Bronya's Explanation

After Dan Heng's question, the office fell briefly silent.

Everyone stared at Bronya, hoping she could give them an explanation. Even Stelle stopped eating her snacks and turned to look at her.

Bronya's expression stiffened. She had rehearsed this meeting countless times, and she had expected the situation she now faced.

She released the pen in her hand, letting it fall onto the desk. Then she swept her gaze over everyone's faces, finally settling on Bai Luoming.

She did not deny it. Instead, she began to explain to everyone present.

"Because a few months ago, I saw part of the 'future.'"

Her voice was calm as she delivered the explanation she had prepared long ago. "But that future was incomplete. In it, I saw various endings for the planet beneath our feet. In one, it came to an end under the erosion of the Eternal Freeze and the Fragmentum. I also saw... guests from beyond the stars arriving in Belobog and bringing a chance of salvation to this planet."

Dan Heng did not lower his guard at the absurd-sounding explanation. "That alone was enough to make you believe someone would descend from the heavens and save you?"

"Of course not." Bronya glanced at Dan Heng and explained:

"I tested that future which appeared out of nowhere, and the results told me it was real."

"Moreover, that future only showed that you would come to Belobog and resolve the crisis here. As for your names, abilities, and how you would resolve the crisis, I knew none of it."

"So that bounty notice only said 'visitors from beyond the stars' and mentioned neither their number nor their appearances. You weren't deliberately holding anything back; you just didn't have enough information?" Bai Luoming suddenly spoke, breaking the heavy atmosphere in the office.

Bronya admitted, "Yes. Besides, if I'd been too specific, it would only have attracted more impostors with ill intentions."

"Smart enough not to paste the answer right on the city walls." Bai Luoming nodded, approving of Bronya's thinking.

Bronya was taken aback by his words, but she continued.

"When I first learned all this, it wasn't as though I never considered relying on Belobog's own strength."

At that, Bronya looked up at the others, an apologetic look in her eyes.

"But after more than seven hundred years of the Eternal Freeze, Belobog's strength has long since been exhausted. Trying to destroy the Stellaron with the strength we have left would be no different from sending the entire city to its grave."

"Every order to redeploy the troops on the front lines means someone will never return. It wasn't until I reopened the passage to the Underworld that I truly saw the wounds more than a decade of isolation had left on our fellow citizens."

She stood up, her tone solemn. "As long as Belobog can have a tomorrow, I am willing to bear all the doubt and pay any price that comes with seeking help from beyond the stars."

Dan Heng did not immediately state his position.

The idea of "obtaining information from the future in reverse" reminded him of Finality.

It was indeed possible for a Pathstrider of that mysterious Path to touch the downstream reaches of time in a special way.

But Pathstriders of Finality were exceedingly rare throughout the cosmos, and the records they left behind were even harder to verify. He could not tell whether Bronya's account was true or false.

Bai Luoming did not pursue the subject. Instead, he asked another question. "Speaking of which, after you became the Supreme Guardian, did you hear any mysterious whispers, or words that only you could hear and no one else could?"

The question made Bronya's hand tighten involuntarily on the desk.

But she was the Supreme Guardian, after all, and her expression betrayed nothing. "After those visions ended, nothing else happened."

Just then, Stelle, who had been quietly eating snacks, looked up at Bronya. She did not join in the questioning, but for an instant, her expression turned dazed.

The Stellaron inside her seemed to have resonated with something just now, and the sensation made her a little uncomfortable.

Stelle pressed a hand to her chest and suppressed the strange feeling.

"All right..." March 7th looked back and forth between Dan Heng and Bai Luoming several times before giving her verdict. "An acting Supreme Guardian who can see the future does sound pretty ridiculous. But we're riding a train that can jump all over the universe, and we've even got someone on the team with a Stellaron stuffed inside her. Picking out 'seeing the future' and calling that unscientific doesn't seem quite right."

Dan Heng accepted that, but added, "Only for now."

For the moment, Bronya's explanation appeared consistent with the clues they had. At the very least, they could be certain that the Stellaron crisis on this planet was real.

As for the source of her foresight, they could investigate it as they continued.

Once she was sure both sides had the same goal, March 7th immediately grew excited.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's contact Himeko and Uncle Yang right away! Since the Stellaron is in Belobog, we can have the two of them come straight in and deal with it. With the whole Astral Express Crew working together, we can cut straight through the problem and get it done for sure! Maybe we can even get back to the train for dinner tonight!"

Bronya's heart sank.

She had sought out the Nameless for more than just resolving the Stellaron crisis. She wanted to change the regrets etched into her memory, and even more, she did not want... did not want him to leave immediately after he had only just arrived.

But she could not stop them. That would expose her selfishness.

Just as Bronya was racking her brains over what to say, Bai Luoming raised a hand and rejected March 7th's proposal first.

"Let's not. That goes against the spirit of Trailblaze."

"It's the first time Stelle and I have done any trailblazing. If we speed through it like that, what's the fun in it?"

As Bai Luoming spoke, he signaled to Stelle with his eyes.

March 7th did not catch Bai Luoming's meaning. Unconvinced, she said, "Dealing with the Stellaron is what matters!"

Bai Luoming sighed helplessly and said:

"But right now, we don't even know where the Stellaron is, how many Fragmentum Monsters are around it, or what the situation in Belobog is really like."

"Exactly!" Stelle immediately sided with Bai Luoming and nodded vigorously. "There's still lots of treasure I haven't explored! This is my first official trailblazing expedition with Old Bai. It'd be no fun to end it so hastily."

March 7th glanced at her. "Those treasures you're talking about wouldn't happen to be trash cans again, would they?"

Stelle corrected her without a trace of embarrassment. "What trash cans? To me, every one of them is a treasure!"

Dan Heng could not be bothered with their argument, but he agreed with Bai Luoming's assessment that they lacked information.

He made his decision. "Let's stay in Belobog for a while first and investigate the Stellaron, the Fragmentum, and the actual situation in the Overworld and Underworld before reporting back to the train."

Outvoted three to one, March 7th reluctantly put away her terminal, but still insisted, "It's a deal, then. If we run into danger, we have to call Himeko and Uncle Yang immediately!"

Bronya secretly breathed a sigh of relief and glanced unobtrusively at Bai Luoming.

She offered, "I've prepared rooms for the four of you at the Goethe Hotel. You've come a long way across the snowfields, and you need rest, as well as time to learn about the city. If possible, once you've rested, we can hold a formal discussion at Kliperburg about how to deal with the Stellaron. In the meantime, you're free to go where you please. The Silvermane Guards won't interfere without cause."

Seeing that she was seeing them out, the group rose and took their leave.

Bai Luoming walked out last. When he reached the door, he looked back at Bronya.

"Your Excellency, Supreme Guardian," he reminded her, "Stellarons can lead people astray. If you really do feel unwell, there's no need to tough it out. You can come to us alone."

Bronya looked at Bai Luoming and smiled. "I'll keep that in mind." Then she watched the familiar figure disappear behind the door.

The office door closed completely.

The calm Bronya had struggled to maintain crumbled in an instant, and she braced herself against the edge of the desk as though her strength had left her.

The Stellaron's voice flooded into her mind, no longer whispering but roaring outright.

"The Nameless cannot withstand the Eternal Freeze... Belobog's struggles are meaningless... Accept me, and only then can you be truly reborn..."

Those voices deliberately amplified the deepest fears in her heart, replaying images of the Nameless defeated and Belobog falling completely in her mind over and over.

"The future has already changed." Bronya gritted her teeth and responded coldly to the noise in her head. "You won't have another chance."

"Accept me! Place your faith in me, and I will grant you new hope!"

"Get out!"

She swept every document off the desk and onto the floor.

The roaring in her head finally faded. Cold sweat beaded on Bronya's forehead. She looked toward the place where her mother had once sat, her voice barely audible.

"Mother... was this what you endured all along...?"