Sirin released Otto.
She subtly shifted her hips, putting more distance between herself and the golden-haired man whose gaze was fixed on her.
Her hands moved behind her back, clenching and unclenching as if testing something.
Then she wiped her palms across her backside.
Otto's gaze drifted from Sirin to his own hands, inevitably settling on his peculiar left hand.
*I remember it being cut off, don't I?*
Yet he was still himself, not some being consumed and remade.
Otto also noticed the night-dark patterns etched across his body. The Honkai energy patterns, once vibrant and almost alive, now lay dormant, utterly lifeless.
*What's happening to me?*
A wave of relief washed over him, like a survivor emerging from a disaster. Otto began to question himself mentally.
*Void Archives, what's going on?*
He couldn't have escaped the Honkai energy's corruption on his own. This meant an external force had intervened, and Otto immediately thought of Void Archives.
*She's the only one who could have saved me.*
Almost as soon as the thought formed, a voice echoed in his mind, though it sounded terribly weak.
It was the Void Archives.
"Otto, I have two pieces of news: one bad, one good. Which do you want to hear first?"
Though her voice retained its usual soft, sweet tone, Otto could sense a faint tremor of fear within it.
"The good news," Otto replied immediately.
"The good news is you successfully escaped the Honkai energy's consumption. I opened a portal to the Sea of Quanta, allowing you to enter it."
"Honkai is a force born from the Imaginary realm. When Honkai energy enters the Sea of Quanta, it's like a foreign object invading. Therefore, the Honkai energy within your body was annihilated by the quanta. Congratulations, you've narrowly escaped death."
That was indeed good news. What could be more important than one's own life?
"And the bad news?"
"The bad news is that your body has inevitably been contaminated by the quanta."
The Void Archives used the word "contaminated" because her power ultimately stemmed from the Honkai, from the Imaginary realm itself.
"You've become tainted with the properties of the quanta. This contamination affects not just your body, but even your soul."
"I have some unfortunate news for you: even if you die now, you won't be able to be resurrected."
"Your soul's already bound to this body, and you must've noticed—it's not the same as before."
Otto used to have the body of an adult man, but now he was noticeably more slender. If his previous body was that of a young man, this one was more like an 18- or 19-year-old boy.
"And the world you're in now? It's not our world."
"If I had to guess, this is a Bubble Universe. You drifted through the Sea of Quanta and fell into it."
"You need to find a way out of here, back to the world we belong to."
"This place feels... off. I'm actually getting a strange feeling. Is it... fear? Can I even feel fear?"
"That's why I'm going to sleep now. Opening a path to the Sea of Quanta took a lot out of me, and this place gives me the creeps. I need to hide first."
"My consciousness will fade, but you can still use me. Just remember, without my guidance, you're on your own."
"Whatever you do, get out of this world."
With those words, the Void Archives fell silent, her consciousness slipping into a self-induced slumber.
Otto clenched his fist slightly. Having traveled from over five hundred years ago, he was now truly alone. He'd had the Void Archives as company, but now she too was going into slumber.
*No surprise there. She must have exhausted a tremendous amount of energy helping me escape the Honkai's grasp.*
*But why was the Honkai trying to devour me in the first place? Whatever, it's probably some future mess I'll create. I'm just taking the fall.*
*Still, if the Void Archives could open a portal to the Sea of Quanta to bring him here, why can't she open one to take him back now?*
He sighed, and a puzzled voice echoed nearby.
"Are you... a god?"
Sirin stared at Otto, who stood there shirtless in the freezing blizzard, seemingly unaffected by the cold.
Earlier, she had sensed a familiar energy radiating from him—the same energy she recognized from the Void Archives.
The discovery startled Sirin. This man possessed divine power... or perhaps he was *himself* a God!
*A god?*
Otto glanced at Sirin. Raised as an atheist, he had never believed in gods.
Otto glanced down at his slender frame, his pale skin now marked with faint, night-like patterns that lent him a faintly sinister air.
*My body truly is beautiful,* he mused.
*But where are my clothes?*
As the thought crossed his mind, a tremor ran through him. A wisp of night crawled across his skin, vanishing in an instant, leaving behind a perfectly tailored white shirt and black dress pants.
Otto wiggled his left hand, sensing that he could control this newfound power, though he had no idea what kind of energy lay dormant within him.
*At least changing clothes isn't a problem.*
*Have I become a Herrscher?* Otto wondered, a hint of curiosity flickering in his eyes. The Schicksal archives described Herrscher abilities that included the power to alter one's attire at will.
With a mental command, night enveloped him again, this time transforming into the white vestments of an Overseer.
Sirin's mouth gaped slightly as she watched this impromptu fashion show. She couldn't fathom why this golden-haired man was suddenly staging a wardrobe display right in front of her, but anyone capable of such feats clearly wasn't an ordinary human.
Then she noticed the man's gaze shift to her, a smile playing on his lips.
"You are...?" Otto asked, gazing at the purple-haired girl as if nothing had just happened.
Otto couldn't help but glance at the girl's hands, hidden behind her back. *What had happened just now that gave her leverage over me?*
He started to speak, then caught himself, realizing he'd nearly made a mistake. He began again, more carefully.
"My name is A..."
*This world is strange.* The Void Archives' words flashed through his mind. He quickly changed course.
"...Alpha."
It was proper etiquette to introduce oneself before asking for another's name, but Otto had withheld his true name.
He silently apologized to the girl.
Sirin stood up, brushing the snow off her rear.
"You're not a God?" she asked.
Otto considered this for a moment, then shook his head. There was no need to pretend to be a God in front of a girl he'd just met.
"My name..." Sirin gazed at Otto. 'This Alpha guy has a familiar scent... but also one I really hate.' "...is Sirin☆~."
"Sirin? That's a lovely name," Otto complimented, though the name sounded strangely familiar.
Racking his memory, he suddenly realized:
The Second Herrscher, who had died during the Second Eruption, had also been named Sirin.
The same name? What a coincidence.