Honkai, Traversing Otto, Path to Godhood

Cecilia, bouncing along as she walked out of the Auston Tower, asked with a hint of lingering excitement.

A nearby staff member stumbled as they walked past.

"Sure," Otto said, helping Cecilia take off her down jacket. "There should be plenty deeper in the amusement park. What do you want to play?"

The haunted house attraction in Auston Tower was supposed to be the park's highlight, but because of the "Honkai" theme overlay, the merchants had placed all the dangerous rides in the remote, back sections.

Otto replied as he retrieved their small bag and hotel key from a temporary counter, leaving the area with the crowd and walking to an open space where they could see other parts of the amusement park.

Cecilia thought seriously for a moment, her eyes sparkling with a lively light, like a child encountering something new, eager yet slightly fearful.

"Are there lots more games like this? Preferably not just the ones that scare your mind—I mean, scarier ones!!!"

The woman gestured a height, then felt it wasn't enough, so she stood on tiptoe, placing one hand on Otto's shoulder and raising the other to the highest point she could reach.

Otto felt like laughing, coughed, and replied with a solemn expression:

"Well, there are roller coasters, rapid river rapids, drop towers..."

"So many?!" the woman exclaimed, then happily put her hands on her hips. "I want them all!"

For some reason, she felt an inexplicable joy in the amusement park. It was as if, just by being there, she could shed all her burdens, forget all her fatigue, and be unrestrained and free.

Like in the past... what was the past like?

"Alright, alright," Otto said gently. "You can play whatever you want—oh right, first we need to buy some gloves."

The man pressed Cecilia's fingertip. "Your hands are cold as ice."

"Yay!"

The woman's joy overflowed from her eyes, her happiness unhidden. Otto returned her smile, his eyes full of doting affection.

The moment Cecilia turned away, Otto casually glanced in a certain direction. The streetlights reflected in his pupils, like emerald light rising and falling.

As if absentminded, as if a warning.

Chapter Nineteen: Hand in Hand

"Don't you find it thrilling?"

"Huh? What? Thrilling?"

"Like your heart races when you look down, you feel scared, and then you want to hold onto something."

"Hmm, looking down... I don't really feel that."

"Yeah, how could we, who treat the Schicksal headquarters like home, be afraid of heights..."

Otto and Cecilia were sitting on a roller coaster that was slowly climbing to its peak, about to descend. The clouds looked within reach.

According to the ticket seller, after reaching the summit, this roller coaster would launch at two hundred kilometers per hour, dropping over one hundred and forty meters at that speed.

The roller coaster track would loop eighteen times, enough to make anyone dizzy.

Otto hadn't intended to go so big right away, to use the "bridge effect" with a distinguished Valkyrie of Schicksal.

His plan was to try the pirate ship first, gradually increasing the level of excitement.

But he couldn't stop Cecilia from immediately setting her sights on this ride. While saying she'd listen to her brother's arrangements, her eyes revealed a longing for it.

So, they'd ride it. As long as his girl was happy.

Just as he sensed something and inadvertently glimpsed a dark shadow on the ground, the roller coaster roared to life. The noisy wind drowned out all other sounds, and his vision shook violently.

Otto, of course, wasn't startled by this. After all, in his past life, he was an extreme sports enthusiast. He had once thought the most romantic way to die would be to leap from Mount Everest and embrace nature.

This was also why he always appeared so calm, no matter what he did—even if it was feigned calmness.

The man even had the leisure to turn and see what Cecilia was doing.

Well, she was tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Otto had forgotten that this young lady used to treat the Ferris wheel like an elevator back then, and she even had the time to chat with him then...

As expected, using amusement park rides for the "bridge effect" was like playing in the lowest-tier leagues for a battle-hardened Valkyrie.

However, the emotions of the other people were quite on point. Their wails and screams echoed powerfully in all directions, especially when the roller coaster started to turn, making clanking noises.

Everyone's adrenaline surged, and they instinctively yelled and screamed, as if trying to expel all the air from their lungs and pass out from oxygen deprivation—that way, they wouldn't have to be scared anymore.

Whether their screams pierced the heavens was unknown, but some birds did stop upon hearing them, their flight paths abruptly dropping.

"What the f*ck?!"

"Motherf*cker!!!"

"This is too scary! Waaahhhhh!!!"

"Damn it, my shoe fell off!"

After just one descent from an almost vertical slope, those people seemed to go numb. Even when stopped at a high point and moving backward, they made no sound.

Their faces were pale, their eyes vacant, and they seemed to have trouble breathing, yet it was as if something was choking them, trapping their voices.

Oh dear...

Otto felt a slight sense of regret... it had been so atmospheric just a moment ago!

Riding a roller coaster without hearing anyone scream is like seeing in a comic that Fu Hua isn't flat – it's missing something!

The machine continued to shuttle rapidly, a dizzying sensation washing over the man. He calmly tapped the armrest, his gaze fixed forward, lost in thought.

Just then, his wrist brushed against something cool. Looking down, he saw a slender, pale, and delicate hand tentatively reaching out.

Otto's eyebrows rose. He flipped his wrist, intertwining his hand with the fair, jade-like one, warming Cecilia's cold fingertips.

For ordinary passengers, three minutes felt like an eternity. The sensation of weightlessness assailed them from all sides, forcing them to close their eyes and grip their safety belts tightly.

But Otto and Cecilia, holding hands, remained silent amidst the thrilling ride. The high-speed machine allowed them to hear only the howling wind, yet they felt the pulse in each other's fingertips, as if it were their own breath.

Perhaps, for them, time was short.

As the roller coaster gradually slowed, the other passengers finally seemed to regain their voices, their complaints rising in a chorus.

"God! I'm never riding this damn thing again!"

"I think I need to go find my shoes..."

"Lily! If you ever invite me to play a game like this again, I'm going to shove this giant stick right up your ass!"

"Haha, that's the best news I've heard in minutes..."

Otto glanced at Cecilia. As if reading his mind, she turned her gaze, her face devoid of fear. Instead, she gave him a cheerful wink.

Wink~

The man nodded in response, released her hand, and stretched.

Once the roller coaster came to a complete stop, Otto stepped off and walked over to Cecilia. He unbuckled her safety belt, then offered one hand while placing the other on his chest, bowing in a perfect gentlemanly gesture.

Cecilia smiled knowingly, gracefully placing her hand in Otto's. Then, with a delicate step, she lightly leaped off, much like a noble lady alighting from a carriage.

She still retained some of these trivial memories of etiquette.

"The view from up there is amazing," she said cheerfully, "Just like at home!"

"..."

Otto noticed many eyes turning their way.

What, we're at Schicksal HQ, of course the view is good.

Of course, he only thought this to himself; Otto had no habit of showing off in front of ordinary people.

He patted Cecilia's shoulder and led her away from the roller coaster. He then retrieved a pair of newly bought gloves from her pocket and gave her a stern, though not truly harsh, look.

Cecilia was a bit confused at first, but quickly understood.

"Hehe... I only just took them off, not long ago."

She smiled sheepishly and obediently held out her fair, cold, jade-like hands.

"How did your hands get cold on the roller coaster?"

Otto gently squeezed her hands until the frost-like chill began to yield to a faint pink hue before helping her put on the gloves.

"Put them on promptly."

Cecilia giggled foolishly, trying to change the subject. "Brother, I want to play that..."

She pointed into the distance. Otto didn't dwell on the matter, nodded, and headed towards the drop tower.

—But as they approached, they heard screams erupting one after another.

"It's already started..."

Cecilia looked at the moving machine, her voice tinged with disappointment.

"Are we waiting, or should we play something else?"

Otto inquired, finding a bench to sit on.

"My suggestion is..."

His voice suddenly stopped. Cecilia, who had been considering, looked at him curiously. She saw Otto pursing his lips and looking towards the bushes to his right, his expression complex, as if he had something to say but hesitated.

"Brother?"

"I'm here," Otto frowned, a hint of displeasure in his eyes. "My suggestion is no suggestion. We can't play anymore."

Another cry of alarm came from not far away, but this time, it was laced with fear, the words clearly reaching everyone's ears.

"Run! Run! The zombies are here!!!"

Chapter 20: Cecilia Enters the Fray

"What?"

"You're not kidding, Amon?"

"Lily! Get on my back! We need to run!"

"Oh, dear God, I swear by Tathagata Buddha that this guy must be sent by God...!"

"Don't talk nonsense, Tugaming! Run!"

"But I can't help it..."

The crowd immediately erupted. Some, pulling children along, hurried to flee. Others drew pistols, adopting defensive stances. Some yelled at the news outlets, denouncing them as fake. Still others raised their phones, attempting to capture the scene.

"This is utter chaos," Otto sighed, muttering to himself, though it wasn't clear who he was referring to.

He pulled Cecilia to her feet and they retreated to the railing in a corner.

"No! Everyone! Run! That zombie conjured a scythe out of thin air! It... they're already coming from over there! Everyone, get out!"

Distant gunfire crackled, accompanied by screams of agony—the screams always cut off abruptly, like a snapped guitar string.

Hearing this, what else could they understand? They were screaming in pain from a sliced throat, and the moment they cried out, someone—perhaps not even human—had severed their vocal cords with a sharp weapon!

"My God!"

"What are you waiting for? Run!"

"Yeah, just get away faster than everyone else!"

"Lord, please send down a holy son like Jesus to clear the zombies from the earth for my Buddha..."

"Aaaah—!!!"

The crowd suddenly parted. A man clutched his neck, his eyes bulging, purple veins spreading across his face. He screamed, but his scream ended in less than a second. The man didn't even have time to turn into a zombie, curling into a ball and collapsing before everyone's eyes.

"Ugh—!!! Lily, what are—?!"

Another scream. The crowd looked over. A man carrying his girlfriend on his back stared with wide eyes, his face filled with confusion and disbelief. Then, he crashed to the ground, a large hole appearing in his chest.