Otto Was Not Killed by the Imaginary Tree: The World Deemed Him the Wrong Answer

Hai Long took a deep breath. "He turned himself into a tool."

"To be more precise," Zi said, "He turned himself into a key."

"Open the door to a new world, then leave the key outside," Ye Yinzhu added.

"And those inside the door will never know there are people outside," Hai Long said.

This time, even the Dragon God remained silent.

The World Lines within the Light Screen has finally stabilized completely.

On the Imaginary Tree, new branches sprout tender buds. There is no name of Otto there, no portrait of him, and no record of him whatsoever.

But Kallen's future is unfolding inch by inch.

She will continue to fight, continue to save people, meet new companions, and experience her own joys and sorrows.

Her life no longer revolved around a particular victim.

This is exactly the kind of beauty Otto desired.

It's not about keeping Kallen frozen in the moment she was saved, but about allowing her to have a complete and free life in a world without him.

Dai Hao's hand slowly tightened.

"He took all the credit with him."

Xue Ye shook his head. "If merit must be rewarded, then it is no longer unconditional protection."

After a long silence, Tang Wulin suddenly asked, "Ancestor Tang San, if it were you, would you make the same choice?"

All eyes turned to them.

Tang San did not answer immediately.

He gazed at the newly formed World Lines, at Kallen walking into the sunset, and at the blank space on the Imaginary Tree that no one could ever touch again.

"I don't know," he said.

This answer surprised everyone.

Tang San continued, "When truly faced with five hundred years of solitude, countless failures, and the ultimate end of utter extinction, no one can easily say they can definitely do it."

Huo Yuhao nodded. "But at least, we can understand why he did it."

"Understanding is not the same as agreeing," Gu Yuena reminded her.

Tang San looked at her.

Gu Yuena said calmly, "Every sacrifice comes at a price. While it's admirable for someone to decide to sacrifice themselves, those left behind aren't necessarily happy. Kallen lost her right to know the truth, and Otto lost his right to be remembered."

"This is his choice," said the Dragon Prince.

"It was also the choice he made for Kallen," Gu Yuena said.

The atmosphere in the space became complicated once again.

Ning Rongrong said softly, "But if we tell her the truth, will she really be happy?"

"No," Ning Tian answered almost immediately, "At least not at first."

"And then what?" Ning Rongrong pressed.

Ning Tian opened his mouth, but did not give an answer.

Kallen experiences pain and guilt, and tries to find traces of Otto. But in the face of utter Nihility, any search is destined to be futile.

In the end, she may only be able to continue living with that unrequited love.

And this is precisely the future Otto didn't want to leave her.

Xu Sanshi suddenly sighed, "This person did all the difficult problems by himself, but didn't leave anyone a chance to thank him."

"Because he doesn't need it," Tang Ya said.

"Or is it because he's afraid?" Xiao Xiao asked softly.

Everyone looked at her.

Xiao Xiao bit her lip. "He was afraid Kallen would find out, afraid she would suffer, so he cut off all possibilities. But this also shows that he wasn't entirely without ulterior motives."

"Self-interest?" Bei Bei asked.

"He wants Kallen to be happy," Xiao Xiao said. "That's his only selfish wish."

The Light Screen lit up for the last time.

There are no grand visuals, nor grand narration.

Only a short line of text hung silently before everyone.

Miracles never come without a price.

[It's just that some people choose to bear the consequences themselves.]

Then, the words transformed into countless points of light, falling into the now stable New World Line.

Kallen continued walking forward.

Otto, however, vanished completely behind her.

There was no goodbye.

There were no last words.

There was no applause.

There is only one beautiful world as the final proof that he existed.

The Light Screen finally fell silent.

This time, no one immediately started discussing it.

After a long silence, Rong Nianbing finally spoke slowly, "It seems all we can do is remember."

"Remember someone who shouldn't be remembered." Zhou Weiqing smiled bitterly.

"Then remember it," the Dragon God said. "Even if the world doesn't acknowledge it, the witnesses will."

Tang San raised his head and looked at the empty Void.

Otto Apocalypse.

This was the first time he had pronounced the name in its entirety.

The Light Screen remained silent for a long time.

The blank space where Otto's name once stood still hung above everyone's heads. No one spoke, as if speaking would disturb the sacrifice that had already ended.

Suddenly, a golden light fell from the blank space.

The golden light was not bright; in fact, it appeared somewhat faint. It swayed in the Void for a moment, then suddenly lengthened, transforming into a golden meteor that pierced through the Sea of Stars.

[The scene continues.]

[Otto Apocalypse completes the Spacetime Correction.]

[The cost: its own existence is completely erased by the Imaginary Tree.]

[Past, present, and future—all traces vanish together.]

[He became... a concept that never existed before.]

"Never existed..."

Ning Tian's face turned slightly pale.

She had once thought that true death was the cessation of life and the dissipation of the soul. But the words before her told her that the price Otto paid was far more thorough than death.

Not dead.

Rather, he never existed in this world.

"If even the past is erased, then everything he did in the past five hundred years..." Xiao Xiao asked subconsciously, "Will it all disappear as well?"

He Caitou stared at the Light Screen and said in a deep voice, "According to the Rules of the Imaginary Tree, it should be."

"What about Kallen?" Ning Rongrong pressed, "Will her New Life also disappear?"

"No." Gu Yuena shook her head, a complex look appearing in her silver eyes. "What was erased was the causal link of Otto. Kallen's New World Line has already closed, so she will remain."

Tang Wulin frowned. "Leave one person behind, but erase all evidence of the other's existence?"

"This is the correction," Gu Yuena said calmly. "For the world to accept the outcome, it must eliminate any traces that conflict with it."

Tang San gazed at the golden shooting star and slowly said, "He wasn't killed by the Imaginary Tree, but rather the world treated him as the wrong answer."

As soon as those words were spoken, everyone's hearts sank.

Incorrect answer.

But if Otto was a mistake, where did Kallen get everything she has now?

The scene unfolds at this moment.

A golden meteor streaked across the endless Sea of Stars, and wherever it passed, the shattered World Lines gradually closed up. Cities that were once on the verge of destruction regained peace, the dead regained their future, and war and calamity were pushed inch by inch back into the depths of history.

However, with each correction to a point in time and space, the meteor's light dims a little.

That's not ordinary consumption.

Amidst the shooting stars, it seemed as if a person's figure was Decomposition.