Ryn watched Kiana start to cry, feeling a bit helpless. Not being good at comforting people, all Ryn could do was sit next to Kiana and gently pat her back.
Night deepened, and Kiana cried herself to sleep. Ryn gently covered Kiana with the blanket, then lay down beside her, raised his hand, and began to observe the Stigmata.
This time was different from before. Now, faint purple patterns had appeared on the skin next to the Stigmata.
"Are you there? Can you tell me what happened now?"
[Yes, I'm here. First, let me ask, do you know about the concept of parallel worlds, or rather, the Tree?]
"I don't. I know what parallel worlds are, and I know what a tree is, but when you put them together, I'm lost. Please explain."
[Then let's start with the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta. The specific concepts of the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta are indescribable, beyond comprehension. To put it in the simplest terms, the Imaginary Tree is like the World Tree from Norse mythology, and the Sea of Quanta is the Dirac Sea that constitutes the world.
The Dirac Sea is the essence of the world's space. The Imaginary Tree, on the other hand, is the prerequisite for the existence of civilization; it is order and rules, the dwelling place of the Dao in Chinese philosophy. You can also understand it as the personification of the laws that form the world.]
[Existing worlds depend on the Imaginary Tree, like the 'leaves' of the tree, while worlds that have withered but not yet decayed are the 'fallen leaves,' which are the so-called 'Bubble Universes.' Bubble Universes will fall from the tree into the Sea of Quanta, and the entire Bubble Universe will be eroded and digested by the Sea of Quanta, meaning the world within the Bubble Universe is heading towards destruction.]
[Bubble Universes provide nourishment for the expansion of the Sea of Quanta, while the Imaginary Tree stands firm in the Sea of Quanta, drawing nutrients from it to continuously create new 'leaves'.
These 'leaves' then undergo a 'selection' process through the 'Honkai' for elimination. Worlds that pass the 'Honkai' test will remain on the Imaginary Tree and approach other 'leaves' to usher in the so-called 'Era of Stars'.
Those that fail the 'Honkai' test fall and become Bubble Universes, serving as nourishment for the Sea of Quanta.]
[The 'Honkai' test is different for different worlds. The 'Honkai' in my world was pure destruction. Humanity went through countless cycles before finally, barely, defeating the Honkai. But the 'Honkai' of this world is different. Its test is to 'embrace'??]
[For the world you are in now, the Honkai is a gift to people, but this gift is too heavy, a bit too cruel for fragile humanity.]
[As expected, the selection mechanisms of different worlds are different. I'm a little envious of this world. Huh, the highest level of 'Honkai Beast' in this world is only Dharma-ending-class? In my world, there were Planet-class ones. Although she was terrifyingly strong, she chose to stand by my side. It's just that I feel I let her down. In countless cycles, I only ever took from her, but never once responded to her expectations...]
[The first time she appeared before me, she was so dorky. Huh, what did she look like again...]
Ryn watched as the Stigmata got more and more carried away, but the content was getting more and more off-topic. He couldn't help but complain.
"You're getting off track, off track! Let's continue talking about Bubble Universes. Finish the important stuff first!"
The Stigmata suddenly became scorching hot. A warm feeling flowed through Ryn's entire body. Although it was comfortable, the next second, his body felt an itching sensation of being constantly torn apart and reborn. Ryn was in too much pain to speak. A strange energy enveloped his whole body, preventing him from even making a sound. Seeing that Ryn couldn't speak, the Stigmata seemed satisfied and flashed twice more.
[I'm transferring power to you to reconstruct your body. An ordinary person's body cannot withstand the erosion of the Honkai. How rude. It's very impolite to interrupt a lady when she's speaking.
I haven't had a proper conversation in countless eons, my memories are almost gone. It's rare that I can remember so much. What a pity, that 'her' I just mentioned, I've already forgotten what she looked like, and her name too...]
[Sigh, eternity is also the cruelest punishment.
I have stood at the pinnacle of the world. How can a part within the world deny the whole world?]
[To obtain the power to deny the world from outside the world, I scattered many of my Stigmata among the 'leaves,' hoping someone could bring a Stigmata to me to save—no, to kill me. I am a sinner. I should have died with them long ago, but the Honkai gave me a 'reward.' Heh, what a wonderful reward this is.]
[Unfortunately, only two people have awakened a Stigmata. Speaking of which, you two are really alike! The same world won't have identical leaves, but different worlds can have identical leaves.]
As it spoke, a surge of energy passed from the Stigmata and spread throughout Ryn's body. Ryn felt his body wasn't in as much pain anymore; he felt light and floaty, but the feeling of being torn apart and reborn was still there. It was a pain engraved into his cells. A very strange sensation. I know my body is in incredible pain right now, but I'm high as a kite.
"Very similar to me? An alternate-world counterpart? That's really strange. Was he also sent here? By the way, what's my situation now? This is a very bizarre feeling."
"I've temporarily separated your consciousness from your physical body. You can't enter the Stigmata space yet, so this is the simplest way to help you alleviate the pain. Try to maintain this state of consciousness and interact with me more. Even if you feel like you can't hold on, you must persist. This will help strengthen your consciousness.
Also, your alternate-world counterpart is not in this world. Or rather, there was a problem during your teleportation. You arrived in this world, which is very similar to mine, but it is not my world."
"...I thought I was supposed to be the savior of Hyrule, but I got distracted by the flowers and plants on the roadside, ran all over the world, and forgot to save the princess, is that it?"
"Ehehe, it's not that bad. After all, you did travel to another world, and this world also has the Honkai. Defeat the Honkai... anyway, the goal is the same, it doesn't matter which world it is."
"From the sound of it, I can't go to your world anymore? Can I still go back to my own world?"
"Sorry, not for now. Once a creature from the main world enters a world undergoing the Honkai assessment, they can no longer travel to other worlds. However, you can enter Bubble Universes as you please.
If you can pass this world's Honkai test before your alternate-world counterpart kills me, then you still have a chance to come to my world and see my true body. Otherwise, you'll only be able to see me in the Stigmata space."
"Got it. Grind monsters, level up, beat the final boss, then switch maps to face new enemies. It turns out I'm still the great savior after all!"
"People die when they are killed. I hope you'll still pay attention to your own safety. Otherwise, you won't even have the qualifications to be inscribed in the Stigmata. Once you're dead, there's nothing left."