"..."
Bronya had been raised and trained by the military—molded into a cold-blooded killing machine. From a young age, she had been indoctrinated to obey orders absolutely, without hesitation or emotion.
After being sold, she assumed the buyer intended to hire her for an assassination.
But she soon realized—the buyer wasn't even human.
As for what she was exactly, Bronya didn't care.
A daughter?
She had thought her fate was merely to become some faction's weapon, a tool for killing. Yet now, something completely unexpected had occurred.
"Alright, Mom."
Bronya placed her small hand into Kiana Kaslana's outstretched one.
Whether she was to be a daughter or a weapon—she had no choice but to accept.
"Mhm."
From Bronya's emotionless tone, Kiana Kaslana immediately understood—Bronya had taken her words, 'be my daughter', as a command to obey.
After all, growing up in such an environment, it would be impossible for a cold-blooded assassin like Bronya to instantly return to normal human emotions. That would take something close to complete mental rebirth.
Better to take things slowly.
Time, after all, was something she had in abundance.
Kiana Kaslana gently squeezed Bronya's small hand, pulling her into her arms. A flicker of confusion crossed Bronya's eyes.
She didn't understand what this feeling was—or how to respond to it.
But instinctively, she remained still, leaning quietly against Kiana Kaslana's chest, allowing herself to feel this unfamiliar warmth.
Kiana Kaslana softly stroked Bronya's hair.
Bronya was different from Sirin.
Sirin despised humanity and enjoyed killing the adults she hated—but she would still use her power to save poor little girls. All in all, she was still a good child with emotions and compassion.
Bronya, however, was different—more like an emotionless machine that lived only to follow orders.
In the Houkai Universe, which was saturated with Honkai energy, a human like Bronya would be instantly assimilated into a corruption entity if not for Kiana Kaslana—the Will of Ruler—personally protecting her.
Reshaping her body like Sirin's wasn't ideal either.
Honkai energy required gradual adaptation, and its effect on individuals was, in many ways, subjective.
Take Honkai Impact 3rd, for instance—a world that leaned more toward science than mysticism. If humans could really transfer their consciousness into a Herrscher's body and freely control Herrscher powers, there would be no need for Divine Keys, MANTIS, or Project STIGMA.
With the Previous Era's level of technology—and with geniuses like Mei and Mobius—creating consciousness-transfer systems should have been easy.
Yet it didn't work that way.
In the game's story, when the protagonist denied being a Herrscher, their body would be corroded by Honkai energy. But when they accepted that identity, the corrosion would vanish instantly.
Eventually, they found a strange loophole—believing themselves to be both Herrscher and human simultaneously.
In Ai Enma's world, Kiana Kaslana had already conducted experiments confirming that Honkai energy didn't just corrode and assimilate matter—it could also affect consciousness and soul.
Without a sufficiently strong will and a pure soul, Honkai energy clung to a person like a curse. Unable to control it, that person would eventually be devoured by the energy itself.
For those not strong enough, Kiana Kaslana distributed Stigmata, gradually guiding them to adapt and harness the power of Honkai energy.
Those who could accept and master it immediately—rising from mortal to divine in an instant—were exceedingly rare. The risks were immense.
Ai Enma had succeeded only because Kiana was certain she was a protagonist, one who wouldn't die so easily—so she infused all the Honkai energy at once.
After Ai Enma's success, Kiana learned how to evolve humans with spiritual power into Herrschers. It wasn't particularly difficult—just a matter of fusing Honkai energy into their spiritual power.
Those born with spiritual energy simply felt their strength multiply countless times over. It became slightly harder to control, but after a short period of adaptation, it stabilized.
Those without special traits could adapt to Honkai energy in two ways—either through the aid of Stigmata or by cultivating martial arts to slowly absorb Honkai energy.
Kiana Kaslana had studied Shenzhou's martial arts and found that, in essence, they were simply a method of gradually absorbing faint traces of Honkai energy and learning to adapt to it.
However, the risk was immense—many practitioners went mad or turned into zombies.
Schicksal's Valkyries relied on artificial Stigmata combined with simplified martial techniques derived from Fu Hua's teachings, which prevented them from easily becoming zombies.
Still, some things were beyond changing—those who seemed like ordinary NPCs were always the ones most likely to die miserably.
Having met countless people, Kiana Kaslana had developed an instinct for recognizing them.
Bronya lacked spiritual power and Stigmata, but she wasn't an ordinary NPC.
And that alone made all the difference.
In the Houkai Universe, even a random stone contained Honkai energy.
But Bronya was still human.
All Kiana could do was help her gradually adapt to the environment of the Houkai Universe.
Bronya could feel Kiana Kaslana's affection for her.
Though this not-quite-human mother was strange, her care and warmth were genuine.
As an elite assassin capable of killing with a pair of stockings, Bronya was acutely aware of every change in her body as she absorbed Honkai energy.
But she didn't care. She continued to live this new life peacefully—her heart had already accepted the person before her.
The only thing that puzzled Bronya was the matter of nicknames.
The other party always called her "Duckling" or "Little Duck."
Duckling? Little Duck?
What kind of nickname was that?
Forget it.
It didn't matter.
That day, Bronya sat as usual in Kiana Kaslana's lap while the two played games together.
Suddenly, a little girl with purple hair tore open the void and stepped out.
Sirin puffed out her cheeks, glaring unhappily at the unfamiliar girl sitting in her mom's arms.
"Who are you? Why are you bothering me and Mom?" Bronya asked cautiously, her tone guarded.
Sirin's eyes widened in anger. "She's my mom! You bad child!"
Flying up beside Kiana Kaslana, Sirin tightly clung to her arm, pouting as she glared at Bronya sitting in her mother's lap, as if terrified her mom would be stolen away.
Bronya stared blankly at her. So... Mom already had a daughter?
Kiana Kaslana smiled gently, reaching out with her other hand to pat Sirin's head reassuringly.
"Sirin, be good. This is my newly adopted daughter—her name is Bronya."