Chapter 1: Whispers from the Future
"December 12th, 2016..? I'm in the past?" Otto pondered with a confused expression as he held one side of his head, trying to grasp the situation. But what worried him was not that he was in a strange place and a strange time. But that it could mean that everything he had accomplished could've been but a disillusioned fantasy that he made up. That everything he know wouldn't be true anymore, that Kallen Kaslana.. had still yet to receive her second chance.
"This can't be.." Otto muttered with a slight sense of fear and panic rising in his chest as he let out a sigh of exasperation, the feeling of sorrow and regret slowly build up as he felt like everything was a lie and the entire world was crumbling around him.
"Grand Overseer?" Rita's voice asked softly as it immediately brought Otto back to the present.
"One moment Rita," Otto replied, masking a pained tone as he rubbed his bridge and composed himself.
"Regardless. I should deal with the situation at hand first and think later." Otto then decided as he gathered the voice in his throat and began to formulate a plan of action. If things are still the way they are, then currently, the Hyperion crew should be fighting against K423 who had just recently been awakened as the Herrscher of the Void. His old friend, the Empyreal Phoenix had gone to confront her, which meant that there was little time for him to be standing around.
While it was fine to just let Phoenix die since she'd betray him later on, and would most likely cause headaches for him in the future with her Alter-ego. It could also be detrimental as her help is needed to stabilize Kiana Kaslana after she turns back into a human. And then Murata Himeko, her sacrifice is needed as well for Kiana Kaslana to grow stronger. If he doesn't buy enough time, Murata Himeko may not be able to arrive on time and the Herrscher may as well kill them all before they can even bring back Kiana Kaslana.
"Standby Rita, go together with Durandal and protect your junior Valkyries. Keep the beasts away from the Hyperion and the Herrscher, we must not let anyone interfere with their fight," Otto ordered as he turned around and left the Overseer Sanctum.
"Void Archives, are you there?" Otto reached out to the Divine Key housed inside his consciousness.
"Yes yes, what is it?" the voice inside his mind replied with an exasperated yet playful tone.
"Do I have any battle avatars ready? I need to mobilize." Otto asked as he walked through the corridors of the headquarters.
"Why? Are you going to help them?" Void Archives asked with a teasing voice, masking the skepticism and dissatisfaction etched in its tone.
"..." Otto hesitated for a brief moment. He wasn't entirely sure. Should he? he already has the answer.. but if he doesn't play his card right.. the revival of Kallen Kaslana may become a distant fantasy.
"No, It's merely as a backup plan," Otto replied with a solemn tone.
"There's one-half ready, you busted the best one a few months back when securing the Cosmic Juggernaut." Void Archives replied.
"Perfect, then let us hurry, our friend is waiting."
(Outside of Schicksal HQ)
Otto walked towards the edge of the Floating Isles as he glanced around, Durandal and Rita seems to have already left to help the other Schicksal Valkyries struggling with the Honkai.
"Amber," Otto said as a holographic screen appeared up before him in the next moment.
"I'm going to be busy having a little talk with the Herrscher, please tell Rita and Durandal to continue defending our Valkyries. Their help is not needed for this battle." Otto ordered, it was the conclusion he arrived at, after all, in the memory he held. They weren't necessary and could defend Schicksal resources elsewhere.
"You sure are taking a bold move today, did you take the wrong pills when you woke up?" Void archives asked in a joking tone.
"Just be quiet, it will be over very quickly,-" Otto replied as he took a step off the Isles and flew through the sky. He then landed on the lower ground of the headquarters with a loud thud before he stood up and brushed himself off and nonchalantly stretched his arms as he began to walk forward.
"Guess I will shoot my friend again. After all, their hatred is a must for me to pass into the Imaginary tree's realm." He then told himself as he made up his mind to once again repeat the actions of his memory. It proved to be successful. To change it now is to deny himself the chance of reviving Kallen.
However, to Otto's surprise, a figure emerged before him, it was neither the Herrscher nor his friend, or anyone he knew for that mattered, or anything he knew for that mattered.
Before him stood a black humanoid that looked to be made out of hardened crystallized rocks with purple veins coursing through its body, Its glowing violet eyes glared down at him with an ominous aura that spread death and terror like a vassal of Hell.
It did not frighten Otto, but it did make him uneasy. For the five centuries he has lived and the years he spent digging up past era knowledge, this was the first time he had to see anything like it.
"Void Archives, what is that?" He asked cautiously.
"..I have to admit, I have no clue." Void Archives replied with an equally confused tone, ashamed of being a fragment of the Herrscher of Reason and not knowing what this creature is.
"..It doesn't look like it's friendly, and neither will it let us pass," Otto commented as he stared down the creature and prepared for an inevitable battle as the Cleaver of Shamash materialized into his arms.
Immediately, the creature rushed at Otto with great haste and threw its sharp rock-like arms at him, its speed surprising Otto as the claws scratched his cheeks when he dodged back.
The attacks were relentless as the beast seemed familiarized with hand-to-hand combat and Otto was forced on edge from the surprising strength and proficiency of the creature's combat prowess.
"This avatar was made to fight Emperors!" Otto remarked in disbelief, shock and surprise at how much he was cornered by this one entity.
"Well, it is half-ready." Void Archives replied.
"Still!" Otto yelled back as he dodged a right hook and ducked, he grabbed the creature's jaws and twisted it along with his body as he launched it over his shoulder and onto the ground, forming a small crack in the floor of the Hyperion as bits of its rock-like face fell off.
The entity turned and kicked Otto as it dodged and rolled backwards, creating distance between the two of them.
"I don't have the time for this.." Otto remarked to himself as he prepared Shamash for a decisive blow.
The entity rushed forward and prepared to throw an attack of his own, which was met with Otto's Shamash swinging down onto its head.
However, it suddenly halted and weaved through the attack, sacrificing the right half of its body as it was destroyed by Shamash, but not before sending its claws toward Otto's face.
"Shit.. transfer consciousness." Otto thought as he prepared to move to a different body.
"There's no need for that is there?" A childish voice suddenly spoke as Otto's arms moved from Shamash and blocked the attack.
"What?" Otto looked at his own body in disbelief.
"Did I just..?" He questioned in surprise when he briefly glanced over at his arm and noticed a glowing mark on the back of his palm which had a line like veins or branches glowing up his right arm.
The entity also appeared to be confused as it looked at Otto for a brief moment before reeling its arms back for another hit, but it was slow. Incredibly so.
Otto's perception of time had changed significantly, he watched for several seconds as the creature reeled its arms back slowly and he moved his own, stepping forward and pushing his fist into its face.
With a loud tremor in the air, the creature's hardened rock-like face was broken apart as the fragments of it shot through the air like bullets and the rest of its body followed, launched across the sky like a ragdoll as it was thrown off the Floating Isles and fell tens of thousands of feet to the ocean below.
Otto took a moment to take in what just happened as he stood up and looked over at his arms, the glowing veins had now become unnoticeable as they dimmed, but the mark was still visible on the back of his palm.
"Void Archives? Was that you?" Otto asked in a confused tone.
"I've existed as a fragment of the Herrscher of Reason for five centuries now, and this is the only day I've felt like an infant." Void Archives replied vaguely, admitting that it had no idea what just happened.
Otto, on the other hand, had some sort of a clue, a theory that he adamantly denies. The feeling when he struck that blow to the strange entity felt very familiar. It was a feeling that was still vivid in his memory. It was a far-fetched guess. But he could never mistake it now that he had felt it again the second time.
It was the power of the Imaginary tree.
But that shouldn't be possible.
It couldn't be possible.
Otto would never allow it to be possible.
Because it would mean that he had succeeded.
No matter, there was no time to be standing around coming up with inferences and theories. He needed to make his way over to Empyreal Phoenix and fast. But as he took the first step, Otto hesitated for a brief moment as a memory came to his mind.
"I'm not exactly a monster, I wouldn't kill someone without a proper reason. I had overstepped the line in the past because I had no alternatives, you know that don't you?"
A/N: And that will be it for chapter 1 of "What do you see in your mirror?", So to confirm some things, yes, those are two new characters that are going to be playing a major part in the story. Why so? because writing the same setting except "Otto is now a good guy" is boring, not to diss any writer's work but when a story becomes predictable is when it becomes boring, therefore I like to introduce new elements that will keep the readers guessing. Who had just supported Otto? Why does he still have the power of the Imaginary tree? what was that entity? it is these things that make people think the story will twist and turn, and also make it very fun for me to write as I don't have to just copy and paste the original dialogue while fixing some stuff.
I made Otto to still be an ass in this chapter. As I have stated in the prologue, I aim to remain faithful to Otto Apocalypse's original character but remove some traits to make him more likeable. You may find him frustrating at times and annoying at other times, but this is what made Otto Apocalypse, Otto Apocalypse for me, the unwavering faith in Kallen Kaslana despite all that challenged him. It's the story of a man unable to realize how tragic his own life is, he accuses Kallen of dying as a martyr instead of choosing her death, but he seeks the same thing for five centuries, dying for an undying belief.
Well, chapter 2 will finally get into his decision of whether he should use his newfound power to save Fu Hua and Himeko or leave them to die. Hope you had a good read! I've cooked up some great ideas while sitting in math class today :DD
Edit: changed from Hyperion to Schicksal grounds because while writing Chapter 2, I realized that they couldn't be on Hyperion. It's quite difficult to tell where they are because the game does not specify and you could only see the background which looked like Hyperion.
