Mei had been rescued, but her placement became another problem. Bringing her home directly was out of the question; who knew what dangerous items might have been placed inside her during this time.
Although Cortana was highly capable, she currently lacked sufficient hardware. Moreover, the experimental equipment at the Anti-Entropy base had been destroyed when Cocolia and the others evacuated. Cortana couldn't fully scan Mei's current condition, but she could detect that Mei's Stigmata was gently releasing energy, which was slowly transforming Mei.
In the end, a message was sent to Otto, roughly explaining Mei's situation. After being told that Mei was also a natural Stigmata awakener, Otto had them go to a Schicksal base equipped with complete medical and experimental facilities.
After a series of examinations on Mei, Otto asked Ryn and Kika to see him, while telling Kiana to wander around.
Ryn and Kika arrived at Otto's office. When Amber saw them, she shot Ryn a glare before excusing herself. It couldn't be helped; Ryn had swindled money from Schicksal's matron, and she really held a grudge.
Otto rested his cheek on one hand while his other hand's fingers drummed on the desk. He was thinking. Raiden Mei's situation was somewhat unexpected, a variable in his plans. He needed to revise his plan carefully.
Finally, he looked at Ryn with a smile and said:
"Ryn, oh Ryn... you've all given me a huge surprise. Raiden Mei's condition is too special... Her Stigmata is different from yours. Your Stigmata strengthens you and grows stronger as its host does, but the Stigmata within Raiden Mei's body has contained immense power from the moment it awakened...
But this immense power comes at a price. She needs a vast amount of energy to realize this power. However, Raiden Mei doesn't have that much energy, so the awakening of her Stigmata was practically a death warrant. But Raiden Mei survived. Anti-Entropy implanted the Gem of Conquest into her body, and her Stigmata has reached a strange equilibrium with the Gem of Conquest.
Do you know what this means? It means Raiden Mei has become the host of the Gem of Conquest. She will become a Herrscher, the Third Herrscher—the Herrscher of Thunder!"
"..." "..."
Both Ryn and Kika fell silent. This was news to them. The Gem of Conquest was inside Mei... Was it Raiden Ryoma's doing, or Cocolia's? If Mei became a Herrscher, it would mean they would become enemies, but they could never bring themselves to harm her.
As Ryn and Kika remained silent, Otto also said no more, and the atmosphere grew quiet.
"So... should we kill Raiden Mei in advance?" In the end, it was Kika who spoke first. After all, she wasn't very close to Raiden Mei. If it weren't for Ryn and Kiana's request, she couldn't be bothered to participate in this rescue.
"No... we can't. Mei is such a good girl. We can't kill her just because she might become a Herrscher." Ryn shook his head, flatly rejecting Kika's words, then looked at Otto. "Since you're telling us this, you must have a solution, right?"
"Well said. We cannot kill someone in advance simply because they have the potential to become a Herrscher." Otto smiled and applauded Ryn's statement. But then his tone shifted, and he looked at Ryn seriously. "Then... Ryn... if Raiden Mei becomes a Herrscher, an apostle of the Honkai, what will you do?"
"I... I'll knock some sense into her and bring her back. If it truly comes to a point of no return, I will take care of her..." Ryn caressed the Stigmata on his hand. The moment Raiden Mei becomes a Herrscher is when the Great Honkai will descend. At that time, he would draw out the Honkai energy from the Great Honkai to stop Mei.
"Then... what about you, Kika?" Otto was a little dissatisfied, yet also very satisfied with Ryn's answer. Now he wanted to ask for Kika's opinion.
Kika glanced at Ryn beside her, sighed, and said to Otto, "What can I do... We can't kill her now, so we can only wait for her to become a Herrscher and adapt to the situation."
Seeing Kika glance at Ryn just now, Otto smiled. *This is what I want, for you people to form bonds.*
"I have always believed that human emotions are the greatest power... Deep bonds will trigger strong emotions, and strong emotions are enough to shake a Herrscher's will. Since you believe in each other so much, I'll leave Raiden Mei to you. Don't disappoint me."
In the end, Otto let Ryn and the others take Mei away. He couldn't and wouldn't give Mei much help right now. Everything depended on the future Herrscher's attitude before Schicksal would decide whether to invest in her.
Kika had already left. Just as Ryn was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Otto a question.
"Raiden Ryoma told me to tell you not to use Mei as the Herrscher of the Void's humanity's anchor, as a sacrifice. Can you tell me what a 'humanity's anchor' and a 'sacrifice' are?"
Otto was stunned for a moment, then he thought of the things he had said to Siegfried. Did Siegfried let it slip to Raiden Ryoma?
"You will understand this in the future, but for now, it's better that you don't know. The term 'humanity's anchor' is very well-used; I like it. Ryn, I can tell you this: you will be a humanity's anchor, but you will never become a sacrifice."
Ryn still didn't understand what Otto was saying. Another riddler. Riddlers, get out of Honkai Impact 3rd!
"I don't know what you mean, but you won't harm me, right?"
"It's hard to say. That depends on whether you will obstruct my plans. The power of the Herrscher of the Void is something I must obtain. Aside from matters concerning the Herrscher of the Void, I can do my best to satisfy you in all other things." Otto looked at Ryn, a trace of apology but more of sincerity in his eyes.
Otto was a grown man, and a very handsome one at that. For him to show such an expression gave Ryn goosebumps. But this made him even more confused.
"You shouldn't be this good to me... I don't seem to have anything worthy of your investment. You are so tolerant, so good to me and Kiana, so good that it scares me."
"No... For Kiana... this is what she deserves. But for you... from the moment I saw you, I felt like I was seeing the Joyce of the past. You have the same gentleness and kindness as him, and you both have the ability to make the world a better place. It's just that Joyce was too stubborn, too kind. He didn't understand that there's no such thing as a happy ending without paying a price. But you are different. You know when to do what, and who should be killed and who shouldn't.
So... I am actually training you to be the next Schicksal Overseer."
"I don't know who Joyce is, but since you've said so much, then first give me and Kiana two sets of A-rank Valkyrie battlesuits to use."
And then Ryn was kicked out by Otto.
*Tch, and he calls himself the next Overseer.* Ryn shook his head, not believing a word Otto said.