Bonus Chapter at 50 Power stones
Idk trying this lel
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The Third Herrscher was eliminated. At least, on the surface.
After arriving near Dharavi, Kevin Kaslana carried a lingering sense of doubt and unease. He searched and inspected the area for a long time. Ultimately, he brought back the remains of the Third Herrscher. The intact remains. Throughout the entire process, he only had a brief clash with Raiden Mei.
Looking back, the Great Eruption that broke out in India was actually entirely different from what was expected.
"The destruction caused by human hands was actually far greater than that caused by the Herrscher!"
Night fell.
The location was a small, remote town in Europe, inside a chapel lit by bright lamps.
After putting Theresa to sleep, Otto left his precious granddaughter's bedroom alongside Rita, who was responsible for the girl's daily care.
At this moment, in a clearing near the back mountain of this remote town, the Second Divine Key rested under a canvas tarp. It was the Cosmic Juggernaut.
The residents of the town did not go anywhere near that place. They did not even approach this small chapel anymore.
The reason was simple. Otto, who temporarily no longer carried the Void Archives with him, had utilized a newly acquired, special power. Using that rather bizarre white jester mask, he slightly interfered with the consciousness of the town's residents.
Using this item felt very similar to using Mimicry: Fenghuang Down. He was very familiar with the feeling. Thus, with practiced ease, he implanted psychological suggestions into every local resident of the town.
On one hand, he suggested that his status was exalted and deeply respected and trusted by others. On the other hand, he suggested that he had always lived in this town and was not an outsider.
In doing so, he created a perfect hiding place. And over the past few months, Otto had prepared more than one hideout just like this. Among them were even a few rather special locations. They were not even located within the Proper World.
Right now...
"I didn't expect Madam Fu Hua to truly show absolutely no mercy."
Inside a partitioned room of the chapel, Durandal stood by a window and looked at the other three people in the room. Her gaze ultimately fell upon the blonde man.
"Bishop Otto, by doing this, can we truly preserve both eras at the same time?"
Recalling everything she saw after the battle today, with corpses littering the Dharavi slums, Durandal could not help but ask. She had executed the mission Otto gave her perfectly. But that kind of price...
"By the time you reach that era, the Previous Era, you are the evil ones!"
In her mind, she could almost see that man, Ling Ke, sneering as he spat those mocking words at her.
Right then...
"That old friend of mine has always possessed an incredibly resolute will."
Otto did not directly answer Durandal's question. Instead, he chuckled and spoke at his own pace. "In the past, what she lacked was a clear goal. Because of that, she often floundered without direction."
"After all, from the very beginning, even the goal of 'Protecting Shenzhou' was not something she inherently wanted to do. It was pushed onto her by others. But now..."
The corners of Otto's mouth curled up slightly. "Now, things are different."
"The Celestial... or rather, Fu Hua... she finally has a truly clear purpose that belongs entirely to her."
Speaking up to this point, he finally turned his head to look at Durandal. "With this foundation, she will no longer be lost or hesitant when doing anything. Instead, she will be extremely decisive."
"Today, in her eyes, using her full strength to defeat you, or even kill you, was her designated primary objective. After all, Durandal, you are my most outstanding student. You are currently the strongest combatant on our side. If you fall, the perceived odds of winning for the people of this era will be infinitely magnified."
Hearing his explanation...
"But we do not want to destroy this era. We merely want to..."
"It is useless."
Otto shook his head. "To be completely honest, if I could find a method to put our era back on track with a high success rate, I would not choose to coexist with the other side either."
"This..." Durandal was about to say something else.
"Listen to me patiently. Do not be hasty." Otto raised a hand and pointed out the window. "Night has already fallen. The one thing we have plenty of right now is time."
He looked straight at Durandal. "And the one thing you lack the most is patience."
"..."
Durandal remained silent for a short while. Ultimately, she nodded. Seeing this, Otto smiled and continued speaking.
"Let us discuss our current situation." He raised his right hand and held up his index finger. "First, because Domination... no, we can practically call him a 'God' now. Regardless, because Ling Ke completed his revenge plan, our era has been reduced to nothingness. It never even 'began'."
Otto lowered his right hand. "Under this major premise, including you and me, there are approximately ten 'Time-Reversed Descenders' who will arrive in this current era carrying their respective memories and experiences. To us, this era is considered 'ancient history from over fifty thousand years ago.'"
"Here, everything we and all the other Time-Reversed Descenders do will create unpredictable butterfly effects. Today, the Third Eruption broke out in Dharavi, India, and the newly born Herrscher was suspected to not be the Herrscher of Thunder."
"From this point alone, it is clear that the future trajectory of history can never return to its normal track. Or rather, it can no longer 'retrace the old path'. This is like a microscopic, three-dimensional puzzle that has been completely shattered. Do you have the confidence to put every single molecule back into its exact original position? No. That is something only a 'God' can do."
"Therefore, the rule that man, Ling Ke, specifically told each of us when his revenge plan was completed was a highly misleading statement. The phrase 'If you want to save your era that has completely faded away, you must first destroy this newly reborn era' was a lie."
"But at the same time..." Otto held up a second finger. "The hardest lies to deal with are the ones mixed with half-truths. What he said back then about 'saving the world means destroying the world' was true. However, it should not be understood in conjunction with the previous sentence."
"Instead, we should think of it like this..." Otto spread his hands open. "What we need to focus on is not two chronological 'eras'. We need to focus on this current 'timeline' and another brand new... no, strictly speaking, a 'replicated' timeline."
As he spoke, he straightened both index fingers and placed them side by side in front of him. "Only by doing this can we be considered to have saved both worlds."
Durandal nodded thoughtfully. Otto continued to smile.
"That is the situation. If Ling Ke, the one who completed that revenge plan, is the 'Branch Severer', then we are the corresponding 'Branch Gatherers'. It means to pick back up and reattach the 'branches' or 'possibilities' of the Imaginary Tree that he snapped off."
Hearing this...
"I see." Durandal nodded again. "I understand, Bishop."
She seemed to have gained more confidence regarding this matter.
However...
"..."
Li Sushang stood to the side, completely unable to understand that long string of high-level, specialized terminology. But leaving her aside for now. Rita, on the other hand, had her own thoughts but remained completely silent.
'Branch Gatherers' to counter the 'Branch Severer'?
Obviously...
"!!!" Rita looked up and saw Otto smiling at her.
The surface of the bizarre white jester mask in his hand was flickering with a faint, elusive light. Rita lowered her head.
Just as she thought. There were no 'Branch Gatherers'. Ultimately, the 'Branch Severer' had already ascended to godhood. Even if there truly were 'Branch Gatherers', they would have to be existences on equal footing with him.
Whether they were gods or demons, they could not possibly be mere 'humans'. And as for them... Equal footing?
What a joke. Long before Ling Ke ascended to godhood, the two sides were already unequal. Now, the gap between them was like a heavenly chasm. It was even more despair-inducing than standing at the bottom of an abyss and looking up at the sky.
Therefore, it was plainly obvious...
"Bishop Otto clearly has other plans."
At this moment, Rita kept her head down to hide her expression. She could not help but ponder a question that was incredibly important to her.
"Does Bishop Otto truly care about our era?"
If he did not care... Then would continuing to follow him truly recover everything she had lost? Would it recover her family and her life? Think about Lady Theresa's current situation... She was someone Bishop Otto genuinely seemed to care about.
He acknowledged her as his granddaughter. Yet, despite this status, Bishop Otto had allowed her to do as she pleased for years, letting her found that childish St. Freya Academy.
And now, Lady Theresa was...
"..."
In truth, Rita already had a vague answer in her heart, even if she did not want to admit it.
"In order to achieve 'that long-cherished wish' and bring back the Saint Kallen of the past, the Bishop would actually gamble everything without a second thought. Eras, civilizations, and even all of humanity are meaningless to him! Naturally, the same applies to Lady Theresa."
Indeed.
This was likely Otto's true mindset. Otherwise, back when he captured K-423 and brought her to Schicksal Headquarters, the Bishop planned to use the power of 'love' to stimulate her into mastering the Herrscher's power.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have used Lady Theresa as a mere 'stimulant'. She was someone who genuinely could have been killed by the Herrscher of the Void.
In short...
"Let us end our chat here for today." Otto suddenly spoke up. "We still have many things to do moving forward. Everyone, go get some rest."