[Ron has shielded you. The Stellaron's whispers have been forcibly severed.]
[A warmth rises in your chest, dispelling the chill brought by the Stellaron.]
[Your Stress has greatly decreased. Your san value +1.]
[You have triggered a Stress Relief Event—]
[You have gained the temporary trait: Peace of Mind (Purple)]
[Peace of Mind: A long-forgotten sense of security fills your heart. As long as your personal guard stands before you, you will not lose your way. Until this trait is removed, your mental resistance is slightly increased, and your Stress will not rise.]
Bronya stared blankly at the text on the screen. Although the cold words were just dryly displayed, she could feel the same warmth blossoming in her own heart.
A sense of peace and security filled her chest.
She had never imagined Ron could still find a way to save her simulated self.
After all, she had been far too impulsive this time, leaping straight into the fire without a moment's hesitation, walking right into danger.
Ron had already turned the tide so many times in this simulation, yet due to her blunder, she had still pushed the situation to its worst possible point...
But Ron always had the ability to pull a crisis back from the brink.
It seemed this time would be no different.
With a sense of profound relief, Bronya looked at the screen, holding a small hope that everything would get better after Ron dealt with the Stellaron. She tapped the screen to continue the simulation:
[In order to rescue you from the Fragmentum, your personal guard, Ron, is forced to battle [Mother of Deception, Cocolia], who has been empowered by the Stellaron.]
[Under the command of the Lance of Preservation, the heirloom of Belobog's Supreme Guardians, you witness the fog obscuring the moon and the mountains themselves beginning to crumble—]
A few exquisite silhouettes flashed across the screen.
The Creation Engine, buried under thick snow, reawakened at Cocolia's command. The mountains shook off their snowy blankets as the giant blotted out the sun and sky.
Its giant crimson pupils glowed with a divine light, as if several scarlet suns had risen in the dead of night.
The endless Imaginary energy of the Stellaron enveloped Cocolia. Her curvaceous figure was painted with the colors of the stars from beyond the heavens, and the deathly cold ice formed a ceremonial gown that draped over her body.
The Stellaron drew upon the ice and snow to forge a crown, which settled solemnly upon Cocolia's head.
The overture of a new genesis echoed from the Stellaron, resounding across the entire mountaintop.
Ron, covered in dark golden crystal armor, stood before them, as tiny as a speck of dust that could be blown away by a single breath.
But the hero charged forward without fear.
The silhouettes on the screen faded, and new text continued to appear:
[You see the colossus of the Preservation swing its fists, like the fall of mountains;]
[You see the Mother of Deception summon meteors, chanting the verses of a new world.]
[Your personal guard, Ron, is as insignificant as dust, but under the protection of the dark golden crystal rock, he stands firm against the raging storm.]
[You see the crystal armor on his body begin to crack and shatter. You see wounds appear on his strong physique.]
[You see blood stream down his legs. He carves a path of blood through the white, driven snow.]
[The halberd in his hands cuts a path through every obstacle. Though every step is a struggle, he is slowly, steadily, walking towards your mother.]
[He has finally reached Cocolia.]
The text on the screen faded, and a new image appeared:
The mountain-sized body of the Creation Engine had collapsed to the ground, one half of it pierced by countless dark golden crystal spikes, immobilizing it.
And a battered and wounded Ron was standing straight before the Stellaron-assimilated Cocolia, looking up at her as she floated high above.
"This is impossible..."
A layered, illusory voice came from Cocolia's lips, like a whisper from the edge of the cosmos, but her panic was audible.
"You can't do this... You have no idea what kind of end Belobog is truly facing! We should have made our choice long ago! The Stellaron has already promised—"
"You're right. But I don't like looking up when I talk to people."
Ron summoned the dark golden crystal, slamming the lofty Cocolia down to the ground.
The ice on the Lance of Preservation shattered. It landed askew, embedded in the snow in front of Ron.
The phantom colors of the stars finally dispersed. Cocolia fell to the ground, returned to her original form, looking at the two of them with her dying breath...
"Mother!"
Bronya subconsciously rushed towards Cocolia but was stopped by the heavily wounded Ron, who frowned at her.
"No... Don't go, Bronya."
"She is no longer your mother."
"...What?"
Bronya was confused, but she quickly understood the reason for his words—
"The death throes of the old world are but a fleeting dream..."
An unquestionable will emanated from the weak voice.
"And the Stellaron... will rewrite everything."
Cocolia, at some point, had already clutched the Stellaron tightly. The orb, which had once glowed with a soft light, now began to pulsate violently. It was spewing brilliant golden radiance, and a dangerous aura emanated from it—
With the last of her strength, Cocolia pressed the Stellaron to her chest.
She let out the final, resounding note of her life:
"Let it be forged by my own hands..."
"A magnificent new world!"