Serval pondered for a moment, her eyes lit up, and she hammered her right hand into her left palm. "The Stellaron is in Everwinter Hill! Cocolia must have gone to find the Stellaron."
With Serval saying that, Ren didn't even need to explain. "To save trouble, I'll just take you there directly."
A gust of wind swept them up.
"We're… we're flying!" Her body suddenly floating, Clara was a little panicked.
"According to analysis, the airflow propelled the body. The danger level is negligible." Svarog tried to comfort Clara with his analytical calculations. Unfortunately, Clara was just instinctively afraid. Simple comfort couldn't change anything.
"It's still quite a way for robots to understand human thoughts." This scene made Ren sigh with emotion. He reached out and embraced the petite Clara.
"!" The red light in Svarog's eyes flared brightly.
"Don't be afraid, this is just my ability. Flying directly is faster, and it avoids those winding paths."
"Mm… Tha… Thank you, Ren-san." Clara clutched Ren's clothes. Her panic had lessened significantly.
"..." The red light in Svarog's eyes gradually dimmed.
"Let's go."
"We're flying!" Amidst March 7th's excited shouts, a group of people flew from the sky towards the deepest part of Everwinter Hill.
*****
The deepest part of Everwinter Hill.
A damaged mechanical structure, resembling a gate or a restraint device, stood on an open platform. In the center of the mechanical structure, an energy body, held within a prismatic metal cage, shone with light.
The Stellaron. The source of disaster that brought the Eternal Freeze and the Fragmentum to Jarilo-VI.
A woman with long, black-stockinged legs stood before the Stellaron. Cocolia. Bronya's mother. Belobog's Great Guardian.
[Cocolia… stop… them…]
"Remember your promise."
[Of course…]
"Mother!" Descending from the air, Bronya anxiously shouted as she ran to Cocolia's side.
Cocolia turned around, her downcast eyes carrying a faint sorrow: "You still came… Bronya."
"Mother… stop this!" Bronya saw the Stellaron's presence and Cocolia's transformed right hand. She knew that everyone in the Chat Group, the outsiders, were right. Her mother was on the Stellaron's side!
Everyone else gathered around, but no one spoke to question her. Even Serval, who had countless things she wanted to ask Cocolia, still held back from speaking. They knew this was a moment for the mother and daughter.
*****
Ren adhered to the principle of watching the show. His eyes immediately pinpointed the Stellaron's location. Amidst the urgent wind and snow, he slowly walked towards the Stellaron, as if no one could see him.
As Ren approached, the Stellaron burst forth with intense light. The icy energy, just as it condensed, instantly dissipated. Its power was ineffective against Ren.
[Cocolia… stop… him… stop… him…] The Stellaron flashed frantically. It frantically transmitted its consciousness to Cocolia's brain.
Cocolia merely frowned and said something nonsensical: "I am stopping them."
"..." The Stellaron was silenced.
"Stop barking, no one can see me." Ren had already jumped onto the Stellaron and sat down. "Your energy is very interesting, I want to eat it." He easily understood the Stellaron's power; he could manipulate it, which meant it wasn't dangerous. And looking at the Stellaron, he felt a good appetite—Gluttony wanted to eat it.
"..." The Stellaron's light instantly dimmed.
"Playing dead?" Ren was intrigued, a Stellaron that could play dead? "Since you want to play dead, then I won't be polite."
Gluttony! The red substance tried to consume the Stellaron. The progress was extremely slow; Ren felt that Gluttony's level was still a bit low. But slow didn't mean it couldn't be eaten. Feeling its energy being devoured bit by bit, the Stellaron began to flash frantically again! Unfortunately, no one would respond to it.
"Tha… that… who is Ren-san talking to?" A faint voice suddenly came from his arms.
"Uh…" Only then did he remember Clara was still there. Mainly, the child was too light and didn't speak, so he had forgotten her. "It's nothing, I'm talking to this Stellaron. Let's just watch the show here. Oh, and call me Brother Ren."
"Oh, oh, Brother Ren… brother." Clara nodded obediently and shyly.
"Mm, very good." Ren rubbed her hair with satisfaction. He saw Clara's bare, cute little feet and frowned: "Are you cold?"
"Mm… a little cold, but Clara can endure it."
"How can that be? Don't let your feet get frozen." Ren directly placed one hand over her little feet.
"Mm! So warm!" Clara was a little shy at first, but soon her feet felt very warm.
"Mhm, as long as you're warm." Ren smiled.
*****
"Clara…" Svarog's head turned left and right. Where did Clara go? That human disappeared too!
With a scene of an impending battle, Ren started a live broadcast.
[Group Member Ren has started a live broadcast!]
[Nami has joined the live stream!]
Exusiai: "Wow, where is this? It's all white, just snow. It looks very cold."
Ren: "It's the source of the Eternal Freeze."
Nami: "Does Eternal Freeze just mean cold?"
Ren: "That's right, this planet has been almost completely eroded by the cold current."
Momonga: "A frozen planet, how terrifying."
Reinhardt: "This is the end of the Eternal Freeze… Many people must have died, right?"
Ren: "Anyway, this planet currently only has the fortress of Belobog left. Most of the people are probably dead."
Aqua: "This goddess should go there and bring them hope."
Ren: "Your divine power is already half-baked in other worlds."
Aqua: "...That's not my fault!"
Emilia: "Eh? Where did Ren-san go?"
Ren: "I'm sitting on the Stellaron."
Silver Wolf: "Huh? Do you have to be so exaggerated? That's the Stellaron."
Ren: "Haha, don't worry, this guy is too cowardly, and it even plays dead. Leave the big boss to me, and the small bosses to you."
Silver Wolf: "...I feel like none of you respect the big boss!"
Ren: "How can you say we don't respect it? Eating a Stellaron is very taxing."
March 7th: "Eating... eating a Stellaron? Is that even possible? I feel like Ren is even more amazing than the Stellaron."
Silver Wolf: "Is this about whether or not to eat the Stellaron? You're distracted and chatting while playing the game! Heaven's wrath!" She considered this journey a game, and the Stellaron was the biggest boss. She valued the gaming experience above all else!
Emilia: "S-sorry, I don't understand what they're talking about... so I can only be a little distracted... Ugh." Indeed. During their mother-daughter conversation, Emilia knew nothing, so it was indeed hard to understand.
Cocolia's Revelation
"Bronya, as your mother, I hope you will stand by my side." Cocolia spread her arms in an embrace, expressing her wish with deep emotion. "Don't resist, Bronya, accept the common will. Look at this world, look at their silent future. The Stellaron promised me a world without pain, a world where people no longer have to pray for survival like prisoners, a world we can protect forever."
With immeasurable sadness in her expression, Cocolia spoke of beautiful wishes and endless despair. "For hundreds of years, we have continuously tried, continuously fought, believing that the light of humanity could guide us to revival. And the result? We were utterly defeated."
Bronya tried to refute Cocolia verbally. "No, Mother, we are still fighting for the path of preservation."
"The path of preservation... Heh." Cocolia scoffed. "Deceiving ourselves with the path of preservation? When faced with undeniable power, the first thing we always think of is to resist and block our ears, not to listen to its demands." She could no longer believe in the path of preservation. "That is the indelible desire and cowardice entrenched deep within human nature."
Her gaze, as if from high above, looked directly at Bronya. "Abandon them, unlock the shackles that bind you, and the Stellaron will lead humanity to evolution."
*****
Seele, who had a fiery temper, finally couldn't hold back. "Enough with the brainwashing, witch."
Facing the others, Cocolia's pleasant expression vanished, leaving only coldness and ruthlessness. "Heh, I thought this blizzard could bury you all."
"Dream on! We won't fall until we've beaten you!" March 7th drew her bow, and the others gripped their weapons.
Cocolia chose to ignore them; her eyes were only on Bronya. "Bronya, I want to witness your choice. I have told you all the truths. About the Stellaron's transaction, about the wish I made to it, there will be no more secrets between us."
Her clear, cold voice slowly recounted everything. "Many years ago, the Stellaron's voice first echoed in my ears, and like generations of Great Guardians, I closed my eyes and ears. At that time, I was just like you are now, stubbornly adhering to the path of preservation, as the Architects called it. My belief was once incredibly firm. Until a sudden variable disrupted everything. Another choice appeared before me, one that meant overthrowing the old order and ushering in a new world. But compared to the vague, increasingly distant path of preservation, this was so real. I've been racking my brain... racking my brain trying to figure out how to convey all of this to you? The promised tomorrow will always come, but what if you cannot stand by my side and look forward to that new world with me? If we don't do this, they will fall into pain, an indelible pain."
As she spoke, her gaze turned to Stelle, March 7th, and Dan Heng, then to Silver Wolf and Emilia. "I also want to thank you, outsiders. Under the pressure you brought, I was finally able to face my last weakness." Finally, her gaze returned to Bronya, deep and gentle. "From childhood to adulthood, I have never forced you to obey my will. You always have a choice, no matter what. It was so in the past, and it is so now. Choose, my daughter."
"..." Bronya quietly listened to Cocolia's long-held wish. She understood her mother's love for her... but she knew clearly what she had to do! She opened her pained eyes. In their place was a determination free from confusion. A determination to know what she should do.
"Lady Cocolia." This time she did not call her mother, but Lady Cocolia; she was facing the Great Guardian. "Thank you for raising me, thank you for giving me the right to choose." In her pause, Bronya made her decision. "But I'm sorry, this last time, I cannot stand by your side."
"You said that deep within human nature lies foolishness and timidity, and perhaps that's true; desperation reveals the darkest side of the human heart. But you have overlooked those who strive to survive and fight in desperation." Bronya clasped her hands in front of her chest, recounting to Cocolia what she had witnessed in the Underworld. "I saw the light in them on the front lines of the restricted zone, in the Underworld, in the corners you overlooked. Our ancestors built this city with their own hands, struggling to continue civilization amidst the swaying wind and snow. Even if this world is destined to fall apart, the path to the end should be forged by humanity itself. And not by handing our fate over to this harbinger of disaster."
Bronya's hand suddenly pointed at the Stellaron.
"Brother Ren... is Sister Bronya talking about us?" Clara timidly snuggled into Ren's arms.
Ren chuckled and told Clara, "Of course not, she's talking about the guy beneath us."
[!!!!] The Stellaron, one-tenth of which had been eaten, was still flashing wildly.
"We are guardians chosen by ordinary people. Our duty is to protect the world built by humanity. We are not gods, nor are we judges. You want to trample humanity underfoot, and at the same time play both judge and deity. I cannot allow that!"
Ren applauded Bronya in his heart. Indeed, Cocolia had seen a desperate future and was misled by the Stellaron. But undeniably, in her delusion, she forgot from whom her position as Great Guardian came. She was the choice of the people of Belobog. When she forgot this, she was no longer the Great Guardian of Belobog.
Bronya's voice was not loud. Yet every sentence was illuminating. Everyone behind her saw new hope. Only Cocolia, with a low gaze, began to murmur softly.
"So that is your choice... I understand... Bronya."
"It's a pity you won't see the beautiful world. You were meant to be the mother of the new world."
Rumble! As Cocolia murmured, the ground suddenly began to tremble and shake.