When a butterfly flaps its wings. It creates a hurricane on the other side of the world.
To you, Cocolia Rand.
The Eighteenth Supreme Guardian.
Chapter 6. Chaos Theory.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I fumbled into my shorts pocket and grabbed it, not bothering to check who it was before accepting.
"Zenith." I said simply.
Static echoed from the device. It went on for a full ten seconds before cutting off, disconnecting the call.
I frowned and chewed on the inside of my cheek. That was the second time in a relatively short period that someone was trying to contact me. The fragmentum of course, clearly didn't care about my grievances.
My hope was that it wasn't anything important. I couldn't come up with anyone that would want to talk to me besides possibly Natasha or Sampo. But they knew where I was and what I was doing.
Who knows? Maybe Belobog had its own pandemic of spam callers, though I really doubted that one. One could never be sure however, and lingering upon the subject in the current situation wasn't helpful.
Seele and Stelle were beside me, each having completely polar opposite actions. Stelle was a bastion of tranquility, laser focused on the conversation between Pela and Gepard with nothing to showcase she was even alive besides the darting back and forth of her eyes between the speakers and the rise and fall of her chest.
On the other hand, Seele was the definition of anxiety. Her arms were crossed and she was glaring at the male Landau sibling. One of her fingers was constantly tapping on her bicep, and her foot was tapping on the concrete incessantly.
It was as if the fact that a fight didn't break out caused her worries to spike. I wondered if she thought that we were wasting time, but I couldn't quite be sure. Maybe she thought that she could just blitz through the guards and continue onward to finding Bronya. If that was the case, then what I did was a direct contradiction to that.
I hesitated on what to say, and at that moment Dan Heng and March came up to me.
"Impressive work." Dan Heng complimented me.
"Yeah! I was totally sure it was going to break out into a fight, but you somehow got a guard to talk Gepard down! Also how did you get Svarog to come along? He refused to even so much as budge when we talked to him!" March gushed to me, her bright aura practically warmed up the surroundings.
"Uh-" I blinked, trying to think of an answer that made sense. "Well I was being honest when I was talking to Gepard. Pela and Lynx were the last ones to help us exchange supplies. As for Svarog… luck? I guess?"
I shrugged. How did I explain that I asked Natasha to deliver a message to Svarog on a whim, not even sure if he would come? Honestly I figured that if there was any way for him to come it was to bet on his analytics regarding the Stellaron, Stelle, and that Clara would be in good hands with Natasha. Other than that I really didn't expect much from him.
"...Luck got Svarog to respond to you?" Dan Heng asked, something like disbelief in his voice.
"I mean Natasha and Seele gave me a rundown of what happened in the robot settlement. I just… constructed a letter using what I knew and what he might respond to."
Foreknowledge didn't have too much of a play here. In fact, my original plan didn't even really account for Svarog. I was hoping that Pela or Lynx, just needed one, would be able to show up and let us past Gepard. Preferably getting us straight to the core of fragmentum in doing so without having to fight anyone at all. But when none of them showed up for the longest time, I figured I could let things run their course. Actually speaking up and talking to Gepard was a secondary plan that I had to bump up to primary.
Of course, if I just did nothing and let things play out how they did in the game, everything probably would have been fine.
But why even bother to come along at that point? Why bother to try to join the trailblazers? I refused to just be another body that people needed to protect. I would create my own merits for sticking around. I could give them a reason for them to accept me.
"Well, I think it worked out." March commented, noticing the practically dissolved tension between Pela, and the rest of the guards.
"It would have been good to alert us that you had this in mind beforehand. But like March said, I'm also glad it worked out." The lancer of our group said.
I was a little sheepish at that. He was right of course. "Yeah. I… just wasn't even sure if it was going to work, to be honest. I had Sampo deliver the message to Pela and Lynx when he split off from us but I had no way of knowing if they got it."
Dan Heng nodded. "Hmm. That must have been the phone calls you've been getting then."
I… honestly wasn't sure about that. Something in my gut said otherwise, but I nodded instead. "Yeah, probably."
"I think they're done talking." Seele spoke for the first time in a while.
Upon looking, my fellow Underworlder seemed to be right. Pela was walking back towards us, while Gepard seemed to be ordering the rest of the guards to open up their blockade.
"All done here." Pela said matter of factly. "I explained things to Gepard and got him to realize he was being unreasonable. Everyone should be able to pass through after this."
"Yay! Time to catch up!" March exclaimed.
"Nice." Stelle smiled.
"Thanks, Pela. I appreciate you coming." I told her honestly.
The diminutive officer adjusted her glasses. "I've known how things are for a while now, and while I'm still not sure if you all can really stop the eternal freeze. We need to at least try, and I'm willing to bet on that."
The other two who came with her, Lynx and Svarog, were instead off to the side and seemingly watching over the conversation. From what I could remember, Lynx wasn't actually the most talkative to strangers, and Svarog was… Svarog.
Gepard came up to us and explained that we would be going straight into the heart of the fragmentum past the blockade. That meant encountering monsters, and corruption. There wouldn't be guards out there unless specifically on patrol, which none at the moment were.
Understandable. Cocolia probably ordered them all to withdraw in her efforts to stop us.
Regardless, what was also explained was that the monsters would flood towards the gate like a horde of zombies (he did not use those exact words.) and would need to be supervised once open. Which meant that they didn't really have the manpower to spare for us
With that information, the party started to discuss the plan moving forward. Seele wanted to charge in with everyone and head straight for Cocolia, whereas Dan Heng wanted a much more uniform party to take things slower when we were in practically unknown territory.
March seemed to support Seele's idea. She seemed rather confident that we could take on any of the monsters, while Stelle supported Dan Heng. As I wasn't really a combatant, I refrained from commenting. Which meant, it was really up to Serval.
"...I think I'm going to stay here." Serval spoke up. "I'd like to help the guards."
I… vaguely remembered this from the game. Most of it felt hazy until Everwinter Hill.
Nobody needed to ask why. It was clear that she wanted to help her brother and sister, and also… avoid Cocolia. I couldn't blame her. I was also going to stay after all.
Dan Heng nodded. "Then we'll proceed with my plan." He said.
The four of them; Stelle, March, Dan Heng and Seele gathered up near the blockade door.
Before the door was opened, Stelle called out to me. "Why are you so far away, Zenith? We're leaving soon." She asked.
I faltered. I wasn't expecting them to still want me around. It's not as if I thought they disliked me, but I couldn't fight. I would just be a burden against monsters.
My line of thought was clearly echoed by Seele, as she spoke up. "Huh? She can't fight. This isn't like the guards, fragmentum monsters don't care who they're attacking."
"Y-Yeah. I would just be a burden at this point." I pointed out.
March shook her head. "Nope! We would protect you regardless! You came because you thought you could do something to help. So you should keep going until you don't want to!"
Seele frowned. "This isn't a game. She could get hurt."
Dan Heng nodded. "This is going to be dangerous. There might be points where we won't be able to protect you, but if you acknowledge that then we would still be willing to take you along."
"It's your choice, Zenith." Stelle said, fixing me with her golden gaze.
I swallowed. I understood that they were giving me an opportunity. But did I need to go? It was inarguably dangerous. I had gotten them here and managed to help persuade Gepard to stand down. Didn't I do enough?
Licking my lips, I opened my mouth to respond. "I…"
Mechanical footsteps echoed behind me.
"The Record-Keeper will go. I will accompany her." A mechanical voice interjected itself, cutting me off.
Everyone seemed surprised at the suddenness Svarog included himself. Stelle and March had their mouths dropped open. Seele rubbed her eyes as if she was seeing things, and even Dan Heng looked visibly shocked.
But none of them were as surprised as me. I swirled around so fast to face the robot that I nearly tumbled over myself and fell. It was only Lynx, who had somehow gotten next to me without my knowledge, that saved me from eating concrete.
"Careful Zen. Don't want to ruin your clothes." The youngest of the Landau siblings said to me.
"Uh, T-Thanks." I muttered more out of reflex than anything.
"Svarog is a nice robot. We had a good chat on the way here. You can trust him."
I blinked rapidly in an attempt to make some sense of the situation. "Great but, uh, why is he volunteering me to come along?"
Lynx only looked confused at my questioning. "He called you a record keeper. Aren't you coming along because you're going to write about what happens?"
…What? That… What?
I… had no idea what was going on anymore. This was not at all what I had in mind when I sent a message to Svarog. I wanted him here as backup in the event that things went wrong. Not for him to-
Well. Huh. Now that I thought about it. Isn't that what he was doing right now?
Out of everyone, March was the one to recover first. "Awesome! We'll totally win if we have Mr. Giant Robot with us!"
Seele seemed baffled. "What? First Svarog barely lets us leave the underworld and now he's tagging along? This doesn't make any sense!"
Dan Heng seemed to share her sentiments. "It would be unwise to rebuke a gift like this. I understand how you feel, but it's a good opportunity for us."
"I… guess?"
Stelle was silent a bit more, before shrugging. "Well then, welcome aboard Svarog. Nice to have you back, Zenith."
"...Thanks." I trailed off.
With that all somehow settled, and me somehow continuing along with the party, the gates were opened and we were immediately bombarded with monsters.
The extra firepower that came with Pela and Lynx, along with Gepard being our side meant that the multiple waves of the monsters ultimately weren't that much of a problem. I did notice however, that Svarog didn't exactly make any moves to help out.
Since I was a non-combatant, that meant I loitered around in the back, giving everyone else space to move as freely as they wanted without needing to keep me in mind. Svarog stuck close to me, as if I had somehow been designated a VIP that he needed to protect.
Which, he sort of implied earlier.
When the fighting was dying down and the monsters weren't coming in wave after wave, I couldn't help but ask the large robot a question that had been bugging me since he said it.
"Uh, Svarog?" I tentatively spoke up.
The robot didn't say anything, but the way he angled his head towards me let me know I had his attention.
"You called me a record-keeper earlier. What did you mean by that?" I asked.
"..." Svarog was silent for a moment. His lone red light shining from his head bore down upon me. "Preservation is more than just survival. In the wake of a new dawn there must be someone willing to ensure that history is remembered."
My head felt like it was swimming. "What? Are you saying that I'm that person?"
"You have always been that person. This should not be any new information, Zenith."
I didn't understand any of it. The more I asked the less I understood. I had always been such a person? He must have meant the other Zenith then… right? Svarog said that such information shouldn't be new. Did that mean Zenith knew about this?
Who… was Zenith?
None of it made sense. How was she somehow connected to Svarog? Was she even connected to Svarog? Did Svarog not come because of the actual contents of my letter but rather because it was me who sent it?
…Was it because of her book? Lynx mentioned that she spoke to Svarog and that she thought it was because I was going to write about it.
Too many questions, and any answers just ended up splitting into even more questions. I had a feeling it all came back to Zenith's book and her phone. But I've already read her book, and unlocking her phone didn't seem feasible unless I could find out the password.
I sighed. I could ponder such things at a later date. The fighting between the party and the waves of monsters were finishing up. The ending to this seemed to be crawling closer and closer.
"All clear!" One of the guards who's name I didn't know called.
"Clear!" Echoed the rest.
I took that as the initiative to regroup with the rest of everyone. None of them seemed injured, only slightly winded at most. A good premonition if anything, as it meant that we could seamlessly head into the fray.
"Everyone seems to be okay." I said.
"Good." Serval said. "You all should head out before the second wave comes along. It'll be good to get ahead of the monsters before they have a chance to gather up again. Hopefully you can catch up to Cocolia without much trouble."
We nodded. It was hard to disagree with her when she spoke in a commanding tone like that.
Our group consisted of Stelle, Dan Heng, March, Seele, Svarog and I. We double checked things quickly before we headed off. I gave Lynx, Pela and Serval a wave before we all dashed into the inner layer of the fragmentum.
"Stay safe!" Lynx called out.
And so we were off.
Luckily we didn't immediately run into another group of monsters inside the fragmentum. In fact, just based on the layout of the streets and buildings, it might not have been possible to even tell that we were inside the fragmentum.
Not unless the gigantic spirals of corruption gave it away.
The atmosphere, much like when initially stepping into the fragmentum, was different than the previous layer. Whereas the previous layer caused the air to feel stagnant and stale, this inner layer felt almost malevolent in nature.
As if the ground that I walked on didn't want me here.
Ice statues littered the streets. Fully grown humanoid-looking ice statues. Frozen through and through in a deep blue. I felt unnerved just looking at them, as if I were to touch them then I too would be frozen.
Like Ice-Nine from Cat's Cradle.
It was desolate in a way that was impossible to describe unless someone had been in a similar atmosphere. It was void of life, like a walk through an abandoned graveyard. The only evidence to the contrary was a toy snow-globe that Seele was able to identify as Bronya's, and… an echo of the fragmentum.
Cocolia and Bronya had both been here, and recently.
It was one thing to see an echo of a person in a game. It was another thing to see it in real life. It was perhaps the closest thing I've seen to an actual ghost, and in a way it was. A ghost of the past.
"That's a little creepy…" March commented upon seeing how the fragmentum imprinted memories of Cocolia and Bronya.
"It's of no consequence besides telling us that they were here recently. It's a good sign, actually." Dan Heng calmly explained.
Seele seemed to be back to her anxious habits. She was staring at the snowglobe that we had picked up, holding it close to her chest while her foot tapped the frozen ground rapidly. It wasn't needed to know Seele to see how evident the current events were eating away at her.
I should have comforted her, but Stelle moved ahead to the echoes. They reacted to her presence almost like a startled sentient being, only instead of running the voices of Cocolia and Bronya echoed.
They were talking, normally at that too. No threats, no violence, no one held against their will. Just a mother and daughter talking. One explaining her madness and one trying to understand.
Cocolia talked about how the Stellaron demanded the complete annihilation of the 'Old World'. How by doing so it would lead to a new era that would rid Belobog of its struggle with the eternal freeze. How the ruins of the old would bring rise to the new.
And all Bronya wanted was to understand.
But she would never understand.
Because she wasn't that type of person.
Bronya was a sensible, well reasoned woman. Someone who cared for others and extended that kindness beyond just her reach. She was a person who saw the best in others, who would go above and beyond to do her best and rise up to any challenge presented in her way.
On the contrary. Cocolia was curiosity.
She was likely kind, and caring. Almost certainly so, to have raised someone like Bronya. She taught others well, kept things in order, held onto responsibilities that were too much for one woman to handle yet did it without complaint. When three strangers from outer space landed at her front door she did her best to accommodate them, only to realize that they were a threat to her curiosity.
Cocolia needed to know what the Stellaron meant for this world. Bronya would never understand why.
It was clear that Dan Heng, March and Seele didn't understand either.
Stelle though…
…It wasn't time to think about such things. I couldn't be sure of it just yet, I only knew her from the game and the few interactions we've had.
Kindred spirits were rare, but more often than not we clashed. Only time would tell.
"Let's keep moving." I called out.
March agreed with me, speaking out about how the gates were sealed so we should try messing with one of the generators in the middle of it all. Dan Heng clearly was reserved about touching stray things when the corruption was so thick, but conceded as we had little other option.
I understood him, at least. This was taking germaphobia and cranking it up to a twelve. If it wasn't for the fact that there wasn't a sink with soap anywhere near me I would probably have scrubbed myself raw. The corruption just felt dirty.
We came to the conclusion that we would need to power the generators located around the inner layer of the fragmentum to get passed the gate, it was an ordeal that passed quickly with a surprisingly little amount of fighting. When things did break out, I stepped to the back, away from the frontlines.
I couldn't quite gauge what Svarog's reasoning to be here was, but if I was to take his words literally then he was here as a sort of protector so I could oversee history. It was… nonsense and riddles if anyone was to ask me, but he took his role seriously because when one flying fragmentum bat got too close he struck it down and demolished it with a laser.
Other than that, he seemed to refuse to step in for combat.
Robots were surprisingly complicated despite how literal they seemed to be about everything.
When it came to turning on the generators, we were able to figure things out rather easily. By we, I mean Stelle. She seemed intuitively understanding regarding some of the contraptions that we had to figure out. Not that Dan Heng, March, Seele or I didn't understand, but she was much more proactive when it came to figuring it out.
There was another echo of Cocolia and Bronya after we turned on the last of the generators. It didn't tell us anything we didn't already know, only that Cocolia refused to back down no matter what Bronya said. Dan Heng pointed out that the fragmentum seemed to be warping itself to Cocolia's needs.
With that, we stepped through the gates that were previously blocked off. There were a few more battles with monsters, all of them that were dealt with quickly, before we found ourselves at the final steps before Everwinter Hill, and one last echo of Cocolia herself.
The very air around the Cocolia's ghost seemed to be nigh physical in nature, and her words carried malice. It was like a recording came to life, where it attacked our party with spears of ice. Attacks against it didn't draw blood or bruise, but caused it to flicker like a light struggling to stay on.
Seele got in the last hit, her scythe slashing across the echoes entirety before it flickered once and then disappeared completely.
The stairs in front of us only led up, and everyone could feel that this was the end of the journey. Everything hinged on this.
We would get through this, defeat Cocolia, seal the Stellaron, end the Eternal Freeze and then what?
I would go on my way with the Astral Express?
Seele and Bronya would lead Belobog to a brighter future?
The Overworld and Underworld would be connected once more?
It was… like a dream really.
"None of this feels real." Seele said out loud, echoing my thoughts. "I thought I would be more nervous about this, but I'm strangely calm."
Dan Heng and March seemed nonchalant about the whole thing, as if it was just another Tuesday that happened to be a bit more intensive than the others. I wondered if that contributed to both my and Seele's calmness.
"...I wonder what Cocolia is thinking." Stelle whispered. She likely didn't even realize it that I heard it. I don't think anyone else did.
"Hopefully everything goes well." I gave my two cents. I knew it would. I… hoped it would.
"Is this sort of thing normal? Do you three often run into this sort of thing often?" Seele asked our three friends from beyond the stars.
"Not really!" March shrugged, as if she didn't have a care in the world. "Every now and then but this is Stelle's first adventure, she really struck a home run with it!"
Dan Heng… didn't seem to agree with the choice of words, but didn't contradict the message itself. "We try not to get caught up in things like this that could change the very fate of the world as we know it, but sometimes we have to make exceptions."
"Reflection can wait, humans." Svarog spoke up for the first time in a long while. "The Stellaron will not. Continue forward when you are ready, but I would advise haste."
It was a sobering sentence. Svarog didn't get levity, he was a robot. He didn't understand, perhaps he knew of the concept, but he literally did not understand it the same way as us. That this small little moment of chatter was the calm before the storm. Everything else up to this point was nothing but waves.
But of course, he was also right.
We couldn't just wait forever. We had to push forward.
And so.
We went.
Up the stairs.
To Everwinter Hill.
The terrain changed, gone was the solid concrete and visible stone and instead replacing it was a walk of snow and trees barren of all life. Spires of corruption erupted from the snow, glowing like crackling embers. The blizzard was stronger than anything I had ever experienced, its biting chill sapped all feeling in any bits of exposed skin.
For some reason… I could feel a pull. As if the harsh conditions were nothing but a warning to scare away those unworthy. Even the three trailblazers were visibly chilled. They weren't worthy.
But I was.
I was…
I…
My thoughts came to a halt as a searing pain raced through my head, so violent and sharp that it felt as if someone had impaled my skull with a needle. I faltered in my steps, nearly tipping over if March didn't happen to catch me.
"Careful! It's slippery." The pink haired girl said, righting me back up.
I couldn't respond immediately as I was still reeling from the sudden pain. It cleared up quickly, but it was like my bodily functions were restarting.
"T-Thanks." I managed to say, my voice stuttering involuntarily under the chill. "It's c-cold."
There was a small moment of hesitation, almost as if they were considering to send me back, but I pushed forward and kept moving ahead of them all, dissuading them from speaking up and instead forcing them to follow me.
I needed to see this.
Before I slipped, I was thinking about something. Something weird. I couldn't remember quite what it was, but I knew it was related… to what we'd find at the top of this hill.
For some reason it felt like there were a lot of things that would be answered by reaching the top.
We passed by a frozen structure the size of a house and shaped like a hand. A relic of the distant past. A past of seven hundred or so years ago, from a world that I wasn't of until recently. A world that, if things worked out how I planned, I wouldn't be a part of soon after.
I could almost… hear… it.
And when we finally reached the apex of the stairs, I saw it too.
Encased in a cage of metal, the Stellaron still somehow shone through. The golden rays, almost like sunlight, shone through like waves in an ocean. It was the sole ray of color in the wasteland that we lived in.
Like a singular beacon in the darkness of humanity. Reaching out and signaling hope for everyone nearby.
Why were we fighting against such a thing?
It obviously had the power to bring salvation to this frozen rock. We should just harness it's ability and use it for the best. Cocolia was…
…Right…
I didn't understand…
"Steady your gaze, record-keeper. Do not pay mind to its influence." A familiar mechanical voice spoke next to me.
Another lance of pain wracked its way through my body. I convulsed minutely as I wrestled back control over myself. When the short moment of agony subsided, I realized the cause of my odd thoughts were the very object that I had just been near worshiping.
"The Remembrance's words are poison, embrace my will, child." Something whispered to my mind.
It was whispering to me, talking to me, trying to seduce me to betray my friends and use it's power to bring ruin to Belobog. It wasn't satisfied with just Cocolia, but it wanted me as well. Did it murmur into the minds of the others too? Or were they strong enough to shake it off without thinking twice?
I was livid, furious, for the first time since I've arrived in this god forsaken place I felt something that truly made my skin crawl and my blood boil. It erased any such hesitation that I previously had upon coming up to Everwinter Hill despite my status as a non-combatant, and put something very clear into perspective for me.
I would not just lay down and take it. That was the entire reason I came with the trailblazers in the first place wasn't it? To put my foot in the door of the story and find a way to return home, and if I could, even change things for the better?
Maybe I was overestimating myself… but I had a giant robot by my side. I could afford to be a bit arrogant.
"...Fuck off." I whispered right back to the Stellaron.
I could hear a screeching assault on my mind. Like nails on a chalkboard, only as if I had the world's most isolated pair of headphones directing all that noise straight into my head.
It hissed at me. Like an angry cat. It would have been almost humorous if it wasn't a world ending orb of condensed energy or whatever the hell Stellarons were.
"Scourge of the Glowswather. You'll regret this." It raged.
Next thing I knew, the air felt different. A heavy weight had been lifted off my shoulders, as if the very presence of the Stellaron affected how my surroundings felt. I certainly wouldn't be surprised if that was the case.
When I finally was able to focus back on what was going on, no one seemed to notice my mental altercation with the Stellaron, our party and Cocolia were just finishing their conversation. I came back just in time to feel the ground shake more than I had ever felt in my life.
Prior to my transmigration, I lived in California. I was no stranger to earthquakes. But this was different, the very foundation of the hill rocked as if it was alive, like some gigantic being waking up from a deep slumber.
In a way, that was what happened.
Everyone else seemed to be just as surprised when Cocolia manifested a frozen lance and shards of ice scattered into the wind as a colossal metallic hand slammed fist first into pavement. It kicked up dirt, debris, snow and ice as it attempted to swipe at us. Sparks flew from friction with the ground and everyone scattered to dodge it.
Seele and Bronya were the closest to it, but their quick reactions safely got them out of the way. Stelle, March, Dan Heng all dodged it with ease, having more time to react to it. While I was all but scooped up by Svarog, who jumped backwards as if the extra hundred and twenty pounds of weight from holding me was nonexistent.
When the dust settled and the air cleared, the robot was staring down at us. Permafrost was settled into its joints, the pure white of the snow standing out amongst its metallic gray coating.
It was gargantuan, to say the least. There wasn't anything that I could equate it to from Earth. It was as tall as a skyscraper and seemed to have no issues controlling its equally massive robotic limbs.
Facing down something of such size in a game was one thing, but in real life it was terrifying. It had no emotion, no sign of humanity, yet this was something that was created to preserve life? It had been twisted in its purpose by Cocolia.
I nearly collapsed from how hard my legs shook when Svarog placed me back down onto the ground. My heart was pounding out of my ribcage, and everything was a blur of white noise.
My vision was blurry, but I could see that my group immediately set to work on ridding the waves of fragmentum monsters that had manifested in front of us. Likely called in by Cocolia abusing the Stellaron's powers. Even Svarog was participating, using the lasers from his hands as support to pick off enemies or cover weak spots from the rest of the group.
I took in a deep breath, letting the chill of the wind cool my blood and allowed myself to relax. I only needed ten seconds before my mind was clear once more.
Back to business.
"Svarog." I muttered to my robot friend.
He didn't respond. But I could tell he acknowledged me from the way the angle of his torso changed. It shifted towards me ever so slightly.
I licked my lips, feeling the cold chill my tongue. I tried recalling what I knew about the events of this battle. I wasn't sure what I could play to my advantage, but I needed to at least try.
At the very least. I had a special mission for Svarog. One that I refused to not at least attempt.
The fighting was still going on, but Svarog was still able to hear me despite my low volume. I whispered to him the general gist of the plan, and what I wanted from him. Anything would be fine. It wasn't a precise plan.
"...but you only have one shot." I wrapped up what I was telling him.
"Affirmative, Record-keeper." Svarog responded back.
The waves of enemies stopped soon after. The gargantuan robot fired off one more laser from its eyes, one that was dodged by everyone, before it lifted its hand once more in an echo of its initiating attack.
We all tensed, ready to dodge its swipe once more, before a lance of light pierced through the clouds and penetrated through the raised mechanical appendage. The ancient robot's arm practically split into two, and it slumped over as a result.
A blessing in time, for sure.
"Himeko!" March cheered.
I nearly collapsed in relief. Sure I might have known that eventually there would be some sort of intervention by the Astral Express, but that didn't change the fact that it was terrifying to all hell when a giant robot tried to use its hand like a fly swatter and you were the fly.
There was a conversation, one that I couldn't hear as whatever technology the Astral Express used clearly didn't extend to those who weren't members of it. Or perhaps just not me. And they decided who would do the treacherous journey up the robot to confront Cocolia.
It was Stelle. Dan Heng originally volunteered, but Stelle insisted.
The next part I remembered vividly from my own memory. It played out before me like an immersive dream, accurate and life-like.
Stelle clamored up the deadened robot, traversing up its broken arm before its eyes lit up and it came alive once more. The movement as it rose shook the very earth I stood on, even more so for my trailblazing friend who was literally on it. The angle of it changed so that it was no longer possible to continue climbing and she began to fall.
I turned to watch Seele before she shot off. Her speed turned her into a blur, practically leaving afterimages in her wake. She rocketed upward the length of the arm and stuck out an arm for Stelle to catch. The two tumbled spun in mid-air, the breakneck velocity of Seele and Stelle causing them to circle before they swapped positions. Stelle shot back upwards and Seele pounced back towards the ground.
"You're up next." I muttered to Dan Heng.
I wasn't sure if he heard me. I'm not sure what even compelled me to speak. But Stelle jumped and glided through the fingers of the giant as it attempted to swat her away. She leaped towards the platform, the shoulder of the robot, that Cocolia was nested away on.
But just so barely missed. If it wasn't for Dan Heng's spear, whom he accurately lobbed into the side of the robot, creating an object for Stelle to spin around on and keep her momentum, she would have fallen towards the unforgiving ground.
Fortune favors the bold, however, and such tragedy didn't come to pass. She successfully climbed the robot and confronted Cocolia. None of us could see anything from our viewpoint, but we could certainly feel it.
The moment that Cocolia created a pact with the Stellaron. The moment that malevolent waves of malice filled the field. The moment that the blizzard became more than just a senseless force of nature and instead a controlled and calculated one.
The second that Stelle was repelled from the top of the robot.
The second that we all watched as a spear of ice was impaled through her torso.
I watched intently. My heart didn't speed up, or flutter. Not a single shred of anxiety plagued me as I waited with baited breath the moment that I was looking forward to. When Stelle would come into contact with an Aeon.
I waited-
As she fell-
And fell-
And then-
I felt it.
My mouth tore into an ugly grin.
Warmth flooded the land. Like a wave of gentle heat, spreading out and caressing each and every one of us. It was similar to being hugged, or dipping into a bath. It was only there for a singular moment in time before it was gone, but I felt it.
And I gripped onto that feeling.
Like the revival of a phoenix, Stelle was shrouded in flames as she fell, it cocooned her for naught but a second before she emerged without injury and a great lance in her hand.
She rolled in the air, landing safely upon the open palm of the robot as it's appendage slowly lowered to the ground.
Stelle looked radiant in that moment as she turned back towards us with a smile.
The rest of the party, me excluded, ran up to meet with the trailblazer who now wielded the Lance of Preservation. I stayed back. Cocolia in all her icy glory didn't look like something I wanted to mess with.
But the end was nearing. I could feel it. I wonder if Cocolia could as well.
Qlipoth had made its choice and everyone here was a witness.
Cocolia was no longer trusted with the fate of Belobog. That privilege had been taken away.
The blizzard picked up, roaring and howling like an enraged animal. Sharp bits of ice battered against my skin as I continued to watch the party and Cocolia fight. For every lance of ice that Cocolia shot out, Stelle batted it away while Seele, Dan Heng and March took the opportunity to retaliate.
I refused to look away, even as the cold winds caused my face to sting. Even as my eyes teared up from the pain and said tears were frozen on my very face.
Cocolia summoned great pillars of ice. Their core spun and churned out bits of frost and projectiles towards the party. It was thwarted as the colossal robot revved to life again, crushing them under its fist by Stelle's command.
The Supreme Guardian screamed and anguished, each attack chipping away at the literal icy exterior that she had created for herself. The purple exoskeleton of rime that protected her was battered away, exposing bits and pieces of herself once more.
"Svarog." I called to my own robot friend. "Get ready."
"Affirmative." He responded
I couldn't tell how much longer the battle waged for. I refused to tear my gaze away, refused to even blink until my body forced myself to. One by one the pieces of Cocolia's armor fell until a bullet from Bronya herself seemed to be the final hit needed.
Cocolia's flight stalled, and she came crashing down onto the ground, no longer hovering upon the Stellaron's borrowed powers. The armor of ice that surrounded her shattered into nothing and Cocolia was mortal once more.
She was on her knees, panting, a golden glow surrounding her palm. She looked manic, and the Stellaron was in her hands.
Bronya moved forward, in some adrenaline-panicked attempt to reconvene with her mother. Seele held her back, as if she could sense intuitively how dangerous Cocolia was right now.
Thank you, Seele.
"Now." I said.
A beam raced across the battlefield, screeching in song like a thousand chirping birds. It was focused, powerful, enough to kill if aimed incorrectly.
But I trusted Svarog.
And he struck true.
The Stellaron was struck by the condensed power of Svarog's laser, striking it right out of Cocolia's hands and leading it flying through the air. It was like a marble that had been hit, the golden orb soared into the blizzard and arced above the party and past them.
Right to me.
I mused at the golden orb in front of me. That wasn't part of the plan. I just wanted it out of Cocolia's reach, so she couldn't attempt to fuse with it.
But…
I knelt down and grabbed the Stellaron with my own bare hands. The sheer power that I felt coursing through my body, just from holding it… If such a thing were whispering into anyone's ear, day in and day out, could I truly blame them for succumbing to it?
If I wanted to, I could wish upon. Like a shooting star. Nearly anything I wanted could come true at the snap of my fingers. All I had to do… was wish for it.
Money? Love? Power? All in the blink of an eye.
I chuckled.
What a joke.
I learned the hard way that if you ever wanted anything in life. You had to do it yourself. Otherwise inevitably someone would do something wrong and you'd have to come in and correct it regardless.
"So how do you seal these kinds of things?" I asked out loud.
It jolted my friends into working order, all of whom had been staring at me in shock. Stelle jogged up to me first, taking the Stellaron off my hands, while March, Bronya and Seele checked up on the unconscious Cocolia. Dan Heng was apparently contacting the Express if the way he was talking to thin air indicated.
"Good job." Stelle praised me.
It was much too cold out for my cheeks to heat up at the affirmation. But it tried its best. "Thanks. I'm glad everything seemed to work out." I said.
There was something about the way Stelle looked now that was different from before. Her eyes, a previous warm honey yellow, seemed to be a gentle burning amber. It was difficult to look away from them.
"Because of you. I don't know what would have happened if Cocolia attempted to fuse with the Stellaron there at the end."
I did. It wasn't pretty. "It wasn't me, Svarog did everything." I deflect.
"But he wouldn't have done anything if you didn't tell him to." Stelle bumped my shoulder with her own. "Don't think you did nothing, Zenith. You're just as much of a hero as everyone else here."
…I felt like I was dreaming. Truthfully, I wasn't sure what to expect with such a half-cocked plan. There were so many what ifs, so many things that could go wrong. So many that if I listed them out, I could keep going for half a day.
On some level… I rationalized such a plan as a hypothesis to see if things could truly change from what I remembered. My knowledge of this universe was quickly drying up, and if I wanted to confirm such a thing then I had to act now.
But more than that… I didn't want Bronya to be deprived of a mother. For Serval to be deprived of a partner. Or at least, for those two to at least get some closure on it. I knew that life was unfair, that sometimes people didn't get closure for things. But did that have to be the case here?
No, or at least, I didn't think so. But maybe now they can. As powerless as I am, I had the ability to make a change.
"Yeah. I guess I am." I chuckled. I felt like I could get lost staring into those warm amber eyes. "Can I stay with you?"
Stelle blinked in surprise, her head tilting in confusion. "Pardon?"
It took me a moment to process exactly what I said, and I could feel my heart rush in embarrassment. "I-I mean, can I join you three on the express? Would that be okay?"
Truthfully I didn't want to be so abrupt with my asking. But for some reason I couldn't stop the words from blurting out. I hadn't a clue what came over me, but I could always roll with what I was given. Or, what I gave myself, in this case.
Stelle gave me a warm smile. "Oh. Of course. You'll have to talk to Dan Heng and March, as well as Pom-Pom, Himeko and Welt. But I know everyone would be happy to have you."
I swallowed my heart that threatened to break free from my chest. That… was relieving to hear. One less thing to worry about.
"Thank you." I said sincerely.
"Then, let me be the first one to say it. It's not exactly fair since the others don't know yet but…" Stelle smiled brightly. "Welcome aboard the Astral Express."
Start: Feb 13th. 2024.
End: March 4th. 2024.
Words: 7631.
And in over double the length of a normal chapter we have… this.
All in one scene, no paragraph breaks. Difficult, but I felt like it was a challenge that I wanted to do. Anyways. This is the… climax of Belobog. Thank you for waiting. I wanted this out a week ago but I was dogsitting and I couldn't get much time to myself.
See you next time. Please comment on what you think. Thanks
-FN.