Star Iron: The Past and Present Life of the Gender-Swapped Dragon Lord

"This is... the rift that Jepard mentioned?"

"The erosion on the outskirts is nothing compared to what's happening here."

Upon entering the Rift, an eerie feeling immediately gripped everyone's hearts, causing a sense of unease.

"So, we need to find the exit of this maze first, right?"

I remember Hilva saying that the "Star Core" was in the north. Danheng looked at the labyrinth in front of him, and his beautiful eyes had turned into dead fish eyes.

I was already lost, and then they made me into a maze.

Do you want anyone left alive?

“I said… don’t you guys feel this place is weird, like you’re being watched by several eyes?”

Seele agreed with March 7's comment, saying, "This place... gives me goosebumps, it's uncomfortable, it feels like there are bugs crawling under my skin."

"Right now, we have no guides, no means to directly probe the 'star core'—we can only proceed cautiously, step by step."

"But there's no need to be pessimistic. The more severe the erosion, the closer we are to the root cause."

After listening to Dan Heng's brief analysis, the group became more alert and cautious before venturing deeper into the area.

However, she hadn't gone far when Seele spotted something lying on the ground.

"This is—Bronya's!"

"It was found at the orphanage."

"Yes! Could it be that she's already been here?"

Seele looked worried, but her attention was immediately diverted by the howling March 7.

"Ughhh! Look, how come Bronya and Cocolia are over there?"

Looking around, the group saw two figures, projected like virtual images, standing not far away, making a walking motion.

"No... those aren't them, they're some kind of energy afterimage copied from the Rift?"

"In other words, they've already been here."

Danheng pointed to the stairs over there, "Let's follow them, they should have gone that way."

The group cautiously approached the two afterimages. After confirming there was no danger, March 7 even poked them with his finger.

But the result was that the finger passed through the afterimage, and a garbled error mark appeared and was then repaired.

Bronya: "...You still haven't told me where this place is, Mother."

Cocolia: "Seven hundred years ago, this was the northern border of Beloborg, and the ancient battlefield where Alisa Rand led the first Silvermane Iron Guards to resist the Legion."

Cocolia: "As for now... it's just an abandoned corridor, echoing with the remnants of the old world."

Cocolia: "But don't be fooled by this broken appearance, Bronya. When the promise is fulfilled... this ruin will become the cradle of a new world."

Bronya: "...Mother, do you really believe the promise made by the 'Star Core'? It summoned the blizzard outside the walls and opened the gates to the Rift. It destroyed our civilization."

Cocolia: "--The mistake our ancestors made was not embracing destruction sooner."

Cocolia: "From the moment the invaders from outer space arrived, this world was already condemned to death. But the Star Core... it gave us a glimmer of hope."

Cocolia: "Rebirth comes at a price. Erasing all traces of the old world's decay, abandoning meaningless lingering... that's the price the 'Star Core' demands."

Cocolia: "After His promise is fulfilled, Bronya... we will no longer have to spend our lives guarding a wasteland. You and I will witness a new world rising from the ruins."

"..."

"Isn't this all nonsense?"

On March 7th, Cocolia's words sounded deceptive at first glance, but in reality, any normal person would immediately sense something was wrong, and she looked furious.

"Who talks like that?!"

Not only was March 7 indignant, but Seele also scoffed at these words.

"According to this so-called Great Guardian, what about the hardworking miners? What about the Silvermane Iron Guards who sacrificed their lives?"

"How is this any different from a cold-blooded animal?"

According to Cocolia, all the people and things in Belloberg are part of the old world.

They are all parts that can be sacrificed, destroyed for the so-called new world of the "Star Core".

I wonder what the Iron Guards who are fighting desperately on the front lines will think when they hear this, but March 7 and Seele are clearly already a bit red-hot.

After swiftly eliminating the rifting beings blocking their path, the group continued towards their destination.

Ignoring the threat of rifting, the group worked together to unlock the mechanisms guarded by the monsters, clearing the way unimpeded.

"Are these monsters guarding these man-made devices?"

"As far as common sense is concerned, indeed."

"Hey hey hey, just a warning, you've switched channels."

As they walked further forward, Bronya and Cocolia's afterimages reappeared on an upward staircase, and their conversation reached their ears once more as they drew closer.

“I don’t understand… If the truth is as you say, then every Guardian in power over the past few centuries has resisted the call of the Star Core…”

"Did they all do something wrong, Mother?"

Cocolia responded coldly to Bronya's questioning.

"Haven't you seen it yet, Bronya? There is no right or wrong here, only human arrogance and shortsightedness."

“Our ancestors—including Alisa Rand—burned their lives to continue this civilization, and then fell silent, their memories scattered by the wind and snow.”

"They spent their lives composing hymns to praise human courage, but they never had time to gaze at the stars."

"To the more magnificent beings in the starry sky, a thousand years is but a drop in the ocean, and the achievements of a tiny race are of no noteworthy value."

"I will not repeat their mistakes and wallow in self-pity on a dead end. If persisting is destined to be futile, then I will choose a fresh start."

Clearly, Cocolia has been almost completely controlled by the "Star Core" and is now obsessed with denying "preservation" and embracing destruction.

“But isn’t Cripper, the ‘Guardian’—one of the ‘Great Beings’ you’re talking about? Isn’t it his power that has been protecting Belloborg all along?”

"Preservation? When has 'Preservation' ever even glanced at humanity? It's nothing but the builders' delusional arrogance."

“You will hear a truly magnificent voice, Bronya, and then you will understand my choice.”

"..."

Dan Heng listened to Cocolia's voice and was filled with emotion.

A once unwavering guardian, under the influence of the "Star Core," could not withstand the tide of despair.

Destruction of the world.

Overthrow the old world and create a new one.

Cocolia rejected "preservation," rejected the builders, and rejected her own ambitious and spirited self from back then.

Redemption based on the destruction of the world.

It is a gift He promised to lonely sinners.

It is also a shackle that binds her.