"Otto, go and become humanity's savior..."
"Turn this imperfect world into a place where everyone can smile."
"..."
Otto slowly opened his eyes.
In his long-awaited sleep, he seemed to have heard that person's final wish for him.
His longing for her had never ceased in these five hundred years, but it had become more frequent in recent years.
"Li Hua, are you reminding me that I've done wrong...?"
Otto looked out the window, a little weary. Under the bright sky, the spring breeze rustled the leaves, and everything seemed so beautiful.
But he knew that beneath this facade of tranquility, lay the depths of his sins.
The human experiments at the Tower of Babylon, turning a blind eye to Anti-Entropy's insane rampage in Nagazora City, treating others like pawns to be tormented and exploited… In recent years, his actions had grown increasingly reckless.
All things that person hated most.
All actions that went directly against her final words.
But, as long as he could bring her back, he didn't care what the cost.
Even if Li Hua despised him, he wanted to see that figure once more.
Perhaps this dream was Li Hua's way of telling him not to do this?
After a moment of melancholy, Otto couldn't help but laugh at his own fanciful thoughts.
If she could really remind him like this, how wonderful would that be? But alas, there were no such ghosts in this world.
And regarding the soul reincarnation that the Immortal Phoenix had mentioned to him back then...
Otto, who was monitoring the world's population information, had indeed found people appearing who were almost identical to those who had existed before. Voices, appearances, personalities, even their names were remarkably similar.
Perhaps this so-called soul reincarnation did exist?
Otto had been monitoring the world for decades, and even saw some familiar faces of that Shenzhou immortal within his database– but there wasn't a single trace of her.
There was no trace of Li Hua's existence in this world, as if her soul no longer existed in this realm.
"...Come to think of it, it's about time."
Slowly standing up, Otto tidied his clothes and walked out of the room.
He was currently in a Schicksal base near Shenzhou, or more accurately, a secret base built by Otto himself, unknown to even the other members of Schicksal - like Kallen Kaslana and Eleanor Schariac.
And the reason for this, of course, was for some major events he didn't want those two to know about.
Looking at the light flashing across the sky like a shooting star, Otto narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Have they arrived?"
Before he finished speaking, a white figure was already standing in front of him.
"Long time no see, old friend."
In response to Otto's smiling greeting, the visitor first took a look at Otto's surroundings.
Here, deep in the mountains, with clear waters and verdant peaks, was a place of quietude. Aside from the hut that Otto had just emerged from, there was nothing but lush greenery as far as the eye could see.
"You're not even as old as me, and you're already living in a sanatorium?"
There weren't many people in the world who dared to tease Otto, and in Shenzhou there was only one.
The visitor was none other than Fu Hua, who had been guarding Shenzhou for thousands of years, and had recently retired from her duty, handing the task to Schicksal, making her a very honored retiree.
Otto wasn't surprised by his old friend's banter, he simply smiled: "Sometimes, for safety, one has to do some disguises... But you seem a lot more relaxed, old friend."
"Mm... Elysia said I was too serious, and told me to learn to joke more." Fu Hua shook her head, looking slightly helpless. "So I'm trying."
"But the thing you wanted, I brought it from them."
Fu Hua's words made Otto's eyes sharpen. He didn't speak, but the lush green forest around them flickered and vanished, revealing the real environment.
Hidden under the fake natural projection was a gigantic, sci-fi-themed mechanical base. The rapidly moving mechanical creations and cold steel were a stark contrast to the previously comfortable natural style.
Fu Hua didn't say much, she simply raised her hand. Then, with a muffled thud, a behemoth appeared out of thin air, landing heavily on the steel floor.
"The Second Divine Key, the Cosmic Juggernaut... It took us quite a bit of effort to sneak this thing out from under Kevin's nose." Fu Hua frowned as she looked at the train-like Cosmic Juggernaut. "So, you're planning to observe other worlds, continuing your search for that person?"
"Precisely."
Otto calmly gazed at the Cosmic Juggernaut: "If I can't find her here, I'll keep searching elsewhere. And if I can't find her anywhere else, it will still come in handy in the final plan."
"Thank you, old friend."
"Soul reincarnation, huh?"
Fu Hua sighed softly: "Someone once told me, even if a soul can be reincarnated, the existence in the next life won't be the person you knew. Therefore, she would never pin her hopes on the next life..."
"After all, this world only allows consciousness to match with new vessels, but doesn't allow vessels to collect dispersed consciousness – unless the consciousness is preserved from the very beginning."
Otto looked at his own palm, then slowly clenched his fist made of Soulium.
"But, one must always try."
"In the future that Li Hua saw, I would use any means necessary to achieve my goals, causing countless sacrifices, all just to save someone who doesn't even like me." Otto's smile was slightly bitter. "Now, the first two parts have already been proven true, only the last one remains."
He had already accepted that Li Hua would not like him, after doing so many wrong things, but...
Could he succeed in saving her in the end?
Back then, Li Hua had not told him.
Had she not seen it? Or was it that...?
The moment she heard Otto's words, a trace of bewilderment flashed through Fu Hua's eyes.
See the future? That person did those things because she saw the future too.
It's so similar.
...Oh well, it's all in the past now.
Handing over the Cosmic Juggernaut to Otto was both Otto's own request and MEI and the others' decision.
Fu Hua did not know what plans they had, but whether it was MEI or Mobius and Vill-V, they were much smarter than her. Since they and Otto wanted to do this, then she would just do as they wished.
However, if the Cosmic Juggernaut could connect to different worlds, perhaps they could really achieve their goal. After all, the world's space had become rather unstable recently, and the power of the Cosmic Juggernaut was stronger than before.
But after finding their target, what would they do? They wouldn't just drive the Cosmic Juggernaut straight into them, right?
Probably not...?