A.N. Early chapter today to try and undead my readership, please leave a comment so that webnovel doesn't take me out back.
"Karel, my child… Take care of Michelle. If she wants your candy, just give her half. And look after Tania too. She can't walk yet."
It had been an intense few hours.
When Bronya entered the Sea of Quanta, the landscape that opened before her was nothing like any place she had seen. Vast, abstract platforms hovered over an endless void, strange geometry folding into itself and stretching away into the haze. Colors shifted without warning, and a cold, thin wind carried sounds that did not belong to any ordinary world.
A figure challenged her there: Joachim, a fragment of the First Herrscher. Had insisted on being mysterious, not answering any of Bronya's questions. He told Bronya she needed to press onward to uncover the answers she sought, and he spoke of conflict in her heart.
In the first world, she had encountered a completely different version of Cocolia, one who had been a Schicksal Valkyrie.
She had also come face to face with Himeko again. Just like how she remembered her.
For a while Bronya wanted to stay, to learn more, but Seele arrived, and a mission was assigned.
Bronya had assumed that Seele was another projection like Himeko. Instead, she discovered this Seele was the real one. Joachim pulled her out of that world and sent her to the next; Bronya suspected Seele would reappear soon, somewhere deeper in the Sea.
She attempted to open her eyes, however, her instincts didn't allow her to open them, the air was cold, the knifing wind blowing directly into her face.
However, there was something more painful than the screeching winds.
"My dear… you have gone before us, to pave the way for your friends."
Bronya regained her vision. She tried to open her eyes, but closed them quickly.
She couldn't stop her tears. She saw it, even for the briefest of moments.
Sunlight. Dazzling and blinding. Only the sun reflecting off the snow could be that blinding.
Bronya tried to open her eyes again.
A tall priest in a black habit and long blond hair was giving a sermon for someone who had died.
There was crying. Several familiar figures stood around a tombstone with their heads bowed.
"Children… if you ask me why some people had to leave early… It is the trial of death. There will be no more sorrow, wailing, pain, or terror… it is now… history."
Bronya froze. That voice… that face… Otto Apocalypse?
She didn't exactly have the best impression of Otto, not after the events that had happened only four months ago.
But then again, Cocolia had been different too in the last world. That Cocolia had stood for what was right, had fought against those who proposed the X-10 experiments. Perhaps this world's Otto could be different as well.
It was better to not have this kind of initial negative impression.
Principal Theresa and Joachim are here too.More familiar faces, Seele will definitely be here!
Someone took Bronya's hand gently. She turned around and saw Seele standing near her.
Seele didn't speak, just held Bronya's hand in hers.
Bronya's racing heart calmed and she gave Seele's hand a gentle squeeze.
"Let us return, children. Unless you wish to speak to our friends."
The priest's voice carried faintly through the wind as he ended the sermon.
Theresa stepped forward, her hands trembling slightly as she set a small wooden car on the snow-covered grave. "Karel, here's your favorite toy car," she whispered. "Joachim and I used crayon to cover the spots where the paint had peeled. It's not perfect, but…"
Theresa placed the wooden car on the tombstone. The children said their parting words and left.
"The priest and the children are heading toward that hill," Seele said softly.
"We should follow them," Bronya replied, her voice quiet and even.
They climbed the slope, boots crunching against frost.
"It's a funeral for a child," Bronya murmured. "No flowers. No photographs. Only a priest and several children."
"The Bronya… we've seen this before…" Seele's voice faltered. She squeezed Bronya's hand even tighter. "They're orphans, just like us. Look—there's a cabin. That must be their home."
The priest guided the children inside one by one, offering a few words of comfort to each. His tone was gentle, his movements deliberate, and to Bronya's surprise, the children seemed to trust him.
"That priest must run the orphanage," Seele said.
Bronya hesitated. "The Bronya never expected to meet Overseer Otto again…"
"Do you know him, Bronya?"
"Yes. He is an evil, dangerous man," she said after a pause. "But… he might be different in this world. After all, Matushka Cocolia was completely different in the previous world…Joachim must have the key to correcting this world. The Bronya must speak with him."
When they entered the orphanage, the priest was gone. The children sat around a worn wooden table, their faces blank and pale in the fading light.
Theresa was the first to speak. "Everyone's hungry, right? Guess what I've made for lunch?"
Her voice was light, almost playful, but no one answered. The children kept their eyes on the table, their spoons untouched.
"…Borscht?" Seele guessed softly.
Theresa forced a smile. "No, Seele. That's for Tuesday. Wednesday is for potatoes and roast beef!"
Theresa tried to sound excited, but it failed to achieve the desired effects.
She lifted the lid of a battered pot, letting out a puff of steam that carried no scent of beef at all. "Bronya, what do you think is inside?"
"Potatoes?"
"Wrong!" Theresa pointed her ladle like a mock weapon. "Punishment: double beef to make you taller!"
A few of the children smiled weakly, but the laughter she was reaching for never came.
The boy who looked just like Joachim spoke up, "Theresa…"
She turned toward him, still holding the ladle. "What is it, Joachim?"
"I know you want us to be happy," he said, not meeting her eyes. "But you shouldn't force yourself. Karel's gone. We need time… you need time as well."
The ladle dipped. For a moment, the only sound was the crackle of the fire.
Theresa set the ladle aside and bowed her head. "Joachim, would you not… reconsider?"
"I've already decided," he replied. His tone was calm but final.
Theresa hesitated, then whispered, "…Then let's eat."
The meal that followed was quiet. The clinking of spoons echoed faintly in the wooden room, each sound stretching longer than it should.
The priest entered, seeing everyone sitting around the table.
"Hmm? Everyone's having lunch?" he asked, smiling faintly as if nothing heavy had happened that morning.
"Father? You just changed your outfit. Heading to town?" Theresa looked up, forcing cheer into her voice.
"Winter is coming," the priest said, brushing the frost from his sleeves. "I need to stock up on more groceries, and prepare for the arrival of an old friend."
"Theresa, do you want more bitter melon biscuits?"
Theresa's eyes lit up. "Of course I do! I love crispy hot bitter melon biscuits. Thank you, Father!"
"I'll buy a few," Otto said, still smiling. "Everyone can have a piece or two."
Joachim raised an eyebrow. "Father… we can't share the bitter melon biscuits. Theresa always ends up eating all of them."
A few chuckles rippled through the table, short-lived, but real.
"Oh yes, Joachim," the priest said, turning serious again. "Madam Lieserl will pick you up tomorrow. Are you packed and ready?"
Joachim's hand tightened around his spoon. "…Not yet."
"Then go," Otto said quietly. "Say goodbye to your friends. Make this day count. I'm heading out. Please take care of the house, Theresa."
Theresa nodded. "Be careful out there, Father."
The priest's figure disappeared through the door, the sound of his boots fading into the snow.
Bronya watched Theresa quietly gather the bowls and toys scattered around the floor. The clatter of wood and porcelain filled the silence.
"Does Theresa require assistance?" Bronya finally asked.
"Hmmm…" Theresa pressed a finger to her chin. "Five hampers of laundry, a stack of bills to check, and the north roof still leaks whenever it snows."
She sighed, finishing the cleanup. "We're also running low on firewood. Can you help us get some from the hill slope? It'll get cold soon. The boys usually handle it, but… we lost Karel, and Joachim's leaving tomorrow."
Her voice faltered on the last word.
The liveliness that had briefly returned drained from the room again. Bronya did not know what to say.
Bronya looked at the small wooden toys, at the way Theresa's hands trembled slightly as she tied her apron.
This must have been what Liliya and Rozaliya went through, she thought. The slow fading of everyone, one by one. She had been one of the ones who had abandoned them.
"It's alright," Seele said softly. "I'll help Bronya gather some firewood."
Theresa nodded, forcing a small smile. "Thank you, both of you. Get back before sunset. I… I think I need a little time alone myself."
Bronya and Seele stepped out into the open air. The door shut behind them with a muted click, sealing the warmth away.
The wind outside howled through the empty valley, scattering loose flakes of snow across the frozen plain.
"A Quantum Shadow… hovering in the skies," Bronya murmured, her voice low, almost lost in the wind. "The people in the bubble universe can't see them."
Seele shivered slightly, wrapping her arms around herself. "Strange… this world seems unstable. It's just like a blurry dream… like a soap bubble."
Bronya scanned the landscape. Snow drifts stretched endlessly in every direction. "This is odd," she said. "We've covered a long distance since leaving the orphanage, but nothing hostile has appeared. No Honkai beasts… not even wild animals."
This feels wrong. There seems to be something in the air…
Seele pointed ahead. "Bronya, there's a little bush up ahead."
Bronya shook her head gently. "Do not push yourself too hard, Seele. The Bronya can handle this."
The sight of Seele trying to use an axe was painful to Bronya.
"It's alright," Seele said firmly, as if reading her thoughts. "I can maintain my form in these worlds. I want to share your burden."
The girl swung the axe, hacking branches and twigs from a small, frozen tree. Snow fluttered down with each strike, melting briefly against the warmth of their exertion.
"This place… it reminds me of the orphanage where we grew up," Seele said, stacking the wood neatly. "Those children earlier… they reminded me of us when we were little."
"..." Bronya didn't know what to say.
"The days were tough, but we worked hard together. We were happy. We lost our family, but the orphanage gave us a new one." Seele continued, her voice quiet but steady.
Bronya gathered her own pile of twigs and branches, feeling the chill bite her fingers.
"But…" Seele hesitated, looking toward the distant horizon. "The children seemed… disconnected. Joachim is leaving too."
"The priest said Joachim will be adopted soon," Bronya noted.
Seele frowned slightly. "Being adopted is good news for an orphan, but… I think he's behaving strangely."
"They must be hiding something," Bronya replied, tightening her gloves around the axe handle. "We should ask Theresa. But for now… enough firewood. Time to head back."
Bronya clenched her fists, a small knot of resolve forming in her chest. This won't turn out the same way.
"Da, Bronya," Seele said softly, but then stopped, as if sensing Bronya's intensity.
The two of them slowly retraced their steps, dragging the firewood across the snow-covered hill back to the orphanage. Each movement caused the cold to seep in through their clothes.