It had been nearly a whole day as twenty-two hours had passed since both Alex and Kiana had been knocked unconscious at the hands of Fu Hua.

To see the floating HQ is almost like seeing a literal deity.

That is what it felt like for common folk whenever they were able to catch a glimpse of the floating isle that Schicksal called their Headquarters, representing just how far and technologically advanced they had become over the course of their existence.

Within the HQ was a dark, dimly lit room with numerous empty and large tubes, though only one was lit up as within that tube, Kiana was there, still unconcious and completely submerged within a purple colored liquid, as she was being observed by a person.

"Continue to infuse Honkai Energy into the test chamber." Said the person revealing themselves to be a male. "We need to be able to awaken her from her deep slumber after all."

The man continued to watch as he chuckled to himself.

"Hehe. Long time no see. Welcome back home, K-423." Said the man, whose face was now visible.

The man had long blonde hair tied to the side and green eyes as he wore a purple jacket with a frilly white shirt inside, white gloves, a pink necktie, a brown belt, gray pants, and brown boots.

It was non other than the Schicksal Overseer himself, Otto Apocalypse.

After a bit, Kiana's eyes opened as they were that golden color again instead of her usual blue.

As that happened, Otto grew a small smirk until his attention was called upon by one of his employees who was monitoring one of the screens which surveyed the Siberian landscape.

"O-Overseer look!" He said as Otto turned to look at the large hologram monitor as it showed a massive white dragon burst out of an iceberg it had been encased in.

"Well well. Looks like your queen's imminent awakening has gotten you all riled up." Said Otto with an amused tone before immediately issuing out commands to everyone in the room.

"Deploy the regional defense satellite! All Valkyrie units, prepare for Level 1 combat! Get everyone! I have the feeling that we'll be having honored guests approaching very soon. A revolution is upon us!" Said Otto with an ecstatic tone, showing that he was thrilled to witness whatever was gonna happen.

A force field then appeared, blocking all around the floating base.

Right as Otto was about to make his leave, he got a sudden video call from Theresa.

The Overseer chuckled as he decided to amuse himself as he answered the call, being greeted to the stern, angered face of his granddaughter.

"Ah my dearest granddaughter. I've been expecting a call from you." Said Otto.

"Grandpa, please give Kiana back to us or else we're forcing our way in with the Hyperion." Said Theresa.

"The Hyperion huh?" Asked Otto in an unamused tone. "Tell me, how exactly do you plan on using that toy of yours, Theresa? Please, just be a good girl and turn back around. Everyone does have their rebellious phase so I won't hold this against you." Said Otto in an amused tone, clearly not taking Theresa's threat seriously.

Theresa merely chuckled upon hearing Otto's response.

"You're as nice to me as I can remember Grandpa Otto. This time however, I've already made up my mind." Said Theresa as she smirked.

"I will not submit!"

As soon as Theresa said that, the call ended as a warning sound began to go off.

"O-Overseer! Someone shot a laser at the force field! It's caused a massive hole to emerge! We're being invaded!" Shouted an alarmed worker.

"No worries. With all the Honkai Energy we've amassed I'm sure the Honkai Beasts can delay them long enough. Now then, I'll be taking my leave. Whatever happens, do not stop infusing Honkai Energy into the chamber. We need her to awaken as soon as possible. Understood?" Asked Otto.

"Yes Overseer!" Said the worker.

With that, Otto left the room and began making his way down the hallway.

This walk lasted for a couple of minutes until he approached a door with a sign that said, "Access for the Overseer only! Entry is strictly prohibited!".

Otto entered the room and it honestly looked like a pretty normal looking lounge room.

There was a table in the middle, a window to look outside, a cabinet with numerous items, and two items.

Though, on one of those chairs was the unconscious Alex, tied to the chair.

Otto walked over and sat on the chair across from Alex with the table in between them.

'This boy. Just what kind of secrets could he potentially hold?' Thought Otto as he continued to look at the unconcious boy.

"Hmm. Well, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I looked into his mind for a bit." Said Otto to himself.

With that, Otto held a hand out as from the wrist emerged a long, thin, white, worm like vine as it slithered its way towards Alex.

Right as vine was about to come into contact into Alex's head, the boy began to slowly stir as Otto immediately retracted the vine back into his wrist.

Eventually the kid opened his eyes and was immediately shocked.

"What the? Y-You're the Schicksal Overseer!" Said Alex.

"Greetings. It's about time we finally meet face to face, Mr. Mustang. As you already know, I'm the current Schicksal Overseer, Otto Apocalypse."

Alex tried to get up, but then noticed that he was tied to the chair.

"W-What the hell what do you want from me!? Why am I tied up!? Where's Kiana!?" Shouted Alex.

"Please please one at a time Mr. Mustang. I just want to have a formal chat with you. That's all." Said the Overseer as he got up and untied Alex before handing himself and Alex pre made cups of tea as he sat back in front of him.

"O-Oh. Uh, thank you?" Said Alex with a confused look as he took a sip.

"You caught my interest a while back Mustang. In just a few months, you've already accumulated quite the resume. Not to mention that the time you've spent within my granddaughter's school has been, quite interesting to say the least." Said Otto. "Correct if I'm wrong dear boy but, the initial contract you two agreed on had been paid off long ago right? Why have you stayed since then?"

"Look. I was going to leave eventually okay? It's just that, things got hectic and busy. That and, I've gotten a little attached to them. That's all." Said Alex.

"I see. The time you've spent with them has caused you to grow a bond. Most understandable. Unfortunately, it's gotten you caught up in this as an unintended participant." Said the Overseer as he got up and walked to the window as he looked outside.

"Unintended participant? What the hell does that mean? What's going on?" Asked Alex.

Otto took a moment to speak, before smiling to himself.

"You asked about the whereabouts of Kiana, no? I'm sure you'd like to know where she is, correct?" Asked Otto, as between his fingers he held a photo as he tossed it over to Alex.

The boy caught the photo and hesitated for a bit before taking a look at it.

On the photo was Kiana unconscious in the purple liquid filled tube.

When Alex saw that, he had many questions going off on his head as he placed the photo down and looked at Otto.

"W-What the hell was that!? Where is she and what have you done to her!?" Asked Alex.

"Please, lower your tone Mustang. Ms. Kaslana hasn't been physically harmed, however, there's a secret behind your friend. Something that you couldn't even begin to comprehend." Said Otto.

"W-What do you mean?" Asked Alex, being extremely cautious.

Otto noticed the faint silhouette of the Hyperion slowly getting nearer and nearer to arriving at Schicksal HQ.

"You're about to witness a revolution take place in front of your eyes Mustang. Some could even call this a historical moment in the history of humanity's battle against the Honkai, and you're friend, Kiana, is an important piece to achieving this revolutionary moment." Said Otto.

"Just get to the point. What do you want from Kiana?" Sternly asked Alex.

"Kiana, huh?"

Otto chuckled to himself.

"You truly know very little. That person you've been referring to as Kiana Kaslana, is not what she seems." Said the Overseer.

Upon hearing that last part, Alex was immediately perplexed as to what Otto was implying.

"N-Not what she seems? What're you getting at? Spit it out already and stop stalling!" Said Alex.

At that moment, the revolution had begun as Otto smirked, finally giving Alex the answer. The truth.

"The girl you know as Kiana Kaslana isn't really Kiana Kaslana. She's a clone. A clone made by yours truly. Kiana Clone #423, or K-423 for short." Said Otto.

When he said that, Alex initially had no clue on what to say or even how to react.

"K-423...clone of Kiana? A-Are you trying to pull my leg here!?" Asked Alex.

Otto expected this type of reaction from Alex as he merely shrugged it off, sighing to himself.

"I have nothing to gain from lying to you Mustang. Whether you choose to believe my words or not is entirely up to you. I'm just merely giving you the truth, the reasoning as to why all that has happened, happened, and why the revolution that is upon us is occurring." Calmly stated the Overseer.

Alex thought it over for a while, until he knew that it was best to just listen to Otto.

"Alright then. Continue speaking." Said Alex.

"After the 2nd Honkai War in Siberia had concluded, I realized that I had a promising specimen in my hands. Kiana Kaslana, daughter of Siegfried Kaslana and Cecilia Schariac, was someone I couldn't ignore, even as a child. After all, being an offspring to both the Kaslana and Scharic bloodlines meant that she had massive amounts of untapped potential. Unfortunately, the first batches of clones I had produced were failures. That was until, I had decided to implant the 2nd Herrscher's core inside the 423rd Kiana clone I produced. To my amazement, it worked. The clone woke up, thus, K-423 was born." Explained Otto.

"S-So, the Kiana I've been with, the Kiana that everyone at St. Freya has been with, has been a clone that is also a Herrscher this whole time?" Asked Alex in total shock.

"Bingo. Fortunately for you all, K-423 is completely unaware of those facts. To her, she's simply the one and only Kiana Kaslana. You see, what I strive to achieve is a human who can fully control and cooperate with their Herrscher powers. In order to achieve that goal, I let K-423 out into the open, allowed her to form bonds, friendships, grow close to those in her life, and make her care for the world. Once that was accomplished, I had my dearest friend Fu Hua bring her back to me so the Herrscher persona within her can awaken. Now, the final step in my plan has arrived."

"F-Final step? What is that final step?" Hesitantly asked Alex.

"Now that K-423 has acquired a deep connection with this world and the ones she cares for, all that's left is for the Herrscher persona within her to fully awaken. I'll then have K-423 fight back and get in control of her body after her Herrscher powers have been fully realized and awoken." Said Otto.

"H-How the hell do you plan to have Kiana gain back control of her body after the Herrscher awakens?"

When Alex asked that, he was unaware of just what Otto had in mind to reawaken Kiana.

"Well, its quite simple dear boy. You see, with how close K-423 has grown with all of her comrades at St. Freya, what do you think would be enough to trigger a response to awaken K-423 from within the Herrscher's psyche?" Asked Otto.

Alex began trying to connect the dots after hearing Otto's question.

It didn't take long for him to piece the puzzle together, as he came to a horrific realization once he finally realized what Otto was hoping for.

In anger and frustration, Alex smacked the table.

"So that's how it is huh? To awaken Kiana, you're gonna have someone close to her die! Like a pawn! Just as a damn sacrifice!" Shouted the boy.

"Trust me Mustang. Even I'm against this. However, knowing how close those girls are to K-423, someone is bound to give their life away in an attempt to save her regardless of my efforts. The real question is, who will be the sacrifice? That is the part I'm most interested in." Said Otto.

"Is this all just a game to you!?" Asked Alex, who's anger was only increasing more and more by the second.

"That's a harsh way to put it. It's more so along the lines of, I'm interested to see who's willing to rise to the occasion and rescue K-423. That's all." Said the blonde before turning to look at Alex. "You however, are being spared."

"Spared? What do you mean?"

"Like I said before, you're an unintended participant. You weren't supposed to get wrapped up in all of this. I fully expected you to part ways after you had retrieved the Selene and especially after you had invaded Anti-Entropy yet, you stayed and here you are." Said Otto.

"Okay so I'm an 'unintended participant'. What of it?" Asked Alex.

"Since you aren't important to this event, I'm allowing you to leave Schicksal unharmed, head back home, and return to your daily life."

Alex was initially taken aback by what Otto had said.

"Y-You really think I'm just gonna go back home that easily!? Especially after what you've just told me!?"

"I'm not forcing this on you Mustang. It's just the option I'm suggesting for you. If you elect to stay and fight, you will die. Either to a Honkai Beast, one of my Valkyries, or maybe even at the hands of Kiana herself. Unlike them however, your death would be meaningless." Said Otto.

"What if none of that happens huh? What if I manage to stay alive, prevent anyone from St. Freya dying, AND save Kiana as well!?" Said Alex.

Upon hearing that, Otto had a small laugh, clearly enjoying the defiance from Alex.

"I'd welcome that with open arms. I am interested to see how a wild card could factor into this plan. Just know that you won't make it out alive." Said Otto in an almost threatening manner.

Alex merely chuckled and smirked at Otto's warning.

"That's a risk I'm willing take." Said Alex.

Otto saw this and smirked as well.

"I see. You've made your decision. Very well then, leave this room. Go and join the battlefield Mustang. Just know that the next time our paths cross, it'll be as enemies." Said Otto.

"I'll keep that in mind, Otto Apocalypse."

With that, Alex left the room and immediately tried to work his way out of whatever building he was in.

As he was making his way outside, a sudden boom could be heard outside as it shook the building causing Alex to stumble a bit.

'What the hell was that!?' He thought.

Alex immediately rushed his way out of the building.

Eventually, he had finally made his way outside and what he saw shocked him immensely.

In the distance was a large, massive fire burning, smoke accompanying it as numerous Honkai Beasts scattered the area as well as Schicksal Valkyries and Anti-Entropy Mechs, with the previously blue sky now an overcast, ominous dark color.

With all the chaos that was unfolding in front of him, Alex closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as he only had one thought on his mind.

'Kiana, I'm coming for you. We WILL, save you.'

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Chapter 32: Complete