MTLNOVEL Chapter 408: Fallen Leaves Return to Their Roots
Schicksal Headquarters.
The floating island still bore the scars of Senti's attack. Construction workers and heavy machinery moved busily, repairing the damage.
Most of the facilities were operational again, and the central tower stood tall once more.
Amber, the secretary, knocked on the door. "Overseer, Dr. Nagamitsu has arrived."
Otto, hunched over his calculations, looked up. Fatigue was evident in his sharp green eyes.
"Let her in."
The door opened, and a woman with long crimson hair stepped inside. She wore a white lab coat and a monocle over her right eye. In her hands was a thick stack of files. The name tag on her coat identified her as Dr. Nagamitsu, head of Schicksal's 1504th Research Institute.
"Do you have the results?" Otto set aside his work, rubbing his tired eyes.
Nagamitsu hesitated for a moment before stepping forward. "Overseer, the tests are complete, but..." She glanced down at the files, her brows slightly furrowed.
"Speak freely."
"Yes." Reassured, she placed the documents on Otto's desk. "Based on the blood sample you provided, we conducted thirty-seven tests across three labs. However—" she pulled out a specific file and set it on top, "—the subject, Ren, exhibits significant deviations from normal human DNA and Honkai adaptability."
Otto flipped the folder open. On the first page was Ren's profile.
In the corner, a photo showed a shy, almost childlike boy. He looked uncomfortable in front of the camera.
She placed a new file on Otto's desk. "This is his medical record from seven years ago in ARC City. At the time, aside from slightly low blood sugar, all his vitals were normal."
She pulled out another file. This one contained a photo of a burning street, with Honkai beasts visible amidst the chaos.
In the center of the image, a gray-haired boy sat among the ruins, wiping away tears.
"This is from the Great Eruption a few months ago. City surveillance captured his presence. His parents perished in that incident."
Otto studied the photo closely.
Nagamitsu then produced a final document. It was a medical report with Ren's information and Schicksal's logo stamped at the top.
"After the Eruption, Schicksal provided free medical checkups for survivors. His diagnosis: severe Honkai corruption. Estimated lifespan: three months." She paused for a moment before continuing, "Hospital records show he refused treatment, accepting only humanitarian aid. There are no further records after that."
Otto frowned.
"But," Nagamitsu added, "the blood sample you provided shows a Honkai corruption level nearing 90%. Even Herrschers don't reach that level. Only mindless Honkai beasts exhibit such extreme corruption."
She shuffled the papers and looked at Otto, her voice lowering.
"Furthermore, his DNA sequence isn't entirely human. It resembles plant DNA. If I hadn't personally delivered the sample, I'd have thought it came from a wooden puppet."
Otto listened patiently, his face unreadable. After a long moment, he asked, "Did you compare his data with the Gnus System?"
Nagamitsu nodded slowly. "Yes, and that's the most puzzling part. The Gnus System anchors to the world's frequency. I was curious why you wanted me to compare it with an ordinary person. But the results show a significant deviation between his consciousness signature and our world's frequency."
She hesitated, her eyes narrowing in thought.
"It's as if… he's not from this world."
Even Nagamitsu, a top-tier Schicksal scientist known for her precision, sounded uncertain. Ren's data was so bizarre that even she couldn't find an easy explanation.
"Hmm..." Otto didn't question her findings. Instead, a spark of excitement lit up his tired eyes.
"The universe began as chaos and void, shrouded in darkness, filled with death and annihilation. Then, the Imaginary Tree was born, and the material world gained its foundation. The Tree absorbs energy from the void, converting chaotic energy into Imaginary energy, fueling its growth. As the Tree grew, branches sprouted from its trunk, each a unique world. These branches, like the trunk, extend in a fixed direction, and flowing through them is time. As the branches grow, time splits at certain points, creating leaves. Each leaf represents a different possibility, forming countless parallel worlds. But leaves wither and fall, and when a world dies, its leaf falls into the Sea of Quanta. Weaker ones are annihilated, while stronger ones form world bubbles, lingering for a time."
Otto's voice grew steadier as he explained his understanding of the Imaginary Tree. Until Project Stigma, it had been nothing more than a theory.
"His existence confirms my hypothesis."
Nagamitsu blinked in confusion. "His?"
Otto's eyes gleamed with realization. "Ren."
Nagamitsu's expression shifted as she understood.
"I observed the Tree during the Cosmic Juggernaut Experiment," Otto continued. "I learned the true nature of the world from my conversation with a god. I needed time to verify my calculations, but Ren's existence eliminated that need."
"What do you mean?"
"Remember my theory about the Imaginary Tree?" Otto's gaze grew distant, as if recalling past memories.
"Of course. You said our world is just a leaf on that Tree."
Otto nodded, a flicker of sadness crossing his face as he glanced at the sunset outside his window.
"This is the culmination of decades of research," he murmured. "After the Cosmic Juggernaut Experiment, I was ecstatic. Countless parallel worlds meant infinite possibilities. I could find a world where she could live."
He fell silent for a moment, the weight of his words hanging in the air.
"Based on this, I observed thousands of nodes on the Imaginary Tree, tracing them back five hundred years."
Nagamitsu watched him closely, waiting for him to continue.
"But I failed." Otto's voice faltered. "In every leaf, she met the same fate."
He paused again, collecting his thoughts.
"Her name is Kallen. I've told you about her before."
Kallen's existence wasn't a secret to Nagamitsu. She knew all too well about Otto's obsession with finding a world where she could live.
"It was a despairing conclusion. Then, during the Coral Island incident, I learned something from the Herrscher that led me to Ren. The Honkai God had been watching him from the beginning."
Otto's voice grew more animated as he continued, his eyes gleaming with intensity. "I initially thought he was just an ordinary person who stumbled upon the Gem of Haste. I brought him to Schicksal without much effort. But his abilities far surpassed those of a normal Herrscher. He possessed a sharp mind, a madness that mirrored my own. To save Kiana from the Honkai, he even dared to kill a god in the Pacific."
His eyes shone with a strange admiration. "He and I are the same."
Nagamitsu listened intently, but the pieces weren't quite fitting together.
"I thought he'd perished in that battle," Otto continued, "but he returned just half a month later. We clashed again in ARC City, and I outsmarted him. But when he reappeared, I could no longer understand him. Half a month ago, the Herrscher of Rimestar was born on Coral Island. I used the Void Archives to contact him again. This time, he displayed new powers, making me think he was the Herrscher of Reason."
Otto paused, his face tightening.
"But now, I realize it was all a performance."
Nagamitsu's gaze drifted to the photo of Ren—the shy boy who seemed so out of place in this story. "You're saying he's been disguising himself, growing stronger?"
"No..." Otto shook his head, his expression filled with something darker. "Not growing stronger… recovering."
He stared at Nagamitsu, his voice taking on a more intense edge.
"Once, by sheer chance, I entered a sea of red sand, devoid of Honkai energy. I saw a golden tree—the Imaginary Tree. I now realize I might have stumbled into the realm beyond the Tree. Beyond the Imaginary, there is nothing. But in that sea of sand, I saw a boy's back."
Nagamitsu inhaled sharply, her mind racing. "The realm beyond the world..."
She looked at Otto, realization dawning. "That boy was Ren?"
"Yes," Otto said, his voice low with conviction. "That's why I requested these tests." A manic gleam entered his eyes. "Ren doesn't belong to this world. That means there are other possibilities, beyond this world."
Nagamitsu frowned, trying to grasp the enormity of what he was saying. "But you said the other leaves..."
Otto's gaze darkened. "Yes, but what if he's not from a leaf, but a branch?"
"Why can he access the Imaginary space so easily?" Otto's voice rose with excitement. "Why can he adapt to Honkai energy so readily? Why is he monitored by the Will of the Honkai?"
His words tumbled out faster now, his eyes wide with fervor. "Because he exists outside the world! He's part of the Imaginary Tree itself!"
Nagamitsu stared at him, stunned by the revelation. Otto's words were almost impossible to grasp, but the idea was too compelling to ignore.
"If this branch can't sustain Kallen," Otto continued, his tone darkening, "I will create a world where she can live! I will cultivate a new branch on the Imaginary Tree's trunk!"
The intensity in his voice stirred something within Nagamitsu. Her initial shock faded, replaced by a rising excitement.
What could be more fascinating than unraveling the world's fundamental mysteries?
But she still had a question. "But why would Ren appear in our world?" she asked, pausing at the door.
Otto's expression softened, a strange sadness filling his eyes. "Perhaps... because even branches wither."
The setting sun cast a red hue across the sky.
"Fallen leaves return to their roots, withered branches decay. Perhaps that's why he keeps moving towards the Imaginary Tree."