Hydra was never a savior or a demon, just a spiritual observer who wandered in the shadows of the world.
He uses human consciousness as the experimental ground and fragile human nature as the material to build spiritual cages called "Cicada Castles" one after another - from marginalized people in abandoned warehouses who are manipulated to kill each other, to guardians on the deep sea who are crazy about false salvation, to those in power who are wrapped up in power in the imaginary city. Everyone is a cicada in his cage.
He does not wield the knife directly, but only weaves lies, implants beliefs, and amplifies desires. He watches people struggle, fight, and betray in false meanings, and watches them move from sanity to madness, from possession to destruction.
The martial arts dream in the warehouse, the illusion of the Kingdom of God in the deep sea, the dynastic puzzle at the peak of power, three grand spiritual experiments, hundreds of living lives, and millions of unconscious obediences are just the data he records the limits of the human spirit.
There is no justice and redemption, no kindness and tenderness, only manipulated consciousness, deconstructed self, and Hydra's cold gaze.
When the Cicada Castle collapses and the truth is revealed, are those toyed souls and the flowing blood a human tragedy, or an ultimate torture about "self"?
Hydra's observation never stops, and the next Cicada Castle may be right next to you and me.
Purpose: The work uses "Cicada Castle" as the core image. Through the protagonist's mental observation experiments on different groups of people, it explores self-perception, the nature of belief and the fragility of human nature. It warns the world not to be coerced by desires, obsessions and false beliefs, and guides readers to face their inner weaknesses, adhere to independent thinking and clear cognition, cherish true emotions and life, and establish correct self-values.