Escape (Recollection)

At midnight, there was almost no one on deck.

The cold moonlight reflected clearly off the waters of the Danube, resembling a pallid silhouette.

Kallen Kaslana carried that box.

She knew she had to take it away, but she had no idea where it could be properly sealed.

Maybe it was the Far East, home to the Celestials.

Or maybe it was an even more distant unknown land.

It was destined to be a lonely journey. No one to trust, no one to rely on...

Perhaps until the end, she could only rely on herself.

"...Budapest is an important city. Schicksal will definitely post a sentry at the docks there. So I need to disembark early, and proceed to Belgrade by land."

"But in that case━ Why don't I cross the Carpathians directly, by way of the Kipchak Steppe?"
"Since it's so sparsely there, I should be able to maneuver more freely, wasting less time on the journey."

Kallen Kaslana had always been true to her word.

As the crew were changing shifts, she stole a small lifeboat, and quietly rowed to the river's left bank under cover of darkness.

"The last time I was in a situation like this was on the retreat from the eastern conquest..."
"War really changes everything."
"Ever since that defeat, Otto's father... has had a lot more trouble managing the organisation."
"The shaking throne set everyone restive, driving them into a rush to produce 'results'."
"Only so that in the upcoming power struggle, they'd be able to tell a more compelling story."

Viktor is like that, the Overseer is like that... Is Otto as well?

"Even though the 'benefit' he seeks isn't anything shallow like money."
"Miss Shakespeare was right."
"Winning over the people is a game of telling stories. When the people trust you, you're omnipotent in their eyes. When they don't, you'll be despised in an instant."
"But me, when did I start to drift away from Otto?"
"Was it right after the thing with Sasha? Or did it start even earlier..."

The lifeboat reached the shore, and the fleeing Valkyrie began her overland journey.

She knew that the rift between her and Otto hadn't just started today.

Back when she became a Rogue... back when she was indignant at the sale of indulgences...

The split between them had already started to form.

She didn't know when it started. The two of them had stood back to back at dusk, one facing the fading sunlight of the sunset, the other stepped into the darkness.

So close, yet so far away.

And now, two distinct voices echoed from opposite ends of the world.

The child standing in the light of the setting sun said:

Do something quickly. Aren't you planning to make the world a better place?

And the old man standing in the darkness said:

How can the world get better?

Deceit is a pass for the despicable, and honor is the epitaph of the noble.

Think carefully about which one you want.

"If... I had supported him more from the beginning, it would have been better."
"He's the best friend I've ever had in the 23 years of my life..."
"But now... we built a wall between us..."
"As we became old enough to be part of society, the ways we viewed the world diverged."
"I wanted to help anyone who was the victim of injustice, and he longed for knowledge to the point that he made a deal with the devil━"
"We could have made up for each other's weaknesses."
"Otto... Do you still dream of making a flying machine?"
"Why did you put so much energy into those filthy deals you made instead?"
"I know that one can only prevent a political disaster by immersing oneself in politics━"
"But Otto... How is what you have done different than what Viktor did, or what your father did?"
"In the light of day, I can see the expression on your face. Confused, helpless, lacking confidence..."
"You're the same as me now. You don't even know what you're doing, right?"

The fleeing Valkyrie shook her head.

If she had her way, she would lock Otto in a dark room with her, hash out their differences, and try to understand each other's way of thinking.

She hoped that Otto would realise that what Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie needed wasn't protection, but an understanding of her spirit.

She hoped that she could persuade Otto that if they couldn't get the old world back, they could move on and create a new world.

"But... at this age, we can't do that, can we?"
"Maybe time is our greatest adversary."

The escaping Valkyrie realised something at that moment.

She was actually just as impatient as Otto. Just as impatient to prove the validity of her ideas through her actions.

She longed more than anyone to seal this box now.

She longed more than anyone to prove the mistakes of Schicksal.

She longed more than anyone for someone to support her spiritually.

But he... was no longer her best friend.

And besides, she had an even more important mission now.

She had to be on guard against her pursuers from Schicksal, and at the same time deal with that box which had caused all kinds of problems.

On this journey with an unknown destination...

Continuing to immerse herself in those worries would be pointless.

As for later━

If she could seal that magic box, she could still have the freedom she had in the old days━

"If I'm still alive and kicking... I'l go back and give him a piece of my mind."

The road ahead was long, and the first glimmers of dawn had appeared in the sky.

And at this point she had no way of knowing... what kind of a trick fate had in store for her.

**Irrelevant Files**:
**Chapter 1 -** Mission Report Kv10297 • St. Fountain Tour Guide • Golden Fountain • Fountain of Blood • From Sint Fontein to St. Fountain • Unsent Letter • A Flyer • A Resident's Diary • A Scrap of Paper • Duino Elegies