Otto Raised His Hand and Turned Space into Amber, Even Slowing Kiana's Flames

"Would he get serious?" Bei Bei asked.

"No." Huo Yuhao shook his head. "But he'll start to hurt."

In the scene, Otto finally frowned. It was incredibly slight, incredibly brief, like a faint gust passing over the brow of a statue. He retreated to the edge of the temple and watched the two lights close in again, the green in his eyes deepening slightly.

"Good," he said softly. "A little faster. If you stop, the Tree will catch up."

"He's urging them on?" A'Dai rumbled.

"Yes," Huo Yuhao said. "He's being chased too. Chased by the Tree, by time, by what little humanity he has left being worn away. The stronger they become, the more he can be forced back into being 'Otto.' And from the very first punch, this god-level battle was destined to end one of two ways: either they would defeat him, or he would be beaten awake from his divine throne by them. He wanted either outcome."

"Then does this count as a god-level battle?" Xiao Xiao asked quietly.

"It does." The Dragon God slowly spoke, his voice seeming to press down from beyond the heavens. "One side wields stolen Divine Authority, while the other bears fire and bones kindled by human hearts. This is not merely a clash of power. It is two ways of living fighting to the death. One refuses to become a god, while the other refuses to become a ghost. Standing between them is something that cannot even tell whether it is human or Tree."

"So if Otto wins this battle, he'll become something colder than the Tree," Tang San said. "If he loses, he may instead recover a little of his humanity. But win or lose, those two girls are no longer Chess Pieces in his script. Because they truly