Honkai, Traversing Otto, Path to Godhood

"What is it, Bishop?"

"No problem, Rita," Otto shook his head. "Alright, go complete the second mission. Remember to contact Amber anytime."

"As you command, Bishop."

"Wait."

Her rapidly departing figure trembled. Rita clasped her legs together, losing some of her composure as she asked, "Is there anything else you require, Bishop?"

"No matter how elegant you act, it won't change the outcome,"

Otto extended his hand.

"Hand over your terminal."

"...As you command, Bishop."

Rita's cheeks flushed. With a mixture of shyness and reluctance, she produced her terminal. Only after the man had deleted all the photos she'd taken that day and cleared the backups did she leave, her steps no longer light.

"Such a disobedient child..."

As Rita's elegant silhouette vanished, the dissatisfaction in Otto's eyes suddenly disappeared. He spoke with a hint of teasing, as if talking to himself.

"Don't you agree, Void Archives?"

"Yes, truly disobedient," the golden-haired young boy's body suddenly moved—without Otto's control. "If she hadn't been patting my head and pinching my cheeks, I would have already laid your killing trap here—though I don't think it's necessary."

"Oh? A killing trap?" Otto tilted his head. "Or... mine?"

"Of course," the golden-haired young boy's lips curved into a smile. "Of course, it's not too late."

"So, have you betrayed me as well, Void Archives?" Otto feigned surprise.

"Where does the word 'betrayal' exist between us, little Otto?"

The golden-haired young boy laughed, his eyes shifting from green to crimson, like burning flames.

"We've been rivals for five hundred years, haven't we?"

She flicked her hair, changing her short golden locks to ash-white Roman curls. She then lightly stomped her foot, and with a flash of golden light, a white skirt extended from her top, reaching her knees.

"Welcome to my original form, Otto Apocalypse."

Void Archives slowly ascended into the air. She grinned, appearing somewhat carried away with herself.

"This opportunity is too rare. Do you know that the original you never left Schicksal headquarters? You always used your Soul Steel body outside, never taking a single step away even when facing a Honkai God."

"And this time, you not only left the headquarters, which has countless contingencies, but you also placed one of your carried Soul Steel bodies into my spatial library—this indeed allowed you to escape the attack of the Third Divine Key, but—this is the first time you've ever trusted me this much, haha!"

She laughed joyfully, as if releasing all the grievances of the past five hundred years.

But she quickly calmed down, conjured a stool, and offered it to Otto.

"Do you have any last words, little Otto? Come, don't bump your head when you fall later. I'll need it in the future."

"...Alright."

Otto looked at Void Archives with a complex expression, but without the anxiety one would expect when about to be possessed.

Faintly... there was also a trace of imperceptible pity.

He took Void Archives' stool and sat down, then asked:

"It seems your cloaking ability is very strong?"

"Yes, limited to this—but it's enough," Void Archives smiled. "I can kill you at any time, and when the headquarters reacts and uploads your memories, I will mimic your thought model, inherit all your memories, and infiltrate that transmission device. Thus, I will become Otto."

The two fell into a tacit silence for a while. Finally, the man broke the calm with a teasing reply:

"Should I congratulate you on thinking so beautifully?"

"Thinking beautifully? Haha, little Otto, I think you simply don't understand,"

Void Archives sneered.

"You don't understand how Divine Keys operate, you don't understand the true meaning of the Herrscher of Reason. Perhaps you have some memories from that existence, but in the end, you're still a brat of twenty or so, flirting with a Cecilia clone. Compared to an existence like mine, which has existed for fifty thousand years, you're simply not enough."

"It's entirely understandable to make a small, childish mistake under my observation—though the price is a bit steep—isn't it?"

She spread her arms, as if her entire Soul Steel body was expanding.

"For five hundred years—well, at least four hundred years, I've never been closer to success than today."

"My dear little Otto, those who are clever like you..."

"Are born to be devoured by me, keke keke~"

Amidst Void Archives' sinister laughter, Otto's voice rang out, his tone still unhurried, as if what had just been said had nothing to do with him.

"Oh? Miss Void Archives, you believe you have me completely cornered?"

Chapter Thirty-Three: I Admit I Was Speaking a Little Loudly Just Now

Void Archives stopped laughing and looked at Otto with disdain.

What else could you do?

"I knew three days ago," there was not a hint of surprise on the man's face. "There are quite a few little mice trying to cause trouble."

"You don't have the right to call me a little mouse," Void Archives paused for a moment, then let out a cold laugh, her red pupils filled with arrogance and triumph, "Little Otto."

"Aren't you just trying to possess me?" Otto tapped his stool rhythmically. "Oh my, after taking root and sprouting, the feedback you've given me is still a bit lacking."

A significant reason he left Schicksal headquarters was precisely for this situation.

Void Archives wanted Otto's body, and Otto needed to regain complete control of Void Archives. A battle between them was inevitable.

And this first exchange would determine their future offensive and defensive stances, as well as their "first impressions" of each other.

He had planned meticulously to lure the enemy into his trap, intending to control and master this artificial intelligence from a cognitive perspective. Such an intangible scheme was impossible for a mere AI to detect, let alone resist.

Therefore…

"While there are many ways to deal with you, Miss Void Archives, I will use the method with the greatest lasting impact to make our first encounter, and yours and mine, deeply meaningful."

Otto tilted his head slightly, looking at her with a casual demeanor. "The moment I walked out of Schicksal headquarters, I was wondering when you would break our agreement—Ha, and look, you couldn't wait any longer."

Void Archives responded with a disdainful pout:

"Agreement? What agreement? For beings at our level, a verbal contract is less than worthless, isn't it?"

She thought for a moment and added, "Of course, you could also do as Otto did five hundred years ago, stake your will against me in a soul-level fusion battle. Speaking of which, we did share memories for a while back then, since you didn't have a mature will or any other devices to assist you."

Void Archives lowered her head, her eyes revealing undisguised greed:

"I'm actually quite curious, just how 'legendary' is the past of the little guy who can fuse with Otto."

Otto narrowed his eyes, and the tapping of his stool stopped.

Excellent.

He loved this kind of anticipated thrill.

This was also why he enjoyed extreme sports in the past.

The feeling of having one's life seemingly not in their own hands, planning everything and then taking a risk, was just so interesting!

We're playing with heart-stopping excitement!

"So... are you sure you want to do this?" the man asked, crossing his legs.

Void Archives curled her lips, her words full of sarcasm:

"Little Otto, power isn't about riding on someone else's coattails or bluffing. You need strength to gain influence. Right now, you can only pray your will is strong enough to hold onto yourself during our game."

"I'm actually quite eager to try my hand against you," Otto replied with a sigh. "Testing my will against an artificial intelligence—that's a challenging and interesting endeavor."

"It's just a shame that my memories are not something I want you to sift through."

"I like adventure, but I don't take risks without preparation."

"Ah, poor, helpless little Otto," Void Archives' gaze seemed to hold pity. "Humans often don't have the right to choose; they only have the fate of being chosen."

"Regardless, you will inevitably become entangled with my memories now, and we will connect."

"Oh, really?"

Otto's lips gradually curved upward.

"Have to? Inevitably? Connect?"

Void Archives' eyes suddenly changed. In this man before her, she felt a strange sense of familiarity.

A feeling that she was being schemed against again—why again?

"But... I'd like to ask Miss Void Archives, before we came out... did we forget something?"

Otto tapped his temple with his finger, his troubled expression seeming like he was thinking, or perhaps just pretending.

"For example..."

The man suddenly sat up straight, exclaiming as if he had just realized something, in an exaggerated tone:

"Wow, right, at the Schicksal headquarters, regarding the instruments for the Soul Steel body, those backups belonging to Otto Apocalypse..."

"Did you and I... forget to completely erase or overwrite them?"

The air fell silent for a moment, Void Archives' expression froze. At the same time, Otto began to laugh softly, a laugh that exuded sheer exhilaration.

"Hahaha, which means..."

"That Otto, if I die, if Amber receives the news of my voluntary death, he... might reappear~"

"At this point, you have no right to threaten me. Instead, you'll have to do everything you can to ensure I stay alive."

"What do you mean?!"

Void Archives' voice rose considerably, while Otto merely tilted his head, his smirk widening.

Then, he raised his hand, the tip of his finger reflecting light.

"Arteries are distributed in both the left and right wrists, where you'd normally feel a pulse. They throb with each heartbeat."

The man narrated slowly, his right hand turning and touching his left wrist.

"But that's just the very end. What I can feel is only a tiny bit. If you want to experience that sensation, that shallow layer is definitely not enough."

"At least, one-third of the way under the skin."

Otto's smile remained, his every movement suggesting a descent into madness.

Yet, his eyes showed no ripple of pain, only a chilling indifference that inspired fear, as if none of his actions concerned him, even if he himself was the one being hurt.

—Or perhaps, every action had been rehearsed a thousand times in his mind, hence his calm and practiced demeanor.

"This isn't so easy, because the piercing pain comes quickly, and at this moment, the fluids in my body will start to flow out—I feel heat, then cold, and a pain that goes bone-deep."

"But it's not enough to be fatal, I must go deeper."

The man described it all, sentence by sentence, finally raising his trembling hand with a wild grin.

"There, now it's enough, my dear little Void Archives."

"Oh, Kallen above, I swear this isn't beautiful at all. Not at all fitting for a gentleman."

His vision was already blurring slightly, yet he spoke clearly, his intonation rising and falling like a conductor's baton guiding a symphony he effortlessly commanded.

"But I absolutely cannot give up, or everything will be for naught. At any moment during this, if I am..."

"Enough!!!"

Void Archives let out a low growl, suppressing her rage. A flash of golden light, and Otto's wrist was restored.

The man raised an eyebrow, remaining silent.

"I admit I was a bit loud just now,"

Void Archives' tone softened as he wished, "But put that down first, and then we can negotiate."