Behind-the-scenes video of the beginning of Honkai.

However, humanity at that time was unable to withstand the Honkai, and in the end... they perished.

Project Stigmata – It is because of Dr. MEI’s great project that human civilization has been able to be reborn quickly after destruction.

Finally, humanity rose again—

"However, the Stigmata Project is merely the last gasp of the losers. The so-called rebirth is nothing more than the defeat of the Stigmata Terminal, which has been repeatedly defeated by the Honkai."

"It's just reviving the civilization of the defeated, what's there to be happy about?"

Otto appeared on the live stream. He knew everything the Human Union had done, but in his view, none of it mattered. They were just losers rising again from the corpses of the losers.

"Don't take yourself too seriously, Otto! We can even destroy Herrschers now. Humans are no longer like they used to be, kneeling down and begging for your protection!"

"That's not quite right. Bishop Otto has undoubtedly made significant contributions to the fight against the Honkai. Since ancient times, Schicksal has also been fighting all over the world, eliminating many disasters caused by the Honkai."

"Now that humanity has risen to prominence, if we could have the support of Bishop Otto's unique experience, it would be like adding wings to a tiger."

"As long as you are still willing to fight for humanity, we can forgive and forget, and the Human Union will definitely welcome your return."

"Hehe, you've all been blinded by a false sense of victory."

"If you want to become the master of human destiny, you must forge your own path. Blindly pursuing the afterglow of the dead will only send you to the grave."

"Let's end this conversation here to save face for all the countries involved, Merlin. You don't just want me to watch this farce, do you?"

"I'm also helpless about this. This farce is just as meaningless as I imagined."

Merlin also interrupted the topic. Now, she and the former Bishop Otto of Destiny can be said to be playing good cop and bad cop respectively. Her original purpose in releasing Otto was to make him a threat to put pressure on various countries and make them unable to leave the Human Alliance. Judging from the current situation, it seems that the move she made back then was undoubtedly successful.

"Gentlemen, according to Mr. Otto's assessment, I believe that these negotiations have broken down."

"But please rest assured, humanity's power will only grow stronger day by day, and we no longer need to live in the shadow of destiny and collapse."

"Let's continue our conversation on the battlefield, Otto."

—Sizzle.

"Ella, how's the parameter adjustment for the Glorious Covenant going?"

After concluding his conversation with the human alliance, Otto asked Ella, the AI ​​of the Glorious Covenant.

"All the necessary functions are ready, and we can move on to the final debugging stage."

"Very good, activate the optical module. I don't want any other guests to disturb me now."

"Then we'll leave the final tuning to Flora. Kallen, Kiana, it's time for us to move."

"..."

This universe's Kiana also appeared before everyone for the first time. Unlike the Kiana from Honkai Impact 3, although the two look somewhat similar, everyone can see that they are different. For example, the Kiana's temperament is more mature.

"Let's go, the truth you crave lies ahead..."

……

Led by Otto, Kiana and her companions also arrived in the Atlantic Ocean at the sunken Second Research Institute.

[Identity data verification complete, Kiana, confirmation complete.]

The defense system has been deactivated.

Velvi (Memory): "Wait a minute, if I remember correctly, isn't the ancient civilization of this world over 80,000 years ago? Then how come the activation key for the Stigmata Terminal is Kiana?"

Mebius (Memory): "Could it be that Kiana already existed in that civilization era more than 80,000 years ago?"

Bronya: "More than 80,000 years ago... Kiana in this world seems to have been a ten-thousand-year-old demon!"

Kiana: "Pah! What kind of ancient demon are you? Bronya, are you asking for a beating?"

Bronya: "I'm not talking about you, you idiot Kiana. After all, the Kiana from this universe isn't you. She's even a different person. Maybe she really is a ten-thousand-year-old demon?"

Kiana: "Bronya, what you said makes a lot of sense, but I still feel like you're insulting me. I don't have any evidence right now, but you better not let me find any, or you'll be sorry, you little dwarf."

After all, although they are not the same person, they have the same name. It feels like Bronya is talking about Kiana in this world, but it feels like she is insulting her.

Otto: "The creator of this Stigmata Terminal is Dr. Mei, which means that Kiana existed in the distant past when Dr. Mei was still alive, and it is very likely that she knew Dr. Mei!"

His guess was right; there was indeed something wrong with Kiana in this world, and she was a key figure.

"Kiana...recognized my name..."

Even Kiana herself was quite surprised to see her name on the list.

"It's truly astonishing. Not long ago, this was just a piece of the floating islands that Destiny was researching, but now it has become like a fortress..."

"These defensive measures are ultimately just for show. Putting aside the fact that we have the access keys, if the people here were to launch an attack, we simply wouldn't be able to stop them from coming out."

"Lord Otto, what happened at the meeting with the Human Alliance?"

"That was just a formality with Merlin. I just didn't expect that the Human Alliance could revive the ancient God of War in such a short time. Now, the morale of all countries should be high, and they should feel that they can wipe out the Honkai on their own."

“In that case, I will become dispensable, and my value as a person will disappear.”

Otto's face also showed a mocking expression, but it was unclear whether he was mocking the alliance or himself.

"If that's the case, I don't understand... Lord Otto, why didn't you just say that from the beginning..."

"This is all for our lovely saintess, Kiana, don't you think?"

“You can just kidnap me, just like before, without needing anyone’s permission.”

Kiana's eyes were filled with hatred. Her mother had died under Otto's cannon, and Otto was also a big reason why she was in such a miserable situation. How could she not hate him!

"That won't do. I hope you can use your own will to understand and accept the truth of this world."

"Become my strongest ally and fight against the real enemy together; that is the outcome I desire."

"Alright, we've arrived."

Chapter 352 Holy Mark Terminal

"This enormous machine is... even from a distance, it's clearly visible that it's completely integrated with its surroundings, becoming a single entity. In human terms, this machine is like the heart of the entire island, completely different from what I saw next to Janna before."

"In order to better perform the functions of distributing and recovering the Stigmata, it is necessary to transform the floating island into a second 'Galan'. This is my judgment."

In response to Kiana's question, the AI ​​system Mona, the administrator of the Stigmata Terminal, suddenly appeared and answered her question.

"You did appear, Mona."

Otto looked at Mona, and Mona also turned her gaze to Otto.

“Mr. Otto, you still haven’t let go of your obsession with the Stigmata Terminal.”

"The Stigmata Terminal has a function you've never imagined, and it will be the key to unlocking the 'God' realm."

"Are you going to stick to your choice?"

"Human technology is developing rapidly. According to the calculations of the Stigmata Terminal, the time required for global civilization to reach its recorded peak will be reduced by ten years."

"Humanity will possess the strongest anti-Honkai power in history, Mr. Otto. This is an era full of hope."

"I still firmly believe that humanity can never defeat the Honkai in these meaningless cycles."

Otto remained steadfast in his convictions and rejected Mona's claim.

"Aren't you going to stop me?"

“Your actions are just one example among countless calculations,” Mona replied. “If this is the end of this era, then my task is to record it and add it to the next calculation.”

After finishing her sentence, Mona looked at Kiana and said, "The important thing is your choice, Kiana. Do you really want to use the permissions to activate the Stigmata Terminal?"

"I...I want to know the truth." Kiana hesitated for a moment, but finally raised her head with a very firm gaze: "If I use the Stigma Terminal, I might be able to figure out the mystery surrounding me."

"So, this time I'm not going to run away!"

"I understand!"

Mona nodded, and as she spoke, a mechanical voice rang out.

"Permission code detected, code recognized: HO00; KIANA, recognition successful, preparing to connect to authorized individual—"

"The power of the Saintess..." Kiana stared at the Stigmata Terminal, her eyes lost in memories, "Many wars and disasters have occurred in the struggle for this power."

"Dad, Mom, Sister Qiluo, and many others, everyone was caught up in it and died..."

"But it is precisely because of this power that I can protect more of my comrades." In that instant, Kiana's azure eyes transformed into a dazzling gold. "Let me see what your true nature is."

"The Alaya consciousness is being activated. Welcome back."

"How could this be? You...you are..."

……

Meanwhile, as Otto and his group were taking action, Merlin of the Human Union also learned of Otto's plans and began her own operation.

"Is Otto finally making his move? It seems the time has come."

"You waited all this time, magician, what is your true purpose?"

"If it's just to activate the Stigmata Terminal, then you could have just taken Kiana from the beginning."

After all, Merlin could have easily killed Otto, but what happened? She didn't. Instead, she chose to let him go. Given the current situation, there's no reason why this wouldn't make sense.

“I think you know that there are quite a few people who want to win Otto over.” Merlin also explained to Cocolia, “If he wipes out Schicksal completely, it would be a fatal blow to human civilization as a result, which can be described as humanity completely losing the power it once had to fight against the Honkai.”

"That's why countries have allowed Otto's arrogance to flourish."

Cocolia also understood the importance of destiny; otherwise, the various countries wouldn't have allowed Otto to act so arrogantly in front of them.

"Heh, so I gave those council members a chance. But unfortunately, Otto won't listen to them."

"Those who consider themselves the masters of human destiny will not make the decisions that ordinary people would make."

"You actually have high hopes for Otto, even though he was the one who started the destruction of Destiny."

"It's just an objective assessment. Those who truly lead an era must be people like him. I know him."

"However, the negotiations have broken down, and no one will expect Otto to reform anymore. Now that he is going to take action against the Stigmata Terminal, there is no reason to sit idly by."

"Stop Otto and seize the Stigmata Terminal as well, Cocolia. Only then can humanity truly regain its glory."

"It's the same old theory, fine, but before that, you need to be mentally prepared."

"The soldiers of the Human Alliance are not very useful in this battle, and my Titan Legion is even less capable of being used as the main force to attack the Stigmata Terminal."

After all, there are many things on their side that are useless in this battle to seize the Stigmata Terminal. If they don't have any trump cards, they probably won't be able to beat Otto.