Star Rail: The Aeon Hunters

Well, this is it, the finale…

An army, composed of miners, Wildfire, Vagrants, and hundreds of robots meet up in the snow plains near Hyperion through Sampo's secret entrance. Their plan is simple, storm Belobog and take down the tyrant. Safe the world while they're at it too.

Bronya sighed, the last few days felt like a lifetime to her. What start of as just running after wanted fugitive, turned into what could described as threading the cliff edge of destiny itself. Now she, and all the people she met along the way are prepping up for a leap of faith.

"Lady Bronya, Serval is ready," Pela said.

There it is, the final piece of the puzzle. Bronya still couldn't believe it when she heard it, but apparently Serval gave her life to the Trailseekers for a strange procedure. It's something that will give her an edge against even the strongest opponent.

At a cost of her life…

Bronya watched as a figure stepped out of the gigantic ship. Her blonde hair crackle with purple light, her blue eyes glows in ethereal light, and her smile was both playful yet threatening at the same time. The clothes she wears is something out of this world, a purple skin tight suit covered with brass-colored armor and musical tone motifs.

"Sorry for the wait, Lady Bronya," Serval spoke. "Are you ready?"

Bronya glanced at the rifle given to her by the Trailseeker. It works similarly to the one she uses, but the design is vastly different. She slowly nodded and turned to the rest of the army, each one also holding weapons unlike Belobog has seen before.

"Lady Bronya, whenever you're ready," Pela whispered.

For all the things her mother have told her, she has never taught her how to lead an army to war. There's only Belobog left in this frozen planet, who are they even fighting against? But now, with an army beyond comprehension against enemies beyond even her worst nightmare, she has to fight for the future.

And so, Bronya decided to do what her mother never done. She started praying.

By the will of burning amber, I call upon thee

The fire that burn through the coldest of winter

By the will of the architect, I call upon thee

The machine that lights up the darkest of night

Gasps rang from the audience as the sky began to darken above them. Strange amber glow began to circling the Supreme Guardian as she kept reciting her prayer. One taught to her by her own mother, long ago when she was a mere child.

Heed our call O' mighty amber!

Give us power to brave the cold everlasting!

Heed our call O' mighty architect!

Give us power to fight the cancerous spreads!

The amber glows brighter and something warm formed around her finger. She gripped it instinctively, forgoing her rifle entirely.

I, Bronya Rand, the Supreme Guardian of the People!

Shall lead my people through the darkest of night

I, Bronya Rand, the Supreme Guardian of Belobog

Shall lead my people to the brightest of light!

Bronya raised her hand, carrying with it a lance of burning amber.

People of Belobog, hear my call!

Strengthen thy faith upon the will Preservation!

People of Belobog, heed my order!

Cleanse this land by the will of the Architect!

All at once, people readied their weapons. The weapons gifted to them beyond the stars and the weapons gifted to them by their ancestors. Now with a weapon gifted by the Aeon of Preservation themselves, Belobog's faith on preservation has never been so powerful.

"Let us march on through this snow," Bronya spoke, the lance of shining amber held high. "The Trailseekers and Serval shall lead the charge. Follow General Sergeyevna's guidance, leave no men behind, together we shall fight, for a new era!!!"

[LINE BREAK]

Serval was the first to made it to Belobog. Her beautiful home, turned into a monster's den by none other than her best friend. It sounded like a nightmare, but now, she just wanted to get all this over with. She's so tired of living in her shadow.

"COCOLIA!!!" Serval charged through the gates and crushed the nearest Fragmentum monster with her barehand. "Come out and face me! Let's end this!!!"

The girl felt lightning coursing through her body. The pain is there, as Herta warned, but it will not harm her. She blitzed off towards the next Fragmentum creature and it exploded with a crackling of thunder.

Has it once been a Silvermane Guard? Has it once been someone she knows? Serval doesn't know, but she believes that death is the kindest thing she could do to this poor souls. These souls who once offer their life for the sake of the people.

Betrayed Souls just like her…

"Behind you!"

A gigantic water dragon soared past her faster than a speeding tram. Its claws and teeth were composed of sharp six phased ice. It swept through the ranks of monsters, sending them all flying and rending anything that stood in its way.

"Don't worry about the little guys!" March shouted from atop the dragon. "Go get her!!!"

Serval smirked at that. "Aight' I'll leave these guys to you then!" she gave them a two fingered salute before running towards the Qlipoth Fort. She was glad that the Trailseekers respect her decision to fight Cocolia herself, she know full well that they are more than capable of defeating her.

"Cocolia!" Serval shouted as she ran up the stairs. Some fragmentum guards tried to stop her, but she blasts them all away with thunderclaps. "Stop being a fucking coward and face me!!!" she burst through the gates of Qlipoth fort, throwing the gigantic gates off its hinges.

There, standing in the middle of the hallway, is a large fragmentum creature. She froze at the sight of it, knowing exactly who it was, even with all the layers upon layers of corrosion covering it. "Geppy…" she whispered, all the hate and bloodlust before momentarily forgotten. "Alright little bro… Time to go to sleep…"

Serval charged at her brother; her fist left behind a trail of lightning as she punched her brother with all her might. But her brother blocked her punch with his corroded shield, standing tall despite the power within her.

"Right…" Serval smirked; tears dropped down her face. "You've always been the toughest one of us,"

Serval dodged a swing of a blade and delivered a kick at Gepard's face. He groaned a little and retaliated by knocking Serval away with his shield.

The Valkyrie winced at the strike. Her brother is already invincible before, now as a fragmentum, he's probably the strongest one out there. "Come on Geppy… listen to your big sis for once," she whispered as lightning build up at the tip of her hand.

A series of thunderclap echoes through the Qlipoth Fort, breaking every glass and shaking the entire building. The onslaught of lightning managed to crack through Gepard's defenses, forcing him on pure defensive.

"I'm sorry I didn't trust you before…" Serval leapt up from above and kicked him right in the head. "And if you can hear me brother," she flipped back and clenched her fist. "You've always been there for us… We're just so fucking self-centered… we never realized it…"

Serval blocked a punch from Gepard with her bare hands.

"And now… I'm going to lose you forever…" Serval gritted her teeth and unleashed everything she has on a single punch. "I'm sorry I failed you little bro… I'M SORRY!"

And for a moment, the Qlipoth Fort shone brighter than the sun. All the grief, anguish, and sadness were unleashed in one single moment. Serval erased all her brother's suffering and made it her own.

Then, everything went silent. Serval sat kneeling down in front of the remains of her brother. Slowly, but surely, his body began to dissolve into motes of blue light. The cage of fragmentum has been shattered, and Gepard is free to move on.

"Sorry I can't be there with you, take care of Lynx for me,"

Was it a hallucination? A delusion? Or was it truly his voice, telling her his last wish?

Before Serval could ponder it, a slow clapping appeared behind her. She turned around and saw the monster that started all this.

"Bravo, oh what a beautiful performance!" Cocolia chuckled, heart cold enough to freeze Belobog twice over. "You've always been an attention whore, aren't you Serval? Oh, so dramatic in everything that you do…"

"How mature of you Cocolia…" Serval stood up and craned her neck. "I was worried you wouldn't be here," though the fight with her brother was harrowing, the fight with Cocolia I the one she's been looking for. "Well then, let's get this over with,"

Serval charged towards her, thick wall of ice formed in front of her, but she burst through it. Then she burst through another wall of ice, and another, and another, until.

"Kh!" Serval felt ice cold hand gripped her neck and lifted her up. She struggled against her grip, but she isn't the only one who got an upgrade. "Fucker!"

"Disappointing…" Cocolia pulled out a blade of ice. "You're always in my way…"

There was a sudden 'BANG', followed with a flash of amber. Serval dropped on the ground and a strong hand helped her up. She blinked and saw Bronya carrying a rifle and the amber lance.

"Lady Bronya," Serval said. "Thanks…"

"You're welcome," Bronya handed her the lance. "Here, I got your back,"

Serval took the lance and she can feel another power surging through her. "I've never been a believer in the Preservation myself," she muttered to herself. "But I suppose exceptions can be made," she took a deep breath. "Lend me your strength Qlipoth, show me that you care…"

The purple light turned bright red, power crackled through her form and the flames at the tip of her lance turned into plasma. Serval gazed at Cocolia who began to float with an unseen force. "Round Two!"

Serval charged at the Mother of Deception, her lance crushed any and every wall of ice Cocolia can throw at her. Until it clashes against Cocolia's shield, resulting in a powerful explosion. The two were knocked two feet back and charged at one another.

Lance and Sword clashes against one another, fires of fury against the frozen hearted, what was once a pair of best friends now a mortal enemy.

Then, as they fought, a bullet shot Cocolia's hand, disarming her. She looked behind Serval and saw Bronya aiming at her with her rifle.

"Bronya…"

"This is the end! Cocolia!!!" Serval struck her lance through Cocolia chest and nail her to the wall. The latter wailed and gritted her teeth.

"Not… enough…" Cocolia's form began to warp as ice grow all over her body. "I will purge this land! And create a new world!!!" her voice began to twist and deform along with her body. "You will all be buried under the eternal snow!!!"

"Serval get back!!"

Serval pulled her lance and jumped back, just in time as an array of ice spikes burst out of the ground around Cocolia. She gazed as the woman before her finally showed her true form, a fragmentum monster unlike anything Belobog has ever seen before.

"Round Three…"

Ice spikes kept jutting out of the ground below her, forcing Serval and Bronya out of the Qlipoth Fort. The two jumped down the stairs and landed right in the middle of the battlefield.

Robots fought the Fragmentum in the frontlines as Wildfires provided support from behind. The water dragon soared through the battlefield while Stella and Seele stood guard near the hub to stop any Fragmentum Monster from storming the underground. Drones flew all over the building, directed by General Pela. It has been equipped with Trailseeker's technology, as it now powerful enough to create a hole through Fragmentum Monster.

From within the Qlipoth Fort, the terrifying form of Cocolia floated out in all her frozen glory. She raised her hand and gigantic ice spears began raining down from the sky.

Serval twirled her lance and looked at Cocolia. "Down here Cocolia!" she exclaimed. "I'm not fucking done with you yet!" she jumped higher than a building and struck her lance towards her. It missed, however, Cocolia batted her away.

"Silence… This has gone on for too long!!!"

The sky turned dark and a terrifying sight formed above the city of Belobog. A gigantic meteor the size of Qlipoth Fort began falling from the sky. Every citizen of Belobog felt dread unlike any other that day, it was as if all hopes have been lost

"Oh, watch and learn you fragmentum bitch…" Serval ran straight towards her workshop and practically blow the door off its hinges. "Where is it…" she scrambled around her workshop as the meteor gets closer and closer to the city.

Soon, she found it, a cannon with bright blue patterns all over it. She leapt out of the workshop and aimed right at the meteor. "This one's for you Madam Herta!!!" she exclaimed.

The cannon shot the meteor with a blue light and began to shrunk drastically, into the size of a small house, all the way into the size of a ball. But despite this, it still had the mass of a meteor.

"Stella NOW!"

Stella jumped towards the meteor and raised her bat. There's a delighted, overjoyed expression on her face as she answered her true call. "You're Out!!!" with a mighty swing of her bat, the entire force of the meteor was redirected towards Cocolia who watches it all unfold with wide eyes.

'BANG' the meteor struck true to her chest and sent Cocolia flying to the Golden Theater. The meteor itself kept going, through the golden theater and somewhere above the sky. While Cocolia dropped on to ground, a gaping hole on her chest.

It wasn't enough, however, the hole in her chest closed off with ice and she flew up once again. "I shall pave the way into a new world!" her inhumane wail echoes through the city as she raised her hand. "Perish under the cold!"

A wave of frozen air burst forth from Cocolia, nearby robots froze underneath the cold. Humans fled, acting on instinct as the eternal freeze itself made manifest before them. Even the fragmentum beasts began to freeze under the onslaught.

A flash of burning light appeared from the sky as Serval drove the amber lance straight to the ground. A storm of wildfire followed shortly after, burning away the last vestiges of the frozen winter. The fire and ice rages on in the city, fighting for dominance.

Soon, everything dissipates, Cocolia fell on to the ground with a thud. The icy armor that covered her body slowly dissipates, revealing all the wound from the fight. Slowly, golden power began engulfing Cocolia's body. The Stellaron became too much for her to handle and it began to devour her.

"Allow me to interfere…" a voice came from the sky.

Everyone looked up and saw a man holding a cane landing in front of Cocolia. He raised his cane towards her and a glowing golden ball began floating out of her body. He then raised his palm and the golden ball of energy vanished from existence.

"I have removed the Stellaron from her body," the man spoke towards Bronya and Serval. "Thank you for weakening her enough for the procedure," he straightened his glasses. "She's all yours…"