When Bronya pushed open the door and came in, Cocolia's tone was still full of concern for her:
Bronya, my child, did you rest well?
"I'm fine, really fine. I ran around the Underworld and went through a few battles, but overall I managed."
" Underworld?"
Cocolia fell silent for a moment, then her tone suddenly turned icy.
[Look... Cocolia, aren't you going to take action yet... Your daughter has betrayed you... Without her, [ Eternity ] would never look down upon you...]
The seductive voice appeared again, and upon closer listening, it also carried a strange laugh.
[To find... to pursue the new world we've built together... the plan is already halfway there... we can't afford any more mistakes...]
"Ah... I understand." Cocolia's face also froze.
"Then report back to me what you've seen and heard, Commander Bronya."
"Mother... you've always known the truth about the Stellaron, haven't you?"
"I will one day come into contact with that knowledge. One of the prices to pay for becoming a [ Supreme Guardian ] is to forever bear these secrets."
"So... excuse my offense, but I believe that ordering the extermination of outsiders was a mistake, even to the point of vilifying them as villains of the [ Eternity ]... The Supreme Guardian's choice should not have been so foolish."
" The Architects have waited hundreds of years to solve the problems caused by the Stellaron, and these few might just be..."
"Enough!"
Cocolia interrupted her, annoyed:
"Arrogance, ignorance... You disappoint me, Bronya. You've only glimpsed a corner of the snow-capped mountain, yet you think you've seen the truth."
"You only got splashed with mud on the lower level, and you dare to question my orders? Your rebuttal is completely unreasonable!"
"The outsiders were just putting on a facade for you; I didn't expect you to believe them so easily!"
[ Cocolia... Cocolia... Break free from the corrupt past... Embrace [ Destruction ]...]
A faint sound rang out.
Cocolia froze, feeling that this voice was more like the Stellaron.
She rubbed her forehead; the voices that had been swirling in her mind these past few days were so chaotic that she couldn't tell who was who. One moment they were saying " Eternity," and the next they were saying " Destruction."
Seriously, they clearly worship [ Preservation ] Qlipoth, so why are they mentioning all sorts of other Aeon?!
"They're not mud!" Bronya retorted.
"My past, the things you never told me... I remember them all now. I won't run away anymore, Guardian! Please stop giving me vague excuses!"
"Tell me what you saw. What are you hiding... Why send the Silvermane Guards to their deaths in the Fragmentum? Why abandon the people of the Underworld? Why change your mind at that crucial moment?"
[Foolish ruler... let her see the new world constructed by [ Eternity ]... she will understand...]
"I understand." Cocolia calmed herself and shook her head.
"This moment was bound to come sooner or later... I just didn't expect it to come so soon." She walked slowly to Bronya's side.
"You want to know what drove me to issue those orders... right? You feel ready to uncover the truth?"
"Yes. I'm ready... Mother." After a moment's hesitation, Bronya changed her address back to "Mother."
Although the image of her in her Remembrance has faded, Cocolia is still the mother who raised her.
"Then come with me, Bronya. This dying world... it's time for you to hear its voice."
As soon as she finished speaking, two voices echoed in Bronya's mind.
[Come... come... follow her, and you will know everything... then... you will make your choice...]
Upon first encountering the sound of the Stellaron, Bronya's thoughts were instantly thrown into chaos. She could hardly imagine how the Guardians, including her mother, had managed to get through it all.
Thump!
As Hong Wei's bell rang, all the noise from the Stellaron was cleared away. Bronya came to her senses and heard the sound of quicksand being transformed by the bone flute, echoing endlessly.
[ Eternity for a thousand years... lasting forever]
"Huh?" Bronya was stunned. This was a sound she had never heard before, even more wondrous than the sensation brought by the Stellaron.
"What are you still hesitating about? Bronya, didn't you say you were ready?"
After passing through the Gate of Myriad Paths, the four-person team led by Ye Yan safely arrived at the Administrative District.
"Ah, we're finally back! We've all forgotten what fresh air tastes like..." Regaining their sight, March 7th stretched and enjoyed the view, completely forgetting their current predicament.
"The taste of freedom... the taste of the Upper District... the taste of cold... um... it's a bit chilly, let's go."
"Where should we go next? We'd better find a place to stay first, but I definitely can't go back to the Goethe Hotel."
Unpleasant Remembrance flooded back to March 7th, but thanks to Ye Yan's protection, she avoided unnecessary trouble.
"The most dangerous place is the safest place. I suggest we go back to the hotel." Xing continued to play steadily, though she missed the plush pillows and beds at the Goethe Hotel.
Seele didn't understand these things, and on March 7th she looked at Ye Yan: " Teacher Ye Yan, what do you think?"
"I want to watch it lying down."
"Sigh~ Teacher Ye Yan has become so abstract, I'm starting to miss Dan Heng." March 7th sighed helplessly, "I can't get him to cooperate."
"Achoo! Wait, isn't this weather a bit off?"
On March 7th, I shivered. What happened? Had the power of [ Trailblaze ] and the blessing of [ Eternity ] both failed?
"Don't say it out loud, it's making me a little cold too..." Xing rubbed her hands together, trying to warm them up.
"Is there such a big temperature difference between the upper Underworld?" Seele regretted not wearing more clothes.
"Sigh~ I always envy Teacher Ye Yan at times like this. He's not afraid of the cold or the heat, it's too much." March 7th cast an envious glance at Ye Yan, and Xing suggested from the side:
"When are you going to open a sharing mode so we can all enjoy it too?"
"Huh, what are you talking about?" Seele didn't understand; the language sounded both rough and sophisticated to her.
"Have we gone off-topic? In my opinion, we should go and find the source of this cold air." Ye Yan pointed to the [ Neverending ] mechanical house not far away.
"Great idea! Let's go to the machine shop and find Serval first!"
With Ye Yan's protection, they were all invisible and had no worries about being discovered by the patrolling Silvermane Guards. They swaggered to the front of the machine shop.
The moment Ye Yan pushed open the door, the protective aura surrounding everyone was broken, and he saw a face that was both incredibly familiar and strange.
"Welcome, hmm?"
At this moment, he and Fulisina were staring at each other, their eyes locked.
"Forehead..."
This world-renowned [ Eternity ] Aeon is now suffering from an indelible silence debuff.
"Hey, Teacher Ye Yan, why aren't you saying anything? Where are the Serval people?" March 7th, who came in later, looked left and right before noticing the new faces.
"Whoa! When did you appear!" March 7th exclaimed in surprise. Xing greeted her very politely.
"Hello, I'm Galactic Baseballer."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the penalty area front line...
Dan Heng's gaze swept over Blake. "It really was you."