Honkai Impact 3rd: Don't Die For Me/ Book 1: Promise

Chapter 41 Another Miracle

<Frontlines>

Through tented canvases and shoddy makeshift buildings, Kallen and Otto quietly explored the camps for signs of rebellion. The more closely they looked the more Kallen despaired. While the church shouldered more of the blame this was the first time Kallen truly looked at the malice within the people she wished to protect. Otto on the other hand looked at the situation differently.

'People are shaped by the environment around them. War has turned proud soldiers into ruthless slavers. How do we fix this?'

Otto didn't shield Kallen's eyes from the malice of the world. Even if he tried he couldn't. Instinct guided his decision, to change this world Kallen had to come to terms with reality. Identifying the entire problem was the first step to saving their world. Heartrending despair had hidden within her desires. The first step to saving their world had been taken but Kallen hadn't even taken the first step to saving Otto.

Begrimed water splashed around in the brittle, crummy bucket Otto carried as part of his disguise. Kallen carried a stack of wooden cups that were equally stained with grime. They blended in quite well yet stood out all the same. It was their humanity that separated them from the field of broken souls.

"I've got nothing."

Kallen spoke as the sun started to set. They surveyed the entire camp, within those afternoon hours. Now they were searching for a set of quarters to stay the night. If they could even sleep while on high alert in enemy territory.

"They've hidden well. They have to. We won't find clues anytime soon."

"I know."

Kallen's tone was meek and hopeless as Otto guided her to a set of quarters the priest and nuns were supposed to sleep in. He understood the general layout of the camp, as well as the roles priests and nuns played. They were delegated to servants of the soldiers. They were treated well but their duties involved "purifying" the sins of the soldiers. Cult-like therapy was bred in these wicked grounds entrapping the soldiers in depravity. Above all, they have the duty of healing the sick. Many priests and nuns had already died of the sickness that ran rampant in the ranks of soldiers.

Otto and Kallen found a relatively clean room. There was a large cot and a set of blankets that covered it. It was perfect for the two to sleep together warm and safe. With the privilege of being a nun and priest, Kallen and Otto washed before laying on the cot, side by side. They curled together hugging each other gently in a loving embrace. For a moment Kallen could forget about the world and its troubles.

"Let's not talk about the present tonight."

"What do you wish for?"

"A world we already saved, what would we do after we save it?"

Otto temporarily forgot his sins that started to weigh on him as he pondered Kallen's question. His selfish desires were recovering alongside his morality. His hand stroked Kallen's head as he thought fondly of a life where Kallen didn't have to save the world.

"Live a lazy life, perhaps. I'll take you to all of Shakespeare's plays, your favorite restaurants, open schools for children to learn, maybe an orphanage, and we can frolic from time to time like we used to. In the field of paradise underneath our tree."

"Hmmm," Kallen said. Her mind was in reminiscing those beautiful memories under the stars. They were children then, inseparable and perhaps always in love with each other. "What about our children?"

"Children? Hmmm, I guess I would want a daughter."

"Not a son?"

"No, but if we do have a son, I'll name him Joyce."