Together, the children carefully carried the unconscious priest back to the orphanage.
After some time, Father Otto slowly opened his eyes.
Theresa: "Father? You're awake!"
The priest blinked weakly, his vision still unfocused.
The Priest: "Theresa… I… what happened?"
His eyes fell upon Theresa. Despite his weakened condition, he reached beside him and produced something he had been carrying.
The Priest: "I'm sorry you had to see this. This is your favorite bitter melon biscuit. Sorry… it's not hot anymore."
Theresa's eyes widened.
Theresa: "It doesn't matter, Father. Why did you collapse in the snow?"
Her expression quickly became worried as she noticed the wounds spreading across his body.
Theresa: "What are those wounds?"
The priest gave her a faint smile.
The Priest: "A minor discomfort… this ailment shall pass with a night's sleep."
Bronya silently watched him.
Bronya: "…"
Seele noticed the expression on her face.
Seele: "What is it, Bronya? You seem… worried…"
Bronya quickly shook her head.
Bronya: "The Bronya is alright."
THUD.
The door suddenly burst open.
Everyone turned toward it.
Joachim stood at the entrance, breathing heavily. His expression was filled with anxiety.
Joachim: "Father…"
However, the moment he saw that Father Otto was conscious, his expression quickly returned to its usual guarded state.
Joachim: "I'm glad you're alright."
The priest looked at him quietly.
The Priest: "Have you packed your things, Joachim?"
Joachim: "Yes, I did."
Joachim walked closer to the bed and stood beside it with his head lowered.
The priest slowly raised his hand, intending to pat him.
But Joachim immediately flinched away.
The priest's hand froze in midair.
For a moment, silence filled the room.
Slowly, he withdrew his hand and instead held the crucifix hanging around his neck.
The Priest: "You leave tomorrow morning, so you should get some rest."
He carefully removed the cross and held it out toward Joachim.
The Priest: "Please… help me take care of this cross."
Joachim stared at the crucifix.
But he did not take it.
The priest lowered his gaze.
The Priest: "…I went to the market to look for a gift for you. But I felt this cross was the most fitting."
The Priest: "It averted calamities for me. I hope it can give you God's blessings."
Joachim clenched his fists.
Joachim: "I don't need it…"
Theresa: "Please take it, Joachim."
Joachim shook his head.
Joachim: "I'm sorry… I can't…"
His voice slowly began to tremble.
Joachim: "God's blessings… will God bless those who kill in the name of goodness?"
Theresa's eyes widened.
Theresa: "What are you saying, Joachim? Father gave you the cross because he wants you to…"
The Priest: "It's alright, Theresa."
Theresa turned toward Joachim, anger beginning to show in her expression.
Theresa: "You never understood what Father wanted…"
Joachim remained silent.
Joachim: "…"
Then, suddenly—
Joachim: "You're the one who doesn't know anything!"
The room fell silent.
The Priest: "Wait! Joachim!"
But Joachim had already turned around and run out of the room.
The priest immediately tried to rise from his bed and follow him.
However, his strength failed him.
He collapsed onto the floor.
Theresa: "The sun is setting! He'll be in danger!"
Bronya immediately stepped forward.
Bronya: "Theresa, take care of the priest. The Bronya shall return with Joachim."
Bronya rushed outside.
But the moment she entered the snowy plains, she immediately noticed something strange.
The landscape itself had changed.
The wind was heavier.
The snow seemed darker.
Even the air felt unstable.
Bronya scanned her surroundings.
Bronya: "…The tundra has changed."
Bronya: "Bubble universe composition has been altered."
Her eyes narrowed.
Bronya: "Did Joachim do this?"
Bronya continued through the snow until she finally found him.
Bronya: "Joachim, please tell the others what you think. Everyone is worried about you."
Joachim immediately turned toward her.
His expression was filled with anger.
Joachim: "You never cared about me… you only care about Father Otto!"
Joachim: "I don't want to think about this… just… just leave me alone!"
Suddenly—
Several distorted figures emerged from the snow.
Honkai Beasts.
Honkai Beast: "…!!"
Joachim froze.
Joachim: "…!"
Bronya immediately reacted.
Bronya: "Honkai beast detected."
A blue glow flashed beside her.
Project Bunny materialized and immediately opened fire.
The first Honkai Beast was blasted backwards.
Another lunged forward.
Bronya moved aside as Project Bunny struck it with overwhelming force.
More creatures emerged from the snow.
Bronya continued fighting them, refusing to allow even one to get past her.
Behind her, Joachim had fallen onto the snow.
Fear overwhelmed him.
Then one of the Honkai Beasts slipped past Bronya.
It began moving directly toward Joachim.
Joachim: "Get… get away from me!"
Bronya turned.
Bronya: "Stand up, Joachim…"
The Honkai Beast raised its claws.
Joachim could only stare at it in terror.
Joachim: "H-Help!"
BANG!
A gunshot echoed across the frozen plains.
The Honkai Beast was struck and collapsed into the snow.
Joachim's eyes widened.
Standing behind the creature was Father Otto.
Despite his wounds and weakened body, he had come after them.
Joachim: "…Father?!"
The priest lowered the weapon in his hand.
The Priest: "Good… you're alright."
He tried to take another step.
The Priest: "Ha… it wasn't easy to divert Theresa and make an escape…"
His body suddenly gave out.
The priest stumbled.
Bronya immediately rushed forward and caught him before he could hit the ground.
But the moment she held him, she felt just how weak he had become.
Despite being tall and well-built, his body felt frighteningly frail.
Bronya: "The priest passed out…"
Bronya turned toward Joachim.
Bronya: "Please help the Bronya hold him, Joachim… After all, he just saved your life."
Joachim stared at Father Otto.
Joachim: "…"
His body trembled.
He could not move.
The sight angered Bronya.
She noticed something lying nearby.
The crucifix.
Bronya picked it up and threw it toward Joachim.
Joachim caught it instinctively.
Bronya: "What is Joachim running from?"
Joachim stared at the cross in his hands.
Bronya: "His past? With the priest and his friends in the orphanage?"
Bronya stepped closer.
Bronya: "Nyet. Joachim is running away from himself because Joachim is afraid."
Joachim remained frozen.
Joachim: "…"
Finally, his voice broke.
Joachim: "I don't know…"
Joachim: "What should I do to make this right?"
Bronya looked at him quietly.
For a moment, she remembered her own past.
The choices she had made.
The things she could not undo.
Bronya: "…"
Bronya: "The world is not a dichotomy of right and wrong…"
Bronya: "Right and wrong applies only to a few things, but not people. Good people take responsibility for their actions."
Bronya tightened her grip around the unconscious priest.
Bronya: "The Bronya knows how difficult it is… The Bronya had a similar experience to Joachim…"
Bronya: "If Joachim is afraid, he should describe the cause of his fear."
Bronya: "Tell the people that Joachim cares about, and that care for Joachim."
Bronya looked back toward the orphanage.
Bronya: "The orphanage is Joachim's family… do not do things you might regret in the future."
Joachim looked down.
Joachim: "…"
Before either of them could say anything else, voices echoed through the snow.
The rest of the children had come looking for them.
Together, they carried the unconscious priest back to the orphanage.
The following morning, Bronya and Seele were awakened by a series of knocks on their door.
It was Theresa.
All three immediately went to Joachim's room.
But when they entered—
The room was empty.
Joachim was gone.
He had left without saying goodbye.
Theresa: "He's gone…"
Bronya stood silently.
Bronya: "…"
Seele lowered her gaze.
Seele: "…"
Theresa took a deep breath.
Theresa: "Father has something to say to us."
Bronya and Seele exchanged glances before following Theresa.
They entered a room near the heart of the orphanage.
Father Otto was sitting weakly inside.
The frail priest tried to turn around.
Crimson wounds stretched across his body, appearing as though they might tear him apart at any moment.
The Priest: "Theresa… my cross… I think I left it out there in the snow."
Theresa immediately stepped forward.
Theresa: "Rest well, Father. I'll find it for you."
Her voice began to shake.
Theresa: "I'll send you to the hospital next week… no, tomorrow! You'll get better…"
The priest gave her a faint smile.
The Priest: "I'm alright… Joachim left, didn't he?"
Silence.
No one answered.
They didn't need to.
The priest already knew.
The Priest: "He did…"
He slowly closed his eyes.
The Priest: "I understand how he feels. I was the one who orphaned him."
Theresa immediately shook her head.
Theresa: "Father, you did the right thing."
The priest remained silent for several moments.
The Priest: "Right and wrong doesn't answer every question in this world."
The Priest: "I kept asking myself if I could have done something else to save Joachim's father…"
The Priest: "But no matter how I thought about it, the truth was that I chose to kill him on that day…"
His hand slowly tightened.
The Priest: "His father whom I condemned to death… I saw myself in him…"
Theresa: "Father…"
Theresa parted her lips.
But no words came.
The priest continued.
The Priest: "I dabbled in the dark, forbidden arts… and hurt… no… I killed many innocent people."
His voice trembled.
The Priest: "The Paladin saved me. She liberated me from the dark abyss."
The Priest: "We ran away together… and buried the Origin of Sin in a secret place…"
His eyes became distant.
The Priest: "But it took its toll on us… the Paladin… she died after only 2 years…"
The priest closed his eyes.
The Priest: "I asked her whether she regretted anything when she drew her final breaths…"
He slowly opened them again.
The Priest: "Listen, children. These were her final words."
The room became completely silent.
The Priest: ""There are three steps in our lives.""
The Priest: ""The first step teaches us how to tell the right from the wrong.""
The Priest: ""The second step teaches us that there isn't just the right and wrong.""
The Priest: ""The third step teaches us to do what we believe is right and to take responsibility for the outcomes.""
The priest's eyes sparkled faintly.
His voice remained calm.
But every word carried emotion.
He must have remembered something that even the passage of time had failed to erase.
The Priest: "I laid her to rest in a foreign land… and came here to build this orphanage."
The Priest: "I understand how Joachim felt… I know what it means to be lost and confused."
The Priest: "I must… respect his choice."
Theresa: "Father…"
The priest looked toward all of them.
The Priest: "I'm sorry, children. There is no turning back for me."
The Priest: "I have committed sins beyond counting… I can only seek atonement…"
His expression softened.
The Priest: "I'm happy that you're here. You are the proof that I can still create warm and happy memories."
Theresa struggled to hold back her tears.
Theresa: "Father… you'll be alright…"
Bronya lowered her head.
Bronya: "…"
Then she quietly spoke.
Bronya: "Joachim… he should be here to hear this…"
Creak…
The door slowly opened.
Everyone turned toward it.
Standing in the doorway was—
The Priest: "…Joachim?"
Joachim stood silently.
Joachim: "…"
Slowly, he raised his hand.
The crucifix rested tightly within his grasp.
Joachim: "Father, I found the cross you lost last night."
He stepped into the room.
Joachim: "You wanted to give it to me."
Joachim clutched the cross tightly, like a child desperately holding onto a precious treasure.
His voice began to tremble.
Joachim: "I'm lost, Father. I don't know what to do."
He lowered his head.
Joachim: "But there's something that I must say…"
Joachim looked directly at Father Otto.
Joachim: "I'm willing… let me follow your path, inherit the orphanage, and uphold your duties."
His grip tightened around the cross.
Joachim: "Please treat me like your family… don't let me go astray."
Joachim fell to his knees beside the bed.
Tears began streaming down his face.
Theresa immediately stepped forward and gently embraced him.
She did not say anything.
She didn't need to.
The priest looked at Joachim.
A gentle smile appeared on his face.
The Priest: "I trust you, Joachim. You will forge your own path."
The priest held his pendant tightly.
His eyes shone with the final embers of his life.
The Priest: "I fought brilliant battles… I marched in the name of the righteous…"
His breathing became weaker.
The Priest: "I upheld… the Path of the Paladin… I've stayed true… for you…"
A single teardrop fell onto the wooden floor.
Then—
A gentle light washed over the entire world.