Honkai x LOTM: Godish of Mysteries

Chapter 35: Chapter 33 Striker



In the distant halls of St. Freya Academy, a blonde parent and his pale, little vampire were currently being led by a young, bitter melon-drinking Principal.

"Why did you ask me to be you're tour guide if you already knew the layout of the place?" Theresa asked from the front.

"Ah, I thought you were smarter than that, Theresa? I wanted to spend time with both of my grandchildren before I go off to do business." He said with a cheerful smile.

The Headmaster shook her head in disbelief. Her Grandpa always had a hidden agenda, but she couldn't pinpoint his reason for visiting. Was this an act to hide the deeply worn mask her Grandpa had, or was this a genuine act of kindness for the child named Luna?

"I can show you the place before I get back to work. So pay attention, Luna." Theresa crossed her arms in pride.

Luna nodded intently, "Sure, Auntie, or is it Big Sis?"

Theresa clinched her chest as if thousands of spears were plunged into her heart, hearing her words.

"Do not call me Auntie! Lest I bind you to my cross." Theresa gritted her teeth.

"Be sure not to provoke her, Luna. Her chains are troublesome; I tested them before." Otto nodded in agreement.

"Man, this family is weird," Luna muttered to herself.

"Speaking of family, what's you're type of romantic partner, Theresa? The bloodline has to continue somehow." Otto asked with a smirk.

Hearing this, Theresa started jabbing her finger at his shoulder till the point of pestering him.

"Don't bring that topic up! Isn't there some branches of the Apocalypse and Kaslana family all around the world? Don't worry about me, I'll live a happy life, married or not."

Otto pushed his hands up to 'defend' himself, "I was just teasing a bit."

"Family...Do you both consider me as family?" Luna hesitantly asked.

"Of course. That's why I am bringing you to Theresa's school so you can make some friends and meet a sibling of yours." Otto explained wholeheartedly.

"Like what Grandpa says... Although I haven't known you for long, I've always wanted a younger sibling, so...Welcome to St. Freya and glad to have you here, Sis."

A warmth and bubbling hearth started to burn up in Luna's heart, and, driven by such emotions, she grabbed both of them into a tight little hug, but given her height, she could only bring Otto's legs into the fray.

Theresa was shocked at the sudden hug, but reluctantly accepted it while Otto...

"Luna, if you get the chance, remind Theresa to drink her daily dose of milk so she can grow taller."

The Headmaster of St. Freya started playful hitting Otto's thighs, and he chuckled at the display. As Otto kept up his smile, he soon noticed someone peaking from the corner, and with the use of Spirit Vision, he soon smiled at the culprit, or an old friend, to be exact.

He started patting both of their heads, "Sorry, you two, it looks like I can't join you...I have some business. I'll catch up with you today or tomorrow." Otto said before departing.

Theresa let out a tsk. "He's the one who invited me to give a tour, and now he's just leaving...What a shameful man."

...

Moving through the windowed white halls of St. Freya, Otto went past the corner and soon found a bluish-purplish-haired girl with pale skin and blue eyes. Her school uniform consisted of a blue and white qipao, red glasses, navy leggings, and leather boots.

It was Fu Hua, a past Flame Chaser older than 50,000 Years, a veteran who fought in the Second Eruption, and now a student at St. Freya High. 

Otto placed her there because he needed someone to spy on Kiana Kaslana, but since the tuna fish isn't currently here, Otto let her do what she wanted at the Academy and live a somewhat normal life, though she's currently weakened because of numerous factors.

"~Hi~ Fu Hua. Were you avoiding me?" He greeted the old friend with the tone of a Pink Elf.

Hearing his greeting, the Class Monitor, Fu Hua, wanted to reply with a remark, but she grasped her head in aching pain as if a memory was digging its way out of her scattered mind. It was the scene of a Pink Elf, and just as it arrived, it soon disappeared into that hazy fog.

"Otto, what did you do to me?" She glared at him, half in pain and half in confusion.

"I didn't think that work. Sorry, Old Friend, I was just trying to reawaken you're memory, but it was a half success. Would you like an ice bag?" 

Fu Hua shook her head as the sudden surge of pain ceased and asked, "Is that child another clone of yours?"

"Nope. I found Luna on a mission dealing with the Church of Monsters and took her in. Do you remember that foul organization? The one after the Second Eruption?"

"I do, and it's something we both agree on. My distaste for them still lingers even with a lost mind. So what brings you here, Overseer Otto?" She moved the topic

"I was dropping off my kid at St. Freya and intended to take a tour with her, but seeing you, I just had to visit my Old Friend and reward her for all of her hard work."

"Reward?" Fu Hua gazed at his eyes with suspicion but found no sense of malice in them.

"Yup. It's an opportunity to reawaken your memories from the past 50,000 years. It's not guaranteed to give you back your full memories, but it's better than nothing."

"Why all of a sudden?"

"Because it's amusing. I've always wanted to be a Dream Walker and a Visionary."

Even through their years of partnership, Fu Hua couldn't understand what was going through that man's head, but as long as he defended Shenzhou and kept on fighting against the Honkai, she didn't care.

Along with that, being at the forefront of the demonstration that Otto showed, he might really have a way to awaken some of her memories.

"Alright, but I don't want to be spotted with you and have my cover blown. Thankfully, the Academy is empty at this time. So let's move." She pushed out her glasses and gestured for them to move locations.

"Is it because the feng shui is hot as hell in this funky a*s hot a*s room we're in?" Otto stated as if it were a normal sentence.

Fu Hua had an inexplicable reason to hit him all of a sudden.

'No matter the circumstances, I'll never understand him,' Fu Hua inwardly thought.

...

With the click of the lock, the door to Fu Hua's home was open, and both old timers walked into the cozy abode.

"So this is your home? Is it a new trend nowadays to have a plain but personalized room?" Otto asked as he stepped into the living room and noticed the amount of Shenzhou decor. 

Walking into the room, one would spot a comfy and moderate-sized couch. 

A full wooden dining table in the middle with numerous double windows on the surrounding walls and a kitchen in the back. 

On the other side of the room lay many doors that all led to different rooms...Bedrooms, bathrooms, laundry, etc.

"Maybe you're taste in decorating isn't as up to snuff as mine." Fu Hua bit back.

"Alright, alright, lie down on the couch and we can get started," Otto ordered her while stretching himself.

Fu Hua did as she was told and lay herself flat onto the couch, but still asked, "How does stretching yourself have any involvement in this, Otto?"

"Memory Reconstruction takes quite a bit of focus. Before I forget, let me use the bathroom." Otto quickly made his way to that room.

Fu Hua tilted her head, 'When did he ever need to use the Bathroom? Or am I just overthinking it?'

After a few moments, seeing Otto's face, lively with a splash of water, Fu Hua's suspicion was lessened, and she soon asked.

"Is there no need for any equipment?"

"Well, I do need a feather of Fenghuang Down for you." He opened his hand as if expecting something from her

"Alright." Fu Hua's hand lifted towards Otto's hand and placed a single golden feather down onto it.

"I was going to use a memory mining device, but since that works on the principle of digging into them instead of recovering them, and there's a chance you won't even remember. 

I am instead going to use both you're Fenghuang Down and a Mimicry of it to reconstruct those lost memories. 

You used Fenghuang Down to burn, or in some other cases, section off your memories right, it's like having you're soul being picked apart or cut off, but your body still remembers it's been through everything your mind has.

The soul is the body, and the body is the soul. So with that principle, I am going to use your body instead as the target of both Divine Keys.

Who knows, maybe it'll give you a clue on fixing that broken SWARA of yours. Now close you're eyes and sleep till the point of embracing the everlasting Evernight."

"This theory of yours sounds reasonable, and if this works...I'll be forever in your debt, although is there any reason why you're covering up your answer on helping me?"

Upon hearing her question, Otto's face shifted in a sly expression, and he answered, "Guess."

"Mysteries as always."

Seeing she wouldn't be getting an answer, Fu Hua shut her eyes into the darkness.

Otto opened his other hand and projected a copy of that golden feather. What differentiated the two was a pair of golden rings of light on the projection.

With both Divine Keys in his palms, he gently dropped them down onto Fu Hua, and after they gently floated down onto her forehead...She soon lost consciousness in a vast dreamscape.

"Sweet dreams, Fu Hua...May we meet again in reality."

The reason why he was helping Fu Hua...Simple, he always wanted to see the Previous Era with his own eyes. Otto wanted to experience whether the past of the Previous Era was twisted and unloving, as it was mentioned, or whether there would be some unexpected changes.

...

Fire, flames, blaze, burning, and hell. Those were the only sensations that Fu Hua felt as she witnessed a ruined city.

Her uniform was swapped out for a sleek, tactical outfit. A dark, form-fitting top with a high collar that partially covers her neck. Short sleeves, with her upper arms partially wrapped in dark bands, along with fingerless gloves.

Despite the outfit, it didn't change that her body was drenched in bloody wounds, dirt, and dripping sweat from the unbearable heat.

The once cozy dorm home of hers was nowhere to be seen, and the only thing in her sight was the crumbling buildings of the old era. An orange blaze burned onto the city's flesh, and its cries were the gray smoke emitting from the destruction.

As Fu Hua looked forward she the only thing left in her sight was a storm of fire engulfing everything. Faced with hell itself, she still regained her composure and stood up with her waking injuries.

"Are these my memories?" She asked herself. 

The hazy fogs blocking her memories were slowly being lifted with each sight she took on.

"Gotta say dropping into hell wasn't on my bucket list, but guess I am in hell no.w" A sudden familiar voice rang into her ears, and she turned to the sight of a suit-wearing blonde man next to her.

"Otto, are you here physically or spiritually?"

"Probably the former. I can feel the smoke on my tongue...Bleh. I was expecting to be a Spectator, but oh well,l experiencing it is a better learning process...You're vitals are stable, but mentally, you look like you're one moment away from breaking.

"...Sorry, my head is hurting. I think I'm starting to remember something." She grasped her head in an aching wake, and as she was about to fall. Otto caught her in time and started moving along the broken ground with Fu Hua.

"Thanks..." She softly whispered.

"Any ideas, or do you want to get into the center of that firestorm to gather more clues?" Otto asked.

"We have no other choice but the only word ringing in my mind is Australia."

"Well, seeing that out in the distance, that the Sydney Opera House is in flames, yeah, that points out and speaking out of flames...What are the chances of this memory being in the middle of an Honkai Eruption for a Herrscher of Flames?"

A surge of pain started to pierce into Fu Hua's head again until one single scene appeared. A familiar red-haired teacher was burning everything with a cruel, wicked smile

"Himeko. Why did you have to become the Herrscher?" Fu Hua muttered under her breath.

"So a familiar face is the Herrscher of Flames...I don't know if that is lucky or unlucky. Herrschers in the Previous Era didn't have much Humanity, but since this is your memories. It might be possible to convince her to stop this hell she created."

"I am surprised that you chose that approach." 

"Well, are you expecting the two of us to fight off against a Herrscher. I can kill her, but with you here weakened, and you're close bond to Himeko, it might work...Herrschers are Angels of Destruction for Humanity, but also...Very gullible."

"Huh."

"There's also no Honkai Beasts nearby, so you're memories are only registering this moment. Which means. The key to this memory is to kill Himeko or somehow sweet-talk her. What a reasonable development."

"There is nothing reasonable about anything you said!"

Making their way through the ruined city, they soon reached their destination, and what lay there was a crimson-haired woman engulfed in a blazing fire wearing a black laced dress. 

Her pupils were pulsing orange from the mere power of her Authority, and spotting the two, the heat started to intensify. 

With a wave of her hand, the Herrscher shot a burst of flames toward the pair like a flaming arrow. Reacting in time, Otto threw Fu Hua to the side and took on the attack. 

*BOOM*

The flames exploded into a massive pillar of combustion, and what came out of it wasn't Otto's corpses in ashes but instead his illusory figure jumping from the flames and appearing a distance away.

"...I don't think she's willing to converse, how ungullible." He calmly stated as his body contorted into inhumane positions, dodging numinous fireballs. 

Fu Hua felt helpless in this situation; she should be the one fighting this mistake of a memory, but instead it was that Overseer of hers. She didn't want to wail in regret! She wanted to do something, damn it! But her body and mind protested, leaving her hopeless on the ground.

As Otto backflipped away from fire searing his skin, he turned to the down girl and gave her some words of "encouragement", 

"So tell me, Fu Hua, are you going to stand there while Himeko burns everything to the ground...Are you unable to do anything while the Honkai stains her Humanity with Destruction until she's nothing but a mindless beast? Are you going to let the same thing happen again in the present...Can you accept such an outcome?"

Fu Hua gritted her teeth in the aching pain, even though she was reliving this moment of hell and the provoking of Otto's words, her spirit didn't waver. Even though that Herrscher had her face...It wasn't the Himeko she knew! 

A surge of memories started to flow about her Captain. The Himeko who took her away from that alley of darkness, the one who brought her to the light, and the one who brought the flame for her to chase.

This was her self-realization. Even if she was powerless to change the past, all that mattered now was to look through the past and use its embers to soar to the present. 

She couldn't help but put on a bitter smile since that bastard of an Overseer was making her think this way.

Her soul was filled with determination to save the Himeko of the present, and instead of lingering in the past, she forced her body to move like the wind.

Appearing beside the Herrscher's side, Fu Hua positioned herself into a stance and struck with her fist into the side of the Herrscher. 

Fist of the Black Turtle.

A massive shockwave coursed through the entire area as the Herrscher was launched toward Otto.

Seizing the opportunity, Otto kicked the approaching "soccer ball" toward a crumbling building. With the Herrscher flung towards the ruins. As it crashed into it, the entire structure started crumbling and soon fell on top of the Herrscher.

Otto stopped himself from screaming out 'GOAL!' and took a glance at Fu Hua, her body looked as if she had been dragged across the ground, but mentally well enough so that she decided to slap him.

He didn't feel much pain; it just felt like she was patting his face.

"Ow!" Fu Hua shook her hand as if she were hitting pure metal.

"Sorry about my words...I was trying to motivate you. Can't you forgive you're buddy old pal?"

"No, I won't but...Thank you...Otto. For those unique words of encouragement."

"You're welcome...Think she's still alive?" Just as he asked, a burst of flames exploded from where he kicked the Herrscher, and both of them put up their hands to fend off the intense heat. 

Otto let out a tsk at the sight and soon pulled out a crystal monocle from his breast pocket. Even within dreams, memories, or in entirely different dimensions, items placed on his body were still usable.

When using Fu Hua's bathroom, since he brought some ritual materials in his pockets...He decided to descend down the monocle from Sefirah Castle. A Magician is all about being prepared.

As for why he didn't bring the Staff of the Stars...it would be overkill, and although he did want to bring it, his Spiritual Intuition was screaming at him not to. 

It must be because of the downside, even though it's in Fu Hua's memories. There was a chance that it would make her randomly teleport somewhere or make her entirely disappear.

So armed with just a monocle, Otto said to her.

"Fu Hua! I have conceived an idea most ingenious. Let us commence thy jumping onto the Herrscher."

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