Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

The oppressive reversal unleashed a complete unraveling of Makoto Nakamura's thoughts. Those grappling with ethical dilemmas were most susceptible to such fervent devotion, especially when they had personally experienced the transformation.

These individuals lacked explanations, even scientific ones, for their altered states.

If Hachiman hadn't already known about Academy City's gender-altering technology, he would have found the situation incredibly perplexing. Nakamura was merely a test subject, a probe into the societal and ethical implications of this technology.

These individuals were pawns in Academy City's game.

A suffocating pressure from above suppressed any resistance to the entity.

["I am very optimistic about you."] Hachiman still remembered those words, unsure what exactly he was being considered for.

Just like Nakamura said, it was likely a casual remark, mere entertainment for it.

He asked, "What is the Madonna? Many anticipate its arrival, but no one seems to know what it is."

Nakamura replied in a daze, "Power, consciousness, genes, matter, holy spirit, god… It can be anything. Any form you can imagine, it can manifest."

Nakamura seemed to conflate Kiana and Noldrei. But when the two interchanged and shifted so fluidly, becoming indistinguishable, they appeared as two chaotic forms of a single entity to the average observer.

Hachiman only knew that the renowned Dr. Tesla of Academy City was somehow involved. The mini-sun remained a mystery.

"I'm not asking about its form, but its nature. What is it?" Hachiman voiced his doubts, questioning Academy City's true intentions. What could inflict such psychological impact on so many?

"It's hard to believe Academy City doesn't have technology to counter mental manipulation. What if these IDs are different?" He fiddled with his ID, feeling a faint pulse. Genetic information converted into digital data and linked to an individual's identity, a perfect system for preventing forgery.

Hachiman recalled the blood sample he'd given. He suspected his ID was a digital expression of his own flesh and blood. He couldn't be certain. Perhaps somewhere, a clone of Hachiman Hikigaya existed, serving purposes he couldn't fathom.

"What is it…? What is it…?"

Nakamura murmured Hachiman's question, lost in thought. Then, she nodded. "You're right to ask! Its nature cannot be expressed in words. Any attempt is met with an unspeakable dread. You never know when you might be chosen, and whether the outcome will be good or bad. Mostly bad… no, destructive to your current life."

"Are you insane?! What are you implying?" [Corrupted characters removed.] Hachiman's scalp tingled. He now truly believed Nakamura was a priestess of the Madonna Cult.

"You scared her. Be more tactful next time…" Mei chided Noldrei, seemingly encouraging him to book another… delivery.

Unfortunately, Noldrei had already uninstalled the app.

They realized what he'd been doing online. Bronya was prepared to take drastic action against these platforms.

What? You think we can't reach platforms overseas? Don't be ridiculous. If Anti-Entropy and Schicksal find out about these platforms' negative influence on Noldrei, they'll be eradicated before they can blink. Which idiot let His Majesty know about these… online dens of iniquity in the Far East? This is a disgrace to the Far Eastern government! We must act decisively!

Noldrei remained unconcerned. He'd only summoned these women to study their reactions to the prospect of gender liberation. He wanted to see if, given the option, many unemployed men would transition to women, shifting from material production to… entertainment.

This was thanks to Dr. Tesla, who'd realized the need for a new internal classification system once physical characteristics became fluid. Whoever controlled the definition of human conflict effectively controlled humanity's future.

"What do you think will happen? I mean, if I opened up gender selection. What kind of situation would arise? In the short term, would there be more male-to-female transitions or female-to-male?"

Noldrei's question stumped them. They were content with their genders. Even Kiana, capable of altering her form at will, hadn't considered abandoning her female identity. How could they predict what others desired?

"Based on my hypothesis… and I stress, hypothesis…" Tesla mused, "Humans would mostly remain male, transitioning to female only when needed. If possible, they'd likely want to switch back and forth at will."

She nodded gravely. "What a massive market! However, I'm still curious. How would you handle appearance and external characteristics? You wouldn't just… change the genitals, would you?"

"Appearance is trivial. Look at Bronya and Fu Hua with short hair. What's the difference between them and… pretty boys?" Noldrei's words darkened Bronya's face, a heavy blow to her psyche.

"That's too much! Even if it's Bronya, you can't attack her like that!" Mei exclaimed, defending Bronya's honor.

Kiana quickly soothed Mei. "It's fine, Mei. If Bronya wants, we can change her. It's free, and we can adjust her… attributes with a flick of a tendril."

Bronya covered her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. She couldn't bear to listen anymore.

Why? Why is this happening?

Seele, I'm sorry. Big Sister Bronya is useless! I can't do anything. I can't even protect this normal world.

Tears streamed down the small Herrscher's face.