Opera House Illusion Traps Bronya, Rita Gently Stabs at Her Softest Wound

"But what could she do?" Bei Bei suddenly growled. "Could she stop fighting? Stop protecting her companions? Stop moving forward? As long as she remained herself, Otto would always have her figured out. Because Otto did not want her weaknesses; he wanted her strengths. Her kindness, her courage, her stubbornness—they were all the fuel Otto wanted. The stronger she became, the more he won."

"So these three trials were three mirrors, nothing more." Ye Yinzhu spoke softly, his fingertips pressing against the strings, his voice taut as a string stretched to its limit. "Each mirror reflected the things these children could not bear to let go of. The less willing they were to release them, the harder they pushed. The harder they pushed, the more ready they became. Otto did not kill them because they were still useful. He wanted them to burn themselves into the shape he desired with their own hands."

"Then can they still wake up in the end?" the Dragon Prince asked quietly.

"They can," Huo Yuhao said. "But by the time they awaken, they may already be standing on the altar. Otto will not let them wake too soon. He will only let them suddenly see what they have become at some irreversible moment. By then, it will be too late. The sacrifices will have been laid out, and the fire will already be lit."

"Over these five hundred years, just how many heroes had he raised into sacrifices?" Xue Ye slowly said, his aged voice steeped in bone-deep exhaustion. "He gave the world light, gave warriors fire, gave humanity hope. Yet in the end, he brought all that light, fire, and hope before Kallen's grave. Like a patient gardener, he nurtured the bravest children of an entire civilization, one by one, until they bloomed