~Zenless Zone Zero World~
"It's this place again… I hope Stelle won't be glanced at by Nanook again?"
In the mechanical maintenance area of the Belobog Heavy Industries construction site, Koleda shivered, as if recalling something, her heart still trembling with lingering fear.
Recalling the day the Destruction Star God cast its gaze, half of the workers were instantly scared stiff, and the entire construction site had to rest for a full half an hour before returning to normal. Although it was a deity from another world, the impact was still too great…
Next to her, Grace showed a regretful and pained expression.
"Eh eh—!! Where's my big sweetheart? It was just a blink of an eye!"
"Big sweetheart" referred to the Engine of Creation. Grace had fallen in love with it at first sight, especially after seeing the high-energy rays it emitted from its head. She had been fantasizing about "dissecting" its structure.
It was a good thing that the two worlds were separated by a light curtain; otherwise, she was truly afraid that her sister would actually crawl over and climb onto the Engine of Creation's head, using a drill to drill its head.
"Sis, you're moving on too fast, aren't you? How long has it been… Wasn't your 'big sweetheart' that robot called Svarog?"
Koleda tilted her head to look at her.
"Little one, Svarog is indeed good, but in my heart, it can only be a 'little sweetheart'."
Recalling the Engine of Creation's majestic body, like a mountain, Grace couldn't help but show the charming expression of a maiden in love.
"That Engine of Creation is too perfect… I really want to touch the core power unit inside its Armor. I really want to press my ear against its head and listen to the strong electrical surge when its heat rays converge… Ah, it must be deafening, I love it so much!"
"Especially when it drives its right arm, the seven-hundred-year-old electrical pulse drive technology and the turbine rotation sound driven by the engine… It's so wonderful, so classical and romantic!"
"Uh… Sis, calm down."
Koleda sweatdropped.
As the chief technical expert of Belobog Heavy Industries, her sister was excellent in every way, except that she was a mecha-sexual…
—
「 Stelle walked towards the distant, spiraling galaxy. Along the way, light constantly condensed into phantoms, appearing before her.
It was Gepard reporting to Cocolia.
"The Commercial District has fallen. Residents have been evacuated and are temporarily housed in the Outer Rim. The Silvermane Guards… twenty-six sacrificed, but I…"
"Continue, Gepard."
"I… I'm not sure if the sacrificed Silvermane Guards truly died. I saw their broken figures wandering in the Fragmentum…" Gepard's voice trembled slightly, "What happened there defies logic, it's close to madness. Guardian, if the situation continues…"
"…I am well aware of the consequences, Gepard. You may withdraw."
The Stellaron's faint voice echoed behind Cocolia, as if mocking, yet also taunting. It playfully repeated: "…We are well aware of the consequences." 」
「 .....」
~Genshin Impact World~
"If you're killed by a Fragmentum monster, do you also turn into a monster and stay in the Fragmentum?"
"It doesn't seem that serious. Can't we just deal with them together?"
Inside a tavern in Natlan, several warriors of the Scions of the Canopy were drinking and discussing.
"Deal with them? Are you kidding me? If you compare the Fragmentum to the abyss, it's like you're not only killed by the abyss, but your body is also taken by the abyss to attack your comrades."
"Under the influence of the abyss, you haven't truly died. Your soul cannot return to the kingdom of the Lord of the Night, and the Holy Fire cannot save you. Your comrades are facing a Fragmentum monster identical to you… I'm afraid their fighting spirit will also be affected."
"Ah, this… it does seem quite terrifying."
These warriors did not fear death. Natlan had fought the abyss for a thousand years, and countless martyrs had fallen one after another—but all their souls had returned to the kingdom of the Lord of the Night, becoming spiritual nourishment for the next generation of Natlan people. But if they couldn't return to the kingdom of the Lord of the Night after death… they truly couldn't imagine such a scene.
—
「 Stelle continued forward, and soon the phantoms of Serval and Cocolia appeared again.
"—What are you still hesitating for, Cocolia? Isn't this what you've always looked forward to? Leave this cage, see this city with your own eyes! What more do we have to lose?"
Serval grew more agitated as she spoke: "The efforts of our predecessors, their unfinished research… can finally bear fruit in this era! Give me a guard squad, let me find the Stellaron, find a way to save our home—"
"…Calm down, Serval."
"Calm down, what are you sayi—"
"Silvermane Guards! Ms. Landau is tired, take her away." Cocolia clenched her fists and raised her head with difficulty, "Seal her laboratory, detain all research personnel—they are conducting illegal research."
"…Why, Cocolia, why have you become so cold-hearted…"
Serval's voice gradually faded into the cosmos, only Cocolia's self-muttering echoing in pain.
"Serval Landau… you were once my most cherished friend."
The Stellaron's faint voice sounded again: "…But there is no place for her in the promised world."
Stelle remained silent, continuing forward. This time, it was Cocolia bringing the Silvermane Guards to the plaza where the Stellaron was located.
"Madam Cocolia, monsters are swarming towards us! It's too dangerous here!"
"Foolish, lowly…"
"…What? Madam, what are you saying?"
"No one understands me… except me. They have ears and eyes, yet they cannot see, cannot hear…"
"Ahhhhhh!" A soldier screamed, and the phantom dissipated.
"Take their ignorance as nourishment, forgive their foolishness and fear…"」
「 .....」
~Genshin Impact World~
"…Heh heh, I perfectly understand Madam Cocolia's thoughts. The path to a new world, walked in solitude, indeed requires enduring gazes that ordinary people cannot comprehend."
Inside the palace where the Fatui Harbingers were located, Zandik, hidden behind his bird-beak mask, revealed a meaningful smile, seemingly quite in agreement with Cocolia's actions.
"If the lives of ordinary people can serve as steps towards a new world, then that would be excellent… I will ensure that every drop of their blood flows with value."
"This 'lives of ordinary people' you speak of… it wouldn't include the House of the Hearth, would it?"
Arlecchino's voice suddenly turned cold.
"Heh, heh, how could it… Haven't you already rejected the previous human experimentation plan?"
"I was merely sighing, regretting… that Madam Cocolia still couldn't escape the shackles of humanity. If it were me, I wouldn't block the passages between the upper and lower levels—after all, the humans in the lower levels are equally valuable. Seele and Sampo are also excellent experimental subjects, whether for human experiments or Fragmentum experiments; they are valuable resources."
"As for the Stellaron… I am very curious if my dissection methods can have an effect on a Star God's creation."
—