Honkai, Transmigrating into Otto, Path to Godhood

"Thank you for the reminder, Lord Bishop. As an old man, I've lost too much on my life's journey, and all I have left is this granddaughter—I truly can't imagine what my life would be like if she were also sacrificed for Schicksal."

Heh.

Otto let out a scoff in his mind.

In an instant, he saw the humility and the threat in Dr. Maki's words: he (referring to Dr. Maki) would work his hardest for Schicksal, as long as his granddaughter Marlene wouldn't become an experimental subject, wouldn't be sacrificed by Schicksal.

As if... Schicksal couldn't function without him.

"I will keep an eye on that girl."

Otto didn't lose his temper on the spot—the old man's interests hadn't been fully squeezed dry yet. He waved his hand and added:

"Miss Marlene's future will be as you wish—as for you, Dr. Maki, this project has been cut short by me. Why don't you switch to researching Stigmata and genes? Coincidentally, there will soon be new data on natural Stigmata, and I believe you'll be very interested in it."

"As you wish, Lord Otto."

The white-haired old man deliberately mimicked Otto's phrasing, bowed shakily, gave the blonde man a deep look, and then shuffled out of the research institute.

"...Absurd and ridiculous."

Long after he had left, Otto tossed the Honkai Energy Isolation Box up again, still with his usual nonchalant demeanor.

"I really admire old Maki's courage," Changguang couldn't help but complain, "He actually dared to confront you face-to-face when his granddaughter is at Schicksal."

"What's there to it?"

The blonde man shrugged.

"Back then, someone even brought their eight-year-old daughter into the Schicksal research institute and stole my experimental subjects. When you live long enough, you meet all sorts of oddballs."

"That's true... Huh?"

Before Changguang could finish speaking, she saw Otto toss something to her. She quickly caught it and took a closer look. It was the Honkai Energy Isolation Box that Maki had just brought.

"This...?!"

"I've already sent the specific method for creating the Black Abyss White Flower to your terminal," the blonde man said. "My main purpose for coming here was actually this—to temporarily halt the development of the fourth-generation Valkyrie armor and quickly complete the production of a new Black Abyss White Flower."

"...What did I do in my past life to deserve being your slave here?!"

"Are you saying I was so ugly in my past life that you couldn't pledge yourself to me then, and now you want to repay me in this life?"

"Who knows..."

Changguang muttered softly, then sighed as she flipped through her terminal.

"I'm just destined for a life of hard work... You always pile everything you want done onto me. It was like that with Bianca last year, and now you're suddenly throwing a Divine Key production project at me..."

"I'm quite busy too. I have to wake up an old friend later—wait, did you mention the World Bubble issue with Little Kiana?"

Otto raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you can forward me the relevant information about that."

"Ah, huh?" Changguang's fingers paused on the keyboard. "Our very busy Lord Bishop is planning to take over Miss Bianca's World Bubble issue?"

"Yes, I've recently had a bit of a breakthrough regarding it," the blonde man replied affirmatively. "Or rather, I've become slightly interested and want to research World Bubbles."

"...Promoting to an S-rank gets you the Bishop's special service?"

Changguang fell silent for a moment, then skillfully opened a folder and sent it to the blonde man.

"It's not just that," Otto replied. "Perhaps—it's just that I want to take care of this well-behaved and sensible student?"

"Then take good care of her."

This time, Changguang didn't tease further. Instead, she replied earnestly and seriously.

"I'll take on the Black Abyss White Flower mission. As long as the data you provide isn't false, I should be able to complete it quickly. As for the fourth-generation Valkyrie armor—give me the data for the corresponding Valkyrie, and I'll craft it as soon as possible."

"I just hope... you truly treat her as you say you will. That's all."

Her last sentence was spoken very, very softly, with a devout wish.

Chapter 52: Flowers, Sea Salt, and Moonlight

"My child..."

Cecilia said softly.

"She must have suffered a lot in the past."

She and Otto were standing outside the simulation room, watching Durandal complete her S-rank Valkyrie exam through the glass.

The white-haired woman smiled bitterly, her eyes filled with doting affection and heartache.

"..."

"Hmm... Cecilia, that depends on your perspective,"

The blonde man finally shrugged, offering no definitive answer to Cecilia's words.

"If we look at the outcome, our Little Kiana is quite outstanding."

"She has an innate invincibility talent, a maid serving her, obtained the super divine weapon Durandal capable of cleaving continents, defeated the great demon king from another world and connected to a World Bubble, possessing power that can influence the world's direction. It can't be said she had a smooth ride, but it doesn't seem... too bad either?"

"…What about the process?" Cecilia asked.

"…Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"Yes," the white-haired woman replied without hesitation. "I want to know more about my child—not just her triumphs, but her pain too."

"…Alright." Otto sighed, then changed his tone. "Falling from ten thousand meters up goes without saying. After I successfully treated her, I transferred her to an orphanage in Germany. Then the Honkai outbreak occurred, and her most beloved life mentor, Ragna, died."

"At eleven or twelve, Bianca joined Schicksal. In her first battle, all her comrades were sacrificed."

"By fourteen, she had already become an A-rank Valkyrie. In 2012, she participated in a mission to explore a World Bubble, where she met a group of friends. She experienced the sacrifice of at least three friends."

"Finally, Bianca Durandal Atagina absorbed that World Bubble into herself, and from then on, shouldered the responsibility of a world."

"Her lifelong pursuit became finding a way to graft the World Bubble back onto the Imaginary Tree, and her lifelong search was for a path to save the world."

"This was bound to be an extremely difficult path. Fighting against the rules of the world has never been easy."

(Note: Calculated based on the true Kiana, in 2012, true Kiana was indeed fourteen years old.)

"…" Cecilia pursed her lips, her gaze towards Durandal growing even more tender and self-reproaching.

The two stood side by side. Otto watched as Durandal gained the upper hand in her close-quarters combat with a virtual Honkai Beast, and lamented, "Sometimes I truly marvel at the resilience of life. Everyone finds various ways to live, to grow up. Durandal, she has truly done her utmost, achieving miracles that even surprise me."

"Yes, yes, my child is always the best," Cecilia said with a smile, though tears welled in her eyes. And always… the one who pains me the most.

Her beautiful eyes were as soft as autumn water. Watching the Emperor-class Honkai Beast before them being pushed back step by step, she finally let out a relieved smile. At this moment, her entire being exuded a strong maternal aura, so much so that even Otto couldn't help but close his eyes, feeling a warmth akin to being embraced. How long has it been since I felt a mother's embrace? Five hundred years? Over ten years? Or… always?

Only when Durandal let out a "Hah!" and defeated her opponent did he slowly open his eyes, a gentle smile on his face, though his eyes remained as calm as ever. Yet, if one looked beyond the surface of his tranquility, they could see greed flowing at the bottom of his gaze. It was like boiling magma hidden beneath the earth, waiting for its moment to erupt and consume the beauty and warmth of life.

"Do you want to go see her?" Otto asked. "Coincidentally, on Little E's final battle as an A-rank Valkyrie, you can send off a mother's blessing."

Cecilia hesitated for a moment, then finally shook her head. "I haven't decided yet… what kind of way to meet her." She was still smiling, but her smile had turned bitter. "I am… an incompetent mother."

"I won't comment on such matters," Otto said, lightly patting the woman's shoulder. "But what I want to tell you is that you don't need to hesitate about how to treat our Little Bianca." "Loving your child never requires a predetermined method." "She remembers the story of the Second Honkai Outbreak by heart. You, Cecilia Schariac, have always been her hero."

"A hero… even heroes have moments of hesitation," Cecilia sighed. "I really don't know how to appear more like a mother." She thought for a moment, then added, "Hmm, a mother to a teenage girl." Honestly… in her memory, just a month ago, her Little Kiana was still a child holding an umbrella like the Black Abyss White Flower and tugging on the pigtails of someone who looked like a young Bishop. How did she grow up so fast…

"If you ask me, this isn't a huge problem…" Otto mused for a moment. "For Little E, the scent of her mother should be flowers, sea salt, and moonlight, right?"

Cecilia tilted her head, a little surprised. "You really understand Durandal." She knew that because of her and her child's accomplishments, the Main Church paid special attention to Little Kiana. But she never expected the Bishop to understand her so well, even being able to answer such a question so smoothly. Otto's previous affectionate address of "Little E" and his intimate knowledge of Little Kiana's experiences had already made her feel overwhelmed. Now, his precise grasp of her psychology made Cecilia so grateful that she felt a little flustered. The woman never considered if Otto was just talking nonsense—the Bishop had no reason to deceive her on such an irrelevant topic. (Of course, this was not nonsense; the English voice line of Teyvat's Cavalry contained this passage.) Thank goodness for you. Cecilia thought again.

"This isn't difficult at all," Otto said, naturally demonstrating care in the details. "After all, a child's secrets are treasures meant to be shown off; they'll lift their little hands and hold them up high themselves."

"Haha."

Cecilia's eyelashes curved as she savored the childish words, her smile sweet.

"Lift me high... I wish I could lift my treasure high like that again."

It certainly wasn't a difficult task, but... it required spending time together day after day, or perhaps, thoughtfulness and attention to detail.

In this moment, she completely believed that the Bishop's care for young Kiana wasn't just because the child was extraordinary, but also because he genuinely cared for her.

He was practically perfect in the role of Kiana's father...

Merely her dying plea had been enough for Elder Brother to practically consider young Kiana his student... What if, what if Kiana was Elder Brother's own child...

Cecilia's thoughts began to wander, imagining Otto handing the latest and most advanced Valkyrie armor to the current Durandal, placing several Divine Keys in her armor's space, carefully warning her not to underestimate the enemy, and then, after she embarked on her journey, sending a clone out of concern...

Then, after everything had safely concluded, sharing a knowing smile with her in front of the remote monitoring equipment like an old married couple, and lowering his head to kiss her rosy lips...

???

Cecilia jolted in surprise. How could she have such an audacious thought again?

A blush spread across the woman's face, and she glanced at Otto a little guiltily, then turned her head away, her gaze drifting to Durandal's movements.

"Thank you, Lord Bishop."

Otto looked at Cecilia, who had suddenly fallen silent and then spoken up, with some confusion. Was her reaction time... a bit too slow?

But seeing her pretty face slightly flushed...

Heh, interesting.