Empty silence filled the ruined cathedral.

Otto's Soulium clones were present, if dead, but the man himself had vanished along with his cousin.

"Is…is it over?" Seele hesitatingly asked.

Bronya shook her head, then hugged her. "No, Seele. It isn't over until we determine what's happened to them."

Theresa asked Tesla and Einstein if they had gleaned anything regarding the whereabouts of those they had just fought, but even they could not answer.

For another tense minute, each of them stood still, not knowing what options were available to them and unwilling to confront the possibility that their captain was now lost to them for a second time.

Be at peace now, Miss Zaychik. It is over.

They all recoiled at the echoing voice that could belong to only one man. It reverberated across the stone walls of the cathedral, but the power it once carried was gone forever. It was the voice from beyond the grave.

"Where are you, Otto?" Bronya angrily demanded. "What have you done to Johann? Where is he?!"

"Show yourself, Otto. We aren't finished with you," Theresa and Kiana said.

There's no need for that. I couldn't even if I wished to. The voice of Otto Apocalypse you're hearing now is only his echo. The man himself is long dead and forever will be, and I cannot thank you enough for making this possible, Kiana Kaslana.

His words only confused them further.

"Otto…is dead?" Bronya stammered.

"Grandpa…" Theresa whispered.

"I hope this isn't another one of yours lies," Mei muttered.

Bianka stepped forward. "Enough of your tricks, Overseer. Show yourself and explain your true intentions."

His laughter echoed through the ruined halls of the cathedral.

I have always admired your persistence, Bianka. Why do you still refuse to see my actions as they are? Do you not view me as the worst enemy of mankind?

"I'll never condone your actions, but neither can I forget the kindness you showed me when I was young and how much you have supported me over the years," Bianka plainly replied.

You honour me with your kind words, Bianka. I shall reward them with complete honesty of my own. Yes, you must have already deduced that my ultimate goal was always the revival of Kallen Kaslana to life. Yes, my dear cousin, your captain, Johann Stern, is truly Johann Apocalypse, and yes, he loved Kallen even more than I did. We have had our differences, but the one thing we could always agree on was that Kallen deserves to be happy.

All of them listened carefully, searching for any lies Otto could have slipped in, ultimately detecting none.

Regarding your captain…please, hold nothing against him. He never wished harm on any of you. He willingly joined me because he wished to see Kallen alive again as much as I did. In exchange, he demanded that no harm come to any of you. This was something that he did not even need to demand to begin with. After all, I could never raise a hand against you, my dear granddaughter Theresa, and raising a hand against those you care about is akin to hurting yourself.

"Grandpa…" Theresa said quietly. They all knew it was true. Even in the midst of battle, neither Otto nor any of his clones made genuine efforts to harm any of them.

And above all, he demanded that no harm come to you, Kiana.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

You must remember the threat I made to you to encourage you to confront me in this cathedral? I said that I would reset the entire world back over five hundred years, erasing countless lifetimes. As you know, I do not make idle threats. I was perfectly capable of carrying this out at any time. But I chose not to. It was never the ideal outcome I wanted.

As I explained to Johann, I had two options. Either I could carry out the threat and reset the world to the year 1477 to before Kallen's death, or I could instead create an entirely new timeline starting at that same moment and leave this world you all cherish so much entirely intact.

The first option was simple, if costly. I only had to provide the Will of the Honkai with what it wanted: tremendous amounts of Honkai energy. The world would be reverted, and everything outside Kolosten would have never existed. This threat understandably encouraged you to confront me. But in truth, it was only an option of last resort. I truly would prefer to not condemn Theresa to the horrible world Kallen, Johann, and I were forced to grow up in.

The second option was as costly, if in a different way, and contrary to the expectations of the Will. It required abilities I did not have, and it required absolutely perfect timing. If even one detail was in error, it would have failed. But rejoice - it did not fail. I succeeded. Kallen lives once more.

"Abilities that you don't have…" Kiana muttered. She considered it for only a few seconds before realizing his meaning. "You mean…the powers of the void that Johann and I both have. You…you wanted me to attack him with that portal. You wanted him to attack me with one of his own. And once there was enough void energy, you took it all for yourself…"

Very astute of you, Kiana. I indeed needed void energy - incomprehensible amounts of it. More than either of you possess on your own. To be specific, I required the mastery over spacetime only the Herrscher of the Void possesses. Johann fought you, Kiana, because it was the only way for both of you to release as much void energy as possible, which I passively absorbed as I preoccupied Bianka. Every subspace lance and portal you and Johann created released an ambient amount of void energy that served to aid our plan. The energy reached its peak with your portal tug-of-war against him. Finally, I had all that I needed.

"Why did you need void energy? How would that help you?" Bronya demanded.

To enter the Imaginary Tree and create a new branch growing from it, of course. The precise details are quite complex, and I imagine that Nagamitsu and the two Anti-Entropy scientists with you can explain the finer details later using the time I do not have, but you only need to know that once Kiana and Johann had released a sufficient threshold of void energy, my plan was complete. I had all that I needed. A new branch of the Imaginary Tree was born. Kallen lives again at the cost of my own soul, which I have gladly paid. I was a prisoner of my own powers, and only with my death was I free to use them in the way I wanted. I was a False God subservient to a true god, but in my final moment, I became God and created a new world I approved of.

They were silent for a while. It was nearly too much to comprehend. Could anyone, even a man like Otto, accomplish such an extraordinary feat? If anyone could, it was him and him alone.

"I will ask you again: where is Johann?" Bronya demanded.

In a better place.

"What?" they all exclaimed.

Oh, yes. I told you that Johann and I wanted to make Kallen happy above all else. Without him, she cannot be. I understood the truth of this even if Johann did not. He resisted me when I told him this, yes. He fought me. But he has now reunited with his lost love. It will be jarring for him. It will be difficult for him to accept. But in time, he will. In time, he will come to thank me for what I have done for him. After all, he has no other choice. The new world began precisely twenty seconds before the exact moment of Kallen's death. Without him, history would simply have repeated itself. He is the man who made it all possible and the reason why Kallen lives again…

The girls realized with growing apprehension and then horror at what Otto meant and what he had done.

"No…no, this can't be…" Kiana stammered. "You…you can't have…"

"Is he…?" Theresa said, her eyes wide.

The rest were too stunned to even speak.

"BRING HIM BACK, OTTO! DO IT, NOW!" Bronya screamed. She would have torn a fissure in reality itself with her own hands and dragged him back if she could, but she could not. The others could not even bring themselves to scream at him no matter how much they wished to. It was useless. Begging Otto for anything had always been useless.

Otto's laughter rumbled throughout the ruined stone hall before gradually fading.

I'm afraid that I lack the ability and means to bring him back even if I wished to. Otto Apocalypse's purpose is finished. All he has left are a few parting words. Remember them and remember them well…

"SHUT UP, OTTO!" Kiana, Bronya, Mei, Fu Hua, Seele, Rozaliya, and Liliya all screamed.

To Rita, my trusted right-hand woman…I thank you for all of your service to Schicksal, even if carrying out my every order destroyed you from within. Hate me if you must. Curse my name and memory. Let it give you the strength needed so that no man like myself may ever rule again. You can accomplish so much more this way.

To Fu Hua, my oldest friend…I wish for you to live a long and fulfilling life, more than the one you have already lived…the future belongs to you as much as the past. You will guide it well.

To Bianka, my mightiest valkyrie…I am happy for you that your memories are now restored. Cherish who you are and use it well. I have absolute confidence that you will be able to defeat the Honkai. This is why I have helped you gain the strength you now have…so you can prevail against the accursed Honkai that has only caused Kallen and Johann so much endless suffering. The road ahead will be long and dangerous, but eventually, you will find the light…you will be the light.

Finally, to Theresa, my dearest and only granddaughter…I must apologize for being unable to attend your coronation ceremony. I know that you will become a better Overseer than I could ever be…I wish that I could be there to guide you and witness everything you will accomplish, but I also know that you are no longer in need of me. You are and always will be my greatest creation, and you've made me proud to be your grandfather.

"Grandpa…" Theresa began to say before choking up.

You will lead the others to greatness. Just remember to take care of Amber, your sister, for me. She will be alone in the world otherwise.

Otto's time in this world drew to a close.

And lastly, to all of you…remember him and mourn him if you must, but take satisfaction in the fact that he will at last make our wretched world into the better place we have always wanted…

The voice fell silent and spoke no more.

The only sound that could be heard in the empty cathedral was Theresa quietly sobbing.

—-

Otto painfully clutched his wounded arm as he staggered through the boundless wheat field.

The recent battle had taken a toll on his body. The powers he once wielded were stripped from him, and each injury he had sustained now manifested onto his body at once. The sheer quantity of void energy he struggled to keep hold over threatened to release itself and destroy his body at any moment, but still he trudged on. A lesser man would have succumbed long ago, but Otto was no lesser man.

Beside him walked a man with red hair. At times, he helped Otto stand on his feet and supported him on his shoulder. Otto's time had not yet come. He would see him to the end.

Their destination could be seen as a bright point of light far away in the distance, which became larger and brighter as they drew closer. After perhaps an eternity, the field of wheat ended and a red waste began.

The two men stood together side by side, observing their surroundings. Ageless ruins covered the otherwise featureless field, relics of civilizations long dead and civilizations that had never existed. In the distance far beyond them was a massive, glowing, tree-like structure, awaiting their arrival.

The time had come. This was what they had fought so hard for.

Otto glanced at him. His eyes were hard and determined, even more so than Otto's own.

Otto smiled. He gently placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Are you ready, my most dearest cousin? Will you fight beside me for Kallen's sake?"

He nodded, grim determination burning in his eyes.