The Fire-Chasing Herrscher Who Destroyed the World

The power was taken away, no, maybe it was sealed.

But there doesn't seem to be much difference between the two words in practice. No matter how the power is lost, what remains unchanged is the "loss" itself.

My limbs were weak, but I struggled desperately, but I couldn't touch anything.

Nothing could be seen or felt except darkness around him, but in his daze, he suddenly heard Feng Xue's whimpering.

It was the wind and snow that Bronya was very familiar with. It came from the land called Siberia, which was soaked in snow for three-quarters of the year.

"what happened?"

The wind stopped, and it seemed that her eyes could be opened, but the next moment, the white snow stung her eyes, and Bronya had to cover her eyes with her hands, and a lot of tears poured out of her sore eyes.

Even though it was just for a moment, even though my eyes were so painful that I couldn't open them again for a short time, what I saw at that moment - the endless white snowfield, the bare birch forest like dense and towering tombstones, there was no doubt that it was... This is where she was born.

"Is it...an illusion? Or is it a world bubble?"

Based on past experience, Bronya made a quick judgment.

It's nothing more than the above two situations, but it can never be [reality].

"No, you guessed wrong this time. Bronya, in a sense, this is indeed reality."

The cold and stiff palms covered Bronya's head. The touch felt like the hands of a snowman that would break into pieces at the touch, but there was a warm current flowing out of it, which quickly relieved the pain in Bronya's eyes and recovered. .

"Bronya doesn't know if this is reality, but... you are the instigator, why do you put on such an appearance..."

Bronya opened her eyes carefully to avoid being blinded by the white snow again. After getting used to the surrounding light, she turned to look at Mikael with doubts on her face.

Mikael did not answer her, but relied on his tall body to look at something in the snowy field from a distance.

"This scenery seems strangely familiar. Let me tell you a secret, Bronya. In fact... this place can also be regarded as my hometown. The starting point of my story is also in this snowfield. So... it's really I miss you...

“When I get up in the morning, I can always hear the chirping of birds by my bedside. Occasionally, there are wild geese flying over in the sky. I’m afraid they are birds that didn’t have time to follow everyone to the warmer south in autumn. Whether it’s early morning or late in the morning, At dusk, the yellowish sunlight with a hint of blood always assimilates the white snow until the boundary between the sky and the earth is blurred, making people mistakenly think that as long as they keep moving forward in the snowfield, they will definitely catch up with the sun.

"There are hibernating bears and tigers in the birch forest, but they always sleep soundly. Children will run into the woods with some firecrackers, light them, and then run back quickly. When the brown bears with messy hair are awakened by the explosion, When we staggered out of the house with sleepy eyes, we could only see the straight projection of the birch trees on the snow, which was as flat as a mirror. Of course, we children would definitely be beaten when we returned to the orphanage. Leah's mother spanked.

"How long ago were these things... In a sense, they are more distant to me than the so-called [50,000 years], so that sometimes when I think back, I can't help but question whether these things really happened. Or maybe they were just conjectures that existed in my mind. Later, these pictures were also overwhelmed by the vast sea of ​​memories. Although my memory will not fade away, it is like a book piled at the bottom. Unless I think of it, maybe. I will never open it again for the rest of my life..."

"What do you mean when you tell me this now?"

Bronya did not panic because she was in the current situation. She knew very well that the matter was at this point, and whether she resisted or struggled, it would not make any difference. Instead of doing this, perhaps clarifying Mikael's thoughts would be more conducive to solving the problem.

"It's nothing interesting, I just felt a little emotional suddenly."

Mikael said, taking a step forward, then quickly retracting his foot, quietly staring at the distinct footprints left on the snow.

"Everything that has happened will inevitably leave traces in the world. So, when necessary, I thought about these things again. Of course, logically speaking, it is never possible for me to be true. I thought of this, but the Stigma Project gave me a chance to re-examine my life, and I was able to see everything I have experienced from birth to now. But Bronya, you know, the Stigmata Project is very magical. These things in the past, these things that only exist in the brain, can become [current reality] in the world of Stigmata.”

Bronya frowned, and Mikael had already pointed to the wooden house not far away.

"Bronya, look, something is happening over there that is related to you, but unless something unexpected happens, you may never know about it."

"That's...Honkaimon over there?"

Although the gray-white exoskeleton melted into the snow and was almost invisible, the purple patterns and energy on the Honkai Beast's body were still unusually conspicuous.

And from the chimney of the small wooden house, there was a faint black smoke floating out, obviously there was someone living in it.

Bronya didn't know what [what was happening] was, and her body had already followed her instinct as a Valkyrie and rushed out.

It wasn't until the third step that she hesitated slightly, but after realizing that Mikael had no intention of stopping him, she speeded up her steps boldly and approached the wooden house in an instant.

However, when she arrived, the Honkai beasts heading towards the wooden house had been broken into fragments. It only took one night to be buried by the wind and snow.

Bronya tiptoed closer to the wooden house. The aroma and warmth from the burning wood flowed out from the gaps in the wooden house, making Bronya couldn't help but get closer. Finally, she stood sideways by the window, stretching her neck forward. After a while, through a window full of water marks, I saw a woman lying on the bed in the house.

"!"

The silver-gray pupils shrank instantly, and what Bronya saw through the window was a woman who seemed to be carved out of the same mold as herself.

The same long silver-gray hair tied into two drill bits, the same silver-gray eyes, and almost the same facial features, only more mature.

And...the other party's belly was still bulging even though it was covered with a thick quilt.

Bronya is not an idiot. Even without any reliable evidence, Bronya still effortlessly guessed the identity of the woman in front of her——

If nothing unexpected happens, the other person should be Bronya’s mother whom she has never met.

Her head was resting on two stacked pillows, and she was reading a book with a worn cover in her hand. She didn't notice that someone suddenly appeared by the window.

But the next moment, the bedroom door in the wooden house was pushed open, and a person who was more familiar to Bronya walked in.

There is no mistake, she is much younger, much more naive, and even the color of her hair is completely different from today, but that stance, that facial features, that coexistence of sharpness and laziness, and the way she holds the bow... it's Natasha .

"Teacher and I have solved the danger outside, so there is no need to worry for the time being. It just so happened that you ate a lot of the salad yesterday, and it probably suits your taste, so he is making it in the kitchen."

"Thank you so much to you and your teacher, sister Natasha."

The woman on the bed closed her book, clasped her palms in front of her chest, and bowed gently.

The soundproofing effect of the wooden house was obviously very poor, and Bronya could clearly hear their conversation outside.

"It's just a piece of cake. Even if I don't meet you, the teacher will definitely give me some tasks to hunt down the Honkai Beast. From this point of view, it's a good thing to meet you. At least I don't have to run around in the snow, as long as I stay there Here, a Honkai Beast will come to your door stupidly."

"But for me, you did save me, which is not inconsistent with the convenience you have received, Sister Natasha. If a good deed is no longer a good deed because it is rewarded, then there is really no need in this world. Will there be good deeds? I don’t know.”

"Uh... Ms. Alexandra, with all due respect, your words can sometimes be compared to the teacher in terms of being obscure and difficult to understand."

"Yeah, then I'm honored."

The woman called Alexandra put the previous book on her belly, gently stroking the rough cover with her palms, or feeling the heartbeat of the fetus in her belly through the not-thick book.

"Sister Natasha, although it's a bit presumptuous, could you please convey a few words to your teacher for me?"

"Huh? Of course I don't care about such a simple thing."

"Uh-huh."

Alexandra nodded briskly, and then said:

"Thank you both for taking care of and protecting me these days. I will be leaving here in two days..."

"Ah? What nonsense are you talking about? How can you leave a place like this alone...Hey, you don't mean to..."

"Sister Natasha, I won't do such a stupid thing... Actually, before you guys came, when I was trapped here by the snow, the phone line was still open, so I called Alek Xie's colleague Maxim called me and told me that he would rush here with his men immediately, and he would pick me up and leave here within seven days at the latest. However, due to some strange combination of circumstances, between him and him. I met you first before my subordinates arrived.”

"Oh - oh... I was scared to death. I thought you wanted that... But is the Maxim you are talking about reliable? As a pregnant woman, what should you do if you are bullied?"

"You don't need to worry about this, sister Natasha. He is Alexei's best friend. In a sense, Maxim is more [duty] than my husband Alexei."

"Okay, I'll go talk to the teacher and you can figure it out yourself."

Natasha put the bow with snowflakes still hanging on the wall on the wall, and then left the bedroom. Perhaps because she was afraid that the warmth from the fireplace would leak through the door, she also closed the door - although this did not have much effect, as the wooden house itself was a building with air leakage from all sides.

"She is such a kind child... She is not very young. Do you want to leave a token or something? If we meet again in the future, maybe she will become your sister."

Alexandra caressed her swollen belly and whispered to herself.

"But... hunting Honkai Beasts, this kind of [job] has gone beyond the scope of self-preservation, right? What exactly does Mikael want to do? But... on this land, this is the only way to do it. Just live."

In the bedroom where there was only one person, Alexandra kept mumbling to herself.

Not long after, Mikael gently pushed open the bedroom door. Then he stood next to the bed in a few steps.

"You want to leave? With all due respect, even if your husband's colleague is reliable, there is still a huge risk."

Although it was not stated clearly, anyone with any brains would be able to feel what Mikael was referring to.

Alexandra was no exception, but she just held her belly with both hands, raised her head with a bit of stubbornness, and looked up at Mikael.

"It is precisely because of this that it is necessary to leave."

Alexandra smiled unusually softly.

"After all, a person's birth is not a small matter... I want her to see the world for the first time when the surrounding scene is not as lonely as it is now."

With that said, Alexandra cast her gaze out the window.

There is still endless ice and snow outside the window, even those bare birch trees. In such a season, such a place will feel lonely.

The cold wind blows eastward from the Ural Mountains, and the snow on the snowfield is lifted up by the wind, gradually becoming like a hazy mist.

It's a beautiful scene, but it's too lonely. If you stay in this place for a long time, your mood will inevitably become heavy, and...

Alexandra's eyes swept across the window and suddenly lit up.

"not good!"

Bronya quickly moved to the blind corner of her sight, but even though she tried her best, she still seemed to be a little slower...

At least, she can hear the sounds inside the house now——

"That thing outside the window just now... was it my imagination?"

"I think so. With me here, no one can get close to this room silently."

"Ah...that's it..."

"You seem a little regretful."

"Of course, it would be better if it wasn't an illusion... It's a very romantic thing to be able to see your grown-up children in advance, right?"

Bronya returned to the window and saw Alexandra's five fingers dancing on her belly like playing a piano:

"Maybe that's really what it will look like when it grows up. It looks like a girl, almost exactly like me."

Bronya couldn't help but smile after hearing this.

It was a smile that had no reason but was not sad either.

But soon, she saw Mikael let out a long sigh, and then cut off [Mother's] fantasy with a calm and indifferent declaration.

"With all due respect, Alexandra. The child you expected has no chance of being born."

"What?"

There was a bit of confusion on Alexandra's face, but there was still a happy smile. She must have been excited by this sudden turn of events, and her expression didn't even have time to change.

Mikael pulled up the stool and sat down on the edge of the bed, and then he spread his right hand on the bed.

Under Alexandra's gaze, Mikael used a knife to cut off the fingers of his right hand one by one. Then before Alexandra screamed, new ones grew on the white bones. The finger bones, and then the flesh, were restored to their original state in just two or three seconds.

"This is……"

"This is the ability I use to treat you. Theoretically, it can treat all diseases in the world, but in fact it cannot - its essence is to use Honkai energy to operate in a complex way. In the end, the effect of accelerating cell regeneration, well...the key lies in Honkai energy."

"What...means, I still don't understand."

"What makes this land look like this is Honkai energy. You should have seen those people with pale skin and purple lines all over their bodies. If a person can withstand such power, then almost all injuries can be repaired , but if you can't bear it, then the injury will be eroded by this energy before it is fully repaired, and eventually there will be no cure. Your own Honkai energy adaptability is not excellent, so I can only hang on to you. But even so, this intensity of Honkai energy radiation is enough to kill an unborn child.”

Very simple and clear explanation that made Alexandra's two drill heads spin.

just kidding.

"You...Mikael, can you tell me who you are?"

"I... From the conclusion, it may not be Honkai Impact that caused all this in Siberia, but me."

Alexandra was silent, and Mikael didn't speak either. He just closed his eyes, raised his head, and sat on the edge of the bed, as if waiting for something.

Natasha had already closed the bedroom door once she heard it. She probably understood some things, but still didn't want to accept the truth.

But Alexandra didn't remain silent for long. She quickly asked calmly:

"Then...is there any other way?"

"……sorry."

"You are my savior - this has not changed at all, so I will not blame you, nor am I qualified to blame you. I just want to know if I can come up with some kind of solution. This is the most important thing. ”

"Method……"

Mikael's voice was unusually soft, but both Alexandra and Bronya heard it.

So, Alexandra gave her answer, unusually calm, so calm that she seemed to be talking about everyday topics such as what to eat right away:

"It doesn't matter. Even if I am the price for that child to live, I can accept it."

"are you sure?"

"I am sure."

"Is this...worth it? I don't know your child, I only know you, Alexandra. If I had to make a choice, I would definitely choose to save you right in front of me, not your child. Even if we save her now, she may die at a young age, or she may..."

"Worth it? No...is this something that can be evaluated by worthiness?"

Calmness is just a mask after all. Alexandra interrupted Mikael's speech. She began to cry uncontrollably, and then poured out all her emotions in words mixed with thorns.

"Am I going to take away the future she deserves just to avoid my own fate? I originally thought you were a poor person who suffered a curse for no reason because of an unfair fate... But you don't feel sorry from the bottom of your heart at all. ——You still think of yourself as a god! You do have great power, but why do you decide where to go in life at will? "

The emotions were too exciting all of a sudden. Alexandra covered her chest and coughed violently. Bronya saw Mikael raise his hand, but after hesitating again and again, he did nothing.

Bronya just stood by the window and watched quietly. Suddenly, Alexandra raised her head again and looked out the window.

Inadvertently, the mother and daughter looked at each other again. (End of chapter)