Otto Apocalypse...
That was your name.
Or rather, it was the name of the new you.
You had transmigrated into the body of a thirteen-year-old Otto Apocalypse, back when he was nothing more than a frail and sickly child.
To most transmigrators, this would have been an awful starting point: a weak body, poor health, and little ability to defend yourself.
To you?
It was the perfect beginning.
You had no desire to inherit five hundred years of memories, emotional scars, or that obsessive, pathetic fixation on one woman.
The mere thought of spending centuries chasing someone who would never return your feelings filled you with visceral disgust.
You preferred to build your own power.
Your own faction.
Your own influence.
Your own knowledge.
Everything would be created from zero by your own hands.
Unlike those idiotic transmigrators who desperately tried to preserve the original plot, afraid of changing canon, you intended to exploit every advantage your future knowledge provided.
Knowing what would happen and refusing to use it was, in your opinion, one of the dumbest things imaginable.
You already knew who could become valuable allies.
You knew who would eventually become enemies.
And you knew exactly which people were liabilities better discarded before they became problems.
Naturally, your first move was simple.
The Schicksal Library.
Day after day, you made sure everyone saw you entering its halls.
That was intentional.
You wanted people to associate Otto Apocalypse with books, research, and endless studying.
The more often they saw you reading, the less suspicious they would become when you spent entire days buried in the library.
Occasionally sneaking into forbidden sections only reinforced the image.
After months of doing so, it became normal.
The servants, the knights, and even the librarians accepted that the sickly young master had simply developed an unhealthy obsession with books.
No one questioned it anymore.
That was exactly what you wanted.
No matter how worthless everyone believed you to be because of your fragile body, your identity remained unchanged.
You were still the son of the Overseer of Schicksal.
The youngest to House Apocalypse.
The child of the most powerful man in Europe and one of the greatest noble families in the western world.
Even a weak prince was still a prince.
In this barbaric medieval era, physical strength defined a man's worth.
A frail body invited ridicule and contempt, especially for someone expected to inherit the legacy of House Apocalypse.
People mocked your weakness.
They pitied your condition.
Some even quietly dismissed you as a failure.
You welcomed every single one of those assumptions.
An underestimated enemy was the easiest kind to manipulate.
Of course, you weren't actually visiting the library to study its contents.
As vast as Schicksal's collection was, it meant little to you.
Compared to the knowledge stored within the Void Archives, every book in this place was primitive and outdated.
The Void Archives contained the accumulated wisdom of the Previous Era: a civilization so advanced that it fought Herrschers and the Honkai on a scale this era couldn't even begin to comprehend.
For those unfamiliar with the Honkai, the explanation was simple.
It was humanity's greatest calamity.
Sometimes it manifested as unstoppable plagues.
Sometimes as devastating natural disasters.
Sometimes as monstrous beasts or corrupted humans twisted into creatures beyond imagination.
And the more advanced a civilization became...
The stronger the Honkai responded.
That was why the Previous Era, despite surpassing the current civilization by tens of thousands of years in technology and military power, had ultimately been wiped from existence.
Knowledge alone wasn't enough.
Even supremacy could be erased.
The problem was that you didn't know where the Void Archives actually were.
You knew they existed somewhere within Schicksal Library.
But where?
You had no idea.
That uncertainty forced you to continue your charade.
So you read every book.
Every manuscript.
Every record.
Every worthless piece of medieval knowledge that disgusted you.
You wanted faster answers.
Greater power.
Superior knowledge.
But appearances had to be maintained.
As long as everyone believed you were nothing more than a sickly noble boy fascinated by old books, no one would ever suspect your true objective...
Or what you were really searching for.
"My, my, my... What do we have here? Our little genius, Otto Apocalypse."
Your older brother snatched the book from your hands with a mocking grin.
"Don't you have anything better to do than read these dusty old books, little brother?"
Without waiting for an answer, he tore the book apart page by page, letting the scraps flutter onto the library floor.
"See this? Books are for women and old scholars. A real man picks up a sword and fights on the battlefield."
He tossed the ruined cover at your feet.
"You embarrass the Apocalypse family. We're supposed to be the protectors of the realm, not weak little scholars hiding behind piles of paper."
You looked up at him, your expression completely flat.
"Is that all, brother?"
Your gaze shifted toward the library exit.
"If that's all, then excuse me."
"Who said you could leave?!"
His hand shot forward and grabbed your wrist with enough force to make an ordinary child cry out.
He was clearly dissatisfied.
No tears.
No anger.
No humiliation.
No reaction whatsoever.
Only indifference.
You slowly turned your head and met his eyes.
"Release me."
"Excuse me?" he asked, disbelief creeping into his voice.
"I said release me."
Your voice remained calm.
"Don't make me repeat myself, brother."
A brief pause.
"Or you'll regret it."
Your fingers subtly moved toward the concealed firearm hidden beneath your robes.
Primitive by your standards, but more than enough to put down an arrogant noble who had never imagined a child carrying such a weapon.
You were already calculating the angle.
The distance.
The witnesses.
The consequences.
Then...
A white blur shot across your vision.
Bang.
Your older brother doubled over before collapsing onto his knees, clutching himself with both hands.
"Arghhh...! You little minx!"
His face twisted in agony as he glared at the newcomer.
You instinctively lowered your hand from your hidden weapon.
...
That had to hurt.
You silently offered a moment of respect.
Rest in peace, brother.
May your little brother recover one day and stand proudly again.
The thought amused you far more than it should have.
A cruel joke formed in your mind.
A sadistic one.
Yet your face remained completely expressionless.
As though nothing had happened.
Instead, you turned toward your unexpected savior.
A young knight stood there, hands on her hips, utterly unfazed.
You gave a small nod.
"Thank you, Lady Knight."
"Ah... so you're Otto."
She tilted her head, studying you with open curiosity.
"You're different from the other boys your age."
A faint smile crossed her lips.
"So I've been watching you for quite some time."
Before she could continue—
"You little brat!"
Your older brother roared and lunged toward her in fury.
Kallen didn't even bother looking at him.
Her body reacted on instinct.
She pivoted and drove another kick straight into him.
Thud!
He flew backward and crashed into a bookshelf, sending dozens of books tumbling onto the floor.
"Argh... fuck!"
The commotion finally attracted the castle guards.
Several rushed into the library with weapons drawn.
When they saw their young master sprawled across the floor, they immediately reached for their swords.
Then they noticed who was standing in front of him.
Their movements froze.
"Lady... Kaslana?"
Kallen crossed her arms and snorted.
"Humph. If you want to arrest someone, then arrest me."
She pointed at the groaning noble on the ground.
"What kind of older brother bullies a child? Bullying your own younger brother is nothing but disgraceful."
With surprising confidence, she extended both hands as though offering herself for capture.
The guards exchanged uneasy glances.
Arrest the heir of the Kaslana family...
Over the son of House Apocalypse who wasn't even the heir?
The very thought made their stomachs tighten.
They weren't eager to lose their jobs.
Or their heads.
Some decisions simply weren't worth surviving long enough to regret.
Of course, you noticed the guards' embarrassment.
Their hesitation was obvious.
Arrest Lady Kaslana?
Or ignoring the son of House Apocalypse?
Neither option was particularly appealing.
So you solved the problem for them.
"I suppose you can arrest me instead," you said calmly.
The guards immediately looked horrified.
You continued before they could speak.
"Simply tell Father that my brother fell because of me."
Your gaze shifted toward the feeble still lying on the floor.
"He fell because he was weak. That's all."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of your lips.
"After all, what kind of warrior gets kicked down by a sickly child and a young girl?"
Your older brother's face immediately darkened.
You tilted your head.
"What do you think, brother? Shall we spread that version of the story?"
Silence.
"Or would you rather continue pretending to be unconscious?"
His eyes snapped open.
"This isn't over, Otto!"
His voice dripped with fury.
You merely stared at him.
"No."
Your voice was soft.
And cold.
"This is over, brother."
You took a single step forward.
"Bother me again and I'll personally ensure that rumor spreads across every noble house in Schicksal."
Your expression remained calm.
"If that happens, you'll lose far more than your dignity."
Another step.
"You'll lose favor."
Another.
"You'll become the laughingstock of House Apocalypse."
Your eyes narrowed slightly.
"A warrior defeated by a sickly boy."
A pause.
"And a child at that."
The fury in his face slowly gave way to fear.
Good.
Fear was far more useful.
Only then did you shift your attention toward the guards.
"You."
The soldiers instinctively straightened.
"All of you now owe me a favor."
"If he ever appears before me again, whether in the library or anywhere else..."
Your expression never changed.
"Beat him into a pulp."
"No questions."
The guards exchanged awkward looks but said nothing.
You then turned gracefully toward Kallen.
"Forgive me for resorting to such extremes, my gracious savior."
You lowered your head slightly.
"But you've seen how unreasonable my brother can be."
Kallen merely waved her hand.
"It's fine, Otto."
She smiled casually.
"They're your guards. Their duty is to protect you."
She glanced toward the soldiers.
"If they can't protect someone weaker than themselves when he needs help, then they're unworthy of wearing that uniform."
The guards immediately saluted.
"Yes, Young Master!"
This time, they stepped in front of you without hesitation, forming a protective wall.
Their eyes shifted toward your older brother.
The difference in status was obvious.
One side possessed the favor of Lady Kaslana herself.
The other was merely a muscle-headed bully with little political value.
"You..."
Your older brother stared at them in disbelief.
"Whose side are you on?"
You answered before anyone else could.
"Take him out."
The guards nodded solemnly.
Without another word, they seized him and dragged him toward the exit, ignoring his furious protests until his voice faded into the distance.
Finally.
Peace.
Kallen let out a small laugh.
"You're smart, Otto."
"Very smart."
She smiled warmly.
"It seems I wasn't wrong about you after all."
Turning toward the exit, she gave you a casual wave.
"See you again, my genius friend."
You raised a hand in return.
Until she disappeared beyond the doorway.
Watching her leave, a thought crossed your mind.
It seemed that no matter which universe Otto Apocalypse existed in, meeting Kallen Kaslana was inevitable.
You hadn't orchestrated this encounter.
You hadn't sought her out.
Yet fate had brought her to you all the same.
Coincidence?
Or merely another thread woven into the machinery of fate?
You didn't know.
And frankly...
You didn't care.
Because once you obtained absolute power, fate itself would become nothing more than another tool to manipulate.
Not an unbreakable law.
Not an inevitable ending.
Just another tool waiting to be seized.
That was why you were here.
That was why you stood in this place.
To obtain power.
To obtain knowledge.
To stand at the pinnacle of mankind...
And ascend beyond it.
To become a god.