Back To The Source [RWBY/Honkai Impact: The 3rd]

Omake: The Hard Path

"Somewhere within the World Tree, there exists a universe where you carry the world in her stead."

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Otto stared at the statue in front of him. Her memorial was beautiful, just as she had been.

But even then, the beauty held by the stone could not wash away the guilt and regret that he felt.

Because it was because of him that she died. Gods, it was because he released the beasts in an effort to stave off her execution that she died.

In one world, he could have fought everyone as he raced his way towards her. And yet in this world, his own actions hammered the final nail to her coffin in his desperation.

Even as the clouds gathered and darkened the sky, even as rain poured into the area, he stands still in front of the memorial, unblinking as tears mixed with the raindrops. It was only when night came did he started walking lifelessly towards his house.

Every day, he wakes up with sweat soaking him. Every day he fails to notice how his performance dropped. Every day he finds himself staring into space for too long that time passes by too fast. Every single day, he lives in a world that felt monochrome to him, and he wallows in guilt, self-hatred, and regret for the tragedy that befell his only friend in this merciless world.

Until one day, he decides to venture out beyond the walls of Kolosten, beyond the borders of Europe in search of answers.

Before he sets out, however, he makes a detour out of his base. Hidden beneath Schicksal's headquarters was a basement that only he, the current Overseer, could access.

Entering the underground room, he came face to face with the glass coffin from which Kallen eternally slept on. Otto stares, and he finds that he has no strength to speak or cry anymore.

He should have buried her. That way, he wouldn't see anymore the person he had failed, the woman he had let down. But nonetheless, she still lays here in this silent room, and Otto could not rid himself of the guilt resurfacing once more.

In his state, he leaves the room with a heavy heart, locks it, and sets out for his journey.

In another universe, he still held her by his side even as he journeyed through the harsh world alone.

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Years later, he returns, with a much-burdened shoulder, an unconscious and heavily injured woman by his arms, and a determined light in his eyes, contrary to his depressed state long ago.

He rushes to his laboratory, ignoring every valkyrie or servant that he encountered as he made his way with Li in his arms. Entering the lab, he immediately sets her in an empty cryostasis pod, one that he created with the help of the 1st Divine Key's knowledge.

He presses a button on a large console and he watches as the glass shuts and green liquid pours inside the container and breathes a sigh of relief when her vitals had finally become stable.

The journey towards Shenzhou had proved arduous, and in the face of the land from which questions of his could be answered led to naught but a witness of the harsh reality he'd denied for too long.

Otto stood by, watching the unconscious face of Li through the glass. The damage Hua had dealt was enough to put her on death's door. It was only by luck he intervened before the Immortal Phoenix landed another devastating blow.

His heart could not bear to lose another friend.

"She won't be waking up anytime." The annoying voice of the Divine Key added. Otto begrudgingly agreed. He knew that with his current available technology, he didn't have the means to fix her injuries.