Honkai Impact: My Power Grows When Valkyries Fall For Me — Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Bronya, Why Are You in My House?

“My… past self?”

The words felt foreign on Kiana’s tongue. She stared, her gaze locked on the face before her—a face so hauntingly similar to her own, yet so fundamentally different.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have much time to explain.”

The future Kiana let out a soft sigh. She closed the distance between them and placed a hand on her younger self’s shoulder, a gesture that felt both comforting and heavy.

“To put it simply: you need to claim Lucian. Now.”

She paused, her expression turning deadly serious. “It would be best to make your move tonight. He’s not particularly strong right now, so even if you storm his house, he won’t be able to resist.”

The air in the sterile white space seemed to crystallize.

Kiana’s eyes flew wide, a part of her certain she must be mishearing things. Did a sentence like that really just come from this impossibly mature version of herself?

“You… what did you just say?” she stammered, the blush that had only just receded from her cheeks flaring back to life with a vengeance.

“You heard me,” the future Kiana replied, tilting her head as if to confirm her words had been perfectly clear. “If you don’t make your move soon, Mei will beat you to the punch and end up with Lucian…”

“Just hurry up!”

Her tone sharpened, laced with an obvious urgency and a hint of… was that frustration? It was a stark departure from the serene image she’d projected moments before.

“Mei?!”

That single name detonated in Kiana’s mind like a perfectly placed bomb.

Raiden Mei? Her Mei-senpai? With Lucian? Beating her to it?

“No… that can’t be right, can it? Mei-senpai, she…”

Kiana was utterly floored. She had never, in her wildest dreams, imagined that things between Mei and Lucian could be moving that quickly…

“Yeah, who would have thought…” the future Kiana sighed. She clenched her fists, her voice dropping into a murmur thick with regret. “If I had known back in Sky Dome City… I should have just tied him up and dragged him away…”

“Tie him up and drag him away…?”

Kiana stared, demanding an explanation with her eyes. Looking at this woman who was supposedly her, she felt her entire worldview being shattered over and over again. Her future self wasn’t just encouraging a nighttime ambush, but outright suggesting she use force on Lucian?

Was this truly her future? Or was this some kind of twisted illusion, a Herrscher’s ploy to corrupt her very soul?

“Yes. Tie him up and take him away,” her future self admitted without a hint of shame, her eyes clouded with a deep and sorrowful what-if. “I should have used the Ribbons of the Void to bind him tight. Wrapped him up, slung him over my shoulder, and spirited him away to a place where no one else could ever find him…”

Kiana could only listen, utterly dumbfounded, her mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a whole steamed bun. She watched this far more mature version of herself casually describe a series of criminal acts and felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

‘How did I become so twisted in the future?’

“Don’t look at me like that.”

The future Kiana glanced at her, her tone regaining its composure, but now highlighted by a chilling finality.

“The you from the future will possess the greatest power in this world… but you—all of you—will have lost Lucian forever.”

She pressed down on Kiana’s shoulders again, this time with a heavy, obvious force that rooted her to the spot.

“Listen to me.”

“Mei is a good person. A very good person.”

“She’s calm, she’s attentive, she’s strong, and she understands how to care for someone far better than I ever did. She knows how to make someone feel safe.”

“And that boy, Lucian… deep down, that kind of stability is what he truly needs.”

Kiana’s heart plummeted. Hearing those words from her future self, she froze, the blood draining from her face. Of course she knew how wonderful Mei-senpai was. If it really came down to it, Mei-senpai might actually be able to…

“So, go to Lucian’s house now! If you don’t, it’ll be too late!”

Her future self’s form began to flicker violently, like a failing hologram. Her voice glitched, becoming choppy and intermittent.

“Remember… don’t give Mei any cha—”

Before the last word could escape her lips, her figure vanished completely, like a television signal that had been abruptly cut. The pure white space around Kiana rapidly contracted, collapsing in on itself.

“Hey! Wait! Explain it properly! What about Mei-senpai—!”

Her desperate shout was swallowed by the silent, imploding void.

The next second, she was falling heavily back into reality.

Kiana’s eyes snapped open. She found herself in the exact same position as before, sitting at her doorway with her knees hugged to her chest. Her back was pressed against the cold, hard surface of the door, and the astronaut-themed Honkai Beast plushie in her arms had its fur all ruffled.

Her heart was still hammering against her ribs, as if what she had just experienced was nothing more than an overly realistic dream from which she had just awoken.

She carefully set the plushie aside, using the door for support as she unsteadily pushed herself to her feet. Her legs were numb and tingling from having been curled up for so long.

Walking over to the window, she saw the night was still thick and dark. The halos of the streetlights blurred the distant silhouettes of the city’s buildings.

Everything was exactly as it had been before she’d drifted off, yet it felt as if nothing would ever be the same again.

‘I’ll just ask Lucian about it tomorrow…’ she resolved, though a part of her was still reeling, unwilling to accept her future self’s dire warning.

She had already kissed Lucian; their relationship was practically confirmed. How could Mei-senpai possibly have feelings for him, let alone be on the verge of “beating her to it”?

Sure, in a world where women vastly outnumbered men, it wasn’t unheard of for a man to have several girlfriends. But Mei-senpai? She wasn’t that kind of person. And Lucian… he seemed like the type who would only ever want one person. How could that possibly…

The only lesson people learn from history is that people never learn any lessons from history.

——————

While Kiana was wrestling with phantoms of the future, Lucian was dealing with a very present, and very shocking, reality of his own.

He’d half-expected Siegfried to burst out from the shadows the moment Kiana left, demanding he ‘taste’ the fury of a Skyfire Outburst. Thankfully, the Kaslana patriarch had shown uncharacteristic restraint.

Lucian returned to his apartment, planning to take a quick shower and get some much-needed rest. He was stopped in his tracks when he found his own bathroom door locked from the inside.

Just as a frown of confusion creased his brow, a familiar, monotone voice drifted from within…

“The Bronya is currently using the bathroom. Please wait, BOSS.”

Lucian stood frozen outside his own bathroom door, feeling as though he’d been struck by an invisible bolt of lightning.

Bronya?

In his house? In his bathroom?

“Wait… Bronya?”

He took an involuntary step back. Had the emotional rollercoaster of the evening finally caused him to have auditory hallucinations?

“How did you get in here?”

“The Bronya is bathing. Please wait a moment.”

The girl’s calm, even voice carried from the bathroom, punctuated by the faint sound of running water.

A dull throb started at his temple. Lucian took a deep, steadying breath.

“…I’m asking, why are you in my house, and more, why are you taking a bath in my bathroom?”

The sound of water from within paused for a moment. Then, Bronya’s voice came again.

“Because the Bronya has received a new mission: to monitor Raiden Mei.”

“Monitor Raiden Mei? An order from Cocolia?”

“Correct.”

Bronya’s voice remained clear, cutting through the renewed sound of the shower.

“Recently, there have been abnormal equity fluctuations within ME Corp. Raiden Ryoma has been placed under house arrest by the board of directors.”

“Mother Cocolia has discovered a high probability of the Third Honkai Eruption being triggered prematurely through Raiden Mei. Therefore, she dispatched the Bronya to monitor her.”

The water in the bathroom stopped again. Bronya fell silent, and Lucian was lost in thought.

Raiden Ryoma under house arrest. That meant the fuse had already been lit.

“So, the Third Honkai Eruption is already this close…?” Lucian murmured, the words tasting like ash. He knew this day was coming, but having it laid out so plainly before him still sent a chill down his spine.

Inside the bathroom, Bronya seemed to have finished her bath.

A moment later, the bathroom door slid open just enough for a cloud of hot steam to billow out, followed by Bronya herself. Wrapped in one of his bathrobes, which was comically large on her small frame, she floated out.

“The Bronya is finished. BOSS may use the facilities now.”