Chapter 56: The Truth

Hearing this, Lord Bronya Rand felt as if an invisible hand had wrapped around his heart and squeezed, a sharp, suffocating ache that left him breathless.

March 7th’s exaggerated yet vivid additions to the story, coupled with the image of Bronya’s own adorable, innocent face… it all coalesced in his mind.

He saw it clearly: a young girl, waking up all alone amidst cold, desolate ruins, utterly lost and helpless.

And that girl had a face that was a perfect reflection of his own.

If… if she truly was related to him, yet had ended up in a place like this, enduring such unimaginable hardships… He had to physically crush the wave of heartache and confusion that threatened to overwhelm him.

But duty, responsibility, his father’s orders, the very survival of Belobog—these burdens were too heavy to allow him the luxury of being swept away by personal feelings.

“So,” Lord Bronya forced his voice to remain steady, each word a carefully placed stone.

“What is your true purpose in coming to Belobog and involving yourselves in these matters?

The Astral Express passing through here… it can’t simply be for rescuing those in distress, can it?”

Dan Heng met his gaze without flinching.

He knew this was no time for vague assurances; the man before him was the de facto ruler of Belobog.

When it came to the truth of the Stellaron, he likely knew far more than the people of the Underworld and was far more deeply entangled in its consequences.

“Our purpose is directly related to the true crisis facing Belobog,” Dan Heng stated plainly.

“We have perceived, and confirmed through observation, the abnormal Eternal Freeze of Jarilo-VI and the ever-expanding Rift.

Even the disorder and depletion of Geomarrow energy—the root cause is not the natural climate, but an out-of-control Stellaron.”

“What did you say?!”

Seele’s voice detonated in the quiet room.

He had been standing to the side with his arms crossed, watching the exchange with a cold detachment, but now his entire expression had shattered.

He lunged forward, nearly slamming into the table, his voice rising with a frantic, desperate energy.

“The Eternal Freeze… is because of that Stellaron thing?!

It’s not a natural disaster?!

It’s not… it’s not just our fate?!”

His voice was thick with the anger and humiliation that had accumulated over countless years, yet it was also laced with a sliver of hope so sharp it was painful, like a drowning man grasping at a single straw.

“You’re saying it can be solved?!

How?!

Where is it?!

Where is that damn thing?!”

Oleg’s hand, which had been resting on her lap, trembled for a single, telling moment.

For the first time, the older woman, who was usually as steady and immovable as a mountain, showed a flicker of irrepressible shock in her eyes.

She stared intently at Dan Heng, her gaze boring into him.

If this was true… if the long winter and the endless struggle were not an irresistible, cruel fate, but the result of some thing… then the meaning of everything they had ever endured would be completely rewritten.

Lord Bronya was startled by the sheer intensity of Seele’s reaction.

‘Stellaron…’His brow furrowed tightly.

The term was completely foreign to him.

His father, Mr.

Cocolia, had never once mentioned that an entity named’Stellaron’ was the root of their planet’s disaster.

If this outsider was telling the truth, then just how much had his father—or rather, the entire line of Supreme Guardians—been hiding?

He suppressed the shock rippling out from Seele’s outburst and the deeper, more unsettling doubts blooming in his own heart.

He scrutinized Dan Heng, his voice turning sharp and clinical.

“Stellaron… I have never seen this term in any official records or academic literature in Belobog.

How can you prove its existence?

And how can you prove it has a direct connection to the Eternal Freeze and the Rift?

Are you simply defining it based on your own words?”

Dan Heng met his piercing gaze and admitted frankly, “We currently have no solid physical evidence that can be immediately presented here.

A Stellaron is usually hidden deep within the core of a disaster, protected or obscured by layers of power.

We came to Belobog precisely to investigate, confirm its specific location and status, and then seek a solution.”

“In other words, you don’t have any evidence either.”

Lord Bronya’s tone was flat, betraying no emotion, but the undercurrent of doubt was stronger than ever.

Entrusting the fate of an entire planet to the investigation of a group of complete outsiders was a leap of faith he was clearly not ready to make.

Just then, Oleg, who had been silently observing the entire exchange, spoke up.

Her voice, slow and measured, instantly drew everyone’s attention.

“Svarog.”

She uttered a single name.

Oleg looked from Dan Heng to Seele, whose emotions were still simmering just beneath the surface.

Finally, her gaze came to rest on Lord Bronya.

“I’ve lived a long life, and I’ve never heard of any Stellaron,” she said bluntly.

“But Svarog is different.

That robot has been here longer than any of us.

It even participated in the defense war seven hundred years ago.”

“He might have the answers you’re looking for.”

“Svarog…” Lord Bronya repeated the name, tasting the sound of it.

He looked at Dan Heng.

“So, you’re going to find Svarog to verify this?”

Dan Heng and Chen, who was still in his Bronya Zaychik disguise, quickly exchanged a look.

Chen gave a subtle, almost imperceptible nod.

‘Svarog and Clara,’he thought, a flicker of satisfaction running through him.’Perfect.

They were the exact targets I was planning to contact next.’

“If there might be clues there,” Dan Heng replied, his voice firm and resolute, “we are willing to go and investigate.”

[Elysian’s Note:

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