In mere seconds, all the Honkai Beasts Otto had released were reduced to slag and vanished beneath the ground. This scene shocked not only the people but also Otto and Kallen on the stage.
Kallen's expression shifted from surprise to anger, then settled into a calm resignation. Finally, she gave a wry smile and turned to Ryn, saying, "You... are a Herrscher, aren't you?"
"Yes," Ryn nodded.
"So in your time, Herrschers... were already accepted by the people?"
"Not exactly. My existence is a bit special..."
"I see..." Kallen's eyes dimmed slightly, but she forced a smile, determined to face Ryn and Kiana with her best composure.
"Ryn, Kiana... Can you tell me how long the real Kallen Kaslana has been dead in the real world?"
"Over 500 years. Why do you ask? How did you know this isn't the real world?"
"So much time has passed...
When did it begin? I started noticing that everyone around me was performing a predetermined script on repeat. At the end of the script... I would be killed by a Honkai Beast.
Each time I woke up, I would find myself back in the previous day. After countless cycles, I realized that I, too, was just an actor in this performance.
I tried everything to escape this endless loop, but nothing worked until you two descended from the sky. That's when the performance finally changed..."
Kallen didn't continue, as Ryn and Kiana had already experienced the rest.
Ryn felt deep sympathy for Kallen's plight and offered a soft apology.
"I'm sorry we were late. It must have been unbearable... 500 years of repeating death, of facing people who were like puppets on strings..."
Kallen quickly waved her hands, turning to Ryn and Kiana. "No, no, Ryn, you're being too polite. Thank you both. Even though I'm just a virtual personality, you've been so kind to me."
"This data space is collapsing... We don't have much time left!" Cortana suddenly warned.
"Oh, right... It makes sense. Normally, I should have been killed by a Honkai Beast and entered a new cycle. Kiana, Ryn, can I ask you both a favor?" Kallen winked playfully and gestured to Kiana and Ryn.
"Sister Kallen, just say the word. We'll do anything we can to help," Kiana replied.
"Well, you see... I'm actually a personality reconstructed from Kallen's memories. In Kallen's memories, before she died, she sealed someone she deeply loved—Yae Sakura.
"Yae Sakura, now a Herrscher... Even after 500 years, she wouldn't have died, right? If the seal breaks and she returns to this world, she'll have no one she knows. How lonely she'd be...
It was when I thought of Yae Sakura that I realized my purpose for being created. Kiana, Ryn, I can't leave this virtual world... If you ever have the chance to meet Yae Sakura in the real world..."
"Could you please pass on a message for me? It's been buried in her memory for over five hundred years..." Kallen paused, feeling a little embarrassed to say it directly.
"What is it?" Kiana pressed.
Kallen leaned close to Kiana's ear and whispered softly, "I love you."
Though Kallen spoke quietly, everyone present was far from ordinary, so Ryn still heard it...
But it wasn't just Ryn who heard. Someone else did too.
"Ah... Even though I already knew this fact, hearing you, with Kallen's face, say it still hurts me..." Otto walked slowly toward them, cradling the small Bronya in his arms.
Bronya had climbed a tall pole to observe what was happening when a Honkai Beast attacked her. Otto had saved her.
"You're... the real Otto!" Ryn immediately tensed up. Trespassing into someone's back garden and getting caught red-handed was enough to make anyone nervous.
"No need to be nervous, Ryn. While I was initially angry to find you had trespassed into my back garden, I was deeply moved by your efforts to rescue Kallen."
Otto set Bronya down, walking toward Ryn and Kiana as he spoke. As he passed the virtual version of himself, a flicker of disgust crossed his face.
The fake Otto, still reeling from Kallen's revelation about the virtual world, now understood much more about the true Otto's appearance. He remained lying on the ground, making no move to react as the real Otto approached...
Because if Kallen was right, and all of this was history, then that meant the Otto of that time would have gone on to kill the real Kallen...
"As for the me back then... hah."
Otto drew the Void Archives, mimicking the Judgment of Shamash. He aimed the simulated weapon at the fallen Otto and pulled the trigger.
"You, the one corrupted by the Void Archives, deserve to die most of all."
He had killed this memory of himself countless times, yet it did nothing to diminish Otto's resentment and rage toward his past self.
"My apologies for the display," Otto said politely, bowing slightly to the group. "I still lose my composure when facing my former self." His face was now wreathed in a smile, making it hard to reconcile with the grimacing figure who had just executed the virtual Otto.
"Otto, can you save Kallen? She has self-awareness. She shouldn't have to keep repeating this cycle..." Kiana pleaded, clutching Kallen's hand.
"No... she's not Kallen," Otto replied, shaking his head. "She's just a virtual personality that has developed self-awareness. Kallen's memories have convinced her she is Kallen.
I can't save her because she's just virtual data. If you truly want to save her, you should simply delete her data and reset everything, freeing her from the torment of this endless cycle."
"Impossible! That would be like killing Kallen directly!" Kiana tightened her grip on Kallen's hand, unable to accept the idea of deleting her data.
"I told you, she's not Kallen. Never mind. This space has no further purpose anyway. Do whatever you want with it."
Otto had lost interest in this virtual back garden. It was merely a constant reminder of his past mistakes and his obsession with resurrecting Kallen. Now that he had a path to save her—mastering the Herrscher of the Void's power—he could travel to the Imaginary Tree and resurrect the real Kallen.