"What the hell are you doing?!"
Nervously smiling as he looked towards the enraged Veliona, Sunny awkwardly replied:
"I was trying to understand the effects of her Aspect."
By allowing his mind and soul to freeze over, he gained a greater understanding of how her Aspect would affect him. Although he certainly wasn't able to escape the freezing effects, he would at least be able to formulate a particular reaction if he gets struck with an attack.
It wasn't much, but it might increase their chances in a fight.
Dan Heng shook his head in exasperation.
"That's fine and all, but what about your hand? Can you even move your fingers?"
Raising his mangled hand, he looked at the mess of muscle and bones that in the gap between his skin. The wound he bore did not bleed due to the freezing of his lineage-enhanced blood.
Ignoring the strange mix of pain and numbness, Sunny attempted to clench his fingers. They didn't even twitch.
It seemed that whatever allowed him to control his fingers had been torn apart by the spear. Simply shrugging, sparks began to coalesce in his uninjured hand.
Within it was a piece of candy bound by a green wrapper. Ignoring the vexed looks, he unwrapped it before stuffing a small piece of chocolate into his mouth. Quickly chewing, he swallowed the candy, causing silence to follow.
"Uh… what?"
March was the first to break the silence.
Sunny simply raised his previously-impaled hand, waving it around a bit.
There was a physical squirming of flesh, and his bones seemed to be slowly branching towards the severed ends. This was a healing Memory that Natasha had given him before they went to the Overworld.
"Want some?"
"…Sure."
"Does it taste good?"
"Why did Nat give you things, but not me? She's known me for way longer!"
Sunny first answered March, before answering Veliona — who he was referring to as Seele due to the presence of others. For whatever reason, she didn't seem to want to reveal that she was a seperate entity from Seele altogether.
"Yeah, it's pretty good. Who knows? Maybe Natasha just likes me better."
***
"It's f—freezing here — the blizzard's so fierce! The power from the Trailblaze Path isn't enough to stop the cold..."
Sunny was inclined to agree with March's complaints. They found themselves upon a large hill of snow, an old, decrepit stone path showing the way to them. The closer they got to the Stellaron's suspected location, the colder the air became.
Considering the fact that March has a passive resistance to the cold — even if she pushed the temperature down as much as she could — it truly meant something if even she could consider it cold.
Dan Heng explained:
"It means that we're getting closer to the Stellaron... and the heart of the Eternal Freeze."
After a few minutes, a vaguely humanoid figure appeared. Having already seen it previously, Sunny wasn't particularly surprised.
Before them was a Voidranger; one of the Antimatter Legion's forces that was quite common on the Herta Space Station. They had never encountered one on Jarilo-VI before, but here it was. However, it was unmoving.
The Voidranger was completely frozen, it's body completely encased within a layer of ice. Despite how thin the ice was, Sunny could tell that he wouldn't be able to break through it even if he used every ounce of his strength.
If one were to go past it, they would see another, and another, and another, until they find an entire army's worth of monsters from the Antimatter Legion.
Dan Heng mumbled to himself in an intrigued tone.
"It's like an insect trapped in amber..."
March's face contorted into a disturbed expression as she stared at what was practically an ice sculpture.
"I bet the Antimatter Legion forces never thought they'd be swallowed up by the Eternal Freeze when they invaded this world."
She paused, a strange look on her face.
"Even in the ice... could these guys still be alive...?"
Sunny was a bit confused by the uncharacteristically somber tone, but he then remembered something that he hadn't truly paid attention to.
March had previously told him that she had been stuck in a mass of ice before she boarded the Astral Express. Once she was thawed out, she had no memories to speak of.
She must have felt some kind of pity for the Voidwalker.
Sunny glanced at her, a cheeky grin appearing on his face.
"Wanna defrost them and find out?"
She was broken out of her stupor as she blanched at the thought of fighting all of these enemies.
"No, no! We've got enough on our plate."
***
Having passed by the countless statues of Voidwalkers as they followed the path that led to the crest of the large hill, they found a large staircase. Using his shadow as a scout, Sunny was already aware of what was past this point.
Of course, to the others accompanying him, there was a very glaring question.
"Did the Architects build this...?"
Seele's awed question brought attention to a gargantuan structure.
It stood there, an immense construct of metal and unknown materials, its form too deliberate to be natural yet too alien to be familiar. Its surface was a fusion of smooth, polished segments and jagged, worn edges, as if it had endured forces beyond comprehension. Two great circular structures extended from its frame, their purpose unreadable — silent, inert, yet unmistakably significant.
Frost enshrouded the structure, a glimmer of faint light bouncing off it's reflection. Whatever it was, operating it would be impossible.
The thing bore no markings, no signs of origin or intent. Long strands of dark material hung from its lower sections, shifting subtly, responding to movements in the air that no one else could feel. Faint, almost imperceptible lines traced its exterior, the remnants of a design that suggested function, though what kind remained unknown.
It gave no sign of awareness, no indication that it perceived the world around it. And yet, it did not feel abandoned. There was something about its stillness that suggested it was not simply resting, but waiting.
'…Wait a second, am I losing it? How could… whatever that is, be alive?'
Dan Heng narrowed his eyes at the unusual, alien construct.
"…It's very different from the uniform style of the buildings we saw in the city."
"Does it... look like the palm of a huge hand to you?"
March's remark brought a silence along with it. Now that he thought about it, it did look like an extremely large robot…
'Not that it'd work in that state.'
Now that he knew what was beyond, Sunny didn't rush himself.
Before them was an indescribable danger — one that brought factors that he hadn't even thought of. Not only that, but they had no actual plan to act upon. From this point onwards, whatever happened, happened.
…And without any corresponding preparations, Sunny was very limited.
Reaching the top of the steps, an agonized voice was heard:
"N—No..."
Dark metal rose at an angle, its surface traced with faint, almost imperceptible lines that glowed subtly beneath the dim light. The structure was harsh, angular — designed with precision yet weathered by time. A lattice-like shape jutted from its surface, suspended in a web of cables that coiled and twisted like veins, pulsing with a dull, flickering energy.
The glow was not steady. It wavered, uncertain, as if something within still struggled to function despite the weight of years pressing down upon it. Thin streams of light traced outward from the core, barely illuminating the cold expanse around it, casting fractured patterns onto the metallic surface.
The air was heavy, charged with something unspoken. This was not the light of guidance, nor of welcome — it was something residual, lingering, refusing to fade. The silence around it was deep, unbroken, yet not empty. It carried the weight of something unfinished. Something that had not yet let go.
Sunny's eyes widened as he felt a strange resonance within him.
'The Stellaron!'
Below this great creation however, were two women — one blonde, the other with gray hair. They both had different hairstyles, but they had the same theme of ending in a spiral. The former stood with a fanatical, cult-like fervor, while the latter was kneeling in the snow, clutching her skull as she released dry screams from her throat. This was a mother and a daughter.
Cocolia and Bronya.
"Do not resist, Bronya... Accept the common will!"
Each word carried a strange echo along with it, one that caused Sunny and the others to feel like their minds were breaking down on the physical level. It was as if they were hearing words directly from an Aeon; comprehending things that shouldn't be comprehended.
It was even worse for Sunny. Maybe it was because he was a Pathstrider of Destruction, or because he carried a Stellaron within him. Either way, the effects of Cocolia's crazed ravings were extremely harmful to him, operating as a mind attack in it's own way.
'Wha—what? But… Nanook isn't here…'
Or maybe THEY were. After all, those great entities didn't follow the common order of the world.
Tears were streaking down Bronya's pale face, freezing before they could spill off her face.
"No... I... I don't want this..."
Cocolia turned around, ignoring the obvious torment, suffering, distress, and excruciating pain that she was subjecting the girl that she considered her daughter. She spread her arms, worshipping the Stellaron with relentless zeal.
"Look upon their promised future, Bronya! A world without poverty, without cold, without suffering... A world where people no longer have to pray like prisoners for survival... A world that we can guard for all eternity. Seven hundred years ago, we tried and fought unceasingly, believing that the radiance of human nature could shepherd us towards rejuvenation. And to what end? A crushing defeat!"
She laughed, mocking the attempts that her own civilization made to survive.
"Why, when faced with irrefutable strength, is our first thought always to resist, to cover our ears, instead of hearing the call? It is the conceit and cowardice entrenched in the depths of human nature — so difficult to efface. Cast them aside, break free of the chains that bind you! The Stellaron will lead humanity to evolve, and THEY will..."
As Cocolia spoke with the belief that she had been enlightened by the Stellaron, convinced to break free of her mortal coils, Seele was gritting her teeth.
Amidst the mental pain that she was enduring, she was also barely resisting the cold. Without the blessings of Trailblaze, the elements were as harsh to her as they would be to any other Awakened. Her nerves cried out as pain and cold assaulted her.
Any longer, and she may as well have lost her mind.
One of her eyes flickered red as conflicting forces fought for control of her body.
At the same time, a strange grin split across Sunny's face. His eyes were bloodshot, and his nose was gushing with blood. A maniacal chuckle rose from his lungs as he quietly mumbled to himself.
Driven by [Hate], Seele and Veliona achieved a treacherous balance. Chains suddenly formed around them, appearing in a flurry of crimson butterflies, fading away into aether. They wrapped around their arms, tightly binding themselves around them.
The chains gradually formed, before ending in a pair of gruesome, twisted, jagged, crimson claws. They were as large as their torso, which meant that they were large enough to crush one within their sharp grip.
With two minds overlapping, she was able to resist the mental pressure.
"Your brainwashing ends here, you bitch!"
"…Don't you think that's a little basic, Seele…? Or Veliona? Whatever you are…"
Sunny casually asked her as drops of red liquid dripped off his face. [Blood Weave] didn't have a consistent performance, as certain scenario's still caused him to bleed.
'And I had a whole line about that! Something like: 'Bleeding is too pedestrian.' Hm… still need a punchline.'
Without waiting for Seele/Veliona to respond, he turned to Cocolia with an amiable smile.
"Miss Supreme Guardian, your daughter has a very firm chest! See? Provoking someone has to be more direct."
Seele/Veliona sent him a look that was mixed between disgust, anger, understanding, enlightenment, and something that he couldn't quite comprehend.
Meanwhile, Cocolia and Bronya had turned their way. The latter looked at them with her tear-stained face as she rasped:
"...Seele? Sunny?"
The former sneered at the arrival of an Underworlder and a boy who had a vulgar tongue. The latter was waving his hand at her with a wide smile, mocking her the whole time.
"You came. I thought the blizzards had entombed you..."
Her words brought another wave of damage to their mental defenses.
Sunny laughed as if he wasn't bleeding gallons through the nose. His eyes indicated a certain absence, one that showed that he wasn't truly aware of his surroundings.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that the only thing that's 'entombed' is your brain! I might have thought that it was in those useless meatbags of yours!"
He paused for a second, before laughing hysterically.
Compared to the others, he was especially vulnerable to strange attacks that involved the Destruction. Considering that Cocolia's voice carried such an authority, his mind was barely able to hang on to a thin thread.
"Seele! I need a hug!"
As the others were still occupied with gaining a foothold under the influence of her ravings, Seele/Veliona realized a major issue.
An unintelligent Sunny was a useless Sunny!
Raising a hand to push him away as he attempted to hug her, she looked at Cocolia through the corner of her eye.
"Hey! Didn't we come here to save Bronya?!"
He stopped reaching towards her.
"…We did?"
He stared up into the sky in contemplation, wondering why he was here in the first place. Then, his face distorted into an expression of horror.
"I have space cancer in my chest! It's also a bomb!"
Cocolia watched them with a raised brow. Seele thought he was simply making things up, but she blanched when she remembered that he couldn't lie.
A sad smile appeared on his face.
"Don't worry Seele. We'll die together!"
He continued to approach her.
"Get away from me!"
Punching him in the face, she was finally able to make some space when he tumbled onto the ground. She wiped off the blood on her fist over her clothes. He turned to Bronya with an irritated expression.
"Bronya! I know that Sunny's weird, retarded, annoying, a pervert, and an asshole, but forget about that! I'm here, so everything else doesn't matter! Do you remember what I said? If anything happened to you, I'd save you."
As Sunny attempted to get up, she stepped on his back, pushing back down as she continued.
"Do you understand? Even if the damage is done — even if you've completely forgotten our promise, then... then I'm just gonna have to knock you out and bring you back myself!"
Without waiting for her response, Seele/Veliona turned to Sunny.
…Once she saw his groveling form, she decided that she might have been better off without him. She turned to Dan Heng and March…
…They were writhing on the ground. Somehow, March was barely conscious. Most likely due to the fact that she only had to worry about the mind attacks. However, her physical form constantly shuddered.
Seeing that she wasn't going to get anything out of those two, she turned back to Sunny, who was lying face-first in the snow. She scowled.
"Seriously? Is that it? Didn't you say that you were going to take over the world? With how you're squirming like a worm, I'd think the world you want to take over is the local playground!"
Suddenly, a hand rose up, gripping her ankle. Seele/Veliona grinned.
"You're such a damn pushover. If I wanted… something from you, you'd just give it to me without putting up a fight. Just like a shadow would. What kind of shadow would go for world domination anyways? Isn't that contradictory?"
Seele/Veliona found herself using words that she'd never use before now. Even so, it felt good to finally unload all the stress that she had accumulated from him.
"But… I don't think this is something you'd back down on. Aren't you pissed by what that blonde bimbo has been doing?"
She sent an insult Cocolia's way as she attempted to set Sunny's head on straight.
"Besides, you don't want Bronya to get hurt, right? You're not gonna let Cocolia have her way with her, right, Lost From—"
A hand was placed over her mouth. At some point, Sunny had risen up from the ground. His cheeks were flushed in embarrassment.
"…You talk too much. Too many useless rhetorical questions. Plus, I can't possibly be that unlikable, right?"
He paused.
"Also, didn't I tell you not to say that!"
His fingers dug into her face, an expression of his annoyance.
Under his hand, Seele/Veliona smiled.
"Well? What are you going to do about it~?"
Sunny jolted at the strange tone. That sounded like something Veliona would ask.
'Which one is it?'
He sighed. March and Dan Heng were incapacitated, which left everything to him and Seele/Veliona.
…Now, he had to address the elephant in the room — whatever an 'elephant' was. He turned to Cocolia, who simply stared at them in amusement. Despite her perfect opportunity to cut them down at that moment, she didn't.
"...Finished? I think I've given you long enough, to... bid farewell."
Sunny frowned.
'Rude. I'd never say anything as mean.'
He paused. He felt like he was forgetting something.
Cocolia turned to Bronya, who appeared disoriented and vulnerable.
"It's time I told you my other reason for bringing you here, Bronya. I want to witness your choice."
At her daughter's confused look, she continued:
"I have told you all the truths there are to tell: The deal with the Stellaron, the wish I made to it... There are no more secrets between us. Many years ago, the voice of the Stellaron sounded in my ears for the first time. I was no different from the previous generations of guardians... I withdrew, refused to hear. I was as you are now — bitterly defending the Architects' so-called 'Preservation...'"
She sighed in reminiscence.
"My conviction was once steadfast, unparalleled... until a sudden change arrived and threw everything into chaos. Another choice appeared before me — a subversion of the old order... and the welcoming of a new world. And compared to the illusory, evermore distant Preservation, this was so tangible..."
Bronya slowly relaxed. Cocolia's words had lost the pressure that they carried, overlapping with madness.
"I have agonized — long agonized over how to convey all this to you. Inevitably, the promised tomorrow will transpire... but if you were not there beside me, to watch over that new world..."
She sent Bronya a soft look.
"...Then I would descend into torment, Bronya — enduring torment!"
She turned to Sunny and Seele, who were standing a distance away.
"Perhaps I should be thanking you, outsiders. The pressure you have imposed... has at long last compelled me to confront my final... weakness."
She took a deep breath as she turned back to Bronya.
"Bronya, throughout your life, I have never forced you to submit to my will. You have always, will always have a choice... as then, so now. Choose, my daughter."
There was a lack of understanding on Bronya's face for a moment, before she became conflicted. However, her indecisiveness disappeared faster than it appeared, as if she already made a decision, but felt that it was a painful one.
"Madam Cocolia... I am grateful to you for raising me, and for allowing me the privilege of choice. But... I am sorry, mother. On this, our final occasion, I cannot stand with you."
Seeing that Cocolia didn't react, she continued.
"You say that conceit and cowardice lie in the depths of human nature — perhaps you're right... desperation sheds light on the darkest recesses of the heart. But what about those simply struggling for survival, fighting for something better? I've witnessed their light on the front lines, in the Underworld... in places you have overlooked."
She rose up from the ground, stumbling as she did so.
"Our ancestors built this city — striving in the bitter snow to prolong our civilization. Even if this world is doomed to fall apart, we should allow humanity to pave the way to its final outcome..."
She glared at the monolithic structure that stood behind Cocolia.
"...Not hand over our fate to this seed of ruin!"
As if it heard Bronya's words, the Stellaron released a low hum.
"We are guardians, mother! Chosen from among the masses! Our duty is to preserve the world built by humanity! We are not gods! We are not arbiters! You seek to crush human nature underfoot while masquerading as an... as an arbiter and a god! I cannot let you!"
There was a long stretch of silence. Cocolia closed her eyes, hidden signs of distress appearing.
"So... this is your choice. I understand, Bronya."
She shook her head in disappointment, a whimsical sigh escaping her.
"Pity... Such a pity that you will never see that resplendent world... Unable to free yourself from the shackles of your mind... You know what? You were supposed to be... the mother of the new world."
Sunny rolled his eyes.
'What a lunatic.'
As soon as he thought those words, the ground began to quake. At the same time, the blizzard began to intensify.
A tremor shuddered through the frozen ground as metal groaned against the weight of time. Ice fractured and tumbled from its form, breaking into crystalline shards that caught the briefest glimmers of light before vanishing into the storm. From beneath the snowdrifts, dark, angular shapes emerged — too vast, too deliberate to be anything natural.
Great plates of metal, worn and scarred, lifted skyward, their edges rimed with frost. Twin circular structures, half-obscured by the raging snow, caught the dim light of the storm, reflecting it in shifting, unreadable patterns. Long, tattered strands of unknown material fluttered from its rising form, twisting in the wind like remnants of something once regal, now forgotten.
It did not move with haste, nor with hesitation. It ascended with the slow inevitability of something that had always been there, buried beneath time, waiting for the moment to return. The storm shrieked around it, but the construct remained unaffected — an unmoving force against the chaos, rising, towering, until it loomed over the frozen hill, its silhouette a monolith against the storm.
It had awakened. And it was watching.
As Cocolia began to float into the air as if she was the god who held authority over the massive construct, she began to speak as she looked down on them from above.
"The fate of this city... of Belobog... is sealed. Its future will unfold in our hands."
Sunny and Seele/Veliona walked over to Bronya, helping her up as the world seemed to crumble around them. Despite everything however, he could only shake his head at the ridiculousness of the situation.
"Are we really doing this?"
Seele/Veliona shrugged.
"If we're going to die either way, might as well go out with a bang."
Bronya huffed in indignation.
"After all those speeches, the best we can come up with is death? At that point, we shouldn't have resisted at all!"
Despite their words, the three of them had smiles on their faces. They looked up upon the false messiah of this frozen wasteland as they summoned their Memories.
Cocolia manifested a large, frozen lance into her hand. As Sunny stared at it, he instinctively felt that it was wrong — something that shouldn't have existed in such a state. He then remembered Bronya's words from earlier:
'The Lance of Preservation! Isn't it supposed to be warm?'
She pointed it's glacial tip at them, a cold, inhumane glint in her eyes.
"And you... will become the foundation of the new world!"