As a symbiotic being, I raise children amidst the chaos.

“I’m sorry, Karen…” Otto murmured, his head bowed. His voice was as soft as a breeze, but the apology within it weighed heavily on his heart. He dared not look up at the person before him, afraid of seeing disappointment and blame in her eyes.

Each word he uttered felt like a heavy hammer slamming into his heart, echoing with a dull, painful sound. The words seemed not to come from Otto's mouth, but rather squeezed directly from the depths of his shattered soul.

Finally, Otto slowly raised his head and opened his eyes. Before him stood that face he knew all too well, standing quietly, smiling at him.

In Otto's eyes, her smile was still so radiant, like the warmest sunshine in spring, easily piercing through layers of gloom and shining into the darkness of his heart. At that moment, time seemed to flow backward, and all the past flashed before Otto's eyes, gradually overlapping with the scene in reality.

However, although the Karen before him looked exactly the same as in his memory, the surrounding environment constantly reminded him that this was just an illusion constructed by his obsession.

Otto's hands trembled slightly involuntarily. The guilt that had accumulated to the extreme erupted like a flood breaking through a dam, almost engulfing him completely.

“Just this once… there will never be a next time…” Otto gritted his teeth and swore silently. He reached out a hand and gently stroked Karen’s smooth cheek, feeling that long-lost warmth.

“I will not allow anyone to take advantage of you again… This is not only for you, but also for me…”

In that profound pain, which seemed like an endless abyss, Otto's heart was swallowed by darkness. However, it was precisely this extreme pain that gradually made his originally confused thoughts clear.

"Perhaps, we should never have met and gotten to know each other in the first place. You should have had an incredibly bright and beautiful future, while I became the sinner who destroyed it all with my own hands."

Otto muttered to himself, each word like a sharp sword piercing his own soul. In that instant, countless fragments of memories related to Kallen flashed through his mind like lightning.

The solemn promises he had made to her, and the intense love hidden deep in his heart, were now playing over and over again in his mind like scenes from a movie.

In that brief moment, a hand landed on his and immediately captured his attention. "What's wrong, my great inventor? That expression is so unlike you."

"Ah~ Indeed, it's nothing like me." Hearing that familiar voice again, Otto's lips curled into a smile as he looked at Kallen with deep affection. "Perhaps, this is the only act of redemption I can make in this life..."

At this point, Otto involuntarily clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning pale from the force. His eyes were slightly red, even tinged with a scarlet hue, as if burning with two raging flames.

Even if what awaits me is a road full of thorns and dangers, even if I eventually fall into the abyss of hell from which there is no return, I will be willing and have no complaints!

At this moment, he had completely lost the aloof, dignified image that the Archbishop of Destiny usually possessed, and instead became a warrior charging into battle for love.

Otto slowly raised the hands that should have held power, his fingertips trembling slightly, as if he was trying his best to restrain some strong emotion, or perhaps he was gathering his last bit of strength.

Finally, with a sigh, Otto mustered all his strength and thrust his bone spur fiercely at Karen, who was standing directly in front of him. However, just as the bone spur in the mirror was about to touch Karen's delicate body, the whole world seemed to be suddenly put on pause.

The air that was flowing around us froze at that moment, becoming unusually heavy and oppressive, making it almost impossible to breathe.

Meanwhile, Chen Yuan, who had been standing aside and observing coldly, revealed an expression of barely concealed excitement. He had been eagerly awaiting the climax and the final curtain call of this thrilling drama.

"Haha, you've finally arrived, my esteemed bishop!" Chen Yuan roared arrogantly, a cold, mocking smile playing on his lips. "You've finally made this difficult choice, and I'm truly overjoyed!"

"Shut up!" Otto replied coldly, his face ashen. For some reason, the raging anger that had been burning within him vanished like a receding tide the moment he uttered those two words.

Immediately afterwards, his hands, which had been somewhat hesitant, plunged straight into the once-familiar smile before him without the slightest pause or hesitation.

In an instant, a bloody and terrifying scene flashed in Otto's eyes, with blood splattering everywhere and his beautiful smile shattering instantly... But even so, these scenes had become completely irrelevant to him now.

Seeing Karen leaning forward and swaying precariously from the attack, Otto opened his arms without hesitation and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Karen, wait for me, I will do it!" Otto lowered his head, not daring to look ahead, his trembling hands wiping his blood-stained clothes back and forth, trying to wipe away the shocking bloodstains. Finally, when the bloodstains were no longer so obvious, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He slowly reached out and gently stroked Karen's cold yet beautiful face, as if that would allow him to feel that she was still alive. "I have done as you said. Can the illusion end now?"

Just then, a figure silently appeared behind Otto. Chen Yuan walked slowly, step by step, closer to Otto. When they were close enough, he gently patted Otto's shoulder, his tone carrying a hint of undisguised surprise.

"Of course, you can look around. But to be honest, I'm finding you increasingly terrifying. I never imagined you could be so ruthless to yourself."

Upon hearing Chen Yuan's words, Otto paused slightly, then slowly raised his head. In an instant, all the Kallens who had been surrounding him vanished, leaving only a depressing pure white space in the entire area.

"Otto, calm down, calm down!" Otto took a deep breath, trying to calm his heart, which was pounding wildly with grief. However, despite constantly telling himself to calm down, the turmoil within him remained unabated.

At that moment, the pure white space before him seemed to expand infinitely, as if it had no end. Otto slowly stood up, gazing at Chen Yuan standing before him with a complex expression.

After a long pause, he finally spoke, “It’s all over, my friend. Through this experience, I’ve truly come to understand your capabilities. Don’t you think our struggle should end here?”

(Please give this poor author some free gifts!! A few clicks to urge me to update!! Thank you, readers!! Please~ Please~).