"Ah, I won't be going with you."
Ye Yan stepped behind the others. "Good luck, you three. Remember to have a proper talk with the Supreme Guardian, and don't say anything strange."
"Huh? You're not coming with us, Teacher Ye Yan?"
Ye Yan shook his head. He had a vague sense of foreboding.
Ever since arriving on this planet, Ye Yan had sensed a subtle change in the Stellaron.
According to research by Herta, number 83 of the Genius Society, Stellarons were special substances with unique mechanisms that connected to a certain Path or an Aeon's power.
They responded to their worlds' desire to advance civilization, but the fulfillment of those wishes always took the form of some disaster, very likely connected to Nanook the Destruction.
Seven hundred years ago, the first Supreme Guardian, Alisa Rand, had made a wish to the Stellaron, easing the Antimatter Legion's relentless assault.
As for how it had delayed them, that was naturally through the Eternal Freeze.
Stellarons could also be considered life-forms. The Stellaron on Jarilo-VI was the best example: it tried to beguile every Supreme Guardian.
Unfortunately, the eighteenth Supreme Guardian, Cocolia, was a counterexample, having now been successfully brainwashed by the Stellaron.
It was understandable. Belobog had resisted desperately for over seven hundred years, each year more hopeless than the last. Now, the Fragmentum's corrosion had already spread into the city.
If nothing was done, the only ending awaiting this planet was destruction.
And now... this Stellaron seemed to have undergone a subtle change because of Ye Yan's arrival.
Most importantly, Ye Yan did not want to be wanted by the guards first thing tomorrow morning, so he chose not to follow them.
"Don't go wandering off. Be good and wait right here until we come back."
Stelle reminded him, putting on the air of an elder.
"Hey, hey, hey! How can you treat Teacher Ye Yan like a child? You've got the generations all mixed up!"
March 7th gestured critically from the side, while Dan Heng chose silence.
Making fun of an old man over a thousand years old was indeed something Stelle would do.
"All right, then... Ye Yan, is there anything else you'd like me to pass on to the Supreme Guardian?"
Stelle put on another sorrowful expression, her eyes lowered and the corners of her mouth turned down slightly, her face filled with endless grief.
"Don't make it sound like my last words!"
"Let me think... put in a few good words for the Aeon of [Eternity] in front of her!"
Gepard waited quietly nearby, marveling inwardly at how the four interstellar travelers interacted.
"Everyone, may I take you to see the Supreme Guardian now?"
"Time to go."
Dan Heng followed him, with March 7th and Stelle close behind. The remaining soldiers also left, escorting Sampo away and leaving Ye Yan as the lone god there.
"Busy. Being busy is good..." Ye Yan blurted out. There was still some time before the others returned, so he decided to look around first and visit the Stellaron once everything was settled.
Not far away, a woman in a Silvermane Guards uniform was surrounded by children. He might as well join the crowd there.
Ye Yan walked up to the Everwinter Monument. He had to admit that the landmark's design really suited the Upper District and did not look out of place at all.
Long, long ago, the Mourning Actors had visited Jarilo-VI.
At the time, the Stellaron had yet to be activated, and the Eternal Freeze had not arrived. Only the Antimatter Legion's flames of war fell mercilessly upon this fragile planet.
They had departed before the Antimatter Legion discovered them, leaving behind only a silent elegy and a beautiful kind of stone, which was now mixed with Geomarrow in the Everwinter Monument built by the Architects.
Ye Yan hoped the children of the church could learn from this and add some famous buildings to Car Wash Planet, allowing it to develop its tourism industry better and attract more interstellar visitors.
Car Wash Planet could not just wash cars. Besides, it was the church's headquarters. How embarrassing it would be if word got out.
Silver Wolf seemed to have mentioned that a statue of the Aeon of [Eternity] stood at the very center of the church. That should count as a landmark.
A statue of himself... what would it look like?
Ye Yan rubbed his chin. He was quite curious about what sort of statue that child Blake would build.
Surely it wouldn't be a bar of soap...
Hmm, better not think about that.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm an intelligence officer with the Silvermane Guards and the temporary guide for the [Belobog History Tour], Pelageya Sergeyevna. You can just call me Pela."
"Big~ Sis~ Pe~la~" the children surrounding Pela called out.
"Ah, it's good to be young..." Ye Yan sighed from the side. Childhood dreams were the most precious.
Whatever happened, he certainly would not call her Big Sis Pela. He was not that child Stelle.
"Big~ Sis~ Pe~la~"
A male voice suddenly rang out. Pela, standing in the middle, raised her head to look at Ye Yan and stared at him with distaste.
"...Would certain adults please refrain from imitating children as though nothing were wrong!" She cleared her throat and began introducing the Everwinter Monument to the children around her:
"Children, look here: this is the [Everwinter Monument]. It was erected to commemorate the great Architects..."
Ye Yan froze for a moment. Why did that voice sound like his own?
Then he realized something and immediately looked up at the sky. Sure enough, there was a faint, flickering phantom of a mask!
Ye Yan: ...
His mouth twitched. No matter where he went, Aha would secretly follow him. This was no longer a peeping tom-this was a fucking stalker!
"The Architects are followers of the Aeon Qlipoth. They encountered the crisis, built towering walls, founded Belobog, and preserved the spark of human civilization. Even today, they still govern this city."
"The Everwinter Monument consists of two parts: a gear symbolizing knowledge and industrial power, and a giant ice crystal symbolizing the Eternal Freeze."
"These two symbols are tightly interlocked, with the gear restraining the frost, representing the Architects' spirit of refusing to submit to untamed nature."
"That concludes the introduction. Do any of you children have questions~?"
"Ah, adults can ask questions too." Pela's gaze fell on Ye Yan. If she was not mistaken, he was one of the otherworldly travelers Captain Gepard had just brought in.
She had no idea what he was thinking, not going with his companions to meet Lady Cocolia.
But... since he was an outsider, she wondered how much he knew about Belobog's history.
As an intelligence officer, Pela felt it necessary to uncover this group's purpose in coming here, doing her part for the Supreme Guardian and Commander Bronya.
"The Architects... those followers of Qlipoth really are oddballs. They see him constantly building walls and follow suit. Some even want to help him build walls for the sake of universal peace and realizing his vision of [Preservation]. I don't know what to say."
"Qlipoth's fanatical followers go to all sorts of lengths to purchase materials for building walls and offer them to him, but Qlipoth doesn't even spare them a glance. Ah~ if only that work ethic could be directed toward developing the church."
"Church? Is it a faction like the [Deep Blue Scam Victims' Mutual Aid Association]?"
Pela had heard a somewhat familiar term. Belobog had no sales organizations, only that cross-dressing crook who had swindled countless people.
"Oh, you mean Sampo... wasn't that guy already taken away by Gepard?"
"Huh?"
In Kliperburg, Cocolia held her forehead as the voices in her mind grew numerous and clamorous.
[Cocolia... rebuild this dying world... for the new world...]
[Cocolia... embrace Eternity... Eternity is the foundation of the new world. Go to him!]
[He is coming. He is coming too... they are all coming!]
[Spirit... Engine of Creation... at Everwinter Hill... everything will be reborn.]
[Before rebirth... destruction is inevitable...]
"Supreme Guardian, I have brought three outsiders to see you."
Gepard's resounding voice came from nearby, and the voices in Cocolia's mind abruptly stopped.
"Well done... Gepard, you may leave for now."
Only after Gepard left did Cocolia raise her head and examine the three members of the Astral Express Crew.
There was nothing visibly unusual about the other two, but this Little Grey Hair looked rather special, especially her clothes... she was not even wearing fleece-lined pants in such cold weather. She really could withstand the cold.
"Ahem! Welcome, visitors from beyond the sky. I am Cocolia Rand, Belobog's Supreme Guardian. I am here to hear the purpose of your visit."
"Hello." Stelle took the initiative to greet her.
"Wow, you're not even curious about us being visitors from beyond the sky!"
March 7th was very surprised. This Supreme Guardian really was something else, unlike those soldiers earlier who had suspected them.
"I can tell you are not from this world. The [Architects] remember history so that we may remain steadfast in our convictions. I know that in the distant past, before the Eternal Freeze descended and before the Antimatter Legion invaded, this world was once incomparably prosperous..."
"The Aeons connected our planet to other worlds. We learned of the countless possibilities in the vast galaxy and heard of Qlipoth, the [Amber Lord]. Under his gaze, we began building walls."
"So there is no need to be surprised. Although the Architects have received no news from the stars for seven hundred years, I know of your existence."
"Tell me why you have come. I'm listening."
After hearing Cocolia finish, Stelle stepped forward, and an ominous feeling immediately rose in Dan Heng's and March 7th's hearts.
"Madam, would you be willing to acknowledge that the Aeon of [Eternity] possesses peerless beauty, enough to make fish sink and geese fall from the sky?"