Honkai Impact 3rd: Catching the Herrscher of Sentience at the Start

'Nameless' showed no emotion, only feeling an urge to laugh.

"Archbishop Otto, you should know that the situation now is different from before. I can completely refuse to join you..."

"Is that your answer, my friend?"

Otto raised the simulated gun in his hand, aiming it at 'Nameless's' head, and slowly pulled the trigger...

Bang!

A sharp gunshot shattered the silence, startling countless birds into flight...

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".....Meow!!!" Damn Kallen FANATIC, I'll personally...!

Originally enjoying Mei's petting in her arms, Fu Lin's pupils shrank at the sudden gunshot-like sound, fur standing on end as he arched his body and looked in Otto's direction.

"What's wrong, Little Li?" Mei looked helplessly at Fu Lin's fierce expression—it was the first time in a year she had seen this side of him.

As the vision from 'Nameless' brightened again, Fu Lin's gaze darkened. He turned around, leaped high at the entrance door, and clung to the doorknob with his chubby paws, pulling it down.

With a click, the door opened, and Fu Lin darted out. By the time Mei reached the doorway, Fu Lin had already disappeared from sight, prompting her to chase after him.

Switching the perspective back to 'Nameless'...

"So that's how it is... The Herrscher of Death's missing core was actually placed inside your body by the Second Herrscher, hahaha..."

Otto put away the mimetic Heavenly Fire and looked at the gradually healing hole in 'Nameless's' temple. His eyes burned with excitement as he covered one eye and laughed.

"So what..." Pale-faced, 'Nameless' leaned against the wall, pulling out the baseball bat he had picked up in the Honkai: Star Rail world and aiming it at Otto, eyes filled with rage.

Otto lowered his hand, spread his palms, and said innocently, "It's nothing. I'm not a bad person, so don't look at me like that."

"You shot me in the head, and you expect me to be polite to you?"

Hearing Otto's shameless words, 'Nameless' gritted his teeth and pointed at the wound on his temple, eyes full of disbelief.

"Ahem Well, although I did hurt you, I truly regret it now. You can totally trust me as I am now..."

Otto coughed dryly. Seeing the anger in 'Nameless's' expression, he placed his hands behind his back. A golden feather slowly emerged in his palm.

'Mimetic? Fenghuang Down...'

"..." This trick... so familiar...

Hearing Otto's words, 'Nameless' narrowed his eyes coldly. A sense of familiarity struck him, and before he realized it, an image of Walter surfaced in his mind. When he came to his senses, his face flushed with anger.

"You think I'm an idiot...?"

"Phew... Though he resisted, that shot still had quite an impact on his psyche. Otherwise, controlling his consciousness would've been much harder."

Otto wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked at the dazed 'Nameless,' a slight smile forming at the corner of his lips before his consciousness shifted into a birdcage.

At that moment, a figure resembling a young Otto—but with an indistinct face—suddenly appeared beside 'Nameless.' This figure was none other than the consciousness projection of Void Archives.

Void Archives looked at the dazed 'Nameless' and let out a giggle:

"Hehe~"

"You're something else—one trick up front, another in the back, layer upon layer, leading him right into his own mind."

"No matter how much he thinks about it, he'd never suspect that the gunshot was meant to weaken his spirit, hehe~"

Hearing the chattering beside him, Otto summoned several chains, which instantly bound Void Archives tightly, suspending it upside down in the air.

"Oh my~"

But despite being hung in midair, Void Archives remained unfazed, as if already accustomed to it. It merely let out a symbolic gasp before continuing:

"Hey, hey, how do you plan to extract his secrets?"

"Are you going to do the same as before? Explore his memories and disguise yourself as his closest person?"

"Of course. Perhaps he'll even give me an unexpected surprise."

Otto placed his hand on 'Nameless's' head, slowly closing his eyes to peer into his memories. He had a hunch—the key to reviving Kallen was right in front of him.

When he opened his eyes again, Otto found himself floating in the air, observing young girls moving around and familiar buildings in the distance. A sense of doubt arose in his heart,

"This place is... Theresa's St. Freya Academy?"

Then, the perspective shifted, and Otto's expression twitched. He watched as several Valkyries dug up vegetables in a field while, on the side, the 'Celestial Immortal' lay back in a chair, leisurely sipping a drink. For a moment, he was at a loss for words.

"Why is the 'Celestial Immortal' in his memories? Where is he...?"

After watching the vegetable digging for some time, Otto gradually lost his patience. Seeing that 'Nameless' had yet to appear, he decided to control the mimetic Fenghuang Down to skip this section.

But the next second, before Otto could act, the vision shifted on its own.

Looking at the eerily familiar scene below, Otto narrowed his eyes at the now unstable Fenghuang Down in his hand.

"It seems I can't freely explore his memories. What kind of secret lies hidden in the depths of his consciousness...?"

Just as Otto prepared to cut off Fenghuang Down and sever the connection to 'Nameless's' consciousness, a powerful force of suction struck him—his vision went black...