In the Schicksal floating fortress which is Otto's stronghold. The whole place is in chaos as numerous errors and glitches in the system caused errors like doors suddenly locking, sprinkler system turning on, light turning on and off, temperature control system going up and down randomly, etc.
When Otto heard about this, he instantly knew who was causing all these glitches. The internal system of the floating fortress had been hacked. While crashing it is not possible because of the numerous countermeasures in place, causing all these errors is possible and Adam is just that petty for revenge that Otto has to admit, it manages to annoy him enough that he has to put this to stop but to his surprise. It was to no avail even with their own best AI trying to fight against the hacking as their firewall was always being breached like wet papers by their opponent.
When it was to the extent of hindering the Schicksal's day to day operation is when Otto gave up and reached Adam for a negotiation. Definitely not because someone got hold of his Kallen Fantasy account and held it hostage.
———
Still in Singapore, Adam attended the summit meeting as he already planned.
By the end of the meeting, Adam received a piece of paper passed to him by a stranger with an address and time written on it. He simply smiled and slipped it into his pocket.
Later that evening, Adam went to a luxury hotel with a good view on the bay during the sunset.
Immediately after he arrived, he was guided to a private booth where he saw a familiar blond man sitting inside with a glass of wine waiting for him. For some reason, he brought no bodyguard. At least none were visible around the room itself.
Adam wordlessly entered the room and sat down on the prepared seat opposite of him, facing the beautiful sunset view of the bay. Otto immediately poured a glass of wine and offered it to Ray.
"It's the Cabernet Sauvignon 1992, it cost half a million per bottle." Otto introduced the while while offering it to Adam.
Adam accepted the wine with total confidence and without any fear of poisoning. He immediately took a sip after swirling the wine a little before putting it down and looked at Otto.
The smiling handsome blond man did not falter and immediately understood what Adam wanted. To get straight to the point. But Otto is curious about Adam. He wanted to know how he manages to stay under his radar for nearly two decades. How he could evade his clutches. So he asked his question in disregard if Adam even bothered to answer his question. But he did.
"If I say I am the incarnation of god. Would you believe me?" Adam answered and Otto didn't know if Adam was actually being serious or not. Adam's face reveals no clue to help Otto make his guess. However, looking at his relaxed and confident expression. Otto wondered. What if he isn't lying? So, he decided to play along.
"If you are a god as you claimed you are. Surely you know what my wish and goal is?" Otto asked while looking straight at Adam's eyes. He picked up his glass of wine before taking a sip and looked at the blood-like fluid swirling in his glass. "Will I succeed?" Otto added after done with his curiosity on the wine and looked back at Adam.
Adam noted the slight vulnerability Otto showed when asking the question. Surely, he was just playing along with Adam thinking it was a joke which rightfully is the truth. Even in his peak unsealed state, Adam dare not call himself a god despite having the qualification to. At most, he is a half-step god. One that possessed the authority of god but not the power to match one.
Looking back at Otto. He still remembers his memories of the game Honkai Impact 3rd. He might not finish the game because he played the game very late and he isn't as interested in the game itself compared to the story.
A tragic yet beautiful story. Otto is one of them. A love story that spans centuries. An undying devotion to a woman he loved so much he could persist living over 500 hundred years in order to save. In order to correct his mistake and sin, he is willing to conspire against heaven and fate itself to save the woman that he cannot even remember her appearance and could only recall her figure and beautiful smile in the faint and ever fading memories.
Adam can see a shadow of himself in Otto. He too, is willing to go to such lengths if not beyond for his family. Perhaps because of that, Adam pity Otto and felt like he should offer a helping hand. However, he knew his limit and reviving another person is definitely beyond him. But that doesn't mean bringing back Kallen is impossible.
After a long silent pause, Adam finally opened his mouth to answer. "That will depend on what you consider 'succeed' is it to revive her or to save her from her tragic fate." Hearing this, Otto opened his eyes wide and stared at Adam.
There's no one else besides him who knows about his goal. There is no one that should know. Yet Adam did. He knows about Kallen and his goal of saving her.
Seeing Otto's surprised look, Adam continued. "While I am hardly a proper god that is capable of reviving her. I can bring forth her soul. Granted, she hadn't been reincarnated by the cycle of reincarnation." Adam said, referring to his Shinigami ability. Namely his eyes which can see the spiritual worlds, the countless vengeful spirits clinging to Otto and also a pure soul he chooses to ignore. "However, I have my price. The Void Archive. Considering her value to you, the Void Archive should be a rather small price to pay." Adam said while looking at Otto's expression that morphed from shock to frown, definitely because the consciousness inside the Divine Key is conversing with Otto.
"This claim of yours… Can you truly bring Kallen back to life? You are not lying to me right?" Otto sounded rather desperate and had lost his previous elegance and confidence. He is like a man stranded in a desert for centuries and finally seeing the shadow of an oasis in his sight, wondering if his eyes and mind were playing tricks with him or not.
"Naturally, I can achieve what I claim." Adam said in a boasting manner when he isn't because he isn't boasting and is being truthful. "As long as you can promise me the Void Archive as the price. I will definitely achieve it."
"Then do it. If you could. I will give you anything. The Void Archive, the other Divine Keys, Schicksal, anything. I will give you anything you want!" Otto did not hesitate to grasp the last straw offered to him.
As long as he can get Kallen back. Even if just a soul. He can create a body for her just like how he creates a soulium body to house his consciousness or soul. That way, they can live out their eternity together.
"Then, we have an accord. Worry not. It shouldn't take more than a week to complete." Adam said before standing up and creating a portal of shadow with his Quincy power, not intending to hide the fact he possessed supernatural power anymore.
———
Arriving inside his hotel room, Adam sat down on the comfortable black leather sofa while he pondered his next move.
In the first place, a person that had died for over five centuries surely should have passed on to the cycle of reincarnation assuming not every world is unique like Bleach world that have Soul Society and souls living in Rukongai.
So, why would he agree to help Otto?
The answer is easy, he has confidence that Kallen Kaslana's soul is still on Earth. Lingering somewhere, bound to the material world by a strong emotional connection. Adam could catch a glimpse of her image near Otto. But that is not the real her. Her real soul is somewhere else and as someone who is familiar with the story, he has a few candidates to where her soul might be.
The first and most likely candidates were the Jizo Mitama sword, the 12th Divine Key. Under the assumption that Kallen is in love with Sakura, Adam assumes that her soul is more likely to be bound there.
The second probable candidate is the Oath of Judah. Since that is her weapon. Even if her main soul isn't there, it's safe to assume some of its fragments were bound there as sort of a will just like the image of her next to Otto.
Of course, Adam will go for the most obvious answer. The 12th Divine Key, The purple cube that sealed the 12th Herrscher's consciousness. To find it is not difficult. Knowing it was once possessed by Schicksal, Adam just needed to follow it through the vision of the past till the future to see where it ended up. This would definitely drain a big part of his Reiryoku reserve but it didn't matter because Otto is no longer hostile and he would have no more enemies that require him to be at full power to worry about.
Later when Agent returned to the hotel room after finishing her task. She meets Adam who is patiently waiting for him while meditating with his Zanpakutos.
Adam opened his eyes and immediately stood up before telling Agent to pack up their stuff. "We are going to Japan for a little treasure hunt." He said without much explanation before asking her to get his newly bought private jet ready for a take off.
—————
(The fic starting from here will no longer follow the minimum 2k words because I always find it difficult to fulfill and often cause me much stress. So, the following chapters will no longer have minimum words requirement.)
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