4 The Void Archives

In the Shicksal Church.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say it was one of the biggest Churches in the World. It had the same size as St. Peter's Basilica.

The structure was like an ancient Church in Rome, but the stones' used were different and were carved masterfully with ivory finesse.

'It's massive. It would need a lot of personnel to maintain a clean environment.'

Otto reminisced as he roamed the corridors of the Church with the spring breeze sailing from the gaps in the medium-sized pillars. He stopped at a large door decorated with an angelic figure holding a staff while the angel had a stoic facial expression.

'Raphael?'

His blonde hair fluttered while he glanced at the door with a subtle expression.

In the past, he was a religious devotee. He recognized Raphael the Archangel as the patron saint of healing.

Had the younger version of himself seen this? Delight and curiosity would've been his reaction, but now? It lacked importance to him.

Otto knocked on the door using the door knocker in the middle. The sounds reverberated throughout the quiet hallways. Suddenly, it opened with two paladins standing at both sides while guarding the throne room with sheathed blades.

The throne room was vast, with numerous white pillars aligned in a pathway with silver pavements inscribed with divine symbols leading to the stairs reaching up where an ivory throne stood majestically. It shone brilliantly from the reflection of the sun with a sacred aura.

In the front end of the throne room was a bearded elder with white hair. Albeit, he looked more like a grandfather from a neighborhood in Otto's perspective which was utterly different from how Nikolas portrayed himself in the Manga. Facetiously, behind that facade was a power-hungry man. Who sacrificed his people to sustain his fading power after the failed war in Shenzhou.

Usually, anyone would've respectfully kneeled, but he was the son of the Archbishop. It wasn't required for family members to kneel in personal meetings.

"Father."

"My Child, I heard you have recovered?"

Months passed, and Otto recovered from his illness, albeit by falsifying that he was fine.

"Yes. I have gotten well due to the care from the sisters."

"And now I am prepared to do my religious duties."

In a sense, Otto had responsibilities as Shicksal's member especially being part of the Noble House of Apocalypse's Family. Praying was a daily activity for him, with him being an apprentice to the Holy Father. His responsibility was to learn from him.

"Hm. We will continue our lecture tomorrow, but for now, rest."

Otto bowed calmly and left the throne room before glancing at the two paladins and leaving. He could feel unusual energy coming from their bodies, but their expressions remained hidden due to the crusade helmets and white gallant armor that exuded a divine might.

'Who are they?' He whispered in a nervous tone.

He wasn't familiar with the two paladins at all. It wasn't in the Elan Palatinus Manga. Suspicion rose in Otto's mind as he couldn't piece any information concerning the paladins.

It's not like the Elan Palatinus Manga had much information in the first place. It did not have sufficient details about Otto's past and the Three Great Houses like the Second Honkai Eruption Manga.

Suddenly, his calm demeanor vanished as the feeling of weariness took over. Each time he exerts himself causes his symptoms to worsen.

"Ugh."

He stumbled and went to the green patch of ground while a hot feeling surged from his stomach to his throat. He spewed contents to the grass as he felt slightly better after vomiting, Otto muttered in bitterness.

'This sucks.'

He regretted his decisions now as his head was aching as if sharp needles were piercing his skull while drowsiness engulfed his mind.

'This is worse than I assumed...'

Otto thought he would get used to the feeling, but the situation was worse than he had envisioned.

His eyesight of the surroundings spun like a carousel as he sat down on the bench in the garden, trying to stabilize his breathing while glancing at the plants and flowers swaying from the wind.

'It reminds me of a bad experience...'

Despite his eyes still opening to the tranquil surrounding, the imagery of an old memory from his childhood resurfaced like a painful mirror to his past. It was an inescapable upbringing in his mind.

***

Olden High-rise Buildings refurbished by the loyalist of London's ancient glorious past maintained the ambiance as it once had in historical advent and records alongside the Clocktower and the famous bridge sung in a nursery rhyme.

Night lights showered the snowy city with a beautiful sight.

But suddenly, a plane flew down from the darkness to a wide long road paved with red lights that steered to an airport in London.

A teenager wearing a jacket showed an anxious face as he glanced at a white aircraft landing from the window. When it arrived, the sounds from the speakers resounded.

"Gate 01, Xxxxx Airlines. All passengers, please prepare to board.-"

"..."

He held his hand in anxiety.

The teenager glanced at the woman tidying herself with expensive makeup.

"Mom, can I head back home..?"

"... What are you saying? You want to go back home?"

"Y-yes. I feel nauseous when I am on the plane. I don't want to go..."

He recalled the bad memories of the surroundings spinning whenever the plane take-offs. Plus, he didn't like his cousins and the rest of the family, so he never wanted to go to any celebrations, especially at Christmas.

"Let's go."

The mom ignored her child's thoughts as if it was natural.

"Mom. I don't want to go."

The mother glared at him furiously and shouted.

"If I tell you to go, then you should go!"

She slapped the child in public while onlookers watched.

"You're a useless and ungrateful child! I brought you into this world! The only thing you need to do is to follow whatever I say!-"

Just when a staff member went to stop the onslaught of beatings, the surrounding crowds faded as he returned to reality.

***

His vertigo went away, while his headache alleviated a little after minutes of resting.

He didn't like remembering those times as he shook his head to get rid of the intangible images made up by his mind.

'I have to find the Void Archives... It should know about the drugs in the Previous Era that can relieve my symptoms.' He held his head with a tired look.

The Void Archives was one of the things that would neutralize the effects caused by the negative traits.

There might be a cure for the negative traits in his body since the Previous Era was a highly advanced civilization. If not, he would need to make a new body.

Nightmares of the past continued to haunt him. It was an uncomfortable and painful feeling. He wanted to forget his past, but he could not.

'Maybe, this is retribution.'

Thanks to Otto's previous memories of Nikolas talking about an ancient artifact. He knew where to find the Void Archives.

Otto shook his exhausted mind and went to the underground hallways. The repentance room was there, along with the warehouses. It included stored food for winter and Church earnings from tithes, indulgences, and Shicksal's protection fees from the surrounding Kingdoms in the Holy Roman Empire.

It was well guarded as he saw a few knights patrolling the area. Had it not been for his identity. He would've been interrogated strictly.

Entering inside a small prayer room, a golden glowing cube with halos floated above the pedestal in the middle. It was a dazzling sight.

Void Archives. It was a powerful sentient God Key capable of storing infinite knowledge. When it was found in Asia by one of the Shicksal sires, they sent it to the Headquarters for identification as it might be one of the keys to defeating the Honkai.

Unfounded rumors circulated among the Shicksal circles and even the Archbishop claiming that Void Archives was a vessel unlocked only by the wisest due to the ancient records about it.

'If I can make a deal with it to prolong my life... it should be enough. The Void Archives isn't so greedy, unlike the previous Otto.'

Otto approached the cube and touched it. Suddenly the sarira reacted by moving towards him before condensing into a watery substance light.

-"I've waited 2000 years for someone to undo the seals..."

-"Hmm. This one is only a young boy."

'yada yada. Did the Void Archives keep a script or something?'

-"Why do you look so displeased?"

"You're noisy."

-"... To think I would be mocked by a child. How intriguing."

The Void Archives swiftly moved into action.

-"What is your wish?"

"I want to...-"

Suddenly, Otto stopped as he glanced at the system panel in front.

[ Absorption (EX) can be used on 'Void Archives.' ]

[ Use <Absorption>? Y/N ]

[ 100% Chance of Successfully Absorbing 'Void Archives' ]

-"Hm? Why did you stop?"

Surprisingly, he did not expect this unexpected development. He tried numerous times of using Absorption, but it didn't seem to work on living lifeforms like it said. He tried it on insects and smaller lifeforms, but nothing popped out. It was a unique trait that he gained from Yggdrasil.

He did not know whether it was the real Yggdrasil from the Norse Mythology, but this power seemed limitless.

'It came at a good time.' He grinned, and the Void Archives felt goosebumps from the little boy.

"Yes."

Without hesitation, Otto commanded the system to initiate the absorption process. Since the system was from his soul, it wouldn't lie.

[ Absorption (EX) activated. ]

A glowing green light fluttered in Otto's right hand.

-"What is this comforting feeling?"

"Relax. It's my gift to you as my first companion."

-"Gift?"

The Void Archives glanced at Otto's hands in wonder. It was a feeling filled with life and nostalgia. Something that the Void Archives hasn't experienced throughout its whole existence.

[ The System is updated! New information has been added! ]

-"Ah! What is this?!"

Otto smiled while the Void Archives struggled to wriggle free from the law of attraction. But was caught by the tree roots and pulled inside a vortex like a raging tide, and in the end, the Void Archives was swept inside the World of Consciousness without being able to escape.

"System."

[ System Status ]

Name: Otto Apocalypse

Lifespan: 10 years

Status: <Sick> <Dying>

Honkai Energy: 10-B (100-Joules)

Physical Capability: (D+)

Divine Key: <Void Archives> (NEW!)

Unique Traits: <Absorption (EX)> <World Destroyer (S+)> <Enhanced Will (S+)> <Extraordinary Senses (A+)> --------------

Negative Traits: <Sexual Dysfunction> <Chronic Headache> <Lifespan Reduction> <Insomnia> <Worsened Physical Health> --------------

Positive Traits: <Perfect Honkai Compatibility> <High Honkai Resistance> <Natural Genius> <Iron Body> <Gifted Reflexes> --------------

''' The Youngest Master of the Apocalypse Family. '''

''' He is known for his sickly constitution. '''

[ Void Archives - It is known as the 1st Divine Key created by Vill-V, a head engineer from the Previous Era. ]

[ It holds an infinite storage of knowledge from countless eras. ]

'The information is accurate. It's almost like it's using my memories to explain everything. What if I didn't know about it?'

It would require further examination and trial-error experiments to make his hypothesis accurate since his knowledge of Honkai Impact 3rd and many other things was vast.

'Let's try using the Void Archives for now.'

A golden light glittered from his right hand, and the Void Archives materialized while baptizing the surroundings with a radiant glow.

[ Ding! Detected sentience from this spiritual weapon. ]

[ Would the host designate Void Archives as the system's intelligence? Y/N. ]

[ Y-you! What did you do?! ]

The Void Archives exclaimed in shock and anger after being tricked, backstabbed, and quite possibly bamboozled.

"Hahahaha."

[ You crazy human! ]

"Oh. It's nothing much. From now on, you belong to me."

'The Void Archives shouldn't be a living lifeform. So, why did the system say that I could absorb it?'

Dissapointly, the system lacked versatility as it wasn't sentient. But, with the Void Archives absorbed, Otto was pleased since it would significantly advance his soon-to-make projects.

[ Haah! Do you think I would listen to you? There's no way I would follow a scheming human! ]

"Hm..."

It would be nice if he could do that unilaterally without worrying about anything. But, to a business leader like him. It was a deadlock to his golden rules to have an uncontrollable subordinate.

And what would happen if the Void Archives gave him fake information during crucial times? It would lead to a bad scenario.

"I'll give anything you desire if you follow me."

[ You mean it? ]

"Anything that wouldn't interfere with my interests, of course."

He already knew what Void Archives' wanted, and then as he expected from the game's story settings.

[ Then give me your body. You can use it during the day while I possess it at night. ]

"That's a no-no. But, I can give you a soulium body."

'If he knew about the negative traits. He probably won't be making this deal.' But Otto had no plans of handing his body to anyone since it was risky due to how sick he was.

[ Hm... ]

The Void Archives hesitated but agreed while thinking.

'I only need to wait for a little longer...'

It was a nightmare for a sentient being to be in a static state without being able to move for itself. The boredom was unimaginable.

[ Fine. That isn't a bad deal. Wait! How do you know about the Soulium Body?! ]

"That's a secret."

He turned to look at the system panel and said.

[ Would the host designate Void Archives as the system's intelligence? Y/N. ]

"Yes."

[ Processing... the system is currently updating... 1%... ]

It will take a while for the system update to finish since the loading percentage number didn't move up even after a minute.

[ Tell me already! ]

"It isn't part of our contract to share my secrets. But, fine. I'll tell you."

Otto started explaining his past life and how it now came to be. The Void Archives didn't believe him. But after revealing more information about the Previous Era. The Void Archives couldn't help but accept the truth.

[ A transmigrator... to think I would find a strange alien like you as my first master. ]

"It is what it is."

Otto left the underground hallway. He went inside his bedroom. It was spacious enough to fit three people with a study table and a bed next to the window. He changed his cleric uniform to casual clothes giving him a comfy feeling before calmly shutting the closet.

He sat at the seat next to the study table to consider his goals. Otto decided to study the history of the current era. It wasn't a captivating hobby for him, who had no enthusiasm for history.

Here and now, he was in Western Europe from Germany, where the roots spread wildly. It was where Shicksal originated.

'The Holy Roman Empire.' It was currently the territory where the HQ of Shicksal is at.

Otto smiled and thought of his old goal of uniting the world. He aspired to enter the list of Great Rulers like Alexander, Genghis Khan, Julius Ceasar, King George V, Cnut the Great, Hitler, and many figures shrouded by history.

He had to take over Shicksal foremost before conquering the other kingdoms in the Holy Roman Empire's Territory. It was no different from fighting in enemy territory since their domain had vassal kingdoms under the Holy Roman Emperor.

'Frederica III.' She was currently the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire.

He had to ally with outside forces or conspire to create Civil Warfare by creating a faction with other kingdoms not loyal to the Roman Holy Empire.

He didn't want to end with just dying and losing at the end.

He wanted to recreate the German Empire through his knowledge of the past.

'But...'

For now, it was necessary to compose a better understanding after gathering information before making a mastermind plan that would reign over all of Europe.

'Foremost. I have to focus on one crucial factor...'

Individual Strength. It was the most essential factor for a transcendent ruler. Without personal power, he would have no right to decide the fate of humanity.

After all, who were those that decided the fate of humanity? The elites? The government? The masterminds? Maybe in his past life's previous Earth. But not in this Alternate Universe.

The ones to decide the fate of humanity were god-like beings like Kevin Kaslana, Herrscher of the End, and other Transcendental existences unknown to the game with enough power to obliterate the Earth with a swipe from their fingers or gesture.

So, he decided from now on to absorb any enemies with the natural stigmata. It would boost his fighting power against the singularities and the Honkai.

'I have to take any opportunities to survive and ascend.' Otto smiled as he never thought his old desire would be re-ignited from this moment.