"Seven hundred years, seven hundred years—"
"Has Preservation ever spared humanity a glance? In the end, the first Supreme Guardian could only wish upon the Stellaron."
"One war ended, only to bring another endless war…"
"Do you understand? Do you grasp the despair we've endured?!"
Stelle laughed in exasperation.
"Why Preservation never glanced at past Guardians, I don't know. But you? I definitely get you."
"Looking like this, if I were Qlipoth, I wouldn't look at you either. Do you think you're worthy?"
"Leon walks the Path of Trailblaze, now taking on your duty to hold the frontline, protecting humanity. Isn't his conduct more aligned with Preservation?"
"And yet, has Qlipoth looked at him?"
March 7th nodded vigorously, blurting out, "Exactly, well said!"
The moment the words left her, she realized they came from the usually playful, goofy girl.
So cool—she saw her in a new light.
Dan Heng felt the same, his gaze on Stelle tinged with surprise.
Back at the Herta Space Station, she wasn't like this.
Could it be… Leon's subtle influence?
Stelle didn't know how her companions now saw her. Her chest burned with fury.
"Kneeling to the fear despair brings, Cocolia, you chose to abandon everything!"
"Belobog's people, the will passed down by generations of Guardians, and Preservation's will."
"A butterfly can't cross the sea. The first Supreme Guardian, with no way out, could only turn to the Stellaron."
"Later generations couldn't fathom the Stellaron or find a way to destroy it, so they hid the truth, passing down the Guardian's duty, hoping future wisdom would break the chains."
"If you're powerless, then follow your ancestors' steps and pass the duty to the next generation."
"Would that shame you? Don't worry, no one's laughing."
"You keep saying you're giving Bronya the right to choose, but you arbitrarily stripped her of her right to know."
"Now, at this point, you come clean, leaving her only two choices: oppose you or oppose us."
"Can she still choose to inherit the Guardian's will? To walk the path of her ancestors or forge a new one?"
"No, not now, because—"
Stelle's gaze grew sharper.
"—you, her mother, blocked her path, piling it with countless thorns."
"Bronya can only walk the path she wants by being torn to shreds by those thorns."
"Cocolia, you stand alone in your stance."
"Maybe your personal perspective is right, but sadly…"
"Having abandoned everything, what capital, what right do you have to tell your people, us, or your daughter—"
"That you're correct?"
Ah Xian's brain buzzed, nearly overwhelmed by Stelle's words, her blood surging.
She wished she were in the game, that she were Stelle.
The public test's plot quality far surpassed the closed beta, beyond imagination.
This barrage of verbal attacks—if players new to the game heard it, they'd think Stelle was the featured character in this banner.
Who'd expect the protagonist to change so much, her character fleshed out so vividly?
"She's really like Leon, isn't she? A comedian when you don't need reliability, but never faltering when you do."
"Cocolia's probably about to break from Stelle's scolding."
"So satisfying. Let's see how she responds."
Cocolia's expression twisted, her voice nearly a roar.
"Shut up!"
"From start to finish, you outsiders view this world from a bystander's perspective."
"Belobog has no second path to take. Passing the Guardian's duty to the next generation? Laughable!"
"Soon, this world will be entirely swallowed by the Eternal Freeze and Fragmentum—"
"What future is there?"
"Only by restarting the world can Belobog have a future, and Bronya a future to take up the Guardian's duty."
Stelle couldn't hold back a cold laugh.
She didn't retort immediately, glancing at Bronya first.
Seeing her gaze drop, fists trembling, Stelle raised her eyes and said words that shook Bronya's pupils.
"A future without humanity—what duty or meaning is left to inherit?"
Bronya's eyes lost focus, stunned for a long moment before slowly lifting her chin to face Cocolia.
Cocolia didn't speak, locking eyes with her.
The atmosphere fell silent.
After a while, the silence grew heavy.
Until—
Bronya's hand touched the rifle's stock, pulling it from the ground.
"Mother, I'm sorry."
"Thank you for raising me, for… giving me the right to choose my stance in the end."
Even as Stelle said, she had no real choice.
But… this was the last shred of dignity Cocolia left her.
"This time, the last time, I can't stand by your side."
"…," Cocolia's eyelids drooped, her lips pursed in silence.
"You say the depths of humanity are foolishness and cowardice. Maybe that's not wrong. Despair reveals the darkest sides of the heart."
"But, Mother, you missed those who strive to survive, to fight in despair."
"I saw their light—at the restricted zone frontline, in the Underworld, in the corners you overlooked. They shine so brightly."
"Our ancestors built this city with their hands, struggling to preserve civilization amid the blizzard."
"Even if this world is doomed to collapse, the path to that end should be paved by human hands."
"Not—by handing our fate to this calamity seed."
Bronya turned her head to the Stellaron, taking a slow, deep breath, her grip on the rifle tightening.
Even her voice carried sorrow and disappointment.
"We are Guardians chosen by ordinary people, Mother!"
"Our duty is to preserve the world built by humanity. We're not gods, not judges!"
"You want to trample humanity underfoot while playing judge and god. I'll never accept that!"
Bronya firmly raised her arm, aiming the rifle at Cocolia.
"I won't stand by and watch you destroy this world, our home we depend on!"
Cocolia's gaze trembled.
Was it sorrow, confusion, or a faint trace of relief?
But the next second, all emotion in her eyes vanished.
Only endless cold remained.
"Unable to break free from your mental shackles, you're doomed never to be the mother of the new world."
"Belobog's fate is sealed. I'll forge its future with my own hands, and you…"
"You'll become the foundation of this new world!"
In Cocolia's hand appeared a lance wholly encased in solid ice.
"Without breaking the old, the new cannot rise. As Supreme Guardian, I command you to awaken, Creation Engine—"