Chapter 182
["In your view... what constitutes living happily?"
Sunday praised: "A good question. Human consciousness is essentially an illusion, a prison called [self-worth]. People are lured by this illusion into making mistakes, yet the consequences are borne by external things."
"When layer upon layer of mistakes fill the masses, becoming untraceable... these prisons together form a penitentiary, a natural law called [survival of the fittest]."
"And [nature] always comes with plunder and sacrifice... its opposite is called [order]."
"What I aim to do is precisely this: unify the happiness of all living beings under a single [order]. People no longer need to make bitter choices, no longer need to face human weaknesses, abandoning the bad habits of beasts, only then can they establish a paradise belonging to humans."
Seeing that March 7th and the others were still somewhat confused, Sunday said: "Merely describing the idea is still too abstract, let me give a simple example. You might know that in some worlds, there exist social systems called [two-day weekend] or [three-day weekend]."
March 7th, Firefly, and Stelle exchanged a few glances but still quietly listened to Sunday's speech. "In the hard-won rest days, people can free themselves from the heavy pressure of life and return to the tranquility of the soul."
"Only on such days can people avoid facing the law of the jungle, able to [live happily] in these short few days. It's just a pity... two or three days and nights are still too brief compared to a long life."
"In my view, the ideal social system should be [seven-day weekend]. The day after Sunday is the second, third, and forever another Sunday—this is the face of the new world, an eternal day of peaceful idleness."]
[Kiana]: "Sunday and Robin's ideals are quite similar, so why did it turn out like this?"
[Qingque]: "This almost makes me tempted, but then again, I don't even know what I would do in a dream."
[Herrscher of Sentience]: "Wait, his ideology has major contradictions. Isn't survival of the fittest about the strong dominating the weak? But he clearly wants to break that. Why would he do something that involves the strong suppressing the weak?"
[Raiden Mei]: "The biggest problems with this kind of order are: first, the founder is not a perfect god, and humans cannot always be completely correct; second, due to human imperfection, this order cannot define 'happiness,' and people within the order cannot form genuine 'desires' and 'choices.'"
[Herrscher of Sentience]: "So this is your reason for wanting to lock everyone in a dream? Ridiculous. Perhaps the scale isn't this large, but as the Herrscher of Sentience, and even Kevin's Stigma Project could achieve something like this!"
[Herrscher of Sentience]: "I've met patients suffering from Honkai disease before. Sometimes I'd use my authority to let them live a happy life in an illusion, but what you're doing—what is this?"
[Herrscher of Sentience]: "In my opinion, you're not even as good as your sister. At least she chose to turn this world into what she desired, even if it's just a drop in the bucket."
[Kiana]: "I never expected you, Herrscher of Sentience, to be so articulate... I thought you..."
[Herrscher of Sentience]: "I am the Herrscher of Sentience, I'm just familiar with these things. What do you mean 'you'? What did you think I was?"
["Then... what is the cost of all this?"
He gently shook his head, his expression pitying: "The cost is negligible, just a personal... eternal martyrdom.
To maintain this paradise for all, someone must remain in lonely wakefulness until the end of the universe."
"Wakefulness... meaning that paradise is still a dream. Entering paradise means giving up reality, right?"
"This isn't giving up, but transcending. The flesh is weak. If matter is the foundation of spiritual suffering, then we ought to overcome it."
Firefly stepped forward, speaking with conviction: "But in such [happiness], people have never overcome suffering and have forever lost the chance to overcome it. To put it another way... this is [escapism]."
Sunday did not deny it. "You can think that, but escaping isn't shameful. On the contrary, everyone has the seed of escape in their heart."
"Doesn't Miss Firefly think so too? Why does life fall asleep? It's because people are afraid of waking from the dream."
Firefly fell silent for a moment, then said: "I... acknowledge that you are a born leader. You are pessimistic about humanity, yet still hold a denying heart, bestowing equal pity upon all living beings."
"But I am different from you; I live for myself. In my view, people making choices for themselves is a natural behavior and their innate right."]
[Topaz]: "Why are holidays precious? Why do they bring joy? Because there's the accumulation of work, the fatigue brought by fulfilling effort. Precisely because holidays can release all this, holidays have value."
[Topaz]: "At least, that's what I think."
[Scott]: "Exactly! Do I want a happy life? I want to be superior! I want to climb upward! Can a dream with only me as a real person satisfy my demands?"
[Scott]: "This is truly laughable."
[Tail]: "You actually said a few human-like words, kid."
[Huohuo]: "Lone wolf's disdain (￣_,￣)!"
[Huohuo]: "This was sent by Lord Tail!"
[Su]: "Is it possible that ordinary people shouldn't escape even more? Which hero doesn't come from ordinary people? Ordinary people overcome suffering and thus become strong. Strength isn't just material; it's spiritual too."
[Elysia]: "Escaping isn't something shameful, but even if you escape, what must be done will eventually have to be faced. It's not that you can't escape, but you can't escape forever呀♪"
[Some time ago... Misha and the Astral Express crew arrived at a place that felt both very familiar and strangely foreign. "Do you recognize this place, Misha?"
Misha looked around bewildered: "I... can't say.
But it feels somewhat familiar. Where is this?"
Himeko explained: "This is a dream bubble; our consciousness has entered it. It's a gift left for the Astral Express by a Nameless, but strangely, when we opened it, we found nothing inside."
After Himeko explained to Misha, he said somewhat naively: "Hmm, I don't know much about dream bubbles. But if everyone wants to figure out what this big house is... I'll try my best!"
"Then we'll leave it to you."
Little March was still puzzled: "Sister Himeko... I'm still confused. Why are you so sure Misha is related to this dream bubble?"
"I can't be sure, I just have some guesses. But since Misha feels familiar here... it suggests my guess might be correct."]
[March 7th]: "Huh? This timeline is before we met Sunday?"
[Dan Heng]: "It seems you've already solved the mystery of Senior Mikhail."
[Qingque]: "After all, from our god's perspective, Misha is quite suspicious."
[Pom-Pom]: "Passenger Misha... can you board the train, pa?"
[Misha]: "Sorry, Conductor, I... Huh? It seems I can now? What's going on?"
[Pom-Pom]: "Great, pa!"
[[]]: "Hehe, hidden achievements and fame!"
Today's second update, served!