Ah… well then…
Come to think of it, they're both saints, both love humanity, both were the public face of Schicksal in their time, both were personally supported by Otto, and their values are very similar… Cecilia really does overlap with Kallen in several attributes.
And the ways Cecilia differs from Kallen… actually suit his tastes quite well…
If a man grew tired of constantly cleaning up after a naïve, soft-hearted girl like Kallen, wanting instead to admire the gentle, graceful silver-haired saint who seemed perfect for home and hearth didn't sound unreasonable at all…
Tsk tsk…
Is this another form of pure love? Guess I'll always love white hair.
Otto's inner commentary flared up, then he reined it in. He looked at Void Archives in Cecilia Schariac's form, expressionless.
But Void Archives felt she had already figured out what kind of Otto stood before her.
Arrogant, self-righteous, greedy, and lustful—that was the entirety of this new version of Otto.
—And that was fantastic!
An Otto weakened across the board!
She, Void Archives, was finally about to escape her suffering!
She couldn't outmaneuver that five-hundred-year-old schemer before—did she really think she couldn't fool this rookie?
Heh heh heh, I'm invincible this time!
Still wearing Cecilia's face, Void Archives leaned close to Otto's ear and blew gently. Only after his ear turned red did she whisper softly:
"Keep this up. Don't get found out. After all, the Otto from before… even I found him terrifying."
"We can work together, spin a lie, and turn the world into our hunting ground. After that, we each take what we want."
"Alright then—good luck, little Otto. Once it's done, whatever form you want, I can be it~"
She blew lightly by his ear again, then dissolved into a wisp of white mist and vanished.
…
"Heh."
The moment Void Archives left, Otto instantly returned to complete composure, his fingers tapping idly on the desk.
You know… do all Herrschers have that puffed-up blowfish phase? Even a Herrscher core isn't an exception?
Sure, he was a lecher—but he was also a man with ten gigabytes of "cinema" on his computer. If he really wanted to hide it, he wouldn't leak so many emotions.
But… why bother hiding?
Wasn't it nice watching a fool think she'd found his weakness?
Ideally, she'd believe she could control him, then go out of her way to help him adapt to this Honkai world—cleverly removing every disadvantage, even helping him build connections—thinking that once the original Otto was truly gone, she could fully claim this body…
And when the cards were finally revealed, she'd stare in shock as he turned the tables completely, looking like a defeated heroine and mumbling, "Lord Otto is amazing"—
Wow. That would be perfect, my dear Void Archives.
With Void Archives successfully nudged onto his side, the next thing Otto needed to do was shape every gesture and mannerism to match the real Otto.
That would be difficult—his life depended on it.
Should he… strike first?
A plan quickly formed in his mind: put Amber into hibernation, then tell everyone he'd messed up another experiment—one of his clones tried to assassinate him and escaped Schicksal, while Amber took the blow for him and…
No.
Grabbing too much at once would only bring trouble.
That kind of tightrope act was for the final step.
To stage that kind of incident, he'd need to involve far too many people. If even one sensed something off, his life would be in danger.
After all, any irregularity might lead them to believe the one who escaped was the real Overseer, while he was just the clone pretending to be the victim.
His first move couldn't be something so clumsy.
Amber couldn't be removed—it would cause too much upheaval.
And more importantly, he had no desire to personally process paperwork from every continent.
He sighed. Being Otto wasn't the problem—but why couldn't he have been sent back to Otto's childhood to play the long game?
If Otto didn't cling obsessively, could he really not win over the fiancée Kallen?
He could've made Kallen all gentle and dependent in minutes—and even had Yae Sakura as part of the dowry!
But playing a new account as a beginner was one thing—taking over a top-ranked account? Anyone would notice the player had changed!
After all, not everyone was Cecilia, who could match Otto's five hundred years of honed "gameplay" in no time.
Besides, once accepted as the Overseer of Schicksal, he'd still have to fight the Honkai…
So what should he do…
Otto rubbed his forehead helplessly. But the moment his arm touched it, the spot between his brows twitched for some reason.
What was that?
He wasn't exactly jumpy, but he had to be cautious.
This time, he was in his original flesh-and-blood body, not a soulium shell.
If he died and revived, who knew whether it would be him or the original owner who woke up?
He wasn't eager to die, so he had to be careful—very careful.
The sensation at his brow… what caused it?
He calmed his mind and probed the pain with his thoughts.
After a long moment, his eyes suddenly widened in shock.
There was a self-contained space within his brow—and at its center… was the ancient book that had caused his transmigration?!
A stream of information flowed from the book into his mind, turning his surprise into delight.
This book… could actually tamper with the past!!!
So the thing that sent him here wasn't ordinary at all.
Its name was the Book of Dimensions, and it possessed a certain ability to distort time.
Using specific individuals as anchors, it could connect past and present, altering the ambiguous points in time around that person, thereby affecting the known reality.
For example, the original Otto's lifelong wish to resurrect Kallen—he could treat Kallen as an anchor, return to five hundred years ago, and rewrite the history of her death.
This cheat ability… was incredible.
It didn't grant him overwhelming power directly—but if used properly, everything in this world would be within his reach.
Otto stretched lazily, feeling true confidence for the first time since transmigrating.
But once the tension eased, the surging thoughts he'd suppressed burst forth. The fear he'd been forcibly holding down since arriving made his head pound.
Yet his well-honed composure kept him sitting upright, making no large movements—only his back trembled slightly as he began to laugh softly.
"Hahaha… chaotic time… disordered fate… fools who think themselves wise… a tool that overturns the past… hahaha, hahahaha…"
A tear slipped from the corner of Otto's eye—whether from empathy or pity, even he didn't know.
But his lips curled high, fixed in an exaggeratedly bright smile.
Pseudo-god, oh pseudo-god—who would've thought that even you, after five hundred years of scheming and obsession with reviving Kallen, all your efforts would amount to less than a single page here?
Reality was absurd and laughable, twisted and cruel. You gave everything for that so-called saint, yet in my hands, it can be so easily denied.
Hahahaha…
Heh.
After venting, Otto gradually calmed. He lifted the wine glass from the table and, through the rippling liquid, looked toward the noon sun outside—cold and pale.
After a long while, he smiled faintly and tilted the glass.
"To Otto Apocalypse."
Then, with a sharp clink, the glass fell and shattered on the floor.
From this day on, I am Otto.
First attempt—testing the limits.