Chapter 4: Preservation
Bronya, Seele and Osrelios all arrived at Boulder Town.
Once they got there, they headed over to Natasha's clinic after Oz dismissed Odd-Eyes back to the Spirit Realm.
Once they got to Natasha's clinic, they handed over the supplies.
Once that was done, they met up with March and Dan Heng, who were conversing with Oleg.
"Oh, there you are." March said as she saw Oz.
"Sorry for not saying anything. Bronya, Seele and I went to an old settlement called Rivet Town to pick up some medical supplies for Natasha."
"Really? Well then, it's fine. You were just helping people out." March said.
"Good to see you three." Oleg stated. "We were just discussing plans on confronting Svarog."
"If we can confront him and get information, we can possibly find out just what has been going on." Oz commented. "Maybe he knows about why Wicked God Energy has shown up."
"Did you encounter it again?" Dan Heng asked.
"Kinda. While in Rivet Town, I sensed the energy again, but couldn't find the source."
Oz then clenched a fist. "Whichever Wicked God is here causing trouble will receive judgement."
Seele then put a hand on his shoulder. "Easy there war veteran. Our priority is confronting Svarog."
Oz then calmed down.
"War Veteran?" Dan Heng questioned.
"A story for another time." Oz stated.
The group continued the discussion and eventually, the Astral Express Crew plus Bronya and Seele were to find a guide to the Robot Settlement.
When they got to the area that they were supposed to find the guide, the first thing they saw was one of the children that Oz and March played hide-and-seek with: Hook.
They were confused, thinking that Hook was their guide.
Their real guide was standing next to Hook. It was Sampo.
Everyone immediately deadpanned at the idea of Sampo being their guide.
"What's with the looks?" Sampo asked.
Oz then sighed. "Let's just get this over with."
Sampo led the group to the edge of Boulder Town.
When they got their, Bronya and Seele turned to Oz.
Oz immediately understood. "Oh, sure."
Oz then pulled out multiple cards.
He placed the cards on his duel disk and summoned the Spirits.
The summoned Spirits are as follows: Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon, Dark Anthelion Dragon, Clear Wing Fast Dragon, Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon, and finally Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon.
March immediately understood. "I call dibs on Odd-Eyes!"
She then ran and hopped onto Odd-Eyes.
Seele smirked. "I call the one next to it!"
She then ran to Dark Anthelion.
Bronya rolled her eyes and walked up to Azure-Eyes.
Dan Heng sighed and walked over to Clear Wing.
Oz then jumped and landed on Tachyon.
Oz then patted Tachyon's head and pointed at Sampo. "Grab him."
Tachyon then grabbed Sampo with his mouth.
"Hey! My fine fellow, put me down!" Sampo shouted.
"Not happening. I know you'll try to pull a fast one on us so Tachyon here will be keeping you in check."
Oz then gave Tachyon a pat. "Now... which way?"
The group have gotten to the Robot Settlement, and hopped off their dragons.
March gave Odd-Eyes a big hug. "You were great! Thank you so much!"
Dan Heng got down and put a hand on Clear Wing. "Good girl."
Oz raised an eyebrow. "How'd you know Clear Wing is female? You're right, but how'd you know?"
"... Intuition." Dan Heng answered.
"... right." Oz said, dragging out the word.
Seele jumped off of Anthelion. "That was cool. Definitely more my style, rather than Odd-Eyes."
Bronya gently got off Azure-Eyes. She then turned to Azure-Eyes. "I am grateful."
Azure-Eyes responded by pushing his head against Bronya.
Oz then smiled. "Azure-Eyes likes you. That's interesting."
Bronya put a hand to Azure-Eyes' head. "How so?"
"Azure-Eyes is known for being cold, in more ways than one. Not only does he have ice based power, seeing as his natural habitat is a snowy mountain top, but he also is normally known for being cold hearted to those he doesn't trust. So him being kind to you is interesting as he isn't quick to trust."
"Oh. Well then, I guess I'm lucky." Bronya commented as she patted Azure-Eyes some more.
Oz then hopped off Tachyon.
"Thanks for the lift bud. Alright, you dragons deserve some rest."
Oz then dismissed the dragons, which caused Sampo to fall flat onto the ground.
"Alright scammer, show us how to get in." Oz said.
"Ah... About that." Sampo said as he got up.
"You don't know how to get in do you?" March questioned with a narrow-eyed look.
"I never said that I ever got in, just that I have had a look around."
Oz then put a hand to his face. "Useless."
Oz then turned to the others. "Time to wing it, I suppose."
"Luckily, winging it is how us Trailblazers roll!" March cheered enthusiastically.
The group then walked towards the settlement, and walked past a bunch of people grouped together in camps.
They then came across a closed gate.
Oz poked around and didn't find a latch, he then turned his attention to a nearby terminal.
Oz was inspecting the terminal when he heard March say something.
"Open Sesame!"
Oz looked up and turned his head towards her.
"Is that some sort of secret code?" Bronya asked, confused.
"It's something that children like to say. They tend to think it's a magic word that can open any door or gate." Oz explained.
Oz then turned his attention back to the terminal.
"Have you found something Oz?" Bronya asked.
"This terminal appears to control the gate. However, it appears to run off of a scanner that detects identification markings. Meaning that we would have to get these markings in order to proceed."
"Well then, let's go get that identification!" March cheered.
The group then walked away from the gate, searching for any robots that give out identification.
They found one, which asked them a question. Once they gathered information to get the question right, the robot asked them to present a hand.
March didn't think and presented her own hand. The robot then proceeded to mark her hand, which caused her to yelp.
March rubbed her hand where the marking was.
Oz peered over her shoulder, looking at the mark. "I'll figure out a way to remove that later."
They then find another robot and had to gather more information to answer a question.
When they answered correctly, March had to present her hand again and get marked.
They then seemed out a third robot, which they found.
The robot was malfunctioning and tried to attack them.
Before it, or anyone could move, Oz zapped it with electricity, causing it to automatically reboot.
The others looked at him. "What? I'm saving time."
The robot immediately rebooted and was ready to give the final identification mark.
March had to go through the not-that-painful process of getting the final mark.
Once they got all three marks, they went back to the terminal and had it scan March.
The terminal then glowed and the gate opened.
They walked down the path... only to be stopped by another gate.
The robot that was waiting nearby told them that if they wanted to go further, they would need Clara's approval.
Sighing, they ask where Clara was, the robot stated that she was over in Rivet Town.
"She's over there again? Hopefully she hasn't run into trouble." Oz commented.
"Do we seriously have to go all the way back over there?" Seele complained.
"Maybe not all of us." Oz stated. "I'll be right back."
Oz then summoned Tachyon and took off, fast.
"Wha- Hey!" Seele shouted as Oz took off.
"Looks like we'll have to wait." Bronya stated.
With Oz, he made it over to Rivet Town in record time.
He then spotted a Fragmentum monster and Clara... uh oh.
What made it worse is that the Fragmentum monster is surrounded by a Wicked God aura.
Oz acted quickly and got in front of Clara at high speed.
He then used Raviel's power to send the Fragmentum monster flying back.
Once the monster was far enough, Oz issued a command. "Tachyon Spiral of Destruction!"
Tachyon then fired off its attack at full force. The attack tore through the aura and killed the monster.
Oz then turned around. "Clara! Are you okay!?"
Clara then hugged him. "Big Brother!"
Oz hugged her back. "It's okay. I'm here. You are safe."
Oz then saw Kuriboh fly out from behind Clara.
"I see that Kuriboh has been keeping you company."
"Yeah, he has! He's been really friendly." Clara stated.
Oz then let go of Clara and knelt down to her level.
"Clara, I need you to do me a favor."
"What is is Big Brother?" Clara asked.
"I need to talk to Svarog. There's been some evil energy that has shown up more than once, the same energy that was surrounding the monster that attacked you. I want to talk to Svarog to see if he knows anything about the energy."
"You think Mr. Svarog knows about that weird energy?"
"He's been around for a while hasn't he? I'm not one hundred percent sure that he knows, but it's worth a shot. That energy is really, really bad, and can only bring harm."
Clara appeared to be in thought.
After a minute she spoke up. "Okay. I'll let you see Mr. Svarog."
Oz smiled. He placed a hand on Clara's head. "Thanks Clara."
Tachyon then flew over and landed, bending down to allow Oz and Clara to climb on.
Once the two did, Oz held onto Clara tightly as Tachyon took off.
The two got back to the Robot Settlement in record time.
When they got there, they saw the others waiting by the first gate.
Once they got to them, Oz picked up Clara and jumped off Tachyon.
Oz set Clara down and dismissed Tachyon.
"You're back! Finally!" Seele exclaimed.
"Oh hush. I was gone for 5 minutes."
Clara then noticed the rest. "Why are they here?"
"They have questions of their own that they want to ask. They're with me, so there's no need to worry." Oz explained.
"... okay Big Brother."
Clara then led them all over to the second gate they encountered.
Clara asked the robot guarding the gate to let them through, which it did.
Once they got there, they walked to where Svarog was.
The group then began to ask Svarog about the Stellaron, to which they were immediately denied.
Oz tried to reason with Svarog, only for Svarog to deny any attempt at telling them about the Stellaron.
Svarog immediately got hostile.
Seeing as Svarog was about to attack, Oz turned to Clara. "Clara, please go hide. Things are about to get dangerous."
"Please don't hurt Mr. Svarog too much." Clara pleaded.
"I promise."
Clara seemed to be satisfied with his answer and ran off to the side.
Oz and the others got ready to fight Svarog.
Oz looked at them and noticed the lack of a certain scammer.
"Sampo is missing again." Oz stated.
"Seriously!?" March exclaimed.
"No time to worry about him. Focus." Dan Heng said.
Svarog then sent out a barrage of missiles at the group.
Thinking quickly, Oz activated a trap card.
"Go! Magic Cylinder!"
The cylinders appeared and one created a vortex that took in all of the missiles.
The other cylinder immediately shot them back out at Svarog.
Svarog then leapt out of the way.
"What the..." Oz said, seeing Svarog's movements.
He did not suspect a machine from the mortal realm that is incredibly old to be able to move like that.
Oz then surrounded his limbs with electricity and charged.
"Here's a combo move. Shimmering Skyfire!"
Oz used Raviel's power to give him a boost.
He then hit Svarog with a powerful uppercut.
When the uppercut hit, lightning discharged from Oz.
Svarog was launched back from the attack.
When he landed on the ground he looked straight at Oz, his mechanical eye glowing brighter.
"Individual threat level: 278%. Priority target locked."
Svarog then focused on Oz.
Missiles flew in from around the area, all aiming at Oz.
Oz continued to dodge them, moving forward in the process.
Before Oz knew it, Svarog was in front of him and grabbed him.
Svarog lifted him up and began to punch Oz in the face repeatedly.
"Oz!" Seele and Bronya shouted.
Due to the power and speed behind the punches, Oz could barely think.
He was starting to lose consciousness.
As Svarog pulled back his fist to hit Oz once again, a wind bullet flew in and hit him in the head, causing him to lurch a bit.
Bronya and Seele can charging in, Seele swung Bronya forward, allowing her to swing her weapon and hit Svarog with the blade of her bayonet.
Bronya's feet touched the ground and she swung Seele forward. Seele swung her scythe and struck Svarog, forcing him to let go of Oz.
Holding his face, Oz stood up. There was some blood leaking from his nose and mouth.
"If that's how you want to play..."
A red, blue, and yellow aura surrounded Oz before the colors began to swirl together.
Oz' eyes went blue yellow and red, as usual when he uses his Sacred Beast powers, but this time they were glowing more fiercely.
"... Let's see how you handle the power of the Chaos Phantasm."
Oz charged forward with speed even greater than before. He was immediately in front of Svarog and struck him hard with a punch, sending Svarog flying.
Svarog got up and had missiles be fired at Oz.
Oz only began to walk forward, letting the missiles hit him.
The missiles didn't get past the aura surrounding him.
Oz had a fierce look in his eyes.
His eyes looked to the side where he saw Clara watching the fight.
His eyes softened, and the aura surrounding him dissipated.
His eyes then turned back to their normal brown.
'No... I can't let loose if there is a child near. She'll be too scared.'
Oz then jumped back, avoiding a punch from Svarog.
Oz then summoned his weapon and leapt backwards and landed in between Bronya and Seele.
"I'm going to try something and I need the two of you to trust me." Oz said.
"You got it." Seele said.
"I trust you." Bronya replied.
Oz smiled. He then let some of his Stellaron energy flow out and surround the three of them.
As the energy flowed between them, they charged.
The three of them moved in synch.
Bronya fired a bullet, which hit Svarog.
Oz turned his weapon into a scythe and began to swing it at Svarog, with Seele swinging hers as well.
The two would swing from the other's blind spots, leaving no openings.
They then jumped back and Bronya kept forward, stabbing front with her bayonet.
They then finished with a triple attack, Oz and Seele swinging diagonally, and Bronya swinging vertically.
The attack caused Svarog to suffer a heavy hit, but he still remained strong.
Svarog then commanded a ton of missiles to rain down on the whole group.
Once the smoke that accompanied the missiles cleared, the whole group were looking worse for wear.
"Did you really think it was proper of you to go into battle without a doctor on site?" A familiar voice run out.
They turned and saw Natasha there.
"Sampo gave me the run down. Figured you'd need some healing."
She then turned her attention to Oz. "Looks like I was right."
Green energy gathered in Natasha's hand.
She then waved her hand and the green energy flew to Oz.
Oz' wounds began to heal rapidly.
Oz felt his face and could barely feel the pain.
He then smiled. "Thanks for the healing."
Oz faced towards Svarog and had his weapon turn into a sword.
Oz charged at Svarog, dodging attacks that were thrown his way.
He then jumped into the air and imbued his sword with electricity.
He swung his sword in an arc, and sent out an arc-shaped beam of electricity at Svarog.
Svarog dodged it, but Oz wasn't letting up.
He appeared behind Svarog and coated his leg in electricity.
He kicked forward and hit Svarog in the back.
Oz jumped up and was about to strike Svarog again, when he noticed that Natasha pulled out her weapon... A grenade launcher.
'That weapon is the exact opposite of who she is of personality and of profession.'
Oz used Uria's fire to get himself out of the way.
Natasha then fired a grenade from her weapon, hurting Svarog.
Oz then charged a small amount of Armityle's power into his arm.
He held it out and fired a blast of chaotic divine energy at Svarog. The energy hit.
Svarog was downed.
Natasha then aimed her weapon at Svarog, ready to fire.
"It's over Svarog."
She then pulled the trigger.
Before the blast could hit Svarog, a barrier blocked the attack.
Oz recognized it as Negate Attack.
Clara and her Kuriboh, got in front of Svarog.
Clara was holding the device Oz gave her back in Rivet Town.
"Please don't hurt Mr. Svarog anymore!" She pleaded.
Natasha lowered her weapon.
"Cla...ra." Svarog said, voice glitching.
Clara turned to Svarog. "Please Mr. Svarog, tell them what they want to know."
Svarog seemed to be hesitant.
"You said that you'd do anything to make me happy. Right now, I'll be the happiest if you tell them."
Kuriboh began to bounce around in the air, Oz could tell it was agreeing with her.
Bronya leaned towards Oz. "Isn't that..."
"A Kuriboh? Yes. I gave it to Clara so she could have a companion at any time."
Bronya gave a small smile. "That's sweet of you."
Oz then walked up to Svarog.
He opened his catalog and took out a spell card, Cyber Repair Plant.
He used its power.
Svarog was instantly fully repaired.
Svarog checked himself over. "Running diagnostics... Diagnostics complete. Unit is 100% operational."
Svarog then stood up. "Why did you repair me?"
"We are not here to fight. We just want some answers."
"... Very well."
Svarog began to play several audio logs. Each one from a different point in time.
From these audio logs, they found out that the Supreme Guardian from around the time where the Stellaron first appeared had ordered for any information about the Stellaron to be kept from the public. That was 700 years ago.
Once Svarog was done playing the audio logs, Bronya couldn't help but feel conflicted.
When Svarog was done, Oz walked up to him again.
"Svarog. I have a different question that I need answers for."
Svarog's attention was on him.
"Lately I've been seeing a purple aura surrounding robots and monsters alike. That aura comes from a type of energy that corrupts anything it touches. How long has this energy been around?"
Svarog seemed to be in thought.
"My scanners have not picked up any strange energy readings until recently. There is no evidence that this energy has been around for any time longer than this week."
Oz breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. Which ever Wicked God that is causing the energy hasn't been around for long."
Oz stepped back, and then noticed the look on Bronya's face.
He walked up to her. "The truth must have been really hard to hear."
She turned at faced him. "It... is."
Oz then placed a hand on her shoulder. "Remember what I said before. I'm here for you."
Bronya then smiled. "Thank you, Oz."
It wasn't long before Natasha approached the group and ended up revealing that she was the real leader of Wildfire.
Oz wasn't too surprised by that information.
After everything calmed down, the members of Wildfire, as well as the Astral Express Crew and Bronya all left for Boulder Town.
The Astral Express Crew all went to get some sleep. Oz was needing it more than the other two.
The next day, Oz March and Dan Heng all woke up and met up outside the Inn.
They then walked to an alleyway that held Seele, Oleg and Sampo.
Oleg noticed them. "Well, if it isn't the bane of Svarog himself: Osrelios! As well as his two companions March 7th and Dan Heng."
"Was that rehearsed?" March asked.
"Where's Natasha?" Dan Heng asked.
"She's still busy with work. Being a doctor and the leader of Wildfire is hard work. So you're gonna have to talk to this old man instead... Sorry about not telling you guys about who the real leader of Wildfire is."
"It's fine." Oz stated. "Natasha said it herself. 'In a world such as this, you don't know who to trust.'"
"Right. Anyway, she sends her regards and hopes the trip back to the Overworld goes smoothly."
Oz then looked around. "Where's Bronya?"
Seele then spoke up. "She actually went ahead to the Overworld. She had business with the Supreme Guardian."
Oz took in the information. "I can't tell if that's foolish or smart."
"Honestly I can't either." Seele admitted.
Sampo then spoke up. "If you want to follow her, you only need to give me the word. I'll escort you to the Overworld."
Oz then gave him a small glare. "Try anything and no Aeon will save you from my wrath."
Sampo then had a nervous look. "No need for the hostility my friend. I'll lead you four up, no tricks, no catches."
Sampo then led the Astral Express Crew and Seele to a secret passage between the Overworld and Underworld.
Once they got to the Overworld and into Belabog, Oz took notice of Sampo's absence. He dismissed it quickly.
Quickly formulating a plan, they headed over to the repair shop that belonged to Serval Landaou. They figured that she could help them.
They quickly got her on their side. Before they could leave her shop, they could hear someone trying to get into the shop.
Oz ushered Dan Heng March and Seele behind a corner and pulled out a card from his catalog.
He activated the spell Illusion Magic to make the four of them invisible.
The person at the door was Gepard, which would make sense considering that he is Serval's brother.
Gepard entered the shop, claiming to be looking for something of his.
Serval was nervous, but was able to get Gepard out without raising suspicion.
Serval looked around the corner for the others only to not see them.
Suddenly they appeared out of thin air as Oz was holding Illusion Magic in his hand.
"What the!?" Serval exclaimed.
"Invisibility trick I picked up a while back during my first adventure." Oz explained.
Once Serval got over her shock, she agreed to lead them to where the Stellaron was most likely located: past Belabog's Restricted Zone.
Once they got there, they saw a group of guards.
Serval managed to convince them that she was there to fix a machine, and that the others were her assistants.
Once they got in, they had to dodge any incoming guards.
Upon reaching a really large gear, they had to find a way to gain control of it.
There was a control terminal not too far, they got there and found the gate locked.
Seeing as they were running thin on time, Oz stepped up to the lock of the gate.
Oz held out his pointer and middle fingers and aimed them at the gate.
Fire jetted out from his fingers, in a concentrated stream that cut right through the lock.
"Those powers really do come in handy don't they?" Seele commented.
Oz opened the gate. "They sure do."
Serval then quickly began working on taking over the terminal.
Once she was done, the group went back to the giant gear and had it shift to be the correct position for them to continue forward.
After some more navigation and avoiding Silvermane Guards, they came up to a checkpoint.
When they tried to get past the checkpoint, Gepard was there to call them out.
Serval tried to convince him to let them through, but Gepard was too stubborn.
In the end they had to fight him.
Any attack March shot at him was blocked by his shield, and same went for any attack Dan Heng tried to hit him with.
Serval's attacks were a little bit less conventional, seeing as she sent out lightning by strumming a guitar.
Seeing as the others couldn't really do much against Gepard, Oz and Seele share a nod.
The two start running around him, trying to confuse him.
The two were blurs, which Gepard was having a difficult time trying to focus on.
Suddenly Oz appeared in front of Gepard, aiming a Raviel powered punch at him.
Gepard blocks the attack, but stumbled backwards due to the force.
Seele appeared behind him and used her scythe to trip him.
As Gepard was falling backwards, Seele jumped out of the way, and Oz delivered another Raviel powered punch.
The punch hit Gepard on the chest.
Oz followed through with his punch and drove Gepard into the ground.
Gepard tried to get back up, but he couldn't find the energy.
Serval then tried to reason with him again, which ended up working out.
He agreed to let them through.
When the gate that led to Everwinter Hill, the location of the Stellaron, was opened, Fragmentum monsters began to pour out.
Everyone there began to fight against the Fragmentum.
Once the horse of monsters were dealt with, Serval decided to stay back and help Gepard and the Silvermane Guards defend the city.
The Astral Express Crew plus Seele ran ahead.
On their way to Everwinter Hill, they encountered physical memories made by the Fragmentum.
The memories were of Bronya and Cocolia having a discussion on their way to the Stellaron.
Eventually they ran into a Fragmentum creation of Cocolia.
Between the four of them, they disposed of the fake quick.
They continued forward, finally reaching Everwinter Hill.
They ran up the stairs leading to the top, on their way they see the hand of a giant automaton.
Once they got to the top, they saw Bronya on the ground, holding her head in pain.
Oz could tell that Jarilo-VI's Stellaron was trying to influence her.
Oz wouldn't have that. Thinking quickly, he gathers Stellaron energy into his hand, and mixed it with Spirit energy.
"Disruption Wave!" Oz shouts as he threw the energy forward.
The energy exploded out in a pulse. The energy surrounded Bronya, shielding her from the influence of the Stellaron.
Bronya got up and turned to see the others.
She was surprised, but ended up smiling. "You're here. You kept your promise."
"You bet that we did!" Seele exclaimed.
"Oh? So the outsiders are here with a rat from the Underground? And they seem to know you. It's clear that they are here to corrupt you, Bronya." Cocolia stated.
"The only one here trying to corrupt her is you." Oz refuted.
Oz then turned to Bronya. "Bronya! What does your heart say!?"
"What does your heart say, my dear?" Cocolia asked.
Bronya stayed silent for a moment before looking at her mother with a determined expression. "I appreciate everything you have done for me. Most of all I appreciate that you have given me the freedom of choice. However my choice is to refuse the call of the Stellaron."
Cocolia then sighed. "Such a shame. I'll just have to force you to understand."
The ground began to shake. "Rise! Engine of Preservation!"
Cocolia jumped off of the edge of the cliff, landing on the shoulder of a giant machine that rose up.
"That's a creation of the Architects!" Bronya exclaimed.
Suddenly, a horde of Fragmentum monsters appeared and attacked the group of 5, completely ignoring Cocolia.
The 5 stab, slice and shoot their way through the horde.
Osrelios, having enough of the horde, addressed the rest. "On my word, get down."
Oz then combined Hamon's electricity with Uria's fire.
"Now, get down!"
The other four drop to the ground.
Oz then shoots his arms out and a wave of blue fire shoots out from him in a shockwave. "Cerulean Blaze!"
All of the Fragmentum monsters were destroyed.
Oz and the others turned to face the Engine of Preservation.
"Any idea how to deal with that?" Oz asked.
Suddenly a huge laser flies down from the sky and hits the robot.
"That's Himeko's Orbital Cannon!" March exclaimed.
The three members of the Astral Express could hear Himeko's voice faintly on their communication network.
Himeko explained that in order for her and Welt to be able to seal the Stellaron, the three on the ground would have to subdue it.
The Engine of Creation seemed to temporarily lost control of its left arm.
Bronya turned to Oz. "Go."
Oz nodded and ran.
He began to climb the arm of the Engine of Preservation.
As he was running, Fragmentum monsters began to appear and try to intercept him.
Wind bullets and ice arrows hit the monsters, Oz turns to nod at March and Bronya, who were providing cover fire for him.
Oz noticed that the Engine's right arm was reaching for him, so he used Raviel's power to boost himself forward.
The left arm began to move, which made it so Oz' momentum wouldn't lead him to the arm.
As Oz was about to make a descent, Seele came flying in and grabbed his arm.
She spun him around and threw him forward.
As she did, the two shared eye contact for a brief moment.
In that moment they smiled.
Oz landed on the arm, and continued to make his ascent.
As he jumped again, the arm moved so he would just miss the landing.
Luckily Dan Heng threw his spear, which allowed Oz to grab onto it and use its momentum to allow him to stick the landing.
Before he landed he turned and threw the spear back to Dan Heng.
Oz landed right in front of Cocolia.
"It's over Cocolia. Give it up." Oz declared.
"It's not over yet." Cocolia stated as she allowed the Stellaron into her body.
She transformed, now having a body that appeared to be made of ice.
Cocolia then charged an attack.
Oz was about to act when he felt Wicked God Energy.
"An imitation of a human such as yourself doesn't deserve divine power." A dark, demonic voice said.
Oz heard the activation sound of a Duel Monsters card and saw a large version of De-Fusion.
Oz gasped as suddenly, the Three Sacred Beasts are unfused from him.
The three divine beasts were ejected from the body and left floating in the air, in front of the Engine of Creation.
Everyone was in shock.
Oz then saw the source of the Wicked God Energy. It was the Wicked Dreadroot.
Dreadroot floated above Cocolia.
Then Dreadroot let its body become energy and entered Cocolia's body.
Cocolia then took on a purple hue.
She laughed and then fired the attack she was charging.
The attack was a large icicle. The attack then hit Oz in the gut.
The others were able to witness what happened.
"Oz! No!" They all shouted. Bronya and Seele seemed to be louder than the other two.
the Sacred Beasts roared out in anger for what happened to him.
Oz stumbled backwards and began to fall off the Engine of Creation.
Oz only had to be thought. 'Not again.'
He had the brief memory of last time something like this happened.
Oz then slipped out of consciousness mid fall.
Oz then woke up. He was in some sort of astral plane.
'Wasn't I here when I drew Nanook's gaze?'
Oz then walked forward, as he did, he began to see Cocolia's memories.
As Oz continued forward, he saw what appeared to be the form of a child.
He could tell that it was just the physical embodiment of something, rather than an actual child.
"The city is drowning in tears... The power of the Preservation is fading. We couldn't defy the will of the Stellaron after all." The figure said.
"It has faded because Cocolia abandoned it." Oz said.
"But we have no right to judge. The Fragmentum has spread for 700 years, bringing pin and destruction wherever it went. The only thing left for our successors is despair. To see the home we vowed to preserve wither away, is torture. Not to mention the voice of temptation... Even our strongest of wills have crumbled to it. The Amber Lord will forsake us."
"... Then allow me to carry on the will of preservation."
The figure turned to him. "You, a stranger who doesn't belong to this planet would carry on the will of preservation? Even though this has nothing to do with you?"
"I can't stand by when innocent people are suffering." Oz answered.
"... Very well. Go, grab ahold of the lance in front of you. That lance once belonged to Alicia Rand. May the Amber Lord grant you their blessing."
Oz walked up to the lance. He placed his hand on the hilt and felt a burning sensation.
Being familiar with the feeling of fire, Oz didn't flinch. He placed both hands on the hilt and began to try and unearth the lance.
He looked up to see a large golem-like being in the sky looking right at him.
Oz could tell that it was the Amber Lord: Qlipoth, the Preservation.
Under the gaze of Qlipoth, Oz fully unearthed the lance and held it high.
Back in the real world, Oz suddenly woke up, his wound immediately healing.
The lance formed in his hand.
He commanded the Engine of Creation to catch him.
Once it did, he immediately pulled out Super Polymerization and activated it.
"Go! Super Polymerization!"
Oz' body, along with the three Sacred Beasts all flew up and began to swirl together in the sky.
A bright light consumed the area.
Once it died down, Oz was there in the sky, crackling with fire, electricity and blue energy.
Oz then landed back on the ground without issue.
He brandished his new weapon and pointed it at Cocolia.
The Engine of Creation then forced her off.
The corrupted Cocolia landed in front of them.
"Let's get rid of that troublesome false god first." Oz said as he activated a Sacred Beast power that he never used. The Spirit Siphon.
He drew the Spirit Energy right out of Cocolia, forcing the Wicked God to be ejected from the body.
The Wicked Dreadroot was shot up into the air, which then Oz ordered the Engine of Creation to hit it back down.
As it was flying downwards, Oz shot forth.
Oz leapt into the air right towards the Wicked Dreadroot.
Once Oz got close enough, he concentrated a lot of power into one attack.
"Phantom of Fury!"
The attack was too much for the false god to handle and was destroyed as a result.
Oz then landed back on the ground in front of the group.
Cocolia had a hand on her head, her body having lost the purple hue, recovering from the brief possession.
Oz turned to the others.
Seele and Bronya ran up to him and hugged him.
Surprised at the action, he dropped the lance.
Oz then smiled and hugged them back.
The three let go and took a step back.
"You worried us." Bronya said.
"How are you okay?" Seele asked. "We saw you take an icicle to the gut."
"Wouldn't be the first time I nearly died due to a large wound in my chest." Oz said. "I met the will of preservation and gained the attention of the Amber Lord."
Oz then waved his hand and the lance disappeared and reappeared in his hand.
"That's Alicia Rand's lance!" Bronya exclaimed, recognizing it.
"It is. The will of preservation has allowed me to use this as I carry on preservation, something that I will do for a very long time." Oz explained.
Bronya then smiled. "Well, I can rest easy knowing it's in the hands of someone who will use it for the greater good."
March and Dan Heng walked up.
"That was cool!" March exclaimed.
"Dan Heng then pointed something out. "Didn't you say that this wasn't the first time you suffered a large wound to the chest?"
"Story for another time." Oz said.
Cocolia had then fully recovered. "Don't forget about me!"
She then shot out several icicles that were the same size as the one that stabbed Oz.
Oz then smirked and walked forward. "Of course not."
Oz then held his lance in a defensive position.
all of the icicles then changed trajectory towards Oz as fire emitted from the lance.
The fire instantly melted the ice.
Oz then took an offensive stance. "With my flames of preservation, I shall protect those who seek to bring forth a brighter future!"
Oz then swung the lance to the side, and fire surrounded his allies.
The fire surrounded them in a way that did not burn them, but rather surrounded them like a blanket, providing warmth and defense.
"Hey, that's like my move." March observed.
"Took inspiration from it. Although I added an extra touch. All of your attacks will additionally deal fire damage." Oz stated.
Seele charged forward and struck Cocolia with her scythe. The attack it only did damage like how it normally would, but it also burned Cocolia.
Bronya shot Cocolia with a wind bullet that also dealt fire damage.
March fired off arrows that were actually able to deal damage to Cocolia seeing as they were additionally dealing fire damage.
Dan Heng the struck at her, dealing wind and fire just like Bronya.
Cocolia summoned two giant ice constructs, which provided an extra defense for her.
Oz then commanded the Engine of Creation to attack.
The Engine of Creation's fist hit the ground where Cocolia was, and not only damaged her, but also destroyed the constructs.
Cocolia quickly recovered from the attack and fired a bunch of ice at the group.
Oz braced himself for the attack.
Oz took minimal damage from the attack hitting him, for the others however.
The fire barriers surrounding them melted the ice before it could touch them.
Oz then swung his lance and three large pillars of fire erupted around Cocolia.
Being fused to a deity of fire, and having new fire powers, his control over fire is incredibly high, being able to perform feats, such as the three pillars, with ease.
Oz then swung his weapon and shot out a crescent shaped blade of fire, which split into dozens of smaller blades and all targeted Cocolia.
The others stood by Oz' side.
Cocolia got up and raised her hand.
A large amount of Imaginary elemental energy gathered in her hand. The energy flew up into the air and grew into the size of a large spiked meteor.
"Uh-oh!" March exclaimed. "I don't think we'll be able to handle that attack!"
Oz then held out his lance. "Not if I have anything to say about it!"
Oz pointed his lance at the meteor. "Hyper Blaze!"
Oz fired an instant Hyper Blaze at the meteor, causing the two attacks to collide.
The collision caused an explosion.
The two attacks canceled each other out.
"What!?" Cocolia exclaimed.
Oz then let his Stellaron energy loose.
The energy surrounded the 5 of them.
They all seemed to understand as their respective elemental energies gathered in their weapons.
They all pointed their weapons outward and 5 beams of energy shot out straight at Cocolia.
The resulting hit caused a large explosion.
When the dust settled, it showed Cocolia heavily injured.
Her form then began to freeze solid.
Once it did, it shattered, revealing Cocolia in her normal form.
Cocolia was on her knees.
She then could feel the Stellaron in her become unstable.
She tried holding it in.
As she did, Bronya tried to run up to her.
Oz and Seele both grabbed her arms to hold her back.
"Let me go! I need to get to her!" Bronya screamed.
"Don't!" Oz shouts. "The Stellaron is too unstable!"
A barrier then formed around Cocolia.
Oz and Seele let go, and Bronya ran to the barrier, hitting her fist against it several times.
Cocolia then looked at Bronya and gave a warm smile. "I'm proud of the woman you have become. Protect this world for me."
With that, Cocolia exploded.
Once the barrier dropped, Bronya fell to her knees. "...Mother."
Oz walked up to Bronya and got down on his knees. He then placed a hand on her shoulder.
Bronya turned and hugged him, sobbing into his shoulder.
Oz hugged her back, letting her cry.
Oz saw the Stellaron in front of him seem to lose its power and vanished.
Oz glanced over at the other two members of the Astral Express.
"Mr. Yang has just sealed the Stellaron." Dan Heng said. "It shall no longer be a threat to this world."
Character Info:
Name: Osrelios
Rarity: 5 star
Path: Preservation
Element: Fire
Talent: Flames of Preservation: when Osrelios uses his normal attack, skill, or Ultimate, other party members will gain a shield that will absorb damage up to 50% of Osrelios' defense. Characters who gain a shield this way will also gain a stack of Blazing Spirit. When a character with Blazing Spirit deals damage to an enemy(s), fire damage equal to 50% of the damage they dealt will be inflicted upon the targeted enemy(s). When a character deals damage from Blazing Spirit, they lose 1 stack. When Osrelios, or a character with a stack of Blazing Spirit, deals or takes damage, Osrelios will gain a stack of Sacred Burning. When Osrelios has 4 stacks of Sacred Burning, he can automatically consume them to boost the next instance of damage he deals by an extra 50% of his attack.