He's always in each world.
Each voice sounds almost identical to his.
This had to be some joke, right?
Of course, the world was full of coincidences.
This was just another one of them.
Those men were not the same.
But he couldn't shake that feeling, the gaze of the man's green eyes, the pitch and flow of his voice;
"We meet again, old friend."
"Mr. Yang! Are you coming or what?"
"Yes, March, just give me one moment."
Welt adjusted his glasses, looking in the mirror one last time.
The style of the people on the Xianzhou gave him slight anxiety about his own appearance, though he would keep that to himself.
Everything was in order.
He stepped out of the Express door, waving to Himeko and Pom Pom.
March, Caelus and Dan Heng were waiting outside for him, with March practically jumping in place.
The moment she laid eyes on Welt, she took off down the road with Dan Heng chasing after her.
Welt chuckled to himself as he watched the two.
Caelus remained in place, waiting for Welt patiently.
He'd noticed the boy had a habit of that, whether it was him, Himeko or even Dan Heng, he would always wait until he could walk by their side.
Welt smiled at him, nodding for Caelus to follow him.
The streets were packed on friday afternoons, and today was no exception;
Street vendors were filled to the brim with lines, and people crowded past as they walked.
Welt was starting to lose sight of March and Dan Heng, and it worried him a bit.
Especially after the events of recent.
He pulled on one of Caelus' yellow straps, trying to keep his eye on the two ahead of him.
The further they went, the more cramped the road seemed to become.
Someone pushed past Welt and in between him and Caelus, separating them.
He muttered out quick apologies as he tried to regroup with Caelus, though this only seemed to make things worse.
Welt could feel the eyes of passers by on his back, burning holes into his skin.
By the time he had made it back to Caelus, he had completely lost sight of March and Dan Heng.
Anxiety started to creep in, and he began to push through the crowd a bit frantickly.
He muttered out more apologies as he went, looking out for March or Dan Heng's distinctive colors.
Everything was starting to merge together, Welt and Caelus just barely making it out before the crowd got any thicker.
Welt caught his breath for a minute, looking over Caelus to make sure he was alright.
A moment later, he spotted a bright pink head of hair, and he sighed in relief when March came into view.
Once they finally regrouped, he took extra care to make sure everyone was there.
"Mr. Yang! You gotta try these popsicles!"
"March no-"
"Oh? Sure."
"Wait Mr. Yang-!"
And that's how Welt ended up hunched over a trash can spilling out his organs, much too Caelus's dismay.
The popsicles ended up being a lot more intense than they usual.
That's probably why Dan Heng was trying to warn me...
Welt sighed, taking a deep breath in so he wouldn't spill out his guts again.
That reminds him…
"March, Dan Heng, please stay close to me while we're out, the crowds are-"
He was unable to finish his sentence as when he turned around, the three of them were gone, replaced by more people, people he didn't recognize, people he didn't know.
Welt's anxiety only grew worse once he looked around; he was surrounded on all sides by people, strangers, none of them Dan Heng, March or Caelus.
He pushed through the crowd, mumbling out apologies as before, only this time they seemed to fall on deaf ears.
The crowd glared at him, digging their eyes into his skin and flesh.
Welt took in a deep breath, focusing on just making it out of the crowd.
He made his way through and out, relishing the freedom of space once he was on the other side.
After a moment of recollecting himself, he looked around and thought for a moment;
March mentioned something about listening to a story over at the tea shops, they should be there.
He'd have to instate some safety rules when it came to crowded spaces after this.
Wlet quickly headed off for the pavilions, his eyes carefully scanning along the sides of the main road.
It was as busy and as packed here as it was over in the markets, just how many people are out and about today?
The sun beamed down on everyone below, and he was beginning to question why the hell he decided to wear his scarf today of all days.
The moment Welt made it up to the pavilions, he felt completely like an outsider–which, in all fairness he was, but that didn't make it any less intimidating.
The people all around in various stores and restaurants seemed to keep their eyes locked on him specifically.
He pulled his scarf a bit to cover his face, continuing on with his search.
The tea shops had to be around here somewhere… at least that's what he was hoping.
But the farther Welt went, the more unrecognizable his environment became.
He was just about to turn back when he ran straight into someone;
He stumbled back, his glasses falling slightly, "Oh– sorry! I didn't see where I was–"
Welt was cut off as the person he ran into fixed his glasses for him.
"No need to apologize, are you alright, friend?"
His vision was blurry for a moment, and he blinked it away.
Welt's heart nearly stopped;
That voice, that pitch, that blond hair, his green eyes.
"Void Archives…?"
He whispered, a chill running down his spine.
No, no this man was more close to another man, the one responsible for much more than Void Archives: Otto Apocalypse.
Welt could feel the way the world started to shift around him, the air growing tense and thick.
"I'm sorry?"
The man before him looked almost identical to those two men, but this was a different universe, a different world, how could–
"Excuse me, sir, but are you alright? You're awfully pale."
Welt shook his head, refocusing on the situation at hand.
"Oh, my apologies, I was just… lost."
The blonde man before him frowned at Welt's response, but made no attempt to press further, much to Welt's relief.
Instead, he offered his hand.
"My name is Luocha, a traveling merchant."
He introduced himself, awaiting Welt's response.
Welt quickly accepted to Luocha's hand after a moment, though the handshake he gave was weak.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Luocha. My name is Welt Yang, I'm part of the Astral Express."
Now that he thought about it, perhaps he shouldn't have said that much…
"Oh? The Astral Express?"
Luocha raised an eyebrow in interest.
Welt nodded and smiled, though he was having an exceedingly hard time meeting a calm demeanor.
"Yes, that's right. The Express travels to vairus worlds on a long path to its home world."
He cringed to himself, of course, he had to slip even more and start spilling everything.
Anxiety was creeping up again, and Welt was starting to find it hard to stand still.
He had to move on from here.
He just couldn't figure out how.
Something from the corner of Welt's eye caught his attention, and his eyes widened when he spotted Caelus walking through the pavilion. (Though he didn't look nearly as lost as Welt had.)
He cleared his throat, moving to the side.
"My apologies, I have something to attend to."
Welt didn't bother uttering another word, and he briskly made his way past Luocha.
He didn't say anything to Caelus once he reached the trailblazer, he just pulled him along by his shoulder, making a b–line out of the pavilions.
Luocha watched from a distance, perplexed by Welt's sudden departure.
It was strange, the way that man reacted to simply seeing Luocha.
He shoved that to the back of his mind, though.
He had more important things to attend too.
Their trip out ended abruptly.
Welt apologized profusely to the trio, promising to treat them all to a nice dinner later that week.
He felt incredibly bad for ending their outing, and even more wrong from how the whole day went.
But the thing that weighed down on his mind the most:
was Luocha.
Universes can have people of similar appearances, they can even be identical, but that doesn't mean they're the same person.
Welt knew this better than anyone.
But even with that understanding and knowledge, he just couldn't shake the anxiety building in his stomach.
Otto Apocalypse, Void Archives…
Luocha…
He let out a sigh, removing his glasses and running a hand through his hair.
Please, don't be the same person… dont be like them…
The thought of the calamities that befell his world falling onto this one as well sent something through his whole being.
Not this world, not to Himeko or the others, please…
Suddenly, it felt as though the weight of the world was placed on his shoulders once more;
Of course, he was the guardian of humanity, the Herrscher of Reason.
If he was needed, he wouldn't hesitate to become that protector once more, it was what he inherited with his name, the name of the world.
But he wasn't the Herrscher of Reason anymore, he had passed that title and core down to the next.
He was just Welt Yang now.
But even still…
A knock sounded at his door.
"Welt? You in there?"
Welt's head shot up, shaken from his thoughts.
"Yes, Himeko, you can come in."
Hd put his glasses back on as Himeko opened the door.
She was giving him that look, the one she gave him when he hid away in the Express.
He let out a sigh, he knew exactly what this was about.
"I assume you already know why I'm here right now."
Himeko laughed lightly, placing a cup of coffee on his desk.
"So, what made you up and end an outing like that? That's not like you at all."
Himeko watched Welt with a neutral expression;
Welt was someone who was always eager to get out, he was young at heart, after all.
So for him to come back to the express not even an hour after leaving, especially with everyone in tow, sent immedient red flags in Himeko's mind.
Welt didn't respond for a moment, trying to focus on his sketch;
only to find that he couldn't, his anxiety was building and building, and he could see his hands visibly shaking.
He dropped his pencil, watching the world outside his window.
"It's… a long, story. One with many people and many events that are best forgotten."
Himeko flicked Welt's forehead, giving him a look that blatantly said: "I'm gonna need more info than that."
He met Himeko's gaze, only to look away again.
"Well it's… I saw someone today, someone I recognized.
He was almost identical to two people I know from my home world.
They were... not of the virtuous persuasion."
Welt sat up, finally looking Himeko in the eyes.
"That's why when I saw him, a chill ran down my spine.
What I fear is… that what happened to my home world could befall this place as well."
Himeko listened intently, her expression serious now.
"And… how likely do you think that is?"
Welt let out a small laugh, much to Himeko's surprise.
"If I'm being entirely honest, not very."
He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath.
"It's… what happens in my home world that makes me worry about it so much."
Himeko smiled sadly, before her eyes lit up, and she walked out of the room.
Welt looked up in confusion, turning around in his seat to face Himeko, only to be tackled by flurries of gray and pink.
Caelus and March had engulfed him in a tight embrace, Himeko and Dan Heng standing in the doorway.
She pushed Dan Heng a little, and eventually he too joined the unexpected group hug.
Welt was completely frozen, unsure how to respond.
He tried his best to hug the three of them back, laughing nervously.
"I… what's this about..?"
He looked at Himeko, who was smirking at him.
She was clearly proud of this.
"Himeko said you needed a hug because you were freaking out about something, so we came to give you a hug!"
Caelus nodded in agreement to March, who was non stop giggling.
"Wha– huh? Freaking out? I wasn't–"
He paused once he realized what Himeko had probably said to them:
"Welt's having an existential crisis, come help him."
More than likely something along those lines.
He couldn't help but smile, though.
The trio's embrace and the warm atmosphere helped subside his anxiety.
It was still there, most definitely, it wasn't going to just go away;
But being here with his companions… no, his family, it made things better than it would have ever been without them.
"Thank you…"
~~~
"Welt...?"
"It's a... great name, right?"
"Then..."
"From now on, you are Welt."
"This Herrscher core... and the mission to protect the world..."
"I'll leave them to you, Welt."
Dun Dun Dun
Welt angst is surprisingly fun to write-
Definitely gotta do more character study tho-
I added some headcanons to Welt, so I apologize if he seems a bit ooc.
this was essentially his quest but if he hadn't seen Luocha through an investigation
and just ran into him on the streets
I had to do something with this it had to much angst material-