POV: Johann

There was no Eiffel Tower in the Paris of his world. No great iron structure existed at the heart of the city. His world's history had yet to progress to the point of its design and construction. The capital of France that he was familiar with was still a large, bustling metropolis even without such a feat of construction, but the city he saw was foreign to his eyes.

Johann stared down at Paris from the skies above. This was not his first visit to the iconic tower that reached into the sky. He had travelled to Paris before, even lived in it. He had climbed the Eiffel Tower's six hundred and seventy-four steps to gaze at the world around him as far as his eyes could see, but those memories were from lifetimes ago. They did not belong to the man he was now. In his world, Paris lacked a landmark like the Eiffel Tower, but it was a magnificent city all the same. The city he saw was not that city. He did not know what it was, but he no longer wished to be there.

He turned in a random direction and flew. To where, he did not know. He passed land and water until he came across another city in a different nation. London. It too was not his London. Nor was anything else in this world. He turned and flew again. Spain. Russia. Shenzhou. None were familiar to him. With each city and nation he laid eyes on, the more he felt like an outsider who did not belong. There were cities that did not exist in his homeworld and empty land where cities should have been but were not. Even entire countries had emerged where previously there were none, or they were known by different names that were no longer spoken.

There was a small town where Yae Village used to be. It was where his life and the lives of Kallen and Yae Sakura changed forever. The town was built on top of a mass grave created by a demon of the Honkai that ran loose. Sakura had lived and died here and her younger sister too. They had both deserved better. He only hoped they were at peace now and that the town knew better than to repeat the mistakes of its predecessors. The mountain temple where they had attempted to rescue the girls of the village no longer stood, either. He would never learn the fates of the girls he had left behind there before their entire village was destroyed.

There was one last location he had yet to visit. It was the reason why he had finally left the laboratory and the base. There was something he had to see. It was supposed to be his home. The city below him was not his home. His beloved Vienna was the largest and most significant city on the planet. This one was smaller and of much less importance. The estates belonging to House Kaslana, House Apocalypse, and House Schariac were long gone, replaced by groupings of nameless buildings. The history of this world had given Vienna a different purpose. These were the results of history proceeding down a different path. This world had its own identity different from his. His world would also decide its path and forge its own meaning as well, but whatever it became, he would never see.

He lifted his gaze and stared into the distance. The day, if nothing else, was beautiful. The sun was bright, and the clouds were soft. It was days like this one that his daughter loved the most, Lilika would have already asked him to take her flying, and he would have happily agreed. His ears would ring with her delighted laughter as he securely held her in his arms and rose into the air, soaring above the clouds and letting the warmth of the sun fall on her skin. He showed her all the beauty the world had to offer. It was something neither of them could ever tire of.

It started shortly before her fifth birthday. He had hugged her before taking to the skies from their home. After waiting hours for him to return home, Lilika, in her sweetest and most polite voice, asked if he could take her flying with him.

"Please, take me with you! I want to fly, too!"

He had given her an apologetic smile before gently rubbing her silver hair. "I'm sorry, Lilika. It's too dangerous for you, no matter my abilities. There's always a chance that you could fall, and I won't risk your safety for anything." He would never have considered it. It was too much risk for anyone but himself.

"But I trust you so much. I know you'll always keep me safe," Lilika said, her voice and face always so innocent and genuine.

He was about to repeat himself before he heard footsteps coming his way. Kallen exited their home, walked over, and picked their daughter up. "Welcome back," she greeted him.

"How was your day?" he asked.

"Fine. How was yours?"

"Preventing a potential war between three different kingdoms is a day well spent, I think."

Kallen laughed. "Very. What were you two discussing?"

"I want daddy to take me flying…but he says it's too dangerous for me," their daughter piped up.

Johann sighed. "Lili, I'm sorry. I'm glad you understand."

Kallen looked between them as she gently stroked Lilika's silver hair. "Do you remember the gliders Otto used to build? We used to spend all day playing with them. We never got tired of it."

He wordlessly nodded. That name was still something he was uncertain how to feel about.

"I told him once that I hoped he could one day build a glider large enough to carry someone on it," Kallen continued. "I hoped he could build three of them so the three of us could fly together like the birds in the sky. He told me that it was dangerous, but he liked the idea. Because some things are worth the risk."

"Uncle Otto sounds so smart. I wish I could meet him," Lilika said from her mother's arms. He and Kallen had told her about her late relative before, but only a little.

"Kallen…where are you going with this?" he said carefully.

She smiled. "I'm saying that you ought to have more faith in yourself. Do you think you'll ever drop Lilika? Don't you have so many ways to save her even if you do? There's no place safer in the world than by your side and in your arms. We both trust you, so I'm asking you to trust yourself."

Johann considered Kallen's words. He knew she was right. There was no way he would ever let Lilika fall. So he had taken his daughter in his arms, and Lilika had never screamed with as much joy as he showed her what the world looked like from the skies.

He never did drop her. Nor would he ever hold her in his arms again. He would never again hear the beauty of her joyous laughter in his ears. He would never see her grow up and lead a life of her own, never again sing that sweet lullaby to her, never again tell her how much he loved her as her father. He would never be able to apologize to her for abandoning her and her mother without even saying goodbye.

He cried. There was no holding them back. His tears fell to the ground far below. He thanked his cousin for giving him a body that was still able to cry. Otto had taken so many things from him, but he had never taken away his humanity. He cried until he fought himself and suppressed his thoughts until they became blank and flat. It was the only way he could continue. He remained where he was for what could have been hours or as short as minutes. It did not matter. Nothing mattered.

When he stepped through the portal and into the laboratory, it confirmed the reality of his decision. It was final. Even when he was travelling through the branches of the Imaginary Tree, a small part of him kept whispering that he could still go back, that there was still a way to come home to them. His first step into this world was his last away from the old one.

Theresa. Kiana.

The two names leapt unbidden into his mind. They belonged to two women he had once loved dearly. He still did, but seeing their faces gave him too much pain for him to bear. They reminded him of his family. By blood, they were his family. He so dearly wished to embrace them and tell them that everything was okay, but to love them without hurting himself was impossible. He cursed himself for his weakness. He lacked the strength to face them. He was so weak that he could only push them away.

I don't deserve this body. I don't deserve this strength.

When he was just a man, the extent of his power was the aerial battleship Hyperion and the valkyries aboard it whom he commanded. For years, he told himself that he was satisfied with his contributions to the war against the Honkai. Secretly, he hated himself for being so powerless. When the Herrscher of the Void had taken control of Kiana's body, he loathed himself even more for being so useless and unable to save her. He could only watch from the bridge as Murata Himeko gave her own life to save Kiana, and he was just as powerless to save Himeko then. When the same Herrscher had gifted him her powers, he feared it. He hated it. Then he came to accept it. It was the personal strength he had always wanted, the strength he could use to finally protect those he wished to protect. When Otto granted him a body of Soulium to make him stronger still, he despised Otto for it but had no choice but to accept his newfound strength, which he soon used to great effect.

For all his strength, he could not do what he knew he should do. He could not embrace those he loved, so he did nothing.

Johann, are you here to run from them?

Maybe.

How long do you intend to stay here?

I don't know.

You can't stay here forever.

Johann, doing nothing will not help you. You need to decide what you want to do.

What if what I want to do is to be alone?

You are not alone. I'm here for you. So is everyone else.

Sirin…

Little captain, you chose to return to this world for a reason. You knew your purpose here wasn't finished yet. You willingly left your home behind…because this is your home, too.

She receded from his mind, leaving him to his thoughts. He would likely have remained in the skies above Vienna for hours more, but for some unknown reason, he descended to it. He opened a portal and exited into a narrow alleyway where none could witness his sudden arrival. He stepped out of the alley and stared at the streets and buildings of Vienna. He began to walk.

He wandered without aim, not knowing what he would find or see.

This Vienna was a clean, orderly city, filled with excitement and a rich, living culture. It may not have been his Vienna nor his home, but it was a proud city in its own right. Johann wandered the streets, passing by many other pedestrians going about their daily lives. He happened to walk by a man sitting on a bench, wearing a green Tirolerhut and reading a newspaper. To his surprise, he was face to face with a photograph of Theresa Apocalypse. The article was about recent developments regarding Schicksal after the tragic loss of its previous Overseer, Otto Apocalypse. He read the first few sentences before the man reading the newspaper turned the page. Johann sat down on the bench beside the man and greeted him in his native Austrian German. He asked if Theresa was truly becoming the next Overseer.

"Otto Apocalypse said she would, so she is," the man replied. "But if you ask me, I don't think Schicksal should be led by a little girl like her. The world was safer under Otto's protection when he was still alive. I'm sure he meant well when he named her as the next Overseer, but no one can be right all the time."

Johann declined to answer, not trusting himself to answer the man's words courteously. He rose from the bench and walked away. He explored more of Vienna, seeing buildings and places old and new. Some were centuries old. He saw the Hofburg, Austria's administrative capital. It was no Grand Cathedral, but it was majestic all the same. The place where Kallen died protecting the city was gone. History had been forgotten.

Johann had seen enough. Great as it was, this was not his Vienna. He had no further reason to be here. Nor did he know what he could do from then on. Careful to avoid being seen, he entered the nearest alley, created another portal, and exited in the skies high above Vienna. Once again, he had only the birds for company. He stared into the distance, unseeing and unfeeling. He did not know why he felt the need to visit the city in person. He did not know how he felt about it. But for some reason, he was glad he had.

He was still lost, but perhaps he could find a new life. If not here, then elsewhere. The world was vast. There must be at least one small corner where he could vanish and eke out the remainder of his existence, however long it would be. He could disappear in a city, or he could live the simple, uneventful life he wanted away from any others. He was so tired, so through with fighting. It was time that he rested, undisturbed and at peace.

Peace. A strange word in this world. But there can be no true peace as long as the Honkai is still here. No matter where I try to run and hide, it will come for me all the same.

And…

Can I truly leave them all behind? Theresa…Kiana...everyone…I…I…

He saw two shapes on the faraway horizon. He initially dismissed them as birds or planes, but as they came closer to him, they were familiar, and he recognized them for who they were. There was a blue motorcycle racing through the sky, leaving a stream of blue light in its wake. Two girls rode on the motorcycle, the one in front gazing at him intently and the one in the rear looking at him from behind the driver. Their names were Bronya Zaychik and Seele Vollerei. A woman with two red horns from her long, violet hair flew at their side. Her name was Raiden Mei. She and Bronya were valkyries in the squadron he commanded aboard the Hyperion years ago. Seele was Bronya's adoptive sister from the orphanage they grew up in and the girl she loved the most of all. They approached him at high speeds, drawing closer with each second.

He was still. He acknowledged them with silence when they came to a stop a short distance away from him. Concern was on all three of their faces.

"I knew we would find you here," Bronya said, her face filled with relief and joy. "I knew why you would be here. This city, Vienna, has meaning for you."

"Johann, we were worried for you, so we came to find you," said Mei. "It's good that you're spending time outside the base. But you left so suddenly and without saying a word. Kiana is so worried for you. We all are."

"We're all waiting for you to come back," said Seele, still holding onto Bronya's waist. "We're all here for you. We just need you to let us help you. Please, Johann. Let us be here for you."

When Seele's eyes flashed red, her voice changed with it. If you continue to hurt Seele and Bronya like this, know that your life will continue to be a living hell of your own making.

He stared at them. Their eyes were bright with hope. They also showed obvious fear. He knew he was the cause of both. He was a weak man, but even a weak man knew when he was hurting those he should not be hurting.

"Come back with us," Bronya pleaded with him. "Let us help you. All of us. Kiana, Fu Hua, Welt, and Theresa, too. We all love you. Look inside your heart. Remember the moments we shared. They're still a part of you. You haven't forgotten them."

Bronya's voice was soft and desperate. It hurt him to hear her this way. He heard their words, all of them. He processed them, analyzed them, and stored them. They were good words. He liked them. He had not forgotten them. Bronya, Seele, and Mei were there for him the moment he needed them the most.

"Bronya. Seele. Mei."

They waited with bated breath.

"I will go back with you."