Cecilia asked with difficulty, though it sounded more like a statement than a question:
"Bishop… when you ordered the launch of the Honkai fission missile, you were trying to kill Siegfried, weren't you?"
The man did not deny it—nor did he need to.
"Yes. He showed me a power capable of parting the Earth down the middle. That was… unsettling."
"Pfft… parting the Earth down the middle… that's quite an image…"
Cecilia gave a faint, bitter smile.
"But… Bishop, with your intellect… you could have controlled Siegfried."
"If it were Cecilia Schariac who possessed that power beyond the known," Otto said calmly, "I would not hesitate to entrust you with greater responsibility, to guard you carefully. I might even shamelessly break your marriage and use every means to bind you to me."
Cecilia's cheeks flushed for a brief instant.
"But, Cecilia," he continued softly, "what I least wish to control is a child who walks stubbornly along what he believes to be the 'right' path, heedless of the actual circumstances."
He glanced at the man wrapped in protective flora and shrugged helplessly.
"All glory belongs to the Kaslanas; all schemes belong to the Apocalypses. From Kallen to Siegfried, the People's Shield has always excelled at straying from my plans."
"But Bishop… Siegfried… as head of House Kaslana… surely wouldn't betray Schicksal, would he? Even without me restraining him, he would stay… for Kiana's sake… wouldn't he?"
"… "
What a reverse prophet.
"You're too naïve, Cecilia…"
Otto smiled faintly, brushing her bloodless cheek with his fingers.
"I've always believed that when I hold no expectations for a Kaslana's mind, they'll still manage to exceed them in the worst possible way."
Even those who merely carried Kaslana genes, he added silently.
Cecilia did not grasp the implication. She only smiled weakly.
"Heh… I never thought I'd hear the Bishop complain… at a time like this…"
Otto said nothing. His right arm supported her; his left hand gently combed through her hair.
Cecilia leaned against him instinctively, her cheek brushing faintly against his chest.
Years ago, when he took her traveling, she would often rest against him like this after a long day, gazing up at the star-filled sky.
Back then, they had almost felt like true siblings.
After a while—perhaps not long at all—Otto spoke.
"I want a reason, girl."
"A reason?" Cecilia tilted her head faintly.
"A reason for Siegfried to live."
"Ah? Isn't the reason… parting the Earth down the middle?"
"Not obedient."
Otto flicked her forehead lightly, earning a reflexive little sound from her.
She puffed her cheeks briefly, then grew serious.
"You know, Bishop… although I'm called an S-rank Valkyrie and possess Schariac Holy Blood, ten years ago I still lost to the First Herrscher even with my comrades' help. And this time, I've essentially lost to the Second Herrscher…"
"The one hailed as Schicksal's strongest has never truly defeated a Herrscher."
"And this Honkai Eruption is not the end."
"There will be more challenges for humanity. But Schicksal lacks the power to suppress Herrschers."
"This time, Siegfried nearly killed Si— the Herrscher of the Void. Just a little more, and the battle would've ended there. I believe… he has a brighter future than I do."
Brighter my foot.
Otto lowered his gaze, concealing the indifference within.
Light that cannot be controlled is nothing but light pollution.
In his heart, a hundred Siegfrieds were worth less than one Cecilia.
"He still has the potential to defeat a Herrscher. But I… have already spilled my Holy Blood across this land…"
Cecilia looked at him, her beautiful eyes filled with yearning and quiet pleading.
"So… Brother… could you spare him… and let him continue on the path of saving the world?"
That fragile gaze made even the Otto who stood beyond time pause for a moment.
It was like a saint stretching out her hands in the depths of hell, begging her god to protect the people she loved.
Even if it meant angering a devil and falling into the abyss.
He fell silent for a long while, then finally responded with a faint, emotionless hum.
"Mm."
"Thank you, my dear… Brother."
Cecilia smiled like a little girl, satisfied, even teasingly dragging out the last few words—as if indulging in one final act of willfulness.
"If you can… please look after little Kiana."
"And lastly, I wish you success in all things."
She staggered to her feet, intending to continue forward—toward her own burial ground.
But after only a few steps, someone gently embraced her from behind.
"Success in all things? That won't do—if Cecilia isn't included."
The man's magnetic voice sounded by her ear.
"You trade your life for his."
"Then I, Otto Apocalypse, will now trade one life for yours."
He took her hand and guided the Black Abyss White Flower upward toward the sky.
Just like years ago, when an elder brother held a young girl's hand to light fireworks at her coming-of-age ceremony.
"I will not abandon your soul to the underworld, nor will I let your holy body see decay."
His voice was solemn and resounding, as though sealing a sacred covenant.
For a fleeting moment, Cecilia saw again the figure from many years ago—the one who flew across the world with her each year.
He had taken her from the cage of Schicksal Headquarters, reached out to her inside that Ferris wheel symbolizing the future, and smiled:
"The world is beautiful. If you wish to see it, I'll go with you."
"And… call me Brother. I'll protect you like family."
…
[Although the Honkai energy released during Sirin's rampage once spread beyond the Siberian plains, irradiating over one hundred thousand civilians, the crimson petals formed from Schariac Holy Blood purified those corrupted. In the end, fewer than three thousand perished.]
[Thus, the Second Honkai Eruption came to an end.]
…
[Time modification complete.]
[In this historical alteration, you rescued Cecilia Schariac and concealed her within a secret chamber at Schicksal Headquarters. Only Amber is aware of this. Cecilia will awaken only when you issue a command to the Book of Dimensions.]
"This was still too conservative," Otto muttered. "Though of course, making a bold move on the first try wouldn't be wise either."
He rotated his wrist, recalling what he had gained from this journey.
"Twenty days of living as Overseer? Hah… I suppose that counts."
But in truth, the most important gain wasn't Cecilia.
It was the sensation he experienced when personally descending into history.
When he participated in and altered events, a vast terror loomed above his head.
It was a force without thought, without beginning or end—erasing all, annihilating all.
When he arrived at the Second Honkai, that force grew especially intense, as if it might descend upon him at any moment.
It felt like a rule.
A power existing beyond the world itself.
Most likely, it was the law of the Imaginary Tree.
If the world would not allow a vessel to collect scattered consciousness, how could it permit that same vessel to flow upstream and reshape history at will?
Compared to the original plan of reversing the entire world five hundred years, directly modifying history was clearly an even greater act of defiance.