Bizarre Honkai, a Wife-Chasing Crematorium

That wasn't important.

How could anyone else know that this world had already been destroyed once? That in a world filled with despair, Li Mo had rescued her from a hell teeming with blood and terror?

"Take me to Otto Apocalypse," Li Mo said calmly. His voice was soft, and the short sentence seemed to sap all his strength.

"Okay," Saori Tsuruyo agreed without hesitation, even though getting a direct audience with the Overseer of Schicksal, Otto Apocalypse, with her current humble status was nothing short of a pipe dream. After all, she was just a rookie Valkyrie. Her best title was assistant to the S-rank Valkyrie, Shigure Kira.

But Saori had her ways. No matter what it took, even if she ended up losing her job, her honor, and being thrown in prison, she would help Li Mo get to Overseer Otto Apocalypse.

Her hand-drawn map of Schicksal's core facilities finally had a use.

"Brother, come with me. We have to be quick," Saori said, glancing at the nearby crowd and the surveillance cameras on the street. At this point, it wouldn't even take a day for the matter to become known throughout Schicksal.

Once someone handed over the photos and videos to the media, and they were edited and uploaded, the difficulty of getting Li Mo to the Overseer would multiply.

Therefore, she had to act with the utmost efficiency and get Li Mo to Otto as quickly as possible.

Li Mo hesitated for a moment, but didn't resist. He let Saori buy him some clean clothes and then led him into a vehicle.

At the dormitory entrance, Saori first knocked out the guards. Her former comrades had no defenses against her; they never would have expected Saori to do something so decisive.

She brought Li Mo into the Valkyrie dorms, got him changed, and then used Shigure Kira's authority to take him directly into Schicksal's floating island headquarters.

Following the hand-drawn map and information from an insider, she finally learned that Otto was out.

"Doesn't Overseer Otto usually stay inside Schicksal? Why did he suddenly decide to leave headquarters today? I'm sorry, Brother, I don't have a way to get you to him right now," Saori said with her head bowed, her face full of apology.

Li Mo looked to the northwest. His pupils moved, and his Ghost's vision instantly enveloped the entire planet. Finally, his gaze settled on a lone, dim yellow light in a land of ice and snow.

"It's fine. I... know where he is. You should go back. Don't come looking for me."

Saori readily agreed, but before leaving, she turned and casually asked, "By the way, Brother, how is Captain Shigure? She took the 'gift' and went to your world to find you a few days ago. Did you receive it? Why didn't she come back with you?"

As she finished speaking, Li Mo's body froze completely.

"Brother?"

Time flowed by silently. After a long while, Li Mo answered in an extremely low voice, "She... is dead."

With that, his figure abruptly vanished.

A numb heart and a numb body, equally tragic.

If he stayed any longer, Li Mo was afraid he would be overcome with the urge to kill himself. That little bit of grief was exceptionally clear in his empty, Bizarre mind.

The one I loved was not a pool of crimson blood, not a shriveled human skin, but a sacred, yet gradually decaying corpse.

Saori stood rooted to the spot, her expression numb, muttering over and over, "Captain... Shigure... is d-dead? How... how is that possible... How..."

Shock and grief spread through Saori's heart like a thick fog. Shigure Kira had been like a mother to her, treating her with the utmost care, sharing all the good food and fun things with her.

Besides Li Mo, Shigure Kira was the closest person to her in this world. They had come out of hell together, sharing a deeper spiritual bond. No amount of personal gain could compare to facing death together.

But... she was just... dead?

Captain Shigure Kira... was dead?

Thud. Saori collapsed to the floor, her eyes staring blankly at the ground. One second, a happy soul; the next, eternally at rest.

After a long time, Saori looked up again at the spot where Li Mo had disappeared. She was beginning to understand.

Even Brother had become like this. Captain Shigure Kira's death... was inevitable. Brother and the Captain... must have encountered an incredibly difficult Ghost.

She knew. Saori knew all of this. In a paranormal incident, everyone had to be prepared for death. Facing terrifying, unknown Ghosts, no one could guarantee they would survive. Everyone could only do their best to live for one more second.

But...

But...

Why did it have to be the Captain? Why did Brother have to pay the price of almost becoming a Ghost?

The other world... what on earth happened?

Saori clenched her fists, her teeth biting through her lip, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth to the ground. Was she just going to stand by and watch again? Like on Mount Taixuan, when she watched the Captain willingly leave because of the Drowning Ghost's rule...

"I can't accept this..."

"I can't accept this..."

Saori stubbornly stood up, used Shigure Kira's authority to obtain the Abyss Flower, and broke into the top-secret data room that only the Schicksal Overseer could enter.

For some reason, the Divine Key that only Cecilia and Durandal had been able to wield, a weapon she once could only look up to, now accepted her.

Even if it didn't, it didn't matter. Saori just needed a weapon that could break through the defensive barrier.

The sudden bad news didn't crush her. Saori quickly regained her clear mind.

"Brother wants to find Overseer Otto, which means the Overseer might be key to resolving this incident. I might be able to find what Brother needs in the database."

Meanwhile, Otto was deep in thought in a small wooden cabin. Why had he come here, crossing the ice and snow?

The snowy plains were draped in silver, utterly silent. The lone cabin was like a warm beacon in the winter, standing quietly on the vast expanse. Snowflakes fell, weaving a flawless white canopy that gently enveloped the lonely world.

"Did I trigger some rule? Or is it..."

Otto sat on a simple chair, carefully observing his surroundings. There were no cobwebs in the cabin, no dust on the tables and chairs. Only a few snowflakes had slipped in through the cracks in the window, melting into icy water on the surfaces.

A newly built cabin.

Otto immediately came to this conclusion, but that raised another question. Who would be idle enough to build a small cabin in a place like this? The facilities inside could barely sustain one person, and with the harsh weather, even a minor cold could be fatal for someone living here.

Moreover, although the insulation was good, frost still fell inside, and the melted water would erode the wooden furniture.

The furniture that should have been corroded was intact, the beams were new, and the lights were bright, like a photograph frozen in time. It was beyond common sense, yet there was no trace of the Bizarre.

"Will I find the answers I'm looking for here?" Otto asked himself, unconsciously walking to the fire, his hands illuminated by the warm light.

He felt a familiar warmth in his heart, a intoxicatingly beautiful feeling. The last time he had experienced it was when he had stayed up late, working overtime to craft a stunning night-prowler outfit for Kallen, using the best materials, to help her with her phantom thief plans.

Otto's eyes lit up. He suddenly realized what this feeling was.

It was satisfaction.

But... why would he feel such heartfelt satisfaction just from sitting here and warming himself by the fire? It was incomprehensible...

"Screee—"

The cabin door creaked softly, like the gentlest breath of the frosty wind, breaking the tranquility of the small hut. The door slowly opened, and a gust of fresh, biting air rushed in, mingling with the warm, white air inside, forming a visible boundary.

A gaunt figure stood on the threshold, silhouetted by the raging snowstorm outside. Snowflakes continuously fell on his shoulders, instantly melting into tiny water droplets, then quickly evaporating, leaving behind mottled traces.

A bone-chilling cold howled in through the crack in the door, whipping up the hair on his forehead and blowing the overwhelming stench of blood into the cabin.

Otto frowned. He knew who it was. But this was the first time he had been this close, and he was still struck by the Bizarre aura emanating from Li Mo. Covered in blood and death spots, with clouded eyes, it was hard to imagine that such a person could still be standing before him, alive and well.

"Who are you?" Li Mo stood at the door without entering, questioning him directly.

Otto was confused. He was sure he had introduced himself before, on the day Li Mo met Cecilia.

"My name is Otto Apocalypse, the Overseer of Schicksal. Friend, is there anything I can help you with?"

Faced with Li Mo's unstable state, Otto didn't dare to beat around the bush.

However, his concession did not end well.

In an instant, as Otto took his next breath, Li Mo was already in front of him, his hand gripping Otto's neck, pinning him to the ground.

"I'll ask again, who are you? Where did you get the Type-II artificial Stigma, and why are you here?"

"Answer."

Li Mo deliberately controlled his strength, trying to extract Otto's memories with his Bizarre power while restraining him.

"Ugh... I don't know what you're talking about."

Otto didn't resist. He knew his own strength was insignificant in the face of the Bizarre. Resisting would only make his death quicker and more miserable.

"You shouldn't have a corrupted Stigma, and you shouldn't have your true identity. If you can't tell me, then I'll have to kill you and find the answers I want on your corpse."

Li Mo glanced at his left hand without a word. It had failed. He couldn't steal the memories of this ordinary living person?

"Friend, you're being a bit unreasonable. I have no idea what you're talking about, nor do I know what answers you want from me."

"My plans do not involve any so-called Type-II artificial Stigma. As for Corruption, I avoid it at all costs. How could I let something like the Bizarre interfere with my plans? Of course, if you're willing to turn back time for me, then I certainly wouldn't mind the Corruption."

"As for my identity, my name is Otto Apocalypse, the one and only, and has been for five hundred years. It's just that to gather more information and reduce unnecessary trouble, I occasionally use some aliases to hide my true identity, such as: Luocha, Joker α..."

"So do you understand? I have only one goal, and that is to go back five hundred years and save Kallen Kaslana, who was persecuted by the world's malice, from that foolish and narrow-minded tragic era."

"Besides that, there is nothing else."

Otto's eyes were firm, his attitude resolute as he replied to Li Mo.

Li Mo didn't speak, his dim eyes staring at Otto like a deep abyss.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Mo suddenly spoke, saying something strange: "Then repeat this sentence after me."

"My name is Otto, Otto Apocalypse."

Otto frowned slightly. He thought it was an easy task. He opened his mouth to say, "My name is..."

It was an incredibly simple sentence, but when he was about to say it, his mind went blank. It was like a human trying to imagine a color they had never seen. The sentence felt the same to Otto—something beyond his cognition, something he couldn't "say."

But his rational mind told him it shouldn't be like this. It was just an ordinary, easy thing to do.

Otto's lips trembled, as if he were enduring great pain. Li Mo released his hand. Otto clutched his head, desperately trying to say the words.

"I... I..."

"My name is Otto Apocalypse."

After saying it, Otto gasped for breath, exhaling a puff of white mist.

He had failed.

He had said "My name is Otto Apocalypse," not "My name is Otto, Otto Apocalypse."

The two sentences seemed the same, but their essence was vastly different. It was like how Li Mo could say his name was Mingyue. There was a layer of narration in between, using the medium of a name to indirectly convey his true name.

The latter was a direct statement, with no medium to transmit the true name and identity.

Li Mo suddenly remembered the sentence that had appeared most often in the notebook: [My name is Li Mo. When you see this sentence, I am dying, and I am about to be reborn.]

This expression didn't say what its name was, like Otto had. It directly told Li Mo that its name was Li Mo. But considering the notebook could also say its name was MEI, or Saori Tsuruyo, that incredible possibility was currently ruled out.

For now, he had to focus on the Otto in front of him.

Li Mo stepped forward and, to Otto's astonishment, said something that would haunt him for the rest of his life: "You are not Otto Apocalypse."

"Then who am I?"

"I don't know."

"And on what grounds do you presume to judge that I am not Otto Apocalypse? I have everything of Otto's, and the original driving force behind his actions. Yes, no matter the cost, I will save Kallen. I will change the past."

Otto beat his chest, his other hand waving theatrically like a speaker on a stage.