Chapter 316

"I am, after all, your student. If I don't even have this level of skill, wouldn't I be letting you down?" Otto even countered, "As a teacher, you should have more confidence in your teaching abilities."

"I am Yin and Yang, right?" Ai Yue rolled his eyes. "In short, you should already know your mission, right?"

"Since all of this has already happened, it means that the time I am in now is actually the 'past'." Otto nodded and began his analysis. "However, within this 'past', variables that shouldn't exist have appeared, which means that the timeline changed much earlier."

"You come from Pre-Civilization, right?"

Only in this way could Ai Yue even tamper with the Divine Keys left behind by the Pre-Civilization.

But Otto couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of power it would take to do such a thing—he could only say that he was truly worthy of being called Teacher Ai Yue.

"There's no need to go into things that everyone already knows. With so many clues, you must have already figured it out, right?" Ai Yue shrugged. "Let me tell you something that nobody else knows."

"As someone who has lived for over five hundred years in the original timeline, my existence must be indispensable to the future," Otto smiled helplessly, then continued, "Considering you previously said that you needed me to work for you for five hundred years, then at least regarding the matter of 'controlling Schicksal for five hundred years,' that is certain."

Otto didn't say anything pointless like "Why choose me?" because after seeing everything in the dream, he knew that this was a task that no one else could handle.

"But you don't want me to commit those...crimes again, so you gave me this memory to prevent me from repeating them, right?" Otto said, observing Ai Yue's expression. "But, can the timeline really be...changed like this? Is it really okay to continue like this?"

"Without oversight, let alone changes of this magnitude, even the slightest alteration could lead to the collapse of the entire timeline." Ai Yue shrugged. "But that's what I'm in charge of."

Is Professor Ai Yue's ability even capable of interfering with the timeline?

Otto pondered silently, but showed no surprise—after all, this kind of thing didn't seem strange at all.

Judging from the abilities the other party has demonstrated, operating a timeline is probably as simple as breathing, right?

"In that case, I'm relieved." After receiving Ai Yue's reply, Otto nodded. "I will do my best to complete my mission."

In this way, wouldn't it be possible to atone for the sins committed in the past?

"Don't be too nervous. Five hundred years isn't a long time, but it's not short either. Don't put too much pressure on yourself now, or you won't be able to handle it later." Ai Yue naturally saw through Otto's thoughts and couldn't help but remind him, "Since evil won't disappear, don't torture yourself with it all the time, lest you delay important matters."

"I understand." Otto paused for a moment, then replied seriously, "I will cherish this opportunity."

Spilled water cannot be gathered up again, and a broken mirror cannot be mended—but now, under Ai Yue's incredible power, Otto has truly gained a second life.

If I miss this opportunity, I'll truly be beyond redemption.

"Although it's difficult to evaluate your merits and demerits, I still have great confidence in your abilities," Ai Yue nodded, then snapped his fingers. "Also, there's something else I need to ask of you."

With a snap of his fingers, a Teleportation Gate appeared beside Ai Yue, and then a figure that Otto found somewhat familiar walked out of it.

"You are, Aka..." Otto stared in surprise at the woman who had occupied a significant portion of the dream, but noticed something amiss from her overly vivid expression. "No, you are the Herrscher of Consciousness?"

He was initially somewhat surprised that the Herrscher of Consciousness would appear at this particular time, but when he thought about how the person responsible for training him a few years ago was actually Kiana, whom he had created himself, Otto understood.

"As expected, no matter how many times I see that face, it's hard to control my anger." The Herrscher of Consciousness glanced at Otto, her eyebrows immediately furrowing. Even so, she still turned to look at Ai Yue, "Can I beat him up?"

Before Ai Yue could speak, Otto nodded quite frankly. "If this makes you feel better, then I can tolerate it."

After learning that everything in the dream had actually happened, Otto was mentally prepared for those he had hurt to seek revenge.

He just didn't expect the retribution to come so quickly.

"Tsk." Looking at Otto's expression, the Herrscher of Consciousness suddenly let out a long sigh, then sat down next to Ai Yue. "Forget it, I'm not going to do something like trying to find a sword by marking the boat where it fell."

As the Herrscher of consciousness, she could naturally sense Otto's sincerity at this moment, and it was precisely because of this that she abandoned her previous plan.

After all, even if she beat up Otto in front of her, it wouldn't be the same as getting revenge on that bastard. In the end, it would just be a form of self-comfort, but she couldn't fool herself, so why bother?

"So, what exactly is it?" Otto didn't dwell on the Herrscher of Consciousness's reaction any further, but simply asked, "Could it be that this Herrscher of Consciousness lady wants to join Schicksal?"

"You're quite clever." Otto certainly knows how to manipulate people. This flattery of "Lady Herrscher of Consciousness" made the kid very happy, and he immediately forgot his previous dissatisfaction. "Although it's only temporary, in return, I can help you solve some minor troubles. Isn't that a good deal?"

"For now, you can call her 'Fu Shi,' that's her public identity," Ai Yue added. "To ensure her own stability, she needs to leave more 'traces' in this world."

Faced with the choice between "mother and daughter" and "sisters," the Herrscher of Consciousness ultimately chose the latter. After all, the former was a generation apart, and even Hua would find it hard to accept suddenly having a "daughter" who looked just like her.

The purpose of this is to allow the Herrscher of Consciousness to leave her own unique mark on the timeline. If she was originally just a painting created by people through observing Hua, then as others' understanding of the Herrscher of Consciousness increases, her image will become more complete and eventually be firmly established.

"I understand. I'll take care of the rest." Otto nodded, then smiled at the Herrscher of Consciousness —no, she should be called the Herrscher of Symbols now—"Well then, welcome to Schicksal, Ms. Fu Shi."

"As mentioned before, during this period you can have Fu Shi help you complete some tasks, just like you would with Valkyrie," Ai Yue continued. "Fu Shi can use the powers of the Eighth Herrscher, although there are some limitations at the moment, but that's enough for now."

"Hmph, don't underestimate me just because I have limitations!" Fu Shi emphasized to Otto, "Herrscher with limitations is still Herrscher. Just hand over any tasks you can't handle to me; it's not like I'm eating your food for free!"

"Of course I have no doubt about your abilities, Ms. Fu Shi." Otto, after all, was Bishop of Schicksal had spent several years in the world of fame and fortune, and with the experience he gained in the dream, he was quite adept at dealing with Fu Shi's childish temper. "Please wait a moment, I will have someone arrange the best treatment for you, everything will be of the highest standard."

Fu Shi nodded in satisfaction.

"In that case, the rest is up to you." Ai Yue then stood up, preparing to leave. "Good luck."

He glanced at Otto one last time before turning into a speck of light and disappearing from the room.

Chapter Twenty-Three: But what if I feel guilty?

"That should be all, right?"

As the last Honkai Beast fell before her, Kallen subconsciously wiped away her sweat and looked around.

Around her, many Honkai Beasts had already fallen, and some even further away, their Honkai Beast were almost completely decomposed.

Judging from the current traces, it's not hard to tell that a major battle has just taken place here.

Not far behind her, a gray-haired girl spat out the grass root she was holding in her mouth and nodded. "Okay, that's all. Let's go back."

She then wore a bored expression. "Sigh, they're all weaklings, they can't possibly show off my power!"

Beside her, many Honkai Beast lay on the ground, but unlike the wounded ones around Kallen, these Honkai Beast around her showed no visible injuries.

"I think it's great. If the monsters are weaker, everyone will suffer less." Kallen patted the huge golden cross beside her, causing it to automatically shrink and fold into a cube the size of a handbag, which she then carried in her hand. "Let's go, Fu Shi, let's go see how everyone is doing."

"Don't worry, although I was a little panicked, I'm much better now." Fu Shi shrugged, following behind Kallen. "Anyway, no one got hurt, you'll get used to it."

"How can we get used to something like this?" Kallen frowned. Although she had just won, there was little smile on her face. "Honkai Beast will appear more and more frequently in the future. Perhaps one day, we won't be able to protect everyone."

"You're just taking your blessings for granted. Compared to before, this is already..." Fu Shi subconsciously replied, but realized her mistake halfway through and quickly changed her words, "You're not Superman, you can't protect everyone. Just do your own job, why do you really think you're some kind of saint?"

Some time ago, Otto, through his assessment of Kallen's achievements, bestowed upon her the title of "Saint," making her an extremely rare living saint.

Ultimately, it was just an honorary title and didn't bring any real power. Fu Shi often teased her about it, telling her to wake up and stop thinking about things she couldn't do.

"Well, those things were all forced on me by Otto, I never thought about it!" Kallen blushed slightly upon hearing the words "Saintess." "He said it was some kind of 'role model effect,' that it could make everyone more proactive, and I couldn't do anything about it."

Seeing Kallen's reaction, Fu Shi didn't say anything, but couldn't help but reveal a mischievous smile.

It had been over a month since she joined the Schicksal. At her own request, Otto had placed her and Kallen in the same team to carry out the most dangerous missions. This also gave her the opportunity to learn about the person who could be said to be the root cause of countless tragedies that followed.

Although he had always disliked Otto, after spending time with Kallen, Fu Shi had to admit that, to be fair, there was some reason why she later went crazy.

After all, people as pure as Kallen are really too few.

"Fu Shi, what are you thinking about?"

Seeing that Fu Shi hadn't spoken for a while, Kallen couldn't help but turn around and look at her new friend with curiosity.

She didn't know much about Fu Shi's identity. She only knew from Otto that the person in front of her came from Shenzhou and had some connection with the legendary immortal. He was here temporarily to inspect Schicksal under the guise of an exchange program, and his strength was unfathomable.

She had initially thought that someone with such an identity would be aloof and detached from worldly affairs, but after getting to know them, she discovered that they were completely childish and hardly even adults, let alone gods.

Therefore, although Kallen didn't say it, she always considered herself the "older sister" and hoped to take good care of her during the time the other person stayed in Schicksal.

The only thing that could reveal her identity was probably her unimaginable strength. When Kallen first saw her kill several Honkai Beasts with a single palm strike from a distance, she even thought she was seeing Ai Yue.

"It's nothing, I was just a little distracted." Coming back to his senses, Fu Shi naturally wouldn't reveal his thoughts, but simply changed the subject, "We're almost there, let's hurry over."

The Knights are currently protecting the disaster-stricken area, and it is thanks to their presence that the Honkai Beast have been successfully driven out of the region.

Seeing the Holy Maiden of Schicksal return without a single injury, everyone naturally understood what had happened. They couldn't help but shout Kallen's name in unison, and the once dilapidated and chaotic village was instantly filled with high morale.

"Alright, alright, everyone calm down!" Kallen was somewhat exasperated, but she was used to this situation, so she quickly reassured everyone. "Have you finished assessing the damage? How are the temporary shelters going? When will the reconstruction team arrive?"

Kallen stayed there for the rest of the time, working with the others to handle the aftermath. She was busy until dusk before finally returning to Schicksal Headquarters after being persuaded by everyone.

"Oh, finally back! We set off in the morning." Back at their lodgings, Fu Shi collapsed onto the bed. "I can't believe this little thing took a whole day! I'm exhausted."

"You clearly didn't want to leave just now either," Kallen said with a smile. "Weren't you having a lot of fun playing with those kids?"

"How can you call that playing!" Ms. Wang immediately straightened her face and tried to refute, "I was... yes, I was trying to calm everyone down! Didn't you see how scared the children were because of the appearance of the Honkai Beast?"

"Alright, alright, thanks to you, everyone's not scared anymore." Kallen naturally wouldn't argue with Fu Shi, but went along with her words, then changed the subject, "I have to go report on my mission, are you coming with me?"

"No, it's best to avoid seeing that face," Fu Shi said, his displeasure undisguised. "I advise you to stay away from him too, lest you do something immoral and get implicated."

As the saying goes, prejudice in people's hearts is a mountain. Although Otto has embarked on a completely different path in life under Ai Yue's guidance, it doesn't mean that Fu Shi will let this guy off the hook.

"No, I trust Otto." Kallen was taken aback at first, then shook her head. "Besides, how can you call someone a friend if you distance yourself from them for fear of being implicated?"

"You really are..." Even Fu Shi, who generally looked down on humans, was somewhat helpless in the face of Kallen. "I give up."

For Herrscher of Consciousness, the purer a person's heart, the less effective their powers become. As for a mind of Kallen's caliber, she even doubts that her powers can even restrain her for a moment. In every sense, she is helpless against her.

But the more this was the case, the more speechless Fu Shi became—how could such a good person have fallen for Otto?

Kallen was naturally unaware of how much Fu Shi looked down on Otto. She quickly tidied up the mission report, then left the Valkyrie's dormitory and headed towards Otto's office.

Even at this hour, Kallen was certain that Otto had not left his office—he had practically lived there ever since, and she rarely saw him resting.

Sure enough, when Kallen walked through the quiet corridor to the office door, she saw light shining through the crack in the door. She knocked and quickly received a response. "Come in."

"Your Excellency, the mission was a complete success." Kallen pushed open the door and entered, then said with a relaxed expression, "Although the house was damaged in several places, the scouts' messages were delivered in a timely manner, so there were only 12 minor injuries, and no other casualties."

"You've worked hard, Kallen." Otto looked up, a gentle smile on his face. "The messenger has delivered the message. You can go back and rest after you've filed the mission report."

"And you, how much longer are you going to be busy?" Kallen placed the mission report in the filing cabinet next to her, then sat down. "You probably haven't had dinner yet, have you? How about we go grab a bite to eat together?"

"Actually, I've already eaten, but I ate in the office." Otto paused for a moment, then smiled and subtly changed the subject. "Don't worry about me, I'll be done soon. You, on the other hand, have been busy all day; you should go and get some rest, right?"

"It's alright. After all, the talisman helped me a lot, so I'm not tired at all." Kallen smiled and waved her fist. "In fact, this level of task is less intense than my usual training. It's a complete rest."

"I see," Otto nodded, then looked thoughtful, "Then you..."

"Don't rush me away, I'll wait for you here." Kallen interrupted Otto, speaking with a firm tone. "Didn't you say it would be over soon? You shouldn't keep me waiting too long, right?"

Otto paused for a moment, then glanced at the manuscript beside him and gave a helpless smile, "I understand."

Otto knew very well that when Kallen showed that expression, there was no point in trying to persuade her anymore. And from Kallen's reaction, it wasn't hard to tell that she probably already knew she was making up lies to fool him, which was why she was so resolute.

Since that's the case, then I should get some rest early today.

After a while, Otto put down his pen, stood up, and said, "Finally finished. Shall we go? Would you like something to eat?"

Kallen didn't move, but stared at the manuscript Otto had just glanced at before slowly speaking, "Do you remember, Otto? When you first became bishop, you often complained to me that the work of a bishop seemed endless, with so much to do every day."

"Back then, whenever I had a break, I would come to your office to keep you company, and we would go out to eat together after you finished." Before Otto could speak, Kallen continued, "But now, you won't even tell me the truth."

"Kallen, that's not what I meant," Otto quickly explained upon hearing this. "It's just that this is my job, there's no need for it to affect your rest."

"Is that really all?" Kallen looked into Otto's eyes. "But why do I feel like you've been deliberately avoiding me lately?"

Otto was speechless for a moment—because Kallen's feeling was not wrong.

After learning about his experiences in the original timeline, Otto began to consciously avoid Kallen, arranging for his talisman and Kallen to be together, perhaps hoping to attract Kallen's attention in this way.

But Kallen was so perceptive that she immediately saw through it.

Seeing that Otto remained silent, Kallen's eyes darkened, and a hint of disappointment crept into her voice. "Why? Did I do something wrong?"

"Of course not!" Otto retorted instinctively, then sighed, "How should this be explained?"

Should I just say, "I'm afraid I might kill you again someday"?

Otto looked conflicted.

The reason he deliberately kept his distance from Kallen was because he was worried that the inertia of the timeline would cause her to die a violent death someday.

In addition, Otto, who was aware of his heinous crimes, always felt ashamed when he was in the presence of Kallen. He knew very well that if she knew what had happened, he would probably never be forgiven. Therefore, only by keeping his distance from her could he ensure that the matter would not be exposed.

"If it's not because I did anything wrong, then you're worried about me, right?" Although Kallen knew nothing about Otto's situation, her intuition was quite sharp, and coupled with her understanding of Otto's personality, she quickly guessed what was going on. "Could what Fu Shi said be true?"

Today, the other person's words, "Be careful not to get implicated," resurfaced in Kallen's mind.

"What did she say?" Otto asked nervously. "What... what did Fu Shi say to you?"

Otto knew very well that Fu Shi was essentially a child, so he couldn't help but worry that the other party might accidentally let something slip.

"It's nothing, probably just something I said in anger." Kallen shook her head slightly, dismissing that possibility. "Otto, I know there are many things I can't help with, but that doesn't mean I can't share the burden with you!"

She reached out and took Otto's hand, looking into his eyes. "We're friends, right? So, whether it's good or bad, we should face it together, shouldn't we?"

Otto looked into Kallen's eyes, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

After a moment, he finally calmed down. "Kallen."

"I'm here."

"If one day I make a serious mistake and hurt many people, will you forgive me?"