The Succession Ceremony

A photograph freezes the most beautiful moment onto a thin sheet of paper, allowing memories and emotions to settle within it.

Everyone, along with Hook and her little friends from The Moles, toured the entire Underworld. Compared to the Overworld, although it appeared somewhat dilapidated and desolate, it possessed a unique charm of its own.

Regardless, people were striving to live here, and the residents who made their lives in this place imbued it with an alternative kind of vitality.

Before anyone realized it, time slipped away rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, the day of Bronya's succession arrived.

"Wow, is this Bronya's succession ceremony? It's truly a grand spectacle," March 7th remarked with emotion.

"After all, it is the first major ceremony since Jarilo-VI regained its new life, so it's only natural for it to be held on a grand scale," Dan Heng said. "Besides, this will also help Bronya establish her prestige."

"Regardless, a dead, silent planet regaining its life is something worth celebrating," Stelle agreed.

In front of the Everwinter Monument, Bronya attended the inauguration ceremony dressed in her formal attire.

Standing on the high platform, Bronya wore a smile and spoke in a steady, composed tone, "Everyone, I am Bronya, the new Supreme Guardian of Belobog."

As the ceremony began, a round of applause that lasted for a long time erupted from the crowd below.

Bronya raised her hand in a gesture to calm the crowd. "I understand the excitement you all feel at this moment. The changes Jarilo-VI has undergone are so unexpected that everyone fears this beautiful sight might be fleeting, and that tomorrow we might once again fall into an endless winter."

Bronya's tone suddenly became impassioned. "Please, do not continue to hold such thoughts. Standing here, I, Bronya, can guarantee to you all that the ice and snow have been dispelled, and the cold winter shall return no more."

"And for all of this, we must thank the Nameless of the Astral Express. It was they who worked with us to destroy the Stellaron. Afterward, the Emanator of [Hope] was moved by the persistence of the Architects over these past few hundred years, unable to bear watching Belobog continue to struggle in the ice and snow."

"Thus, the Emanator wielded divine power, using infinite might to melt the ice and snow, allowing this planet to welcome a new beginning."

Listening to Bronya's words on the stage, March 7th turned her head away, her cheeks flushed a rare shade of red, and whispered to Stelle, "Ahem, Bronya is praising us so much that I'm starting to feel a little embarrassed."

"I'm different; praise us more, keep praising us," Stelle teased.

Watching this scene, Dan Heng shook his head helplessly from the side.

On the stage, Bronya's speech continued, "Just today, we have finally bid farewell to the endless winter and welcomed the hope that belongs to us, to Belobog, and to Jarilo-VI." Bronya's voice was impassioned and firm, as if it could pierce through the soul of every person present.

"There may still be countless obstacles ahead that we need to overcome, but I believe that just as the cold winter has finally passed, and just as Jarilo-VI has finally welcomed a new life, our future will surely be filled with light and hope. We will use our own strength to create a brilliant tomorrow that belongs to us."

Bronya performed a gesture of invitation toward the crowd. "Finally, I, Bronya Rand, ask of you all: please join me in the days to come. Let us work together to offer our own strength for the revival of Belobog."