Sun.
That was Tatsumaki's first thought when her gaze met that fleeting vision.
—A radiance more intense than the sun itself.
Even after the light faded, Tornado's heart refused to calm, remaining steeped in overwhelming awe.
Was this the Preservation Aeon? A mere sidelong glance from Him was enough to illuminate all existence. Even across different worlds, the sheer magnitude of this presence was beyond words. From the first glimpse of Destruction's gaze to now, the more Tornado learned of the Aeons—the more she understood—the more insignificant she felt.
Not that she wanted to admit it, of course.
"Tatsumaki, what did you feel... facing that gaze?" Atomic Samurai wiped sweat from his brow and asked cautiously.
He remembered how, when first confronted with Nanook's stare, Tatsumaki had instinctively raised a psychic barrier—an action that nearly leveled an entire Hero Association building in an instant. Thankfully, that glance had been brief, the threat vanishing as quickly as it came. Otherwise, who knew how she might have reacted?
Unlike Nanook, Qlipoth's gaze carried no hostility. Instead, it exuded something solid, warm... comforting.
"What's there to feel? Just some foreign god what does that have to do with me?" Tornado lifted her chin proudly, forcing an air of indifference.
"...Really doubling down on the tsundere act, huh?" Atomic Samurai muttered inwardly.
Perhaps even Tatsumaki herself hadn't noticed—her black high-slit dress was already clinging tightly to her body from cold sweat, accentuating dangerously alluring curves. Her exposed pale thighs trembled faintly, and her high heels tapped restlessly against the floor.
[He grips the colossal hammer, lowering it slowly.]
[Thud!]
[The entire universe seemed to reverberate with that deep, resounding strike at the same moment. Countless beings lifted their heads toward the boundless expanse of the starry sky.]
["The Amber Lord's hammer has fallen... A new era has begun!"]
"So this... is the gaze of a god..."
Frieren looked up. Though she stood in a different world, unable to pierce through the Celestial Screen to see the galaxy beyond, she could still feel it—the earth-shaking reverberation of that hammer's descent.
"So warm, Lady Frieren." Fern held up her hands. Though her palms were empty, warmth seemed to manifest from nowhere, flowing from her fingers into her body.
The sensation lasted only seconds, but its solid, weighty impression lingered.
"Perhaps this is a form of blessing... a reward for witnessing an Aeon's gaze." Frieren mused. "To grant blessings across worlds... even the Goddess might not be capable of such a feat."
"Surely... He must have existed long, long before our Goddess..."
"Shame His power can't extend too far into our world," Stark sighed regretfully. "If He could intervene directly, the Demon King would've been finished ages ago."
"No, Stark. You should be grateful the Aeon's influence stops at the Celestial Screen." Frieren said solemnly. "If their power truly matches the legends... then before Preservation's might could save us, our world might have already fallen to a Stellaron's disaster."
[Stelle opens her eyes again—back on the frozen battlefield of Jarilo-VI. The lance that had impaled her chest was gone, replaced instead by the fiery spear now clutched in her hands.]
[She landed steadily on the palm of the Engine of Creation, but rather than attacking, the massive construct obeyed her will, gently lowering her to the ground.]
[Perhaps through resonance with Preservation's will, Stelle had gained control over the Engine.]
["Stelle! Thank goodness you're okay!" March 7th cheered in relief.]
[Seeing Stelle not only alive and well but wielding a new weapon, the group collectively exhaled in relief—even if none fully understood what had happened.]
[Stelle turned back and gave them a reassuring glance.]
[That single side-eyed look alone silently declared one thing—she was now... terrifyingly strong.]
[Raising her blazing spear decisively, she pointed it at Cocolia, still floating mid-air.]
["This... can't be...!" Though her face was shrouded in darkness, the tremor in Cocolia's voice betrayed her shock.]
[That spear—]
["It seems... Preservation has made His choice." Bronya murmured in awe.]
["NO! IMPOSSIBLE!" Cocolia's scream was hysterical. "You know NOTHING of this world's suffering! NOTHING of the fate awaiting it!"]
["You're right, Mother..."]
["But even if our path leads only to ruin, we will walk into that darkness—hand in hand." Bronya's voice held no hesitation as she glanced at Seele beside her.]
"To resist even now... how tragic." Gyomei Himejima's eyes welled with tears. "Such stubbornness... Had she abandoned the Stellaron's temptation, there might yet have been hope."
The moment the Engine of Creation obeyed Stelle, the Hashira knew Cocolia stood no chance.
The Stellaron's power was formidable, but the Stelle who had met the Preservation's gaze was reborn. Even across worlds, the Hashira could sense her overwhelming vitality from the way she raised her spear toward the heavens.
"People like her... never awaken until death stares them in the face," Shinobu Kocho sighed. "And for the future promised by the Stellaron, she's already sacrificed countless lives—both Silvermane Guards and the Underground's people... all discarded for her obsession."
"At this point, telling her that the future she traded so many lives for is an illusion... a lie... She can't fathom it. She won't."
"So even knowing this path leads nowhere... she'll charge forward blindly. Perhaps only death can force her to see the truth and break free from delusion..." Shinobu's expression was pained.
Though she couldn't condone Cocolia's actions, she also couldn't claim she'd have done better in that position.
Those who never wear the crown can never understand its crushing weight.
...Perhaps only Oyakata-sama could truly comprehend Cocolia's torment.