"No money, just say so. Why make it sound so mystical?" Himeko mercilessly called out Freesna.
"Ugh… Honesty is key in life, Priestess Sister. This isn't good."
Caught off guard by the lecture, Freesna, clinging to her dignity, hid behind Adrian, still making a final stand: "Saintess…"
"Saintess, priestess, it's all the same. Don't sweat the small stuff." Adrian offered comfort, only to land another blow:
"Right, Priestess Freesna?"
"Urk…"
Freesna's face turned ashen, her spark fading.
"Teacher Adrian, that might've backfired," Stelle remarked.
"We're without a guide now, and we lack any direct means to locate the Stellaron Core… We'll have to proceed carefully." Dan Heng analyzed the situation, glancing at Adrian.
At a time like this, wasn't it time for him to step up?
"But no need to be pessimistic. The heavier the Voidranger corruption, the closer we are to the source. All we need to do next is…"
"Leave it to me." Freesna removed her hood, and a floating staff materialized in her palm.
The staff shimmered with a liquid starlight glow, its body woven from twin spirals of mithril vinewood, each inch embedded with pale blue stardust that left comet-tail trails when moved.
At its top, a suspended hourglass core glimmered. The star-sand in the upper half fell at an agonizingly slow pace, only to transform into colorful light specks upon reaching the center, flowing back to the top in an eternal loop.
Diamond-shaped runes orbited the hourglass, each facet refracting icy white light. The staff's tip extended into a translucent star-trail, forming a Möbius ring of interconnected light points.
"What's with this sudden oppressive aura…?"
March 7th hid behind Stelle. The northern snowfields were cold enough, but now the chill was bone-piercing.
Adrian broke into a sweat seeing Freesna summon her weapon. He should've toned it down when crafting it back then. A weapon directly bestowed by the Aeon of [Eternity]… how could it not have some flair?
If he could snatch Qlipoth's giant hammer, its value could probably buy out the Interastral Peace Corporation.
The moment Himeko saw the staff, her purple scythe suddenly felt lackluster. Truly, there was a gap between weapons.
"Such a familiar power…"
Dan Heng frowned, sensing something amiss.
The energy from the staff was strikingly similar to the soap in Blake's hands. Could it be… the soap was also a gift from the Aeon of [Eternity]?
No way, did THEY really love bathing that much? To gift even soap to THEIR Emanators?
Wait— that soap Blake gave him before, could it also be…?
As his thoughts raced, Freesna's feet sank into the snow, her footprints glowing indigo. The snowfield was instantly enveloped by an invisible giant hourglass.
Her fingers traced through the falling snow, each flake turning into a prismatic ice spike, shooting toward anything tied to the Voidrangers. The moment a Voidranger construct touched the ice, it was devoured by a miniature hourglass at the spike's tip.
"Wow… what a flashy move! Does it have a name?" March 7th, snapping out of her daze, became Freesna's instant fan.
"Eternal Corridor: Twelvefold End of the Snowrealm Rift." Freesna flashed a confident, radiant smile.
"That's… a bit of a mouthful. Never mind." March 7th abandoned any thought of learning the skill.
"What just… happened?"
Himeko hadn't processed it yet. The scene before her had changed… or maybe it hadn't. The Voidranger traces were gone, and the falling snowflakes had turned into hourglass-shaped ice crystals.
"A small token of the Church's sincerity. Please accept it."
If they wanted Stelle to join the Church, how could Freesna, as the high priestess— ahem, Saintess— not show some sincerity?
"Your Church sure has a lot of sincerity."
Last night in Boulder Town, Himeko and Bronya had heard Blake say they'd clear out all the Voidranger constructs in the lower district—not just as a gift to the Aeon of [Eternity], but as a gesture of the Church's goodwill.
So generous. The Church must be widely praised across the cosmos.
"Hm… you didn't clean up thoroughly." Adrian pointed to two sudden afterimages in the distance.
March 7th followed his gaze and gasped, "That's Bronya! Wait, wait! Why's Cocolia there too?!"
"Some kind of afterimage? Residual energy from the Voidrangers…" Dan Heng's words were cut off as Himeko, scythe in hand, sprinted toward them.
For some reason, Stelle felt an ominous premonition. As they approached the afterimages, Bronya's voice reached their ears.
"You still haven't told me where this is, Mother."
Cocolia's icy voice responded, "Seven hundred years ago, this was Belobog's northern frontier, where Alisa Rand led the first Silvermane Guards to fend off the Legion."
"Now… it's just an abandoned corridor, echoing with the remnants of the old world. Don't be fooled by its broken facade, Bronya."
"When the promise is fulfilled… this ruin will become the cradle of a new world."
The afterimage of Bronya fell silent. "Mother, do you really believe the [Stellaron Core]'s promises? It summoned the blizzards beyond the walls, opened the gates of the Voidrangers, and brought [Destruction] to our civilization."
At the mention of [Destruction], a certain silver-haired elf's frosty ears twitched, shedding faint glimmers as she perked up instantly.
"Wait, wait…" March 7th sensed what was coming but was too late to stop the past's echoes born from the Voidrangers.
"Our ancestors' mistake was not embracing [Destruction] sooner."
In that instant, Freesna felt everyone's gazes—except Adrian's—fix on her.
"Hm? Why do you all look at me so strangely?"
Everyone knew the relationship between [Eternity] and [Destruction]. This Voidranger projection was practically taunting the Church of Eternity to their faces, daring her not to react.
"If she got worked up over something this trivial, she wouldn't be an Emanator of [Eternity]."
Adrian explained that as long as you didn't badmouth [Eternity], mentioning [Destruction] a few times wouldn't provoke the Church's wrath. Being overly petty would make them seem small-minded, no different from a childish spat.
"You don't think I'm as foolish as Blake, do you? Getting triggered at the mere mention of [Destruction]."
Freesna gave a disdainful smile. Her heart was vast—why would she stoop to bicker with a mere Guardian?
Taking the milk tea Adrian handed her, she sipped it casually.
"Phew… That was an emotional rollercoaster." March 7th's tension eased. No anger, good. Peace prevails.
"From the moment the invaders from beyond descended, this world was sentenced to death. But the Stellaron Core… it gave us a sliver of hope."
"Once its promise is fulfilled, Bronya… we won't need to spend our lives guarding a wasteland. You and I will witness the new world rise from these ruins."
A burst of static interrupted, and the conversation, which should've ended, resumed:
"When that time comes, the meaningless [Eternity] will also fall into the embrace of [Destruction]."
Crack!
The milk tea cup in Freesna's hand shattered.