Honkai Impact 3rd: Don't Die For Me Book 2 Purgatory

Chapter 74 Her Great Inventor

The faint bickering of rats echoed along the tower walls. The corridor of steps turned high winds into chilling tunes. The various barred cells of the tower, along with the open windows had turned Otto's prison into an Aeolian harp. Braces of the northern wall held up the playerless instrument, its single resident had just taken up a cell in the abandoned tower. Otto scratched away on parchment. His back was up against the freezing prison bars and his gaze focused on the few vats of blood he had pulled. An empty syringe was hidden in the corner of the room, the last few days had rotted the blood he took. The air was thick with hemoglobic iron and rotting decay, and the plank that was supposed to be a bed, lay on the floor dusted in two. Even cockroaches would avoid living in this filth. The cell was not fit for even the worst of criminals. An ordinary person would have died spending more than a few days in the cell. Despite these conditions, Cain Kaslana had hidden Otto here. It was for Otto's safety. No one would explore the rooms of a wall tower that had long become useless.

Otto continued to write on the page, he nearly reached the end of the book. Thick leather-bound pages plans for the future, information he deemed safe to be entrusted into Cain's care. For his other secrets and discoveries, Otto had to be cautious. He already had trustworthy candidates in mind though Kallen was not on that list. She had most of his faith, he trusted that she would remain herself.

A clean breeze whistled through the tower, clearing up the putrid stench for just a moment. The scent of an open window that brought in the cold night air was one of the most precious scents Otto had ever come across. Otto steeled himself, even if he was all alone he could not let his desires win. He just needed to be strong for a little longer. The past was a paradise he could no longer return to.

His eyes flickered to the lullaby played by the wind, he finally finished his final works. Surely Cain Kaslana would follow the perfect plan he had crafted. The book was snapped shut and placed beside him, the cleanest spot in the cell. Sleep was beginning to take him and with it came a set of memories that he would forever cherish.

Memories over a decade old.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Otto got up groggily from his bed, he wore long-sleeved pajamas of pure white. His sleepwear was much like the gowns of those biblical angels; Gabriel, Ariel, and so on. He rubbed his eyes, today was tiring as well but he was happy. His room had become tidy, and the various toy parts he had created had been swept away. There was not a speck of dust in the room. Otto weakly heaved his blankets off his both and plopped to the floor. A dull pain shook his legs but he didn't care. He excitedly hobbled his way towards the window and climbed onto his desk by the window frame.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Otto quickly pulled back the curtains, a titanic feat for his small sickly body. Through the glass, he saw a troublesome face gleaming to see him. They shared the same smile and Otto's hands fumbled through the window pins to let her in. Cold night air gushed in but Otto couldn't feel it neither could Kallen.

"You're here a second time? You got caught yesterday."

"That's only because you're a scaredy cat, Otto. From now on you leave the window open so I can come every night!"

"Ah ok," Otto responded shyly. It had only been a few weeks since they had met. A few weeks since he had made his first friend.

"Mhmm." Kallen nodded proudly. She picked Otto up and hopped to the floor. "Let's play! Let's play!"

"Ah, but your father says children need to sleep to grow."

"My daddy is right but I'm not going to listen! He spanked me for sneaking out! We live next to each other so I can visit whenever I want."