A few minutes earlier…
'Huh…? What's that noise?'
March groggily grew more aware. There was a constant tremor around her, and the headache that had assaulted her was starting to recede.
'What a nasty migraine…'
It took her a few seconds to find her bearings, as the incessant earthquake was disrupting her attempts to get up. Digging her fingers into the snow, she blinked a few times to make out the scene in front of her.
Staring for a few seconds, she began to blink a few more times in disbelief. Then, she continued to stare as she found that the scene before her was unchanged.
'…What?'
A titanic colossus was slamming the ground with disastrous force, causing powerful gusts of wind to pick up. They carried large plumes of snow along with them, which bombarded March. However, even though she was kneeling on the floor, she withstood it as she gazed at the conflict.
She could see Seele climbing up the steel giant's arm with two gruesome claws being dragged by chains. Far into the sky, there was a blue sphere — it was around the size of the automaton's head, which was quite large.
'Where's everyone else?'
She worriedly looked around. Besides Seele, March didn't know where anyone else could be. Sunny was the only one she couldn't be bothered with, as he had a tendency to hide in waiting.
Her eyes shifted when some movement was apparent under a patch of snow near her. Frowning, she narrowed her eyes as she tried to discern what it was.
After a few short moments, she lost patience as she kicked at the spot. Expecting a Fragmentum monster, she jumped back; she stumbled a bit, as she had barely been conscious a minute ago.
She froze when she heard a very familiar groan. It sounded exactly like when she barged into Dan Heng's room early in the morning, before using a wrestling move to wake him up.
Her face contorted as she felt like she was close to making a connection.
"That… was the second time someone has kicked me in the past two weeks."
March blanched for a moment, before plastering a perfectly sweet and innocent smile on her face.
"There was a monster trying to take a bite out of you. So, being the nice girl that I am, I kicked it to smithereens!"
She let out a dramatic sigh.
"But I just couldn't stop my momentum. One second, I'm over there, the next, I'm here with my foot against your stomach. So… it wasn't really my fault, was it?"
Dan Heng extricated himself from the pile of snow that he was buried under. There were snowflakes all over him, which he methodically brushed off.
March blinked as he uncharacteristically snorted.
"How honest of you."
…Knowing Dan Heng, she wouldn't have thought that he was the type to speak sarcastically. He was always straightforward, and exceptionally blunt. March's expression scrunched up in both confusion and concern.
"You… didn't hit your head or anything, right? No evil personalities?"
He shook his head in exasperation.
"I didn't…"
He paused. He looked around the trembling landscape.
"Well, maybe I could have hit my head."
With that, the two of them began to cautiously approach the ginormous amalgamation of machinery.
In the sky, a hazy, enshrouded figure fell.
***
The skull of an elegant, floating Fragmentum monster shattered into numerous pieces. There was no blood; instead, it faded into motes of light.
[You have defeated an Awakened Demon, Imaginary Weaver.]
The barrel of Bronya's rifle wafted with smoke. She panted for a while as she looked at the carnage around her. There were Shadewalkers, Frostspawns, and Flamespawns sprawled across the snow, their bodies in different states of destruction.
For whatever reason, the monsters have stopped attempting to approach the top of Everwinter Hill.
Bronya was slightly disturbed by this. There was no shortage of monsters in the Fragmentum, and if her mother was calling them to siege the hill, then countless more should have been scrambling up.
The amount that Bronya had slain was… meager, to say the least. She would have expected to require the help of another combatant. She wasn't a frontline fighter after all.
'Maybe…'
Seeing that there was nothing else attempting to maul her, she contemplated her next course of action. If she were to stay here, she could ensure that nothing else would climb up the hill. If she returned, then Bronya would be able to exploit Cocolia's Flaw.
If the other four were simply fighting against Cocolia without any outside factors, then her assistance would only simplify the process of defeating the Supreme Guardian. However, with the Engine of Creation being used…
With a sigh, Bronya turned back as she ran back to the top of the hill.
'If any monsters arrive at the top, then I'll return to my post.'
Satisfied with her decision, she continued upwards…
Then, she felt the familiar sensation of a connection being severed.
She froze.
Her expression was filled with horror.
***
"We meet again."
Hearing those ominous words, Sunny cracked his eyes open. The first thing he saw was a cheeky grin, but he ignored it. Instead, he looked around at the familiar space…
Except, it was much brighter than before.
Within the originally lightless void, was a sea of luminescent, vibrant stars. They hung like anchors of light, providing a sense of direction to this unusual space. Asteroids floated, close enough for Sunny to touch.
However, what truly caught his attention was the warm amber light that stretched into the sky, surrounded by a spiraling whirlpool of stardust.
He gazed at it for a moment, before turning back to the direction he had initially been looking at. Before him was a smug, black-haired, black-eyed boy, one who was starting to make Sunny feel very annoyed.
Of course, it was Sunny himself; or rather, Mongrel, the Stellaron Hunter. The one from before he lost his memories, actually.
The place that surrounded them was the same space Sunny saw when Nanook gazed at him, granting him the Destruction.
Staring at the older version of him, Sunny sighed.
"Looks like I'm dead now. I really should have killed her…"
Of course, Sunny didn't think that fighting with the intent to kill would have changed the outcome. He would have been impaled either way, before being turned into a pincushion of icy spears.
As he thought of his agonizing demise, he let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"What a way to die, don't you think?"
The grin on Mongrel's face faltered. He scowled, shaking his head in disappointment.
"I was going to praise your ability to hold back, but I realize that's wasted on you."
He crossed his arms, sitting on the invisible surface they were standing on. Mimicking him, the Sunny of the present sat down. He shrugged.
"She was being controlled by the Stellaron. I have no desire to kill a puppet."
In the end — at least to Sunny — Cocolia was simply another victim of the Stellaron crisis. It had taken control of her mind, stripping her of her freedom.
As one himself, why would he want to kill another unwilling slave?
Mongrel's eyes glazed over for a moment. There was a glint of hatred in his eyes, but present Sunny couldn't decipher what it was.
Mongrel shook his head.
"Just remembering a certain tree…"
The word 'tree' caused shivers to go down Sunny's spine.
After a few moments of silence, Sunny asked:
"Uh… I am dead, right? I didn't think the afterlife would be such a weird place…"
Mongrel paused for a moment, before shrugging.
"Yeah, you're dead."
Despite the chilling way he casually said those words, Sunny felt eerily calm. His eyes rolled upwards, his fingers grabbing a strand of black hair. Somehow, his hair had returned to their original coloration.
"Are my eyes back to normal?"
Seeing Mongrel nod in confirmation, Sunny breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't look like an illegitimate child anymore!
Suddenly, something mysteriously appeared in Mongrel's hand. It was a mask of black lacquered wood carved to resemble the face of a ferocious demon. Its teeth bared with four fangs protruding from its mouth. There were three twisted horns rising from it like a crown. Inside the black chasm of its eyes was nothing but pure darkness.
Weaver's Mask, a Divine Memory of the seventh tier.
With nimble movements, Mongrel was spinning the mask by placing the chin-piece on his finger. The demonic face flashed multiple times. He rested his head in his free hand.
"So? Was it fun?"
There was a moment of silence, before Sunny suddenly chuckled.
"Fun? I'm dead, and the first thing you wonder is if it was fun? Is that why you became a war criminal? Because it gave you some sick thrill?"
The smile on his face faded away, replaced by a grimace.
"The way you and me view things are different. You… you're practically an adult compared to me. Even if my brain might be more developed, I still think and act like a prepubescent teen. But…"
A furious snarl tore across his face.
"Even so, you're still me! I know exactly what I am, which means that I understand you at a similar level. If someone becomes my enemy of their own accord, then I won't hesitate to treat them like one. Otherwise, Id never interfere with the lives of others."
Sunny sucked in a deep breath. He looked at the unbothered Mongrel across from him.
"Human lives can't be given a price. You know that as much as I do. So… why?"
Weaver's Mask stopped spinning. Mongrel stared at the ferocious demon carved into the wood, before replying in a clinical tone:
"Apricorn Zeta. Population of five-point-six billion. The Stellaron decided to masquerade as a god within a specific nation, controlling the technologically underdeveloped and isolated planet by pretending to be benevolent. By using the Destruction to 'destroy' the countries opposition, all other nations were assimilated, creating a truly united civilization. The more the Stellaron was worshipped and revered, the more the mental barriers of the people were corroded."
Mongrel sighed.
"At some point, the entire population had become the Stellaron's marionettes. Essentially, they were all empty husks. The Antimatter Legion began to use the planet as a base, while the corpses of the original inhabitants were used as slaves."
Mongrel paused.
"Actually, I still suspect that there was something up with that. Stellaron's can't create puppets like that… anyways, all that's left there is scorched earth."
Suddenly, Mongrel giggled like a lunatic.
"This is one of the more tame ones, by the way."
Sunny pursed his lips as he thought about what he heard. Although this was a much better reason than before, Sunny found that it was too altruistic. He didn't think of himself as someone who would risk his life to save people he didn't even know.
Without waiting for a response, Mongrel rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, this isn't like me. Obviously, there were certain benefits."
Sunny furrowed his brow.
"What… kind of benefits?"
Mongrel's expression lost all humor, leaving behind a solemn look. There was a deep longing behind his eyes.
"What else? It's the one thing that nobody in the world could have… two worlds, even."
Their black orbs met.
"Freedom. Pure, absolute, and undeniable freedom."