Chapter 3: Chapter 3 Divination
Where Otto was currently situated was Schicksal Headquarters not the usual grounded base but a group of floating islands by the use of the Previous Era's Anti Gravity technology and powered by Honkai Energy.
Each island was divided into many sections, Honkai Reactors to keep the island afloat, training grounds for the Valkriyres with several accommodations for them, research labs to progress their current technology, storage of weaponry, and mechs.
Where Otto was working exclusively at is the Overseer's Sanctum in the Headquarters's Chamber of Seers...It being the largest island was not a very bright idea but it had the most defenses and of course it did...A sure sign of trying to hit me! I have 100 Layers of Barriers.
In the Sanctum, a tall, handsome blonde man with piercing emerald eyes was closely handling his papers at his desk and had an increasingly baffled face. Countless floating screens surrounded him as he kept working. Having physical copies of records was a momentary backup just in case the Schicksal Maindata base was breached
"100 Million in yearly property damage...Theresa's monthly Bitter Melon Juice Spending and her Gacha Spending quartering up to 10,000...At least she's following my footsteps."
Not in the Bitter Melon department though, Lin tried it once before it didn't taste any good only the taste of bitter soggy green filled his mouth when he drank the stuff.
It was quite easy to quickly work through the piles of paper and screens since with Otto's memories it was a breeze and his enhanced memory from the Seer Potion made it more relaxing.
Finishing the last paper he stopped for a moment as it was a familiar woman with bright red hair.
A Class Valkryire Himeko Murata.
Schicksal Candidate for Captain of Hyperion.
Combat Record: Excellent: Able to hold off multiple Templar Class Honkai Beasts and with a team consisting of B Rank Valkriyes defeat and severely wound an Emperor Class Beast before retreating.
Academic Record: Excellent: Has graduated with multiple degrees in Mathematics, Reading, and English and has a vast fascination with Space exploration but that dream has completely died out since joining Schicksal.
Having seen all of Himeko's records which were outstanding in various aspects except for some behavior of drinking a bit of alcohol he signed her for the position of Captain of Hyperion.
Hearing that title brought back some memories both fondness from having played Honkai Impact 3rd, seeing the story unfold as he saw his Valkriyes, and now unpleasant since most of the tragedies started with Otto but also ended with him achieving his goal of 'reviving' Kallen.
With the papers sorted Lin thought about what he should do or more importantly his goals.
He wanted to change the character's tragic fate into a better possibility.
Bronya being crippled down to her legs and having her emotions cut off from her brain.
Seele trapped in the Sea of Quanta and then becomes one with the Sea of Quanta in the later chapters.
Kiana's gruesome journey toward Godhood as the Herrscher of Finality or possibly an Emantor of Finality now.
Raiden Mei's isolation in school and eventual transformation to a Herrscher when her father, Ryoma Raiden was framed for illegal embezzlement.
Fu Hua's 50,000 years of loneliness and Otto shooting her in the head (he knew that she'd live)
Himeko's last lesson and her eventually tumble into the endless void.
He wanted to save them...But not dictate their entire lives.
Birds should be born without shackles and so should Valkyries.
A Overseer can guide them not force them.
And now with this System of his, he could make it happen and...He had plenty of plans to make it happen.
He didn't have a mental breakdown when he got transported here...He could only suck it up and grit his teeth through this but...He sometimes wanted to bawl his eyes out.
He could do that later but firstly he had to review what happened when he took his Sequence 9 Potion.
Firstly he unlocked his Spirit Body which is also everybody's Spirituality, a sort of mana bar to use Beyonder Abilities, forms of magic, and cast spells in LOTM. Every living being has a Spirit Body and Spirituality in the LOTM Universe.
'The Concept of Souls exists in the Honkai Universe and its surrounding games but it was entirely different in LOTM where a Soul is split into four levels, Spirit Body, Astral Body, Body of Heart and Mind, and Ether Body.
The innermost soul body, or spirit body, is at a soul's core and is also everyone's basic spirituality.
Outside the Soul Body is the Astral Projection. It is the means for the Spirit Body to communicate with the spirit world and with stellar space. It's considered an external manifestation of the Soul Body.
Further out will be the Body of Heart and Mind. From this point forth, it will combine with the physical body. It involves a person's brain and is an overall manifestation of their inferential, analytical, observational, and identification abilities.
The outermost layer is the Ether Body. It is a manifestation of a person's vital energies and physical form.
The System or Potion must have forced the laws of LOTM into my body and if I can see other people's Ether Body or any other aspect of their Souls it must be that I can perceive in a different way than normally in this Universe.'
Another subject was that now Otto was a Beyonder he assumed his body would follow the same Laws as well.
Whenever a person drinks any potion their Astral Projection (Astral Body) will wander one of the Realms in LOTM called the Spirit World.
The Spirit World is a higher dimensional plane of existence that one's Astral Projection can connect to and receive all sorts of information because the past, present, and future intersect or overlap with one another in that place.
'It shouldn't exist in the Honkai Universe unless...' Using his Enchanted Memory from the Seer Potion he recalled one sentence about the Spirit World.
The Spirit World didn't distinguish between directions, and the past, present, or future could even intersect there. It was like infinite knowledge, information, and illusions were spiritually gathered and compressed into a strange sea. It was different from the "world" as one would imagine according to usual concepts or logic.
'...So what I saw was the Sea of Quanta. Those bundles of light must have been near Bubble Worlds. The sound of the seas roaring was the sea itself, and it was trying to bind me to it, but luckily, my Astral Projection returned to my body.
That Gray Fog as well...I have to test something. Wait if I die do I drop Beyonder Charactertics? If so I am free loot unless they want to go instantly mad and they don't know any potion formulas so I am fine...At the least'
Standing up Otto was going to test out the abilities he gained from his Sequence 9 Seer Potion plus he needed to get used to it before drinking his Spectator Potion.
He acquired Spirit Vision, and Enhanced Memory, and gained access to Danger Intuition, in which he can now intuitively detect danger using his Spirituality.
Now, he was going to perform Divination Arts and Ritualistic Magic.
In most stories, these forms of Magic couldn't be used with a wave of his hand; they needed to be chanted with words that stirred up nature or items that needed to be cast alongside.
Luckily there was one breeze of Divination Arts called Dream Divination and so Otto repeated to himself seven times.
"What will Rita bring me for lunch,
What will Rita bring me for lunch,
What will Rita bring me for lunch,
What will Rita bring me for lunch,
What will Rita bring me for lunch,
What will Rita bring me for lunch,
What will Rita bring me for lunch."
When finished he entered Cognition and imaged a golden cube with distorted lines he then closed his eyes laying on the nearby comfy sofa.
With his eyes closed a familiar sense of darkness engulfed his entire vision and the noise of a roaring stirring sounds of the sea hit his ears.
Soon the scenes of a maid waking through the halls of the base were seen with his eyes in a third perspective view and was carrying a plate of steak sandwiches soon stopping at a closed door just as Rita was about to knock on the door the vision ended with a flash.
Otto opened his eyes once the Dream Divination was finished and noting it took a bit of his Spirituality.
His office space reflected against his eyes and he clinched his hand with a smile at his success. It seemed his Beyonder abilities weren't a scam if it was he might have died from embarrassment or worse crashed out from being tricked and bamboozled having his favorite power system being all a joke.
A sense of wooziness overtook his awakeness, having his Spirituality drained made him lightheaded and his eyes were slowly heading toward darkness. He didn't fight back against slumber and closed his eyes again.
Otto thought of what he did before he Transmigrated...All he remembered was pulling for a banner in one of his gacha games, Honkai Star Rail...He did a ten-pull on when the Fate Crossover came out plus he had set up a ritual for everything and the words he screamed were so profound he vividly remembered them.
'SABER PLEASE HAVE MY BABIES.'
Then he hit the button the proceeded with a 10-pull equating to 1600 Stellar Jades the Premium currency of his beloved Gacha Game. The screen flashed as the Astral Express parked at a station and the fluffy train conductor, Pom-Pom opened the door to reveal a white light starting to engulf his room.
...
'Fuck...Me, Did my words cause a Divine Being or a Random Omnipotent Being to cause my Transmigration?'
Otto thought of the prospect of Divining the reason why he Transmigrated but he immediately dismissed that thought entirely.
He was afraid of the backlash of looking at the Eldtrich Being that gave him his ability to act along the 22 Path of Divine plus a single quote lingered in his Spiritual Intuition warning him not to act on his curiosity.
"Do not stare at God!"
Otto made up his mind and decided to pursue this matter any longer not until he was fully prepared and strong enough to uncover this mystery.
For the rest of the time, Otto rested in his seat as he looked through the various paperwork. Turned his Spirit Vision off and on to get more accustomed to the sensation of being overwhelmed by the constant surge of lights.
He stopped his cycle of actions as the noise of faint heels silently stepped outside.
It was Rita, one of his S-Rank Valkyrie and his "maid". A daughter of a flowerist from Manchester that was until in 2007 when an Honkai Outbreak occurred in her hometown and when she was about to be eaten by an Honkai Beast a Valkriye dressed in a maid outfit named Ragna saved her.
After being inspired and saved by Ragna she decided to become a Schicksal Valkyrie and rising up the ranks to become a powerful asset to Schicksal and a Deputy to the Immortal Blades, the most powerful Schicksal Valkyrie Squad.
From his memories with Rita, Otto knew the way she walked was completely silent from the training as a Valkyrie but thanks to his Spiritual intuition he could "hear" her footsteps. Otto didn't have to worry about anyone sneaking up on him in battle but he'd still keep his guard up.
A crisp sound knocked on his door and a gentle sweet voice called out to him.
"Master, I have brought you lunch. May I come in?"
Otto soon responded with his usual casual tone.
"It's open..."
The door to Otto's office opened and a graceful figure dressed in a maid outfit stepped in, her face was softly toned by the sun, and her reddish eyes stared at the blonde-haired man with a gentle demeanor.
Otto was taken aback by Rita's appearance...The experience of seeing her looks and beauty in real life made him slightly stop for a second but he recomposed himself and smiled toward the maid.
Rita wasn't a character, this Maid of Schicksal was now a real living person...Someone who had dreams, aspirations, experiences, and most importantly a Soul. Still, he was gonna appreciate her as a person...After all, she had been his "Maid" for quite some time even if it was a facade.
After gazing at the maid, Otto took a look at what she was holding.
A silver plate was laid on her gloved hand and top was softly baked bread on top of the layers of lush lettuce, crimson tomatoes, and gently cooked sizzling wagyu steak cushioned by another piece of bread and steak sauce. Several sandwiches were lined on the plate facing upward and sliced up into quarters.
Rita presented the dish with a bow and let it down softly atop his desk, away from the now finished small piles of paper.
"I thought you were busy in the morning from all the loud laughter...So I brought extras for you." She slightly smirked at the last part and stood in front of his desk, peering down at him with her eyes awaiting his reaction.
Otto lightly chuckled at this action, "I made a breakthrough on one of my matters...Sorry if it disturbed you...Would you like to have lunch together to make up for it?"
"I wouldn't want to bother you, Master."
"It's not a problem, I insist." He waved his hand to join this scrumptious meal.
Rita merely smiled at the proposal with scrutinizing eyes and responded intently.
"Who's the target that requires assistance...espionage or assassination? I'll do whatever you command." Her demeanor took a turn, and that once warm expression turned into the frigid cold of a merciless reaper.
"When did my maid have the capacity to joke around with her Boss?" Otto asked amusingly.
The Maid went silent before responding with a burst of slight laughter, "When did my Master have the capacity to be considerate."
"I always was...I didn't have the opportunity to be."
"Hmmm...Your mannerisms, actions, tone, and voice seemed to have changed, Master is it because you're one step closer to your goal? I wouldn't be your maid if I hadn't noticed this...I am touched you're letting down your guard towards me." She put a hand on her heart acting as if her heart was indeed the case.
"Half and Half...I do trust you to an extent but not fully as literature goes beware of the maid who knows everything."
"Ha...Where should I sit Master...You wouldn't your dear guest to be eating while standing."
Otto waved his hand and a yellowish-gray fog converged into an illusionary mass constantly changing shape, unknown symbols covering it until it the form of a white-goldish plastic chair.
The Herrscher of Reason of the PE can recreate anything it understood as its core ability but since it was turned into a Divine Key it was severely weakened and restricted in that aspect.
Though it could still be simple objects such as a chair, and with the use of his Spirituality its creation turned out vastly different.
Rita's eyes were blank seeing such a specular sight...'This wasn't Honkai...Was this the breakthrough, Master Otto made?' She thought in her mind and curosity filled it but she held back from asking anymore.
"Thank you for the chair." Soon Rita sat down and faced the emerald-eyed Seer with a perplexed gaze.
Otto moved his hand took a bite out of the hearty prepared plate of sandwiches and savored the taste of the fatty juices gushing with each bite all while staring at his maid with innocent eyes.
Rita's face was still firm to this sight but in the Seer's sight, he saw the eyebrow of his maid twitch. She took a breath deeply and soon took a sandwich as well eating it as elegantly as possible...She was partaking in her Master's lunch and wouldn't want to be rude, even though she was the one who made it.
The Overseer and Maid dined together in a silent atmosphere, Rita knew her Master but not on a personal level...Even if his face showed a smile it was uncrackable developed masked to hide every single thought of his but right now he was chewing down on her cooking with a warm genuine smile.
That expression was reserved for those the Overseer truly cherished...His granddaughter Theresa Apocalypse, a clone of his beloved childhood friend Kallen Kaslana...Rita didn't how to comprehend this...Confusion, suspicion, and wariness but there was a little bit of hope in her heart, a feeling she didn't know why she had.
Her thoughts were interrupted when her Master's voice was heard in a contentful demeanor.
"Rita, I am going to ask you a hypothetical question and you'll have to answer to the best of your idea... I'd like to know your insights on a matter that can provide a substantial way of defeating the Honkai."
She wiped her face off with a handkerchief she brought and nodded. Her eyes took a sharp look and the demeanor around her transformed into that of a S-Rank Valkirye.
"I have a business partner who has a high standing, a good reputation, and a moral compass akin to a Kaslana...They are willing to help achieve a goal of mine but I have to do certain actions that aren't sound in the eyes of sane people...Not in the sense of it being morally corrupt but on a tightrope of absurdity."
Rita took a moment to digest his words and replied with a stern tone.
"Considering the moral compass you have, Master I am surprised you're asking me of this but...Since you're giving me your vulnerability of trust. I'd say when you have a choice of deciding what to do...Make one that you won't regret."
Silence engulfed Otto as his eyes closed hearing Rita's response before flashing an appreciated smile toward the brunette.
"A wonderful response as expect of my dear Maid."
Rita waved her hand in a flattered manner, "It was my pleasure...Oh, it seemed we finished my cooking faster than I expected...Would you like some more?"
Seeing as the plate was empty she stood up from the glowing chair and was prepared to depart again.
"Sure...Can you bring me four plates of food...It can be your choice what you pick...To the cheapest of bread or a tub of ice cream. To put it plainly it's an investment." Otto asked while gesturing four fingers counted on his hand and a cheeky smile on his face.
"Gluttonous are we...It'll be done in five minutes unless you want to make me use my strength to hasten it." Rita accepted the order and took a few steps toward the door.
Otto lightly chuckled, "Rather not have more potholes in HQ to pay for. So take your time I wouldn't want the island to suddenly fall down because of someone's carelessness of strength."
Before Rita reached her exit, she glanced back at her Master and asked, "May I know who you're business partner is?"
"...His name, is Mr. Simpleton."
Rita smiled upon hearing this and softly remarked with a teasing tone.
"What a foolish name."
"That is indeed the point...He is a Fool after all."