Kiana Tears as She Kills the False God, Otto: Thank You for Sending Me Home!

"Could he choose?" A'Dai asked in a muffled voice.

"He can't." Tang San said, "Because the Tree won't let him choose. He has to wait in pain. Wait for that chain to break on its own, or wait for the Tree to drag him back. And this period is the last part of his life that can still be called 'Otto.' He's kneeling here not to admit defeat, but to struggle against his own past. And no one can help him with this struggle. Kiana and Durandal have already done everything they can. The remaining half requires him to climb down from the divine throne himself."

"Can he climb down?" the Dragon Prince asked.

"That depends on whether he can still stand," the Dragon God said slowly, his voice like thunder rolling down from the end of the highest heavens. "Gods stand upright. A human must fall before he can stand again. He's kneeling now. If he can stand up by himself, straighten his back, and walk to that Tree like a human, then he isn't dead yet. If he can't rise, then the shell of this False God will shatter together with him in this Temple."

"He's standing up," Xue Ye suddenly said.

In the image, Otto moved. First his fingertips left the ground, then his wrists and elbows. His movements were incredibly slow, as if he were carrying a thousand jun of weight. The tree patterns still flickered across his face, but the crack was growing wider as well. Between the constantly peeling white light and the collapsing pillars of the Temple, he slowly stood up, inch by inch.

"This stand was heavier than that sword strike just now," Ye Yinzhu said quietly.

"Because someone else gave him the sword. Standing up was his own choice," Tang San