𝕽𝖊𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖓 - 𝕳𝖎3𝖗𝖉 𝖝 𝕳𝕾𝕽 [Inspired by @KeysOfVoid]

The Stars Are Cold Toys - Chapter XXII

The Fragmentum behind the gate was nothing short of terrifying. Now Seele understood what Bronya meant by 'fighting for their lives'.

The Silvermane Guards had agreed to help hold off the Fragmentum. Serval stayed behind - they gave her brother quite the beating, 

The Fragmentum maze.. it looks so.. terrifying. Cold. It was so deathly quiet that you could hear your own ears ringing.

"...Stelle! You come back here - we don't want you to have any more brain damage!", March shouted. "It's an area corroded with Fragmentum, let's search around for new clues here first."

"On the ground!", Seele picked up the snow globe. "This is.. Bronya's.."

"We found it in the orphanage..", Stelle looked.

Seele nodded, "Yeah! So she's... she's been here already?"

"W-whoa.. look!", March pointed to the two echoes of Bronya and Cocolia. "T-that's Bronya.. wait, that's also Cocolia!?"

"No, it isn't them. It must be... a kind of echo? Some type of residual energy replicated by the Fragmentum...", Dan Heng said.

"Ha, just in time. We had no idea which direction to go - let's follow them!", Seele chuckled. 

"Hold your horses. There's a gate.", Kevin said. 

"Darn it!", Stelle stomped on the ground. 

"Will any of you please look at the gate first? There appears to be four mechanisms to activate. One of them is in front of you.", Kevin sighed. 

"I can't say I like the idea of interacting with our surroundings — especially this deep into the Fragmentum. However...", Dan Heng looked at the energy hub. 

March looked, "However?"

"However, desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Heh, even Dan Heng the sensible has his adventurous days!"

--

First mechanism, activated. 

"I see the next one down the stairs.", Seele pointed down the gate. 

"Let's go.", March ran down the stairs. "Are those monsters guarding the energy hub?"

"It seems like it... Strange. Fragmentum monsters would usually destroy man-made objects.", Dan Heng said. 

"Let's quickly wipe them..", March looked at Stelle, who had already killed the Fragmentum. Brute force with the bat was useful, after all. "...out. Well, let's find the next one!"

"Where is the next mechanism... Oh, behind that gate.", Seele sighed.

"There's no switch. We need to find a way around.", Dan Heng said.

--

They found the next energy hub, and the next. 

Going through the gate, another echo appears. They were certainly heading in the right direction. "Whoa, check this place out! Tables and sentry posts — there must have been Silvermane Guards stationed here once.", March looked around. 

"If there were, they left a long time ago. There might be valuable information here... shame we don't have time to look for it.", Dan Heng said.

In the center, stood tall a Guardian's Shadow. A strange enemy. 

"Well, I don't care how strange it looks.. It's blocking our way. Let's get it."

Seele grabbed her scythe and launched at the strange enemy, slicing the enemy multiple times in a row, while March gave Seele a barrier to protect her.

However, (the enemy wasn't weak to quantum) it didn't affect the Guardian Shadow. Instead, it started to target March, launching spikes at her. 

"Careful!", Dan Heng quickly countered it with his spear, launched the spike back at the Shadow.

Finally, Kevin reacted - and created ice to freeze the shadow. It died.

How anticlimactic. 

"This enemy is completely different! If I didn't know it was a product of the Fragmentum, I'd think we were fighting a human!", March sighed. "I was about to die! Thanks, Dan Heng.."

"Unlike those random low-level Fragmentum creations, this one seems to have a mind of its own. It seems to be able to use complex tactics.", Dan Heng nodded. 

"Look, Bronya and Cocolia's echoes... they must have come through here.", March pointed at the images. 

"I sense we're very near to the northern Snow Plains."

--

Cocolia's echo stayed in the middle of the location. If Stelle were to call it something, it would be a boss fight.

"Hold on.", Stelle opened her Infinity Jacket Pocket and pulled out a bag of Trick Snacks and chomped on them, then snapped her fingers. 

"Come on, Stelle!", March shouted. "It feels like this echo is different from the others before."

"Intruders..", the Guardian muttered.

"Huh!? Did she just speak!?", March said. 

"Not good - March, out of the way!", Seele warned.

"You cannot approach.. the Stellaron!", 'Cocolia' demanded.

Seele sliced the Echo. It was an echo - it wouldn't bleed, but it started 'glitching'. However, it would take more work to bring it down.

"Kevin, at least try to help!", March shouted. Her ice arrows weren't doing any damage to the echo. "Well, check out this awesome move!", she said to no one in particular, shooting at Cocolia a rapid fire of ice arrows.

"Intruders... You go no further!"

"Are you sure this isn't the real Cocolia!?", March said worriedly.

'Cocolia' summoned two ice pillars.  They unleashed waves that caused an unimaginable chill.

"It may look like her, but the Fragmentum can only create forgeries. Bring her down!", Dan Heng stabbed 'Cocolia' with his spear. 

"..Fine.", Kevin finally used his Judgement of Shamash. It was on low power right now, courtesy of the Svarog battle, but a single strike should be enough. After all, the Fragmentum remains would help it refuel.

There went the echo after the blaze.

"...She disappeared.", March looked at where the echo used to be.

Seele walked towards the stairs, leading to the Snow Plains. "Those stairs... it's the only way forward."

"Wherever they lead, it must be the end of the journey.", Dan Heng said.

It dawned on all of them.

They could only go forward. It would be the end of the journey, and it would be the battle for the fate of this planet.

The Express are merely passing witnesses, and yet, there will be times that they will be forced to act. 

However, to help those in need, befriend the people they could count on, and saving a few worlds along the way.. it is the spirit of Trailblazing!