---o---
As the eighteenth Supreme Guardian of Belobog, Cocolia bore a sin that none of her predecessors had ever carried. Not even the eighth Supreme Guardian, Caelus, known as "The Fool," had committed a sin that amounted to a ten-thousandth of Cocolia's.
...Because Cocolia, bewitched by the Stellaron, had completely betrayed the will of [The Preservation]. She disregarded the blessing of the Amber Lord and became obsessed with the [Destruction] the Stellaron brought, longing for the new world that [Destruction] promised.
To exhaust the bamboo of the Southern Mountains would not be enough to write down her sins. To drain the Eastern Sea would not be enough to wash away her evil.
Cocolia's crimes were beyond measure, and no one could offer a shred of defense for her.
But... she also had her reasons.
As the Supreme Guardian, Cocolia was undoubtedly the most capable leader in all of Belobog.
She had once graduated from the Belobog Officer School with a crushing first-place victory, admired by all. As a young woman, she ascended to the position of Supreme Guardian, and everyone agreed she was the most intelligent mind in Belobog. Her abilities truly deserved such praise.
Looking back at Belobog's seven-hundred-year history, aside from Alisa Rand—who, as a mortal, seemed to have faintly touched some ineffable realm and led the Silvermane Guards to barely face the initial vanguard of the Legion, an Annihilation Great Lord who watched with mild interest as the Legion advanced slowly across Jarilo-VI, devouring the planet bit by bit like a swarm of ants—no one since had been able to truly face the will of the Wounded God.
Even the first Supreme Guardian, Alisa Rand herself, after twenty years of grueling war against the armies of the Wounded God, came to understand one thing—
Jarilo-VI was powerless to resist the will of [The Destruction]. The iron hooves of the Legion would eventually trample the entire planet, and the newly completed city of Belobog would be no exception.
Even when she just waved her lance and the divine power brought forth amber-colored clouds, even when candle flames burned on the battlefield and the heavens were torn asunder by the dance of her spear tip, even when mortals bathed in that light received the grace of [The Preservation] and could catch the Legion's blades with their bare hands—it was still not enough to resist the Antimatter Legion, which had grown ever more frenzied upon smelling the scent of destruction.
Therefore, Alisa Rand was ultimately forced onto a path destined for ruin.
She prayed to the Stellaron and made the first wish—she begged to crush the enemy, to drive away the Antimatter Legion, to resolve the threat that was about to destroy Jarilo-VI...
The Stellaron answered her wish—in the form of a catastrophe.
The blizzard that would sweep across the entire planet began at that moment, and it has not ended even after more than seven hundred years...
From then on, the isolated city of Belobog could only sway in the snowstorm, barely surviving in the blizzard summoned by the Stellaron, fighting for its life against the onslaught of Fragmentum creatures.
Afterward, whether it was Svetlana "the Iron Fist," Alexandra "the Wise," or Alina "the Merciful Mother," and even Faina and Tatyana after them—every Supreme Guardian who had a distinguished reign and was able to "die of old age" would step into the Fragmentum at the end of their life.
No, rather, they would all face the end of their lives after stepping into the Fragmentum.
They became wandering phantoms in the Fragmentum, their individual wills completely erased, with only the remnants of their thoughts and memories reconstructed to sustain their final, lingering obsession.
Back when she was still a student at the Officer School, Cocolia had once pondered a question while facing this history.
Why did they choose to step into the Fragmentum at the end of their reign, to face the endless blizzard and the malevolent creatures, to suffer endlessly and perish in the cold?
This question lingered in her heart for a long time. It wasn't until her predecessor stepped into the Fragmentum and she herself entered Qlipoth Fort and ascended to the position of Supreme Guardian that the answer became clear.
It was simply because they could no longer bear it. That was all.
The moment she became the Supreme Guardian of Belobog, the echo of the Stellaron reached Cocolia's ears. A hazy voice, carrying a bewitching magic, chipped away at the defenses in her heart, carving its mark upon her will.
This fate had been passed down through eighteen generations of Supreme Guardians. The Stellaron's words echoed in each of their ears, and every one of them resisted its temptations...
But in the end, every one of them would have their psychological defenses shattered by the Stellaron. Unable to bear the pressure, they would venture deep into the Fragmentum, intending to see the Stellaron with their own eyes, to witness for themselves the so-called new world that [Destruction] promised.
Cocolia was supposed to be like her predecessors, rushing into the snowstorm at the end of her reign to perish in the Fragmentum.
But she couldn't do it.
As the most intelligent mind in all of Belobog, Cocolia understood one thing the moment she became the Supreme Guardian.
This fate would continue in Belobog forever. As long as the will of [The Destruction] remained unyielding, the corrosion of the Fragmentum irreversible, and the blessing of [The Preservation] thin and powerless, this tragic destiny would be passed down from one generation of Guardians to the next.
It would continue until a Guardian finally lost everything they were meant to protect, personally witnessing the Fragmentum devour the entire world bit by bit, watching Belobog lose its last breath in its desperate struggle for survival, and fall into the Fragmentum to be reshaped...
The new world promised by the Stellaron would eventually arrive. The will of the Wounded God was firm and could not be defied. [Destruction] would ultimately descend upon this world.
This was not because Cocolia was a coward, nor because her heart leaned towards destruction. It was simply because this was reality. No matter what, this world could not halt the march of [Destruction]. Whether it was the iron hooves of the Antimatter Legion or the slow corrosion of the Stellaron, Jarilo-VI possessed no power to resolve the threat.
The first Guardian, Alisa Rand, once possessed the miraculous authority to tear the sky asunder. And then what?
She ultimately perished in the Fragmentum, becoming a merciless, endlessly wandering phantom.
Cocolia also inherited the divine power passed down through generations of Guardians. The blessing of the Amber Lord flowed through the great lance, but it had cooled, bit by bit, over seven hundred years.
The amber flames that should have flickered upon it had gradually been extinguished by seven hundred years of despair. By the time it was passed to Cocolia's generation, it was completely covered in hard ice. The miraculous authority she inherited had become a power that froze her enemies in blizzards—the complete opposite of Alisa Rand's. The blessing of the Amber Lord changed with the hearts of mortals, but what never changed was that this power never had the chance to save the world.
The Amber Lord had given Jarilo-VI a hope for survival, but it was only that—hope.
The golden colossus building a wall at the edge of the galaxy had little attention to spare for other places. It faced a great enemy that threatened to destroy the entire universe. To resist the devouring of Ouroboros [The Voracity], It needed to build the wall, It had to build the wall...
Just to have It cast Its gaze upon Jarilo-VI was already a great blessing. How could they dare ask for more?
The Interastral Peace Corporation has existed for thousands of Amber Eras, working tirelessly for the Amber Lord, yet the Aeon paid no mind to their actions. All the building materials they brought were ignored. Even the blessings of an [Emanator] were granted to only a few within the Corporation.
So Cocolia made the most difficult choice of her life.
Since the future promised by [Destruction] was already set in stone, and resisting would only add to the sorrow, why not abandon this pointless struggle and see what the new world promised by the Stellaron truly looked like?
Nanook [The Destruction] sought a new birth after destruction. It had indeed lit up star after star in the sea of stars. Civilizations were turned to ash under the iron hooves of the Antimatter Legion, but new life grew from these ashes. [Destruction] had not scoured them from existence, root and stem.
The Stellaron, as the vanguard of the Legion, must also carry out the will of the Wounded God. After leading a civilization to its ruin, it must also be preparing a gift of rebirth.
So Cocolia gave up the desperate struggle for survival. She abandoned the already impossible path of [Preservation] and instead embraced the preordained [Destruction], making a gamble with all of Belobog...
And then she discovered what a comical joke all her efforts had been.
She lost. The outcome of her gamble was a complete and utter defeat.
Looking at the light screen before her, Cocolia's memory began to rewind, recalling the first time she saw this screen days ago.
At that time, she still firmly believed that [Destruction] could truly bring a new life to Belobog. She had been carefully manipulating everything, pushing the hands on the clock that timed Belobog's fall into the abyss. So, she paid no mind to the screen.
...It wasn't until the AI had finished the first two simulations and she had received all the memories from them that she suddenly realized something was wrong.
The destruction promised by the Stellaron had indeed swept through Belobog as swiftly as the wind under her influence.
But the so-called rebirth from the embers—why had it been so long in coming?
This question was like a giant hammer, shattering the pathetic trust Cocolia had placed in the Stellaron into a million pieces.
From that moment on, Cocolia completely abandoned the new world promised by the Stellaron. She began to take the Life Simulation Game seriously, once again shouldering her responsibility as the Supreme Guardian. To save and protect Belobog, she began to personally control her in-game self...
The first time, she did not act rashly. She simply stayed in Qlipoth Fort and observed, trying to see what direction Belobog would take without her influence.
In that simulation, Ron and Seele proved to her that if she wasn't hell-bent on destruction—if she even just went easy on them in battle, got captured by Ron, and was locked up in the Fort—all of Jarilo-VI would have a new beginning.
Although Jarilo-VI fell under the rule of the Interastral Peace Corporation at the end of that simulation, it was a perfect ending compared to before. Cocolia had few complaints and, in that run, began to pay attention to Ron, the true savior.
The second time, she tried her best to be a good Supreme Guardian. When Ron appeared, she abdicated without hesitation, handing power over to the most capable person and trying to provide some small assistance...
But the result was unexpected. At the end of that simulation, the entire world was cleansed by the divine lightning of an Emanator of [The Hunt], turning it into scorched earth. It was a far, far worse outcome than the first.
After two simulations, Cocolia began to ponder a simple question.
Why did every simulation lead to such an imperfect ending?
Her brilliant mind gave her an answer as simple as the question.
It was because Ron chose different paths, and then died before leading Belobog to its conclusion, unable to provide any more help. This caused Belobog to lose the very power that should have protected it, sending it spiraling into the abyss of tragedy.
The reasons for Ron's death were varied, but after a brief analysis, Cocolia believed it had something to do with the burdens he carried.
The more responsibility Ron shouldered, the more energy he had to expend, and the more likely he was to be exhausted, eventually dying while trying to solve some difficult problem.
For example, in the first simulation she personally controlled—the third simulation since the game began—Ron had to simultaneously act as Seele's deputy handling political affairs and deal with dissenting voices in the empire. He had no time to hone his own martial skills. In the end, he had to face the remaining Doomsday Beast from the Antimatter Legion, which led to his death and such a tragic ending.
And in the last simulation, Ron himself acted as the emperor, controlling everything, and was overwhelmed by the affairs of the state.
As the Supreme Guardian, Cocolia knew better than anyone how troublesome it was to govern Belobog. In that simulation, she had served as Ron's deputy, helping him resolve a great deal of political matters, but the remaining troubles still drained a lot of Ron's energy, leaving him somewhat beleaguered when he later faced the Seed of Calamity disaster.
Although Cocolia didn't know what Ron had faced to become that azure dragon in the end, she knew it was definitely related to the masked man who had given her the Seed of Calamity...
Perhaps he was some powerful enemy. Ron must have used some means unknown to her, forced to take on that form just to fight him.
If Ron didn't have to be the emperor handling political affairs, and instead spent his time honing his skills and resonating with a Path, would he have been able to defeat the enemy he faced alone without having to take on that form?
Cocolia didn't know, but it didn't matter anymore.
Everything that came before was now meaningless. The chapter of failure had long been turned. Cocolia had already extracted all the information she needed from it. Now, she would use that information to write a new chapter.
"Thank you for your help, Ron."
"I will provide you with everything you need, and I will remove every obstacle that stands in your way..."
"You will succeed. And I will too..."
Cocolia murmured to herself as she watched the screen, her indigo eyes filled with unwavering determination.
"A hundred times, a thousand times, I will eventually find a way to save Belobog..."
"This shall be the atonement for my grievous sins."
---o---
And at the same time, on another side—
Bronya looked at the text on her own light screen and nodded in satisfaction.
She had successfully gathered a core group of followers completely loyal to her. The rewards from her previous simulations had become her best aides. This power was already enough to storm Qlipoth Fort.
Perhaps, it was time to try and overthrow her mother's rule...