Time passed. Otto and Fu Hua continued to stand side-by-side, neither of them speaking.
This was enough to make the Herrscher of Corruption in the black box want to start cursing.
This Herrscher is still waiting to get out!
However, Otto hadn't forgotten about Rin. After a sufficient amount of time had passed, he let go of Fu Hua's hand.
"My old friend, you must be tired. Go and get some rest."
Her hand, which had been held the entire time, was suddenly released. Fu Hua subconsciously grasped at the empty air a few times.
"Mm."
Fu Hua responded with a cold tone.
But then, she continued.
"Will you be alright here by yourself?"
If it had been the original her, she would have simply turned and left without another word.
Otto turned his head to the side and looked at the still-frosty Celestial. A smile formed on his lips.
"Are you worried about me?"
"Hmph." Hearing Otto's words, Fu Hua's heart skipped a beat. She turned her head away, not looking at him, and walked towards the door alone.
However, just as her hand grasped the doorknob, Otto's voice came again.
"What do you think of the name Fu Shi?"
Fu Hua's hand froze on the doorknob.
He remembered!
It was just a playful remark from a distant memory.
Fu Hua remained silent. She didn't speak. After a moment, she finally pulled open the heavy door and left.
Otto watched her leave, a smile on his face.
Despite the bond forged over fifty thousand years, getting Fu Hua to throw herself into his arms right away was unrealistic.
Although the prospect of continuing the Apocalypse bloodline was very tempting, Otto hadn't mentioned a single thing that happened in the illusion since they woke up.
Fu Hua's heart was surely struggling to reconcile the two identities of her "Brother Otto" and the "Schicksal Overseer."
Therefore, after waking up, Otto had been playing hard to get, deliberately letting Fu Hua think he was still the same cold and heartless Schicksal Overseer.
Then, he would inadvertently reveal a trace of gentleness.
He was helping Fu Hua merge the two completely different images into one.
Otto was the Schicksal Overseer, and he was also her Brother Otto.
Even though it was an illusion, their fifty thousand years together were real, like an entirely new life.
And his final sentence would make it difficult for Fu Hua to forget their time together on Taixu Mountain.
"Fu Shi" was merely the result. By telling her the result, she would be unable to forget the process.
What they had done was a bargaining chip in Otto's hand.
Otto was gradually, bit by bit, increasing Fu Hua's acceptance of him.
It was like many situations in life: when you don't reject your boss for putting his hand on yours the first time, then you can't blame him for putting it on your leg the next time.
Otto let out a soft chuckle.
He was in no hurry.
The leaves of a zongzi must be peeled one layer at a time.
What's more, in the story of Fu Hua's life, he was her only option.
In high spirits, Otto turned his attention to the black box and picked it up.
"Rin, let's begin to fulfill our agreement."
But then, something occurred to him.
Otto used his Authority to contact Welt, who was far away at St. Freya Academy, and sent him a whisper from the abyss.
"Welt Yang, have you eaten yet?"
The daily quests on the system panel had just refreshed, which meant it should be the middle of the night.
Otto was deliberately disturbing someone's slumber.
He imagined that after being startled awake by this whisper, old Yang probably wouldn't be able to get back to sleep all night.
But he didn't feel a shred of guilt. Weren't Schicksal and Anti-Entropy supposed to make trouble for each other?
Smiling, Otto raised his right hand and tapped the black box lightly.
The Honkai energy condensed on his fingertip was enough for Rin's projection to construct two bodies.
The two souls within this black box would appear as pseudo-Herrschers.
Dark red patterns surfaced on the black box, a clear sign that the Herrscher of Corruption had accepted the Honkai energy.
Immediately after, a phantom appeared next to the black box.
The phantom gradually solidified.
A pink-haired girl with a sensual and slender figure appeared on the table. Her eyes were tightly closed and her breathing was steady; she was still sleeping.
What was particularly eye-catching was the pair of strange, long ears on top of her head.
They were... donkey ears.
Otto's eyes widened slightly. For some reason, his fists clenched subconsciously.
Perhaps this was post-traumatic stress disorder.
Once bitten by a snake, ten years of the shakes.
Otto stared at the pink-haired, donkey-eared girl before him.
This was not Higokumaru.
Her name was Yae Sakura.
A true vixen.
Still, Otto took a moment to appreciate Yae Sakura's seductive beauty.
What a great figure.
Fu Hua simply can't compare.
"The gods grant me classics, to master the art of war, to strategize from within the command tent—King of Legality."
The self-suggestion was cast.
Like a safe word.
Each time Otto spoke the phrase corresponding to an Authority, it would unleash its respective power, preventing him from being overwhelmed by using too many Herrscher powers at once.
On the unconscious Yae Sakura's body, on her voluptuous and graceful form, a set of clothes appeared.
It was an off-the-shoulder miko outfit with a black undergarment, a shimenawa rope tied around her waist, a plaid miniskirt, and long purple boots. A pendant bearing the mark of the Fox God hung at her waist.
And on her slender legs were long, white stockings.
Otto felt that white stockings suited Yae Sakura very well.
Perhaps it was the urge to defile something pure and beautiful that was at work.
Looking at the Goushinnso Memento outfit he had created, Otto tilted his head, feeling it wasn't quite right.
After some thought, Otto raised his hand and wiped away the miko uniform he had just constructed.
It was like playing a dress-up game.
He constructed a new outfit. This time, it was a black, puff-sleeved nun's habit.
The black habit, unable to conceal her slender figure, was adorned with faint gold patterns and had lace at the cuffs. Below, she wore a white miniskirt and white stockings.
This was the same style Kallen Kaslana had once worn.
However, the Kaslana family crest on the habit had been replaced with the Apocalypse family crest.
A smile spread across Otto's face, as if this had satisfied some perverse taste of his.
But Otto was a little confused. Yae Sakura was out, so where was Higokumaru?
The Honkai energy he had given Rin was more than enough.
He looked at the black box in puzzlement. The faint red patterns on it had dimmed.
Then, the surface of the black box began to twist, like a Rubik's Cube being turned.
In an instant, a tachi of black and red quietly came to rest on Yae Sakura's body.
This was the legendary Divine Key, Jizo Mitama!
When the Herrscher of Corruption, Rin, relinquished her power and past resentment, the program within the black box activated, forging the Herrscher's power into a Divine Key.
And the Herrscher of Corruption had been extremely cooperative.
But, where was Higokumaru?
Otto looked at the sleeping Yae Sakura.
Higokumaru's soul should be inside Yae Sakura's body.
Is she going for a one-body-two-souls situation?
There was no need for that. The Honkai energy he provided should have been enough to create two pseudo-Herrscher bodies.
And if there really wasn't enough energy, couldn't she just ask him for more?
Puzzled, Otto reached out and grasped the black and red tachi.
Whatever Higokumaru was thinking was none of his business. All he needed was to get Jizo Mitama.
His hand trembled slightly as he held Jizo Mitama. Now that he possessed this Divine Key, it meant Anti-Entropy could no longer stand in his way.
He was becoming safer and safer.
But he suddenly felt something strange about the Jizo Mitama in his hand, as if something was connected to it.
Otto looked at Yae Sakura.
He understood what the Herrscher of Corruption had used the remaining Honkai energy for.
The Herrscher of Corruption had left a hidden trick in Jizo Mitama.
When the black box's program activated, the Herrscher of Corruption had corrupted the black box itself, modifying parts of the program.
The Herrscher who had willingly given up everything had bound Jizo Mitama to Yae Sakura.
If anything were to happen to Yae Sakura, Jizo Mitama would turn into scrap metal.
This was... for Yae Sakura's safety.
The Herrscher of Corruption had given up her own chance at a physical body.
"Heh." Realizing the Herrscher of Corruption's little trick, Otto chuckled.
"Fine, fine. As per our agreement, I will protect your sister."
"And I will arrange for your body as well. That is something I promised you."
"Get some good sleep."
"Higokumaru."
Saying this, Otto, holding Jizo Mitama in one hand, lifted Yae Sakura into his arms in a princess carry.
His movements were gentle and light.
Like a prince preparing to awaken Snow White.
But Otto merely carried Yae Sakura away.
He was not Yae Sakura's prince. Not yet.
And the girl in his arms just slept on, peacefully.
---o---