[A Few Months Later]

The days had become quite peaceful ever since the Herrscher of Dominance had been defeated by Kiana.

After Alex and her had went their separate ways, the boy was sent out of the Theater for good this time as he arrived back from where he and Mei had first entered which was in some underground lab for Jackal.

Needless to say, his return was received about as well as he expected as Mei was grateful that he was okay but immediately gave him an earful for doing something so reckless.

She tried to get Raven to do the same but she just nonchalantly shrugged it off and simply told Alex to not run off again but that she was proud that he survived the whole ordeal.

In the time that passed, Alex would go on to have his 15th Birthday as Raven went out and brought him a cake so they could celebrate along with Mei despite Alex's insistence on not wanting to do anything.

Naturally Alex would also get treatment for his injuries that he suffered in that final battle, most notable of which being the cauterized wound on his abdomen.

Raven obviously questioned how he got that but Alex just casually told her that things happened as he didn't really wanna tell anyone what exactly happened during that fight.

Seeing as Alex was recovering from his injuries, he wouldn't be sent out to do any work for the time being which caused him to spend lots of time alone as Raven would frequently be sent out on missions as Mei too was also starting to do some things on her own.

Catching up to the present now, Alex was currently walking through the city as he got pretty bored of constantly seeing the Serpent HQ's empty hallways and needed a change of scenery.

He was on this little journey for about an hour now as he was stopping by places and stores that caught his interest but didn't buy anything.

After a while of walking around, he'd come across an empty building that was currently un-occupied as it was undergoing renovations at the moment.

Seeing that the building was fairly tall, Alex figured he'd get a good view of the city if he went up to the roof.

The boy would carefully enter the building to make sure that no one was inside and after confirming that he was indeed alone, he quickly walked up all the flights of stairs and would open the door that led him to the roof.

After heading back outside, he was greeted with a gorgeous view of the city in the night sky as he walked over to the edge and sat down, just taking in the moment as he had a deep breath.

'That whole puppet fiasco has by far been the craziest thing that's happened to me. A part of me still can't believe half the things I witnessed cause of it. As rough as it was, I'm grateful to have finally met Seele, reunite with Bronya and Kiana for a brief moment, and have some last words with Himeko.' Thought Alex as he looked up to the sky, continuing his train of thought. 'That was a pretty slick new form Kiana got back there. I wonder what she's called it by now..............probably something dumb knowing her.'

Alex chuckled to himself a bit as he had a slight smile on his face.

"I wonder how she's doing right now?" He asked himself.

"Would you like to know?"

Alex wasn't expecting an answer so as soon as he heard a response, he immediately sat up and turned around, completely shocked to see who was standing before him.

It was none other than the Overseer of Schicksal, Otto Apocalypse as he donned a new look compared to the first and last time Alex had seen him as his ponytail was now tied behind him in a different manner as his outfit was now mainly white and black with a red sash in the middle which was a drastically different departure from his prior purple coat.

"Been a while, hasn't it? I can tell that you've grown quite a lot since the last time we interacted back at the airbase. I'd hope so at least, considering the fact that it's been two years since then." Said Otto, casually trying to strike a conversation.

"Y-You.................what're you doing here? WHY are you here?" He asked, clearly on guard as the blonde raised his arms.

"Ease up there, Mr. Mustang. I'm not here to pick a fight." He said.

"Why should I believe a word you say?" Asked the boy.

"I have nothing to gain from engaging in combat with you. Quite frankly, I couldn't even fight even if I wanted to."

"What makes you say that, huh?"

"Just try and take a swing at me. You'll understand why."

Alex knew better than to just take a free hit considering that it was Otto of all people but for some strange reason, the Overseer sounded oddly sincere with his words.

The boy would grab and aim Olympus before going for a slash.

To his surprise, the blade went completely through Otto, almost like it was slashing at nothing.

He tried a few more swings and every time it was like he was merely slashing at air.

"T-The hell? Is this an illusion or something? Am I hallucinating? The hell did you do!?"

"Again, calm down. If you'd let me explain then you'll come to understand that I no longer pose any harm. Please, let's sit." Said the blonde.

Alex reluctantly placed Olympus away as they sat at the edge of the roof.

"Okay spill. Why or how are you here? Why isn't your body physical? Is this one of your many avatar clones that I've heard about?" Asked Alex as Otto simply shook his head no.

"If that was the case, I'd have no reason to come see you. For how I'm here, you can consider this a vestige of myself, or in other words my soul/spirit. As for why, I simply wanted to have a talk with you." Explained the blonde.

When Alex heard the words soul and spirit, he almost had a hard time believing it, in fact he refused to believe it.

"N-No way you're kidding right? You're lying. There's no way THE madman, THE clown, Otto Apocalypse has died. How can someone who's cheated death for so long suddenly die NOW?" He asked.

Otto simply raised the top of his outfit revealing a large puncture in his chest that went through his heart which immediately stunned Alex and kept him in complete silence.

"Is this enough of an answer for you?" Said the Overseer to which Alex quietly nodded.

"H-Holy crap..............you, really are dead......?"

"Indeed I am. It's quite the long story as well. I'm sure you'd be interested in hearing. Lots of important things happened. Things that you'd find interesting." Said Otto, clearly getting Alex's curiosity.

"Go on then. How the hell did you finally bite the dust?" Asked Alex.

"To answer that, I'd have to explain how all this madness began. What led me to doing everything I did." Said Otto as he then asked a question. "Tell me, you ever heard of Kallen Kaslana?"

"Yeah I have. Saw her name pop up in many books I would read back at St. Freya's Library." Answered Alex.

"She was an exceptional Valkyrie for her time. A natural prodigy. She was also a very close friend of mine. We met one another when we were kids. Believe it or not, but I was treated as a failure by my own family. Kallen helped me get past that. Unfortunately as the years passed, one thing led to another and she ended up being branded as a traitor to Schicksal by the Apocalypse family. She'd get caught and was sentenced to a live execution by hanging. That was when I came up with a plan to help her escape, though I'll admit it wasn't exactly a safe plan." Explained the blonde.

"What was your plan?"

"Let loose a Honkai Beast to rampage through the town. Doing that would cause the guards to assist the citizens, leaving Kallen on her own. I get that putting innocents at harm just to save one girl was nonsensical, but I didn't care. Unfortunately, Kallen would still end up dying that day as she died while battling the Honkai Beast as she was defending it from mauling a little girl. When I arrived and held her cold lifeless body in my arms, I immediately regretted everything."

"Well geez, you surely didn't think of the possible negative outcomes didn't you? Oh well. Continue on."

"Kallen was someone who didn't need to die. She was someone who didn't deserve to die. Kallen Kaslana was someone who I saw as the ideal image of a Valkyrie. It was on that day when I began to follow one goal. A goal I religiously followed for multiple centuries. Try and find a way to bring Kallen Kaslana back to life. I didn't care about what it took or what I'd have to do. As long as it helped in my goal, then I'd do it. No questions asked. In fact, K-423 becoming the host for the Herrscher of the Void's core was a big part of that goal."

"Seriously? That whole ass eruption that sent the world into chaos was all just to potentially help revive a dead girl? How?"

"Every Herrscher is linked to an otherworldly space known as the Imaginary Tree, the origin of life itself. That tree is where every universe and bubble world exists."

"Hold on. You mean to tell me that the multi-verse exists? I thought that was just some made up sci-fi nonsense."

"Indeed it exists. Who knows what other versions of you exist out there Mr. Mustang. In fact, it's even possible that there's a world out there exactly similar and identical to ours except you don't exist in that world. Anything is possible in the multi-verse." Said Otto as Alex had a hard time even thinking about the fact that the multi-verse existed.

"I long since came to the conclusion that in this universe that we're in, Kallen Kaslana was dead and would remain dead no matter what I did. That was when I had an idea. What if I could enter the space where the Imaginary Tree resided in, and save a Kallen from an identical but also different world? To do that, I needed the Herrscher of the Void to reawaken as only she held the power to actually send people to the imaginary space. That is why I took K-423 and woke up Sirin deep within her. It was finally time to begin my plan. A plan which finally culminated not too long ago."

"I'm assuming that culmination resulted in your death?" Asked Alex as Otto nodded.

"Seeing as this would be my final act, I no longer had a reason to remain as Overseer. I'd host a live broadcast where I announced my resignation and stepped down from the title of Overseer, officially handing it over to Theresa. She's now the Overseer of Schicksal. With AE's attention fully on me, I led them to the place where it all began for Schicksal, it's birthplace. Kolosten. I'll spare you the details and get to the important bits."

"Alright."

"Long story short, my plan was to send the entirety of Kolosten back 500 years, at least to them that was my plan. In reality, that was merely a ploy. A way to get K-423 to engage in combat against me. One thing led to another, and in my final moments I'd do battle against her and Durandal."

"Durandal? Wasn't she like your most loyal asset?"

"She finally caught onto my act and rebelled against me. She also finally learned the secret behind her past. I may as well tell you now so do with this information as you wish. Durandal is the real Kiana. She's the one who I kidnapped from Siegfried after the Siberian Honkai Eruption. All the experimentation which led to K-423 caused the original to forget all initial memories, essentially turning her into a whole new person."

"So, the two Kianas battled you in your final moments huh? Funny. Seems as if fate intended for that to be the way you leave this world." Said Alex as Otto nodded.

"I guess so. Using her void powers, Kiana would send me away from this universe. My plan had worked as I arrived at the realm that held the Imaginary Tree. From there, I'd have one last stand and managed to save another Kallen from an identical but different world. That's all I've ever wanted. To atone for that one mistake. Now, my time is up. No longer shall I pose a threat to this world. Besides, someone else already holds that mantle now. I'm assuming you already know who, correct?" Asked Otto as he stood up and walked away from the ledge.

Alex knew instantly who Otto was referring to as he also stood up and looked back at him.

"That Jack Frost wannabe." He said which got a small laugh from Otto.

"My my. Didn't expect a fallen hero from the prior era to be received so harshly."

"I don't give a rat's ass if he was a former hero. He doesn't belong in our time."

"I like that mindset kid. Keep that. Pretty soon, Kevin Kaslana will finally enact Project Stigma. I'm eager to see which side will prevail in the end. So make sure not to disappoint me. I expect a grand spectacle." Said the blonde in his usual flamboyant tone as his body began to glow a bit, signaling that his time left was nearly up.

"Before I finally depart for good, allow me to ask you an important question. You don't need to answer me right away. I'm confident you'll find the answer yourself in the near future." Said Otto.

"What's the question?"

"Remember back at the base two years ago, I referred to you as the Wild Card?"

"Yeah? What about it?" Said Alex.

"Are you the Wild Card because you're Alex Mustang, or are you Alex Mustang because you're the Wild Card?"

Alex was unsure on how to respond as the question itself just sounded so random.

Before he could question the blonde man on what he was getting on, Otto's body was now completely covered in a bright glow which forced Alex to cover his eyes.

After a few seconds, he'd uncover them to see that he was now all alone.

The former Overseer was now truly gone as Alex began to think over this recent encounter.

'Pretty strange for someone like him to want to have a chat with me in his final moments. A part of me still can't believe that he's actually dead. Regardless, this fight isn't over yet. If he was truly sincere about everything he said, then I need to start paying more attention to that jackass Kevin. He's the last enemy standing in the way.'

[Meanwhile]

"What do you need?"

Back at the Serpent's HQ, Mei stood before the steps leading to the throne on which the man himself, Kevin Kaslana sat upon.

He had snow white hair and cold, aquamarine blue eyes which punctuated his sternful and emotionless gaze as he wore a long black coat over a white turtleneck with black pants and boots as there were splashes of blue here and there on his outfit.

"It's been months so I'm sure you know by now that the Herrscher of Dominance was exterminated." Said Mei as Kevin nodded.

"I'm aware of that." He said.

"It's core also went missing." Added Mei as Kevin didn't have a response to that.

"Anyways, I'm here for something that's been nagging on my mind since it's defeat." She said.

"What would that be?"

"When my Herrscher power clashed with the puppets, for a brief moment my consciousness was taken to an odd space. It ought to be the source of Herrscher power since I sensed an unbounded consciousness enveloping it. That consciousness tried to drill something into my head, but it's attempt was halted by the EM waves overflowing from my body."

Again, Kevin remained silent as Mei continued to speak.

"This confuses me. If that will supposedly is the God of Honkai, would it truly lose its control over an executant for this reason? As the last hero of the Previous Era who has fought up to this very day, you're surely bound to know something." Said Mei as she stared at Kevin directly in the eyes.

"How many more secrets are you keeping from my generation?" She asked. "I want an answer. Now."

After a few moments of silence, the man would finally speak.

"Very well then. You're now eligible."

".............what?" Said Mei as she was unaware as to what he was getting at.

Kevin merely pointed towards to a corner of the room as there was a dark, unlit corridor that seemed to meander on for who knew how long.

"You're now eligible to reach out to the truth and find the answer you seek."

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Epilogue: Complete

Thanks for reading A Serpent's Tale!

The story will continue in:

Title and Cover currently under construction.

Please stay tuned for the official reveal and enjoy other stories in the meantime!

This one's gonna take a while so please be patient with me.

Till next time!

Sincerely, Alyx.