Awakening (Ch2)

Otto.

The hauntingly familiar yet distant voice echoed through the haze of dreams.

It's all your fault.

When I woke up, I was facing a white ceiling with pain throughout my body.

(VA decides to speak in a modern tone.)

-' Well, you certainly are not in good shape. It's been over a week.'

-'... The apothecary nursed you for half of the week and it's a surprise they didn't ask for any remuneration.'

The trip from Sarandë to Venice took a few days due to the tumultuous storm, so they had to wait it out.

'Does that mean the sailors transported me while I was asleep?'

When I turned my eyes to the side, I saw the glowing ghost child sitting on a chair with a book in hand.

'That must be... the Void Archives?'

It felt bizarre to be interacting with one of the characters in the game, but it was even more strange to find myself in the body of the mastermind.

"What happened?"

Despite my exhaustion, I asked the Void Archives next to me about the situation from last time.

-' If it weren't for me, you would already be sleeping in the Ionian Sea.'

The Void Archives paused before closing the book while turning its head towards me with a smile.

-' I took control of your body after I pulled you with the golden lasso... not only that, I took care of the voyage. Honestly, your body wasn't in any good condition so I had to use Honkai Energy to make you walk or talk... Ask the crews from the port; you'd be surprised at what they brought back.'

"What they brought back?"

I asked with a frown from my eyes due to the headache.

It threw the book away while staring at me intently.

-' Are you not supposed to be thanking me?' The Void Archives asked playfully.

My eyes twitched with a sense of helplessness, so I rose from the bed and slightly bowed.

"Thanks for saving me."

-' Huh?'

-' What did you say?'

The Void Archives shook as if it was in disbelief.

"Thanks for saving me?"

I tilted my head while not showing my inner smile.

'If you are going to play with me, I'll do the same.'

-' What's wrong with you? Are you Otto?'

"Am I?"

-'...'

-' Hmph. It seems you suffered some mental concussion. I'll leave you for a while.'

The Void Archives hurriedly left as if it looked uncomfortable.

'It was as easy as that.'

I laid my head on the linen pillow and relaxed.

I started to recall my previous life.

July 6th, 2163

'A nuke was detonated in the middle of the capital city when I was escaping from the mission in Russia when I successfully managed to eliminate one of the faction leaders of the extremist supporters of the President.'

'And I kicked the bucket before other elite commanders on the battlefield.'

My time as the Ace of the Navy Seals seemed to have made me prefer to join the frontlines; after all, we were short on the workforce, so I also had to step up myself after assigning all of the missions to my men for this vast operation, which saw countless branches of the military join in for this war.

Well, that was my life as the Grimm Reaper, who managed always to evade death throughout thirty years of service.

But it seemed that my luck ran out during my final mission when I successfully killed the extremist of the Russian Army, who preferred to nuke cities to win a war despite the already nuclear fallout of the world.

'That psycho bastard activated the timer on a nuke in the middle of the capital city. I ended up dying in that war.'

'I never thought there were a lot of Supreme Leaders in that world. It was a big world.' (Referring to North Korea's Leader)

Whenever I thought about my previous life, it made my stomach churn. It wasn't a lovely world to be in.

It was filled with many hypocrites, shouting the banner of gender equality and how there were many genders aside from the two genders in the Human Rights Law.

'Forget those mental ward patients. There were also those insane women. I swear if I had the chance. I would limit social media and carefully use artificial intelligence only for specific jobs and assistance to teams.'

I didn't want to see drones or droids raining bullets from the skies.

When I thought about it, the world back then was a mess.

Plus, I was never proud of serving my country, and the country's people never showed respect for my sacrifices and my comrade's sacrifices. I was only there because I was needed for my experiences as a Navy Seal Captain and my mercenary experience as the Grimm Reaper.

The reason why I was even alive for more than thirty years was because of my lack of honor. There were times I was punished for disobeying orders that would've resulted in the death of me.

My superiors in the military were inexperienced and hadn't even been through fighting on the frontlines.

Of course, I would know better! Those damn rascals.

But now, after I had died, I reincarnated into the body of Otto Apocalypse, and strangely enough, my body felt abnormal.

I could not tell what was happening with this body, but it was strange.

However, I stopped thinking about those things and thought about what I needed to do.

.

.

.

When I finally recovered after a week, I went to the edge of the City of Venice's St. Mark's Basin where sailors usually park their ships to transport goods to their warehouses for selling.

"Avast, Lord Atto!" (Hello, Lord Atto!)

"Ye simpleton, pay proper respects to his Lordship!" (You idiot, be respectful to Lord Otto!)

Their bearded captain slapped the head of the sailor next to him in embarrassment as he turned his head to me with a kind smile.

The sailors seemed to look at me with stalwart awe as if looking at an idol.

"Arr, Lord Otto! Hail and well met in the City of Venice! By the blackened sails of Davy Jones, our voyage from Trieste was a cursed endeavor, but by your guidance, we've navigated through tempests and perils to find safe harbor."

(Oh, Lord Otto! We've finally arrived in the City of Venice! We went through a dangerous journey, but through your guidance, we made it safely.)

'Didn't these guys take care of me when I was sleeping? Or did the Void Archives actually take command while I was out?' It was strange. However, I didn't spend too much time thinking about it as I moved on to another topic.

"Verily, I am heartened to behold thy well-being. Prithee, might I now lay mine eyes upon the storage?" I spake as though 'twere but natural.

(I am happy to hear that. Can I ask if I can see the storage?)

"It's a pleasure, Lord Otto. We've stowed it in the warehouse. 'Twas a mighty thing, but by the grace of Neptune, we managed to cram it within!"

(It's my pleasure, Lord Otto. We stored it inside the warehouse. It was heavy cargo, but luckily, we managed to fit everything inside!)

It wasn't difficult to incorporate Otto's knowledge and experience of his language in the 15th Century since I had much experience in all sorts of languages from different countries.

It was like doing a play.

"How doth the condition of the other cargoes fare, my good fellow?" My voice felt odd like I was in a TV show, so I decided to act, the same as before.

(How is the condition of the other cargoes, my friend?)

"Tis in fine condition, My Lord. Ye may inspect it; not a single shred of taint shall ye find!" (It is in fine condition my Lord, inspect it and you will see no damage nor dirt!)

"Fantastic news." 

I checked the cargo, which was the corpse of Eleanor, who was no different from a zombie equal to an Emperor Honkai Beast.

I silently gazed at her before covering the lid again, which was tightly shut by numerous locks and preservation.

There was also a gigantic honkai beast plastered on a sailor's net, which was the Kraken.

'I don't think preservation is necessary since Honkai beast's corpses won't disappear like in the game. It was quite unlike the process of a decaying human body from what I've observed in Otto's memories.'

"Dispatch it all to the Isle of St. Michele." (Isola di San Michele if anyone is wondering)

"We'll do as ye command, Milord!"

Since I had two Emperor Honkai Beasts for the experiment, it was time to return to the mansion, and get Kallen who was lying inside a coffin.

My heart churned when I looked at the coffin and imagined the girl whom I had unintentionally killed due to desperation.

"I am sorry..."

I carefully cleaned it; I didn't allow anyone else to touch the coffin since it was where she was lying asleep in eternal slumber. The coffin was enclosed tightly inside a cargo to keep it from being drenched in the rain. So the sailors only needed to carry it through a wooden trolley.

My heart felt empty, regretful, and guilty of what I had done.

Otto Apocalyse's feelings were conveyed to me as if I had become him. It was a dangerous feeling, like an endless void gnawing my heart.

Shortly, Otto attempts everything possible to bring Kallen back to life. When he discovers the data retrieved by Durandal from Su, he has a new hope.

The sacrifices made by him and the people he sacrificed were not made in vain as he successfully changed the timelines.

That led to him indirectly saving the world through the birth of Kiana and giving her time and challenges to grow.

When I thought about how Otto saved Kallen, a sense of peace washed over me, I knew that his future self could resurrect her, even if it meant sacrificing himself and millions of lives at the cost.

"You sick bastard."

I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread at what was inside me.

'Was the soul of Otto Apocalypse still lingering in my body? If so, why hasn't he responded to me intruding inside his body as an interloper?'

'Dammit. How did I end up in this poor state?'

I gritted my teeth as I turned my head away from the coffin as I could not endure the overwhelming feeling of sadness and guilt, which would soon consume me if I did not move my attention to other things.

'I should head to the mansion.' I opened the crate and brought the Coffin to my back as the sailors watched curiously with awe and respect.

They didn't know what was inside the coffin, however, they only knew that Otto was a hero to them.

As I headed back, I stopped midway to sit on a bench nearby to rest before placing the coffin beside me while glancing at the drifting boats and the distant orange sun. My hands still felt extremely numb and my coughing did not subside.

'I'll rest here for a while.'

The City of Venice was lovely, and its natural beauty was that it was slightly submerged due to the rising sea level.

'They surely made the foundations of this place quite well.'

Unfortunately, this place will not last long due to the rising sea levels caused by the nukes in the future.

As for the future, I was lost.

Shall I continue the story? Take Shicksal's throne, get rid of the corruption, build an empire from the shadows like in the main story, and become a tragic villain to save the world.

What reason, for what purpose?

I sighed. It was conflicting.

I closed my eyes, feeling the gentle flow of the sea wind.

A ruler?

Throughout my life, I held no ideals. I cared not for the people or the world around me.

I lived solely for myself, indifferent to how much blood I spilled to accomplish my missions.

Why now did I seek purpose when all I'd ever done was try to survive? Perhaps it was the nearness of death. It reminded me of that final moment—when tinnitus rang in my ears, and the crippling pain consumed my flesh and bones as they turned to dust.

Yet, here I was, alive, having endured those excruciating last moments before another nuclear detonation finally claimed me.

But I still felt empty.

The emptiness clung to me, even in death.