The giant ship entered the port, its massive volume approaching Kolosten, nearly occupying the entire sky.
The Immortal Blades, ordered to be stationed here, came to welcome the distinguished guests from afar, and at the same time, to welcome the future Schicksal Overseer.
"Teacher Theresa, long time no see."
"Long time no see, Durandal."
On one side was a fully armed Valkyrie force; on the other, several Herrschers stood in their ranks.
If one didn't know the relationship between these two groups, one might really think they were about to start a fight.
It couldn't be helped. Valkyries and Herrschers were naturally at odds, and the core philosophy of Anti-Entropy was to oppose Schicksal.
If this were any other occasion, Schicksal's S-rank Valkyrie might just follow her heart and strike.
Especially at that man!
Forcing her gaze to focus on Theresa, Durandal continued her conversation with the future Schicksal Overseer: "Lord Overseer has been waiting for you at the Apocalypse residence for a long time."
The Schicksal Overseer had been waiting for Theresa for a long time in the old residence of the Apocalypse family. This statement sounded a bit surprising, yet it was reasonable.
In the eyes of outsiders, a transfer of power is filled with filial piety and bloody struggles, where a single misstep could lead to a coup.
But everyone else present knew the extent of Otto's doting on Theresa was beyond imagination; he had even given her the entire Far East Branch as a toy.
"Grandpa is waiting for me..."
Theresa, whose heavy mood had never dissipated, turned her head to look towards the other side of the hill before her. In that direction were some buildings steeped in history.
Before the new Schicksal Headquarters rose above the Aegean Sea, this was the brain and heart of Schicksal, dominating the entire world.
And now, this power that could still dominate half the world was about to be handed over to her.
But what she cared more about was what her grandfather wanted to do.
And... Otto's fate.
"I understand. I'll go see my grandfather later."
Afterward, the Immortal Blades explained some precautions to the group and then left under Durandal's lead.
The Anti-Entropy group had a deep-seated distrust for Schicksal. Even if arrangements were made for them to stay, they would choose to remain on the Hyperion.
Inside the ship, Theresa had a brief discussion with Brian and the others, then headed to the Apocalypse family residence for the appointment.
Walking along the stone path on the green lawn, she pushed open the large, history-laden door...
What entered Theresa's sight was a hall that felt slightly cold due to being uninhabited.
The furniture and architecture here were spotless, clearly cleaned often. The portraits on the walls were silent in the flickering candlelight, casting an atmosphere of silent tranquility over the entire old mansion.
Normally, Theresa would have suspected the existence of some unspeakable ghost here.
But under the comforting presence of the man in the center of the living room, Theresa felt that even if there were ghosts, there was nothing to be afraid of.
"Theresa, Grandpa has specially chilled the bitter melon juice you like. Won't you come and try it?"
The blond-haired, blue-eyed man was as young as Theresa remembered, his personality and noble aura completely unchanged.
Compared to Theresa, time seemed to have stood still for Otto Apocalypse, only showing the slightest, insignificant flow when he faced Theresa.
"Grandpa, you haven't changed at all."
Sitting opposite Otto, Theresa picked up the bitter melon juice without any hesitation and took a sip.
No hesitation, nor any worry that Otto would harm her.
"But Theresa has grown up. Grandpa is very happy."
Like an elder seeing a junior grow up, the young face was filled with gratification.
It was a pity his arms couldn't stretch freely like Superman's, otherwise the current Otto would surely be patting Theresa's head.
"Grandpa, this was all an opportunity you gave me."
"Theresa, some things must be done, and I think you should understand that."
Towards the resentment in his granddaughter's words, Otto just smiled and accepted it.
"The Honkai must be fought, otherwise everyone will die. The future of humanity must be sought, otherwise this era will eventually become buried dust."
"But I really can't figure it out. What did you say to get Durandal and Rita to conspire with you? Don't tell me you deceived them just like you deceived Fu Hua?"
"Of course not. I simply presented them with a plan that could achieve their ideals, and we just happened to be walking the same path."
Before achieving his own goals, Otto and Durandal and the others were still like-minded companions.
Otto needed the Honkai to continue developing, step by step clearing the path to his ideal. Durandal and the others fought to protect civilization and didn't mind if Otto had other objectives.
Before parting ways, the two were like-minded good partners.
Theresa spat out the bitter melon juice in her mouth fiercely and pouted, "But you still deceived them in some way."
"You didn't create a single lie, but you concealed some information, creating a false impression for them, just like with Fu Hua."
There was no need for nine truths and one lie. A full understanding of the human heart, combined with a truth where some information was concealed, was enough to achieve the goal.
Otto told Fu Hua that the plan was to eliminate the Herrscher of the Void and let Kiana fully grasp her power as a Herrscher.
That's how he explained it, and that's how he planned and implemented it. It's just that the process deviated slightly from what Fu Hua imagined.
Of course, to him, it didn't matter if the Herrscher of the Void died or not. What he needed was just a Herrscher of the Void who had fully mastered her Herrscher powers.
The same logic applied to Durandal and the others.
Otto gave them hope in the fight against the Honkai, and had walked alongside them until this very moment when he decided to relinquish his power as Schicksal Overseer.
After the Kolosten plan, they would have no further connection.
"Theresa, if a girl is this blunt, she won't find a boy who likes her."
Theresa: "..."
Can we not talk about this? I'm already terrified sleeping on the Hyperion!
"Grandpa, you should worry about yourself. My companions have already prepared a coffin for you, just waiting for you to lie down in it!"
"Hehe."
The blond-haired, blue-eyed man smiled. "Theresa, it seems your friends are even more enthusiastic than I imagined."
"Who's to blame but you, Grandpa, for doing so many bad things in the past?"
After a friendly exchange between grandfather and granddaughter, Theresa returned to the Hyperion with a few bottles of freshly squeezed bitter melon juice from Otto.
After Theresa left, Otto remained where he was, even slowly pouring two cups of hot coffee.
"Durandal, since you're here, have a seat. There are still a few hours until the operation begins. We can still chat for a while."
As the words fell, a Valkyrie in blue and white armor walked into the old Apocalypse mansion and sat down where Theresa had been.
"Lord Overseer, what exactly do you intend to do this time?"
The title of Schicksal Overseer represented the highest and strongest power on this planet. The execution of a single command could even affect the survival of a nation.
Durandal didn't believe that Otto had suddenly made this choice because he was tired of being the Overseer after five hundred years.
Based on her understanding of this man, he must have prepared a huge conspiracy behind the scenes, which is why he was making such a big show of it.
Just like at the Far East Branch, when he had them revive the Herrscher of the Void.
The blond-haired, blue-eyed man remained as calm as ever in the face of his student's questioning: "Durandal, this is a necessary step towards victory, both your victory and mine."
He had said that before they reached their respective goals, they were still like-minded companions with common interests.
But the valiant Valkyrie was not appreciative: "Lord Overseer, your victory and mine are not the same. My victory is still far from coming, but your victory is very likely to stand in our way."
Such a statement made their potential enmity undisguised. If Otto became an obstacle in Durandal's path, this Valkyrie would certainly not hesitate to act against him, regardless of their teacher-student relationship.
You see, the strongest power in her body was not from the Fourth-generation Valkyrie battlesuit created by this man, but the power bestowed upon her by her friends in the Sea of Quanta.
The Dea Anchora battlesuit!
This power could only last for three minutes a few months ago, but after receiving help from that pioneer, she could now use it for a long time and stably.
Durandal didn't know what tricks Otto had up his sleeve, but the power of the Dea Anchora battlesuit did give her the confidence and strength to stop this man.
Being threatened was almost equivalent to dancing on his face, but Otto understood Durandal's feelings quite well.
This girl, whose brain had been completely sucked away by her figure, was indeed prone to being impulsive at times like these.
However...
"Your best chance to stop me is now, but I know you won't act."
To take out her own teacher over a mere suspicion, turning the Overseer's abdication ceremony into a 'who killed Otto' mystery drama, Durandal did not have the courage to do so.
"Teacher, I hope we won't meet on the battlefield."
The dark coffee swirled in the cup as the girl stood up, a ripple bouncing off the walls of the cup before finally settling.
In the quiet room, the blond-haired, blue-eyed man paid no mind to his student's warning.
"Durandal, I will give you a chance."
...
Leaving the Apocalypse family mansion, Durandal exhaled under the bright sunlight.
She turned her head to look at the side of the hill, where the towering floating warship cast a huge shadow under the sun, giving off an invincible sense of pressure.
But as massive as the Hyperion was, in the face of a grander narrative, it was just a small boat that could sink at any moment in a storm.
Although Kolosten seemed calm and peaceful now, it was all because Otto's plan had not yet officially begun.
Once this man started his new plan, who knows what this peaceful ancient city would become.
"I hope teacher won't go too far."
Turning around, she walked decisively towards the Immortal Blades' station.
Durandal's goal was extremely clear. In the face of the unknown, she needed to strengthen her comrades as much as possible and add an insurance policy for the responsibilities she shouldered.
"Rita, can I trust you?"
Hearing this question from Durandal's mouth for the first time, the girl's expression instantly turned solemn. The next second, she replied in a joking tone: "If it's not a matter of feelings, I think Lady Durandal can completely trust Rita."
Some minor details of a little joke can be directly ignored in the face of a larger proposition.
Having received a satisfactory answer, Durandal unhesitatingly grabbed Rita's shoulder, and a world like a green field replaced their surroundings.
"This is... a Sumeru Ring?"
The space in this world was not very vast; one could see the world's edge with a casual glance.
Beneath their feet was a soft, green meadow, and a lush Bodhi tree stood tall before them.
This was a gift from Su, a pioneer of the Previous Era, to Durandal during Schicksal's experiment to explore the Thousand Worlds. It helped her stabilize the power of the Dea Anchora battlesuit, freeing her from the dilemma of being a three-minute superman.
But the power of this Sumeru Ring was not limited to this. Besides helping Durandal stabilize her power, it also shared the responsibility of maintaining the bubble universe with the Holy Sword Durandal.
During the Herrscher of Domination incident, Schicksal Overseer Otto found the location of the Theater of Domination based on data collected from the Herrscher of Domination. Using that place as a starting point, he helped Durandal connect the bubble universe she carried to the Imaginary Tree.
The bubble universe was thus freed from danger, but Durandal still shouldered the mission of being an 'anchor'.
But times have changed. Now that the bubble universe has been connected to the Imaginary Tree, she has gained the ability to let more people share this power and responsibility with her.
Just like... right at this moment!
Durandal and Rita walked together under that lush Bodhi tree.
"Rita, my intuition tells me that an unimaginable change is about to happen. I've decided to share this power with you."
A radiant light spread over Rita's body, filling the Valkyrie's body with new power.
Her strength, which had already reached the limit for an ordinary person, began to grow again, giving Rita the qualification to compete on the same stage as geniuses and Herrschers.
The elegant Valkyrie was very grateful to her superior for being so generous as to share the power of the Dea Anchora battlesuit with her.
But another question followed...
"Lady Durandal, you seem very uneasy."
If the S-rank Valkyrie could face the upcoming problem, then Durandal wouldn't be in such a hurry to share this power with her.
Such an action could only mean that Durandal believed the situation was urgent, almost at a breaking point, and a fierce conflict could erupt at any moment.
Durandal: "I don't know, but I can see that teacher has made up his mind to part ways with us."
"Then we should be happy for Lord Overseer. His five-hundred-year-old wish is about to come true. I think Lord Overseer must be very happy right now."
Rita, who was good at understanding people's hearts, saw Otto's thoughts, but she just didn't know what the Schicksal Overseer's real plan was.
However, judging from the current situation, this Schicksal Overseer still retained his human emotions and hadn't resorted to unscrupulous means for his own purposes.
Theresa's arrival was the best proof.
Provoking Durandal was just a part of his plan, in order to achieve certain tasks that only Durandal could complete.
Of course, she'd just keep these little details to herself. Speaking them out rashly might make a result that shouldn't have been bad, not so good.
"Perhaps."
Durandal's expression was a bit cold. "No matter what he wants to do, I won't let him threaten this world."
After entrusting the responsibility of anchoring the bubble universe to Rita, Durandal once again went in search of Otto's true plan.
And her adjutant...
"Should I say, long time no see, my ex-boyfriend."
...