Elysia was deep in thought but didn't forget to push the story forward.
After his recent exit, Otto had now completely stepped away from the center of Schicksal's power.
As a result, Rita and Durandal, still affiliated with Schicksal, decided to follow the newly appointed Overseer—Theresa.
Everyone boarded the Hyperion together, and on the way, they discussed the oddities of the incident.
Players joined the in-game characters in their analysis.
Even though it seemed like Otto had just given his final words, come on—it's Otto! Could it really be that simple?
He brought so many people together. If all he wanted was to destroy his Soulium body and reclaim the final Herrscher Core, or leave some dramatic final words…
Then there was no need for this whole grand production.
So, the conclusion?
This was all likely part of Otto's plan.
A necessary foundation—for the resurrection of Kallen.
And then, the in-game captions confirmed just that:
[The conspicuously loud actions of the Overseer of Schicksal spurred Valkyries from otherwise separate factions to begin exchanging more information with one another.]
[But even as they strove within the fog, they had yet to realize that everything they had come to understand thus far—]
[Was all a performance carefully orchestrated by this Overseer.]
"It really was Otto's calculation again…"
Elysia wasn't surprised—if anything, it felt expected.
Otto operating in the stratosphere... was just another Tuesday.
"Otto's portrayal really is unforgettable," she murmured, though refrained from further comment.
A thousand people see a thousand Hamlets—and Otto? Everyone has their own take on him.
"I'm really curious now… how will Otto's story end?"
The main story clearly revolved around Otto now.
So this chapter's finale would definitely tie back to him.
How shocking would it be?
She was looking forward to it.
Didn't Hokuto say it would be a "beautiful story"? Really? What kind of beauty?
…Was someone lying to her?
...
In the game.
With things settling down for now, Theresa asked Kiana to accompany Fu Hua to visit their old residence. The two met on a bridge.
Fu Hua spoke of her memories beginning to fade, but it wasn't unpleasant.
She had forgotten where she used to sleep, what she ate for meals, and how many different enemies she'd defeated.
But she remembered the time spent with Kiana and the others at St. Freya, remembered someone in Shenzhou celebrating her birthday a thousand years ago, remembered what her father said fifty thousand years ago.
"That's wonderful~~ Hua—no, Fu Hua has regained her own life."
Elysia beamed. "I hope Fu Hua can live like an ordinary girl from now on. Dress up, enjoy life, and find her own beautiful tomorrow."
"Hmm… with Fu Hua's personality, I bet her reaction to being dolled up by others would be hilarious. I'm kinda tempted now, hehe~~"
Elysia seemed to be getting some strange ideas.
Meanwhile, as Kiana and class rep reminisced at their old home...
Back on the Hyperion, Tesla was preparing to analyze the Herrscher of Dominance Core.
Though she claimed with 99.7% confidence that nothing would go wrong, players could already smell trouble.
The comment section lit up.
[Herrscher of Dominance hasn't wrapped yet, huh?]
[Haha, despair never disappears. Neither do we!!]
[You cannot change this ugly world!]
[Aren't you ashamed to bully weak Herrschers like us?]
[Mei-sama: No.]
As Tesla prepped for the experiment, Einstein began explaining to Durandal—
The difference between this era's Herrscher Cores and those embedded in the Divine Keys.
She used termites and ants as an analogy, showing that although the cores seemed similar, they were fundamentally different.
Elysia nodded repeatedly.
"Ohhh, got it got it—like a hamburger and a roujiamo."
"Pfft~~" Theresa couldn't help but laugh.
"That comparison's surprisingly accurate," Hokuto chuckled.
Kevin calmly added, "But fundamentally, a roujiamo and a hamburger are the same—just meat between bread."
"..."
"That was… kind of cold."
Everyone shuddered a little.
In the plot.
After Einstein's analogy, she concluded that the two eras' Herrscher Cores were fundamentally different.
The Previous Era's were points, while the Current Era's were rings.
The cause remained unknown.
A narrative hook for later—players were curious, but with no reveal yet, they could only wait.
Please miHoYo, satisfy that curiosity soon~!
Einstein had just finished her analysis when Tesla's loud voice echoed again.
Turns out Tesla was stuck—she couldn't find the imaginary singularity in the Core.
In the end, with Wang Zhenyi suggestion, the researchers devised an experiment—
Let Kiana and Bronya blast the core with their Herrscher powers simultaneously.
The Herrscher Core Collision Experiment.
Before starting, the researchers asked Kiana and Bronya to stabilize their conditions.
So, Kiana took a walk outside the Hyperion in Kolosten—and met Durandal in front of a church.
But before they spoke—
A significant caption flashed on screen:
[Five months ago, in the sandstorms of North Africa, the two had crossed swords.]
[And through that brief encounter, both came to a quiet certainty—perhaps the person before them was the one most similar to themselves in this world.]
Reading that line—
Especially "the one most similar to themselves in this world"—
Players felt like miHoYo was slapping the answer across their faces.
[Is this hinting that Durandal is actually the real Kiana?]
[You guys are overthinking it. They're just each group's top Valkyrie. Similarity is normal.]
[Didn't the real Kiana already die?]
[She only nearly died saving K-423. Otto had Black Abyss White Flower. He could've saved her.]
The chat buzzed with theories.
Elysia had her hands clasped over her mouth, eyes widening, her forehead practically shouting: "I want to spoil it (crossed out) but I'll hold back."
Haha—poor Miss Elf.
...
After a while.
The chatter died down, and Elysia resisted temptation.
Back to the story.
Durandal and Kiana had a heart-to-heart in front of the Saint's statue.
Durandal explained why she worked for Otto.
And reaffirmed her resolve to continue fighting against the Honkai.
They had a short, sparring match. Kiana's current strength compared to their last fight in North Africa made players marvel—what growth!
Kiana had come a long way.
Meanwhile, Bronya had her own meetup with Rita—a sort of battle-worn "ex-ice DPS" showdown. Cough, cough, tactical skills exchange.
Then came the so-called Herrscher Core Collision Experiment.
Kiana and Bronya entered Herrscher form and injected Honkai energy into the Core.
It went smoothly—success on the first try.
But before anyone could celebrate, Otto sent a call.
"Friends of the Hyperion… my Valkyries… good afternoon."
"How's the research on the Herrscher Core going?"
Otto's voice was oozing with smugness.
"Grandpa… didn't you say you had nothing else for us?" Theresa asked.
"Theresa's so cold today. Still mad about me killing that clone earlier?"
Otto laughed in his usual style. "You forgave Rita so easily, yet you still hold a grudge against me?"
As soon as he said that, everyone felt roasted.
But he didn't stop. Welt, Kiana, Durandal—he provoked them all.
At this point, players had no doubts left.
Otto was just begging for a beating!
They all wanted to hit him. No—send him to the afterlife. Smash that Soulium skull!
[Otto's character is so well written. You just can't help getting mad!]
[Does Otto think getting killed is a form of reunion with Kallen?]
[Earlier I thought he was just unhinged from excitement over resurrecting Kallen. But now? Nah. This is deliberate provocation.]
...
"What is Otto even trying to do?" Elysia frowned. He was acting seriously off.
Hokuto said from the side, "Maybe it's not that complicated. Maybe he's just trying to enrage everyone—so they'll all work together to send him 'off.'"
"Are you trying to mislead me?"
Elysia narrowed her eyes. "After all Otto's done, could it really be just to get Kiana and the others to kill him?"
"Heh… who knows?" Hokuto deflected smoothly.
"..."
"I get it now—that's exactly how you voiced this scene."
Elysia's mouth twitched. She couldn't help but roast him.