Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

This is a plaza made up of ruins. Judging from its structure, it was once a plaza inside a very large building.

In the center of this plaza is the device that seals the star core, and beneath that device stands a figure.

The person had beautiful long blonde hair and was wearing the uniform of a Great Guardian; she was Cocolia, who had been missing for some time.

"Mother, why are you here?"

It was clear that Bronya Rand hadn't expected Cocolia to be here either.

"I didn't expect you were still alive."

Cocolia turned around, and her icy gaze melted instantly, leaving only overflowing tenderness.

"When the guards reported to me that you were missing, I thought I was going to lose another daughter. Thank goodness you're still alive!"

"Lady Cocolia has not yet answered my question."

"Why am I here? Ever since those people behind you arrived, the will of the Star Core has been anxious. It's urging me to finish creating the new world as soon as possible, and now is the perfect time to carry out the plan."

"Lady Cocolia, no, Cocolia, you actually reached a cooperation agreement with the Star Core?!"

Even if Bronya Rand was slow to react, she should have realized it by now. No! Or rather, she was unwilling to admit it.

From the moment they arrived and met Cocolia, Bronya Rand had already guessed that Cocolia might have betrayed the protection and chosen to cooperate with the Star Core.

"You should know, right? The reason Belloberg is like this now is because of that star core!"

"So what if I know?" Cocolia retorted.

"This star core was activated by the first Great Guardian himself, in order to stop those invaders from beyond the heavens. After using it, out of fear of the star core's power, he sealed it away and even concealed the truth."

"If anyone is truly to blame, shouldn't they be the first Great Guardian?"

"..."

Bronya Rand was unable to refute it; she had also learned about these things from Schwarz.

"And what has the Star Guardian done in these past few centuries? It did nothing. It was humanity itself that resisted the cold waves, and it was humanity itself that resisted the rifts. Did it even glance at us when the City Builders were forced to activate the Star Core?"

“But shouldn’t the barrier that helped Belloberg withstand the storm have been made by Kripper?” Xing retorted.

"That barrier was also created by researchers based on the power of the star core. It can be said that the fact that Belloberg has been able to survive to this day is actually due to the power of the star core!"

"Stop spouting nonsense, witch!" Seele said. "You're saying that Beloberg has survived until now because of that damn star core? What a joke! It's because of that star core that the lower districts were invaded by the rift, and the places where everyone can live are getting smaller and smaller, and resources are getting more and more scarce. The lower districts have been able to hold on until now thanks to the combined efforts of the Earthfire, the forces of Schwarz, the wanderers, and the miners!"

"Although we sometimes argue about the Earth Core, without everyone's joint efforts, the lower zone would have been destroyed long ago. Where would your upper zone get Earth Core for heating? Now someone is telling me that everything will be fine as long as the star core is sealed, so I'm determined to seal this star core!"

"It seems you've been taken to the lower districts! Bronya, can you tell me your thoughts now?"

“My view is the same as Seele’s. No matter what the Star Core was activated for in the first place, it is now a threat to Beloberg. So let’s seal it off completely and lead the people to work hard to get through the cold wave and build our home.”

Bronya Rand took a deep breath and spoke with a firm and resolute expression.

"This is the path we should choose! Even if the journey is long and arduous, even if it takes generations of hard work, one day we will usher in our own spring."

"I don't know what kind of world you want to create using the star core. It may be beautiful, but that beauty will never belong to Belloberg!"

"It seems we have ultimately gone down different paths."

Cocolia's gentle gaze turned completely cold, and a pair of ice-blue lances appeared in her right hand.

"Then let me show you this power to move mountains and fill seas! Creation Engine, activate!"

With Cocolia's command, the massive robot behind her started up, and Cocolia was slowly lifted up on its hands. Then, a large number of Rift creatures surrounded them.

Upon seeing this, everyone quickly summoned their weapons and stood guard.

The next second, a Rift creature modeled after the Silvermane Iron Guard, covered in ice armor from head to toe, and known as the Eternal Winter Disaster, charged forward.

Seeing this, Xing dared not be negligent. He swung the baseball bat in his hand and hit a beautiful home run. In an instant, the Eternal Winter Disaster Shadow turned into specks of starlight and disappeared in mid-air.

On the other side, Dan Heng wielded a long spear called Ji Yun, striking, sweeping, and thrusting with dazzling ease. His fierce attacks formed an invisible wall in front of him, preventing enemies from getting any closer.

Seele, on the other hand, would sometimes teleport and sometimes become invisible, her cold scythe flashing with a blinding white light as she reaped every enemy on the battlefield.

As for March 7th and Bronya Rand, they provided fire support with their respective weapons.

However, the number of Rift creatures is endless, and no matter how fast they kill them, Rift creatures can always regenerate at an even faster rate.

They even saw the figures of Honkai creatures among the Rift creatures.

"No! This will never end! We must capture the leader first. Xing, we'll cover you for a while, you find a way to break through to Cocolia's side!"

Upon hearing Dan Heng's words, Xing immediately abandoned his defenses and charged towards the Creation Engine with all his might.

Danheng immediately followed and cleared the obstacles in her path. Sanyueqi understood and drew her bow even faster. The rift creatures that Danheng had missed were all killed by Sanyueqi.

With his companions leading the way, Xing successfully arrived at the bottom of the Creation Engine. After a burst of intense parkour, Xing lived up to expectations and stood in front of Cocolia.

"I didn't expect you to be the one standing in front of me first."

Cocolia has now completed her fusion with the Star Core, and having abandoned her human identity, she has been assimilated by the rift energy overflowing from the Star Core.

Beneath the armor made of solid ice was a body as celestial as the starry sky, and the face beneath the ice helmet, whose features were no longer discernible, was now staring intently at the stars.

Xing didn't speak; she silently raised the baseball bat in her hand and pointed it at Cocolia, who was floating in mid-air.

The battle started again.

Cocolia attacked first. With a flick of her left hand, several ice spikes instantly formed and flew towards Xing. Xing dared not be negligent and immediately mobilized all the imaginary energy in her body to inject into the baseball bat in her hand.

The baseball bat, now infused with a large amount of imaginary energy, emitted a dazzling blue light the next second.

Xing gripped the baseball bat with both hands and swung it forcefully at the ice cone. The baseball bat traced a blue path in the air, and the ice cone that came into contact with the path was instantly vaporized by its massive imaginary energy.

But Cocolia's attack did not end there. She drew her right hand upwards, gathering a large amount of imaginary energy, and then countless ice spikes formed in the air.

Without giving the star time to react, the ice spikes were launched the instant they formed.

While Xing was struggling to deal with the ice spikes coming from all directions, Cocolia quietly summoned her previous lance with her left hand and struck Xing in the chest the moment her defense opened up.

Xing was sent flying through the air by the immense force of the attack, and lost consciousness.

When Xing awoke, she found herself in a strange space. The background was a galaxy composed of countless stars, making her feel as if she were in the universe. In front of her was a soft, bright trail of light extending into the distance.

Having no clue why she was here, Xing decided to follow the path of light to find out.

Along the way, I witnessed Cocolia's life, from her initial high spirits to her gradual disappointment, and finally to her despair. Faced with the seduction of the Star Core, the desperate Cocolia chose to cooperate with the Star Core.

At the end of the road, a lance with an amber barrel was stuck in the void. Standing in front of that lance was an unknown girl, she said, "She is the remaining will of the guardians."

"The city is crying out... the power of preservation is fading. In the very end... we still cannot resist the will of the Star Core."

“This is not the true meaning of preservation…” Xing said.

Why are you so certain?

she asked rhetorically.

"For the past seven hundred years, the rift has been expanding every minute and every second. What we leave to our successors is... no faith or wealth, only boundless despair."

"Witnessing the homeland we swore to protect gradually disappear before our eyes... is torturous. Coupled with those lingering, seductive whispers... even the strongest will cannot help but waver, and this day was destined to come. Its protection... was destined to leave us."

There will always be people who will not waver.

Xing recalled Bronya Rand's words before the war began and said with certainty.

"Let someone else store it until then."

“You…” The Guardian’s will turned around and looked at Xing in surprise.

"You are but a passerby, yet you insist on shouldering the fate of the entire world... So be it. What else is there to lose... what else can't you try?"

Speaking of the guardian's will, he looked at the lance under the light.

"Go and touch the light of the amber, Pioneer. See if the will you hold within you is strong enough... strong enough to attract His gaze."

After he finished speaking, the guardian's will parted the path.

Xing approached the lance without a word, then reached out and touched the hilt. Instantly, the lance emitted a scorching heat, and Xing instinctively withdrew her hand. But the next second, with unwavering resolve, Xing gripped the hilt with both hands and pulled upwards with force.

With a roar from Xing, the lance was completely drawn.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the universe, a giant looked toward Arillo-VI; he was the guardian god Krippar.

Then the hammer in His hand slowly fell and struck the city wall in front of Him, the sound of which resounded throughout the world for a long time.

Having fully regained consciousness, Xing adjusted her posture in mid-air and landed in the hands of the Creation Engine. The people who had rushed over breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Xing safe and sound.

Cocolia stared in astonishment at the lance in Hoshi's hand, exclaiming, "This is impossible..."

"The will to preserve has made its choice..."

Bronya Rand looked at the lance in Xing's hand and said.

"You know nothing of the world's plight... and nothing of the end that awaits it!"

Even if we are destined to perish, we will hold hands and bravely walk into the darkness.

March 7th retorted, "No, with us here, that kind of ending will never happen!"

"Hmph, that sounds nice, but what can you do if you face it?"

As she spoke, Cocolia summoned a strangely shaped monster.

It has a humanoid body, its entire body is made of black parts, and its central core is wrapped in a compass-like object. It holds a greatsword in its left hand and has wheels on its feet for easy gliding.

"This is the imaginary divine remains—nihilism—that I reconstructed using the Star Core based on the memories of you outsiders. Not only that, I also enhanced it with the power of the Star Core. Now that the strongest among you is being held back, what ability do you have to defeat it? Please struggle to your heart's content until the moment I complete the creation of the world!"

The next second, accompanied by a loud dragon roar, Nihilism was knocked to the ground by a white dragon, and Kiana's energetic voice rang out from the dragon's back.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Kiana looked at Cocolia in mid-air, a confident smile on her lips.

"Is your attack over? Now it's our turn. No objections?"