"At the very least..." Otto looked at Kallen, his voice dropping to a soft, lingering murmur, "let be the one to see you off."
Hearing that Otto didn't plan to interfere with her 'departure' allowed Kallen to let out a small breath of relief. Still, the idea of Otto personally escorting her out...
She couldn't help but feel a flicker of dry humor at the irony. If she kept up these transformations and her cover was ever blown, Otto might actually be the one to personally 'send her away' in a much more literal sense.
"Alright."
After a brief, heavy silence, Kallen gave a slight nod.
Otto smiled again, but this ti, the expression was tinged with a deeper, more profound sorrow.
For the rest of the day, Otto stayed.
He wasn't there as the Overseer of Schicksal, nor as the madman who had spent five centuries plotting to bring Kallen back to life. He was just there as a friend.
He joined Kallen and the rest of the St. Freya crew as they headed into Sapphire City for a trip to Homu Amusent Park.
Kallen dragged Sakura onto the roller coaster while the others scattered into the seats behind them. Once the ride lurched into motion, screams pierced the clouds.
Afterward, she led the group to the shooting gallery; by the ti they left, everyone was clutching an assortnt of oversized Homu plushies.
They drifted into a cold drink shop next, losing themselves in idle chatter that spanned every topic under the sun.
Finally...
Kallen and Sakura boarded the Ferris wheel. From that giant, rotating ring, the entirety of Sapphire City unfolded beneath them.
"It's beautiful..." Kallen whispered, her eyes fixed on the city below, which seed to shimr like gold under the sunlight.
"Kallen..." Sakura turned to her. A shadow of grief flickered in her deep blue eyes. "If only I could have stayed by your side like this for the past five hundred years."
Kallen fell silent, the words catching in her throat. After a mont of thought, she simply reached out and pulled Sakura into a tight embrace. Sakura didn't say another word; she just held her back, the two of them anchored to each other as the world turned.
They sat in quiet stillness until the wheel completed its rotation.
Evening fell.
The group gathered for dinner at the finest restaurant along the Sapphire City coast. Otto had booked the entire venue; the only people in the vast dining room were the girls from the Valkyrie dorms, along with Otto and Rita.
"Whoa! Look at all this food!" Kiana was her usual bubbly self, full of energy as she shoveled food into her mouth.
Kallen wasn't far behind. The two white-haired girls huddled together, devouring the delicacies on the table like a pair of starving whirlwinds.
i and Sakura watched them with indulgent, gentle smiles. Occasionally, their eyes t, sharing a quiet, kindred spark of amusent.
Nearby, Theresa and Hiko clinked their glasses—though both were filled with fruit juice. They were the only ones whose eyes occasionally betrayed a flicker of complicated emotions.
Otto sat at the head of the table, watching the scene play out. Deep within those erald eyes, sothing unreadable stirred.
To him, this mont felt like a dream.
But the tragedy of dreams... is that you always have to wake up.
By all accounts, Kallen should have already headed to St. Freya Academy, donned that specialized suit, and stepped onto that strange machine to await her disappearance.
But Otto wouldn't allow it.
He had treated the world like a chessboard for five hundred years, moving pieces at his whim. And right now, he refused to let a piece nad Kallen Kaslana simply vanish from the board—even if this Kallen wasn't his Kallen.
After dinner, Kallen stood on the beach. She squinted her eyes in pure contentnt, feeling the sand fill the gaps between her toes as the tide lapped rhythmically against her feet.
"Kallen..." Sakura stood beside her, her voice trembling ever so slightly.
"Sakura..."
Kallen turned to face her, her blue eyes still dancing with that lively, spirited light.
"Can't you... stay?"
"..."
Kallen was silent for a mont. She wondered briefly if Rita or Otto had told Sakura that Schicksal had a way to make her stay. But she quickly dismissed the thought; Otto had accepted her choice, and Rita... Rita had no reason left to do such a thing.
It was more likely that Sakura had simply sensed sothing. After all, Otto had been seeking her out far too frequently lately.
"I'm sorry, Sakura." Kallen's gaze softened, but a firm resolve took root behind it. "I have duties I haven't finished... and I won't let the people of this world pay a price in blood just so I can stay."
"..."
Sakura looked at her, her eyes welling with sadness.
"Sakura."
Kallen didn't hesitate. She pulled the other woman into her arms, their silhouettes intertwining under the silver glow of the moon.
In the distance, Kiana watched the scene, her expression going a bit blank. Raiden i's gaze flickered with complexity for a mont before she reached out, covered Kiana's eyes, and gently pulled her away.
Only Otto remained, watching the embrace in a silence that felt eternal.
A while later, Kallen asked for a mont alone with Otto. Yae Sakura didn't protest; she simply stood up and walked away into the shadows.
"Kallen..."
The two of them stood on the shore, the silence stretching between them. Otto's posture was uncharacteristically relaxed, a soft, genuine smile touching his handso features.
But Kallen's next words made that smile vanish instantly.
"Otto, there's sothing... I want to ask of you."
"Yes?"
"When I go back... don't tell them I'm going to die."
Otto stared at her, his erald eyes swirling with deep conflict and a grief that bordered on helplessness.
"I don't want them to worry." Kallen felt like a total heartbreaker in that mont.
She felt like a character in a drama, making selfish demands of the second male lead—the one who gives everything—just for the sake of the protagonist.
The irony was, the feeling was strangely exhilarating.
"So... please."
Otto looked at her, remaining silent for a long ti. Kallen knew exactly what she was asking: she was forcing Otto to be the only one to carry the burden of her death all over again.
"Alright."
Otto gave a faint, slow nod.
Kallen smiled. "Thank you."
But after the gratitude, another silence fell.
"And... I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize to , Kallen."
"No... I know what I'm doing. Making you carry this truth alone, making you pretend you know nothing while the others smile as they see off, even though you know I'm walking to my death..."
Kallen took a deep breath, her eyes filled with a mix of resignation and sorrow. "I'm sorry, Otto. I know my decision is cruel. But... I'm sorry."
Otto stared at her, stunned by her apology. It took a long mont before he finally started to laugh.
"Kallen..."
"Yes?"
"You really are just like her."
-- --
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