Otto was completely dumbfounded at this moment. He clearly remembered that he had already died.
That day, he was using two phones simultaneously—one running a pink app, and the other running some kind of "heaven" app.
Dual-wielding like a pro, when suddenly there was a loud crash from the sky and a bolt of lightning struck—right onto his house, of all places.
Both phones exploded on the spot. Otto was gravely injured by the blast, but at the very moment of his death, his will was firm and unwavering.
With his shattered body, he crawled slowly toward his computer. He knew clearly he was about to die, but he couldn't just die like this. His browser history and study materials on that computer...
Must not be exposed! Absolutely not!
As the saying goes: Better to die a thousand deaths than to leave a tainted name behind!
This guy had collected lewd art of Pam, trash can doujins, and even the Honkai beasts and Bonbon weren't spared.
Thankfully, even though Otto was a pervert, his strong will still allowed him to successfully wipe all the resources from his computer.
In that moment, he smiled in relief. And with that smile, he left the world.
But then what? When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a strange place.
All around him floated countless indistinct round bubbles. He could vaguely make out scenes within them—anime, light novels, even fan creations and meme videos.
Before he could think too much, he suddenly realized—
His body had become weightless, as if freed from gravity, slowly floating upward.
Looking down, he saw that he had turned into a white sphere, smooth and round, like some mysterious object that had fallen from an unknown universe.
Above his head, a massive mask was suspended in the air. The corners of its mouth curled upward, as if mocking Otto's confusion.
The mask's eyes were deep, seemingly concealing endless secrets.
As Otto stared at it, he suddenly realized that the mask wasn't alone—behind it were countless smaller masks, all in different shapes and sizes, but all wearing the same eerie smile.
The masks began to emit sound—a series of "hahaha" laughter that resonated together in an eerie harmony.
To someone unfamiliar with games, it might just seem like meaningless noise. But to Otto, these laughs carried a very familiar tune.
And that face—it was so familiar. Just one look, and Otto completely recognized where this mask came from.
Otto was a hardcore gamer, especially obsessed with games made by Mihoyo. From Honkai Impact 3rd to Genshin Impact, to Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero, he had played nearly every game Mihoyo had made.
He called himself a "Mi-boy," a nickname that became widely known in gaming circles due to his active presence.
Ever since getting hooked on Honkai 3 in 2016, he even changed his name to Otto, and people around him gradually accepted that name.
His body continued to rise, and those masks seemed to move along with him. Their smiles became wider, their laughter louder.
Otto's heart pounded wildly in his chest, as if it might burst out at any moment.
His eyes were wide open, pupils contracting, trying to etch everything in front of him into his retina.
That mask, that strange laughter, and that eerie hint of red—everything told him: this wasn't a dream. This was real.
And at this point, he fully recognized whose damn mask that was.
The Joyful Aeon from Star Rail—Aha.
Otto's mouth twitched. He tried to say something, but his throat felt blocked, and only produced some meaningless murmurs.
?
Wait, wasn't he a ball? Where the hell did the mouth come from?
Otto slowly looked at himself again and realized that the white sphere he was had gradually turned into a humanoid shape made of white mosaic. Absolutely absurd.
Ribbit!
Could it be… I've become a godlike being?
Damn it, no! I don't want to be that kind of chosen one!
His hand instinctively reached up to touch his face. How to describe it... it was kind of smooth.
Otto then locked his gaze once more onto the large mask in the sky.
"Aha…" he finally squeezed out the name, his voice trembling slightly, with a hint of excitement. After all—
Meeting the Joyful Aeon after death? Not a bad ending, really.
Though chances were high this so-called Aeon was about to toy with him—or even kill him for fun.
The mask above, as if it had heard Otto's voice, burst into even louder laughter. The laughter echoed far and wide across countless universes.
"Interesting, interesting. A soul pulled out by accident actually knows who I am."
"Hahaha, Aha, truly honored, truly honored."
Then more voices followed from above. But now Otto's expression was slowly turning to horror.
He suddenly remembered something: if this damn Joyful Aeon could read his mind—then wouldn't it know about all those bizarre fetishes and ridiculous things he'd done?
Wouldn't he instantly suffer a universal-level social death?
Otto cursed internally. Damn it, you bastard, of all the places you could send me, why did you have to send me into a world where I meet Aha right at the start?
It's over. I'm really done for. Getting picked up by Aha after reincarnating? My future is guaranteed to be one huge cosmic joke (tragic).
Just like that one bug… who would've thought a mere insect could become famous?
Became a Messenger.
And since when did this damn Joyful Aeon become so powerful? It can reach outside the worlds to snatch souls now?
You're not really the Joyful Aeon. Come clean—who the hell are you?
The Aha Otto knew sure wasn't this strong. Just one universe, maybe. But look at this—
This was full-blown multiverse. And it could still come out to collect souls? Damn it, don't tell me I've transmigrated into some absurd light novel?
(Author: Who are you calling absurd?!)
At that moment, it seemed like Aha also knew what Otto was thinking. It actually spoke up.
"That's right, it's me. But after reading your memories, I found some very... entertaining stuff."
But unlike in the game, this version of the Joyful Aeon wasn't an ordinary one—it was a Joyful Aeon at an infinite multiverse level.
After all, with infinite multiverses, infinite parallels—anything was possible.
Aha was now slowly reading Otto's memories, but then it noticed something odd—some of Otto's memories seemed locked, as if it couldn't access them.
Aha extended its invisible little hand and scratched at its mask, confused.
(Author: That's the power of a protagonist, kid!)