Who's "One of Us"?!

Lin Wei's casual words hit Otto harder than any threat. Before, when Lin Wei had brandished the Key of Corruption, Otto's reaction had been a mixture of shock, anger, and embarrassment. He'd quickly recovered, focusing on eliminating the threat.

But now, he was numb, his spirit crushed. Even Void Archive, usually quick to offer snarky comments, remained silent, fearing Otto's wrath.

It was like an elderly man finding a long-lost love letter tucked away in a forgotten keepsake, a letter from his childhood sweetheart. The content was almost irrelevant. The familiar handwriting was enough to bring him to tears. A girl had waited, full of hope, for him to find it, for days, for years, for decades… until hope faded, until she'd moved on, until it was too late.

Otto felt a cruel twist of fate, a reminder of his greatest loss. And now, Lin Wei twisted the knife. "Whose fault is it? Yours."

Otto knew the "Kallen" in the memory wasn't real. Kallen was dead. It was just a shadow, not the real Kallen he craved.

But shadows weren't all equal. The digital Kallen he'd found in Schicksal's data archives had looked and acted like the real Kallen, even possessing her memories and emotions.

He'd initially seen her as a miracle, proof of Kallen's return. But realizing she was just a construct of data had filled him with disappointment and rage. He'd then started visiting her, watching her relive her final moments, a twisted form of self-punishment.

But the "Kallen" in Lin Wei's memory was different. While not the real Kallen, she was a genuine part of her, proof of her existence.

"Even in death, your spirit remains so… pure," Otto thought, his heart aching. "500 years… you've been fighting that… evil… all this time…" "Why didn't you tell me? I could have helped…"

Lin Wei shattered his illusions. "Why did Kallen leave you? Because she knew she couldn't rely on you. She was disappointed in you. And for 500 years, she kept that black box sealed where she'd asked for your help, and you never came. She was right to be disappointed."

Otto felt a punch to the gut, the memory of Kallen's death flooding back, the weight of his guilt crushing him.

"Otto!" Void Archive's voice snapped him out of his despair.

He took a deep breath, looking at Lin Wei's cold, mocking expression. "You're… ruthless." He couldn't argue with Lin Wei's words. He'd spoken for Kallen.

He imagined Kallen standing behind Lin Wei, her clear blue eyes looking at him with cold indifference, as if he were a stranger. No, not even a stranger. Kallen would have smiled, even at a stranger.

"I truly… failed her," he thought.

Normally, he wouldn't be so affected by criticism. No one could criticize him more harshly than he criticized himself. And no one else had lived through that era. Their opinions were irrelevant.

But Lin Wei, wielding Kallen's "relic," speaking on her behalf… it was like a slap in the face from Kallen herself.

"Ruthless? Perhaps." Lin Wei shrugged. "But thanks to your… actions, I, a man from 500 years in the future, was able to connect with someone from that era, and overcome the Honkai corruption. I should thank you, Overseer."

Whether that "someone" was Kallen or not… well, she was from 500 years ago.

"That bastard…" Yae Sakura gritted her teeth, a mixture of anger and amusement churning within her. He was twisting the truth again!

"Is that so?" Otto sighed, his voice almost pleading. "Tell me… what happened." For centuries, he'd been the one telling Kallen's story. Now, he desperately wanted to hear it from someone else.

Perhaps because of the connection to Kallen, he seemed to forget about the Key of Corruption, feeling a strange sense of kinship with Lin Wei.

Just mentioning Kallen has this effect? Lin Wei was stunned, despite having anticipated this.

"As you know, after fleeing to the Far East, Kallen stayed in a village called Yae Village. The black box was damaged, releasing the entity within, which infected a girl named Yae Sakura. To contain the threat, Kallen sealed herself, the girl, and the black box underground." He recounted the events Kallen had confessed to during her interrogation. "500 years later, the Nagazora Honkai eruption damaged the seal, releasing the Herrscher of Corruption."

Otto was reminded of the entity sealed beneath the South China Sea, also stirring due to a recent eruption.

"How… convenient," he said, his voice laced with a double meaning.

"Just before the Third Eruption, some… entity… shared some… knowledge with me, including the impending disaster, and the imminent release of the Herrscher of Corruption." Lin Wei smiled. "I needed a cure for the Honkai corruption. And the mere mention of the 'Herrscher of Corruption' was enough to convince Fu Hua to… assist me… in returning to Nagazora."

Otto was speechless. So that's what happened. Fu Hua had withheld information. He wasn't surprised. She'd disobeyed him before. But she'd been a valuable asset, and hadn't shown any signs of disloyalty recently. He wouldn't punish her yet. Not now. He was more concerned about Kallen.

Lin Wei, while unable to read his thoughts, could guess. Fu Hua's involvement would raise suspicion, but he had no other choice. His existence was known. Further deception would only fuel Otto's paranoia. He had to use Kallen to distract him, conveying a subtle message: Fu Hua was just a tool. She's irrelevant.

Otto understood this kind of logic.

This was the only way to redirect Otto's anger towards himself, protecting Fu Hua.

"After the Herrscher of Corruption escaped, targeting me… I managed to defeat her in the mindscape, thanks to… Miss Kallen's lingering will… and subdue her."

"The details are… largely as you saw in the memory. It was a battle of consciousness. Recreating past events isn't… unusual."

"Is that so?" Otto listened silently, not questioning the meaning of "subdue." He sighed. "I see…" He'd missed a crucial clue. Kallen had wanted him to deal with this threat. How could I have been so blind?

Whether Kallen had actually intended this… was irrelevant.

"Mr. Lin Wei…" Otto asked, his voice earnest, his eyes filled with a desperate hope. "What are your thoughts on… Kallen's death?" He wanted, needed, to hear something… comforting.

You want my approval? Fat chance, Lin Wei thought, choosing his words carefully. "When Kallen was imprisoned, you could have saved her. But you chose the… easiest path. You abandoned her." He didn't understand Otto's logic. "Such a… tragic end is truly… heartbreaking." You asked for my opinion. Here it is: you're responsible for Kallen's death. You want my approval? My forgiveness? Who's "one of us"?!