Honkai, Transmigrating into Otto, Path to Godhood

He admired the woman's figure as he spoke.

"Lord Otto, I am here."

Amber's form emerged from the darkness behind Otto, first startled, then recalling that it was Otto who had called her, and so she regained her composure.

It was only natural that the Lord Bishop knew I was behind him.

--Because since there's no one else here, if you weren't here, calling you wouldn't have been heard anyway.

Otto smiled faintly, projecting an air of total control:

"It is time to awaken our Saintess."

Amber nodded and stepped forward, pressing the activation button.

The nutrient fluid in the chamber was drained, the glass casing rose, and Cecilia's delicate body slumped onto the base of the pod.

She had not yet regained consciousness, but her lips were slightly parted, expelling the nutrient fluid.

I really want to poke her.

His heart ached bitterly, but his surface remained calm as he chatted with Amber while waiting:

"By the way, Amber, has that mission been issued?"

"The message has been sent to Lady Rita and Lady Fu Hua," Amber replied, straightening Cecilia, "and the request to retrieve the Oath of Judah has also been sent to Lady Theresa. She has lodged a strong protest and demands to speak with you."

"Let the little one finish throwing her tantrum first. Don't let her contact me,"

Otto's eyes curved at the corners, carrying a depth that others could not fathom, "My good granddaughter, it is time for you to launch a splendid betrayal against your old grandfather."

"I truly hope... your fury will burn me to ashes."

A splendid betrayal... burn to ashes...

Amber's gaze dimmed considerably.

Lord Otto... Though I do not know the full scope of your schemes, when you made this decision, you were already prepared for everyone to turn against you, weren't you?

She bit her lip, hesitated as if to speak, but finally looked firmly at the golden-haired man: "Lord Otto, I will always stand by your side--as long as you do not drive me away."

???

Wait, I was just joking around, and you came up with all that?

Otto didn't quite understand, but it didn't stop him from giving a profound, unfathomable smile and replying in a teasing tone:

"Alright, for this life, whether in poverty or wealth, in sickness or in health, I command you to be faithful to me, never to leave, until the end of your days."

Okay.

Amber nodded once, answering seriously in her heart.

"I will not abandon your soul to the abyss, nor let your holy body see decay."

What is this voice?

Who am... I?

Memories flashed before Cecilia's eyes like a revolving lantern, chaotic and complex.

But when she tried to look closely, the center of her consciousness throbbed with pain.

"Ah!..."

She clutched her head, but it was useless; pain enveloped her from all sides, not just her brain, but her limbs and chest began to transmit the same sensation.

Accompanying the pain was a fear. She didn't know why, but she was terrified.

As her bodily functions and autonomous senses gradually returned to normal, the pain throughout her body began to lessen, but that instinctive fear only deepened.

Her vision was darkness, because she hadn't opened her eyes.

It seemed... because she didn't dare to.

"What's wrong?"

A voice came from beside her.

"Lord Bishop... Lady Cecilia seems to have... lost her memory?"

It was the voice of the one supporting her.

She... lost her memory?

Cecilia couldn't quite grasp the meaning of the word, but that didn't stop her from feeling an inexplicable dread at the term.

Her arms wrapped around her long, slender legs, curling up, trembling slightly.

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Chapter 8: Abducting My Great Saintess

Cecilia has amnesia?

Otto frowned, asking in his mind: "Is this amnesia a normal phenomenon or an operational error?"

[Partial memory extraction phenomenon.]

"Oh, since it has a scientific name... it's normal, then? Can you be more specific?"

[Not guaranteed to occur—but it is a normal phenomenon. The cause is deceiving the world.]

"I see..."

Otto understood instantly.

Since he wanted to distort history and save Cecilia, he had to find a way to deceive the world.

And a person themselves is also part of the world.

The Book of XX negates the past, creates historical blur points, and pulls life from the world's predetermined death.

This memory extraction is the "deception" of the saved one, stripping away her self-cognition of being "dead."

Her memories were being partially reshaped, and as a result, Cecilia now couldn't access too many of them.

Following this line of thought, Otto couldn't help but wonder—was this historical revision equivalent to fishing someone out of the river of time, or was it a minuscule distortion of the past, like altering a few words in a long historical scroll?

So, would the revision produce a butterfly effect?

Or, would all chosen directions in fate lead to a predetermined outcome?

For example, if a future me wanted to resurrect Kallen, then the one lying in that coffin just now—was it a sleeper or a corpse?

[Who knows?]

In the space between his brows, the Book of Void gave a message that was both like a riddle and not.

Who knows...

These four words, on the surface, were cryptic, but in reality... they already provided too much information.

For instance, the butterfly effect had a certain probability of already occurring.

For instance, this golden finger would answer his questions.

—This immediately made Otto think of what he had pondered in his mind before using it.

Earlier, after learning of the Book of XX's several limitations, Otto had immediately thought of mastering the rules, then using the rules in his hands to make the ability to "distort time" unbound by those rules.

Since it hadn't answered that, hadn't voluntarily offered a way to make the "future" "promising," it meant his idea of "wielding the rules" was likely correct, and thus it hadn't corrected him.

Otto savored the words, then asked in his mind: "Is the resurrected person's amnesia permanent or temporary?"

Playing a long-term nurture game was interesting, but the original plan... would probably need a slight adjustment.

[It will recover within seven days.]

Seven days.

This time wasn't too long or too short; with some maneuvering, it was just enough to set up an interesting scenario.

Otto's thoughts raced, and he said to Amber: "Amber, for the next month, I'll have to trouble you."

"Lord Bishop is going to...?"

Amber suddenly had a bad feeling.

She was very familiar with the Bishop's posture, because...

"I plan to accompany Cecilia in recovering her memories," Otto said. "So, there might be some tasks I need to entrust to you."

You're slacking off!

Amber declared that even without Lady Cecilia, you were still playing Kallen Fantasy!

"I can handle the daily work, but Lord Bishop, some matters..."

Amber tried to fight for some rights.

"I'll make time to deal with them," Otto waved his hand grandly. "Don't worry."

Fine.

Amber sighed.

After all, it was Lady Cecilia... the Saintess who once made the Bishop suspend the development of Kallen Fantasy...

The only one for whom the Bishop would prepare a Soul Steel body in Siberia for her safety was Lady Cecilia.

So, abandoning work now to accompany Lady Cecilia was only natural... only natural...

It was only right for me to work a little harder... only right...

She mustered all her strength to convince herself, nodded, and said: "Then I wish the Lord Bishop a swift awakening of Lady Cecilia."

"It depends on fate. Also," Otto stepped forward, taking Cecilia's waist from Amber and pulling her into his embrace, "you've been listening for so long, my girl—shouldn't you open your eyes now?"

He waved his hand, and Amber understood, retreating into the darkness to prepare Cecilia's clothes.

A newborn beast would see the first creature it laid eyes on as its parent. Though Cecilia had merely lost her memory, Otto wouldn't let slip any chance to leave a deep impression on her.

It was calculated, but beneficial to both sides.

The current Otto would not mistreat his own people.

Cecilia opened her eyes, her clear pupils filled with the reflection of Otto Apocalypse.

Who... was he?

Right now, his face didn't exist in her mind. She couldn't recall anything between them, nor did she know what their relationship was.

Yet, in fleeting fragments of memory, she could always vaguely sense this man's presence, recognize his voice, and feel the urge to follow his steps.

"Mm..."

Suddenly, a small image crystallized clearly in Cecilia's mind—a girl laughing on a bustling pedestrian street, with a golden-haired man behind her, carrying bags upon bags.

What... was this?

Cecilia froze for a few seconds, then pieced together the cause and effect from this fragment.

But it was futile. Everything before and after the fragment remained elusive. The harder she tried to remember, the more her head ached.

She nearly clawed at her scalp, wanting to reach out and grasp something, but her innate gentleness forcibly restrained her frustration.