Proof

"I wouldn't have the Key of Corruption, or even be alive, without… Kallen's legacy." Lin Wei sighed dramatically.

Yae Sakura, within the stigmata space, wanted to disconnect. She couldn't bear his blatant lies. But she worried about his safety, so she reluctantly stayed connected, fuming. "I'll deal with you later."

Lin Wei, oblivious to her anger, continued, his voice sincere. "So, I'm… inclined to… support your… endeavors." One crisis at a time.

Otto was speechless. What is he playing at? But the words "Key of Corruption" and "Kallen" sparked a disturbing thought. "Could it be…?"

As if reading his mind, Lin Wei asked, feigning surprise, "Overseer, do you not know the origin of this Key?"

Lin Wei had a theory, outlandish yet plausible—Otto didn't know the black box had contained the Herrscher of Corruption. Otherwise, when he transferred his consciousness into a digital form, wouldn't he have dealt with such a threat?

Otto, who had sent Judah's Oath to Yae Village after receiving Kallen's plea, knew the black box's location. Yet, he'd ignored it for centuries, as if it didn't exist.

Even if explained as respecting Kallen's wishes, it didn't make sense. Schicksal had established a Far East Branch. Securing Yae Village as a "sacred site" would have been simple. Instead, it had been abandoned, buried beneath the burgeoning metropolis of Nagazora.

Such negligence wasn't like Otto.

The only explanation was that Otto knew it was dangerous, but not what it was. He probably knew it was a Divine Key, like Void Archive, but more unpredictable. And its connection to Kallen's death made it a painful memory, something he preferred to ignore, burying it beneath layers of denial.

He might have even erased all records of its location, preventing even World Serpent from finding it, ultimately allowing Lin Wei to stumble upon it.

But there was a flaw in this logic. This was the same Otto who'd hesitated to kill Siegfried, yet had readily launched a missile to eliminate Lin Wei. He was obsessed with control, eliminating any potential threat, even hypothetical ones. If he'd known the black box contained a living Herrscher, a Herrscher of Corruption, no less, he wouldn't have let it out of his sight.

So, there was only one explanation: Otto genuinely didn't know.

And the only reason for this was that Void Archive herself didn't know. If she had known, she wouldn't have remained silent during Schicksal's experiments 500 years ago.

As one of two Divine Keys incomplete at the time of the Previous Era's collapse, and with Dr. MEI activating the Key of Corruption alone, Void Archive lacking information about it was plausible.

But she possessed data on almost every other Divine Key. With her intelligence, she could have deduced the black box's nature through process of elimination.

So, there was another possibility: the Herrscher of Corruption had tampered with Void Archive, erasing crucial information. As a sophisticated AI, Void Archive was vulnerable to the Herrscher of Corruption's power.

Lin Wei had a theory. Void Archive, having only recently awakened, might have assumed there were no other incomplete Divine Keys. She wouldn't have considered the possibility of a Herrscher of Corruption, only a completed Key of Corruption.

Finding a potential Divine Key near her, with no corresponding data in her database, she would have naturally investigated.

And that's where things went wrong. The Herrscher of Corruption, trapped and desperate, would have seized the opportunity, extracting information about the current era from Void Archive's memories, fueling her desire for freedom.

She would have released Void Archive, erasing all data related to herself, subtly manipulating her desires and perceptions, making her crave a physical form, and believe the black box and the golden box were equivalent, misleading everyone, creating opportunities for her escape.

And the biggest victim of this deception was Otto. "To protect Kallen, you need the power of both boxes…" Both.

If Lin Wei remembered correctly, Otto had led the project to unseal the black box. It all came full circle.

And because of Otto's involvement, Eleanor had participated, fighting Kallen to the death, only to discover she'd been betrayed.

And because of their collective blunder, the Herrscher of Corruption had almost escaped, only to be stopped by Kallen, twice.

So, in a way, Kallen's title as a "saint" wasn't entirely Otto's fabrication.

…

"Overseer, do you not know the origin of this Key?" Lin Wei asked, looking at Otto strangely. "500 years ago, Kallen Kaslana fled to the Far East with a black box… you should remember that."

Whether Otto genuinely didn't know, or had simply forgotten, was irrelevant now. His attention was fixed on the name: "Kallen…"

He hadn't heard that name spoken in a long time. He'd kept her memory alive, emphasizing her importance to Schicksal, but stories grew stale, and even "saint" became a historical footnote.

For most, it was just Otto's personal obsession. Even Otto himself felt a sense of… loneliness.

That's why he'd sought tangible reminders—the simulated memories, Theresa's birth. In his long, lonely battle, he needed something to sustain his will, his purpose.

While seemingly noble, Lin Wei saw it differently. Regretting your actions after she's gone? Too little, too late.

He couldn't say that out loud, of course. It would push Otto over the edge.

He suppressed his urge to mock, feigning sympathy. "Indeed, I wouldn't have succeeded without… Miss Kallen's help." Regardless of the truth, Kallen sealing Yae Sakura and the black box had ultimately benefited him.

"You…!" Yae Sakura, unable to bear it any longer, disconnected, seeking refuge in the stigmata space. A few seconds later, worried about Lin Wei, she reluctantly reconnected, directing her anger at Otto. "You… what did you do?"

Otto, startled but oblivious to her presence, mistook it for Lin Wei's words. "…'Miss Kallen?' Such a… distant title. I haven't heard it in 500 years…" He sighed wistfully. "Kallen has been dead for five centuries. It's… comforting to hear her name spoken with such… affection, as if she were still here. But!" His expression hardened, his gaze turning cold and sharp. "I won't tolerate anyone using her name for their own gain. You're a smart man, Mr. Lin Wei. You shouldn't provoke me."

He was on edge. If Lin Wei truly possessed one of Schicksal's sacred relics, the black box Kallen had taken, there might be a connection. But "Miss Kallen?" Such familiarity was… unsettling. How could Kallen, dead for 500 years, have helped him? Was he trying to manipulate Otto? Using Kallen's name? He had to see proof.

Otto's anger warred with a desperate hope. He craved any news of Kallen.

Lin Wei, anticipating this, said calmly, "I wouldn't expect you to take my word for it, Overseer. May I borrow a feather?"

Otto, his gaze fixed on Lin Wei, waved his hand, a golden feather materializing in Lin Wei's hand.

Lin Wei took the feather, its color shifting to half-gold, half-black as he infused it with a memory of his battle in the stigmata space. He tossed it back to Otto, smiling. "For your consideration, Overseer." Real or not, I met her.