Their lips parted.
Otto looked down; Kiana looked up.
Her charming almond eyes were hazy, her red lips slightly parted, her breath a sweet whisper.
A crimson blush spread across her flawless cheeks, as perfect as white jade, making her look as tempting as a ripe apple.
Kiana didn't look away. She simply stared at Otto.
Her heart was pounding.
Today was her birthday, and she had just received the best gift of her entire life.
Otto gazed at Kiana. For her, it had only been a week or two since she had last seen him.
But for Otto, countless days and nights had passed without seeing her.
"You kept our promise," Otto said with a smile.
The star-flowers were still blooming, their light dancing across his face, making it flicker between light and shadow.
"Of course I did!"
Kiana placed her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and grinned, unable to hide her joy.
"But… that wasn't this lady's first kiss."
So Kiana said.
She looked at Otto, her peachy face flushed, her willow-like brows slightly furrowed as she bit her vibrant, flower-red lip.
That kiss just now was not Kiana's first.
"It's alright."
A smile played on Otto's lips.
The light in the night sky gradually faded. The fireworks were over. After the clamor, only silence remained.
"I was actually awake… back then," Kiana said slowly.
Back then. That was when her first kiss was lost.
On the second day after meeting Otto.
The young girl's lips had been stolen by him.
"I know."
Otto knew what Kiana was talking about. In Italy, when he stole a kiss from a Kiana pretending to be asleep.
"I knew you were awake then."
"That's why I kissed you."
That was Otto and Kiana's first kiss.
Her fair hand clenched into a fist. Kiana raised her right hand and pressed it against Otto's chest, like a bridge built between them.
Her cheeks, so delicate they looked like they would break at a touch, puffed out. Kiana said with dissatisfaction, "It's not right to steal a kiss from a sleeping girl."
"But you weren't sleeping, were you?" Otto said with a grin. He lowered his head, his emerald eyes meeting her azure ones. Their noses were almost touching, and they could feel each other's slightly ragged breath.
"Tonight… do you want to come to my room?" Otto asked.
It was an invitation.
Kiana's eyelashes trembled.
Otto knew that Kiana likely had feelings for him; that's why she was willing to kiss him.
And those feelings perhaps stemmed from a sense of dependence, born from him pulling her out of her loneliness.
Perhaps, as she experienced more warmth from others, that dependence would gradually fade.
But so what?
Kiana looked at Otto. She understood the meaning behind his words.
But, biting her lower lip gently, she shook her head.
Faced with her rejection, Otto wasn't bothered. He said nonchalantly, "Alright then."
He had been rejected by Fu Hua, and now by Kiana.
I wonder, will Mei reject me too?
Such an absurd thought suddenly crossed his mind. He shook his head.
He felt that Mei would agree.
Just then, Kiana spoke softly.
"S-rank Valkyrie."
Otto looked at her. Her face was completely red as she continued.
"After I become an S-rank Valkyrie… if I still feel the same way I do now, and if you are still the same as you are now…"
Kiana stood on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear.
"I… will come to your room."
Having said her piece, she straightened up. Though her face was beet red, her gaze was bright and resolute as she looked at Otto.
This was a new promise.
She was not one to run away.
Some things, she would even take the initiative to fight for.
Otto lowered his head and whispered back into her ear.
"Kiana."
This was the first time he had ever said her name.
All this time, he had never called her Kiana.
Because Otto knew. She was K-423.
She was the Kiana clone he had created, K-423.
"Kiana Kaslana."
Otto said the idiot tuna's name again. Kiana's heart hammered against her ribs. In a flash of her usual cleverness, she suddenly realized this was the first time he had ever called her by her name since they met.
"I," Otto continued.
"Otto Apocalypse."
"In my capacity as the Overseer of Schicksal, do hereby officially appoint you as Schicksal's S-rank Valkyrie."
Kiana's eyes widened. She looked at Otto's wicked grin, rolled her eyes, and lightly punched him in the chest.
"You're cheating."
"That doesn't count. This lady is going to become an S-rank Valkyrie through her own strength," Kiana declared.
Otto just smiled. Who became an S-rank Valkyrie was ultimately decided by a single word from him, the Overseer.
Theresa was his granddaughter, Durandal was his student, Li Sushang was an old acquaintance, and Rita was a useful tool.
However, they were not all completely loyal to him.
Take Durandal, for instance. She stayed by his side perhaps because she needed his help with the bubble universe inside her, and because Schicksal was the first line of defense against the Honkai.
If he were to cross her red line, she might just cut ties with him.
That was why he needed to build a new core team, one that put Otto Apocalypse first.
For example, a Fu Hua who loved Otto.
For example, a Kiana who loved Otto.
For example, a Mei who loved Otto.
"I'll give you one week. You must become an S-rank Valkyrie within one week," Otto said with a smile.
Kiana playfully punched his chest again in protest.
"Even a baby takes nine months to be born. How can someone become an S-rank so quickly?"
Kiana raised her hands.
She held up ten fingers.
"Ten years. Give me ten years."
Kiana had only seen the tip of the iceberg of her great aunt's power, but she wasn't discouraged.
She would definitely become an S-rank Valkyrie.
And why?
Because this lady is Kiana Kaslana!
Ten years?
Otto looked at the ten fingers Kiana held up. In ten years, she wouldn't be considered a geriatric mother.
Though, instead of worrying about Kiana, he should probably be more concerned about the fifty-thousand-year-old Fu Hua.
Otto looked into Kiana's eyes. He held up two fingers.
"Two years."
"I will only wait two years for you."
Today was December 7th, 2013. Based on the history Otto knew, the war between humanity and the Honkai would enter its most intense phase in three to four years.
Moreover, after his recent provocations against the Will of the Honkai, Otto felt that this timeline might be shortened considerably.
After all, the Will of the Honkai really wanted him dead.
"You underestimate your own potential," Otto said.
The fusion of Schariac Holy Blood and the Kaslana lineage, combined with the core of the Herrscher of the Void… if properly nurtured, she would become Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie.
"Two years!?"
Kiana mimicked his gesture, holding up two fingers. This lady is already so confident, but I didn't expect Otto to be even more confident in me!
"You are no ordinary girl," Otto said slowly.
"I will let you know everything about yourself."
"And once you know everything, you will understand what kind of person you are destined to become."
Kiana's, or rather, K-423's, origin was a ticking time bomb.
It was a hidden danger that could not be erased.
Otto could perhaps ask Fu Hua to use Fenghuang Down on Kiana, but confronting a problem is better than burying it.
Otto decided to face it head-on.
And once he and Kiana crossed that bridge together…
This bond would become the heaviest thing in the world.