Cocolia Rand had not slept peacefully in a very long time. She was still organizing work-related documents.
Roughly twenty years ago, after receiving the ring representing the Supreme Guardian from her predecessor, bizarre voices began whispering in her ear every night when she went to sleep.
At first, these voices were faint and ethereal, making it impossible to make out what was being said, and she could still manage to get some sleep.
Barely two or three years later, the whispers became vaguely distinguishable. At the very least, she could catch words like "Stellaron" and "New World." It was then that Cocolia finally understood what her predecessor had meant before passing away: "Do not be seduced by it." Was this the language of the Stellaron?
A few more years passed, and the Stellaron's whispers gradually grew clearer, allowing her to understand quite directly what it was saying. Yet, summarized, it amounted to little more than this: the Preservation had already abandoned Belobog, so she might as well embrace the Destruction and give this dilapidated world a new birth, blah, blah, blah.
To be honest, it sounded quite tempting. After all, based on the information left behind by her predecessors and the data collected during her current administration, the extraction of Geomarrow ore was becoming increasingly difficult.
It was not merely due to the excessive quantities consumed by mining. According to feedback from researchers, the thermal output of a single piece of Geomarrow ore was also steadily declining. Data and historical records analyzed together showed that the energy stored within current Geomarrow had dropped by roughly a third compared to seven hundred years ago—a truly fatal realization.
Yet at that time, Cocolia still held fast to the bottom line of the Supreme Guardian, firmly believing that the Stellaron could not be trusted.
To her astonishment, however, the Stellaron did not give up. Not only did it persist, but the times it spoke to her were no longer restricted to nighttime sleep; even during the day, it would frequently chime in: "Embrace Destruction. Destroy this pathetic world and embrace the new world brought by the Stellaron."
At first, Cocolia could simply pretend she didn't hear it—until...
"Perhaps I should chat with your daughter first. Who knows, your daughter might be even more eager to become part of the new world."
This single sentence completely shattered Cocolia's psychological defense.
"No, you can't do that! I am the Supreme Guardian!" Cocolia, currently processing official business at her desk, had her defenses breached and suddenly cried out.
Her outburst prompted the guards outside Qlipoth Fort to step inside to investigate.
"Guardian, is something wrong?"
This question snapped Cocolia back to reality.
"No, nothing is wrong. You may withdraw," Cocolia said, striving to steady her emotions.
"I-I understand..." Although the Supreme Guardian's behavior seemed exceedingly strange, the guard could only retreat from Qlipoth Fort and resume his post outside the door.
"Hoo... Hoo. All right, now, let's talk." Struggling to suppress her breathing, Cocolia called out to the Stellaron in her heart.
"Now, we ought to abandon the lowly Underworld. There is no place for them in the new world." Who could have anticipated that the Stellaron's very first sentence would strike at Cocolia's absolute bottom line?
"Impossible! If we abandon the Underworld, to say nothing of what happens to the people down there, what about the Geomarrow ore? Without the Underworld, tell me how I am supposed to maintain the temperature in the Overworld! Are the citizens expected to freeze to death?"
"They are merely the remnants of the old world. Unless you shatter the old, you cannot establish the new," the Stellaron uttered mercilessly.
"Would you rather watch the citizens become displaced by the expansion of the Fragmentum? Or lose the lives of the soldiers fighting the Fragmentum monsters on the front lines? Or do you truly believe you can withstand the Eternal Freeze and survive this disaster that may have no future?" The Stellaron continued its relentless barrage.
Cocolia could finally bear it no longer and issued a dismissal: "Very well, I will consider what you have said. Now, please be quiet—I must continue with my official duties."
The Stellaron did not press the seduction further. Today's progress had been gratifying; there was no need to be overly hasty.
From that day on, the Stellaron rarely disturbed Cocolia during the day, though it still chattered away ceaselessly at night. Meanwhile, the Eternal Freeze grew increasingly severe, until Cocolia finally abandoned her struggle. "What should I do?"
On this particular day, Cocolia was handling official business as usual, having just signed her grand name to a report titled *Appeal Regarding Sanitation Workers' Complaints on Work Intensity Linked to the Wage Policy*.
Suddenly, a figure stepped into Qlipoth Fort.
"Mother, I heard you issued an order to completely seal off the Underworld. Why would you do that?" The newcomer was dressed in a blue-and-white formal outfit, wearing black silk gloves on her hands and long boots over a pair of black stockings on her legs. Her grey hair was styled into three swirls, and her delicate face was filled with anxiety.
"Bronya, my daughter, Qlipoth Fort is currently facing severe funding shortages. If we continue to subsidize the Underworld as we did in the past, we will only face a fiscal deficit. Having studied economics, you should know what that implies. Abandoning the Underworld is simply for the better survival of the Overworld." Cocolia did not reproach her daughter for her rashness. Ever since her own mother, the previous Supreme Guardian, passed away, her daughter had been her final living relative.
"But Mother, the Architects exist precisely to protect Belobog, do they not? Is the Underworld not a part of Belobog?" Bronya was utterly bewildered.
"If even the Overworld cannot be preserved, why bother keeping the Underworld, which consists almost entirely of commoners?" Tormented by the Stellaron for so long, Cocolia's temperament had begun to fray, and upon hearing her daughter's counterargument, she grew increasingly impatient.
"......But such a sacrifice is completely meaningless. You cannot—" Before Bronya could finish, the heavy doors behind her swung open, revealing the trio (or rather, quartet) accompanied by Gepard, who had brought them in.
"You may withdraw, Bronya. The visitors have arrived." Cocolia lowered her gaze slightly, as if suppressing a rising fury. *Why? Why is even my daughter unable to understand my bitter dedication? I am still struggling desperately for Belobog's future, refusing to accept the Stellaron's plan, and I've held out this long, but I can do no more.*
"Mm... Yes, Mother." Bronya detected the suppressed anger in Cocolia's tone, glanced back at the visitors, and knowing this was not the time for further discussion, slowly backed out.
As Bronya withdrew, the group remained silent.
Gepard spoke up: "Guardian—I have brought the four outsiders to pay their respects." Seeming oblivious to the oppressive atmosphere, he broke the deadlock.
"The emissary has already informed me of the situation. Well done, Gepard. You may withdraw as well," Cocolia said, her tone stiff, still unable to shake off her lingering anger.
Hearing this, Gepard showed no emotional fluctuation and slowly stepped back. He truly respected the Supreme Guardian; even though he clearly sensed something was amiss with her state, he asked no questions and simply executed her orders—the eldest son of the Landau family, as loyal and reticent as the Landaus of the past.
Seeming to realize her previous tone had been somewhat improper, Cocolia adjusted her voice: "Welcome, visitors from beyond the Eternal Freeze... No, visitors from beyond the sky, is that correct?"