Otto Struck a Deal with the Will of Honkai: Five Hundred Years of Global Civilizational Regression in Exchange for Kallen's Resurrection

"They did nothing wrong," Gu Yuena said softly. "They merely lived in a civilization Otto treated as a bargaining chip. The brighter civilization shone, the less 'pure' his sacrifice became. So he wanted to turn the entire river back upstream, driving all the fish into the ignorant deep waters. Only then would the Will of Honkai be satisfied."

"But why would that thing agree to such madness?" Lei Xiang growled, his fists clenched until they cracked. "What use would a regressed civilization be to it?"

"What it wanted was not civilization itself," Huo Yuhao said. "It wanted the possibility of selection. The more primitive civilization was, the purer humanity's reactions would be when facing Honkai. Ignorant people believed in gods more easily, feared death more deeply, and were easier to guide. To the Will of Honkai, a civilization stripped of its shell of technology and reason was the best incubator. Otto saw through that. What he offered it was precisely what it wanted most."

In the image, the phantom on the moon did not respond, but the gaze bearing down on Otto seemed to lighten somewhat.

Otto continued, "In return, I only need you to resurrect one insignificant departed soul from the torrent of time. She has been dead for five hundred years. She possesses no Authority, no power, and has no impact on the world. She is merely a wandering soul that should have dispersed long ago. Give her back to me, and I will extinguish every light of civilization on this planet. You take what is yours. I only want her."

"Insignificant?" Tang Wulin suddenly spoke, his voice like a red-hot hammer striking stone. "He called Kallen insignificant? He clearly staked the entire world on her! He's deceiving that thing!"

"Of course he is," Tang San said slowly.