After leaving Gepard, who had turned into an ash-white statue, the group returned to the Overworld. Upon arriving, however, they discovered that it was still early and the succession ceremony had not yet begun.
Running into a few Silvermane Guards, they learned that there was still some time before Bronya's succession ceremony. The process was quite complex and differed from the original turn of events where, following Cocolia's death, Bronya was forced to rapidly succeed as Supreme Guardian, reducing the ceremony to bare bones with nothing more than a public address. Now that Cocolia was still alive, a formal succession ceremony could proceed in full, which meant many more steps. First, Cocolia would deliver an address before the Eternal Freeze Monument, briefly outlining the jointly discussed version of the Stellaron containment battle to the public and giving the citizens an explanation.
Next, current Supreme Guardian Cocolia would issue a decree akin to an ancient emperor's edict of self-blame, apologizing to the citizens for the many erroneous policies of the past decades and explaining that she had also sustained injuries in the battle. Following this, she would smoothly and legitimately invite Bronya onto the stage to officially begin the succession ceremony. Bronya would then deliver her own inaugural address as Supreme Guardian, essentially introducing her political ambitions and outlining what she would accomplish after taking office. Once all of this settled, eve…
Chapter 42