Chapter 70: The Naturally Evil Cane Weirdo Actually Ambushed Me
Cocolia did not sleep a single wink that night. Neither did Bronya.
The heavy, suffocating silence of Qlipoth Fort was broken only by the faint crackle of the heating vents.
"Mother..." Bronya began, her voice dry and hoarse. "The Eternal Freeze has receded. The Fragmentum monsters have vanished from the borders, and the gaze of The Preservation has finally manifested. Are you... are you truly going to tell the people everything?"
She hesitated, swallowing hard before forcing the question out. If the absolute truth about the Stellaron were dragged into the light, the credibility of the Supreme Guardian lineage would be utterly annihilated. The foundation of Belobog would shatter.
"Bronya, it is precisely because of this fragile trust that you must take over the position of Supreme Guardian immediately."
Cocolia stood tall, her silhouette framed by the frosted glass of the massive window.
"When the sun rises, go out and tell the people that I was corrupted by the Stellaron. Tell them I committed atrocities that nearly dragged Belobog into total destruction. Tell them that you, alongside the outsiders, drew the gaze of The Preservation and struck me down. Tell them you were completely unaware of my madness until the very end. And that is the truth, because I never intended to let you know about the Stellaron in the first place."
"Mother... but..."
Bronya shook her head frantically, all color draining from her face.
"Do you remember the history of the eighth Supreme Guardian, Bronya?"
Cyrille the Fool.
"You mean..." Bronya choked on the words, her chest heaving. "You want to be treated like her? Like the puppet manipulated by the Minister of the Interior, Stefan?"
Cocolia offered a slow, calm nod.
"The eighth Supreme Guardian, Cyrille, spent her entire life under Stefan's absolute control. Her final reward was being shoved into an iron armament box by a Silvermane Guard officer and hurled off a cliff into the snow. Because she was born with a stunted mind, she was elevated to the throne simply to be a convenient tool. When the citizens of Belobog speak of her today, they only remember a dull, incompetent girl. Meanwhile, Stefan's name is forever nailed to the pillar of shame."
"Mother, you cannot do this!"
A violent tremor wrecked Bronya's voice. Her knuckles turned stark white as she gripped the heavy oak edge of the desk, her knees threatening to buckle beneath her.
Cocolia closed the distance between them. She raised a steady hand, her cold fingers gently tucking a stray lock of silver-gray hair behind her daughter's ear.
"But I refuse to let you be the one nailed to that pillar of shame."
Hot tears spilled over the young girl's lower lashes, tracking down her pale cheeks.
"Mother, we can find another way... You made those terrible decisions to fight the Stellaron, to protect Belobog! We can explain..."
"And then what?"
Cocolia gripped her daughter's shoulders, forcing Bronya to meet her gaze directly.
"The people will start asking questions. They will think: if the Supreme Guardian committed such horrors just to protect us, why did she hide the truth from the Silvermane Guards? Why did she keep the citizens in the dark? Why did she seal off the Underworld and let them rot for over a decade? Bronya, listen to me. Lies require a hundred more lies to keep them breathing. Everyone in this city has lived in a fabricated reality for far too long. I will not let you live in a lie as well."
Bronya opened her mouth, but the words died in her throat.
"Besides," Cocolia murmured, her sharp tone softening into something almost maternal. "Do you honestly think I want to see my own name carved into a monument of disgrace, spat upon by every future generation?"
She reached up, her thumb gently brushing away the wet tracks on Bronya's face.
"Look out the window, Bronya."
The young heir turned her head, following her mother's gaze.
Outside, the first rays of morning light pierced through the suffocating gray clouds that had choked Belobog for centuries. Golden sunlight spilled across the snow-covered rooftops and cobblestone streets, reflecting off the melting ice.
"They have waited for this dawn for far too long. I cannot let them continue suffering in the dark just to soothe my own selfish pride."
Bronya bit her lower lip so hard it nearly bled.
"And you, my daughter, Bronya... you will become the greatest Supreme Guardian in the history of Belobog. The one who shattered the Eternal Freeze and banished the Fragmentum. Tell them I was blinded by a dark, ancient evil. Tell them you stood tall under the divine guidance of The Preservation to save them all. The people's faith will not crumble. It will forge into something unbreakable. And you, carrying the weight of that brand-new faith, will become their ultimate pillar of strength."
"But this is completely unfair to you!" Bronya cried out, her eyes rimmed with angry red. "So many of those tragedies were clearly the Stellaron's doing..."
"Do not speak nonsense, Bronya," Cocolia cut her off sharply. "I have sat on this throne for many years. My hands have been soaked in blood for a long time. Whether the Stellaron whispered in my ear or not, I gave the orders. I was the one who commanded the gates to the Underworld to be sealed shut. Innocent people starved and froze because of my signature."
She turned away, walking back toward the towering window to bathe in the unfamiliar sunlight.
"Go and prepare. Put on the formal attire of the Supreme Guardian. Take up the flaming lance of the first Supreme Guardian, Alisa Rand. March out into the plaza and declare to the world that Belobog's long winter has finally ended. This is an absolute order from the Supreme Guardian, Commander Bronya."
In an inconspicuous corner at the edge of the central plaza, Rekka and several members of the Astral Express Crew were leaning against a cold stone wall. Sam stood silently among them, the massive armor casting a long shadow over the cobblestones.
"That was a good speech, full of emotion. She really has a talent for it." Rekka smacked his lips, popping a piece of candy into his mouth. "Now Cocolia has completely turned into the villain. But that works too; she wasn't exactly a saint anyway. Now the conflict has shifted, faith is consolidated, and the new leader's prestige is established."
Stelle squatted nearby, blowing steam off a cup of hot cocoa.
"So, that auntie named Cocolia can only be the bad guy from now on?"
"That's right." Rekka nodded, crossing his arms. "The history books will say: The eighteenth Supreme Guardian, Cocolia, a tyrant blinded by darkness. Then they will add a black-and-white photo where she looks really fierce."
"Then she is actually quite pitiful." Stelle took a slow sip from her cup. "We clearly know she only ended up like that because she couldn't stand the Stellaron's noise anymore. If the Stellaron inside my body chanted scriptures in my ear every single day, I wouldn't be able to take it either."
Dan Heng stood to the side with his arms crossed, his calm gaze falling on the silver-haired girl holding the flaming lance in the center of the cheering plaza.
"This was her own choice. As a ruler, she chose the method most beneficial to the city."
"Yeah, yeah, righteous and impressive." Rekka raised an eyebrow, a dry smirk playing on his lips. "Quite responsible of her, not bad at all."
"So... what will her ending be?" Stelle asked, tilting her head.
"Bronya will probably protect her and have Cocolia imprisoned somewhere quiet," Rekka said after thinking for a moment. He suddenly winced, reaching back to rub his own backside.
A sharp hiss escaped his teeth.
At exactly midnight, he had been ruthlessly ambushed by that evil cane-wielding weirdo.
Rekka had originally triggered his daily cheat, switching his Path to Elation right at 12:00 AM. He had strolled back into his room, fully prepared to cause some late-night chaos, only to be jumped by Welt Yang. The senior Trailblazer had been sitting in the pitch-black room, waiting in absolute silence.
'You have fallen into my trap!' Welt had declared, swinging that gravity-manipulating walking stick like a baseball bat.
That naturally evil cane weirdo actually sat in the dark for several system hours just to ambush him!
How utterly despicable.
"Speaking of which, where is Cocolia?" Stelle stood on her tiptoes, trying to peer over the massive crowd toward the center of the plaza. "Where is she right now?"
"In this kind of situation, she will only let Bronya bear all the attention alone, placing all hope on her shoulders. That is the exact effect Cocolia wants... or do you want to see Cocolia getting pelted with rocks and criticized in public?"
"She is actually quite..." Stelle thought for a long moment, her brow furrowing before she finally squeezed out a word. "Great?"
"I wouldn't say great, but she is certainly responsible." Rekka shrugged, leaning his weight back against the stone wall. "Part of it is because she knows she has no way out, so she might as well make a graceful exit and leave the stage to her daughter. Plus, she can build up a massive wave of public support for Bronya right from the start. Killing two birds with one stone."
"Can't you put it a bit more warmly?" Stelle muttered, giving him a deadpan stare.
"Warmly?" Rekka raised an eyebrow, thoroughly amused. "Cocolia is about to become a name in a history book. We have to evaluate her objectively."
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