[Battle Continuation EX activated.]
[Countdown: 5 hours remaining.]
Elias calculated his remaining time and let out a small sigh of relief. Thankfully, he still had enough time to make this story a little more perfect—
Though he wasn't sure if what he had done could truly be called perfect.
Perhaps it was.
Elias was well aware—he was merely a traveler in this timeline. No matter how much pain he endured, even if he were to die, it would not affect his original timeline.
And in this borrowed existence, he had managed to save everyone who should have perished in the "Second Eruption." He had gathered all the wounds, all the suffering, onto this one body—a body that, whether it lived or died, didn't matter.
By that logic, he had made quite the bargain.
And yet…
He couldn't help but feel a little hurt.
With great effort, Elias turned his head toward Cecilia. The saintly woman was holding him tightly in her embrace, desperately channeling the healing powers of Abyss Flower into his broken body.
It was futile.
The Sixth Divine Key, Abyss Flower, crafted from the core of the previous era's Herrscher of Death, certainly held the power to restore flesh and bone.
But the moment [Battle Continuation EX] activated, it meant he was already dead. He was merely running on borrowed time, clinging to the last vestiges of his existence.
A rather long 'last breath,' though—five whole hours. (Heh.)
"Cough… Why did it come to this?"
"Herrscher of the Void, don't speak! I will heal you—I have to…"
"I know my own body… And my name is Elias. None of you ever asked for my name. Herrscher of the Void… That isn't who I am. Cough… Cough, cough!"
"…I'm sorry."
Cecilia's voice trembled with guilt.
A name was something sacred. It was proof of one's existence as a person.
The boy in her arms had held onto his human name, because even after becoming a Herrscher, he still believed himself to be human.
Yet everyone—including herself—had only ever called him "Herrscher of the Void." As if, deep down, they had already denied his humanity.
Shame filled Cecilia's heart.
She held Elias tighter, as if to warm the coldness from his body with her own.
"Your name is Cecilia, right? Tell me… Was our wish really that excessive?"
"Sirin and I—we only wanted to live. We never wished to hurt anyone."
"We just wanted to find a warm, beautiful place… build a little home… and survive."
"Was even that… asking for too much?"
Elias clenched his fists.
His original plan had been to ignore Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, to simply take the girls somewhere safe and live peacefully until the simulation ended.
But reality had been cruel.
"I'm sorry… It's all our fault. It's the fault of us adults. You should have been able to live that life. You all should have been able to live that life."
Cecilia's voice was filled with sorrow. The surrounding Valkyries, too, wept silently.
The boy's wish was so simple—so pure.
Just like him.
Someone so kind, so gentle, deserved nothing but the warmth of this world.
"..."
Elias took a deep breath.
With immense effort, he moved his broken, exhausted body. He pulled away from Cecilia's embrace and placed his hands firmly on her shoulders.
"…Cecilia, you must be a wonderful person—a wonderful mother. If that's the case, may I ask you for one thing? Please… take care of Sirin and the others for me. I'll give you my remaining Cores as payment."
"I promise. But you don't need to give me anything in return. You saved all of us. Every single one of us owes you our lives."
Even if that weren't the case, I would still do everything in my power to help you.
Cecilia's voice trembled. She pulled Elias back into her embrace, holding him even tighter. Her heart ached unbearably.
"…Thank you. Cough… I'm sorry. I didn't know… that there were people willing to help us without expecting something in return. Back in Babylon… even a single bite of food came at a cost."
This time, Elias did not pull away.
Cecilia's warmth, her soft embrace—it made him feel less cold. It dulled the pain, if only slightly.
For just a brief moment, he allowed himself to enjoy it.
Though he desperately wanted to sink into this warmth forever—to spend all the time he had left in this single embrace—
Because for the first time, Elias felt what a mother's love was like.
It was something he had longed for, deep within his heart—something he had wished for across two lifetimes, yet had never been able to have.
And yet, at the same time—
He felt at peace.
He believed that, even if he were gone, Cecilia would protect Sirin and the others.
This gentle mother would take care of them.
After all, she was the saint who had once offered up her own blood to save all of Siberia. Even in the original timeline, when she was moments away from death, she had used the last of her warmth to reach out to Sirin, bringing a ray of light into her darkness.
"Thank you… for holding me like this. It's so warm."
"Eh? Why…?"
Cecilia froze for a moment.
The expression on Elias' face was one of pure contentment, as if he had just received the most precious treasure in the world.
She didn't understand.
All she had done was hold him—just as she would Kiana.
"I… don't have parents."
"!!!"
"If only you could have been my mother… Cough… Ugh, that hurts. I can still move, but I guess I won't be able to fight at full strength anymore."
Elias furrowed his brows, trying to adjust to his broken body. He silently thanked the fact that Herrschers didn't rely on their physical forms to fight—otherwise, he would have been in serious trouble.
"…How could this happen…?"
Cecilia's heart ached more than she could bear.
Why had the world been so cruel to him?
At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to tell him—
If you don't mind…
I would be honored to be your mother.