Having found the answer, Otto ran to the memorial hall and said to Kallen through his tears, "Kallen... your father will live again..."
"?"
Kallen looked at Otto with teary, confused eyes.
Otto used the relic to manifest a Mimic: Abyss Flower.
"Someone told me that as long as I'm willing to trade my own life for it... as long as you're not sad anymore..."
Otto pointed the Abyss Flower at himself, but was interrupted by Kallen...
Kallen angrily slapped Otto.
She cried and said to him, "What are you thinking!! Father protected you, not for you to do something like this!!"
Seeing Kallen squatting on the ground, sobbing in pain, Otto was stunned... This was the first time Kallen had been angry with him...
Seeing the crying Kallen, the powerless Otto also began to cry. He held Kallen's face in his hands, crying and apologizing...
Kallen hugged Otto, crying loudly, "I'm sorry, Otto... I don't want to see anyone else die.
Help me, Otto. I must become strong, strong enough to protect everyone..."
——————————
Schicksal is jointly managed by three major families: the Kaslanas' "Knights" are responsible for protection through strength, the Apocalypses use "Wisdom" to command, and the Schariacs provide salvation through the "Saintess."
However, because the Schariacs' "Holy Blood" was an accidental product resulting from a Herrscher of a certain generation altering the rules, it was not part of the "Stigmata Project."
The "Holy Blood" neutralizes Honkai energy, while "Stigmata" require Honkai energy. The "Holy Blood" conflicted with the "Stigmata," leading to the continuous decline of the Schariac family.
To maintain their family's status, the Schariacs chose to arrange a marriage with the Apocalypse family. Otto is of mixed Apocalypse and Schariac blood, and later, the bloodline concentration of the entire Schariac family was not even as high as Otto's alone...
The Schariac family eventually declined to the point where they couldn't even produce a Saintess to represent their family, and eventually, even the right to bestow the name of Saintess was taken by the Apocalypse family.
Finally, through Otto's secret manipulations, the title of Saintess was bestowed upon the eldest daughter of the Kaslana family—Kallen Kaslana.
————————
One day, under the starry sky.
Kallen and Otto were nestled under a tree.
"Otto... why are you always so good to me?"
"Because... Kallen, you are my most important friend."
"Just a friend?!!"
"Yes, and a friend that surpasses the usual definition. Your perseverance and integrity make you worthy of my entrusting everything to you."
Hearing Otto's firm words, Kallen's heart tightened. She really wanted to punch Otto twice right now.
(Kallen was interested, Otto was oblivious.)
————————
But fate played a trick on the two of them.
Schicksal arranged a marriage contract between Kallen and Otto. If the head of the Kaslana family, Francis, were still alive, this would certainly be a joyous occasion, but Francis was gone.
And this marriage was orchestrated by Otto's father, Nicholas, in order to seize power from the Kaslana family.
At this time, Kallen and Otto had mutual feelings for each other, but they were not fools and would absolutely not agree to such a political marriage.
They refused the marriage, but that was the tragedy of being the parties involved. No matter how unwilling Kallen and Otto were, Schicksal announced the matter to the world with a single decree.
Kallen could not stop the spread of public opinion and could only accept this reality in silence...
————————
Later, in 1469, the 16-year-old Kallen became the captain of Schicksal's anti-Honkai unit—the Valkyrie Squad, and she was always on the front lines fighting against the Honkai.
Later, Kallen inherited one of the Kaslana family's Divine Keys, the Oath of Judah, but it was publicly declared to be a reward from Schicksal to Kallen.
In 1470, the Schicksal Overseer decided to launch an eastern expedition. The Schicksal army, seasoned from years of fighting Honkai Beasts, was unstoppable. Until they encountered the hegemon of Shenzhou, the Ming Empire. After several battles, the two sides had a final decisive battle on the Kipchak Steppe in 1475. Eager for victory, Schicksal used Honkai energy weapons in the war, an act that attracted the attention of the Immortals of Shenzhou.
The Azure Empyrea from Mount Taixu descended. The entire Schicksal army was no match for the Azure Empyrea. Schicksal had no choice but to send out its last and strongest trump card, Kallen. Although Kallen had great doubts about the righteousness of the war, as the captain of the Valkyrie Squad, she still chose to fight for Schicksal...
But she was effortlessly defeated by the Azure Empyrea. Looking at the Oath of Judah by Kallen's side, the Azure Empyrea spoke for the first time in front of the world, but her words were like sharp thorns that pierced deep into Kallen's heart.
"The weapon you use exists to protect humanity. Someone who has not resolved to 'protect' cannot unleash its true power."
At that moment, Otto arrived on the battlefield. He had been searching for Kallen ever since he learned she had joined the battle. Facing the truly god-like Azure Empyrea, Otto resolutely stood in front of Kallen.
But the Azure Empyrea did not harm Kallen or Otto, only leaving behind the words, "User of the 'Key,' think carefully... What is it that you truly wish to protect?" before disappearing from the world's sight.
Schicksal's eastern expedition was a complete failure, and they retreated back to Europe. Otto brought the disheartened Kallen back to Schicksal.
One night during the retreat.
Otto and Kallen sat by a campfire, warming their hands...
Otto was shivering from the cold, which Kallen noticed.
"Otto... are you trembling? Are you very cold?"
"I'm... I'm alright. It's just that my coat got wet when we were crossing the river earlier..."
"...Hey! Wearing wet clothes in this weather could get you frostbite! Get up, I'll set up a stand to dry your clothes first," Kallen said as she started to build a stand with the nearby firewood.
"But... we don't have any extra coats or blankets in our military supplies during the retreat..." Otto didn't stand up, but shook his head at Kallen.
"What are you talking about? Here, wear mine first." Kallen directly pulled off Otto's wet coat and draped her own over his shoulders.
"Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie won't be defeated by a mere cold. Achoo—" Kallen had just patted her chest and boasted to Otto when she let out a huge sneeze.
"What's with that... aren't you sneezing too?" Otto opened up his coat, covering both himself and Kallen.
"It's fine! Instead of taking care of me, you should take care of yourself first... honestly."
After that, the two of them huddled together to rest under the starry sky, just as they had on many nights before.
(Image.) (In main text.)