"Then there's nothing more to say."
"To me, life is the expression of will! The two of us have chosen completely different paths. A conflict of paths means a fight to the death!"
Otto knew in his heart that the person with whom he could truly trust and communicate was already dead.
He was now running on sheer willpower, a force that kept him walking steadfastly in this world.
Durandal had nothing more to say. Overseer Otto had already sealed his heart, rejecting any possibility of communication.
She just didn't understand. Otto had always been a cunning man with countless contingency plans. Why was he being so extreme this time? Durandal refused to believe that Otto didn't have something up his sleeve.
And what of Sirin?
She was now facing another person, both familiar and strange.
The android Cecilia.
"Oh, thank goodness, you're okay."
The android Cecilia was finally relieved to see Sirin was unharmed. She had been worried that Sirin might be in danger. Based on Cecilia's memories of Otto, that ruthless man wouldn't hesitate to eliminate Sirin.
"You are...?"
"I am the android Cecilia. You can think of me as a substitute who has inherited Cecilia's memories and will."
The android Cecilia had accepted her identity, but she still couldn't stop worrying about Sirin.
To better communicate with her, she had asked Durandal to bring her into the bubble universe within her body. By pulling Sirin in as well, she could finally have a proper conversation with her.
Sirin frowned at the name. She paused for a moment when she heard the word "substitute."
"What did you say? What do you mean, substitute?"
"Just like how you once tried to use the power of the Honkai to replicate your former companions, I am merely an android of Cecilia, recreated from the remnants of her memories and will within her Stigma."
The android Cecilia's words left Sirin stunned. She stared blankly at Cecilia, unsure of what to say.
"But..."
Sirin never thought she would see "Cecilia" again, let alone in this way.
"But... an android is still not the original Cecilia, is it?"
The android Cecilia didn't shy away from this question. She too had pondered how to deal with herself when she was alone. Every android was just a part of the White Tower network. Only by returning to the network could they be considered true android lifeforms. Otherwise, they were just expressions of memories and emotions.
That was why androids could only be products for human emotional needs, not treated as real human beings.
The android Cecilia had no choice. This was the fate that androids had to face from the very beginning.
To be needed by others was the unchangeable meaning of an android's existence.
But the android Cecilia was different. She was born without these shackles. The only guide for her actions was her own emotional memory.
Faced with a family that wasn't truly hers, the only person she felt could understand her was Sirin.
She still doesn't know the reason for her creation. She doesn't even know that she has no connection to the sins committed by the Second Herrscher, Sirin.
The Second Herrscher, Sirin, and K423's Sirin... The latter simply inherited the emotional memories from the Herrscher Core.
"Are you here to stop me too?"
Sirin frowned, instinctively disliking this android Cecilia.
Perhaps because the Second Herrscher had done the same thing, Sirin loathed these created substitutes.
"No, I'm not here to stop you. I just wanted to see how you're doing now, if you've really made friends, if you're still as reckless as before... if you're doing okay..."
The android Cecilia's unexpected approach caught Sirin off guard. Her attitude was so disarming that Sirin even took a step back.
The android Cecilia stepped forward, looking at the daughter from her memories. She looked exactly like the Sirin from back then, completely molded into the form of the Second Herrscher.
However, the truly fortunate thing was that the android Cecilia was not bound by Cecilia's responsibilities as a Valkyrie. She didn't have to consider the impact on anyone else, nor did she have to worry about whether her actions would bring disaster to humanity's future.
Because new, cleaner Valkyries had taken on those responsibilities. A stronger leader had taken on the future of human civilization.
The android Cecilia carried Cecilia's memories and will, but she was free from Cecilia's original shackles. This allowed her to focus all her attention on Sirin as a person.
"What... What do you mean by that?!"
Sirin was genuinely frightened. She hadn't been scared when she was facing Otto in a life-or-death battle, but she was terrified by this android Cecilia.
Whether she was telling the truth or not, this woman was a bit too emotionally intense, which scared Sirin.
The android Cecilia looked at her bewildered expression with a helpless sigh. "It's okay," she comforted her. "You won't become the host for the next Herrscher Core. This time, you won't have to walk that path alone."
"What... what are you talking about?! Why don't I understand?!"
Sirin was completely confused. She was just trying to settle the score with Otto, to get her revenge. How did that get tangled up with the next Herrscher Core?
The android Cecilia explained, "Otto has a Soulium body, and you are a Herrscher. These are all specially designed identities. You meet, you fight, you recall your past suffering—all of it is to further provoke a resonance with the Honkai, allowing more Herrscher Cores to descend upon this world to be controlled and used."
"Otto needs the Herrscher Cores to gain more benefits. You need them to gain more power to fight your enemies. But in the end, it's all just a pre-written script. You are both just tools in someone else's hands to obtain Herrscher Cores."
"I came to see you so that you wouldn't become someone else's tool."
Sirin fell silent. How could she not know this? Even without formal lessons, she had learned a thing or two just by being around Noldrei.
But for the sake of her past hatred, Sirin could only seek more power from the Honkai. Even if she was locked up again by Noldrei after her revenge, or had her Herrscher Core taken away, it wouldn't matter then.
"Killing Otto won't do any good. You have to shatter the lies surrounding him," the android Cecilia said with a heavy tone. "If you kill Otto, you'll just make the Valkyries who trust him continue to trust him. They'll think his human experiments were a last resort, and they'll continue to defend the actions that create Herrschers. And by directly killing him, you'll just place yourself in a position of being hated. You won't be able to get justice for your companions."
Sirin was extremely frustrated. She hated this kind of preaching more than anything.
"Then what do you suggest?" she said with disgust. "Can you avenge them for me? Even if you're a substitute, don't you still think of yourself as a Valkyrie?"
The android Cecilia walked over to Sirin and gently embraced her. "Yes, I can," she comforted. "The Cecilia of the past couldn't, but the Cecilia of today can."