"Today!"
"I, Bronya Rand, hereby declare—!"
"I will inherit the will of the Supreme Guardian!"
"I will lead the people of Belobog through every remaining danger!"
"I will carry forward the resolve bound to the name Rand!"
"And I will protect Belobog with my life!"
It was a truly magnificent gathering.
Citizens from both the Overworld and the Underworld had assembled before Belobog's great statue.
Every pair of eyes shone with the same thing—
Hope.
Even Clara had been lifted onto Svarog's shoulder, while the other shoulder belonged to Hook.
Belobog's long ordeal had finally come to an end.
Cocolia's crimes were judged in private. Her punishment was exile—sent to the snowfields to pioneer new paths and search for Belobog's future.
The lockdown on the Underworld was lifted as well.
For girls like Hook and Clara, who had never witnessed anything like this before, the scene was almost unreal.
At last, the light of the Overworld spilled downward.
And the people of the Underworld finally saw the future they had been denied for so long.
Belobog Academy of Sciences
In the plaza stood the familiar statue of the First Architect, the First Supreme Guardian—Rand himself.
Without the first Rand, there would be no Belobog today.
But that wasn't what mattered most right now.
What truly stood out was the sheer sea of researchers filling the plaza.
Even Serval was here.
At first glance, she was just the owner of a rock-loving mechanical workshop—but who would've thought she was once Cocolia's classmate?
She had volunteered to personally keep watch over Cocolia.
But Bronya had firmly rejected the idea.
Because beyond being a mechanic-shop owner, Serval was also one of Belobog's few true scientific minds.
And just an hour ago—
A research vessel from the Blue Star System, belonging to Herta Space Station, had arrived.
What EVAN hadn't expected was this:
The one leading the team… was Herta herself.
Well—not her real body.
Just one of Herta's puppets.
"I've already studied your small-scale Plasma Spark device," Herta said coolly.
"Using it to thaw a frozen planet is fine."
"But it's missing something—it doesn't produce the mutations described in your paper."
"And I've always believed that discussing toxicity without dosage is idiotic."
Her tone was as sharp as ever.
But she wasn't wrong.
Strictly speaking, the Plasma Spark Tower should be called a Plasma Sun.
It was never meant to cause mutations in the first place.
After returning, EVAN dug through his memories again and recalled that it was likely the Lobster Aliens who had thrown some unknown substance into the device, triggering those changes.
Which meant—
His concerns were unnecessary.
And besides, a planet like Jarilo-VI didn't require such a massive Plasma Spark installation.
From here on out, everything would be handled by Herta's research team.
Because EVAN was leaving.
No joke—what kind of Treasure Hunter stays on Jarilo-VI forever?
The universe was vast.
One planet couldn't possibly hold him down.
A Treasure Hunter had to take the initiative.
So—
Before Bronya's ascension ceremony even began, EVAN had already received an invitation from the Astral Express.
He was granted passage aboard the—
infinite—no, the Star Rail.
"I, EVAN," he thought,
"will soon hold a fourth identity—"
Treasure Hunter.
Emanator-aligned Pathstrider of Erudition.
Member of the Genius Society.
And now—
Trailblazer. Nameless.
After all, searching for treasure chests was itself a form of trailblazing.
"Anyway, I'll submit a complete paper on both the Plasma Spark device and the Plasma Spark Tower later," EVAN said.
"Otherwise, you keep looking at me like I'm suspicious."
Herta really did treat him like a talentless 'genius' without a single paper to his name.
Was it that he couldn't write one?
Or that he planned to outsource it?
Still, her interest in artificial stars was genuine—hence why she'd sent her puppet.
If this technology could be adapted into the Simulated Universe…
That would be interesting.
"Hmph," Herta snorted.
"At least you know that much. Don't end up like Stephen—no papers at all…"
...
[Ding—!]
While Herta's team and Belobog's researchers were deep in discussion, a sudden chime sounded beside her.
"Hm?"
"What was that?"
EVAN gave her a strange look.
Herta reached into her pocket and pulled out something all too familiar.
"Sparkle's time bomb."
"Huh?" EVAN blinked.
"That twin-tailed brat?"
"A time bomb…?"
Before he could finish—
Across Belobog's Overworld and Underworld, countless streets and hidden corners rang out with the same ding.
Then—
Brilliant sparks shot skyward.
Fireworks exploded across the heavens.
Far away, atop Everwinter Ridge—
A small golden fish shimmered into existence.
Soft, pale feet stepped onto the snow.
A twin-tailed girl walked lightly across the frozen land, each step ringing faintly—ding, ding.
Fireworks bloomed overhead.
She clapped her hands happily, laughter spilling free.
"Let us offer Belobog a grand fireworks display!"
"Ahahahahaha!"
"What is Elation?"
"This—this is Elation!"
With that, the little golden fish vanished.
All that remained was a trail of delicate footprints—
Deeply imprinted into the snow,
chiming softly as the wind passed over them.
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