Honkai x LOTM: Godish of Mysteries

Before he Transmigrated into Honkai Impact 3rd, Lin read many books but one of his favorite ones was a Webnovel made by a Cuddlefish that Loves Diving is called Lord of the Mysteries.

It's quite a long read with 1390 Chapters in the first book and a second book that continues with 1000 Chapters. 

LOTM tells the tale of a Chinese man named Zhou Minguri who transmigrated to an alternate Victorian-era world where he sees a world filled with machinery, cannons, dreadnoughts, airships, different machines, as well as Potions, Divination, Hexes, Tarot Cards, Sealed Artifacts.

Even with its length, it had many wonderful ideas and concepts such as the Power System that encompassed LOTM.

Pathways or Path of the Divine refers to 10 sets of potions a person takes to receive supernatural or mystical powers ranging from being able to divine the future, creating fireballs, and controlling the weather. 

The Top Tiers of a Pathway can create Supernovas, cast a Sun that burns everything, accelerate matter to the point of destroying a planet, and corrupt someone's mind by just looking at them.

Each potion for a Pathway is categorized from the weakest Sequence 9 to the strongest Sequence 0 where you become a God of your respective Pathway. 

There is a level even beyond that called Above the Sequence, which requires Multiple Sequence 0 Pathways.

It was coincidentally similar to the Paths of the Aeons from Honkai Star Rail, but the difference is that in HSR, a path is a universal philosophy in which one is a Pathstrider walking along one's destined Path. 

While a Pathway in LOTM is gained by consuming a potion and becoming a Beyonder, this power comes at the cost of losing one's mind and becoming a monster beyond recognition.

They both share the same goal of becoming a God or an entity closest to Divinity by way of a Path...

There were 22 Pathways in Book 1 LOTM which symbolized a Concept.

Furthermore, a Pathway has a neighboring Pathway or Pathways in which you can safely switch over to another without going crazy, becoming a monster, or exploding into a puddle of pus.

Each Pathway had its unique abilities and specialties but there were some overlaps with similar powers. 

The 22 Pathways were also represented by a Tarot Card, a deck of playing cards used to foretell an individual's life or matters of Divination.

Looking at the screen shoved in his face, Otto had a satisfied grin he had many choices of Pathway he could choose, and judging by the fact he had two options it meant the possibility of him being able to take multiple Pathways was real.

When a Beyonder tries to accommodate a second pathway in LOTM with a potion...They'll explode, lose control, or slowly kill themselves at a quickened pace since drinking a potion in the wrong conditions is akin to drinking poison.

The only way to become a Beyonder with Multiple Pathways is to gain a Boon (Gift of Beyonder Powers) from a God of a Pathway by praying to them. 

There is a similar technical case where a Beyonder can switch to an Adjacent Pathway which directly can fuse with their old abilities, creating a mutation of their powers.

Boons are the most common way (mostly hidden) to become a Dual Pathway Beyonder and are also categorized by Sequence 9 to 0 but the drawback of Boons is that the more you acquire Boons the closer you become to that God from Mind, Body, and Spirit which slowly changes one's personality. 

If one's body and mind can't handle the power of a Boon "they would either turn into a monster, become a puppet of an unknown entity, or transform into someone else who'd treat things they cherished in the past with indifference."

Otto grasped his chin in a daze, he wasn't quite sure which one to pick. Every Pathway is outstanding and mostly balanced in the Higher Sequences as fights become mainly rock paper scissors shoot to counter each other's abilities and get a direct hit...Like that one show where people were fighting each other with Stands, a Bizzare Adventure.

In the Lower Sequences to Mid Level Sequences, several Pathways can outright overpower some Beyonders but the most important lesson is...There is no strongest Pathway only the Strongest Beyonder.

For the two Pathways, he'll choose since he had plenty of time before the Third Eruption (exactly 11 months from now) it's a simple choice for a Pathway that is weak in its early stage but has massive potential in Higher Sequences.

With his right hand, he clicked on one option from the Lord of the Mysteries section and the other God Almighty, prompting another screen to appear.

[Seer (S9) and Spectator (S9) have been chosen]

[Are you sure?]

[Yes] [No]

Otto quickly selected [Yes] but to his dismay another pop-up cursed him.

[Terms and Conditions]

Normally, back in his world, Lin would skim through those types of documents, but since his life was now on the line, he pulled out the drawer from under the desk and took out some black reading glasses for dramatic effect. Now he was ready.

[You have the opportunity to accommodate Multiple Pathways and possibly become a Twenty Two Pathway Beyonder reaching the level of the Original Creator (Creator of the Entire Lord of the Mysteries Universe)]

[The Negative Side Effects of consuming numerous potions will be negated but side effects from Pathways will not be included in this privilege and instead, the User will have to find a way around it.]

[Other than that, the user can normally advance using the Acting Method but Sequence 5, and Higher Advancement Rituals are needed before drinking a potion.]

[To advance a Beyonder's Sequence the individual would have to act according to the potion's name and digest the Beyonder Potion allowing Beyonder to advance in a safer method.]

[For the User's case Otto Apocalypse's 500 Years of Experience will intertwine with your Acting.]

[When you Act out your potion feedback will now apply and can be provided by powerful individuals: S Rank Valkryies, Herrschers, Gods, Aeons, Emantors, Archons, etc]

[To unlock the remaining Pathways one must achieve feats that symbolically connect to a specific Pathway]

[When reaching Sequence 2 (Angel) you do not need Anchors required for High-Sequences to maintain rationality and resist the strong inclination to lose control, the urges buried deep in their collective subconscious.  There is still a possibility of losing control if your mental state is on the verge of breaking ]

[Upon reaching Sequence 1 (Arcangel) the Uniqueness (the symbolism or authority of the corresponding Pathway and needed to become a True God) of a Pathway will be given.]

[Lastly, to ascend beyond a True God (Above the Sequence) be finished with this 'World' first]

[Are you willing to accept the Terms and Conditions to use this System]

[Yes] [No]

Otto pushed his glasses up and thoroughly read the exposition of text shoved right into his face. 

With the reading out of the way, Otto started to review the contents lingering in his mind rent-free.

Some Pathways had side effects changing gender, becoming taller like a giant, having a more cold-blooded personality, turning into a wolf once the moon comes out, transforming into a vampire, etc but they can be negated by certain methods.

For the Acting Method, he had to act out his potion in front of an audience or to the 'World' itself, and the more powerful the individual the more his potion will be digested.

This was a game changer to Otto since Herrschers were to bloom at a rapid pace like cabbages growing out in the dirt along with that he could travel to other 'Worlds' with the use of the Door (Apprentice) Pathway to seek out other acting opportunities.

'But the use of this method would work for lower Sequence Beyonders acting towards higher Sequence Beyonders and for my case...If my Sequence or should I say powers are much greater than I am trying to act towards the feedback will be less' Otto thought to himself

'I am going to have to experiment if I can simply farm digesting a potion in front of Rita or Bianka.' The Overseer grinned to himself realizing an exploit he could milk.

Every Pathway is unique and so has its Uniqueness but Otto could wait until he reached the required Sequence to gain one. 

"A Uniqueness can be shaped whatever shape by the one who Accommodates it...I want to make the Fool (Seer) Uniqueness into a bat and slug someone with it." He chuckled to himself and then with his gloved finger pressed on [Yes].

A moment of silence filled Otto's office after he pressed [Yes] he smiled in his seat anticipating why anything wasn't happening.

Until the feeling of a cool liquid filled his mouth into his stomach and the screen showed up again.

[Congrats on choosing your two starting Pathways and to make sure you don't explode from taking two potions at the same time "WE" decided to make your first potion the Seer one]

[You are a Seer now the first step on becoming the most Foolish God of all...Have fun!]

His body started to turn dead cold as the liquid surged into his stomach and soon bubbled his chest into a grayish warmth.

He fell to the floor of his office and his body started to shake and tremble as if tentacles were latching onto him within every cell of his body.

Otto's vision started to blur as various colors flooded his entire sight and bundled together to form a mesh mash of kaleidoscopic rainbows. 

The clusters of light started to float all around his office and they seemed to contain boundless knowledge.

Once the light moved in a sporadic motion it soon disappeared into a gray fog that covered his entire body and clung to him like worms crawling over dirt, festering around in his skin.

Murmurs of a sea churning drilled into his ears and the binding of ethereal vines wrapped his entire body.

His head started to feel a sense of throbbing pain a familiar sensation when he first came here.

After a while the office engulfed in the enigmatic fog took back its normal appearance and the experience of worms crawling inside of his skin, seas roaring in his ears and bindings subsided.

The blonde Overseer stood up and breathed in and out as he massaged his head at the migraine he got from the potion but soon a sound of glass shattering entered his ears and a sudden enlightenment pierced his head.

Otto touched his chest and slowly smiled looking at the newly popped screen.

[Sequence 8 Clown of the Fool Pathway is ready would you like to advance?]

"Is this what they call Pre-Farming!?"

Otto's surprise was immense from the fact that his Seer Potion instantly digested the moment he regained his senses. In LOTM, at some Sequences, a Beyonder can act ahead of time but he didn't realize it would apply to his unique situation

The only reason he could only concur on why this worked...It was one single condition from that System he glossed over.

'For the User's case, Otto Apocalypse's 500 Years of Experience will intertwine with your Acting'

Otto Apocalypse...Has been alive for 500 Years and Acting as the OverSEER for hundreds of years.

Even if he didn't act mainly as a Seer it would still count as similar to acting as one and with the fact that he acted in this position towards thousands or even millions of Valkryies in his lifetime it would accumulate until his potion fully digested in one go.

Ending his thoughts Otto soon noticed a blur of colors covering his eyes and a slight sensation in his head with murmurs of the unknown pounding at his ears.

He dismissed the screen and gathered himself.

Whenever anyone successfully advances their Sequence a surge of Spirituality will leak out if left unchecked the Beyonder will hear things they shouldn't have and potentially lose control from all of the ravings.

Otto quickly thought of an object to calm his mind after promoting Sequence 9 and cause his Spirituality to seep inwardly.

The Method was called Cogitation and the first step was to think of an object one could focus on. 

Otto quickly focused on the cup of wine on his desk and gazed at the outline of its structure until the pressure crashing onto his mind stopped and his colorful blurry vision was now in its normal state.

He started to blink rapidly to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary. Otto looked at the usual mirror in the room and the all-familiar outfit of the olden times but soon he took a closer look into his emerald eyes...It was deepened to the point of shifting his pupils to a darkish green.

It was the potion's physical manifestation of his powers but it'll return to normal if he completes the next step of Cogitation and enters Spirit Vision, the ability for Beyonders to see the unseeable such as ghosts and specters. 

Next, he had to exchange the object for something that didn't exist so he could enter Cogitation to place himself in a focused calm state. 

Otto soon imagined a golden cube made out of distorted lines and his mind became clearer as the image was created from his imagination. Each side of the shape was carefully outlined and connected to each corner, his foggy thoughts becoming more and more distinct

His chaotic emotions now were akin to a calming riverside and soon a gray fog seemed to seep into the office again with bundles of lights covering it. 

Otto turned off the lights in the room and shut the blinds on the windows.

He glanced at his hands which were red as fire but had a synthetic look to them.

'Most be because my entire body is made out of literally organic metal but it seems I still have a Soul or I gained one when I transmigrated here?'

The notion of a 'Soul' was what the Original Otto Apocalypse didn't believe in because of its lack of scientific evidence, but what Otto was looking at now with his Spirit Vision was his Ether Body, the outermost layer of his Soul, and a manifestation of a person's vital energies and physical form. 

The aura of colors on one's body, as seen by Spirit Vision, is an external phenomenon of the Ether Body. 

Their thickness, brightness, and color, can determine a person's health and emotional state.

Currently, the appearance of his arms, limbs, and parts required for movement is red.

His stomach and digestive system appeared yellow.

He took a look at his heart and lungs which appeared green.

His throat and nervous system were blue.

If Otto could look at his head and brain it would be purple.

To fully utilize Spirit Vision he needed a simple switch to access it and use the previous method of Cogination to get in and out of it.

Otto set up his switch by simply pressing his molar teeth together once to activate it and then twice to turn it off.

His vision returned to normal when he pressed his teeth together but a sense of tiredness filled his body.

"It seemed using Spirit Vision took a toll on my mind."

Otto turned back on the lights by the switch nearby on the wall close to the door and he unfolded the blinds causing the sun to send its warmth passing through the clouds into this old clown's office.

"Praise the Sun," Otto said with a smile as he spread out his arms akin to hugging the sun but that moment was taken back when he saw the piles of paper he drew a sigh and went back to his desk. 

Seems he forgot all about his duties all because of his Transmigration.

'Thankfully, I sent away Amber before I transmigrated otherwise, she would start screaming seeing me clinching my head in complete agony...Something must be wrong with me if I didn't scream during that'

It was currently 8:00 AM with the sun fully up even with his Path to Divine, Otto still had to do work...This must be the reason why Theresa wanted to escape from being Schicksal's Overseer.

"Paperwork can calm my mind."

He took a single paper out of the pile...A single report made his eyebrow scowl

"Durandal caused property damage again...Of course, she would."

...

Outside of Otto's office stood a beautiful maid with honey blonde hair adorned with Umbral Roses.

She held a plate of eggs benedict for her Master, the Maid prepared to open the door and serve breakfast but to her dismay when she heard sudden laughter and the words.

"Praise the Fool!" 

"Praise the Sun!"

Rita smiled and decided to come back for lunch since her Master was celebrating a monumental moment.

Before that with her phone, she recorded his words since it was quite amusing seeing her Master be so rarely passionate.

"I wonder what he's doing?"