After Sora entered the room prepared in advance, he immediately saw various calming items carefully arranged inside.
Thanks to this meticulous preparation, he quickly slipped into deep sleep, gradually replenishing his severely depleted energy.
When everyone saw Sora's life signs stabilizing bit by bit, they finally felt relieved.
This was Sora's very first return since he'd departed. Everyone understood how difficult this journey had been, so their greatest hope was simply for him to sleep peacefully.
After ensuring that Sora was truly asleep and not secretly doing anything else, it was time to handle another issue...
Right now, the Glamoth Iron Cavalry stationed here had formed a tight circle around someone.
And that someone was none other than the recently returned Titania.
"Why exactly are you here?" Shunji asked, her expression grave as she stared intently at Titania.
When Sora was previously on Tartaro, he had revealed that Titania was still alive.
But Titania's reappearance had occurred only after their successful retreat. Thus, none of them had known that Titania had already assumed an entirely new form.
To outsiders, their faces appeared extremely similar.
Yet Titania's distinctive black-and-white hair now stood out starkly from everyone else's.
This was the physical trait Titania had gained after her cooperation with Sora ended—when she finally gained her own flesh.
The monochrome blend gave her a strangely sacred and mysterious aura.
However, the bodies of all the Iron Cavalry were screaming warnings about this person's true identity.
The true identity of the one sitting right in front of them was someone who, not long ago, had nearly ascended as an Emanator of Propagation!
If not for their combined effort with Sora to interrupt that ritual, the universe might now have been home to a brand-new AEON.
And undoubtedly, as ones who interrupted that ritual, both they and Sora should be irreconcilable enemies with the being now leisurely seated before them.
Yet somehow, this dangerous being had casually walked out of the spaceship together with Sora himself.
This inevitably caused the Iron Cavalry to heighten their vigilance.
"What are you scheming now?"
Unfortunately for their cautious vigilance, Titania showed absolutely zero interest.
Instead, her attention was fixated solely upon the iced beverage and desserts placed before her, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Scheming? I'm not scheming anything. I'm merely spreading the glorious radiance of divinity."
Finally unable to hold back, Titania took a tentative sip—and her eyes immediately widened.
This flavor…is interesting.
In the next instant, she inhaled the drink with hurricane-like enthusiasm, puffing out her cheeks like a hamster.
"The radiance of divinity? Don't tell me you're plotting another—ouch!"
Shunji's speech was interrupted as someone fiercely struck the back of her head.
"Stand down, Shunji. Before resting, Sora specifically instructed us not to clash with her right now," said Mitsutake sternly, motioning Shunji to step back behind her.
Titania placed her now-empty cup down casually, waving dismissively at the Iron Cavalry, signaling for them to hurry up and leave.
"Good that you understand. Only Sora is worthy of my attention. You don't deserve my personal effort."
Do not disturb a deity investigating something new. Now, what exactly is this thing called "cake"?
She scooped some cream with her finger and tasted it.
Oh! This flavor!
Splendid. From now on, this shall be offered as tribute to the divine!
Titania picked up the dessert in front of her, savoring it slowly, bite by bite.
The Iron Cavalry gazed at Titania silently, ultimately choosing to trust in Sora's judgment.
But if Titania did anything suspicious here, they definitely wouldn't hold back.
Thus, they turned around and exited. After all, they had many other matters that required their immediate attention.
But just then, a commotion suddenly erupted from behind.
"Commander Titania! We finally see you again!"
"It's the goddess—ah! My cake!"
Listening to the sudden ruckus behind, Mitsutake exchanged glances with Shunji.
Both seemed to vaguely understand why Sora had issued such instructions.
"This person is really…"
The Iron Cavalry suddenly felt a strange lack of confidence in their previous judgment.
Yet their bodies continued sending urgent warnings about this person's danger.
According to common sense, their instincts shouldn't be wrong…
But why did this person chatting with them just now feel utterly different from the terrifying existence that previously pressured them alongside Sora?
The Iron Cavalry pondered back and forth yet found no satisfying answer.
Forget it, we'll wait for Sora to wake up before discussing anything further.
Shaking their heads, the Iron Cavalry withdrew.
While Sora fell into his much-needed rest, battles continued fiercely on the frontlines against the insect swarm.
During this time, Swarmfall continued to dominate various discussions across the galactic network.
"Being able to afford Robin as a spokesperson for this game—that's insanely luxurious!"
"The game's so realistic too—I can even vividly see insects exploding!"
"Exactly! And when teammates' ships accidentally blow up, the visuals are mind-blowing."
People eagerly discussed these topics, and during this time, Swarmfall had undoubtedly become the most popular topic among everyone.
And uncovering easter eggs became a favorite pastime for players.
Currently, player forums featured a lengthy debate discussing how long exactly the giant red dragon was.
Everyone had different theories, enthusiastically arguing their points.
Apart from that, various other "easter eggs" also appeared in discussions.
For instance, planets ravaged by insects or shipwreck remains appearing after players died were frequently mentioned.
However, recently, another easter egg gradually captured players' attention.
"I saw a total solar eclipse appear in-game, and afterward, the star in that star system completely disappeared!"
"Huh? I thought I was imagining it. Didn't expect other players encountered the same easter egg!"
"Seriously? I've killed thousands of True Stings over three weeks, but I never saw that."
Discussion about this solar eclipse "easter egg" spread rapidly.
Initially, many players believed it was just a rumor, as most players had never encountered this event.
But gradually, a tiny minority of players stepped forward, confirming they'd indeed witnessed this rare event.
These eyewitness players were exceedingly few—less than one in a thousand.
Yet, given the accumulation of credible testimonies, the player community gradually accepted its existence.
Through the accounts of these players, they slowly pieced together the easter egg's appearance pattern.
The truth was, this event was gradually approaching the player spawn point from deep within the swarm region.
Initially observed tens of light-years away, each subsequent sighting appeared increasingly closer to the player spawn point.
"And it seems like it's approaching pretty fast too."
"If that's the case, wouldn't we just have to log in now and wait patiently, then we'd probably witness this easter egg ourselves?"
Realizing this possibility, players eagerly logged back into the game, patiently waiting to witness the phenomenon firsthand...
But then again—is this event really just an easter egg?
...
Within the boundless darkness of space, an even darker silhouette blended perfectly into its surroundings.
Like a massive scarab beetle rolling a sphere, it advanced steadily toward a hidden star system, not far from the frontline encampment.
Crack!
A sharp snapping sound suddenly pierced the silence. From the dark sphere it rolled, a searing tongue of flame burst forth, erupting in brilliant orange-red hues, reminiscent of the blazing sun.
Witnessing this, the dark beetle merely patched up the newly formed crack, suppressing the commotion once again. It then continued forward, tirelessly pushing the orb.
Its enormous body belied astonishing speed, swiftly reaching its destination.
Here, a dozen or more black spheres lay scattered, varying widely in size. Each one bore visible cracks, through which streams of incandescent, solar-like radiance seeped, exuding immense heat.
These dark spheres were none other than suns plucked from nearby star systems. Amid the tumultuous chaos of the Swarm Disaster, no one noticed or cared whether a star had vanished or simply gone dark—allowing it to silently transport these stars here.
This shadowy figure tirelessly collecting and moving suns was none other than Afterglow Swarm King, one of the two remaining Emanators of Propagation.
Its purpose for gathering these stars was extremely straightforward.
[I've gathered enough.]
Afterglow carefully counted the transported suns again.
Nineteen in total.
Three giant stars, five large stars, and the rest relatively similar in scale.
[Then, let's begin.]
Having collected enough, it was ready to set its plan into motion.
Long ago, it had located the enemies gathering point, sensing among them the individual bearing the power of Propagation.
Learning that Deceiver and Diabolical had both fallen at their hands, it concealed itself carefully, ensuring the utmost certainty of success.
Now, fully prepared, it finally commenced its attack.
Afterglow unfolded its gigantic form. Its pitch-black shell remained almost invisible in space, discernible only briefly when power surged through it.
It enveloped one star entirely with its body, then forcefully hammered the star's outer shell using powerful insect limbs.
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
With each impact, the star's crust fractured audibly.
The star's inner energy spilled out like molten lava, instantly absorbed by Afterglow's carapace wrapped around it.
Afterglow's massive body began shining with blinding intensity, rivaling the brightness of an actual star. Simultaneously, the star wrapped inside rapidly dimmed, weakening at an alarming pace.
Afterglow's power surged continuously, its body glowing ever brighter, becoming clearly visible even at distant locations.
"What's that over there?" People at the frontline encampment wondered, noticing the distant gleaming "sun."
Right then, Afterglow opened its enormous mouth wide!
[Stellar Ray Torrent!]
The immense energy converged into a single, concentrated beam, blasting directly toward the frontline star system!
This colossal energy beam blazed like molten gold, a piercing ray slicing through the cosmos. Everything along its path—asteroids, cosmic dust—was instantly vaporized into nothingness!
From the people's perspective, this brilliant beam intensified rapidly, growing brighter until it became utterly blinding.
Only now did the inhabitants of the encampment finally comprehend the horrifying nature of this flash.
"Enemy attack!" Roars and alarm sirens exploded into life simultaneously.
Everyone in the temporary camp mobilized instantly, scrambling into defensive positions.
...
Meanwhile, the [Stellar Ray Torrent] reached its peak destructive power!
Like a blade effortlessly slicing space apart, it vaporized celestial bodies near the temporary encampment, instantly reducing them to fundamental particles.
A terrifying, invisible force pressed down fiercely upon the temporary base!
The energy fields around this area fell into chaotic turbulence; ships drifting helplessly in space became entirely unresponsive.
The distant radiance approached swiftly, blisteringly hot, looming directly above everyone's heads!
The alloys used to construct this camp couldn't possibly withstand energy equivalent to an entire star's full power.
This ray didn't even need a direct hit; its mere proximity could cause catastrophic devastation.
"Shield generation failure! Defense systems malfunctioning!"
People in the camp panicked helplessly, but panic could change nothing.
"We're doomed," someone muttered, despair evident.
This beam, powerful enough to annihilate entire star systems, simply wasn't something humanity could resist.
The brilliant, scorching ray closed in; even the alloy structures began to melt.
Yet, precisely at this dire moment, a massive crimson body burst upward through the camp's metal flooring, rushing fiercely toward the incoming threat!
"Roooooar!!!"
An ear-splitting dragon's roar reverberated as fireball after fireball surged forth, colliding violently with the approaching ray.
The crimson dragon curled its enormous body into a defensive coil, using itself as a barrier against the devastating beam!
Its colossal shadow blocked the deadly flash, allowing those below to regain their senses, staring upward at their draconic protector.
"Is that… the dragon accompanying Sora?" Robin murmured, eyes wide with astonishment.
If her memory served correctly, hadn't this dragon been only several dozen meters long when it first departed with Sora?
Could it really be the same creature?
Quickly recovering from her shock, Robin shouted decisively, "Begin evacuating the entire encampment immediately!"
Regardless of whether this was truly Sora's dragon, it had already shielded them from certain annihilation. They couldn't waste this precious chance.
However, Robin abruptly noticed a familiar figure who wasn't retreating with the rest of the crowd.
"You lead them to safety first. After I deal with this, I'll catch up soon," he calmly instructed.
His exhausted features were painfully obvious—he'd awakened prematurely, still drained from insufficient rest.
Robin instinctively tried to call out, to convince him otherwise. But ultimately, she could only choke out a single phrase:
"Don't die!"
Sora nodded silently in acknowledgment.
"[Henshin]!"
Yet, as Robin watched his retreating figure vanish, a strange emptiness lingered deep within her heart.
No, no—he'd already created so many miracles before. This time, surely, he would return safely again!