The Jarilo system, sixth stellar orbit — a planet slightly smaller than Earth.
A few months ago, it had been a world smothered entirely in ice and snow, a pure-white sphere as seen from space. Now, a sixteenth of its surface had thawed, revealing swaths of vibrant blue-green life.
The Fourth Divine Key, running in a light-bending stealth mode, continued to breathe invisible energy into the planet's atmosphere — reshaping its climate, carving away the ice.
The world shifted in an instant. The faint dizziness of transit faded, and when eyes opened again, they were on an alien planet untold trillions of li away.
"This thing is incredible!"
Experiencing the Trailblaze faction's proprietary black-tech Domain Anchor for the first time, Haxxor Bunny was genuinely stunned.
She'd had her heart set on boarding a starship, jumping through hyperspace corridors — the whole sci-fi comic book experience. She hadn't expected that they wouldn't need a ship, or even a flyer. A few teleportation pulses and here they were.
She shook her head and took in her surroundings.
It was nothing like the Xianzhou — the architecture carried a faint medieval European flavour. They had arrived inside the grounds of a spacious manor estate.
"Woo-hoo, Jarilo! Your emperor has returned!"
Stelle punched the air with a victorious cry.
"Hey! Caelus-cub, what are you doing~"
The shout barely left her mouth before Caelus delivered a swift chop to her neck, drawing an adorably pained yelp.
"You're wearing a qipao. Could you at least try not to ruin the vibe?"
Caelus tucked his gray-hair ponytail back into place.
"Oh-ho?"
Stelle's eyes swivelled, and in an instant her whole expression flipped — like turning a page — from playful and goofy to something entirely different. She drew a lacquered fingernail slowly along her jaw, and the corners of her eyes curved into a seductive crescent.
"Is Caelus-cub still lost in his big sister's charms?"
Stelle pivoted half a step to the beat of some unheard music, her entire bearing shifting — as if she'd just stepped through the gilded doors of an old Shanghai cabaret, regal and poised, yet draped in a magnetic, dangerous allure.
"Out in public, you call me big brother. Or 'dad' — either works."
Caelus suppressed the flutter in his chest and turned toward this enchantingly elegant beauty with the most benevolent smile he could muster — then slowly raised both hands and extended his middle fingers in a leisurely, drawn-out gesture. Left. Then right.
Not that it could be said otherwise — this Stellaron spirit had learned fast from him. Her acting was getting better and better.
So was her takedown technique.
"Call me what?"
Stelle calmly tucked a falling strand of hair back behind her ear.
"You think I'd actually fall for a move that elementary schoolers use?"
Caelus squinted at her, unimpressed.
They'd been calling each other 'Caelus-baby' and 'Star-baby' back on the Xianzhou like a pair of inseparable newlyweds — and now here on Jarilo they were bickering like squabbling grade schoolers. Even the composed Sister Himeko couldn't keep up with these two's mental frequency.
March 7th had long since stopped trying. As long as you wandered off and left them alone for a bit, they'd naturally switch into sibling mode before you knew it.
"Caelus, did you not tell the Grand Guardian we were coming back?"
She used the title rather than the name — Caelus wanted to give Bronie a little surprise. Yet another parallel-world isotope from a future timeline.
"I told her. Just not the exact arrival time."
Stelle had grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. Caelus pressed two fingers against his own armpit and transmitted the ticklish sensation through their phantom-limb synesthesia — Stelle released him for just a moment — and he seized that opening, flipping around to hook both arms around her neck from behind, draping himself over her like a living scarf.
"Belobog is in the middle of rebuilding from scratch. One revival after the Second Eruption, and now what should be the second civilization-wide festival — there's an enormous amount of preparation involved. Bronya has her hands completely full right now."
"Let's not go bother her yet. We'll surprise her tonight!"
"Surprise her tonight!"
Stelle engaged her echo mode.
"Bronya just glanced at the Fourth Key's work log — the restoration process is running normally. With Belobog as the centre, the average temperature within an eight-hundred-kilometre radius has already climbed back above zero."
Silver Wing was serving as the operator of the Fourth Divine Key. The moment Little Duck returned to Jarilo, she'd checked the Key's status.
This trip also called for a few more bursts at rated output — that was one of the surprises Caelus had mentioned for Rand-Duck.
Under normal circumstances, even combining Silver Wing and the Honkai energy inside Seele, you couldn't repeatedly fire the Zeroth Rated Output to sweep Jarilo's surface climate clean.
According to the original plan, it would take years for the Eternal Freeze to fully lift from Jarilo.
But now, with the Potara Earrings and the rising affection level between Black Abyss White Flower and Seele, the probability of a Divine Awakening was approaching a high-confidence threshold. When that moment came — Silver Wing or Seele could use the earrings to fuse with the deity Black Abyss White Flower.
The Fourth Divine Key's Zeroth Rated Output, combined with the divine Black Abyss White Flower's power of creation — one volley could restore at least half a planet.
A warm, gentle spring breeze swept through, lifting White Seele's deep-blue hair. The girl stood quietly, gazing at the familiar manor garden, and let out a soft, wondering sound:
"It looks exactly the same as when everyone left."
"Except…"
White Seele crouched down with ladylike grace at the edge of a flower bed, her small pale hands cupping a swaying cornflower:
"There are so many more flowers and plants now!"
Perhaps because she had spent seven hundred years rarely seeing any outdoor flowers or greenery — after the ice melted, Belobog had overshot its greening efforts just slightly. Every household had potted plants by the door and trees growing in the yard.
A few months ago, only wealthy merchants and nobles with underground geothermal heaters could even think about keeping flowers or trees on their property.
"But."
White Seele rose to her feet and looked out toward the edge of the visible horizon:
"The outside has changed so much."
"It's only been a little over two months, but it feels like we've been gone for years."
As an archer, March 7th had sharper eyes than most. Belobog's old districts had been renovated, and the city's footprint was visibly larger than before — construction still pushing outward on every side.
"Let's wander around first — see what's changed, and give Bronie a proper introduction to how Belobog looks now."
Caelus rummaged through his spatial ring and fished out a hat, sunglasses, and a face mask.
Haxxor Bunny snapped shut the photo album she'd been flipping through — pictures from the last time the Express squad had been on Jarilo — and slapped her palms together:
"Been waiting for you to say that."
"This place looks nothing like the photos… but what are you doing?"
Haxxor Bunny watched Caelus kit himself out with hat, sunglasses, and mask, and her eyebrow arched, expression shifting:
"You two aren't wanted criminals on this planet, are you? Like — you assassinated some Grand Guardian and now the whole city's hunting you?"
He was covering up that thoroughly.
"How did you know?"
Stelle blinked.
"WHAT?! Are you serious?!"
Haxxor Bunny froze.
She'd literally just said that off the top of her head.
"Pfft, that's ancient history. Right now I'm the emperor of Belobog and the Grand Guardian's fiancé!"
Stelle hauled Caelus in front of herself.
Caelus, Stelle, March 7th, Seele, and Dan Heng — the Express squad that had saved Belobog from the blizzard. They'd been decorated and honoured by the Grand Guardian herself. Their popularity in Belobog was considerable.
Caelus especially — on the day of Bronya's coronation, he had descended like a miracle from the sky, his smile bright against the snow. The photograph of him and Bronya holding hands had been printed in the history books.
Walk down the street and he'd be recognized for sure.
"…???"
Haxxor Bunny's hoodie ears twitched, and she performed a tactical lean-back as she turned to look at Caelus.
What was going on here?
Caelus hadn't just latched onto one galaxy-tier heiress — he'd also latched onto a whole civilization's empress?!
"Sensei, I want to learn this!"
What even was Aether Editing?
Was it faster than leaning on heiresses and empresses and lying flat?
That last part was a joke — but in that moment, Haxxor Bunny felt a genuine, unironic wave of respect for her bargain-bin teacher rise up inside her.
"Hey, don't talk nonsense — Belobog isn't an imperial system!"
March 7th's little fist tapped Stelle lightly on the back of the head.
"Come on, let's go! Whatever world you're in, a festival always means food, right?"
"Belobog — don't disappoint me!"
"Drop off the luggage first."
There were plenty of spare rooms in the manor. They found one for Haxxor Bunny, set down their bags, and were ready to go.
March 7th clipped a small Pom-Pom plushie to her hip:
"We're all set — let's move out!"
The group set off, chatting and laughing through a city buzzing with new life.
"My hands aren't mine anymore — my head? One second a pose, I don't belong to this Earth?"
Stelle was bouncing all over the place like someone who'd had too much sugar — bobbing her head, throwing shapes, the very picture of someone who'd escaped from a padded cell — and made a beeline for the freshly refreshed trash-can treasure chest.
"My feet are turning corners? I spread my wings? Let's Sha Ba La Ba BaBa?"
"Caelus, what even is that?"
Bronie tugged at Caelus's sleeve, watching the machines hauling cargo with curious eyes.
Svarog's machine tribe had dispersed throughout Belobog and was one of the primary forces driving the city's expansion.
"A traffic light that can tank a hit from an Aeon."
As he spoke, Caelus plucked a snowbell flower he'd just picked and tucked it into White Seele's hair. Deep blue gradients and blue petals — a perfect match.
"Thank you, Caelus-brother~"
White Seele's ear tips went faintly pink. A radiant, brilliant smile bloomed across her face — like sunlight striking a pearl in the deep sea, achingly beautiful.
Both Haxxor Bunny and Little Duck — each keeping a covert eye on the other to make sure neither got a moment alone with Seele — blinked in unison.
What was happening?!
Just as both of them were drawing breath to say something, Stelle grabbed Caelus by the hand and dragged him into the shop beside them — off to stock up on essentials, Belobog local specialties, and an assortment of distinctive black stockings.
"…"
"…"
After the two of them purchased a two-month supply calibrated to the measurements of the Beautiful Girl Fusion's combined figure and Stelle's individual one, they emerged from the shop to find March 7th materializing out of nowhere with her camera levelled at the group of five:
"Photo time! Everyone look here! Three, two, one —"
The shutter clicked on a frame overflowing with youth and just a touch of warmth.
"Perfect~!"
March 7th nodded in satisfaction at the photo — and then suddenly froze.
"Ah Qi, what's wrong?"
Stelle blinked.
"Check those people over there in the black uniforms."
March 7th's expression shifted to one of surprise as she raised her hand and pointed somewhere behind and to the side of the group:
"Am I seeing things, or…?"
"IPC?"
Caelus's brow lifted slightly.
"IPC?"
Haxxor Bunny tilted her head, curious.
"Yeah, the Interastral Peace Corporation — you know them."
Caelus nodded.
"I mean, a company that size showing up on other planets is pretty normal, isn't it?"
Haxxor Bunny was well aware of the IPC's clout — she used their cybersecurity division as a practice target for her hacking drills.
"Under normal circumstances, sure — but they shouldn't have just randomly shown up on Jarilo like this."
Thoughts turning, March 7th gave up trying to work it out and decided to just ask directly.
"Hey there! Hi! Are you all IPC employees?"
"…"
The two uniformed IPC employees said nothing.
"Hello?"
"How are you doing?"
"Annyeonghaseyo?"
Stelle waved at them in a medley of accents from across the galaxy.
"…"
The two employees exchanged a glance. One of them — a squad leader — pressed a finger to his earpiece:
"Boss, I've got a few screws-loose types over here. Want me to deal with them?"
To be fair to the employees, they hadn't just plucked that assessment out of thin air — they'd already witnessed Caelus and Stelle digging through garbage cans moments earlier, squabbling over the contents like they'd found buried treasure.
What else would you call that?
"Just got here and this is already the opening scene? What is this, a Dragon King Returns storyline?"
Stelle's lips curved into that familiar √ smirk as she produced the flaming Lance of Preservation.
"Flaming Lance —"
Roaring flames made the IPC employees break out in a cold sweat instantly.
"Hold it right there!"
---
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