his head and sighed.

"An expression like this, which is so clearly 'innocent-yet-seductive,' will only serve to specifically guide others' thoughts in a certain direction. If you were selling a skin for a fashion show, this would be fine. But for crucial ideological guidance, this is useless."

"Your job is to guide more people to possess Stigmas, not to seduce more people who possess Stigmas."

"Ah..."

Perhaps he had pinched too hard, as the Kiana Stigma Will even let out a cry of pain.

"Why are you pinching her? You might as well pinch me! Isn't this my first time trying to create a Stigma Will? It's only natural that I'd get it wrong, right?"

Kiana showed no sign of remorse. As she said, just being able to create her own Stigma Will for the first time was an achievement in itself.

Noldrei was exasperated. "We don't have much time to waste on creating a new Stigma Will right now, so let's just make do with this one and modify it a bit."

He reached into the void and pulled out a tattered yellow robe, which he draped directly over the Kiana Stigma Will.

The large yellow robe didn't look like something a normal person would wear, but it covered the Stigma Will completely, leaving nothing exposed. Kiana's painstakingly designed cool outfit was effortlessly sealed away by Noldrei.

"Sigh..."

A look of disappointment crossed her face. Kiana had a show-off personality, and her one chance had been snatched away and followed by a lecture from Noldrei.

"I worked so hard on that outfit. If no one sees it, wasn't it designed for nothing?"

Kiana's heart ached. She resolved to try it on in private later.

That man from the future was such an old-fashioned fossil. What did he know about cutting-edge aesthetics? He couldn't possibly expect a beautiful girl like her to embrace his aesthetic of running around naked together, could he?

The Kiana Stigma Will clutched the yellow robe around herself. The robe was a faded, shabby color, yet it concealed everything, leaving only an unremarkable, hollow blackness.

She poked her head out, subconsciously pulling the robe tighter. The effect was startling. The beautiful face, combined with the form-fitting, tattered robe, unintentionally revealed her curves.

An unexpected, abstinent-yet-tempting beauty emerged, making one wonder if she was wearing anything underneath.

Kiana looked at this strange, eerie, yet alluring Stigma Will. She began to suspect that Noldrei had done this on purpose.

Kiana's face was a mess of question marks, wondering if she was overthinking things.

"Take that yellow robe off! It's mine!"

"Huh? Hey? What are you doing?! This is for me!"

"You can't go out like that and seduce the Stigma Battle Suit users! Take it off! Take it off right now!"

"Are you crazy?! Aren't we the same person?!"

"No! The imperial robe is mine! You can't wear it!"

"Are you nuts?! Didn't you create me to work for you?"

The two Kianas started fighting.

The Kevin Kaslana Stigma Will had been watching from the sidelines for a while now, utterly failing to comprehend what was wrong with the minds of these Kaslana descendants.

How could someone possibly fight with their own Stigma Will? It was just so foolish!

(see the legendary Artoria yellow rain robe for reference)