The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

"Lord God..."

He strode forward, but after taking just one step, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind, causing him to pause slightly. He suddenly remembered that he had suppressed the consciousness of the Herrscher of the End, so his current identity was Otto Apocalypse, not the Herrscher of the End.

As a human who clearly defies "divine will," how will the Honkai consciousness treat itself? And will it answer its own questions?

But Otto quickly reconsidered and walked straight over. He was already here, and there was no time to back down now; besides, he was determined to get the answer to this question.

Surprisingly, when he arrived, the embodiment of the Honkai Will did not make any move, but simply watched him with a mysterious smile on its lips.

Otto's doubts deepened, but he still bowed respectfully and said, "My Lord, I have a question and hope you can enlighten me."

The other person smiled and nodded, responding directly in his mind that he could ask whatever he wanted.

Otto remained silent for a moment, looked intently at the other's face, and said in a deep voice, "My God, please tell me clearly, is the Kallen I resurrected truly the Kallen Kaslana from five hundred years ago?"

The voice of the Honkai Will flowed directly into his mind, "Of course, the person you resurrected is exactly the same as Kallen Kaslana from five hundred years ago."

Generally the same! ! ?

Otto was not pleased but rather alarmed, his heart pounding. If the two were truly the same person, he wouldn't use phrases like "identical," but would simply say they were the same person. Therefore…

"No two are the same!?"

He immediately stared intently at the other person and shouted, "You mean 'identical,' not the same person!? In other words, the Karen I resurrected is just a copy? Just a copy with the same body and the same memories!?"

The other party's tone remained calm and unwavering as they said, "According to the data I extracted from the Root Database, the person you resurrected is no different from Kallen Kaslana before her death, both in body and soul. From my perspective, she is Kallen Kaslana herself. However, from your narrow perspective, bound by false cultural ethics and other constraints, she may have some subtle differences from Kallen Kaslana five hundred years ago."

I've been scammed...

Otto instantly understood, and a huge surge of anger welled up from the bottom of his heart, rushing straight to the top of his head, almost burning away all his reason.

But he still tried his best to suppress the urge to tear the person in front of him to pieces on the spot, and gritted his teeth and said: "So, the resurrection method you gave me was fake at all?"

The black-and-white humanoid figure opposite finally revealed a clear smile, its upward curve full of mockery. "No, I don't believe it's fake. I did help you perfectly resurrect the experimental subject numbered GY1503654543, whose human name is Karen Kaslana. The reason you're not satisfied is simply because your perspective is flawed."

"That's not the real Karen at all!"

Otto roared, "No matter how well it's imitated, a fake is still a fake! And what I crave is only one thing: the absolute truth! I want the real Karen from five hundred years ago, not a copy with the same memories!"

"But that's impossible."

"What did you say!?"

His pupils contracted sharply, and a strong sense of foreboding rose in his heart. A crack appeared in his heart, which had been tempered into an incomparably resilient state over five hundred years.

Although that wasn't his current focus, his intelligence allowed him to glimpse a corner of the truth of the world from a few words he had just gleaned from the other person's words, and to vaguely grasp the other person's true identity.

Therefore, if even someone who clearly knows more than you denies the possibility of truly reviving Kallen, then given his knowledge and methods, it's probably even more impossible.

"Why!?" he immediately pressed. "Why is it impossible? Even you, as a 'god,' can't bring the dead back to life!?"

"Heh, there are only two ways to truly resurrect Kallen Kaslana from five hundred years ago: one is to rewind time on a large scale, and the other is to repair her 'soul.' But this world is not entirely man-made, and I do not have the ability to interfere with the rules of the world on such a large scale. As for the 'soul'... although this strange life form does exist, it is too mysterious. Even the highest-level high-dimensional civilizations I know of have not been able to fully understand its secrets. So the true resurrection you are hoping for is absolutely, absolutely impossible."

Impossible... impossible... impossible... impossible...

The judgment of "God" struck Otto's heart like a series of heavy hammer blows, shattering all his hopes, wishful thinking, desires, and obsessions.

He stood frozen in place like a weathered statue, his eyes lifeless, muttering softly, "So... Karen... will never come back?"

"Completely correct."

The humanoid figure, outlined in black and white lines, grinned exaggeratedly, its face finally revealing utter malice and mockery. "Truly resurrecting the dead of the past is impossible. Your five hundred years of obsession and pursuit are nothing but a joke. Hmm, an interesting joke. Do you know how gleeful I am whenever I see you betray humanity for that illusory goal and turn around to help me?"

"And ultimately, the individual named Kallen is a completely different kind of person from you. As a despicable, shameless, cruel, and ruthless sinner who betrayed his own race and committed numerous unforgivable atrocities, what makes you think you deserve redemption from her? Of course, from my perspective, I still admire you very much, which is why I easily bestowed the power of the Herrscher of the End upon you, because you... Otto Apocalypse, are the most ridiculous and laughable clown I have ever seen in all the generations."

Otto swayed, his face turning deathly pale, a twisted, grotesque laugh spreading across his face. "Heh...hehehe...so what has been the meaning of my life over these past five hundred years?"

The black and white lines depicting the human figure chuckled with delight, "Heh heh, so your purpose in life is to please me, Otto the Clown."

Otto was stunned and speechless, his heart sinking into the abyss of despair, but at the same time, another suppressed consciousness took the opportunity to crawl out.

……

"Huh!?"

Because of the different flow of time in the consciousness space, outside, Su Qi had just sensed that Otto seemed to be connected with a huge spiritual entity when he saw the Honkai energy on the other party fluctuate violently.

Chapter Seventy-Three: Smash Warudo!!

"Oh no, Otto's going to go crazy!"

Su Qi's eyes narrowed as he looked at Otto, who suddenly covered his face and muttered vague words like "meaningless," "resurrection," and "failure," his body surging with Honkai energy as if a BOSS was about to undergo a second transformation. Su Qi wondered if he should take advantage of Otto's casting time to unleash a burst of damage.

But he knew what the consequences of his punch would be, and he didn't want Otto to die so easily, so he decided to wait and see.

Kallen, standing nearby, paled drastically. She reached out and pressed Otto's shoulder, anxiously saying, "Otto, are you alright?! Calm down! Don't let the Honkai corrupt your mind!"

Then... *snap*, Otto suddenly grabbed the outstretched hand firmly.

"I'm fine, Kallen." He lowered his hands from his face and smiled. "It was just that Herrscher personality suddenly caused trouble, but I've suppressed it again."

“It’s good that you’re alright…” Kallen breathed a sigh of relief, then frowned slightly. “But Otto, could you please let go of my hand for now?”

"Oh, sorry, I accidentally used too much force."

Otto released his hand apologetically, then said seriously, "By the way, Karen, about that question earlier... could you give me an answer here?"

"Huh? Didn't you say we shouldn't worry about it?"

He looked down into Karen's eyes and said with deep affection, "I really didn't want to put you in a difficult position at first, but... I'm very sorry, I still want to know my place in your heart, so please grant me this willful request."

Karen fell silent again, while Su Qi watched coldly from the sidelines.

He had already realized that the consciousness controlling Otto's body was not Otto himself, but the Herrscher of the End.

After all, their consciousness fluctuations weren't exactly the same, and it was easy for him, with his extremely keen senses, to distinguish them. However, he didn't expose them immediately, because he had already vaguely guessed the reason why the Herrscher of the End did this, and he was also somewhat interested in the answer to the question.

“Otto…”

After a long while, under Otto's unwavering gaze, Karen finally spoke, her expression complex: "If you really did commit so many crimes and sacrifice countless innocent people as that man said, then I... cannot forgive you."

Even if she wasn't the real Kallen Kaslana, but just a clone with false memories, it didn't matter. Standing here now, she was certain that she couldn't turn a blind eye to such crimes, no matter what.

Otto, however, remained surprisingly calm. "Even if the root of all those crimes was to bring you back to life?"

"Although it is too late to make amends, I will still atone with my death."

"Even if I am your best friend, your companion who has supported you since childhood, the one who has risked everything to revive you and protect you for five hundred years, even giving up my human identity... Otto Apocalypse, who loves you deeply?"

Kallen trembled, slowly lowered her head, closed her eyes, her face full of pain and guilt, and said in a slightly trembling voice, "Otto... you should understand... if you were Otto, you should understand... understand what kind of answer I would give... so why do you still ask? Just like you are Otto... even if it's fake, I am still Kallen Kaslana."

Otto was silent for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter, "Good, well said! This is the real Kallen, this is the saint I love, the Kallen Kaslana who is kinder and braver than anyone else!"

As Otto's consciousness deepened, his personality sank further into despair, and as he felt his control over the body becoming more and more effortless, the Lawful Otto personality was overjoyed.

"Otto, can you hear me?"

He looked at Kallen, who was stunned and surprised that he was laughing instead of getting angry, and said with a smile, "Although she is just a fake with the same body and the same memories, as the God said, except for time, everything about her is exactly the same as the real Kallen."

"In other words, even if you really resurrected Kallen, the real Kallen would never forgive you for committing so many crimes and sacrificing countless innocent people. She would kill you first and then commit suicide. So even if you really find the perfect way to resurrect her, you can never truly 'resurrect' Kallen, let alone win her heart."

"Looking at it this way, your life is truly a complete tragedy. You clearly wanted to win the heart of the one you loved, but instead you pushed her further and further away, Otto... You once boasted that you were the wisest person in the world, but in my opinion, you are just a fool with low emotional intelligence who doesn't understand people."

The Otto personality deep within his consciousness did not respond, remaining silent as if he had not heard the words. But the Herrscher of the End sensed that the other's personality was rapidly disintegrating, almost disappearing.

"You are not Otto, you are the Herrscher of the End!"

Kallen finally realized that the real Otto had just been suppressed by the consciousness of the Herrscher of the End.

"of course."

The Herrscher of the End smiled and said, "You are not Kallen, but just a copy. However, although your soul is a fake, your body is real. Let me personally help Otto sever his last remaining thoughts."

Having said that, he reached out, activating the power of the Ninth Herrscher. An invisible gravitational pull instantly enveloped Kallen, intending to pull her over and kill her with his own hands. In his mind, as long as he used Otto's body to kill this imposter and personally destroyed the remains left by Kallen, Otto's last shred of obsession would also perish in true despair.

But at that moment, Karen's figure flashed, and she suddenly appeared next to Su Qi on the opposite side before the attack came.

The latter released the former's hand and said, "Ahem, buddy, I know you're very excited to have Otto's body, but have you forgotten there's a handsome guy here?"

The Herrscher of the End turned her head and looked at him, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Su Qi, so you still want to be my enemy?"

Su Qi smiled slightly, "The way you say that makes it sound like you'd let me go if I didn't become your enemy."

"That's true, then let's just kill you all here."

The words had barely left his lips when, without warning, everything in sight suddenly burst into flames, engulfed by a bright, blinding sea of ​​fire. The floor, walls, and load-bearing columns, all infused with soul steel, were instantly melted and evaporated by the intense heat comparable to the surface of the sun.

However, before the sound could even escape, Su Qi grabbed Karen and pierced through the entire underground base from bottom to top, bursting through the ground with a boom and leaping into the air.

The fierce winds and freezing cold of Antarctica instantly blew them both away. Fortunately, Kallen, who looked like an ordinary girl, was actually an S-rank Valkyrie with a physique far exceeding that of ordinary people. Although she also felt a bit cold, she could withstand it for a short time.

With a sudden thought, Su Qi randomly chose a direction, wrapped Karen in his telekinesis, and then burst into the air, instantly breaking the sound barrier, traversing hundreds of miles, and falling into a vast ice field covered in silver and white, with occasional brown mountain peaks protruding from the snow.

"Who exactly are you?"

As soon as she landed, Karen stared at Su Qi and couldn't help but ask.

Su Qi said in a serious tone, "Don't panic. I am a partner of justice just like you, and also a true gentleman."

As he spoke, he took out a fur coat that he had summoned randomly in the past from his personal space and draped it over Karen, who was only wearing a light and airy dress.

Feeling the softness and warmth enveloping her body, Kallen was slightly taken aback, then generously thanked her, before frowning slightly and saying, "But please answer me seriously, are you also an enemy of the Honkai?"

"Of course, I am the man destined to save the world and eradicate the Honkai."

"How arrogant!"

As the voice rang out, the Herrscher of the End, wearing a golden crown, a halo above her head, magnificent wings of light spreading behind her, and a gorgeous robe, appeared in mid-air as if she were a god. She slowly descended, leaving golden ripples in the void beneath her feet.

Su Qi reached out to stop her, gesturing for Kallen to stay behind him. He then turned to face the Herrscher of the End, raised his head slightly, and said with a smile, "Quite efficient."

The latter looked down at me with a smile on his face and said, "Faced with me who has mastered all the Herrscher abilities, you have nowhere to escape. So, to avoid wasting time, how about surrendering and accepting your death? Don't worry, a single blow will reduce you to ashes, and you will not feel the slightest pain."

Su Qi chuckled, raised his fist, and said, "See this? A fist the size of a clay pot! One punch from me can reduce you to ashes, so why don't you come up and accept your death?"

"You worthless human, let me show you just how big the gap is between you, a mortal, and me, the strongest apostle under the throne of God. Face your death in despair."

After speaking, the Herrscher of the End raised her palm towards Su Qi and Kallen below, and then...

boom!!

A shockwave exploded outwards, composed entirely of Honkai energy condensed to its extreme. A magnificent beam of light, over ten feet in diameter, crashed down, arriving before Su Qi in an instant. Although this was merely a casual strike from him as the Herrscher of the End, its power was still far greater than the Levadin Cannon, painstakingly crafted by Schicksal.

But the next moment, Su Qi raised his right hand, flicked his finger at the incoming light cannon, and gently flicked it.

Boom!!