Cocolia floated in midair, occupying the center of the screen, yet...
The massive robot behind her completely stole the spotlight.
At first glance, it was nothing short of awe-inspiring pure, unadulterated shock.
The live chat, which usually buzzed with around 200 simultaneous messages, fell eerily silent.
The audience was stunned. The sheer technical prowess, the scale of that robot especially the moment its eyes glowed crimson left boys of all ages on the verge of tears!
No matter their age, boys will always be boys. After all, "men remain young at heart until death" isn't just a saying it's the truth.
The flames of hot-blooded passion and youthful idealism were quietly reignited.
Yet, achieving such a lifelike effect wasn't the work of CGI.
This was real. No special effects were used.
Su Chen had gone all-in, spending every last bit of his points to acquire "Prop Technology LV5."
Unlike with set designs, Su Chen couldn't conjure a machine of that magnitude out of thin air.
The colossal mechanical beast before them was actually a modified version of the "Bagger 293" a bucket-wheel excavator borrowed from Asta's real estate conglomerate.
Under the influence of Prop Technology LV5, it had been transformed into the Engine of Creation.
The control systems, however, owed their functionality to two critical individuals:
One was Welt Yang. The other was none other than Screwllum, Herta's former classmate. Together, they had retrofitted the machine to perfection.
In the original lore, the Engine of Creation was modeled after Qliphoth the Preservation, a planetary-scale construct—a concept not unlike the Bagger 293's earth-shifting capabilities.
And during filming, it was Welt Yang himself who piloted the machine.
[Holy! Holy! Holy!]
[No way! It's gotta be CGI. There's no way, even if miHoYo's cracked, they could build something like this in real life! Dream on!!! Never in a million years!]
[Bro, stop coping. I'll admit it I'm in love with the Engine of Creation. For real! Just seeing it in person would be enough!]
[Same! And if I could actually pilot it? I'd die happy! Waaah…]
[Is this real or not?! I need to know! I can't tell anymore! Mom, I seriously can't tell!!!]
[Who says we don't have our own Metroplex in China?!]
[Today, we finally have our own brand of mecha-romance!]
[Too bad it's the villain's ride… but I still love it.]
—
The camera shifted to a bird's-eye view. The trio alongside Seele and Bronya looked infinitesimally small against the backdrop of the Engine of Creation.
March 7th craned her neck to stare up at the behemoth. "It's a robot ten thousand times bigger than Svarog!!!"
But.
Misfortune never comes alone.
Cracks in reality the Fragmentum suddenly fissured open around them, spewing forth hordes of Fragmentum creatures.
Caelus tightened his grip on his bat, sweat beading on his forehead despite the biting wind.
"Focus on taking out these monsters first!"
Before he could finish, the five of them sprang into action, each assuming their role in the battle.
High above, Cocolia watched with hollow eyes. To her, their desperate struggle was nothing more than the flailing of insects pitiful, laughable. Did these mortals truly believe they could defy fate?
She raised her glacial blade toward them and whispered, "Crush them."
The Engine of Creation obeyed. A searing light gathered at its forehead.
"Look out!" Caelus roared, snapping everyone to attention.
"Whoosh!"
The beam carved a molten path through the earth, leaving scorched ruin in its wake.
Then—
BOOM!
A chain of explosions erupted.
Thanks to Caelus's warning, the group narrowly avoided annihilation.
At the very least, the blast had wiped out a good chunk of the Fragmentum creatures.
Watching this hopeless battle unfold, the audience clutched their seats, their palms slick with sweat. How could anyone possibly overcome such an enemy?!
[I'm sweating bullets here. Fragmentum monsters and the Engine of Creation? And the flying one hasn't even made a move yet!]
[I remember the PV had another enemy floating in the air, but I'm not sure if it was Cocolia. No clue how they're gonna turn this around.]
[This is hype. The tension's on par with the first time the Doomsday Beast gave me PTSD!]
—
Seele glared at the Engine of Creation, teeth gritted. "We have to stop it!"
The five of them fought back the endless tide of Fragmentum spawn while keeping one eye on Cocolia's movements.
Sure enough—
Another laser blast hurtled toward them. Thanks to their vigilance, they dodged unscathed.
Bronya panted heavily. "How do we even stop this thing?!"
Just then—
The Engine of Creation raised its gargantuan arm. The camera angled downward, drowning the audience in a suffocating sense of despair.
If that thing landed a hit? Instant game over.
But—
BOOM!!!
A streak of light from the sky intercepted the attack, blasting the arm off-course.
The severed limb crashed to the ground, kicking up a hurricane of dust.
March 7th's eyes lit up in recognition. "Himeko! It's Himeko!!!"
At that moment, the trio's comms crackled to life.
"Testing, testing can you hear me?"
"Himeko! Took you long enough!"
"Now, now. Welt and I have been keeping tabs on you all along. Quite the trailblazing adventure you're having, hm?
"I'm also very curious how something this big even moves…
"But for now, let's keep it still, shall we? The rest is up to you!"
Himeko's support temporarily immobilized the Engine of Creation, giving the audience a brief respite.
Caelus swept his gaze across the group, his eyes blazing with unshakable resolve.
The scene abruptly shifted to a first-person perspective his perspective.
He was already scaling the Engine's arm, treating the audience to a breathtaking parkour sequence.
The immersive POV ratcheted the tension to unbearable levels.
If not for the live chat reminding them to breathe, half the viewers would've passed out from oxygen deprivation.
Then—
The camera switched to an over-the-shoulder shot. Caelus skidded to a halt, face-to-face with a Fragmentum abomination.
Too late to dodge.
But before the creature could strike—
Poof.
It disintegrated into dust.
Caelus glanced back. Bronya stood firm, rifle smoking.
"I've got your back!"
Her words instantly steadied him. He knew he could trust them with his life.
Without wasting a second, Caelus charged forward.
Just as the Engine of Creation regained mobility—
His footing gave way.
He plummeted.
"Swish, swish, swish…"
A flurry of butterflies materialized in the air.
Seele teleported mid-fall, snatching Caelus by the wrist.
They spun twice in midair before—
YEET!
Seele hurled him back onto the Engine with brute strength.
After a mad dash, Caelus leaped—
And with a boost from his Cloud-Piercer, he finally stood before Cocolia.
"Ahahahaha!" Cocolia laughed at the sight of him—alone, battered, but unbroken.
Then—
Her body encased itself in ice. A dazzling transformation later, she had shed her human form entirely.
Now, she was a towering entity of frost and fury crowned in glacial splendor, draped in a mantle of blizzards. A being who had transcended mortality yet clung to a shred of humanity.
"Listen to the song of this power! The promises of the Stellaron are this world's only hope.
"Seven centuries ago, it repelled the Antimatter Legion. Today it will erase you from existence!"
Caelus didn't flinch. His grip on the bat never wavered.
The audience recognized that look in his eyes. After all, the Doomsday Beast's ashes were still fresh in their memories.
Back then, Caelus had awakened some latent power and obliterated it. Surely, he could do it again?
But—
Reality refused to comply.
Caelus was knocked down, again and again.
Every strike he landed came at a gruesome cost, barely making a dent.
The sheer disparity in size, in strength each time Caelus hit the ground, the audience's hearts ached.
After yet another brutal tumble, he forced himself up, leaning heavily on his bat.
"I won't back down! Rules are meant to be broken!"
With that, his bat erupted in radiant light as if channeling his ultimate strike.
[Oh no… oh no no no! This is bad!]
[Yeah, how's he supposed to win? Feels like he's just giving Cocolia a pedicure at this point!]
[Where's the self-destruct move from Season 1?! Use it already!]
[Self-destruct? Bro, this ain't Ultraman Taro!]
[I've got a bad feeling about this. The despair is real.]
—
"Humans are always weak, always foolish always overestimating themselves."
As Cocolia spoke, seven luminous sigils materialized around her.
Veteran viewers knew what was coming: her ultimate move.
"Let me grant you despair."
Caelus lunged at her anyway.
But—
It was too late.
For the first time ever, his bat slipped from his grasp, clattering to the ground.
Cocolia's glacial spears forged from the sigils pierced straight through his chest.
"ARGH!"
His body hurtled from the Engine's height.
His eyes fluttered shut. Consciousness faded.
A rapid montage flashed the horrified faces of his four comrades, their screams.
Then—
The screen plunged into darkness.
Silence.
Viewers frantically checked the progress bar.
If this was where it ended especially after that stab—
They'd riot.
Thankfully, the bar held strong.
The camera zoomed in on Caelus's face. His eyes snapped open.
"…The cosmos? But I was just fighting Cocolia. How—?"
He glanced around.
"Last time I was here, Nanook glanced my way. Could it be…?"
A golden streak zipped past, beckoning him onward.
He followed, his footsteps leaving ripples across the stars beneath him.
[This VFX what the hell?! Did they film this in space?!]
[First they built a space station, now miHoYo's out here recreating the galaxy?]
[The cinematography's insane. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if they actually shot this on-location in another solar system.]
—
Guided by the light, Caelus wandered through fragments of memory—
Silvermane Guards. Gepard. Serval. Bronya. And Cocolia, sinking deeper into darkness.
Finally, his pace slowed. A girl stood before him.
A hollow voice echoed through the void.
"This city weeps. The power of Preservation wanes.
"In the end, we could not resist the Stellaron's will.
"A mere passerby, yet you insist on bearing the weight of an entire world's fate.
"So be it. What more is there to lose? What can't you try?
"Reach for the amber light, Trailblazer.
"Prove that your will to Preserve is strong enough… strong enough to draw His gaze."
As the girl faded, a fiery lance materialized embedded in a crevice of stone.
Caelus reached out. His fingers closed around the shaft.
Then—
The opening notes of a song swelled. The subtitles displayed its title:
"Wildfire".