Collapse Iron: Cosplaying the Near-Death Star, but with a full destiny.

The heavy steel gate slowly rose as the winch pulled, emitting a teeth-grinding grinding sound.

As the gap widened, a complex odor, a mixture of coal smoke, engine oil, and high-concentration hot steam, burst forth as if it were a physical entity.

Messenger 7582 subconsciously shrank back.

For the insectoid race, who have long lived in the pure and sterile Crystal City, this smell of industrial waste gas is nothing short of a biological weapon.

Its antennae trembled violently, as if protesting this olfactory violence.

But soon.

When the door was fully open, and the picture of "survival" was revealed to it.

All discomfort was replaced by shock.

It saw people.

A lot of people.

Guards dressed in heavy cotton-padded coats were patrolling, their halberds gleaming coldly under the steam lamps.

Vendors wrapped in scarves hawked their wares on the roadside, and a crowd of drooling children surrounded the steaming sausage stalls.

The massive automaton strode heavily across the street, the snow beneath its feet crunching under its weight.

In the distance, Krippar Castle soars into the clouds, its massive gears at the top turning tirelessly in the wind and snow.

Although it looks a bit run-down.

Although everyone's face was flushed from the wind and snow.

But that kind of noise.

That vibrant energy, full of the warmth and life of everyday life.

But it was something it had never seen in that desolate crystal city.

"this……"

The messenger took two steps forward, but then stopped at the clear dividing line at the doorway—outside was the bitter cold of wind and snow, inside was the warmth of steam.

It looked at the crowds coming and going, its compound eyes filled with disbelief.

"So many... individuals?"

Its voice was trembling.

"In an environment like this... where even metal would become brittle from freezing?"

"How did you manage to do that?"

In its understanding.

A deteriorating environment means a sharp decline in population.

Like their planet, due to the decay of the swarm and the red dwarf star, the population has plummeted from billions at its peak to less than a hundred now.

And here...

This is just one city, but it has an estimated population of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands.

"Rely on this."

Dan Heng pointed to the heaters emitting red light by the roadside.

"Earth marrow. A high-energy mineral. The Beloborg people burned it to obtain heat."

"Of course, more importantly..."

He glanced at the people who, despite being bundled up tightly, still walked with their backs straight.

"That will to live... to survive."

"Storage..."

The messenger chewed on the word.

It looked at the guards.

Looking at those high walls.

Suddenly, a strange sense of resonance arose.

"Just like us."

It said in a low voice.

"We built an underwater dome to protect it from the gnawing of true gnats."

"You built high walls on the snowfield to resist the raging wind and snow."

"We are all...fighting for survival."

Hearing this, Hoshi felt a little uneasy.

Although that's the logic.

However, their situations are fundamentally different.

"Not quite the same."

Hoshi shook his head.

She walked to the messenger's side, gazing at the city shrouded in snow and wind.

"Your enemies are insects, foreign invaders."

"And the enemy here..."

She reached out and caught a falling snowflake.

"This snowstorm is not a product of nature."

"It was man-made."

"Or perhaps... it was done by God."

"God?"

The messenger was puzzled.

"It's because of a star core."

Shihoshi said that name.

"The cancer of all worlds. The seed of calamity."

"It crashed here, triggering a cold wave that froze the entire planet."

"This endless snowfall, this seven hundred years of eternal winter, are all thanks to it."

"Star core?"

The messenger's antennae twitched.

This word is unfamiliar to it.

But judging from the description, it seems to be some kind of extremely powerful energy source?

To freeze a planet... how high would that energy level have to be?

"I have it! I have it!"

Just then.

Xing, who hadn't said much until now, suddenly jumped out.

Like a primary school student eager to answer a question, he raised his right hand high.

"I have one here!"

Xing patted her flat chest.

It made a series of muffled thuds.

He looked very proud.

"Not only do I have it, she has it too!"

She casually pointed to the star next to her.

"We're both the kind of people... carrying a big baby inside us!"

㳉星：……

Danheng: ...

Long Night Moon: Ah.

Hoshi really wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Is this something to brag about?

Is it as glorious as shouting in the street, "I have late-stage cancer, and it's a special variant of cancer"?

And could you please refrain from using phrases like "having a big baby in her belly" that are easily misunderstood?

But the envoy clearly didn't understand the point.

Its compound eyes widened instantly.

He stared intently at Xing's chest.

It's as if they want to see through that layer of clothing.

"Do you possess the power within you... to freeze planets?"

The messenger's voice was filled with awe.

Even its legs couldn't help but take two steps back, adopting a defensive stance.

"Then wouldn't that be... a super energy core?"

"If we take it out, could it power our crystal dome for ten thousand years?"

"This is... truly good stuff!"

The way it looked at the star changed.

It's no longer about watching an ordinary carbon-based life form.

It's more like looking at a mobile nuclear power plant.

There was even a hint of...envy in his eyes?

Xing was feeling a little smug.

With his hands on his hips, his nose was practically pointing to the sky.

"Of course! This is extremely rare! There are only a handful in the entire universe..."

"It's not a good thing."

Hoshino couldn't listen to it anymore.

She walked over and pulled Xing, who was still feeling self-satisfied, back to reality.

Then he shook his head at the messenger.

His expression was serious.

"That's not energy."

"That's a curse."

"It is the beginning of destruction."

She pointed to the city in front of her, struggling to breathe in the wind and snow.

Look here.

Do you think they're doing well?

"If given a choice, who would want to live in a cage where they can only keep warm by burning stones and where even seeing a glimpse of the blue sky is a luxury?"

The envoy was stunned.

It glanced at the bustling crowd, whose faces all wore expressions of exhaustion.

Then I looked at the frozen ruins in the distance.

silent.

"and……"

Hoshi sighed.

She decided to teach this naive alien friend a lesson.

After all, to make them understand the meaning of "exploration," they must first know the cost of "isolation."

"This planet wasn't always called Yalilo-VI."

The sound of the star became distant and ethereal.

It's like a bard recounting a long-forgotten history.

"A great battle took place here long ago."

"The Peren people prayed to the gods for help in order to resist the invasion."

"The God of War in Spring, Arilo, responded to them, bringing victory and leaving behind this name."

"Back then, this place was like spring all year round, and everything grew."

"later."

"An alien civilization has arrived."

"The Interstellar Peace Corporation brought technology, and those huge automatons."

"The Starry Sky Train has also been here."

"Even on the snow-covered plains in the northwest, you can see that terrain that looks like... well, like that doll from earlier."

(Although it was just an Easter egg, Hoshino still blurted it out.)

"That was a golden age of peace and development."

"until……"

Hoshino's tone became more serious.

"The antimatter army is here."

"The claws of destruction are trying to tear this planet apart."

"And in despair, some people listened to the bewitching power of the Star Core."

"They thought it was salvation, they thought it was hope."

"Just as you thought."

She looked at the messenger.

"They made a wish."

"The Star Core has responded."

"And so... eternal winter descended."

"The antimatter legion is indeed frozen."

"But all life, all civilization, all hope on this planet... were frozen together."

"A full seven hundred years."

"The door is tightly shut."

"Those inside can't get out, and those outside can't get in."

"They didn't even know if there were any living people outside, or what the universe had become."

"They became an isolated island."

"Just like...you are now."

The messenger listened intently.

Its compound eyes stared unblinkingly at the star.

The antennae stopped waving.

Completely immersed in this tragic yet strangely familiar story.

An isolated island.

despair.

A wrong choice made in order to survive.

All of this...

It's so similar.

"That……"

The messenger's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"And then?"

"How did they survive those seven hundred years?"

"And then... what happened?"

It desperately wanted to know how it would end.

Because this is not just someone else's story.

This seems to be a prelude to their own fate.

"And then..."

Hoshi smiled.

This time, the smile was less heavy and more bright.

She pointed to the stars beside her, March 7th, and Danheng.

"Then, the train came again."

"A group of fearless nameless travelers ventured into this blizzard."

"They don't fight alone like those so-called 'heroes'."

"They argue, they do silly things, they rummage through the trash."

(Star: Hey! Can we cut this part?)

"But they would also challenge the gods, seal the star core, and reopen the door that had been frozen for seven hundred years, all for a promise, for those they had never met."

Hoshi turned around.

Looking at the Belberg gate, which was still spewing steam.

"Now."

"Trade has resumed."

"Although the snowstorm hasn't stopped, some people have already started trying to go out."

"Some people even participated in the Interstellar Martial Arts Ceremony and came back as champions."

She looked at the messenger.

His eyes were clear and firm.

"That's what I wanted to tell you."

"A story about 'preservation,' about 'pioneering,' and also about... hope."

Even if it's a dead end.

Even if it's been frozen for seven hundred years.

"As long as someone is willing to lend a hand, as long as someone is willing to take that step."

Spring...will eventually return.

Danheng: ...Please don't insert your own opinions when popularizing history.