MGSFV?! Chapter 451. Like a Slime Capturing a Pretty Girl; Rich and Willful
Of course, jokes aside—players weren't surprised by the "so that's how it is" moment.
The story had already mentioned it more than once.
For example, during the Herrscher of Sentience arc, it was stated that Bronya couldn't fully wield the Herrscher of Reason's core or go all out.
It wasn't that our team lacked strength—it's just that...
Duckie doesn't even have a mecha to pilot right now!
As a Herrscher who hasn't undergone Transcendence, the Herrscher of Reason's output limit is fixed for Bronya.
Objective facts don't bend to personal will.
Just like no matter how many times people say the No.1 Honkai Idol is Raven (heavy fog)...
Bronya has already done the best she could. There's really nothing more to demand.
Really, if anything—Bronya is one of the few "normal people" in Honkai Impact 3rd.
Not only did she "rise up" through her own effort to become the Herrscher of Reason, but even with limited output, she's made significant contributions in major battles like Taixu Mountain, Dominance Theater, and Corosten.
Feels like we could award Duckie the title of "Inspirational Protagonist."
Come to think of it, stringing together Bronya's story...
Family fell apart in childhood, parents passed away... Grew up to be a famous mercenary, then returned to school for a normal life, only to be thrust back into chaos due to unexpected events and began growing through rare encounters...
Basically your standard urban novel protagonist arc (not really).
...
Ahem. Back to the story.
Actually, the reason Bronya hasn't undergone Transcendence isn't because she doesn't want to—it's because the Herrscher of Reason's core itself has never experienced Transcendence.
Or rather, no generation of the Herrscher of Reason ever has.
From the very start, Welt Joyce was a Herrscher who fought for humanity. With the will of 300,000 people, he resisted the Honkai's erosion of identity and turned what was meant to destroy civilization into a shield for the people.
In other words, the Herrscher of Reason is essentially using those 300,000 wills to forcibly control Herrscher power?
Players suddenly had a thought.
As the power of the Honkai enters the Reason core, it sees hundreds of thousands of burly dudes cracking their knuckles, smiling: "You've arrived?"
Isn't that a bit...
Is it even possible to use Honkai powers like this?
The Herrscher of Reason truly lives up to the name "Power of Civilization."
From all angles—very civilized.
And naturally, when some players start joking that the Reason core is too "civilized," others in the livestream will start firing off comments.
[So the writers are explaining why Herrscher of Reason Duckie always gets dunked on?]
[What do you mean dunked on? Please be accurate—it's "legend not yet fulfilled"!!]
[The way you say it so seriously makes it even more suspicious. Add a (doge) or something.]
[Still, Reason Duck is the most cost-effective DPS in Honkai.]
They guessed at the writers' intent in presenting this story beat.
The plot continued quietly.
After Bronya explained the structure of the Reason core to Kiana and Mei, she didn't stop.
Instead, she continued—
She realized that the way the Herrscher of Reason works is actually quite similar to Project STIGMA.
The Herrscher of Reason is powered by 300,000 wills.
Project STIGMA unifies humanity's consciousness through dreams to hijack the power of Finality.
The two... really feel like they were made from the same mold.
And perhaps because of that structural similarity, Project STIGMA has a much greater effect on the Reason core than on other Herrschers.
As for what that effect entails—
Bronya speculated:
Just like water lowers the temperature of ice, the Reason core—being so similar to Project STIGMA—also begins to resemble a Stigmata more than a Herrscher Core when touched by it.
Herrscher power, which should oppose STIGMA, now ends up aiding its expansion.
This is why Kiana and the others are trapped in a dreamscape—it's the fragmented Reason Core that has them imprisoned.
[I get it now.]
[It's like a slime capturing a pretty girl (]
[??? Could you not use such a weird metaphor?]
[Can't help it. Watching too many Pink Elf livestreams has corrupted me (doge)]
Elysia: ???
She's not taking responsibility for this...
Besides, what's wrong with her metaphors?
A metaphor is like...
"After a disaster-level rainstorm, disguising the puddles on the ground as the sky above."
Hokuto: ...
[You guys are getting off-track. I'm more concerned with... how are Kiana and the others getting out of this mess?]
How do they escape?
Simple.
Just like saving a pretty girl trapped in slime—you don't try to pull her free and risk a tug-of-war with the slime.
You just... chop the slime into pieces.
After analyzing the situation, the trio chose the simplest, most direct solution...
If the maze traps me, I won't look for the exit—I'll break the wall down.
Smash the dream. Problem solved.
So...
With that mindset, the three got back into action.
Soon—
They found another memory fragment.
The content wasn't especially important—so we'll skip the details here.
The key point was Kiana's experiment.
Upon entering the fragment, Kiana tried to use her Herrscher authority inside.
But things didn't go well. The moment she exited the memory and attempted to activate her powers, the memory ended.
Rough start.
But clearly, they weren't giving up. They went off to search for more fragments.
...
After some time—
They found another memory shard.
This one was again about Bronya's past.
But this time, Bronya realized she could think clearly inside the memory space.
"Hmm?"
"...Something's off."
"Why can Bronya think so clearly within a memory?"
As Bronya puzzled over it—
She suddenly felt like she was being watched.
"Who?!"
Bronya instinctively looked toward the void, alert.
"Telling stories to describe the past truly is a fascinating method... Bronya..."
"After all, humanity's greatest strength is narrative."
With that voice, a surprising figure appeared before everyone.
—PROMETHEUS.
[???]
"That voice... Prometheus?"
Duckie meets Pro Duck again.
[They look so odd standing together.]
[Split personality moment. Respect to the voice actor.]
[Bronya, why are you monologuing again?]
Even though the "double ducks" sparked another wave of jokes—
The plot continued steadily.
And Prometheus immediately dropped a bombshell.
The Herrscher of Reason is the foundation of resistance against Project STIGMA.
And just like that, the chat shifted in tone.
Of course, don't expect it to get too serious...
[Herrscher of Reason is the foundation?]
[I get it—Duckie's new battlesuit is going to be a support role ()]
[...Damn. That actually makes a lot of sense.]
"Mr. 'Otto,' is Bronya's new battlesuit going to be support-type?"
Elysia asked curiously.
"Yeah."
It wasn't anything that needed hiding, so Hokuto answered right away.
After all—gameplay is gameplay. Story is story.
Like how Pardo's combat power is 5 in-universe, but can still top the charts in-game.
"Hmm..."
"So 'Mr. Otto,' are you planning to release a support first as the foundation, then give Mei and Kiana new suits for DPS roles...?"
Elysia suddenly started connecting dots.
As one of Mei's new battlesuit designers, she at least knew Mei was getting a new one.
And Kiana, based on the current plot... will obviously get a new suit too.
"In the end, form a trio team?"
Hokuto: "..."
"Did I guess right?" Elysia blinked.
"It's not that hard to guess."
Hokuto admitted, then continued: "Also, I'll probably... make Mei's suit a main story reward, and put Duckie and Buggy's suits into grindable content... with some of the stigmata..."
"?"
Elysia listened to Hokuto's long explanation.
"Mr. 'Otto,' are you not planning to make money?"
Even though players often joke that HoYoverse is "free-spirited," this was a bit too free-spirited...
"It's fine. I'm not hurting for cash."
Hokuto calmly replied to Elysia, his words dripping with the aura of rich-people-willfulness.
Elysia: "..."
She suddenly felt like there was nothing more to say.
As long as Hokuto was happy.
Even if this plan made less money, it didn't seem like it would affect Honkai 3rd much. No need to worry too much.
...
Back to the game screen.
Click—
They continued the story.
Earlier, Prometheus had mentioned that the Herrscher of Reason was the foundation of resistance against Project STIGMA.
After revealing that—
She began explaining the space they were currently in.
This space, she said, was both the Moon and the interior of the Reason Core. Just like the world bubble she had previously resided in, it had regained a concept of time due to Project STIGMA...
What she said was all important—but the sheer flood of rapid-fire lectures left Kiana and the others visibly dazed.
Head's itchy... can't process this...
CPU meltdown.jpg
But Prometheus didn't notice. In fact, it seemed like she was addicted to teaching.
She even used her powers to conjure materials to keep "lecturing" Kiana and friends.
Of course...
We won't repeat Prometheus's monologue here.
Totally not because... it's too much trouble ( )
Let's just summarize the key points:
...
The core idea of Project STIGMA and the Herrscher of Reason moving in opposite directions—
You can think of STIGMA as a "story of stories," that is, a narrative that continues itself:
It abandons its original "author" like a novel that writes its own sequels.
Nice deal? (not)
A self-writing novel sounds lovely—but if you try to replace your life with it, that's questionable.
But from the STIGMA Plan's perspective, there's no question about it.
Whether humans or Stigmata-humans, they're just "optional vessels to continue the story."
No need for humans or even for Stigmata-humans to survive—just as long as history continues.
But since Stigmata-humans have clear "advantages" over normal humans, why not discard humanity and embrace Stigmata to leapfrog our species' infancy?
Sounds... logical, doesn't it?
This is MEI's kind of romanticism—a cold, ultimate form of it.
Though our No. 17 doesn't seem to agree.
Is the "storyteller" still important?
Should we really abandon the "person" who weaves the story just for efficiency?
Would that not be a denial of all human history passed down till now?
Unfortunately—
As an AI, No. 17 can only raise this question after vast analysis. She can't provide the answer.
Only humans can.
And Kiana and her friends—all have the right to answer this question. The right to oppose Project STIGMA.
Because they aren't just Herrschers. They're Herrschers of Humanity.
What's the difference?
The latter thinks like a human. Acts like a human.
Such a Herrscher still belongs to civilization. To the humans who endlessly create fictional worlds.
[Wait, I just realized... Is the ultimate form of post-Honkai society that everyone becomes a Herrscher of Humanity?]
[Not sure—but they really painted a big picture.]
[Humanity's progress is painting big pictures and then making them real.]
[Basically: Herrscher of Humanity is OP. Herrscher of Reason is OP. We don't need to fully understand Honkai.jpg]
The chat flew fast and wild.
A few helpful "veterans" watching the livestream even started recommending books.
[If you've read "Sapiens" Part 1, Chapter 2 "The Tree of Knowledge," this part makes more sense~ (wagging finger) (fighting)]
And soon others chimed in.
[↑"Sapiens" is a pretty accessible read—even a science/arts hybrid like me got it. Would recommend ( )]
[Why are you guys doing book recs now?!]
[Don't thank suffering. Thank the self that conquered it. Hope everyone understands.]
[...That sounds dangerous. This livestream might not survive.]
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