"What's that?" Tingyun drew her Bone-Gathering Fan, on guard.
Turning to the priestess, she saw her eyes gleaming, collapsing in excitement.
"Hmph, looks like my wanted poster worked…" Blake snorted, stepping between Tingyun and the priestess.
"Miss Tingyun, it's urgent—explanations later. You'll understand when you see her."
To avoid seeming like a riddler to their honored guest, Blake clarified quickly, though it barely helped.
Above the Gothic spire, the hourglass silently spilled, silver sand piercing the light beams cast by stained glass.
Space rippled like torn silk, and the bright cathedral was draped in an eternal night curtain, the hourglass projecting pure moonlight.
A flash later, a silver-haired elven girl appeared in the cathedral.
She stepped through misty moonlight, her frost-colored silk frame frailer than snow.
Her silver hair wasn't mortal snow-white but a radiant galaxy inverted, adorned with mithril-glowing hairpins like dew-soaked stardust woven into a crown.
Crystal-clear elven ears peeked half an inch from her cascading hair, the tips brushing translucent skin at her collarbone, revealing nebula-like veins.
Having traveled with the [Blaze] trade group, Tingyun had seen elven clans, but this girl was a first.
Her emerald eyes were ringed with twin silver halos, as if moonlight had been forged into liquid within, their edges tinged with pale blue from cinderflower sap.
Clad in a plain white priestly robe, the elven girl's expressionless face added a touch of aloofness.
"Hmm…" Her ears twitched as she bowed her head, scanning the cathedral.
"Beneath the dark veil of night, only then does Eternity's holy light descend."
"Where I tread, there is Eternity!"
Her clear voice echoed through the cathedral. Tingyun rubbed her ears, doubting she heard right.
Glancing at the priestess, she saw she'd fainted from excitement.
"Speak normally." Blake snapped his fingers, and an invisible force tore the curtain, restoring the cathedral's light.
Turning to Tingyun, Blake said, "Miss Tingyun, you've seen her state. Ignore that one… let's get to business."
"Hah, false god's mouthpiece, Blake… what gives you the gall to speak to me thus? I am…" The girl brushed her silver hair, noticing Tingyun.
Whoosh!
She froze, her ear tips blushing scarlet.
"Uh… cough, cough, cough! Let the holy light of [Memory] descend and erase that interlude." Steadying herself, she tossed her silver hair, mimicking someone's speech.
"Welcome, lost traveler! The Church's doors are ever open! Consider this a safe haven."
"Before you stands the finest elven priestess. Call my name… Freesna!"
"Miss Tingyun, where were we?" Blake ignored Freesna, continuing with Tingyun.
"You said you'd escort me back to the Luofu and send troops to aid the Xianzhou…"
"Hey! Don't ignore me!"
…
Jarilo-VI, Lower District.
"Ha~ Slept pretty well last night~"
March 7th stretched. As expected, a pillow war guaranteed sound sleep.
"Did you knock Miss March out?"
Adrian and Dan Heng turned to Stelle.
"Wronged, teachers! I'm upright and honest—how could I do something so vile in a pillow war? I'm the galaxy's fairest Galactic Baseballer! Doubt my skills if you must, but not my character!"
"Yeah, yeah! No matter how weak I am, I wouldn't get knocked out by Stelle's pillow! Don't underestimate a beautiful girl's hidden powers!"
"Speaking of, where are Bronya and Seele?" March 7th looked around. Only the four of them were at the Goethe Hotel.
"Not to interrupt, but last night, I saw you chatting with Bronya."
Dan Heng glanced at Adrian. He hadn't slept as well as March 7th.
"Nothing much. I just told Miss Bronya a bedtime story. Sadly, it backfired… negative effect. She was wide awake after."
"Ha, Teacher Adrian, looks like you need to work on your storytelling skills."
March 7th grinned, finally finding something Adrian wasn't great at!
"For storytelling, you should learn from the galaxy's greatest Galactic Story侠."
In under a minute, Stelle gave herself another nickname.
"Then Miss Bronya went off to clear her head. What happened after, I don't know." Adrian shrugged. He wasn't kind or diligent enough to go soul-searching at midnight.
Time to finish the mission and meet Svarog. If all went well, they'd return to the upper district today.
At the meeting point, they saw Seele and Bronya already waiting.
"Ahem, here's what Oleg told me: Your plan sounds like a miner's drunken rambling, but it's a path at least." Seele cleared her throat, mimicking him:
"The lower district's out of options, and Svarog's attitude has shifted. At this point, I'm willing to bet on you. [Wildfire] fully supports your decision."
"Don't worry, Seele. We'll prove you didn't trust the wrong people!"
"It's not that much like a drunken miner's nonsense."
"Teacher Dan Heng, your focus is weird."
Bronya looked at Adrian. After his story, she hadn't hesitated, heading straight back to the hotel.
Wanting to clear her mind, she ran into Seele and Natasha. The clinic's medical supplies were low, requiring a trip to a Fragmentum-corroded area to scavenge.
Life-sustaining equipment was swallowed by the Fragmentum. Retrieving anything was a life-or-death risk.
In that moment, righteous Bronya volunteered to join Seele in Rivet Town. With her Fragmentum combat experience, she wouldn't hold them back.
After Rivet Town, Bronya's mindset flipped entirely.
As if fated, following the Express crew to the lower district revealed her origins.
Watching Guards die in the Fragmentum daily, she could never resolve to change Cocolia's mind… Thinking of that elven girl whose home was destroyed by the Swarm, despair flooded Bronya.
The lower district suffered, and she could do nothing. Her once-home was in ruins, and she'd been completely in the dark.
In the end, she couldn't [Preserve] anything. How could she be fit to be Great Guardian?