"If Cocolia's panicking means anything, it's that the underground isn't under her control, which means Svarog's behavior isn't tied to her."
"What do you think, Leon?"
Stelle looked up, meeting Leon's gaze.
Leon nodded approvingly. "That's pretty much what I was thinking. Looks like the Express is about to gain another stellar Nameless."
Stelle, a bit embarrassed by the praise, scratched her head.
"Aw, it's just average. You practically spoon-fed me the answer."
Leon: "About Svarog, there's only one question left now."
Stelle's smirk faded, and she seamlessly continued with confidence.
"—The reason he's sealing off the underground. Looks like the final boss of the underground arc is Svarog."
"Oops, sorry, slipped into game terms again."
Leon didn't mind at all, chuckling.
"Don't treat me like some old fossil. It's normal for young folks to game—I play too, and I get it."
① "Awesome! Let's run a dungeon together sometime, or maybe some PvP."
② "Big shot, carry me—I'm great at hugging thighs."
③ "I'm a gaming pro. Next time, I'll carry you."
"Heh, sure, but this Trailblaze journey is far from over."
"Finding key info on the Stellaron, leaving the underground, and uniting with the awake self-rescuers on the surface—that's what we need to do next."
Leon was both summarizing the upcoming plot for Stelle and for the players.
As for the final boss?
No need to hint.
Some players had probably already guessed it.
"My back's not sore, legs aren't tired, and I'm not sleepy—wanna go find Svarog now?"
"My hands are itching for a fight. I really want to see how tough Svarog is to keep Wildfire pinned down like that."
Stelle rubbed her fists, looking eager to jump into action.
Her raised eyebrow and smirking expression hooked plenty of players into mimicking her grin.
A mature face and figure with a youthful personality.
Adorable, right?
"No need to rush this."
Leon smiled faintly, vetoing Stelle's plan.
"Going after Svarog needs Wildfire's people with us… How do I put it? At the very least, they need to understand our intentions."
"Finding the Stellaron isn't just the Trailblaze team's mission—it's also about the survival of the locals."
Stelle fell into thought.
"Wildfire's top-tier fighters probably aren't enough. That Sampo guy's so unreliable—'tons of experts,' my foot…"
"Dragging Wildfire into a deathmatch with robots would mean heavy casualties."
Leon nodded. "I wasn't counting on them much anyway. This isn't our concern—the one who should be most worried is Bronya."
"Besides, Wildfire just dealt with a messy conflict in the mining area. Most of them are physically and mentally exhausted."
"Mortal bodies aren't like yours. With your strong constitution and the Stellaron inside you, staying up for ten days or half a month is no big deal if you want."
"Let Wildfire rest for the night—though… some people might still not sleep."
Leon said pointedly.
Stelle, unaware of just how strong her constitution was, didn't dwell on it.
Instead, she curiously asked about Leon's.
"What about you? The Sky Haven Clan isn't mortal, right? I mean, you've got those enviable wings. I so want to feel what it's like to fly freely."
At that—
Whether it was Leon fans, lore nerds, or players focused on backstory, everyone perked up their ears.
All they knew was that Leon was from the Sky Haven Clan.
But that was it—just those three words. Other than the last bit of info, there was practically nothing else.
His ability? Wind manipulation. That's it.
"…"
Leon paused for a moment before answering casually.
"Not really. The Sky Haven Clan are descendants of an ancient lineage. In theory… we're a special kind of long-life species."
Stelle tilted her head. "Ancient lineage? From an Aeon or what?"
A hint of weathered depth flashed in Leon's eyes.
"A deity forgotten by the galaxy—not worth mentioning… In ancient times, some world civilizations called the Sky Haven Clan angels."
"But that's a misnomer. Unlike typical angel races, the Sky Haven Clan only ever have one pair of wings their whole lives."
"If we don't show our wings, we look no different from regular humans."
Stelle: "So you hide your wings normally for convenience?"
Leon: "…To avoid drawing too much attention. Reliable adults usually keep a low profile, you know."
Many eagerly listening players had mixed feelings.
Heavyweight info? Sort of, but not quite.
No info at all? Not exactly.
The Sky Haven Clan being a long-life species was one thing, but a deity forgotten by the galaxy?
A few sharp players sensed something off.
Take Old Toby, a lore-focused content creator, for example.
"Notice the ellipses before Leon speaks."
"Usually, when a character uses ellipses, it means either speechlessness or silence."
"This situation definitely isn't speechlessness—it's silence."
"Why the silence? Probably because it touches on something he doesn't want to elaborate on."
"And that half-ellipsis in the last line suggests there's deeper meaning to his words."
"'To avoid drawing too much attention'—could that mean drawing attention would bring trouble?"
"Or maybe the wings hold special significance for the Sky Haven Clan?"
"Under HoYoverse, winged characters are rare."
"In Genshin, Kujou Sara's wings are just a racial trait with no real plot function."
"Leon's different. His ultimate shows his wings, and he uses them in the story too."
"Plus, the angel element, honestly, is risky… even if Leon stresses the Sky Haven Clan aren't angels."
"Bold theory: the Sky Haven Clan is named for their wings, so their wings likely hold major significance."
"Maybe if their wings are broken, it triggers some kind of consequence?"
"Referencing angel wing-breaking directly, it feels like a knife waiting to stab…"
"As for the forgotten deity, since it's about being forgotten, could it be an unknown Aeon?"
[Goddamn knife waiting to stab.]
[But honestly, Old Toby's analysis makes sense.]
[For real, there's no Sky Haven Clan entry in the archives—means something's hidden.]
[And another thing—Leon's second character story doesn't unlock with leveling!]
[Got it. It's locked info about an unknown Aeon.]
"Seriously, though, other characters unlock one story per breakthrough, but Leon's stuck at one."
"It's all because of that Star Soul 6 artwork—got me all paranoid now."
Players nodded in agreement.
You call yourself a fun-loving character, with smirking Star Soul 3, 4, and 5 artworks.
So why, at Star Soul 6, does it suddenly shift to a tear sliding down his face, falling into his palm?
Even weirder, that artwork gave off an inexplicable sense of fate.
It's safe to say most players who thought Leon was hiding a knife were fixated on that Star Soul 6 artwork.
Old Toby opened a high-res image downloaded from the wiki, zooming in to examine it.
The artwork clearly showed Leon's wings.
But he couldn't shake the feeling that something about this fateful image was off.
He just couldn't pinpoint what.
It felt… strange.