The war that began more than seven hundred years ago has yet to truly end. The very first words spoken by the Interastral Peace Corporation upon arriving here were a demand that they repay the debt incurred over seven centuries ago.
That debt, compounded over seven hundred years, had snowballed into an astronomical sum, laid bare before Cocolia without mercy.
Even if they survived the eternal frost and claimed victory in this war that had lasted more than seven hundred years, Belobog would still not be reborn.
This news filled her with the same despair as the words once whispered by the Stellaron, as though Belobog truly had no path it could choose for itself.
"Are you afraid the Legion will make a comeback?" Kiana asked. "I can offer you some assistance."
"The Legion is no different in essence from the ever-expanding Fragmentum of the past," Cocolia replied, looking at Kiana. "I do not fear the coming of war. That day was always inevitable."
"You want us to step in and deal with the IPC for you?" Acheron suddenly asked.
"The IPC?" Kiana paused slightly. Acheron's words reminded her. "Compared to the Legion, isn't the IPC a lesser concern?"
Cocolia neither affirmed nor denied it. Instead, she brought up something seemingly unrelated. "Preservation has abandoned Belobog."
Kiana and Acheron exchanged a glance.
Kiana opened her mouth, then hesitated. It was true that Belobog's power of Preservation was fading—but perhaps she should reflect on her own actions first.
Besides, she herself no longer believed in Preservation.
"Relying on the power of Preservation, the people of Belobog built this city of Preservation and preserved the spark of civilization. For more than seven hundred years, generations have fought relentlessly to protect this city, keeping danger beyond its walls."
"But blind preservation brings no hope."
Listening to her, Kiana could not help but retort, "Who says there's no hope? Your perseverance brought us here. It brought the Astral Express. It brought change. As long as you're alive—so long as you persist—until the very last moment, hope exists."
Cocolia shook her head. "Endless defense is no different from a slow death. Preservation cannot protect everyone, nor can it eradicate the enemy."
The more Kiana listened, the stranger it sounded. "What are you really trying to say?"
"After learning the truth of this world from the Stellaron, I ceased to believe in Preservation. Because I understood that Preservation cannot save Belobog."
Kiana thought for a moment, then could not help saying, "Have you ever considered that perhaps your will to preserve simply wasn't strong enough?"
Cocolia gave a self-mocking smile. "The Architects who guarded Belobog for over seven centuries were rewarded with the steady decline of Preservation's power and the impending extinction of Belobog. If the will of every Supreme Guardian in history was still not pure enough, then what would count as true Preservation?"
"Being aggressive like the IPC?"
"Plundering?"
"Becoming opportunists?"
A shadow passed over Cocolia's expression. "We both know how absurd that seven-hundred-year-old debt truly is. I do not deny the aid the IPC once provided, nor the legitimacy of the debt itself. But at this moment, what does a ridiculous piece of paper—compounded for seven hundred years—really mean? I believe the two of you understand."
"And yet, opportunists obsessed only with credits still receive Preservation's blessing and wield power that symbolizes it."
"I cannot help but question it again."
"What, exactly, is Preservation?"
The IPC had always been difficult to evaluate. It was divided into many departments, each with its own code of conduct.
How many of them truly worshiped the Amber Lord?
How many genuinely sought to practice Preservation?
No one could say.
"If saving everyone—allowing people to live freely and with dignity—is not Preservation..." Cocolia descended the steps slowly, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on Kiana. "Then what is Preservation?"
"What are you really trying to say?" Kiana frowned. "I'm not even a Pathstrider of Preservation. Why are you telling me this?"
"If you want me to help you negotiate with the IPC, I can do that," she continued. "Like you said, demanding repayment now leaves you no path to survive."
"I can speak with Topaz, buy you time, and work out a solution acceptable to both sides."
"...No matter what you think, I was the one who brought Honkai into this world. I have a responsibility to do something for you."
Cocolia shook her head and stopped walking forward. "From the Supreme Guardians of the past, from the struggle against the Fragmentum, from the Stellaron, and from the recent incident with the IPC, I have come to understand one truth."
"...What are you really trying to say?"
Cocolia had said so much, yet still had not reached her point. Kiana sensed something faintly forming—but it remained indistinct.
She's not about to say that there are limits to being human, so she's decided not to be human anymore, is she?
"You said you were the one who brought Honkai to this world?"
Kiana nodded. "I won't deny it."
"If—hypothetically—Belobog were willing to follow you, to follow Honkai..."
"Don't joke about that!"
Kiana cut her off, her brows tightly knitted, her calm fracturing into agitation.
"You don't even know what Honkai is!" Her tone shifted sharply. "You don't understand how much destruction Honkai can bring. You don't even know me!"
Cocolia countered, "Is the Honkai you speak of more dangerous than the eternal frost?"
"That..."
Kiana faltered.
The eternal frost had swept across the entire world, leaving only Belobog clinging desperately to survival under Preservation's blessing.
She wanted to bring up the Herrschers.
A Herrscher was a walking natural disaster. A fully awakened one could flatten an entire city and reshape continents.
But Herrschers born under Honkai's influence were not entirely devoid of humanity. Acheron herself—who had become a Herrscher through the trial of the Stigmata—was proof of that.
Kiana found it difficult to use Herrschers as an example.
"The Fragmentum, the eternal frost, the Legion, and now the IPC—one external threat after another has taught me a lesson," Cocolia continued. "Defense will one day fail. Only by taking the initiative can we resolve the crisis before us."
"And that requires power."
Her eyes burned as she looked at Kiana, finally revealing her true purpose. "If you are willing, I can represent Belobog in following you. We ask only for the strength to defy our fate!"
"Do you even know who I am, saying something like that?"
"A person without a bottom line would not spread power and then call it a disaster, nor would they go to such lengths to compensate those affected," Cocolia replied evenly. "You even consider the calamities of your original world to be problems that must be resolved."
That almost sounded like she was praising herself as a good person.
Kiana remained silent for quite a while before realizing it. In this universe, there were far too many beings who only cared about killing and never about the aftermath. The IPC was no saint either—it had committed more than its fair share of atrocities.
Compared to all that,
Someone like her—who did something, then felt guilty and uneasy, and tried every possible way to make amends just to find peace of mind—
Was actually quite rare.
After all, she still believed she was human.
"I am neither an Aeon nor an Emanator of any Path. I have no grand mission that must be fulfilled, nor any doctrine worthy of people's devotion."
"Then I was correct," Cocolia replied calmly. "You did not deny that following you would grant us power."
"...Are you truly that desperate for power?" Kiana could not help asking. "You don't need to say all this. I've already decided to grant you strength enough to contend with the Legion."
"I don't need faith, nor followers. What I choose to do, I will do. What I refuse to do, no one can force me."
"Honkai energy is different from a Path. You don't need my approval to use it. You only need sufficient resistance to Honkai—and caution not to let it erode you when you wield it."
Kiana did not deny that Honkai possessed the power to stand against everything before them. Nor did she explain where Honkai came from.
From her reaction, one could conclude that Acheron's earlier words were meant literally.
Kiana had brought Honkai.
She had brought its power into this world. She was inseparably tied to it. She did not even mention whether something stood behind Honkai—by default, she placed that responsibility upon herself.
And when she said she was neither an Aeon nor an Emanator,
Her temperament became even clearer.
Faced with such a proposal, her first reaction had been concern—that Belobog might fall into danger because of it.
She regarded Honkai as a perilous force.
If even the one who brought it considered it dangerous, did Cocolia truly believe those risks were inconsequential?
In truth, it hardly mattered.
The spread of Honkai within Belobog was already an established fact. If so, why should she not seize this as leverage to secure greater benefits for her people?
If she could not stand alone,
Then she would choose the path that maximized Belobog's interests.
Preservation or Honkai?
At present, those were the only two options.
And she had long since ceased believing in Preservation.
Compared to it, she was more willing to choose the latter.
Not only because humanity could wield Honkai energy—because Kiana had sown that possibility among every individual.
But also because Kiana was a good person.
Though this was their first formal exchange, Cocolia had already grasped her temperament.
As long as Honkai energy existed, Kiana would never abandon Belobog.
A good person in the purest sense.
Acheron had forced the IPC's representative to back down with nothing more than a name. That alone had taught Cocolia—who had been cut off from the sea of stars for seven hundred years—the foremost rule of survival among the stars.
A backer.
Acheron, watching from the side, saw through Cocolia's little calculations. Her gaze deepened slightly, as if she wished to speak.
"If you bestow power upon us, then we ought to show respect and follow you—even if you do not require it."
"Can you truly represent every person in Belobog?" Kiana shook her head, rejecting her again. "How is that any different from selling your world to the IPC?"
Different?
Of course it was fundamentally different.
Kiana was a good person.
Someone like her was the kind of 'god' people imagined—one who would extend a hand in times of peril yet demand nothing in return.
"I am an Architect. I am Belobog's Supreme Guardian. I have the authority to determine this world's direction."
Kiana could not quite comprehend her reasoning. She had already said she would help them once more, grant them strength enough to stand against the Legion.
Why was Cocolia still pressing the matter?
"So you summoned us here just to say this?" Acheron placed a hand on Kiana's shoulder, signaling her to remain silent and allow her to speak instead.
"You understand my position," Cocolia said.
She had no other choice.
Even if they survived this crisis, even if the IPC presented a mutually acceptable proposal, true strength for Belobog would remain painfully out of reach.
Who could guarantee that once the frozen Voidrangers were eliminated, the Legion would leave Belobog alone?
Who could promise that the IPC would not play tricks in the future?
Even with honored guests still present, the IPC had dared to lay hands on civilians in the Underworld.
After they departed,
What might happen then?
Shaped by experience, Cocolia habitually assumed the worst.
"I know what you're saying isn't your true intention," Acheron said calmly, her eyes seeming to pierce through her. "You only want a title. A name that can shield this world and make the IPC hesitate."
"How ironic. The Legion, the Fragmentum, and Honkai—all imminent threats—frighten you less than the IPC, who shares your faith in Preservation."
"Perhaps I simply do not wish Belobog's seven hundred years of endurance to culminate in nothing more than survival," Cocolia replied evenly.
She did not conceal her meaning.
"Have you considered that a single decision of yours could cost countless lives?" Acheron asked.
"You are right. But I have long since abandoned naive fantasies. Sacrifice is inevitable. The new world promised by the Stellaron is no longer possible. Now, the only option is to create a new world with my own hands—and present to everyone the future I once vowed to give them!"
Kiana's throat tightened.
She felt this woman was teetering on madness.
Use Honkai energy to create a new world?
How was that any different from—
She fell silent for a moment.
"Mei's homeland was once a beautiful world called Izumo. But years ago, Izumo met its end. I once tried to use Honkai energy to resist disaster. Yet the ever-expanding Honkai consumed all life, until the end descended and everything returned to Finality."
"You are too naive, Cocolia. You have never seen Honkai in its true form. You have never even witnessed a Herrscher. Honkai cannot save everyone. It will only bring true doomsday to the world!"
"I don't need followers, nor will I promise anything. I only wish to offer you one piece of advice—unchecked ambition will ultimately lead only to destruction."
Kiana drew a deep breath, steadying her emotions.
"Let's go, Mei."
Acheron looked at Kiana's troubled expression and, after a brief pause, said softly, "I still have a few words to make clear with her."
She knew Kiana was recalling the past.
"...Alright. I'll go ahead." Kiana lowered her eyes slightly. A rift opened behind her. "Take your time."
She turned and stepped into the rift, vanishing.
Kiana had never truly let go. That was why she sought to rebuild Izumo, to turn the Stigmata world into reality.
Acheron withdrew her gaze from where the rift had closed and looked instead at Cocolia, who stood lost in thought.
"Let's talk, Madam Cocolia."