Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

Kiana's fighting style couldn't be called strange; you could only call it absurd.

She devoured the Quantum Shadows—strange, squid-like creatures—on the spot, seemingly without a single care.

Kevin hesitated for a moment before asking, "What happened to the Kaslanas?"

"Something feels... strange about this..." Noldrei didn't answer Kevin.

Instead, he asked with confusion, "This isn't right. I remember the 'aether' of the future isn't like this."

Little Bronya was completely lost by now. She asked, puzzled, "What's aether?"

"This is aether," Kevin said, pointing to a spot in the Sea of Quanta.

"Aether is what lies beyond the limits of human perception." Noldrei, however, gave a different answer.

Durandal was getting numb to it all. Why did everyone have a different explanation?

Kevin fell silent. This was also different from what he understood.

Noldrei explained, "It's the component of matter that you cannot perceive or feel. According to the theories of your era, it's called quantum collapse. An observed quantum has a definite state, while an unobserved one does not. The result of the observation is dependent on the observer themselves. That's a characteristic of the Sea of Quanta."

"And that's why we can only see parallel worlds from within the Sea of Quanta."

"Now, let's flip that theory around. The force that brings certainty from uncertainty is what's called aether."

"And here we have a paradox: the moment this property of aether is observed, it becomes definite."

"Therefore, aether is, in essence, called 'that which is beyond the limits of human perception.'"

"In gaming terms, this stuff is called 'fog of war.' Do you think strange life forms can be born from the fog of war?"

Noldrei's explanation was a revelation for Bronya. No wonder he felt something was wrong with these Quantum Shadows!

This was completely different from the future he remembered.

Ancestor Kevin was no fool. He had lived for so long and learned many things from the Flame-Chasers.

He asked with some curiosity, "Are you saying that Quantum Shadows shouldn't be born in the Sea of Quanta?"

Noldrei said as if it were obvious, "Of course not. The inherent uncertainty of life itself wouldn't allow for such a situation. Let me put it this way: it doesn't actually matter whether you observe the Sea of Quanta or not. The world you observe is what the world itself feeds to you. You can't say your own existence isn't part of the world, can you?"

After devouring the Quantum Shadows, Kiana didn't feel anything special. She didn't even feel any discomfort.

It was as normal as drinking a sip of water.

After dealing with these strange Quantum Shadows, she noticed everyone's subtle expressions.

"Huh? What are you guys talking about? Why do you all look so constipated?"

Bronya glanced at the "innocent" Kiana but didn't bother to answer her question.

Noldrei's explanation was very clear. Since the Sea of Quanta only gains certainty through observation...

That means it wasn't the Sea of Quanta and the Imaginary Tree that formed the cornerstone of the world. Rather, it was the world's own ability that allowed everyone to see the foundational structure of the Tree and the Sea.

There was no aether, no cornerstone of the world as humanity imagined it, only the realm beyond cognition that humans couldn't understand due to their own limitations.

'Oh no, the people from the future seem to be even more materialistic than us.'

Little Bronya was confused, lost in a haze about the history of human science. But Kevin understood the problem at hand.

"The world is not the material world as we know it. The moment we see the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta, the Tree and the Sea themselves become the world. I see..."

Ancestor Kevin, truly worthy of being a master who has lived for fifty thousand years, had gained a deeper understanding of the Tree, the Sea, and the Honkai.

But then he fell into another kind of confusion: why would Noldrei have such an idea?

"It shouldn't be possible. How can a broken place like this have any form of native life?"

Noldrei found it incredible. This was the first time he had ever doubted the world. This shouldn't happen even in the future. The existence of parallel universes could be explained, but the appearance of life-like forms in the Sea of Quanta was just too outrageous.

'Could it be... I didn't travel to the correct past?'

But after thinking it over, he felt that wasn't right either. Perhaps this was a specialty of the ancient era. After all, if something he'd never even heard of like the Honkai existed, what was a bit of quantum life?

It was very reasonable, wasn't it?

'Could this be the legendary lost history?!'

Noldrei thought of the numerous times in the future wars where historical records were erased, and he gained a new understanding of the actions of ancient people.

'It must be because someone held the position of a pioneer in the Sea of Quanta, and later humans had no choice but to migrate them away. That's why these never-before-seen creatures have appeared.'

Some of Noldrei's core beliefs were shaken. The impact was as forceful as when he first learned that ancient humans had to mate to reproduce.

"Did you think of something?"

It was the first time Durandal had seen such a grave expression on Noldrei's face. He had been so wild and unrestrained on Earth, yet he had become much more cautious after entering the Sea of Quanta.

"No, it's nothing. I just find it a bit strange," Noldrei said, temporarily setting aside his confusion. His primary job was still to lead humanity to the next stage; everything else had to wait.

He sighed, "The Sea of Quanta is truly a beautiful place, Bronya... what do you think? Have you received any information from your friend?"

Bronya also looked disappointed. She hadn't expected the Sea of Quanta to be like this when she entered. The entire place looked chaotic, with strange geometric shapes forming an inexplicable spatial structure.

It was just like the first time she saw Noldrei's true form, a strange combination of organic and inorganic matter.

"I remember she manifested as some kind of... very strange butterfly. I can't describe what it was. But I think if we can find a similar butterfly mark, we should be able to find where Seele is. But... I don't feel hungry here, and even if she fell from the Sea of Quanta... Seele should be in some Bubble Universe, or... a parallel world, right?"

Bronya wasn't sure. She just hoped Seele hadn't starved to death in the Sea of Quanta.

Kevin mulled it over for a long time, then pointed to a red figure shrouded in black mist not far away. "Is that butterfly you mentioned that thing over there?"

Bronya followed the ancestor's finger and indeed saw a familiar shadow. She nodded in delight, "Yes, that's right, that's it... This isn't the time to transform into Seele to trick Bronya. Are you still trying to toy with Bronya's heart and mind?"

Kiana frowned at the innocent expression on Noldrei's face.

Noldrei had no choice but to point out, "Is it possible that I haven't transformed into Seele's form at all?!"

"Huh?! Eh?!"

Bronya looked in shock at the Seele who looked like a completely different person.

What was going on? This person looked even less like the real Seele than Noldrei did!