The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

Su Qi shook his head and said, "Wrong. The body may be, but the soul is definitely not. Don't forget that I am a man who can use magic and can directly observe the soul through inspiration. In my eyes, the soul in this girl's body is obviously newly born. Let alone five hundred years, it's not even a year old."

"impossible!"

Otto stated unequivocally, "I sensed it when I resurrected Kallen. Her soul and personality weren't copied from my memories, but rather summoned from some mysterious void, which should be the afterlife or the underworld. Moreover... I've confirmed that Kallen's memories are complete, and there are many things I didn't know either."

As the Herrscher of the End, he naturally also possessed the abilities of the Eighth Herrscher, who was the original form of Feather Dust. In order to ensure that he was not deceived, he actually secretly entered Kallen's consciousness to observe her, but the latter did not notice.

Of course, she discovered it now, and immediately looked over with displeasure, "Otto, did you peek into my memories?"

"I'm sorry, but I have to do this to verify your identity. I hope you can understand."

"You... sigh, never mind, let's talk about this later."

Across from him, Su Qi sighed softly, "Sigh, Otto, it's difficult for me to explain this to someone as clueless about magic as you in a short time, do you understand?"

"Hmph, you can't produce any evidence at all. You're just trying to distract me with lies."

"No, no, no, you're wronging me. The reason I reminded you wasn't to distract you and gain an advantage in the battle. I'm not that kind of despicable person. My real purpose was simply to enjoy the look of despair on your face when your hopes were dashed. It's very simple."

Otto: "..."

Karen: "..."

Is this man a demon?

"Oh, right..." Su Qi seemed to suddenly remember something, clapped his hands, and smiled at Otto, saying, "Otto, have you heard of the Akasha Records?"

"The Akasha Records?"

The so-called Akasha Records, simply put, are world records residing in the void, a collection of knowledge and memories of all beings throughout countless eons, similar to the Buddhist concept of "Alaya-vijnana." This is a well-known esoteric concept, so the knowledgeable Otto was certainly aware of it.

He immediately realized, "You mean to say that Karen's memories weren't copied from my memory bank, but rather copied from Akasha's records?"

Chapter 71 Can you perform that again?

Su Qi denied it, saying, "No, I didn't say that."

Otto's gaze grew colder. "So what exactly do you mean?"

"It doesn't mean anything; it's just an example or analogy."

Su Qi continued unhurriedly, "Although I can tell that this young lady's soul has only recently been reborn, I only glanced at it and don't know how she acquired the exact same memories as Kallen Kaslana. However, I believe the situation is the same as the example I just gave... She is not Kallen Kaslana herself from five hundred years ago, but a newborn with Kallen's body and the same memories as the original Kallen."

"In the end, you still can't prove whether what you said is true or not."

"No, I actually have a way to prove it."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, you're the one asking me for a favor, yet you speak to me like that... Otto, do you still think you're that Archbishop of Schicksal who commands everyone? No, right now you're just a robber and a criminal against humanity, wanted by all nations, forced to steal materials from other countries to conduct experiments. Oh, right, we should also add the title of enemy of all humanity, the Herrscher of the End."

Su Qi sneered, "So Otto, I have absolutely no obligation to help you. If you want an answer, you'd better understand your place first."

The Ultimate Lawbringer!?

Karen, who had been watching anxiously from the sidelines, trembled upon hearing the word, her face showing shock and disbelief.

Although Otto had just confessed to her that he had seized the power of a Herrscher, he had never mentioned that he had become the "Herrscher of the End." As the former strongest Valkyrie of Schicksal, she knew very well what the Herrscher of the End meant. It was an existence on a completely different level from ordinary Herrschers, the strongest enemy of all humanity, and Schicksal's greatest hypothetical foe. And now... Otto was actually the Herrscher of the End!?

what should I do?

Karen instantly put her true identity out of her mind and began to rethink the agreement she had just made with Otto.

If it were just an ordinary Herrscher, even if she lost control, humanity would have a chance to deal with it, and she herself might have the confidence to handle it. But if it were the Herrscher of the End... once she lost control, she would have no power to fight back, let alone stop it in time. At that time, all of humanity would face annihilation.

Otto's sudden act of killing himself just now proves that he is not immune to the possibility of losing control, and the possibility is quite high. If he can kill himself without hesitation, how could he possibly show mercy to anyone else when his opponent is corrupted by the Herrscher personality?

What should I do? What can I do? Should I betray Otto, who has sacrificed so much for me, for the sake of all humanity? Should I put all of humanity in danger for Otto's sake?

Karen once again questioned her own heart, her eyes filled with pain, inner turmoil, and sorrow. Why must she, having just been reborn, have to make such a cruel choice?

"Karen! Ignore his nonsense. I'll explain these issues to you in detail later!"

Upon hearing Su Qi's words, Otto immediately realized something was wrong. He then noticed the change in Karen's expression and immediately tried to salvage the situation.

"Then we'll figure out some plausible reasons to deceive her?"

Su Qi's lips curled slightly as he looked at Karen, and he began to add fuel to the fire with amusement, "Miss, do you know how many heinous and inhuman things our former Archbishop of Destiny has done in the past five hundred years in order to resurrect you?"

"Shut up!"

Otto said in a deep, cold voice, staring intently at him, "Is it not enough that you stole the Mandate of Heaven from me for your own power and desires? Now you're even going so far as to ruin my reputation? I don't care how you frame or slander others, or how you trample my name into the mud, but I will never allow your shameless lies to taint her!"

Otto was preparing to portray himself as a victim. Although Su Qi had already released his incriminating evidence across the entire internet, distributing various high-definition materials for free, and even going so far as to have people disguise themselves and splice together the evidence with certain adult films, causing widespread resentment and hatred towards Otto among his male fans, it was generally impossible for him to clear his name. However, if the opponent was a government of various countries, a powerful force that represented almost the entire world, then there was a possibility of framing and fabricating evidence.

Although the evidence of Otto's crimes released by the government is very detailed and contains a lot of solid evidence, the country's organizational power, propaganda power, and ability to control public opinion can completely whitewash the truth, and of course, it is also possible to whitewash the truth.

As long as there's a possibility, that's enough. When Karen questions him, he can say, "They are powerful, and if they want to frame someone, they can always find a reason." With his Oscar-worthy acting and meticulous planning, he might not only be able to get away with it but also gain a lot of sympathy and goodwill.

But that's without Su Qi stirring things up.

"Oh, oh, oh, well done! Wonderful! Absolutely fantastic!"

Su Qi clapped his hands loudly, his face full of exaggerated admiration, and said, "Teacher Otto's acting skills are truly unparalleled, leaving me utterly ashamed of myself. By the way, speaking of which, could you perform that again? You know, that one..."

At this point, he suddenly struck a JOJO pose, his right hand resting diagonally on his hip, his left hand spread wide in front of his face, and his voice became low and cold, mimicking Otto's tone: "Do you remember how many people have been sacrificed because of your own selfish desires? What a pointless question! Do you remember how many slices of bread you've eaten? What about upholding justice, what about sacrificing for others? In this world that is neither just nor merciful, such pointless thoughts, as worthless as rat droppings in a toilet, will cost you your lives sooner or later!"

“But I, Otto, have no such thoughts. I have only one simple and singular goal… only one! To resurrect Kallen! That’s all! That’s my only satisfaction! As for the process and methods, they don’t matter. As long as I can resurrect Kallen, I would burn the entire world to the ground without hesitation!”

Otto said coldly, "I never said such a thing!"

Karen gazed intently at him, her eyes serious yet hopeful, and said, "Otto, tell me, you haven't done anything immoral or inhumane for me, have you?"

"how is this possible?"

Su Qi laughed and answered quickly, "There's really no need to ask this question. Just think about how persistent and crazy he was in his pursuit of resurrecting you. Just think about how many experiments he would have to go through to achieve the goal of resurrecting a dead person, and how many of those experiments would violate ethical and moral taboos. You'll understand that it's impossible for him not to have done anything that violates human morality."

Damn it! At this point, simply avoiding the issue will only make Kallen more suspicious, unless… we use the Eighth Herrscher's abilities to interfere with Kallen's consciousness, but…

However, simple hypnosis and superficial interference with consciousness are difficult to sustain and are prone to flaws. In Otto's view, permanently distorting a person's will by external force is not much different from killing a person.

He wouldn't have hesitated to act against anyone else, but only Karen, only Karen, was someone he absolutely didn't want to interfere with in this way. Because doing so would be tantamount to personally killing the one he loved—the upright, brave, kind, and more beautiful than anyone else, Karen Kaslana.

Moreover, it wasn't the body that was killed, but the spirit. He could find a way to repair and revive the body, but the spirit was too delicate. Once it was forcibly distorted, even if it was distorted back to its original state using the same methods, it was difficult to guarantee that it would be exactly the same as before.

"Karen..."

Finally, facing Kallen's inescapable gaze, Otto sighed and said, "Yes, I admit that in order to resurrect you, I also conducted many human experiments that others considered taboo. But I knew that you would be resurrected one day, so even though I was anxious, I still considered your feelings. Most of the test subjects were death row inmates, and the rest were all given their consent... I know you don't like this kind of thing, but I have no choice. Even if you are angry with me, I will still do it."

"I have never seen such a shameless person!"

Hearing such evasive and distorted statements, Su Qi couldn't help but retort, "At least tens of millions of people have died directly or indirectly because of you in the past five hundred years, right? Just the death row inmates probably don't even amount to a fraction of the number of people who died in your laboratory."

Otto ignored Su Qi's sarcasm and simply looked at Karen, saying, "Karen, are you willing to believe me?"

The latter remained silent for a moment, then finally lowered his head with a complicated expression. His eyes, unseen by anyone, were filled with pain as he whispered, "I... of course I'm willing to believe you, Otto."

Compared to a strange man who suddenly appears and claims to be a fake, her best friend who has waited for her for five hundred years and gone through great hardships to revive her is certainly more credible. However, knowing that Otto is not particularly concerned about anything other than his close friends, she is certainly not stupid.

Since Otto, five hundred years ago, was willing to release Honkai Beasts to disrupt the execution grounds despite the large number of civilian casualties in order to save himself from execution, it is quite normal for Otto to sacrifice a large number of innocent people for experiments in order to revive himself.

To prevent the seemingly enemy from taking advantage of her, and to avoid being manipulated to harm her friend, she could temporarily trust Otto. However, the seed of doubt had already been planted. After this, given the opportunity, she would personally seek the truth. If it turned out that Otto was indeed lying to her, then…

Hearing the difficulty in Karen's words, Otto, though he had gotten the answer he wanted, felt no joy. He understood that Karen had begun to doubt him and would need to weave increasingly elaborate lies to cover it up. Thinking of this, a sense of resentment and jealousy inexplicably arose within him.

Just like five hundred years ago... All of this was for you, to bring you back to life... Why... why are you questioning me over those insignificant experimental subjects?

Driven by these complex emotions, he subconsciously asked a question, "Karen, I'm glad you're willing to continue believing me, but... if, I mean if, what that man said is true, what... would you do?"

As soon as he said it, Otto's expression changed slightly, realizing something was wrong.

No! How could I say something that would only make me more suspicious at a time like this? It's the Herrscher of the End! That bastard is up to his old tricks again, stirring up my negative emotions...

Despite suppressing the Herrscher of the End's personality once again, he couldn't completely escape the Honkai energy's corruption and the Herrscher of the End's influence, especially after Kallen's resurrection and in matters related to Kallen. The Herrscher of the End was right; Kallen was indeed his only weakness, and this weakness was irreparable.

"Otto, why are you asking this question?"

What's done is done. Upon hearing Otto's question, Karen's suspicions were indeed aroused, and her expression became increasingly complicated.

So what's the answer?

Su Qi, who was standing nearby, continued to stir up trouble, saying, "Miss, since our Herrscher of the End has asked so seriously, why don't you be merciful and tell him? I think he'll be eager to hear your serious answer."

“No, don’t worry about it.” Otto said apologetically to Karen, “I’m sorry, I didn’t think things through just now. Let’s just let that issue go.”

"No!"

Su Qi raised his hand like a primary school student in class and said loudly, "Teacher, please satisfy my thirst for truth and gossip and give me the answer."

Karen remained silent, while Otto angrily demanded, "Enough! What exactly do you want?"

Su Qi shrugged. "I'll smash you in, and enjoy your expression of despair and collapse. Didn't I say that before?"

"You really just wanted to use Karen to disrupt my emotions."

"No, I'm really telling the truth, whether you believe it or not, I believe it."

Otto sneered, "Is spouting nonsense without any evidence considered telling the truth? I'm no longer interested in arguing with you. If we're going to fight, let's go up there and not involve Kallen. She's innocent."

"Of course I have evidence. Just take a look inside my consciousness space and you'll know whether what I said is true or false."

"Ha, you're willing to let me invade your consciousness space?"

"Of course I'd like to. I'm a good person and always happy to help others, how could I not?"

As Su Qi spoke, he brushed his bangs aside, revealing his forehead. Then, he leaned his head forward, his face displaying a complex expression of a young woman forced into prostitution to make a living, being pinned down by an ugly customer, feeling helpless and sorrowful, yet forced to face it with unwavering resolve. He gritted his teeth and said, "Come on, but please be gentle. I've kept my chastity pure for twenty years, and this is my first time."

Otto remained silent, feeling surprised and uncertain at the other party's initiative.

Fu Hua once mentioned that this guy's mental strength far surpasses that of ordinary humans, and using Feather of the Void to enter his consciousness space actually made her vulnerable. Even though his ability to invade consciousness is now stronger than the Eighth Herrscher's, rashly intruding into his consciousness space could still be dangerous...

Seeing his hesitation, Su Qi said impatiently, "Hey, Otto, are you going to go or not? You're neither going in nor out, are you chickening out?"

Chapter Seventy-Two: The Clown

Otto ignored Su Qi's provocation and remained silent, focusing his mind on connecting with the Honkai Will.

If the Kallen standing beside him now isn't the real Kallen, then the Honkai Will that transmitted the method to revive Kallen should know better. Therefore, rather than risking entering the enemy's consciousness space, he should first question the Honkai Will. Whether the other party admits or denies it, he can obtain more information.

As the Herrscher of the End, the strongest apostle under the Will of Honkai, his connection with the Will of Honkai is far closer than that of the Second Herrscher, Sirin, so he can communicate directly with the Will of Honkai anytime, anywhere.

The next moment, as he concentrated his mind and called out in his heart, a response came from the other side.

Then, I felt a momentary daze and found myself back in that pure white space, where I saw myself once again, outlined by black and white lines.