Night had fallen, and the streets of Vienna stirred beneath the shadow of history. The war that was supposed to end all wars had not brought peace to Europe. Instead, it had sown deeper disaster for humanity.
"It's not just the Honkai that can destroy humanity," the Overseer murmured, "but humanity itself."
The tip of the fountain pen scratched gently, forming a final period on the stark white page. A faint glimmer of light reflected off the pen, which hovered for a moment over the diary before lifting away.
Light spots danced softly across the pure white walls, shifting as the Overseer's fingertip moved. The ink on the notebook began to dry, locking the words in place as the pen was set aside.
With a quiet rustle, the diary closed, its light blue cover swallowing the weight of those thoughts. The room fell silent once more.
At nine o'clock in the evening, Schicksal Headquarters stood as a lone beacon of light in a city still struggling to heal from the pain of the World War.
"Overseer."
The soft sound of a door closing barely broke the silence. Leanna, her golden hair catching the dim light, approached the Overseer's desk.
The Overseer set down her fountain pen, now capped, and placed it casually in the pen holder to her right. Her voice was calm, almost gentle.
"What is it, Leanna? It's quite late."
Leanna's emerald eyes, framed by the owner of Black Abyss White Flower, held a storm of emotions. Anger simmered just beneath the surface, restrained but visible. Nostalgia and sadness lingered there too, unmistakable and raw.
"Overseer... Martha... she... took her own life." Leanna's voice cracked. "She shot herself in the hospital."
Her tone carried a heavy mix of self-reproach and bitterness. Slowly, she placed a trembling hand over her chest and knelt on one knee before Kallen. Her green eyes brimmed with unshed tears, now cast downward.
"Please..." Her voice faltered as tears began to fall. "At least let Martha be buried in Highgate Cemetery. It was her dream... a chance for her to reunite with the others from the Night Moth Squad."
Kallen's gaze rested on Leanna Brigantia, her strongest Valkyrie and a fellow wielder of a Divine Key. A quiet strength surrounded the kneeling figure, yet her grief was undeniable.
The Overseer raised a gloved hand, black veils covering her slender fingers, and touched her temple in thought. Her eyes closed for a brief moment.
The silence stretched for five seconds—brief, yet unbearable.
The answer came exactly as Leanna had expected.
"I'm sorry, Leanna. Martha died by suicide. According to regulations, she cannot be buried in Highgate Cemetery," Kallen said softly, her voice steady but tinged with a distant sorrow. "Schicksal will bury her in another cemetery. You don't need to worry too much about this matter."
Leanna didn't lift her head. Instead, she felt her knees pressing harder into the cold floor. Her voice, barely above a whisper, broke the silence.
"But... Martha was a member of the Night Moth Squad. Please, let her have a Valkyrie's pride... Even if she can't be buried in Highgate Cemetery, could you at least have the Night Moth Squad's emblem engraved on her tombstone?"
Kallen's gaze softened as she looked at Leanna, still kneeling before her. A sigh escaped her lips, carrying a weight she couldn't put into words. In Leanna's steadfast form, she saw reflections of Eleanor and glimpses of her own past self.
Since when did I begin to see human lives as mere numbers, endlessly expendable?
"Yes," Kallen finally said, her voice quieter now. "After Martha is buried, her tombstone will bear the emblem of the Night Moth Squad, even though she cannot rest in Highgate Cemetery as a Valkyrie."
Leanna's shoulders trembled slightly, but she rose, her movements deliberate and restrained. Placing her right hand over her chest, she bowed deeply to the white-haired nun seated behind the mahogany desk.
"Thank you, Overseer," she murmured, her words imbued with both gratitude and resignation.
Her lowered eyelids concealed her expression, but Kallen could still read the storm within her heart.
She really is too much like Eleanor...
Sometimes, Kallen found herself wondering—was Leanna a descendant of Eleanor? The question lingered, unspoken yet persistent in her mind.
Even the Schariac family, born of Eleanor's bloodline, had never produced a Valkyrie quite like her. Quite like Eleanor.
Leanna's compassion for the world was a quiet force, buried deep within the pain and confusion she carried. Just like Eleanor's had been.
"Leanna, it's getting late," Kallen said, her voice soft yet edged with distance. "There's nothing more to handle these past few days. Take a break and get some rest."
Leanna lifted her head slowly, her emerald eyes meeting Kallen's. Her reply came softly, almost a whisper.
"Yes, Overseer."
Kallen nodded, a faint wave of her hand dismissing the Valkyrie. Her tone carried a trace of nostalgia, though it was buried beneath layers of cold detachment.
"You can go now. It's late—you should rest too."
"Yes, then, I'll take my leave, Overseer."
Leanna stood, her movements deliberate and restrained. She turned toward the door, her steps light against the polished floor. Reaching the threshold, she paused.
Glancing back, she saw Kallen seated behind the mahogany desk, lost in thought. The Overseer's hands were gently clasped in front of her, the light of the room casting a soft glow on her black-clad figure. Against the backdrop of the darkened window, she looked unchanged from the day they first met.
Leanna hesitated, as if searching for the right words, but none came. Instead, she turned the lock quietly, the door closing behind her with a faint click.
As she walked down the long corridor, only dim, flickering lights guided her path. Shadows stretched across the walls, but Leanna continued forward, her figure steady yet weighed by the lingering echoes of their exchange.
Kallen's sapphire eyes lingered on the stack of documents before her. With a quiet exhale, she set down her gloved hand and reached for the fountain pen resting in its holder.
The cap came off with a soft click, and she signed her name with a steady hand.
Approved for execution, Overseer, Kallen Apocalypse.
The words settled onto the paper, stark and definitive.
The document—twenty-five pages in total—had arrived from the Black Mountain base in the Ural Mountains. As Landau had promised, they were now on the brink of unlocking the final secrets of the Honkai hidden Inside the black box.
But the cost of that breakthrough was written in blood.
By signing her approval, Kallen had condemned countless "volunteers" to be sent to the Ural Mountains. Under the watch of heavily armed guards, they would step into cold, unfeeling laboratories filled with sterile surgical instruments and an unrelenting air of dread.
Their lives, their blood, and their deaths—everything they were—would become the currency for humanity's last hope.
It was a secret humanity dared not dream of unlocking.
The reversal... of life and death.
"Except for Him, everyone else... including myself, can be sacrificed."
Muttering the vow she had made in her heart after 1544, Kallen pressed the red button on the desk.
Secretary-General Sulona Schariac, with her white hair and golden eyes, quickly entered. She bowed respectfully in front of the Overseer. "Overseer, is there anything I can do for you?"
"Send this document to the Third Division, and also notify the Black Mountain base that Project Otto... can begin."
Sulona gently took the document Kallen handed her and nodded slightly. "Yes, I understand, Overseer. I will complete the task you have given me immediately."
Just as Sulona was about to leave the office, the Overseer suddenly stopped her again. After thinking for a moment, she said the name of the person she wanted to see.
"Have Dianne come see me, and also notify the Thirteenth Division to prepare to execute the White War Plan."
Hearing these words, Sulona's fingers trembled slightly, but she still did not show any emotion.
"Yes, Overseer."
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Half an hour later, inside the Thirteenth Division's Privy Council.
The Thirteenth Division was the most mysterious and chilling department in Schicksal.
It served as the Overseer's most loyal hound and blade.
The Thirteenth Division held the authority to take Valkyries they deemed traitors without involving the Internal Security Intelligence Department.
Those taken by the division faced two fates. They were either shot through the chest or forehead after a confirmed interrogation, or released back into the silence to act as informants for the Thirteenth Division.
Relying on their decisive actions and operating in the shadows, the name of the Thirteenth Division became synonymous with death.
From the First Division to the Thirteenth Division, only it accepted the orders and instructions of the Overseer.
Kallen paced back and forth in this steel chamber, which was lit by only one incandescent bulb. Her short, high-heeled boots made a crisp sound on the floor.
There was nothing that could be called decoration, except for the clean, spotless floor.
Behind the Overseer, a world map hung on the wall. It was covered with all kinds of markings. Near the map were countless pasted-on photographs, some marked with red crosses, and others encircled in red. Below, there was a line of inconspicuous small text: Scheduled for elimination.
The steel blast door was gently pushed open, and Dianne, the head of the Thirteenth Division's executive agency, with her light chestnut hair, gently walked in and knelt on one knee to salute the Overseer. "Overseer, I am late. I apologize for keeping you waiting."
"There's no need to be so respectful. The Thirteenth Division is my right hand and heart."
Kallen nodded slightly in return. Dianne gently stood up. Kallen walked to the world map in front of her and pointed to North America. "What is the current status of the intelligence gathering on the North American branch?"
"Reporting to the Overseer, the Thirteenth Division's agents and informants have infiltrated every inch of the North American branch. According to the latest intelligence summary, Nancy and Planck seem to be planning to deceive the Review Council with a cover-up tactic to prevent the headquarters from taking control of the Dead Sea Scrolls."
"...Is that so?"
Kallen pondered for a moment, then gently moved her hand away from the map and looked at Dianne. "Prepare to execute the White War Plan. Once I issue the execution order, paralyze the North American branch's administrative organs within 48 hours, and quickly cooperate with the American Army to take control of the North American branch."
Dianne was clearly surprised by this decision. She gently placed her hand on her chest. "Overseer, isn't this a bit... too hasty?"
"It's not hasty, it's just time to prepare. Execute this plan after Joyce returns."
The Overseer's mind was made up. Dianne knew she couldn't change anything, so she could only nod slightly, place her hand on her chest, and bow slightly to show that she would resolutely carry out every decision of the Overseer.
However, it seemed that she would have to come up with a better excuse to deceive her darling daughter, Cecilia.
Thinking this, Dianne sighed softly in her heart.
When would she have the chance to... go back and spend some mother-daughter time with Cecilia?