Honkai, Traversing Otto, Path to Godhood

I will accompany him, never leaving his side, facing any storms that may come our way together.

This is something I decided on a few days ago.

So, I will be his wife… Brother Otto's wife… Haha…

When she came to her senses and lifted her head, she saw Otto raising his hand to cover her forehead, his expression one of amusement at a child's foolishness.

"What are you laughing at… Never mind."

Otto sighed and patted the woman's shoulder.

"As long as you're happy."

The man took Cecilia's hand and walked through the streets of Attra. The pair of handsome man and beautiful woman formed a lovely scene on the street.

"Where are we going, Brother?"

"Us,"

Otto looked into the distance, raised his hand, and held up a cross. It reflected a dazzling luster under the colorful lights by the roadside.

"Didn't they say that [Schicksal] rings the bells of heaven for the [Savior]?"

"Let's go deliver the bells."

The brown-haired, golden-eyed woman pulled off a feather that had landed on the eyehole of her mask and looked at the scene before her in shock.

She swore she had never imagined that her mercenary colleague possessed such a powerful ability to sway people, gathering so many believers in a single morning. Nor had she ever imagined that after gathering the believers, they would spontaneously compose hymns.

It's just… it's just these hymns…

"In the beginning, our Lord awoke from the ice and came to this world, Seeing that people could not eat their fill and were suffering from hunger and cold.

The shepherd could not bear to see his flock starve, and our Lord could not bear to see the world perish in ignorance.

So, He ignited the heavenly fire, cooked the wheat sprouts, and presented them before the people."

"The Lord said: I give you the bread of this world, Whoever eats this bread shall be my child; whoever eats this bread shall love as brothers."

"…I will be your father and will not let you go hungry; since you are my children, you shall respect the bread that fills you."

"Lord, above all…"

The masked woman opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say…

"Miss Cleo," a young boy with blond hair and green eyes spoke up beside her, "Is something wrong?"

"Ah, no, nothing."

Cleo, the brown-haired, golden-eyed woman, was stunned. Looking at the young boy who had written the hymn, her face was a mix of emotions.

Are they the ones with a problem, or are these people the problem? It's like they've all been struck by the Eighth Divine Key.

"Don't think too much about it, Miss Cleo," the boy stuck out his tongue. "I'm just good at changing… good at this sort of thing, and the real pastor is you, right? If you are devout, then grace and love will follow you all your life; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous. But the way of the wicked shall perish!"

He suddenly recited what sounded like a devout prayer, placing his hand on his chest, his face filled with the fervor of a fanatic:

"The Lord will repay you according to your righteousness and reward you according to the purity of your hands; for salvation belongs to the Lord!"

The blond boy seemed satisfied with Cleo's expression. The corners of his lips curled up, and he bowed to her:

"Thank you for bringing us such great ideas. May the Lord answer you in the day of your trouble, may the God named Savior exalt you; may He help you from His sanctuary and strengthen you from His divine kingdom. May He remember all your offerings and accept your burnt sacrifices."

"I know this will surely happen," the boy said with conviction. "Because you have kept the way of my Lord and have not turned away from my God; His statutes are always before you. You have not cast aside His laws!"

Cleo: …

I'm starting to wonder if you're the Serpent or if I am.

"People who believe in the Lord, know this:"

"The Lord is not unable to bring down heavenly fire, cause ice and frost to surge, burn the earth, and bring divine judgment upon all beings. It is because He considers that there are still heroic spirits in this world. But if there is one clear-headed heroic spirit, the Lord will not display great divine power to destroy this world;"

"The Lord is not unable to spread sweet dew, regenerate severed limbs, dispel evil spirits, and make everyone a god. It is because He hates the ignorance that still exists in this world. But if there is ignorance in a leader, the Lord will not allow them to enjoy this divine favor."

"The Lord is omnipotent, and we must believe this."

"All who believe in the Lord shall eat their fill of bread; all who disobey the Lord shall wail."

"Amen!"

The believers finally finished shouting the second stanza of the hymn noisily for the second time. Cleo held her head, her thoughts in utter chaos.

She felt like she was about to give up thinking…

Her mind buzzed with "Amen," "Amen"…

"Miss Cleo," it was the boy's voice, "What's wrong?"

"Uh," Cleo closed her eyes and stammered, "For deities, I'm not a professional propagandist…"

"So you don't know how to speak to us new apostles, right?" The boy's smile seemed to deepen.

"Yeah... I really don't know what kind of fools can be recruited through missionary work..."

"Then leave it to me! You can leave anything to me!" Fire flickered in the boy's pupils. "I can help you spread the word about the [Savior]—don't worry, my literary skills are excellent!"

Cleo looked at the boy in confusion, not understanding why he was so enthusiastic.

"Um... right," the boy asked casually, as if it were an afterthought, "in our church... can you eat noodles until you're full, like I wrote? If so... then I want to join and become a true clergyman like you, please tell me how?"

"Become a clergyman?"

Cleo repeated the words softly, then a smile curved her lips. She instantly understood the boy's intentions.

No wonder he was so eager...

So he just wanted to join and get a free meal, easy peasy.

—As long as you can get off my experiment table.

"I'll introduce you to the Honored Master," Cleo replied, her eyes flashing with brilliance. "You can say some more things for me—oh, right, remember to smear Schicksal's name."

She gently patted the boy on the shoulder, took half a step back, and scanned the crowd, searching for the figure she wanted.

The boy lowered his head, rolled his eyes, then spread his arms wide and shouted to the crowd:

"Everyone, we gather here today to praise the great deity. His existence is worthy of the two and a half years we spend trying to understand..."

Chapter Twenty-Seven: You've Said Enough!

"...If the world can be saved, then my Lord will surely bestow His love upon us as we look up to Him. I will praise my Lord at all times. The words of praise for Him shall always be in my mouth. You and I, let us together extol my Lord and exalt His name."

"All who look to Him shall be radiant with glory. Their faces shall not be ashamed. O my Lord's saints, you shall fear Him, for those who fear Him lack nothing. You will surely benefit from this; for the Lord will bless the righteous. O Lord, He will protect you on all sides with His favor as with a shield!"

The crowd erupted. A woman with brown hair exclaimed loudly, her voice elegant and excited: "This will be the greatest honor for mankind; believers will dwell in my Lord's divine kingdom forever!"

The boy looked at the speaker and met her rose-red, large eyes with a smile:

"You will find your true self again, living and dying with the spirit of the divine!"

"We must offer sacrifices of righteousness, and rely on my Lord, for He, He is our shield on all sides—He is our glory, and the deity who lifts up my head!"

The woman blinked and responded with a smile.

The boy bowed, as if thanking her for her cooperation:

"This brings joy to my heart, surpassing that of those who harvest grain and new wine; it was so in the past, and it will surely be so in the future—Amen!"

"Amen!"

"Amen!"

"Amen!"

Cecilia and Otto stood in the distance, quietly observing everything happening by the Thames River.

It was strange. Despite it being the Christmas holiday, the number of pedestrians here was gradually decreasing.

"It is impolite not to reciprocate,"

Amidst the clamor, Otto suddenly let out a low laugh, causing Cecilia to tilt her head and look at him.

"The world is filled with an anxious atmosphere, because everyone is eager to break free from their own shackles."

The man beside her moved with grace, showing no emotional fluctuations, yet he exuded a strangely unsettling detachment.

Unreal, yes, unreal.

Otto, as he was now, gave Cecilia a sense of extreme unreality.

Even with her arm linked through his, she felt that this man was distinctly separate from everything—perhaps even her—as if the soul within him had just left this space, leaped out of this city, and was now watching events unfold from on high, with indifference—as a commentator.

The woman couldn't help but feel a little panicked, leaning closer to Otto and tightening her grip slightly.

The man seemed to sense her inexplicable nervousness. The corners of his mouth turned up, and the soul, which had ascended to a higher dimension, returned to its vessel. He tilted his head to look at Cecilia, his emerald eyes blinking.

Don't be afraid. I'm here.

He conveyed with his eyes.

Cecilia quickly calmed down. The anxiety she had felt rapidly subsided. She nodded firmly, her eyes shining with trust and composure.

Cleo was shocked once again: how could anyone in the world, in just a few minutes, describe several "deities" so vividly with just two or three sentences? If she hadn't known what was really going on, she might have suspected this was the doctrine of her own organization from the past!

What a quality believer!

It's just... a shame he fell into my hands...

She... only had experiments in her eyes...

"Alright, after we've spoken of the four great deities—the [Savior], [Heavenly Wisdom], [Fleeting Life], and [Anti-Entropy]—next, I will introduce to you in detail the most terrifying deity in the world..."

The boy cleared his throat and said:

"[Schicksal], the most detestable deity in history. Its other name is actually even more widely known, and that is [Demon]."

"What?"

"A god... how could it possibly be a demon?"

The crowd erupted again, and the woman who had echoed earlier covered her mouth and laughed.

The boy watched their skepticism with satisfaction, then lowered his head and recited in a tone of sorrow and despair:

"Devouring the hopes of past and future, reaching the uncontainable gray abyss; From this nauseating graveyard hidden within the river of the heart comes a despairing, hoarse wail, and the sound of footsteps striking the ground, that monotonous, subtle, blasphemous tone."

"Responding to this detestable wail and arrival, those heavy and dark ultimate fears—those blind, mute, foolish sages—are stripping life from the river of the heart, igniting ethereal blue flames in the graveyard, and then, slowly, clumsily, absurdly, they dance a disgusting dance."

"And their souls are that man with golden hair and blue eyes, the terrifying entity with infinite forms. After the Lord departed for the mortal world and beyond the void, it ruled the human world for five hundred years as Schicksal's demon."

"Yes, that's right, a demon, that is its true title. The 'War God' inscription was merely the Lord's act of mercy, casually adding an unknowable rationality to its existence."

"Any believer who rebels against His darkness and speaks disrespectfully to Him will be contaminated by its twisted deformity, becoming a pathetic wretch unable to enter the divine kingdom of the Savior."

"..."

Everyone fell silent, a fear seeming to arise from the depths of their hearts.

Cleo watched the scene before her with satisfaction. She was pleased with her speech and took a step forward, intending to pat the boy's head and add something more.

"Everyone..."

But her hand met empty air. The boy took a step forward, turned to look at Cleo with a mischievous smile, and then shouted loudly:

"Everyone, do you know why I know so much about Schicksal? Because its messenger has already descended among us, telling me everything about the gods!"

"Rejoice! Schicksal's messenger has arrived! He is the king who embodies all great achievements, surpasses the supreme, and understands the ancient darkness—the Jackal! At this moment, he has descended into this vessel, bringing us the blessings of the gods!"

The followers exchanged glances, their suspicious gazes falling upon Cleo.

At this moment, the boy spread his arms, his expression one of fervent fanaticism: