Within Academy City, the Stigma organizations had a distinct characteristic.
Their organizational strength was inextricably linked to the Stigma wielders, and likewise, the strength of the Stigma will itself was tied to the will of the Stigma wielder.
When Hachiman Hikigaya woke up from his dream, he was completely bewildered.
He hadn't actually run into any trouble. As a political tentacle of the Far East Academy City, he wasn't likely to encounter any problems, let alone have someone attack him out of boredom.
But in his dream, he had witnessed something incredible.
A bright moon hung high in the sky of the entire Stigma Space, and the ground below was a sea of crimson. This was the normal state of the Kaslana Stigma Space.
Anyone with a Kaslana Stigma battlesuit was basically familiar with what the Kaslana Stigma Space looked like.
But this time was different. The Kaslana Stigma Space had received a version update.
Hachiman Hikigaya was still trying to recall what had happened while he was sleeping.
The most obvious change after the update was the Stigma Space's background. It had changed from the typical hazy flashbacks and cutscene-like transitions to a completely clear and tangible panoramic view.
What was once a loaded area with a radius of only twenty meters had suddenly expanded to a range of several thousand meters. Even the scenery within the Stigma Space had undergone a massive transformation.
No one had ever encountered a situation like this before. After all, each person's Stigma Space was tied to the memories and will of its wielder. A sudden, bewildering change like this was simply unheard of.
Even if changes occurred, they were usually subtle and gradual, or the result of long-term accumulation and advancement.
However, Academy City didn't play by the rules. The Kaslana Stigma Space had, as if uninstalling and reinstalling its operating system, leaped from Windows 98 to Windows 10.
Anyone who didn't know better might have thought it was a version rollback, only to realize the upgrade was a bit over the top.
It had suddenly advanced from the red sand version to the starry celestial version.
Even the Stigma will that Hachiman Hikigaya perceived had changed dramatically.
"Bro, I remember you were supposed to look pretty much like me, just with a slightly pixelated face, right? How did you turn into a glowing alien from the Land of Light?"
Hachiman Hikigaya looked at the Stigma will reflected from his own being within the Stigma Space.
The Stigma will no longer resembled Hachiman Hikig-aya at all. It merely retained his silhouette; the rest was just a luminous figure with a glow effect applied.
As a reflection of a Stigma battlesuit user, the Stigma will should have, by all rights, provided a proper explanation.
After all, Hachiman Hikigaya had not yet crossed the five stages of Stigma evolution. His current power relied entirely on his own biomechanical modifications.
'How am I supposed to tell you this? That as a Stigma will, I've been upgraded by the Mother of Stigmas? That you're no longer worthy to stand here and talk to me? That your brother has become a tentacle of the Cocoon of Finality, controlling the brains of Earth's humanity?'
But the Stigma will had no choice but to explain the situation to Hachiman Hikigaya. It was here precisely to inform him of the anomaly in the Kaslana Stigma Space.
"The Cocoon of Finality has been digested by the Mother of Stigmas. The me you see now is no longer a simple Stigma will, nor a reflection of your inner self. It is a product of the power of Finality resynchronizing the human Stigma collective."
"You can understand it as the Kaslana Stigma Space now possessing a fundamentally different foundation of authority compared to other Stigma Spaces."
"A traditional Stigma Space, even with the sharing function of a Stigma battlesuit, can only allow one to reach the level of possessing a Stigma. To become a Herrscher, to coalesce a Herrscher Core, to form an Imaginary Singularity—that is exceedingly difficult. Not to mention, a Stigma wielder who wishes to coalesce a Herrscher Core must develop a very peculiar Stigma power."
"But for the current Kaslana Stigma Space, it's completely different. Here, you not only have the opportunity to possess a high-intensity combat Stigma, but you can even contact the Mother of Stigmas' power of Finality through the Kaslana Stigma Space, and thus receive a Herrscher authority modification from the Emperor of Finality."
"At that point, you will undergo another upgrade based on your own Stigma power—a re-alienation of the Stigma operated by the Cocoon of Finality."
This was also a method Kiana controlled under the power of Finality to deal with Stigma fusion.
It could be simply understood as Herrschers created through Stigma alienation being officially sanctioned Herrschers.
Anomalous Stigma humans who had undergone Stigma fusion were also qualified to become Herrschers, but these Herrschers were not registered with the Cocoon of Finality.
"There are two ways for Stigmas and humans to merge. One is to borrow the reproduction of the Cocoon of Finality to complete the Stigma alienation and become a Herrscher. The other is for a human to actively become an anomalous Stigma and fuse with it, transforming oneself into a Stigma—that is, a life form based on the Imaginary."
"In reality, both are forms of modification. The first one alienates the Stigma into a human organ, which then operates in a centralized manner with the Cocoon of Finality as the driver. This modification preserves the possibility of you returning to your original human form."
"The second modification is you changing from a human into an anomalous Stigma. This means you are fundamentally different from humans and can no longer be simply regarded as an ordinary human life form."
"The former path to power is safer and more convenient, but it comes with organizational constraints. The latter path requires more brutal training, but at the same time, you won't have the Cocoon of Finality managing you."
After hearing the Stigma will's explanation, Hachiman Hikigaya felt that the second option was better no matter how he looked at it. "In that case, more people will definitely choose the second option, right?" he said, puzzled. "Since you don't have to be managed by anyone, the second one is better, isn't it?"
Whether he retained his original human form was no longer important to Hachiman Hikigaya. He believed that most humans today probably didn't care if they were primitive carbon-based life forms or not.
"Do you really think so? Why don't you think it over again?"
The glowing Stigma will kindly reminded him, prompting him to think carefully about what was wrong with this picture.
Hachiman Hikigaya pondered for a long time, but he couldn't find anything wrong with it.
"I knew you hadn't thought this through at all."
"It is utterly impossible for the second path to catch up to the first. Because the current Cocoon of Finality allows a Herrscher to leave its main body and perform a secondary enfeoffment and reproduction."
"Do you understand what that means? It means that within the organizational structure, you can borrow the power of the Cocoon of Finality to develop your own private Stigma power. You can pass the Finality assessment and obtain a Herrscher Core much earlier, thereby linking to an Imaginary Singularity."
"Once you have experienced the use of an Imaginary Singularity and obtained what you want from it, it means you are already hundreds of years ahead of those who haven't joined the Kaslana Stigma power."
"If it couldn't be more efficient and expansive than individual development, how else could we get people to join the Kaslana Stigma system?"