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"You want to reach the Imaginary Tree?"]
"Yes!"]
"On the other side of that gate lies the eternal instant, the origin of the end, the birthplace of all truths and laws!"]
"It is the destination I must reach!"]
!!!
In an instant!
Countless superhuman viewers before the screen were struck dumb!
They hadn't misheard… had they?
Otto wanted to personally reach the Imaginary Tree?!
That was Otto's goal?
That was Otto's plan?
Everyone had originally believed that Otto merely wanted to seek answers upon the Imaginary Tree!
But who could have imagined—
That Otto intended, with the power of a mere mortal, to personally arrive at this unobservable realm, this origin of the universe itself—
to imitate the Pathstriding Aeons?!
[Himeko (Star Rail): Has Otto completely lost his mind?!]
[Sparkle: How interesting~ The real show is about to begin~!]
[Yanqing: But how is that even possible?!]
[March 7th: With Otto's mortal body… how could he ever do that…]
[Durandal: The bishop's objective… is actually…]
Faced with Otto's declaration,
Kevin stared deeply at him.
"Do you understand the consequences of doing so?"
"I do. And you do as well. Precisely because we both understand, this transaction has value."
Otto nodded.
"Give me the beacon, and you will gain everything—peace, resources, and time."
"..."
Silence.
A silence unfathomably deep enveloped the world.
[Otto's myriad thoughts stilled.]
[He had placed his piece upon the board.]
[All that remained was to wait.]
[To wait—something Otto was all too familiar with.]
[He had already waited a very long time. He could wait longer still.]
Then—
Under Otto's gaze,
The white-haired man finally spoke.
"When making demands, one must pay a price. What will you offer in exchange?"
"Hahahaha! Very good—very good!"
Otto laughed heartily.
"That's right! Equivalence! Equivalence is the cornerstone, the foundation of everything!"
"To complete such a historic cooperation, I must present sincerity of equal weight!"
"Power, wealth, knowledge, technology…"
"I know such vulgar things are beneath contempt. The only gift worthy of you is this—"
In the silence,
Whether Kevin ultimately accepted the deal—
No one knew.
The screen slowly darkened.
Lines of text gradually appeared—
Otto's confession.
[What, exactly, is Honkai?]
[Across the long years, Otto continuously sought the answer to this question.]
[The time he paid spanned five centuries; the literature he examined crossed two epochs.]
[Among Earth's seven billion lives, his understanding of Honkai stood unrivaled.]
[He knew more and more.]
[He understood less and less.]
[In the end, Otto realized that he did not understand Honkai at all—]
[Where did it come from? Where did it go?]
[What force drove it, and toward what end did it move?]
[Why was it born? Why did it end? Why did it persist? Why did it stagnate? Why did it erupt? Why did it fall silent—]
[Was it a personified existence, or some eternal rule?]
[Questions—questions upon questions—rose like a surging tide, drowning Otto, sweeping him along, pushing him into the darkest, most terrifying abyss—]
[The abyss called the Unknown!]
[Otto wished to move forward, yet knew not where the road lay. He wished to depart, yet knew not what the destination was.]
[He explored. He questioned. He failed. He wandered.]
[Five hundred years passed. The hypotheses he proposed were countless; the conjectures he overturned were beyond measure.]
[One answer after another surfaced in his mind—arranging, shifting, combining—forming blueprints and panoramas, torn apart and reassembled, reassembled and torn apart.]
[Through this endless cycle, a hazy phantom gradually took shape!]
It felt like an explanation for everyone watching—
And yet also like the answer Otto had arrived at through five centuries of pursuit.
The truth he had uncovered.
Otto's voice sounded within the darkness.
"Now, let us imagine a tree—the Imaginary Tree."
"Imagine a colossal tree, its crown beyond sight, its branches and leaves blotting out the sky."
"Beneath it lies a vast sea, its depths unmeasurable, its boundaries untouchable."
"Between heaven and earth, there is only one tree and one sea—thus begins their endless contest."
"The sea expands and swells without cease; the giant tree takes root and grows without rest. One seeks to drown the other; the other seeks to absorb its rival."
"The tree endures ages as numerous as the sands of the Ganges within the sea's embrace, branching into innumerable limbs, bearing leaves and flowers of every kind."
"And in this boundless process, in some insignificant corner, upon some newly sprouted leaf bud—"
"Civilization known as humanity was born."
At this point—
As if he were gazing upon the Imaginary Tree itself—
A tremor of excitement entered Otto's voice.
A glimmer of hope that his long-cherished wish might finally be fulfilled.
"Imagine this! The Imaginary is humanity's origin—the beginning of civilization itself!"
"Time flows along the trunk of the Imaginary Tree, branching like a canopy into infinite worlds!"
"Each branch is a form of civilization's existence. Each leaf and blossom is the present and the past they leave behind in the dimension of time."
"Yet the development of worlds requires restraint. In competition with the Sea of Quanta, the direction of growth for branches and leaves is constantly filtered and corrected by a certain mechanism!"
"A naturally formed mechanism—a mechanism born of the Imaginary—a nurturing, sustaining mechanism—a mechanism of trial and elimination."
"For humanity, that mechanism is the calamity known as Honkai!"
"Yes, yes—humanity can never escape Honkai."
"Humanity can only move forward, because the Imaginary Tree must grow. Otherwise, we too will wither like those failed worlds, becoming yet another bubble in the Sea of Quanta."
"If humanity seeks eternal tranquility, it must return to the origin of civilization—to the Imaginary."
"And the answer I seek is hidden within the Imaginary Tree!"
[In the 559th winter of his life, Otto found the road that led to truth.]
[He explored the Sea of Quanta. He surveyed aether anchors. He searched for Imaginary constructs. He claimed that colossal Divine Key for himself.]
[He endured setbacks. He met resistance. He fell into adversity. He bathed in failure. He harvested innumerable impossibilities.]
[But Otto did not need to know impossibility.]
[Because he decided—because it had to be possible—]
[Otto Apocalypse would reach the domain of the gods.]
[Otto Apocalypse would ascend the Imaginary Tree.]
As the golden, confession-like records glowed upon the screen,
All the viewers fell into a brief silence.
Granted, Otto was never a good man.
Many viewers even wished they could stab him themselves.
After all, crime after crime that enraged heaven and humanity alike had been driven by Otto's hand!
The tragedy of the First Welt.
Miss Nancy, the Finns, even the then-strongest Valkyrie of Schicksal—Ragna!
So many sacrifices had been brought about by Otto.
Then came the later tragedies of Siegfried and Cecilia.
The sweeter their love, the deeper the audience's hatred for Otto!
Kiana and K-423…
Seele…
Raiden Mei…
So many heartbreaking characters bore suffering that, directly or indirectly, carried Otto's shadow.
Not to mention the still-vivid Murata Himeko!
The tragedy of the Final Lesson!
Fu Hua, shot dead by Otto himself!
Even the consciousness sustained by Fenghuang Down had gradually faded—
Perhaps lost to the world forever!
This pushed the audience's hatred for Otto to its peak!
And yet—
At this moment,
This record—like a confession of Otto's life—
Made everyone fall silent once more.
There was one thing about Otto that could never be denied—
His devotion to Kallen.
A pursuit lasting five hundred and fifty-nine years!
It was his obsession with reviving Kallen that had carried Otto to this point!
Perhaps it was precisely this extreme obsession that drove him ever further into madness.
But no one could deny—
That Otto's love for Kallen, a love for which he would destroy the world and himself without hesitation, was absolute.
A feeling so intense, so sincere, so utterly pure!
[Keqing: Five hundred and fifty-nine years…]
[Jean: Only when you truly face that number do you realize how terrifying Otto's persistence is…]
[Hu Tao: Over five centuries… doing the same thing again and again…]
[Durandal: …]
[Tesla: But the people he hurt won't forgive him because of that!]
[March 7th: Agreed!]
[Einstein: Still… one cannot deny that Otto has made extraordinary contributions to protecting humanity.]
[Theresa: Grandpa…]
[Furina: But… can Kallen even see everything Otto has done? QAQ]
[Kafka: Otto only needs to know it himself.]
Within the pure white space,
Kallen gazed at the screen.
Her expression was heavy.
She murmured softly,
"Five hundred… fifty-nine years…"
A casual "over five hundred years" might not sound so piercing.
But now—
Seeing Otto's relentless pursuit, his exploration—
All for the sake of reviving Kallen… for her—
The weight of those 559 years became overwhelming.
Within that golden, flowing space,
Kevin seemed to have accepted Otto's conditions.
Otto smiled faintly and said,
"I'm very pleased that this meeting has achieved the most perfect result."
"Let us complete the handover of the beacon as soon as possible. As for the time and place—do you have any requirements?"
"You decide."
Kevin's reply was as concise as ever.
Otto pondered for a second.
"Hm… let me think… I don't want to wait any longer. I want it to prove its value immediately."
"Activating the Second Divine Key requires Honkai energy—vast amounts of it!"
"Ah! I've got it. There happens to be a place perfectly suited for this—Nagazora City in the Far East!"
Otto knew well—
In negotiations like this, maintaining calm and composure was the most advantageous stance.
The best way to secure one's interests.
Yet even knowing this—
Even as a master manipulator of human nature—
He still failed to fully restrain his emotions.
This… was simply too important to him.
He could not wait another second.
"That was the site of the Third Honkai."
Kevin said.
"Exactly. Three years ago, it left behind a singularity identical to that of the Imaginary Tree."
"Even though the Third Herrscher has fallen dormant, Honkai energy continues to pour forth from the singularity without end."
Otto nodded.
"That energy, catalyzed by the Great Eruption, is amplifying continuously and is nearing a critical threshold."
"What a perfect coincidence! Three days from now, Schicksal will transfer Cosmic Juggernaut to Nagazora City!"
"The moment I receive the beacon, I will begin the first experiment!"
As he spoke,
The light in Otto's eyes visibly brightened.
He envisioned the experiment proceeding smoothly—and what would follow!
Perhaps even—
The method to resurrect Kallen was now within reach!
At the thought,
Otto's body trembled slightly.
Even he—
The Overseer of Schicksal—
Could not suppress the excitement surging within his heart.
Opposite him,
The white-haired man said nothing more.
He rose and departed.
With his receding footsteps,
The golden light enveloping the world dimmed and dissolved.
"Oh? Leaving already? What a shame. I was hoping we could raise a glass together."
Within the gradually darkening world,
Only Otto's regretful voice remained.
"Kevin Kaslana, I believe today's meeting will hold immense significance—for you, for me, and for the entire world."
"—A toast, to the union of Schicksal and the Serpent."
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