What is Honkai?
Honkai is a trial bestowed upon the world by a transcendent existence known as the [Imaginary Tree].
Worlds that pass the Honkai trial will ascend, while those that fail will fall from the Imaginary Tree into the Sea of Quanta, forming one shattered world bubble after another.
Within a world, Honkai primarily manifests as a cyclical natural disaster.
Its outbreaks are erratic, its forms unpredictable, but it is certain that a Honkai eruption releases a highly efficient and dangerous energy—Honkai energy.
In the early stages, it appears through catastrophes like earthquakes, typhoons, and plagues. However, once a civilization reaches a certain level of development, there is a chance that a being known as a "Herrscher" will be born within the disaster zone.
Herrschers are the apostles of Honkai, their sole mission being the annihilation of humanity.
But humanity does not simply await its demise. They have formed organizations to fight back, with two major public factions leading the resistance.
Schicksal and Anti-Entropy.
And Otto Apocalypse is the current leader of Schicksal.
However, at this moment, the Overseer who stood above millions was at the door of a laundry room, tossing in a leather suit, leather pants, belts, a cloak, various accessories, and the girl's undergarments before shutting the door.
Suspicious lights flickered within the hotel room. On the sole, large bed, the girl named Raven remained in a deep, unconscious slumber.
---o---
Where there is light, there must be darkness.
Beyond Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, an ancient organization named "World Serpent" lurked in the shadows of the Honkai world. Its leader, Kevin Kaslana, was, without a doubt, second only to the Herrscher of the End in power.
And the girl on the bed, Raven, was a high-ranking executive of World Serpent. From a political standpoint, she was an enemy of Schicksal, but these rats were hidden so well that Schicksal had yet to discover their existence at this point in time.
But the current Otto was holding the script!
Being entrusted with the Key of Thunder was enough to prove Raven's extraordinary status within World Serpent. Therefore, Otto granted her the most fundamental level of respect.
Right now, Raven didn't have a single scrap of cloth on her.
This wasn't because Otto was overcome with lust; he was just a bit spooked when a casual pat-down on her body produced a dagger.
Who knew how many more weapons she had hidden on her person? Fearing he might miss one, Otto decided to simply strip her of everything.
It couldn't be helped. It was all for the sake of his own safety.
After plummeting from the sky and knocking Raven out with a single punch, Otto had carried her to this shady-looking love hotel and gotten a room. The reason was simple: after the system hijacked his body to jump off the floating island and flatten Raven, he had no idea how to get back to Schicksal HQ.
He possessed none of the original Otto's memories. So, he decided to wait. Wait for Schicksal to send someone to retrieve him.
Surely, Schicksal would notice something as major as their Overseer taking a dive off the island, right?
They would notice, right? They had to notice, right? They damn well better notice!
His reason for bringing Raven with him was also straightforward. If he just grabbed the Divine Key and ran, wouldn't that be a massive signal to World Serpent that he was all alone and ripe for the picking?
The Overseer of Schicksal cannot flee in the face of the enemy!
The price of fleeing could be his capture by World Serpent, followed by inhumane torture and experimentation, and finally being brainwashed into a breeding machine tasked with endlessly propagating the Apocalypse bloodline.
So, he couldn't show weakness. Even if he was terrified, as long as he acted like he had a backup plan, World Serpent wouldn't dare make a reckless move.
All he had to do was stall for time.
So please, Fu Hua, Rita, Amber, Durandal... any of you... hurry up and bring me home.
Otto: ＞﹏＜
Sighing internally, Otto glanced at the still-unconscious Raven. A stunning chest, perky rear, and long legs—she was a genuine bombshell, truly worthy of one day forming the "Mei-ven" ship with Raiden Mei.
MeiRavenIsFun.jpg
Who could possibly refuse the sight of two pairs of long, slender legs lying side-by-side?
After a few glances, Otto tore his eyes away, because his current body was not a normal one.
The fact that he could survive a fall from the sky was proof enough that this was no ordinary human body. Otto's current form was constructed from a special material called "Soul Steel." While it looked perfectly normal on the outside, it was incapable of performing even basic physiological reproductive acts.
In other words.
Sage Mode was now Otto's permanent passive skill.
Staring at beautiful legs for too long was nothing but a form of self-torture.
He was forcibly a man without a single worldly desire.
I'm so tired. Let it all burn. One day, this Overseer will get a body that actually works.
Otto switched off the mood lighting that was designed to test the limits of a man's sanity. He walked to the window and pulled the curtain open just a crack, allowing a sliver of outside light to cut through the oppressive darkness.
With that done, he nonchalantly picked up a bottle of red wine and a glass from a nearby counter, sat in a chair against the wall, and leisurely poured himself a drink.
Specks of sunlight dappled his figure as he crossed one leg over the other, swirling the glass while his emerald eyes watched the liquid within.
A faint sound came from the bed.
Otto didn't notice it. He took a sip of the wine, and his brow furrowed.
"Tsk," he clicked his tongue softly.
---o---
He knows I'm awake!
In the dimly lit room, the supposedly unconscious Raven snapped her magenta eyes open.
The moment she had regained consciousness, she found herself in what looked like a love hotel. Her hearing was so sharp she could even make out the noises from the adjacent room.
Worse, she was completely naked. A jolt of panic shot through her, and she frantically checked her body. Thankfully, neither her front nor her back had been breached.
But before she could even sigh in relief, she realized someone else was in the room.
When she risked a peek at the handsome man pouring wine, her heart nearly hammered its way out of her chest.
She recognized him in an instant. The man alone in the room with her was none other than the Overseer of Schicksal, Otto Apocalypse!
Raven was an executive of World Serpent; they were no strangers to Schicksal, and its Overseer, Otto, was a figure of paramount interest.
This was an utterly ruthless man. Beneath that impossibly handsome face lay the soul of a demon.
And now, she was his captive!
She was going to be interrogated, tortured, humiliated, trampled, and brainwashed!
No, no, calm down. Raven, with her mercenary background, forced her mind to clear. Schicksal didn't know about World Serpent's existence, and Otto certainly didn't know her identity as one of its executives. He had no reason to capture her.
Perhaps this was all a misunderstanding.
Sir, I'm just a law-abiding citizen.
Although she had no idea what Otto's motives were, now that he knew she was awake, she could no longer feign unconsciousness.
Raven sat up, clutching a pillow to her chest to conceal the magnificent view. Her magenta eyes feigned a look of pure confusion.
Otto finally lowered his glass. This wine was truly awful. Drinking something that tasted like horse piss was an insult to his station as Overseer.
It was then that he finally registered the movement from the bed.
He turned his head to look at the now-seated Raven. His hands tightened slightly, his heart pounding in his chest.
Despite his internal state, his face remained fixed with a faint, placid smile, betraying not a flicker of emotion.
It was an expression he had deliberated on. A smile, he figured, was the best mask for his true feelings. It made one seem profound and inscrutable. So, no matter what happened, all he had to do was smile.
A dagger hidden behind a smile was always more terrifying than open hostility.
"My dear lady, you're awake."
Otto spoke with that same gentle smile, his eyes resting on her. Raven instinctively flinched, shrinking back, but a voice in her mind screamed at her not to panic.
Her creed was to "live a good life." She couldn't fall here. She hadn't even saved up enough money to buy her own private island villa yet!
"H-hello," Raven replied, her goals giving her strength. She put on an act, her voice laced with fear and confusion. "And you are?"
Seeing that she didn't immediately attack, Otto breathed an internal sigh of relief. He rose from his chair, placed his right hand over his chest, and gave her a gentlemanly bow.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Otto Apocalypse."
"I'm Raven. For some reason, Mr. Otto, your name sounds vaguely familiar," she said, hugging the pillow tighter. She didn't hide her name; "Raven" was just a public codename anyway.
She wouldn't underestimate Otto or Schicksal. Since he was here in person, Schicksal had likely already uncovered her public identity as a mercenary.
Otto found her act of feigned ignorance rather amusing. He wasn't an idiot. A World Serpent executive who didn't know the name of Schicksal's Overseer?
His heart hammered away.
It's working. My bluff has her intimidated.
But if they just kept up this charade of pleasantries, a crack was bound to show.
He had to control the flow of this conversation.
"Ms. Raven, in your opinion..."
Otto sat back down, his gaze drifting to her snow-white thighs. Her translucent toes were curled slightly, making one want to scoop them up and play with them.
Even though the pillow concealed the grandest view, some things were far more alluring when covered than when left bare.
Otto pulled his gaze away and continued with his smile.
"...who in this world can truly be called a hero?"
Raven froze, baffled by the question.
Here we are, in a love hotel. The Overseer of Schicksal strips me naked... just to ask me who the heroes are?
As he spoke, Otto's hand reached out to the dark purple katana resting beside him. He placed it across his lap and began to stroke it gently.
The sight of that blade made Raven's eye twitch.
That was her 3rd Divine Key, Seven Thunders of Retribution.
The Seven Thunders could manifest in different forms depending on its wielder. In her hands, it was a sniper rifle. In Otto's, it had transformed into a katana.
It all clicked into place. She had been captured because of the Divine Key. With such a weapon in her possession, Schicksal would naturally have to investigate.
If that was the case, then she was probably safe. As long as she didn't resist and cooperated obediently, she should be fine.
Still, seeing her gun take on another man's shape gave Raven a strange feeling, as if her head had suddenly become a little heavier.
Sob... my Seven Thunders...
Meanwhile, Otto continued to caress the blade, which had an exquisite feel. The Seven Thunders was forged from the core of the Previous Era's Herrscher of Thunder, and Mei was also a Herrscher of Thunder. By the transitive property, he was basically stroking Mei right now.
He didn't wait for Raven's answer, instead providing his own.
"As far as I'm concerned," he said, his voice smooth and absolute.
"Of all the heroes under heaven, there are only two: myself, and Kevin Kaslana."