Collapse Iron: What does it mean to broaden the fate of four people in one sentence?

This means that the storage service did not abandon them at all!

This means she was fooled by the star core!

This means that what she did during her time as Grand Warden almost brought Berloberg to its knees!

Cocolia's fingers trembled slightly.

It is anger.

Anger towards oneself.

"We are salvation."

The sounds continued, intermittently.

"We are the future. We didn't lie to you. As long as you're willing..."

"Shut up."

Cocolia's voice was as cold as the wind and snow outside the fireplace.

She looked up and stared directly at the irregular crystal.

At that moment, she had only one thought in her mind.

She wants to atone for her sins.

She wants to atone for the lives of the people of Beloberburg who paid the price because of her actions.

Those lower-class residents she abandoned, those Iron Guardians who died in the Rift because of her tacit approval, those who could have lived but were pushed to their deaths by her own hands...

Every name is a thorn in her heart.

What is the best way to atone for one's sins?

She already knew the answer when she saw the melting ice spear that morning.

The stellar core is not uncontrollable and unusable.

Although the City Builders have stopped researching the star core in recent years, their records indicate that the star core is a huge energy source, and the furnace is the key to using the star core's energy, but it cannot make the star core release energy on a large scale.

But what if she, like the first generation of Great Guardians, used her body to contain the Star Core and remained with it?

Could this allow the star core to release energy according to her will?

After years of research, Cocolia proved that it was possible.

But if you're not careful, you might lose your soul.

But it doesn't matter anymore.

Belloberg has become a more capable leader.

And this leader is her daughter.

She not only had to pave the way for her daughter, but also had to atone for her sins.

But not today, and not now.

Because Bronya has not yet succeeded as the Grand Guardian.

She wanted to see Bronya standing in front of the public during the last moments of her life.

Look at that little girl who followed her around since childhood, and how she grew into a leader who could lead Belleberg out of the cold wave, even if it's just for a glance, just one glance.

The purpose of this visit is to clearly tell the Star Core,

The people of Belloberg have a future.

She wanted Xingnu to experience the feeling of "despair," to experience what she felt back then.

“Something without a soul.”

Cocolia's voice echoed deep within the hearth, each word clear as a pronouncement.

Cherish your last moments.

The star core flashed intensely a few times.

The frequency didn't seem like a normal energy fluctuation; it was more like a fluctuation of some kind of emotion.

Anger? Fear? Or resentment?

Cocolia didn't know, and didn't care.

She turned around and strode out.

Behind her, the star core's light flickered, as if it were saying something, but Cocolia could no longer hear it.

Or perhaps, she simply doesn't want to hear anymore.

Cocolia stood at the doorway and looked back one last time.

The irregular crystal floated in the darkness.

Seven hundred years ago, Alisa Rand sealed it here.

Seven hundred years later, her daughter Bronya Rand will end it all here.

Cocolia withdrew her gaze, pushed open the door, and stepped into the snowstorm.

The door to the hearth slowly closed behind me, and the wind and snow rushed in, icy and biting.

But a hint of a smile played on Cocolia's lips.

That was the first real laugh she had in years.

She walked aimlessly. The administrative district was deserted in the dead of night. The streetlights cast long shadows of her, sometimes in front, sometimes behind.

She stopped in front of the Yongdong Inscription Stele.

Cocolia stood there for a while, then turned to look at the fountain.

Even in the snow-covered city of Beloborg, there are still fountains.

Here, children throw coins into the fountain and make wishes.

She threw them away when she was little too.

I've forgotten what I wished for.

She walked to the railway tracks again. The tracks stretched into the distance, towards that world sealed by ice and snow. For seven hundred years, not a single train had ever departed from here.

Cocolia stood beside the railway tracks and unconsciously began to hum a song.

That's a very old song.

These are songs she sang when she was young, when she formed a band with Shiluwa, Dunn, and others.

They were all very young then, feeling that the world was at their feet and that anything could be changed.

Back then, when Shiluwa played the guitar, she would bite her lower lip.

Back then, she could still smile.

Cocolia's gaze inadvertently drifted toward the street corner.

There was a machine shop there, and the windows were still lit.

Hiluva's Mechanical House.

What is she doing so late at night?

She walked toward the machine shop.

One step, two steps, three steps.

I walked to the door and stopped.

She raised her hand, as if to knock on the door.

But he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

The door was right in front of me, separated by a wooden board, and there stood the person I used to know so well.

She could hear faint sounds coming from inside, like someone fiddling with some parts, making tinkling noises.

Cocolia's hand hovered in front of the door, hesitant to fall.

What are you saying?

Long time no see?

Or... I'm sorry?

she does not know.

She found herself unsure of what expression to wear when facing Shiluva, what tone to use, or even what to call her.

Hiluva?

Or...Ms. Landau?

Just as she hesitated, a figure appeared in the sky above the machine shop.

Cocolia looked up.

Hiluva sat on the eaves, her legs dangling in the air, holding a guitar in her arms.

That guitar was a gift she gave to Silva years ago.

Hiluva's fingers touched the strings and plucked them lightly.

Then she started playing.

When the first note fell, Cocolia's breath caught for a moment.

The melody is familiar.

Every note is familiar.

That was the song she had just hummed.

That was the only time they sang together during a formal performance at Belleburg's school.

After the performance, Shiluwa hugged her and said, "We're going to go on a concert tour!"

She smiled and said, "Okay."

And then that was it.

Cocolia stood there for a long time.

Then she smiled.

She joined in, singing softly.

The sound was very soft, so soft that it was almost blown away by the wind.

But Hiluva heard it.

On the eaves, Hiluva's singing paused for a moment.

She lowered her head and looked at the street.

The lights were dim, and snowflakes were falling.

Cocolia stood in front of the machine shop, tilting her head back, her lips slightly moving.

Hiluva was taken aback.

The fingers were still plucking the strings, the rhythm continued.

She looked at the woman standing in the wind and snow, at her cheeks that were slightly red from the cold, and at the somewhat awkward smile on her lips.

I haven't seen her smile in many years.

Hiluva was silent for a moment.

She didn't ask "Why are you here?" or "What are you doing out so late?" She didn't ask those questions that had been left unanswered for so many years, questions that they no longer knew where to begin.

She just kept playing her guitar and kept singing.

Two sounds, one falling from the eaves, the other rising from the snow.

One is clear and bright, the other is deep and somber.

One is like that spirited guitarist from back then, and the other is like a great guardian who has finally let go of too much burden.