"Herrschers are really convenient in this regard..."
"Of course. Herrschers can do anything."
"Hmm… It seems becoming a Herrscher is more useful than me spending a hundred years making a shabby Soulium body."
"Indeed, there are still so many Divine Keys. Why don't you try fusing with one?"
"Heh, that won't work. The cores of those Divine Keys are already inactive, abandoned by the Honkai God. Fusing with them won't make one a Herrscher."
Otto shook his head with regret. If the cores of the Divine Keys were usable, he would have long ago fused with one to become the Herrscher of Domination, followed by creating incarnations of the Herrscher of Flamescion, Herrscher of Death, Herrscher of Wind, Herrscher of Ice, and so on.
Then he would kill the clones to extract the Herrscher of Domination cores, repeating the process until the entire world was filled with his Herrscher incarnations.
"Alright, let's drop this topic. Miss Yae Sakura, let's get down to business."
Otto swiped open a control panel, sealing the entire laboratory. Not a single bit of external data could flow in, nor could any data flow out. This was a place not even Amber had ever been to.
Yae Sakura's ears perked up subconsciously, her hand resting on her Spirit Blade and Jizo Mitama. If Otto showed the slightest sign of foul play, she would immediately use the Spirit Blade to sever space-time, and Jizo Mitama would phase through the laboratory's layers of security to strike at Otto's true body.
"Relax. I've already told you my biggest secret and weakness. Surely Miss Yae Sakura doesn't think I mean to harm you?"
Otto took out two wine glasses and poured red wine for both himself and Yae Sakura. Then, he looked earnestly into her eyes and handed her the glass.
"Miss Yae Sakura, I am betting my life on you right now."
"That's not necessarily true."
Yae Sakura accepted the wine with one hand, while her other hand remained firmly on the hilt of her blade, not relaxing in the slightest.
"Otto, your soul is chaotic and impure, your words are vague and insincere…
Your main body is your weakness? How could that be! As long as the will remains attached to a vessel and is not destroyed, the soul will not die. As long as the soul has not dissipated, a person will not die.
Otto, you can use this feigned weakness to deceive others, but you can't fool me."
"Miss Yae Sakura, I am not lying."
Otto shrugged helplessly. Whether she believed him or not, he was telling the truth. His consciousness hub was in his main body. If the main body died, the consciousness of all his Soulium clones would naturally perish as well.
"Miss Yae Sakura, I need you to do something for me. After it's done, I can satisfy any need you may have."
"Speak. If it's something I can't do, don't bother."
"It's very simple. I need you to use your Authority to 'kill' all of me."
———————————————
———————————————
Well, that was in the past. Yae Sakura never revealed the specifics of how she killed Otto, or where his main body was located.
All she knew was that after that day, the returned Yae Sakura was constantly wiping her blade. And whenever she caught a whiff of Otto's scent, she would chase after him with her blade drawn.
Ryn delivered the Spirit Gun: Yae and the Holy Lance: Kallen to Yae Sakura and Kallen. Kallen played around with her gun for a bit and felt that it looked quite similar to her nun outfit, so she accepted it as a souvenir.
When Yae Sakura received the gun, she held it in her hand, wanting to return it to Ryn, but also wanting to keep it. Because just as the Holy Lance: Kallen greatly resembled Kallen, this Spirit Gun: Yae greatly resembled herself.
Placing the two pistols on the table, Yae Sakura wiped her hands with a tissue, then asked Ryn:
"Did Otto say when he made these dual pistols?"
Ryn thought about what Otto had said when he delivered the guns. Although he didn't know how credible it was, he just had to tell the truth.
"Let me think, it was probably made several decades ago? Back then, he didn't know you and Kallen could be revived, so he made these two guns to commemorate his lost youth. Coincidentally, he found them while tidying up his things, so he asked me to pass them on to you."
"Hmm…"
Yae Sakura nodded in satisfaction. As long as they weren't made recently. If Otto had made them recently, Yae Sakura wouldn't dare to accept them. What if Otto had other ideas?
"I'm not skilled with firearms; swords are more suitable for me. In any case, thank Otto for me. I like this gift very much, and I will have it framed and hung up."
"Me too, me too! Ryn, thank Otto for me as well." Kallen happily held up the dual guns, striking various shooting poses to see if the weapon suited her.
"Oh, right. Sakura, why don't we buy some gifts for Otto too? It feels bad to always be accepting his gifts!"
"Hmm… I'll buy some gifts. Kallen, you can deliver them."
Kallen looked at Sakura in confusion. "Why? Aren't we going together?"
"No. Let's leave it at that for now."
Yae Sakura put away the Spirit Gun: Yae, stood up, and returned to her room without another word.
Leaving Ryn and Kallen sitting there, staring at each other. They looked around to make sure Yae Sakura wasn't eavesdropping, then huddled together to discuss in low voices.
Ryn: "Yae Sakura seems a little unhappy whenever Otto is mentioned. Didn't they already reconcile their past unpleasantness? Have they developed some new grudge?"
Kallen: "I'm not sure. It might be related to when Sakura attacked the Schicksal headquarters, and what Otto told her about his real body and the task he entrusted her with. Unfortunately, Sakura refuses to tell me what Otto asked her to do."
Ryn: "Have you tried crying, making a scene, hanging yourself, acting cute, or rolling on the floor?"
Kallen paused for a moment, then blinked her eyes at Ryn.
"I would never do those things. If Sakura doesn't want to say it, then she doesn't have to. Why must I force her to tell me? Everyone has their own little secrets. Even the closest couples need to maintain an appropriate amount of space."
"That makes sense, but I feel like something is off…"
Ryn rubbed his chin and began to reflect on the recent abnormalities in Otto and Yae Sakura's behavior.
Wait, what does this have to do with me? I have a pile of my own messes to deal with. Why am I wasting time worrying about Otto and Yae Sakura?
Ryn shook his head frantically, casting out all the thoughts, both relevant and irrelevant, from his mind. He waved at Judah, who was practicing singing in the distance.
"Judah, are you free this afternoon? I have a mission that might require your help."
"I am. What kind of mission is it?" Judah put down her recording equipment and looked at Ryn seriously.
"It's hard to say. It depends on whether the other party cooperates. If they cooperate, it's a recovery mission. If not, it will probably be a subjugation operation."