"Immortal Celestial, our contract is thus established."
"Schicksal will assist you in guarding Shenzhou, and you, in turn, will join Schicksal."
A smile graced the golden-haired man's lips.
Yet, it was a smile tinged with a hint of loneliness, a trace of regret.
The Celestial, once an unattainable figure in his eyes, was now bowing her head to him.
Even an immortal… had things she could not do.
Even an immortal… could not bring back the dead.
The girl standing before him slowly nodded.
"As you wish."
"Otto."
Her voice was devoid of all emotion, as if descending from the ethereal clouds.
Fu Hua's eyes snapped open.
She found herself lying face down on a soft bed, her face pressed against a pillow. The room's decor was completely unfamiliar.
Was that a dream?
She wondered.
The pain in her back told her that this was reality.
But… that golden-haired man, he seemed…
"You're awake?"
A gentle voice sounded by her ear. Fu Hua turned her head and saw the face from her dream.
Just like in the dream, he was right beside her.
"O…tto."
She subconsciously called out his name, but she didn't realize that her tone was now strikingly similar to that of her white-robed self from the dream.
Hearing Fu Hua's flat, emotionless voice, Otto's body jolted.
Holy crap!
His eyes widened.
"…Brother," Fu Hua added, finishing the phrase.
Otto let out a sigh of relief. For a second, he thought she had regained her memories.
But then he shook his head. Wasn't that his goal? To have her regain her memories and break the illusion?
Or was it that… he didn't actually want her to remember?
Once the illusion shattered, he would never again have the chance to see this soft, gentle Fu Hua.
Slightly tightening his grip on the hand he had never let go of, Otto forced a smile.
"Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere? Do you want some water? I can get you some."
Fu Hua shook her head.
"I had a dream just now."
She recalled the vision.
"I dreamt that you and I were standing together. You were saying something about Shenzhou, and making a contract with me."
That was reality, and this is the dream.
Otto understood. Fu Hua was recalling a small fragment of her memory.
It made sense. Facing the Celestial, who possessed Fenghuang Down, the Herrscher of Corruption's memory suppression could only be temporary.
He smiled and said, "Perhaps that was our past life. In that life, maybe we stood shoulder to shoulder, or maybe… we held hands, just like we are now."
"Hmm?" Fu Hua dismissed his words as nonsense.
But then, her gaze shifted downwards. She realized she was lying on the bed, with Otto sitting beside her, their left and right hands intertwined. She didn't know for how long.
Flustered, Fu Hua tried to pull her hand back, but his warm palm held her fast.
"What time is it?" she asked, averting her gaze, too embarrassed to address the hand-holding directly.
This version of the Celestial was a young girl, and a thin-skinned one at that.
"You've been asleep for over ten hours. Don't worry about school; I had Carol ask for a leave of absence for you. You can catch up on your classes later."
Over ten hours.
She had slept for a very long time.
Her gaze returned to Otto. Could it be that Big Brother Otto sat here for all those hours?
She remembered that before she fell asleep, he was sitting right there, holding her hand, just like this.
"I'm mostly better. I can go back to school."
A wave of guilt washed over Fu Hua.
It was because of her that Big Brother Otto hadn't rested all night.
This was a man so lazy he could be mistaken for a pig, someone who would normally spend half the day lazing in bed.
She struggled to sit up, but Otto's free hand pressed down on an uninjured part of her shoulder, pushing her back onto the bed.
Otto's heart pounded in his chest as he said something he would never, in a million years, dare to say to the real Celestial.
"Be good. Listen to me."
It was like he was coaxing a misbehaving puppy.
Ehehe, this feels pretty good.
Otto gloated internally as he gently ruffled Fu Hua's hair.
"The injuries you sustained last night were not light. You need to rest properly now."
Her struggle had caused her back wounds to reopen slightly, making her grimace in pain.
"Okay." Being treated like a child reminded Fu Hua of her father back home.
Having been in this foreign city for some time, she often found herself thinking of her home. She couldn't fit into this new environment. She had tried, but her clumsy attempts always ended in failure, leaving her to endure the loneliness.
She even felt that the whispers of the other girls were all directed at her, mocking and belittling her.
Alone in a strange land, Fu Hua was starting to develop a bit of a persecution complex.
I want to go home.
And so, meeting a familiar face in this place brought a small warmth to her heart.
But then, she felt the hand holding hers let go.
Otto released her hand, stood up, and started walking towards the door.
Watching his retreating back, Fu Hua subconsciously reached out to him.
"Don't leave…"
Here, he was the only person she knew.
The tide of loneliness that threatened to swallow her whole came rushing back.
Hearing her voice, Otto turned and saw the expression on her face.
For some reason, his heart skipped a beat.
It was a look of vulnerability that Fu Hua would never show to anyone in the next era.
He suppressed his original mischievous impulse.
"I'm going to make you some congee. You must be hungry after sleeping for so long," Otto said with a smile.
"You rest here. I'll need to change your bandages later."
"Okay," Fu Hua replied softly, lowering her outstretched hand.
Seeing her expression return to normal, Otto left the room.
He did intend to make her congee. He went to the kitchen and, borrowing ingredients from Carol's pantry, began to cook.
However, as he chopped the vegetables, he couldn't get the vulnerable look on Fu Hua's face out of his mind.
She really is like Kiana.
Neither of them can stand being alone.
But the Celestial he knew was different. Over fifty thousand years, she had long since learned to adapt to solitude.
Or perhaps it was precisely because of this that the Celestial, after spending time with Kiana and Mei, chose to rebel against his methods.
As he silently cooked, Otto's mood grew slightly somber. Every time he got close to the Valkyries, he would peel back their outer shells and see the soft hearts within.
Because the position of Schicksal's Overseer is the closest one to the Valkyries.
The optimistic paramecium secretly feared being abandoned. The strong-willed cook harbored a little girl inside. The solitary Celestial hated being alone.
Though they were Valkyries fighting on the front lines against the Honkai, they were still just ordinary girls.
Otto realized that he truly loved these dazzling Valkyries.
He wanted to bathe in their brilliant light.
These radiant suns… he wanted to hold every single one of them in his hands.