𝕽𝖊𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖓 - 𝕳𝖎3𝖗𝖉 𝖝 𝕳𝕾𝕽 [Inspired by @KeysOfVoid]

Afterwards - Chapter XXV

"Everyone, we're back!", March said. "Oleg! Nat!"

"Oh! It's them!", Natasha smiled.

"You kids move fast! By the look on your faces, I assume you come bearing good news?", Oleg chuckled.

"Mm-hmmm, you bet! You might not believe this, but we summoned up all our strength, and then...", March muttered. "..Uhh, Stelle, can you just say it for us? I'm no good at talking - I might say something I shouldn't."

"...Well, Dan Heng?", Stelle looked at him.

"The supreme guardian sacrificed herself to seal the Stellaron. We were there at the fight - we witnessed everything."

March chuckled. "Yeah.. Sacrificed herself, that's the whole story.."

"Cocolia? To save Belobog she.. I see.", Natasha said.

"So the massive tremors we felt earlier were a result of the battle, right?", Oleg asked.

Stelle said, "Yes, it was a hard-won victory."

Idle chatter after the battle was quite nice. Not only that, but now the Underworld people.. they could breathe freely now. It was time to spread the news to lift everyone's spirits. 

While Stelle chose to go to the vagrants, the rest of Wildfire decided to inform Gertie and the moles, and then to the Robot Settlement they went. After all, it was good news to all.

Even if Belobog still had challenges to face in the future, at least they could now go hand in hand towards the future now that everyone could become united again. 

--

Lady Bronya's inaugural address was about to begin. The Trailblazers found a place to watch the speech.

"People of Belobog — hear me!", Bronya said.

"Today we gather here to celebrate our victory... but it was a sacrifice made by a mighty guardian that delivered us this opportunity. She dispelled an evil that cost us 700 years of suffering... and in the process, she paid the ultimate price. The sacrifice of Cocolia Rand ushers in a new chapter. The blizzard beyond the walls will die away and the offensives of our Silvermane Guards will begin to contain the Fragmentum's advance. 

...The order to seal off the Underworld from the Overworld. With the passage of time, she gradually came to realize the consequences of that decision... Although tortured with guilt, she could not undo the damage. In her final moments, she wanted us to mark the Stellaron's end by reuniting Belobog. Overworlders and Underworlders must embrace the dawn of a new age... together. 

People of the Underworld, I dare not ask for your forgiveness — I now know the reality of your decade of suffering... But I want us to work together. We know that without your perseverance and hard work. Belobog will not recover its former glory... and the seed of civilization will not be preserved....And on that note, I'd like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to a few guests of the city. Most of you were not aware of their arrival... but it is thanks to them that our world now flourishes with hope. They made me realize that while we remain focused on "preserving" the ground beneath our feet, we should not forget to look up into the sky.