The moment Cocolia appeared, she brought a blizzard with her. Under the power of the Stellaron, heavy snow began to fall across Belobog, and the temperature plummeted by more than ten degrees in an instant.
Before everyone's eyes, Cocolia had donned a magnificent dress that seemed woven from ice itself. Normally, this would have terrified the citizens, but compared to the "Demon King" Mo Wang, Cocolia's transformation seemed positively heroic.
"Huh, for some reason, that dress reminds me of Kiana's Winter Princess outfit..." Mo Wang mused. It got him thinking.
In Genshin Impact, Kiana had cosplayed as the Heavenly Principles, and Mei had become the Raiden Shogun. Logically, Bronya, the third member of the Honkai Impact trio, should also have a major role, at least at the level of an Archon.
At first, when the older Bronya from A Post-Honkai Odyssey appeared, everyone assumed the Cryo Archon would be her. After all, she had a history as an Ice Witch in Honkai. But then Ana became the Herrscher of Ice, and the speculation shifted.
And now, with Cocolia as the final boss in Star Rail, the terrifying thought emerged: what if the Cryo Archon was Cocolia? It seemed unlikely, but if his Genshin self traveled to Snezhnaya and found Cocolia sitting on the icy throne... he'd probably flee the country and never return. It was too horrifying to contemplate.
"Mother Cocolia! How could you!" Bronya cried out, her expression panicked. Anyone who knew Cocolia could see that something was terribly wrong. The power of the Stellaron was radiating from her, warping the very environment around them.
To fight Mo Wang, she had chosen to wield its power. But it seemed her consciousness hadn't fully merged with it, and her mental and physical state was deteriorating rapidly.
"Mother, are you alright?" Bronya asked, reaching out to support her, only to have her hands flash-frozen by an intense wave of cold.
"Bronya, stay back!" Cocolia commanded. "I'm fine. This is merely the price for using this power." She then turned to her daughter with a gentle expression that stunned Welt. In all his time knowing her, he had only ever seen the cold, aloof Cocolia.
He had never imagined she could show such tenderness. Perhaps... perhaps this Cocolia could still be saved.
"Mother!" Bronya tried to rush forward again, but was held back by Gepard and Serval. Though they didn't know what power she was using, it was clear it was dangerous and came at a great cost.
Even Serval, who had never liked Cocolia, was moved by her willingness to sacrifice herself for Belobog. The crowd looked on with reverence, their eyes filled with tears.
"Um, this is all very touching, but something feels a little off," March 7th whispered to Dan Heng. "I mean, Mo Wang was acting like a demon king, but all he really did was spank the entire city. Are we really at the 'staking our lives on the line' stage?"
The thought of Cocolia risking her life to protect the butts of Belobog was almost too much for her to handle.
"Don't laugh. We've made it this far," Dan Heng replied, his face a perfect mask of neutrality, though March could tell he was struggling to keep it together. Welt had already closed his eyes, unable to watch.
"So, the Guardian of Belobog finally shows herself. I was beginning to think you were going to hide in there like a coward," Mo Wang taunted.
Cocolia's eyes blazed with fury as she surveyed the "carnage." "Why have you done this?! Why have you brought chaos to our city?!"
"Why?" Mo Wang laughed. "Are you forgetting something, Supreme Guardian? You're the one who sent your men to arrest us. We came here in good faith to help you, and you repaid us with baseless accusations! I'm just here to claim what's rightfully mine: the Stellaron."
"If it is for that, then I apologize. But the Stellaron... I will not give it to you," Cocolia's expression hardened, and a Lance of architect materialized in her hand.
"Is that so." Mo Wang wasn't surprised. Cocolia and the Stellaron were still deeply intertwined.
Even though her personality hadn't been completely consumed, the mere mention of it was enough to make her lose control.
"If you won't hand it over, then I'll have to take it by force." Mo Wang summoned the Might of An-Utu in his left hand and his baseball bat of Destruction in his right. His aura became terrifyingly powerful. "Cocolia, I'm going to make you understand that you are the challenger here!"
He grinned, the very image of a final boss. No one would remember that Cocolia was supposed to be the villain of this chapter.
"Blizzard, descend!" she commanded, and the world was plunged into an unprecedented snowstorm. The wind howled, the snow fell like daggers, and the temperature dropped far below freezing.
"What is this power?!" Serval exclaimed, feeling as if she were facing the eternal blizzard of the outlands.
Bronya watched, her heart filled with dread. This had to be the power of the Stellaron.
But in the face of the raging storm, Mo Wang simply scoffed. "Is that all?" The Might of An-Utu flared to life, its flames devouring the blizzard in seconds.
"Impossible!" Cocolia gasped.
"Don't worry, I'm not done yet," Mo Wang sneered, pulling out a blue core and placing it on the hilt of his sword. In an instant, a blizzard far more terrifying than Cocolia's erupted, freezing the very air and threatening to entomb the entire city in ice.
"My god, do they have to be so dramatic? It makes me look like an idiot!" March whined, utterly jealous of their weather-controlling abilities. "Why do I only get to make a block of ice, while he can change the weather?! Is it just because he's an Emanator?!"
Welt recognized the power instantly: the Authority of a Herrscher. The Herrscher of Ice didn't just create ice; it manipulated temperature at a molecular level, a power capable of reaching absolute zero.
Normally, it wouldn't be this strong, but fueled by a Stellaron and the full power of Elation, Mo Wang could probably freeze the entire planet if he wanted to.
"Great! Now Mo Wang can use ice too. So much for my unique skill set on the train," March grumbled, shooting a sideways glance at Dan Heng. "I wonder if he can use a spear..."
Cocolia felt her power being completely overwhelmed. Even with the Stellaron, she was no match for him.
Of course, as Mo Wang would say, "How can a mere user of a Stellaron compare to a Stellaron connoisseur like myself? I've got a whole legion of powerful beings backing me up. If I lost to you, I'd just delete my account and start over."
"It's over!" he yelled, appearing before her in a flash. He struck her with a blow that combined the fire of his sword and the ice of the Herrscher, sending her flying. The power of the Stellaron within her dissipated.
"Mother!" Bronya screamed.
Cocolia looked up, her eyes filled with a mixture of anger, regret, and utter helplessness. "You... win..."
"Was it worth it?" Mo Wang asked, standing over her. "You failed to protect the Stellaron, and you failed to protect Belobog."
"Take the Stellaron..." she whispered, "but please... don't harm the people of Belobog..."
"That's not for you to decide." He placed his hand on her chest and ripped the Stellaron from her body. She let out a pained gasp and fell unconscious.
"Mother!" Bronya seized the opportunity, shoving Cocolia toward Welt and then turning to face Mo Wang. "Get the Supreme Guardian out of here! I'll hold him off!"
"Hmph! Trying to escape?" Mo Wang sneered, but Bronya stood firm, firing her rifle to block his path.
"Serval!" Gepard yelled as his sister rushed to join Bronya, only for both of them to be instantly knocked aside by Mo Wang.
Gepard could only watch, his fists clenched in helpless rage, as he led the retreat to the Underworld, burning Mo Wang's image into his mind.
"Hahahaha! Run! Cry! Suffer!" Mo Wang's voice boomed across the city. "Listen well, people of Belobog! Your princess is now the captive of the Demon King Mo Wang! I will wait here for three days! If you don't want to see her again with a child in her arms, then come and challenge me!"
His words echoed through the streets, branding the image of the Demon King Mo Wang into the hearts and minds of all who heard them.