Honkai Impact: Become Their Hero

Chapter 507: Bronya’s Mother: I’ll Do Anything

"Alexandra, you are the greatest mother in this world."

Elias looked at the duck mom before him.

His gaze burned brightly, even carrying a trace of fervent longing and naked envy. This was the first time Elias had ever felt such emotions toward another person. Even he found it novel.

But it was also unavoidable.

After all, Bronya possessed something he had never had in the past, did not have now, and would never have in the future.

No matter how powerful Elias became, no matter what supreme authority he held, this sincere maternal love was a treasure forever beyond his reach.

How could he not feel envy and jealousy?

"...Thank you."

Alexandra spoke her gratitude in a daze.

Elias’ words shattered her anxiety. They told her that her daughter was longing and hoping to reunite with her, and that she had no reason to feel fear or retreat.

Yet she quickly lowered her head, because the white-haired boy before her was simply too dazzling.

Even a strong-willed woman like Alexandra found her cheeks heating and her heart racing under the intense gaze of those gorgeous heterochromatic eyes.

"...In that case, you should go now."

Elias suddenly felt a little tired. With a casual motion, he opened a spatial door. Passing through it would lead directly to the Valkyrie dormitory, where Alexandra could reunite with Bronya.

"W-wait!"

"Hmm?"

"I—I still need a little mental preparation. Could you tell me more about my Bronya? I want to know what she went through all these years. Please!"

Alexandra spoke nervously and urgently.

Even she found it incredible. For years, she had dreamed every moment of reuniting with her daughter. Yet when that opportunity truly arrived—

She had become timid and terrified instead, as though this required more courage than facing several gangsters alone, more courage than when she first decided to set out on this journey to find her daughter.

"Very well. But if that’s the case, you’d better prepare yourself. Bronya’s life these past years hasn’t been easy. She once tasted pain akin to hell."

Elias recalled the day he first found Bronya and helped her bathe.

He would never forget the horrifying scars covering the young girl’s petite body—knife wounds, burn marks, bullet holes, frostbite, and more.

They were the injuries she had suffered as a child soldier.

For a man, scars could be medals of honor. But for a woman—no, for a young girl—they were nothing but proof that she had once lived in hell.

Though those wounds had long since been healed by Elias, the pain had turned into memories permanently etched into Bronya’s past. That was why she had once worn that expressionless face.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to smile.

She had simply forgotten how.

Elias had no intention of hiding any of this. As a mother, Alexandra had the right to know.

"What? My Bronya... she... suffered so much..."

Alexandra’s heart ached so fiercely she could barely breathe.

She felt dizzy, almost as if she might cough up blood. She had never imagined that after being abducted, her daughter would be trained into a child soldier. For a mother, such truth was unbearably cruel.

Seeing her like this, Elias quickly continued.

During one mission, Bronya had targeted him—only to be easily captured and later adopted by him.

At the orphanage he built, House of the Hearth, she healed both physically and emotionally, transforming from a weapon back into a human being.

Back then, standing in the position of [Father], Elias had given Bronya and every girl in the orphanage care and warmth, allowing them to feel the comfort of a home once more.

To this day, the hearthfire of House of the Hearth still burned brightly.

Afterward, besides Bronya and Seele, Sin Mal, Rozaliya, and Liliya had also voluntarily become Valkyries.

As for the other children, some had found their own dreams and ventured out into the world, while others remained in their home, guarding that hearthfire and living ordinary lives.

Some even joined St. Freya Academy, working as logistical Valkyries responsible for intelligence gathering and security.

"Don’t worry. The duck... Bronya... has already turned her past pain into nourishment for her growth. In both strength and will, she can be called strong. And... from now on, she will never suffer again."

As he spoke, Elias revealed a gratified smile.

"..."

Alexandra looked at him silently.

Words alone could no longer express her gratitude.

She understood clearly that it was this white-haired boy before her who had saved her beloved daughter.

If Elias had not taken Bronya in back then, she dared not imagine what her daughter would have become.

No wonder Bronya had worn such a blissful expression when she was with Elias earlier today.

Wasn’t that only natural?

Because Elias had appeared when Bronya needed someone most and had saved her—taking Alexandra’s place at the time and giving Bronya the warmth called "love."

"You’re exaggerating."

Elias swirled the liquor in his glass. Having read her thoughts, he shook his head at Alexandra.

"I wasn’t the only one giving. Bronya returned equal feelings to me—perhaps even more. We love each other."

"Alright. That should be enough. If you don’t go back soon, it’ll be past her bedtime."

Elias glanced at his watch. The routine she had formed at House of the Hearth was one Bronya still maintained.

"Please wait. May I ask one last question?"

Suddenly, Alexandra seemed to steel herself.

"Hmm? Is there something else about my Bronya you want to know?"

Elias paused. He had already dismissed the authority of the Herrscher of Sentience, assuming their conversation was over, so he had not read her thoughts just now.

"It’s not about my Bronya. I wanted to ask... are you... um... married?"

The beautiful lady’s face was flushed crimson as she asked Elias, clearly embarrassed.

"..."

Elias’ brain instantly shut down.

Was he married?

The question made him subconsciously want to punch a certain Miss Pink Elf. At the end of the Previous Era, he had handed the completed marriage application form to Elysia.

However, the two of them had never actually gone to register it. After all, once he gave it to her, Elias had immediately died.

"Unfortunately, I’m not married... truly unfortunate."

Elias let out a deep sigh. Just one final step short of registration. Thinking about it now, he and that pink fairy really had been tragically unlucky.

Across the twelve cycles of the Previous Era, in the first eleven it had been Elysia who handed him a marriage application form filled out with her own information—only for her to die soon after.

In the final twelfth cycle, they had reversed roles.

"I see... then I... sorry, it’s nothing."

Alexandra’s heart pounded wildly. A bold thought had sprung up within her—but the instant it appeared, she fiercely scolded herself for it.

She had just been thinking about giving her daughter a complete family.

She was Bronya’s biological mother, and Elias was the one who had adopted her as a father figure. In that case, wouldn’t combining herself with Elias create a complete household?

Alexandra was not a frivolous woman. Yet deep down, she subconsciously longed for someone to rely on. For a woman who had searched the world for her daughter for over a decade, whose heart was already exhausted, such thoughts were only natural.

Moreover, her favorability toward Elias had skyrocketed like a quadratic function graph. After all, he had saved her beloved daughter—and today, he had saved her as well.

Add to that his appearance, his temperament, the inexplicable familiarity she felt toward him, and most importantly, the way Bronya had called him "Papa" again and again today—

It inevitably led her to think, If it were this person... perhaps I could accept it...

But—

No! No, no! What shameless nonsense am I thinking? He saved both my daughter and me. I couldn’t repay that debt even in a lifetime! How could I harbor such brazen thoughts? And in any case, how could a woman like me possibly be worthy of someone so good?

Alexandra practically wanted to slap herself.

In truth, there was no need for her to belittle herself. Whether in beauty or figure, she was unquestionably a first-class beauty. Combined with her character—

And though she had already borne a daughter, that daughter was the incredibly adorable Bronya. Marrying Alexandra and gaining Bronya as a bonus daughter—surely countless people in this world would be willing.

However, Elias was a special case.

This Flame-Chaser of [Deliverance] and [Eternity], the Savior of the Previous Era—no matter from which perspective, he was simply too noble and exalted.

Alexandra was indeed a great mother. But just as she herself believed, she felt unworthy of Elias.

And besides—

"Heh~ It seems you still haven’t recognized who I am, madam. Though that’s understandable. It has been many years."

Elias was not lacking in emotional intelligence. He had seen through her thoughts and could not help but feel both amused and helpless.

"Eh?"

Duck mom blinked, then carefully examined him again—only to avert her gaze almost immediately.

That face was simply too perfect, too beautiful. It was far too easy to make one’s heart race.

Elias decided to reveal the truth directly.

"My name is Elias. We met in 1999. I was still very young then. Bella, Sirin, Agata, Galina, and Aurora were with me. And... thank you for sharing your food with us back then."

"!!!"

Alexandra’s eyes widened in shock.

Her memories were awakened completely in that instant, every piece falling into place.

Along with his words, the image surfaced in her mind of the white-haired boy she had encountered in 1999—a child whose hair was purer than the Siberian snowfields, whose eyes had gleamed like molten gold.

Elias’ temperament had changed drastically since then. Combined with the difference between a child and a young man, and the shift from golden eyes to heterochromatic ones, it was no wonder she had failed to recognize him.

"So you were that child..."

"Mhm~ That’s right. Long time no see, Mrs. Alexandra... or would ’Auntie’ be more familiar?"

"Waaaaah—!"

Suddenly, Alexandra let out a strange cry. She covered her face with both hands and crouched down on the floor. If one looked closely, her ears were already bright red, and steam practically seemed to rise from her head.

Duck mom felt like she might as well die from embarrassment.

This was mortifying beyond belief.

Elias was that boy from back then!

And she had just entertained such thoughts about him!

Recalling that angelically adorable white-haired child, Alexandra felt that instead of going to see her daughter, she ought to report herself to the police first.

"Ah, and my situation is a bit special. My relationship with Bronya isn’t exactly foster father and foster daughter... emmm, you’ll understand later."

Elias patted Alexandra’s shoulder in reassurance. Some things were better left unsaid for now. Judging by her expression, she was already at her limit.

However, at that moment—

Alexandra suddenly knelt before him.

"Uh, Auntie, what are you doing?!"

"Thank you. And I’m sorry. Right now, with nothing to my name, all I can say to you is thank you. I remember now. If not for you back then, my Bronya and I would have died."

Tears shimmered in her eyes.

Now that she knew his identity, everything had connected.

Back then, when her frail body had been pregnant with Bronya, the harsh Siberian environment meant that she likely would have died shortly after giving birth.

It was Elias—then a Five-Core Herrscher—who had used the authority of creation to regulate her body, allowing her to safely deliver Bronya and survive.

"I remember now. Ever since I met you back then, my body suddenly improved. The feeling... it was the same as when you healed me just now with that unbelievable power."

"Uh, it was nothing. Just a small effort."

"It may have been small to you, but to me it was a life-saving grace. And that portal as well..."

Alexandra recalled the black-and-gold-edged portal of the Herrscher of the Void he had used earlier. At last, she remembered.

Back then, a Honkai Fissile Bomb launched by Schicksal had nearly fallen upon her town. If not for the portal that transferred the bomb away—

She and the child in her womb would have long since perished.

A bitter smile curved her lips.

The debt of gratitude was only growing heavier.

Not just in this lifetime—even in the next, and the one after that, mother and daughter together could never fully repay Elias. After all, both she and her daughter owed him several lives.

"How... am I supposed to repay you?"

"...Don’t ask me that. I don’t know either."

Elias shrugged helplessly.

He truly did not know how others were meant to "repay" him. He had always been the one saving and giving.

Countless people had described Elias as a sun—generously and selflessly bestowing warmth and light upon others. And the sun, high above, did not require repayment from mortals.

He lacked almost nothing. And the few things he did lack were not things ordinary people could provide.

Thus, those he redeemed ultimately could offer him only their faith.