Star Rail: The Aeon Hunters

Bronya felt her body gone numb, she cannot feel anything anymore. Her heart, her mind, her feelings, all went numb. She heard nothing when Pela called her name, she felt nothing when the Trailseekers carried away, there was only numb.

There was only numb because her mind simply refuses to comprehend what she just saw.

Her mother? A monster who'd turn Silvermane Guard into monsters?

Since when?

Is she a monster too? Just like her mother?

"Princess!!"

Bronya felt something, a burning sensation across her face. She blinked and she finally saw something, a pair of dark blue eyes glaring at her.

"Wake. The. Fuck. Up!!!"

Bronya took a sharp breath, the pain on her face grew in intensity. She looked around and realized that she's sitting on a bed inside Natasha's clinic. Then she noticed the girl glaring before her.

"Seele,"

"Oh, thank fuck!" Seele grabbed her arm and pulled her up. "Come on! We gotta evacuate the city, you're literally the only one they'll listen to, come on!"

Bronya felt Seele dragging her through the clinic and to the city. She saw glimpses of other faces, scared, confused, lost, angry. But it was all a blur, except for the girl before her. The girl that has never shown her respect, the girl that has no ounce of love for her, the girl that…

Never spoken a single lie to her.

The light of the sun blinded Bronya, but it was more than enough to snap her out of it.

"Where to now princess?" Seele said.

"To… to the Qlipoth Fort, we have loudspeaker there," Bronya said.

The two ran towards the largest building in Belobog with Seele teleporting Bronya up the stairs and into audience chamber. Bronya wasted no time scrambling through her mother's desk, ignoring whatever questions, cries, or weigh storming in her head.

"Found it!" Bronya grabbed the megaphone and the quickly ran to the podium. She stood atop the fort, a bunch of citizens stopped whatever they were doing and turn towards her. She thought about what to say, to stay calm and go to the underground? To tell them that the Supreme Guardian is a monster?

What would her mother say?

All she could think of are the lies she told her.

The lies…

"Citizens of Belobog!!!" Bronya's voice echoes through the entire city. "I am Bronya Rand with a grave announcement to make, at this moment Silvermane Guards are at war with Fragmentum Beasts. A large horde of them are coming and evacuation is imminent!"

At the ground, the Wildfires burst out of the Geomarrow Hub, surprising some citizens.

"All citizens please follow the direction of the Miners from the Underground! The surface is no longer safe, I repeat, the surface is no longer safe!"

One by one, citizens ran towards the hub in panic. The wildfires did their best to keep them all in line and civilized as Bronya told every citizen to evacuate.

"Bring only the most basic of necessities, put your life and your family above all else!" Bronya yelled through the megaphone. "Listen to the instructions of the Wildfires! They are your friends!!!"

[LINE BREAK]

Boulder Town was in chaos. Robots and miners roam the streets scrambling to accommodate the newly arrived surface dweller. Everyone was confused and scared, walking in line through the commands of the wildfire.

"This way, this way!"

"One sleeping bag per person!"

"Stay in the line!"

Hook and the moles also helped around, keeping people in line, helping those who are injured, and leading people into the temporary shelter.

Natasha stood above a large building, a pair of binoculars in her hands. "It's not enough…" she looked at the direction of the Rivet Town. "The rest is up to you, Trailseekers," she whispered.

[LINE BREAK]

"Of course, we got the clean-up duty…" March groaned as she shot another Fragmentum Beast dead in its track. "Dan Heng, how long is it gonna take?"

Dan Heng crouched down on the ground, a strange cylindrical device in front of him. "I need at least an hour to calibrate it," he replied.

Stella bat away an incoming monster. "What is that device?" she dodged an arrow and smacked away a centaur.

"Fragmentum repellent," Dan Heng replied. "It's designed for small area use, so powering and calibrating it for an entire city is not easy," he looked around him. "And we have 8 more to go to activate…" 

[LINE BREAK]

"Go, go, go!" Dunn carried Serval bridal style through the blizzard. Behind him, one of his men carried Lynx who is unconscious while the rest followed closely from behind. "You are the last of the Silvermane Guards! You shall finish your last order, protect the Landau Siblings and evacuate the citizens of Belobog!"

The last Silvermane Guards made it to the restricted area, facing the same bridge that Serval operated. Dunn went straight through without a second thought, followed by the one who carries Lynx, and another, until…

"Wait…" Dunn turned around and saw one of his men standing back. "What are you doing soldier!?"

"Buying us more time captain!" his men turned spun the bridge, making it impossible for anyone to get through. Then he destroyed the controller with the back of his sword. "Keep going captain! The city must Survive!!!"

Dunn held back his tears. "I'll see you on the other side soldier!!!" he yelled.

Soon, the city came into view. Bronya's voice echoes through the chaos of the city, telling people to evacuate to the underground. Hearing this, Dunn felt relief, Lady Bronya is alright, and she's not like her mother.

"Lady Bronya!!!" Dunn yelled.

Bronya froze and turned towards. "Silvermane Guard… Serval! Lynx! Head straight to the Underground Hub!"

Dunn nodded and ran faster through the crowds. "Wounded! Coming through!" he yelled.

[LINE BREAK]

It was nighttime when the last of Belobog Citizen were evacuated. Bronya's voice was hoarse and her legs trembled as she stepped down the podium. Her knees gave out below her and she slipped down the stairs.

"Alright princess that's enough," a pair of arms caught her. "You did great, but we're not done yet,"

Seele helped Bronya down the stairs and teleported her to the hub. A few Wildfire member stood by there, standing guard in case anything happened. "Are we the last one?" Seele asked.

"The last train is leaving soon," the wildfire member said.

The two rode the train back down to the underground. Seele decided not to teleport, wanting to give Bronya more time to rest. "Alright Princess, is there anything else you need?" she said.

"No, thank you Seele," her voice was hoarse, barely audible. "I do need to get my throat checked,"

"Natasha then," Seele sat closer to her, letting her lean on to her. "We'll get you to meet Natasha, have you fixed up," she sighed. "And then you'll deliver a speech again, just a Tuesday yeah? You deliver speech a lot, right? Like that's your job, Supreme Guardians deliver speech…"

Bronya couldn't help but smile after hearing that. She's so different from Seele that 'delivering speeches' is the only she can make sense of. "Yes, I suppose that's my job, deliver speech," she coughed a little. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to deliver a good one."

Seele nodded. "Right…" she paused as if wanting to say something, but quickly looked away. "So… Uhh… About…" she caught herself again and shook her head. "What do the surface dweller eat?"

"Fish, mostly," Bronya replied. "It's not all different than what you eat you see?"

"Well, we also eat crabs and lobsters down here," Seele replied.

Bronya's eyes widened. "You've been eating… water insects?"

"N-no, no," Seele shook her head. "Okay, life down here is bad, but the water insects are not the bad part," she smiled. "Ah, I can treat you to some, they taste really, really good! Rock crabs in particular, they're sweet and savory,"

Bronya blinked and slowly nodded. "I look forward to it, Seele…" she took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for being… heartless, when we first meet. You saved my life, I should've thanked you instead demanding answers…"

"Yeah, I get it, it runs in the fa…" Seele caught herself and put a hand on her mouth. "Fuck, no, I mean… Sorry, I…" she looked at Bronya and saw her looking down in silence. "I swear I didn't mean it, I just…"

The train came to a halt and the door opened, revealing Natasha already waiting for them. "Lady Bronya, Seele," Natasha spoke. "Come, let's get you checked up, time is of the essence,"

"I'm okay," Seele stood up and helped Bronya. "Lady Bronya lost her voice,"

Natasha walked towards Bronya and took her hand. "Follow me Lady Bronya," she said gently. "Come, let me get you checked up, you must be tired," she turned to Seele. "Seele, if you're not hurt, please follow Perkins to the Orphanage in Rivet Town,"

Seele turned to a rectangular robot resembling a stop light. "Greetings Ms. Seele!" Perkins said in a robotic and polite voice. "Please follow me to the Robot Settlement, Svarog and the Trailseekers are in need of your assistance!"

"Right, okay," Seele took one last look towards the receding form of Bronya and Natasha. "Aight, let's get this over with…"