Chapter 23 Chapter 23: Gaze from the Deep Cosmos
Chapter 23: Gaze from the Deep Cosmos
Transforming someone who only knew how to swing wildly in a fight into a well-trained warrior—Kevin could certainly accomplish such a thing, even though he hadn't repeated the role of an instructor for tens of thousands of years.
But such a method would not only require a significant amount of time, but the final result would likely also be barely satisfactory. He never believed that a single powerful warrior alone could truly save a world.
What he could offer this young girl before him was merely the possibility of change.
"If you truly want to change this place, you must look at the entirety of Belobog, and even shoulder the burden of the entire world... This is by no means easy. Sometimes, we can't even save a single person."
Kevin rarely spoke such a long passage, but such words inevitably seemed hollow and tedious in Seele's eyes. She couldn't even guarantee that every child in the clinic would have enough to eat.
Even in the Underworld, everyone understood that Belobog at this moment was nothing more than an isolated fortress surrounded by Fragmentum. But what use was talking to her about saving the world?
When a person doesn't even know if they can survive tomorrow, how could they possibly have the leisure to think about whether the world will be destroyed the day after?
Kevin certainly understood this as well. But saving the world doesn't actually require a person to have lofty ideals or principles; it might simply be because they want to protect something or promised someone.
"I just want to ask, if one day, an unstoppable disaster is about to destroy this world and everything you care about, what would you do?"
"......"
"Alright, maybe you outsiders are indeed good at bluffing. But if the disaster you speak of has already started acting, then what else can I do?"
Hearing Kevin's question, Seele just found it baffling: "Should I just wipe my neck clean and wait for it to come?"
What disaster, what world? Isn't the Fragmentum in the Underworld constantly expanding? Isn't that the end of the world right at their doorstep?
The members of Wildfire all understood that the edges of the Fragmentum would eventually expand to Boulder Town, but no one ever said anything discouraging, right?
"Hmm, that's true."
The original approach indeed wasn't suitable for this world. Kevin also felt that his desire to speak seemed to have genuinely increased somewhat.
Perhaps that's a good thing too.
"Next, don't move around."
Without waiting for Seele's agreement, Kevin's gloved hand had already touched her forehead. If not for the experiences in the Fragmentum having built enough trust between them, Seele might have already swung her scythe at him.
Unlike Earth, which had no special energy besides Honkai Energy, this planet clearly possessed various special energies difficult to describe with traditional physics. The Imaginary Internal Energy commonly manifested within the Fragmentum was the type of energy closest to Honkai Energy.
The existence of these Imaginary energies completely replaced the originally indispensable Honkai Energy in his body, even surpassing it. Not only did they lack the violent and corrosive nature of Honkai Energy, but they also possessed greater energy and indescribable potential.
Using these Imaginary energies by borrowing the methods once used for Honkai Energy might actually be a crude waste.
But conversely, since Imaginary energy possesses most of the advantages of Honkai Energy, then what Honkai Energy can do, it certainly can too.
Kevin guided the small amount of Imaginary energy already existing within Seele's body to converge on her back, ultimately condensing into a somewhat peculiar pattern.
A majestic greatsword vertically cleaving down, shattering ice crystals.
This isn't a [Stigmata], because true [Stigmata] are actually DNA sequences Mei embedded within humans to enhance Honkai Energy resistance and execute subsequent plans. Kevin's methods and knowledge are far from that precise.
This also isn't an [Eidolon], because real [Eidolons] actually require borrowing the power of Aponia's [Taboo]. To this day, Kevin still hasn't figured out the true origin of [Taboo], but that no longer matters.
However, the Eidolon Kevin engraved on Seele's back possesses the most crucial effect—it can accelerate Seele's absorption and conversion efficiency of Imaginary energy and make it easier for her to gradually uncover the essence of her own power.
Of course, this special Eidolon might also produce some other effects in collisions with Imaginary energy and the Fragmentum, but that wasn't something Kevin could foresee on the spot.
It might not immediately enhance strength, but it was equivalent to opening a door for Seele, behind which lay a long path leading into the unknown.
"Try using your special ability. Attack me."
Kevin propped his chin up with one hand and said in a deep voice.
Although he didn't understand what kind of rules allowed Seele to have a way to draw energy from Imaginary space, that didn't hinder him from trying to actively streamline and deepen this process.
Seele obediently raised her scythe. The moment her purple pupils turned red, her entire person completely vanished, transforming instead into several dreamlike phantoms appearing before Kevin.
"Hmm, the effect looks quite good. Has your manipulation of quantum characteristics improved further?"
At this moment, Seele's entire body could be considered as having retreated into another dimension. Not only could she evade conventional attacks, but she could also reappear at any time at any location where a phantom existed.
And these phantoms existing in the quantum realm could also completely superimpose back onto herself, thereby exponentially increasing the power of her attacks.
In terms of technique alone, this ability had very obvious room for improvement; at the very least, it could reach a level where dealing with Emperor-class Honkai Beasts would be effortless.
With just one glance, Kevin successfully analyzed the application of Seele's ability. Watching the several phantoms rapidly approaching him, he merely closed his eyes slightly and raised his right hand to block behind his head.
Thud————!
The tip of the scythe collided with the ice crystals manifesting on the back of Kevin's hand. But this flashy attack only scattered some dazzling ice shards; it couldn't even move Kevin's arm half an inch.
"Not bad. You were able to quickly adapt to the new usage method; that somewhat exceeded my expectations."
"The amount of Imaginary energy you can intercept has also clearly increased. But this isn't your own inherent ability; it seems there are similar rules on the other end of Imaginary space. I can't confirm whether it will improve with your training..."
The words spoken halfway suddenly stopped. In Seele's eyes, Kevin inexplicably raised his head; the expression on his face as he looked at the sky was one she had never seen before—grave.
But there was clearly nothing over there?
"Suddenly stopped talking? What's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing."
Kevin took a deep breath and shook his head.
However, his gaze for some reason suddenly traversed through rock walls, even traversed through the starry firmament, all the way reaching some indescribably distant dimension.
He looked at It. It glanced at him.
That is... an Aeon...
There is an illustration here; it can be viewed after updating to a newer version.
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