[Stigmata Project].
In the end, this was merely a solution, not exactly a failure, that countless geniuses had exhausted their wisdom to finally find.
Guiding the will of all humanity into a false utopia, free from aging and harm—such a world is indeed beautiful, and 'humanity' could likewise survive under the destruction of the Honkai.
But similarly, if society no longer develops at all, can civilization truly still be called 『civilization』?
The boy named Kevin certainly understood this reasoning, but it truly was the only way... until, in them, he finally saw a future brighter than [Stigmata].
He was finally able to let go, wasn't he?
Too many visions, hopes too heavy to bear.
A time span of fifty thousand years—when specified as a number, it's probably difficult for people to grasp an intuitive sense of its length.
But someone once said that all stories in the world can be measured in periods of three years.
Whether a person can become your lifelong friend or lover, whether a certain moment can be etched in your memory forever, even whether a great undertaking can ultimately succeed... all of this can be tested in just three years.
And fifty thousand years is enough for such moments that can affect an ordinary person's entire life to occur sixteen thousand times.
Fortunately, at this very moment, this boy can follow his companions and pass away without regrets.
Of course, perhaps it's also possible that in some corner of the universe, he begins a brand new life in another way?
———— ————
Jarilo-Ⅵ.
The origin of this planet's name can be traced back even to the mythical wars over a thousand years ago, but the few remaining people living on this planet now have likely long forgotten this point.
Because ever since seven hundred years ago, when the Stellaron from the cosmos and the invading army descended together over a decade later, the entire planet was completely covered by an endless cold wave. The survivors could only huddle in a corner, struggling to demonstrate the tenacity of life.
But even so, they never thought of simply waiting for death, and never stopped exploring this icy cold wave.
At this moment, a fully armed squad of several dozen people was rapidly advancing across the snowfield. Each step they took could sink a dozen centimeters deep into the snow; it was hard to say how far the 'ground' they saw was from the actual ground.
"Everyone keep up, don't fall behind!"
"What we face isn't just the cold wave; the Fragmentum erosion phenomenon outside Belobog is extremely unstable. We could encounter sudden enemies at any moment, or even have the squad split apart by distorted Fragmentum space. Not a moment's relaxation is allowed until we return to the city!"
The person giving orders was clearly a young girl. Even though her head was completely covered by specially designed anti-freeze armor, her voice and build gave her away.
Although the sky-blotting snow fog almost completely obscured vision, looking carefully into the distance, one could still see a dark cloud formed by numerous Fragmentum aberrations... This was also their only method to avoid these monsters in advance.
But this method was by no means foolproof, because danger didn't only come from visible places, but also... invisible ones.
Boom————!
Right under the feet of several Iron Guards at the front, the previously calm snow suddenly exploded violently, sending several people flying high into the air. At the same time, a massive monster struggled to crawl out from within.
"What's going on? The intel said this route was safe. How could there be dormant Fragmentum creatures... Squad Two, tend to the wounded! Squads Three and Four, form up! Quickly take down this big guy before more monsters arrive!"
"Yes!"
The girl's command ability was undoubtedly excellent. But in such an extremely恶劣 environment, even the most elite warriors inevitably couldn't perform at their best. Moreover, the monsters they had to face weren't just the one in front of them; there were also densely packed enemies drawn by the noise, and inevitably, wounded comrades to care for.
"Damn it, what should I do?" Beneath the airtight helmet, the girl gritted her silver teeth tightly but couldn't think of any perfect solution at all.
As time slowly passed, the situation grew increasingly dire. Even though the initial big guy was successfully dealt with, monsters swarming from all sides had them surrounded tightly. She simply couldn't think of a way to get everyone out safely.
Could it be... she had to abandon her comrades?
Thinking this, the girl couldn't help but glance back at those few companions who couldn't even stand up yet.
What a joke... That's absolutely impossible!
"All Silvermane Guards, pull yourselves together! We're not far from the front line; reinforcements should arrive soon!"
But even so, reinforcements would come eventually; no one could be sure how long they'd have to wait, or if they could even hold out until then.
"Co-Commander Bronya! Look over there! There's a figure coming from that direction!"
"What? Are reinforcements here?"
Bronya quickly looked in the direction her comrade pointed. But where her companion indicated, she could only see a dark figure slowly approaching; it didn't look like a large group of reinforcements at all.
This couldn't possibly be reinforcements; it was probably just another humanoid Fragmentum creature.
The girl inevitably came to this conclusion. But before disappointment could fully well up in her heart, an utterly unexpected scene unfolded in the next moment.
"I thought this was simply an icy hell, empty except for monsters and cold."
An unfamiliar voice reached Bronya's ears. The girl hurriedly focused her gaze and saw a male figure wearing a black, white, and blue combat suit standing calmly in the midst of it all.
Such attire certainly wasn't considered简陋 (simple), but... this was clearly a frozen wasteland dozens of degrees below zero. Humans had trouble even breathing here. How could someone not need special combat gear and still appear completely unfazed?
"Commander Bronya! Th-this..."
"What?"
Her comrade's voice instantly pulled the girl's thoughts back to reality. But reality presented her with an even more unreasonable scene... Those monsters that were baring their fangs and claws at them just a second ago were now without exception sealed within crystal-clear ice crystals—and lifelike at that.
But... these Fragmentum creatures originally used ice as their weapon?!
"The desire to save all your comrades is certainly commendable. But sometimes, indecisiveness ends up harming everyone—including yourself."
A bit of distance and微不足道的 (negligible) cold naturally couldn't affect his senses; even from over a hundred meters away it was the same.
The white-haired man who mysteriously emerged from the ice and snow before her calmly assessed the girl from an outsider's perspective. Yet it made her subconsciously think of her very serious mother—the Supreme Guardian of Belobog.
Indeed, as acting commander, basically no one except her mother as Supreme Guardian could reprimand her... But why did she have to think in such a strange yet intimate way?
There is an illustration here; it can be viewed after updating to the latest version.