I'd like to give a shout out to xaeroxiii for his review, and to everyone who's reviewed in general. It's true, looking back on it, there were some instances where certain characters reacted in a sort of ooc sort of way and I accept that stigma. Reviews like that help me improve as a writer and help craft more pleasing, less jarring instances later down the line.
That being said... this might be more of the same, since the exchange later in the chapter is... shall we say necessary, at least in reinforcing the insanity of Cocolia's actions through the eyes of others. It's not ideal but I feel it serves its purpose.
Alright, enough talk. You know the drill.
Honkai Star Rail is property of Hoyoverse. I own nothing.
The tram back down to the Underworld was, for once, bereft of a single soul other than himself.
The usually crowded carriages were conspicuously empty, granting Caelus a rare moment of quiet introspection. Yet, the silence was oppressive, a stark contrast to the usual hum of conversation and clamor of everyday life. The absence of noise left him alone with his thoughts, a turbulent sea of questions and doubts.
Outside, the world grew darker with every passing second, the landscape gradually swallowed by the encroaching blackness.
As the tram descended, the interior lights flickered on, casting a pale, cold glow that did little to warm his spirits.
Caelus slumped against the window, his breath fogging up the glass as he stared blankly into the abyss. "Bronya… Natasha… Serval… they all have their own view of Cocolia, whether good or bad," he murmured, his voice barely more than a whisper in the empty car.
Each name was a thread in the complex tapestry that had become Cocolia's legacy.
Natasha's fierce resentment echoed the Underworld's collective disdain for the fallen guardian, a symbol of suffering and betrayal.
Bronya's unwavering resolve reflected the Silvermane Guard's duty-bound loyalty, even in the face of personal pain.
And then there was Serval, torn between the friend she once knew and the tyrant Cocolia had become.
Each perspective was valid, yet each was tainted by personal bias, painting Cocolia in extremes: villain or victim, saint or sinner.
None of these perspectives brought him closer to understanding the enigma of his old foe, leaving him adrift in a sea of conflicting memories and emotions.
There was only one figure left in Belobog who might provide the clarity he sought: Svarog.
The ancient robot had witnessed the rise and fall of countless guardians, his existence stretching back to the dawn of the Supreme Guardianship. Svarog's databanks were a repository of lost vignettes detailing the illustrious line of rulers, and he alone held knowledge of the Stellaron's true nature—knowledge that was unknown to all but a select few in Belobog.
Unconsciously, Caelus's hand drifted to his chest, resting over the spot where his heart should be. A wild, unsettling thought crept into his mind, sending a chill down his spine: could the Stellaron have affected him in the same way?
The notion was absurd, yet it gnawed at him with relentless persistence. The Stellaron was the source of his strength, the reason he could stand against impossible odds and emerge victorious. But it had also been Cocolia's downfall.
Why had she succumbed to its power while he remained unscathed?
Images of his friends from the Astral Express flickered through his mind like comforting beacons in the dark. Himeko's encouraging smile, March's unyielding optimism, Welt's grandfatherly understanding, and even Dan Heng's stoic approval—all of them had stood by him, their support unwavering.
Was that the crux of it all? Was it because she had no one around her that cared enough?
"But she had Bronya!" he dismissed angrily, the words echoing hollowly in the emptiness of the tram. "Bronya adored her, practically worshipped the ground she walked on! Cocolia even sent the Guard after us, convinced we had kidnapped her. It can't be that simple…"
His head throbbed with the weight of his spiraling thoughts, each question looping back on itself without offering any resolution. He pressed his palm to his forehead, trying to massage away the growing headache. "I'm going crazy," he muttered darkly, the words laced with a bitter edge. "I must be, trying to justify the actions of someone like her."
He could almost feel Cocolia's icy stare, hear her voice dripping with disdain. She wouldn't care about his attempts to understand or vindicate her.
If anything, she'd probably stab him again for having the audacity to in the first place.
The tram's loudspeaker crackled to life, its pre-recorded message cutting through his thoughts with a startling jolt. "NOW ARRIVING AT BOULDER TOWN TRAMWAY. PLEASE STAND CLEAR OF THE DOORS. THANK YOU."
Caelus looked up, the shimmering lights of Boulder Town coming into view below. The Underworld's sole settlement spread out like a glittering blanket of stars, each light a beacon of life and activity.
Boulder Town held a myriad of memories for him, both bitter and sweet. But beyond the memories, it held the promise of answers—answers that he hoped Svarog, the ancient adoptive robot father, could provide.
As the tram slid to a halt, he took a deep breath, steeling himself for the conversation ahead. The doors hissed open, releasing a rush of stale, frigid air. Caelus stepped out, his shoes echoing against the platform. The world outside was alive with the hum of life, a stark contrast to the silent descent he had just endured.
A world that would've been reduced to the same silence had events gone even slightly differently.
The Robot Settlement was still as secluded as ever, even with connection to the Overworld restored. People still lived in ratty tents and slept on the snowy terrain, but there were some signs of change. For instance, there were boxes of rations that were being distributed slowly to the settlers, and any squabbles were quickly settled by any security nearby.
Several of them turned to regard Caelus with respectful nods, some even throwing energetic waves which he returned politely. His presence wasn't an oddity anymore at this point since he frequently visited the large, gated estate just beyond the rise.
The dutiful guard automaton Perkins was there to greet him, stuttering out a reply. "G-greetings ou-outsider!"
The little robot was Clara's dearest companion and he had come to view the clumsy little bot in a similar fashion. "Hey Perkins. Is Clara around? I got a present for her."
"S-sure! M-Miss Clara is just talking with B-B-B-Boss S-S-Svarog! I'll lead you!"
"Lead the way buddy," Caelus chuckled indulgently, following after the scuttling robot that looked like a traffic light, of all things.
The inner courtyard was bustling with activity as always. Children chased one another around while some played with some of the larger robots, such as a hound and even a grizzly model which was used a slide. The parents of said children kept a watchful eye nearby but were content to let their children enjoy themselves, knowing that the robots would protect the children above all else.
Perkins' path led them in the direction of the large house that Svarog and Clara called home – or at least Clara did. Svarog was anywhere Clara was, especially on the brief errands she had Caelus run with her.
The unlikely family of two turned in their direction, a look of sheer exuberance blossoming across the girl's face.
"Big brother!" Clara's voice rang out joyfully, and before he could react, she was upon him, a whirlwind in a red coat. She flung her arms around his waist, her momentum spinning him in a delighted twirl.
He laughed along with her, his heart lightening as he snugly returned her embrace.
"What brings you down here?" she asked, beaming up at him.
Caelus grinned, reaching into his coat and pulling out the small, metal part Serval had entrusted to him. "A certain metalhead thought you could use one of these," he said, placing the component into her hands.
Clara's eyes lit up with recognition and excitement, cradling the part in her hands. "Oh, be careful!" she chided, inspecting the part as if it were a precious gem. "Is this…?" she muttered to herself, her gaze sharpened with a craftsman's appraisal, and then her face broke into a triumphant smile. "YES! This is it! Mr. Svarog, I'm going to give Perkins a tune-up. Be back in a bit!"
"Do not run too fast, Clara," Svarog's deep, resonant voice came from behind them, a constant, stoic presence.
"Mhm! See you later, Big brother! Let's play together sometime!" Clara called back, already hurrying off, her departure a blur of red as she disappeared into the distance. A few of the children and even some robots, mistaking her haste for the start of a new game, scampered after her with joyful cries.
Caelus watched the tender scene with a smile lingering on his lips. There was a small part of him that felt a pang of envy for Clara's carefree world, but he'd long since decided that girl's happiness would be protected no matter what.
"What part was that, anyway?" he wondered aloud, not really expecting a reply.
"A motivational actuator," Svarog responded with mechanical precision. "It is critical to the automaton beetle model's continued service. That specific model has long been discontinued, making it difficult to acquire replacements. You have my thanks for retrieving it, outsider."
"It was Serval who found it," he said, scratching the back of his head, feeling a bit awkward under the robot's unblinking gaze.
"Yet it was you who brought it to Clara's hands. Thus, it shall be you who I thank," Svarog countered, his tone brooking no argument.
They stood in companionable silence, watching the children and robots play in the courtyard. Anyone else might have felt intimidated standing next to such a formidable machine, but to Caelus, Svarog was a figure of wisdom and guidance, a mentor of sorts. And, of course, they both shared a soft spot for Clara, often to her embarrassed chagrin.
Caelus's mind churned with thoughts left unsaid, a gnawing curiosity about the past that refused to be silenced.
Screw it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
"Svarog, can I ask you something?" he ventured, his voice steady but tinged with the weight of his query.
"This unit stands ready for any inquiries."
It took the trailblazer a few seconds before he realized that was as close to a "yes" as he'd get from the ancient machine.
"…Right. Since you were built several hundred years ago, you must've seen what the other guardians were like. What do you think about them?"
He couldn't have been this direct with anyone else. Others, like Serval, would have immediately questioned his motives, probing the reasons behind his curiosity. As embarrassed as he was about the idea, the fact that she seemed to think he harbored perverted thoughts about Cocolia was a relief in some ways. It meant she wouldn't pry too deeply into his motives, and thus spare him some rather uncomfortable questions.
But Svarog was different. Logic and data drove his responses, not suspicion or emotion.
"Accessing relevant files… Outsider, I regret to inform that I possess incomplete records of the previous supreme guardians. Though I possess fragmented accounts of certain guardians, I was not functioning at optimal capacity at the time to be able to render an accurate assessment of their character, nor their actions. This is not, however, applicable to Cocolia Rand.
Even though he asked for this, there was a small part of Caelus that feared what Svarog might have to say. After all he had been nominally present for most of Cocolia's reign, if not from the beginning. Asking Svarog to divulge his memories on the woman was a gamble in and of itself. But there was no one else he could bring this up with apart from Natasha, and he'd nearly burned that bridge.
Stop stalling, Caelus.
"Then.. what about Cocolia?"
"Cocolia Rand was heralded as a powerful and wise leader, revered by many, including the vast majority of the Silvermane Guard. As far as the general public should be concerned, she was a courageous leader who gave her life in defense of Belobog," Svarog recited, almost as if the entry came straight out of a textbook. "She is also the one responsible for isolating the Underworld, leaving countless to the mercy of the Fragmentum, most recently the inhabitants of Rivet Town."
Caelus's breath caught. He had known of the suffering in the Underworld, but hearing it laid bare, unfiltered and unvarnished, was a blow to his already troubled thoughts. "W-wait, that can't be right! Rivet Town was evacuated, wasn't it?"
"That is correct, though the effort was hamstringed by several factors. Those who could make it to the checkpoints when the Fragmentum invaded were left behind – a fate that mirrored many others throughout the Underworld."
Caelus felt ill listening to all of this. Rivet Town's history wasn't exactly new to him, but Underworld's plight had always seemed distant, abstract.
After all Boulder Town was, while not exactly thriving, still the safest place in the Underworld to live right now.
But now, the grim reality of Cocolia's decisions struck him with stark clarity. What's more, Svarog's words just then prompted another more engrossing thought to plow through his mind: just how vast was the Underworld anyway?
And more importantly, what of the other settlements that Svarog spoke of?
"You say it mirrored many others… what do you mean by that?" Caelus asked nervously, dreading the machine's response.
Svarog didn't answer immediately, which only deepened Caelus' fears.
Soon after, Svarog's single eye glowed a bright, ominous red, and his form tensed as if he were preparing for a battle.
"Searching… File log uncovered, accessing… Records indicate that not far from Rivet Town's location, there once existed another, larger hub designated as – (##&)!"
The sharp, discordant screech that followed made Caelus wince, and he saw several children clutch their ears, whining in discomfort.
"Error. File identity corrupted. Troubleshooting… Partial log recovery successful. This location was previously considered a logistical hub for the Underworld and was under siege from Fragmentum incursions for the past four hundred years. However, a consistent garrison of Silvermane Guards buffered any attempts to ransack the area."
A cold dread settled in Caelus's stomach, the implications of Svarog's words sinking in. He licked his dry lips, swallowing hard. "Then what happened to it…?"
Svarog turned his head slowly, fixing Caelus with a gaze that seemed almost contemplative. "Approximately ten years ago, under direct orders from the eighteenth Supreme Guardian, all Silvermane Guards were to withdraw from the Underworld immediately."
"W-withdraw? Then… what about the people there?"
Svarog's silence was a heavy, damning answer. Caelus felt bile rise in his throat as he imagined the horrors that must have followed.
Rivet Town had been eerie enough, its lights still burning even in the absence of people, and the air left thick with unspoken despair.
To think it was just one of many…
Suddenly, the mistrust and outright hostility of many people down here, most notably Natasha made much more sense. To them, Cocolia's withdrawal of the Guard meant they were being left to whatever horrors the Fragmentum would inflict on them... if starvation didn't take them first.
"This…" he rasped, fighting the urge to retch, "this is why Wildfire was formed… and why you kept everyone from leaving for so long."
"Correct. When contact with the Overworld severed, the Underworld was left to the Fragmentum. Thus, it was determined that direct action was necessary to ensure the preservation of its existence."
"Because it was the logical decision."
"Affirmative."
"Then tell me, do you think that what Cocolia did was logical?" He hated how his voice became a mix of desperation and anger, but he couldn't help it.
Cocolia had to be human somewhere beyond all the lunacy: his sanity would not accept anything less at this point. Whether he liked it or not, she had become an obsession to him.
Svarog's pause seemed to last an eternity to Caelus but when he finally spoke, there was a subtle hesitation, something that hinted at the complexity of his thoughts. "The Supreme Guardian is the shield of Belobog, the bulwark against the Eternal Freeze. Her choices affected the people for good or ill. But she was also a person, and prone to making rash, uncalculated decisions, and therefore susceptible to corruption. The current Supreme Guardian differs little from her predecessors in that respect."
"Are you saying Bronya will be anything like her mother? That she will cast Belobog into hell like Cocolia almost did?!" Caelus's raised voice cracked with raw emotion, drawing a few curious glances from nearby. He ignored them all, focusing solely on Svarog's impassive eye that seemed burning with a cold, mechanical clarity.
The robot his gazed back, unwavering. Anyone could see the tension between them was palpable, a silent battle of wills.
It was Caelus that finally broke, however, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I'm… sorry, Svarog. I shouldn't take this out on you."
"You are human, and therefore prone to rash, uncalculated decisions. Apologies are not necessary," Svarog replied, somehow managing to come across as understanding despite his monotone.
"I guess. I just…" Caelus trailed off, the weight of his unanswered questions pressing down on him.
Svarog's sensors whirred softly, breaking the silence with a low hum. "Outsider, I would like to pose my own question to you at this juncture. Are you aware of what this world was like before the Eternal Freeze?"
The abrupt change in topic caught Caelus off guard, admittedly, but he figured the robot had his reasons for doing so. "No, not really. Only that it was supposed to be a beautiful planet."
"Recorded accounts suggest as much, but Jarilo-VI was not, as one would put it, a utopia. For civilizations to thrive, there must be a substantial number of resources to glean from in order to advance a society. The inhabitants of this world were not blessed with such but burned through what they had, leaving them vulnerable to stagnation… which in turn left them open to incursions by external threats."
"The Antimatter Legion," Caelus deducted grimly.
Svarog nodded. "The first Supreme Guardian made a deal with the Stellaron, allowing humanity to eke out several centuries more of existence, but at a cost—the results of which lie before you. Many came after her, but it wasn't until the most recent guardian that humanity began to falter."
"Where are you going with this…?" Caelus ventured, giving Svarog a wary glance. The robot's gaze seemed to bore into him, unflinching and inscrutable.
"Cocolia Rand was little different from the ancient humans of Jarilo-VI. To follow up your earlier inquiry, her actions as supreme guardian deemed her far worse than they. What little resources were left were being burned in the war with the Fragmentum, and the abandonment of the Underworld serves as a prime example. It can therefore be concluded that her actions near her end were self-destructive in nature."
Caelus's heart sank, the full weight of Svarog's words settling over him like a shroud. "Are… are you saying she wanted to die?" he breathed, his voice barely audible.
And suddenly he found himself back at that moment, when Cocolia had taken the Stellaron into her body before a pleading Bronya. Even defeated, she could've tried to use the Stellaron to kill them all in one final, insane attempt. All for that sliver of a chance at a new era that it deluded her into believing.
But she hadn't.
"There is insufficient data available to determine that theory," Svarog's answer broke into his troubled thoughts, his tone as cold and precise as ever.
Caelus bit his lip, fighting back the urge to scream at the robot's maddening neutrality. Instead, he nodded slowly, a gesture of respect and acknowledgment. "Thank you, Svarog. You've given me a lot to chew on. I'll be sure to come back soon."
"Safe travels, outsider. Do not forget to bid Clara farewell before you depart."
Caelus managed a faint smile. "I won't. She'd either pout or cry if I didn't let her get one last hug."
And if Clara cried… even the Aeons themselves wouldn't be able to help you at that point.
What a mess of a chapter. I had this written up for a while now but I still couldn't really come up with another way to make that last sequence flow better. But I wanted to highlight some of the important figures in Caelus' life and how his eventual disappearance will affect not just himself, but the people around him.
And seriously, the Underworld had to have more than just three locations people lived in. Belobog is massive and the fact's no mention of any other towns or settlements bothers me immensely. Perhaps it messes with the lore a bit but this is meant to be an AU, and I'm taking creative liberties here where the developers sought fit to leave things blank. I'm just filling in some spaces.
I know a few of you are wondering where this is all going and I promise you, all questions will be answered in time. We're still early in this thing and we have a very, very long and arduous road to walk.
Also, I like that this story has been viewed as a sort of slow burn. It's true really; the romance won't be a main focus of the story but more how Caelus reacts to the situation around him and in turn, how his actions affect the wider world - and others.
Lastly, I hope I did Clara and Svarog justice here. Given that Svarog is essentially Legion from Mass Effect, his character wasn't too difficult to narrow down but Clara is well, Clara. She's adorable and must be protected.
Till then,
take care.