Chapter 4: Otto Forgotten by the World
"Let him in, Rita. You can rest."
The voice was unfamiliar, yet strangely familiar. Was it Kallen? It was calm, as if the speaker had seen everything life had to offer and nothing could surprise them anymore.
It wasn't harsh, just... very different from Kallen's usual lively voice in the game.
Luo Mo was confused. Kallen? What about Otto Apocalypse? It felt like fate was playing a cruel trick on him. He had prepared himself to face Otto, not Kallen.
But the door was opening, and Rita was gesturing for him to enter. Could he really refuse?The door clicked shut behind him.
Candlelight bathed the room in a warm, yellow glow. A statue of a strange god stood in the center, its face kind but distant. It looked righteous, yet there was something unsettling about it.
An old, slightly long knife rested at the base of the statue. It had an Eastern feel to it, and it radiated a dark energy much stronger than the statue's. Just looking at it made Luo Mo feel uneasy.
He wondered what kind of power the statue was keeping in check.
Quickly, he looked away and saw a white-haired girl kneeling on a cushion in front of the statue.
The girl wasn't tall, but she looked serious and dignified in a simple, white nun's outfit. Her silver hair was soft and shiny, and it didn't make her look old at all. The nun's clothes flowed around her, highlighting her beauty and giving her a holy glow. She held a silver cross in her clasped hands as she faced the statue and bowed her head slightly. In that moment, she didn't look like the head of a powerful organization, but like a devout nun from a long time ago.
"Otto Apocalypse," she said suddenly, her voice firm. "You know him, don't you?"
She didn't wait for an answer. Instead, she straightened up and turned around.
Her face was still beautiful and young, just as Luo Mo remembered Kallen. But her eyes...Those blue eyes were like a vast ocean, or a deep, endless sky.
They were calm and understanding, with a quietness that seemed to have come from experiencing countless years. Even when she asked a question, there was no ripple of emotion.
Time had smoothed away her rough edges, She was no longer the lively girl she once was.
Yes, it was Kallen. Luo Mo knew her, yet he didn't know her at all.
Luo Mo was shocked and speechless, He was confused.
Why wasn't it, Otto?
Why would it be Kallen?
The Archbishop of Schicksal is Kallen?
Fate seemed to be joking and threw an absurd dice to mock his arrogance.
"Come with me." Kallen didn't seem to care about his reaction. She calmly pressed a button on the wall.
The wall behind the statue slid open, revealing a hidden room with thick, metal walls. It looked a bit like an interrogation room. The light was dim, but it didn't interfere with the candlelight in the other room. There was a table, two chairs, and some metal boxes in the corner.
The lights brightened as Luo Mo and Kallen stepped inside. The wall closed behind them, sealing them in the secret room.
Kallen sat down and pointed to the chair across from her. "No one will hear us here."
Luo Mo felt uneasy, not because he was in danger, but because he felt like he was losing control.
He might have known Otto, but that didn't mean he knew this Kallen, the one who had lived for 500 years. She had changed so much.
The sight of that evil sword, Jizo Mitama, hinted at a difficult past. Even if her life hadn't been as dramatic as Otto's in the original story, it certainly hadn't been easy.
"Your Excellency Archbishop, I am forever loyal to Schicksal," Luo Mo declared, choosing his first words carefully.
"I didn't ask that," Kallen replied with a soft smile, after a brief pause. "Please, sit down. We have a lot to discuss."
Luo Mo slowly took a seat and started to worry about how much she knew.
His novel was vague, but he had never expected Kallen to become the Archbishop. He had written Otto's name, focusing on Kallen back then, but anyone who knew Kallen and read the book would realize it was about her.
He had written a lot about Kallen and Otto.
The maid character didn't even have a real name. She was just there to attract some sticky readers and make money.
But that wasn't the issue. The story was loosely based on history, with some added romance. Otto would definitely love it, but Kallen... that was less certain.
No, he was overthinking it. It was just a novel, after all. It couldn't possibly have made the Archbishop take action. There was nothing insulting in it, nothing serious enough to warrant a personal confrontation.
"It's hard to believe that after 500 years, I'm only hearing about a friend now," Kallen sighed and closed her eyes.
The passage of time hadn't diminished her kindness and passion, but she was definitely less impulsive.
Everyone grows up, after all.
"A friend who was forgotten by the world!" Her eyes snapped open, and the calm blue transformed into a sharp glare.
"Back then, I personally brought down Schicksal, changed the world, saved countless lives. And then, I found out my friends had scattered. I figured their families had probably taken them back – I was a rebel, after all. Anyone associated with me was in danger."
"At least, that's what I thought at the time. But even after everything settled, I couldn't find him. He was in my memories, but it was as if the world had erased him from everyone else's...."
"His own sister, Lisa, didn't remember him."
"The patients he'd healed said it was my medicine that had cured them."
"Even the paper planes he'd made by hand were gone."
"It was as if the whole world was rejecting his existence, wiping away every trace of him."
Kallen's voice was thick with emotion, a mix of sadness and anger.
She closed her eyes for a moment, then slowly opened them again. A wistful look filled her gaze. "This is the first time since then, the first time I've heard Otto's name. I've asked everyone, but I never expected to see his name again after 500 years, and to hear about the things we experienced together."
Luo Mo was speechless. He hadn't expected Kallen to live for 500 years.
But Otto's disappearance made him suddenly realize why, and where this world came from.
Changing the world must come at a cost. There are three stages to a person disappearing completely, and it seemed Otto had gone through them all. The entire world had lost all information about him.
However, he felt a little admiration.
Hey, Your Excellency Archbishop really succeeded! He really turned this world into what he wanted!
This is her World, her deserved worlds.
He had many questions for Kallen, like what this world was like and how she had lived for 500 years. But those questions weren't urgent. Now that he knew where things had gone wrong, he could find that information easily.
The most important thing now was to gain Schicksal's trust. His original plan was useless, and it might have even made Schicksal and kallen suspicious of him.
If no one else remembered, why did he? It was a logical question, but he couldn't answer it.
This Kallen, the one who had lived for 500 years, wouldn't be like Otto, right? Or would she?
As for how she had lived for so long, that was a question for another day, once they had survived the Honkai era. He hadn't been too worried about it before, since he had the APHO as a safety net.
As long as he didn't do anything foolish, defeating the Honkai wouldn't be impossible, right? But now, Otto was gone.
you could say Otto wasn't the easiest person to write about, but his impact on civilization and the main characters was huge. It was like a tiny change causing a major shift in the timeline – a 9.0 earthquake in the history books.
Luo Mo couldn't bear to think about the consequences for the past and the future.
"I want to ask, what do you know? And who are you?" Kallen's calm gaze felt heavy on Luo Mo, making it hard to breathe.
"I created your identity records. No one entered that house before you, and there was no information about you beforehand. Plus, you recognized Otto... Are you from outside this world?"
She had cut right to the heart of the matter. Luo Mo had to stay calm.
He couldn't tell her everything, but he couldn't tell her nothing, either. Luo Mo thought about Kallen's words and what she might ask next.
He decided to agree with her assessment.
"Yes, you're right, Your Excellency Bishop. I come from outside this world. But as I said before, I am loyal to Schicksal and will help this world defeat the Honkai in my own way." Luo Mo played his strongest card.
It might seem foolish to reveal so much so soon, but he needed to regain control of the conversation. He couldn't let her lead him around.
Right now, she had the upper hand, but he needed to level the playing field.
Kallen remained silent. The man in front of her seemed unreliable, but his words had taken her by surprise. It wasn't the part about being loyal to Schicksal that shocked her, but his admission that he came from another world and could defeat the Honkai.
She wasn't a scientist and knew little about the Honkai, but after 500 years of experience, the recent increase in Honkai activity, and the appearance of Welt, Sirin, and the purple-haired girl at St. Freya, she had a feeling the end was near. The Honkai was getting stronger and more Herrschers were appearing than she had ever seen in her 500 years.
The Honkai was humanity's greatest enemy. Civilizations that couldn't survive it were doomed.
The ruins of past civilizations proved that the Honkai could destroy everything.
even civilizations more advanced than today's civilization lost...
Right now, defeating the Honkai was more important than anything else. Of course, Otto's disappearance was still a mystery, but...
Kallen thought to herself. She was the Archbishop now, and as Overseer she couldn't be selfish.
This outsider needed to be watched, even if they didn't kill him outright. He needed to be monitored.
He had declared his loyalty to Schicksal, then claimed he could defeat the Honkai... It was clear he wanted to use Schicksal's resources to achieve something. But that didn't matter. He was special, and it would be worth spending a little money to keep an eye on him.
But what did he have to offer in return? Kallen studied Luo Mo with interest. She was curious. What could someone from another world bring to the fight against the Honkai?
He wouldn't get access to Schicksal's resources without showing them something concrete.
"What do you need?" Kallen asked.
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edited, thank you for reading this
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