She gazed at the cute little girl in front of her, feeling a strange sense of closeness.
This feeling was so strong that Kallen felt as if there was some kind of blood connection between her and Theresa, as if they were family.
-----------------------------------------
Kallen couldn't help but raise her hand and gently stroke Theresa's little head. However, deep in her eyes, a trace of loneliness and guilt quietly flickered.
She murmured softly, "What's your name? Are you also from the Kaslana family? So young and yet…"
Just as the words were about to leave her lips, Kallen suddenly paused, seemingly finding it hard to say the rest.
At that moment, Theresa was completely unaware that in Kallen's heart, she had already been regarded as someone who had passed away.
She simply looked curiously at the gentle big sister in front of her, then answered truthfully, "My name is Theresa Apocalypse."
Kallen's eyes were instantly filled with astonishment. She stared at Theresa, carefully examining her features.
Whether in appearance or bloodline, Kallen could almost be certain that this adorable little girl was definitely a member of the Kaslana family.
Then, was she a descendant born of a union between the two families? Or merely a person adopted by the Apocalypse family by chance?
Puzzled, Kallen's eyes lit up, and she patted her cheeks, muttering to herself, 'Why am I thinking so much? Isn't her grandfather right here? I just need to ask!'
Then, Kallen looked ahead.
However, the moment her gaze landed on the scene before her, her eyes widened sharply, her face full of disbelief.
'Celestial Immortal? And not just one, but three of them?'
Then, looking at the familiar figure on the ground, Kallen slightly parted her lips and exclaimed, "Is that Otto?"
Theresa nodded and explained, "Grandpa cut in line and made a wish to resurrect you before Kiana could, which is what I mentioned earlier. Fu Hua and the others are giving him a lecture right now, you don't need to worry, Grandpa will be fine."
Kallen held her forehead, feeling that everything in front of her was a bit surreal. She looked at Theresa and softly asked, "He... resurrected me? Isn't this the afterlife?"
Theresa put her hands on her hips, smiled slightly, and replied, "This is the world five hundred years later."
"The world five hundred years later…"
Kallen muttered to herself. The time span was difficult to accept, one moment she was being stabbed through the heart by a Honkai Beast, and the next she had traveled five hundred years into the future?
Just then, Bronya noticed what was happening behind her. Her big eyes looked at Kallen, then she turned to Theresa and said, "Headmistress, let Bronya explain."
Theresa glanced at Kallen and, seeing that she still hadn't snapped out of her shock, nodded happily and said, "Alright, I'll leave it to you then, Bronya."
So, Bronya took a deep breath and began to recount everything she knew about this world and about Otto to Kallen.
Kallen listened quietly, her expression changing constantly with Bronya's story, sometimes surprised, sometimes confused, and at times revealing a pained look.
When she heard that Otto had hurt many people in order to resurrect her, Kallen felt a storm of emotions surge in her heart, a mix of sentiments all tangled together.
Kallen's fist clenched slightly, wanting to join the 'Celestial Immortal' trio and give Otto a punch, asking him why he was so foolish, why he did such things!
However, in the end, she silently released her fist.
Anyone could blame Otto, but not her.
Just then, Fu Lin's attention was drawn to the scene. His gaze fell on Kallen beside Theresa, and he slowly stopped walking.
Fu Shi noticed as well and followed Fu Lin's gaze, finally seeing Kallen.
Then, she gave Otto a few more hard kicks and turned to Fu Lin, exclaiming excitedly, "Fu Lin, Kallen's really back! The Dragon Balls are real!"
Hearing Fu Shi's words, Fu Hua also stopped her movements, adjusted her glasses, and looked over at Kallen.
However, before Fu Lin could speak, Otto scrambled up from the ground, his gaze fixed on Kallen, unable to hide the excitement in his eyes.
But that excitement was quickly suppressed by force, and he returned to his usual calm.
Then, Otto staggered toward Kallen with difficulty. With every step he took, his body seemed to tremble slightly.
Finally, he arrived before Kallen and forced a smile, softly calling out, "Kallen…"
Kallen quietly stared at Otto's miserable appearance, her eyes filled with complex emotions, as if there were thousands of words she wanted to say but couldn't find the voice.
After a moment of silence, she finally responded softly, "Otto, you…"
However, before she could finish, Otto took a deep breath and interrupted her without hesitation.
"Kallen, everything I did was my own choice. It had nothing to do with you. You don't need to feel guilty or blame yourself."
Kallen slowly shook her head. She raised her hand and gently placed it on Otto's cheek, wiping the footprint from his face. Her moist eyes trembled slightly.
"No, what I want to say is, you've already done enough for me. I won't let you shoulder all of this alone anymore. This time, I'll face everything with you. Thank you, my great inventor."
Hearing Kallen's words, Otto stared blankly at her. Time seemed to freeze in that moment.
For a moment, he felt like he was back on that spring morning, the moment the boy first met his life's salvation.
"Maybe... you're right."
Mission accomplished. That beating was worth it.
Otto came back to his senses, gently held the hand on his cheek, and said softly, his voice slightly hoarse,
"Welcome back, Kallen."
Elysia's face lit up with a joyful smile, exclaiming in amazement, "Wow~ What a beautiful scene this is~"
Beside her, Fu Lin smirked mischievously and casually looked into the distance. There, a dark silhouette was slowly approaching.
Fu Lin grinned wickedly and said, "Kekekeke, not necessarily a happy ending. That pink little fox has sniffed her way over~"
Elysia, hearing this, put her hands behind her back and leaned forward slightly, curiously following Fu Lin's gaze.
Her eyes sparkled with confusion, and she let out a soft hum, "Hm?"
When Elysia got a clear look at the shadow, her eyes twinkled and she exclaimed again in surprise, "This pretty girl looks just like Sakura! I wonder what her ears feel like? I really want to touch them~"
Fu Lin affirmed, "They feel very good."
At this point, Fu Shi, who had been listening in, excitedly joined the conversation, "Though I've never touched Yae Sakura's ears, I have touched Fu Lin's! The feel is really, really nice!"
Fu Lin's face instantly turned bright red. Flustered, he shouted, "Fu Shi! That happened so long ago, stop bringing it up!"
However, Fu Shi completely ignored Fu Lin's reaction. She smugly pulled out her phone from her pocket and proudly said to Elysia while opening her photo album, "Elysia, I'll show you the video of Fu Lin back then…"
"Okay~"
Elysia nodded and came over to Fu Shi's side, full of curiosity as she watched her search for the video.
But before Fu Shi could find it, Fu Lin swiftly snatched her phone with lightning speed.
Without saying a word, he took a perfect pitcher's stance and forcefully threw the phone into the air.
The phone traced a graceful arc through the sky, then shot off like a meteor.
Phone: Goodbye, Mom. I'm off to sail the seas~ Don't worry about me...
Fu Shi stared wide-eyed as her phone was thrown, her expression full of disbelief.
"Sword, come!"
However, Fu Shi reacted almost instantly. The moment the phone was tossed, she leapt like a nimble leopard, stepping on a sheathed blade and shooting out like an arrow.