Otto: So I'll be sitting at the same table as Judah from now on? / Xia Ling: Spirit of the Tree, please bless the Bishop and protect me!

"Oh, I almost forgot, I also erased your memories of when I turned off your phone last time, so it's normal that you don't know..."

Seeing the Void Archive, Xia Ling couldn't help but reveal a pleased smile.

"That book... You know Lady Vill-V? No, the aura in it isn't just targeting me... What exactly is your relationship with the Previous Civilization? Why is there absolutely no information about you in my database?"

Void Archive's voice trembled slightly. The smile on Xia Ling's face, and what she was about to do, seemed to Void Archive at this moment to be more terrifying and horrifying than a billion or even nine hundred million Otto!

"Hmph, you guessed right. But if you want to know, you can come with me and ask Vill-V, how about it?"

"Why don't you just throw me into the Imaginary Space and let me roll back on my own?"

"I have no will to live," said Void Archive.

"So what exactly did Vill-V do to you... Never mind, if you don't want to see her, I won't stop you. However, I'll need your help with something later, so don't refuse."

As she spoke, Xia Ling began to demonstrate, without any hesitation, how to deal with another Void Archive in front of Void Archive.

"Void Archive, open your underlying logic and add permissions."

"Highest level of privilege detected - Vill-V... Command activated."

The golden cube in this world suddenly scattered and split into eight smaller cubes, revealing their golden cores.

Then, Xia Ling stuffed the "Unclaimed Memories" in her hand directly into the Void Archive.

"You..."

Watching Xia Ling's skillful movements, Void Archive truly felt what it meant to be on the verge of tears.

Although Otto had previously put him under immense pressure, at least he hadn't posed a threat to his life. As a creation of Previous Civilization, he believed that no one in the world, except for Vill-V herself, could threaten him.

Well, except for Vill-V.

"Fine, fine... I admit defeat this time. I'll do whatever you want me to do, I'll cooperate fully..."

"However, Otto did promise me he'd set me free. If you have any conscience at all..."

"You'll be conscripted for a maximum of two years. After that, you can take the Soul Steel body that Otto has prepared for you and fly away."

Xia Ling said without hesitation.

"If you don't believe me, I can take you back and guarantee it to Vill-V."

"No, sis, I'll call you sis, okay? Just don't take me back to Vill-V's place!"

"Hehe... well, that depends on how you perform."

As she spoke, Xia Ling gently Void Archive, and the latter obediently transformed into a small cube, floating beside her.

Having fully understood the plot, Xia Ling knew very well what position Void Archive held in Vill-V's eyes... If the Seven Thunders of Retribution didn't want to see Vill-V simply because they didn't want to add any DLC with fireworks and Easter eggs, then Void Archive was genuinely afraid of Vill-V.

The reason is simple: as the last key to be created, and Divine Key was created only after Vill-V requested Mei's help, Vill-V highly recognized the potential of the Herrscher of Reason Core.

However, this recognition is based on the Herrscher of Reason, not on the Void Archive. In Vill-V's view, the greatest spirit of mankind is the spirit of rebellion against the creator. If the First Divine Key is made into an omniscient and perfect weapon, it would be tantamount to creating an invincible enemy for mankind.

Therefore, to some extent, the flawed and embarrassing concept of Void Archive is not meant to enhance the weapon, but rather to limit it.

However, perhaps due to her understanding of her own creation, or perhaps because of the lessons learned from the Commandments, Vill-V in the Elysian Realm was quite certain that this weapon would cause a lot of trouble in the future.

Void Archive was well aware of this, and in its view, with the Honkai Void Archive its final chapter, if Vill-V were to actually see him, she might, just in case, tear him apart...

Seeing that Void Archive no longer dared to cause trouble, Xia Ling nodded in satisfaction, and then began to check on Otto's condition.

"Hey, hey, hey, can you hear me?"

How are you feeling now?

"... It's a really strange feeling."

Otto's voice slowly emanated from the golden cube.

"I never imagined that the differences between using various functions from the perspective of the Void Archive would be so significant compared to my usual usage..."

"However, it's really not quite the same feeling without a body... It seems I need more time to get used to it."

"Don't worry, if you haven't altered history in the history books of Schicksal, then it should still be a long time before you overthrow the old Schicksal."

"You have plenty of time to reconnect with Karen, get to know her, and help her before Kallen goes down the wrong path."

"Hmm... thinking about it this way, are you perhaps trying to compete with Judah for favor?"

"Miss Xia Ling's thinking is as interesting as ever."

Perhaps because he was about to face a completely new future, Otto's voice sounded noticeably more relaxed.

Having five hundred years of memories, he is now like a player who has achieved a normal ending in the first playthrough and is preparing to start a second playthrough to pursue the perfect ending.

This time, he had ample time and experience to help Kallen build the world she envisioned.

"However, I can't thank you enough... When I first saw your information, I never imagined that you would bring about such a change to my plans."

"If you ever need my help again in the future..."

"Hey, hey, hey, stop, stop."

Xia Ling quickly stopped Otto from continuing.

"You are already dead in the Intrinsic World. I think no one would want to see you come back to life."

"You should just focus on your second playthrough. The greatest reward you can give me is if you don't go back to the Intrinsic World to cause trouble."

"In addition..."

Xia Ling hesitated for a moment before deciding not to make any definitive statements.

"Although I don't allow you to go to the Intrinsic World, if Theresa really misses you in the future, after the challenges in the Intrinsic World are completely over, I might bring her to see you."

"Don't let me see another one like that..."

"Don't worry, Miss Xia Ling, I won't make the same mistake again."

Otto laughed heartily.

"Right now, I'm just a simple Divine Key, a proper weapon. I don't have that much excessive self-awareness."

"And everything in this world will only change because of Kallen's own will..."

Chapter Thirty-Eight Xia Ling: The in the Spirit of the Tree must protect me!

"Xia Ling... are you really going to give Otto that much autonomy?"

On the way back to its Intrinsic World, Void Archive wandered around for a long time before finally unable to resist asking.

"That's why I said you've followed Otto for five hundred years, but you've only learned the basics."

"With Kallen around, Otto will only be a truly good person... I've seen this in more than one World Bubble."

"This man genuinely believes in the ideals he taught Durandal and the others. And in the world where Kallen exists, he will only be more determined to practice these beautiful ideals."

"... Forget it, why should I tell you all this? You probably wouldn't understand anyway."

Xia Ling glanced at the Void Archive, who clearly didn't understand her meaning at all, and sighed helplessly.

"By the way, you should have a recording of Otto's confession in front of the tree, right?"

"???"

Void Archive looked at Xia Ling with an expression of utter disbelief.

"How did you know I had... no, how did you know Otto had a monologue on the road?"

That's obvious, I used to be so familiar with this part that I could practically recite it by heart...

Xia Ling pursed her lips and said, "If you want to know, go back and ask Vill-V yourself."

"Tsk... another one of those so-called backdoors?"

Now Void Archive dared not utter a sound and obediently sent Otto's monologue to Xia Ling's terminal.

(VII) Mingpa (V) Master slipped away and flirted with his wife in the group. "Oh right."

Seeing that they were almost at the Intrinsic World, Xia Ling suddenly spoke up.

"Void Archive, after some time, I estimate I'll need to borrow your core... I hope you won't mind then."

"No, buddy?"

The Void Archive was dumbfounded. "How long has it been, and you're already turning your back on me?"

"Even if the rabbit is killed and the hunting dog is cooked, shouldn't we at least wait until the rabbit is dead?"

"Oh, you misunderstood. It doesn't mean I want to borrow your head."

Xia Ling then realized what Void Archive was thinking, "I just want to use your core, the kind that's installed on the Key of Blankness... Of course, given how portable you are, I probably won't need to specifically remove the core."

"You haven't given up on your suicidal plan yet?"

After all, Otto's last gift was sent back before he entered the Imaginary Space, and by then, the Void Archive could no longer know what Otto had sent.

Therefore, he was unaware that Otto's final gift provided the plan with "a certain" level of security.

"Whether I live or die won't affect you... In fact, if I die sooner, you'll be free sooner."

"Yes, I was free, and then what? Theresa identified me as the culprit who instigated you to use this suicidal plan, and in the end, I was smashed into a pile of Void Archive by a group of angry Herrscher?"

Void Archive expressed that he was living a very tiring life.

He's actually starting to miss Otto now... at least he wasn't in any danger when he was with Otto.

"Don't worry, if that really happens... I'll definitely stop Theresa."

"You're already dead, are you planning to stop her through a dream?"

"Hmph~"

Ignoring the shouting Void Archive, Xia Ling found the underground base where Apocalypse was located and teleported back through the door.

"Welcome back, Miss Xia Ling."

Apocalypse performed a very gentlemanly butler's courtesy.

Have you achieved your goal?

"We were lucky; we not only achieved our main objective, but we also managed to recover Otto's legacy."

Xia Ling casually grabbed the floating Void Archive and tossed it to Apocalypse.

"You can hold onto this for me for now. It won't be of much use to me before the plan begins. Since you have Otto's memories, it should be much easier for you to use this thing."

"I understand, Miss Xia Ling."

Apocalypse nodded readily in agreement.

"Wait, what's my opinion?"

"Your opinion has a weight of less than 0.01 for me, so it is ignored."

Xia Ling waved casually. "Goodbye and don't bother seeing me out. I hope you have a pleasant stay in Apocalypse."

"Of course, if you really have any complaints, you can come with me. However, I may be going to the Elysian Realm frequently from now on. If you don't mind meeting with Vill-V, then I don't mind either."

The Void Archive suddenly fell silent.

After Xia Ling finished giving her instructions, Apocalypse skillfully integrated the Void Archive into his body.

"By the way, Miss Xia Ling, how long will it take before I can officially start working?"

"I'm afraid you'll be in a relaxed state until the Finality battle ends... Of course, you probably won't have much vacation time after the war."

"It doesn't matter, my mission is to help Theresa overcome these difficulties."

"Ah, and Theresa too..."

Upon hearing this name, Xia Ling instinctively covered her head.

As the saying goes, playing around is fun for a while, but going home is like going to the crematorium. Otto rushed through the tree much faster than Xia Ling had expected, which meant that at the same time Xia Ling entered the Imaginary Space, it should be around the time when Theresa and the others came out.

In other words, the stand-in doll she left on the transport plane was probably useless, and most likely she was caught red-handed.

"Miss Xia Ling, is something troubling you? As far as I know, you and Theresa have a very good relationship, so this kind of incident shouldn't be able to affect your feelings."

"Of course, my neighbors can't affect your company, but that doesn't mean I won't have to pay a 'price'..."

"May His Lord Bishop be blessed by the heavens... no, by the in the Spirit of the Tree. I hope that your recording will be able to distract Theresa from my thoughts."