The group stood amidst the newly restored plains outside Belobog, still trying to process the miracle that had unfolded before their eyes.
The Eternal Freeze was gone.
The sky was blue.
Grass swayed beneath a warm breeze.
For many of the Silvermane Guards, it was the first time in their lives seeing such a sight.
Then suddenly—
Riiing!
March 7th's phone began ringing.
The unexpected sound immediately drew the attention of Caelus and Dan Heng.
March quickly answered.
March 7th: "Hello?"
Himeko: "Hello? Can you hear me? This signal is terrible..."
March 7th: "Himeko! You finally spared a thought for us!"
Himeko: "What are you talking about — Welt and I have been up on the star rail missing you this whole time! You've got quite the Trailblazing expedition on your hands."
There was a brief pause.
Himeko: "So i'm guessing Mr.Hayata is the reason on why Jarilo-VI been restored!"
March glanced toward Kouga.
March 7th: "Yeah, Mr. Yang wasn't kidding when he said Mr. Hayata is a God."
While March continued chatting with Himeko, the rest of the group remained stunned by the transformed world around them.
The Silvermane Guards were cheering.
Bronya was still staring at the green plains.
Seele was quietly wiping tears from her eyes.
Even Gepard looked speechless.
Kouga, meanwhile, remained in his Kamen Rider Geats IX form.
He looked toward Cocolia.
Kouga: "So, do you still have doubt about me?"
Cocolia slowly snapped back to reality.
Her eyes moved from the endless fields to Kouga.
She could not comprehend what she had just witnessed.
The Eternal Freeze.
Seven hundred years of suffering.
The Stellaron.
All of it had vanished in an instant.
Who was this man?
No—
What was this being?
The only question that escaped her lips was:
Cocolia: "Are you the same as the Aeon Qlipoth, the Lord Creator?"
The question stunned everyone present.
Bronya froze.
Gepard's eyes widened.
The Silvermane Guards looked horrified.
Even Seele blinked in confusion.
Kouga thought for a moment before turning toward Caelus.
Kouga: "Hey Caelus, you did said that Qlipoth gazed upon you in the same place that Nanook gazed on you, right ?"
Caelus: "Oh, uh, yeah, they did ?"
Kouga rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Then looked back at Cocolia.
Kouga: "I guess i am the same as Qlipoth then."
Bronya's jaw dropped.
Gepard looked like his brain had stopped functioning.
Several Silvermane Guards looked ready to faint.
Kouga casually shrugged.
Kouga: "I mean i did punch some conceptual existents before."
He raised a hand.
A holographic screen appeared in the air.
The screen displayed a memory.
Kouga, in his Kamen Rider Gaim Kiwami Arms form, was repeatedly punching an enormous celestial being.
Dan Heng's eyes immediately widened.
His breathing became uneven.
Because he recognized that being.
It was none other than—
Lan, the Aeon of the Hunt.
March and Caelus immediately noticed Dan Heng's reaction.
Dan Heng: "Why did you attack Lan ?"
Kouga looked confused.
Then he glanced at the screen.
Kouga: "Oh you mean him ?"
He pointed toward the image of Lan being punched across space.
Dan Heng slowly nodded.
Kouga: "Oh he just shooting star everywhere to attack another Aeons and he accidently hit me, seem like he doesn't care for collateral damage so i grow to his size and punch him."
Dan Heng instantly understood.
The Aeon Lan frequently pursued Yaoshi across the cosmos.
There was only one conclusion.
Dan Heng: "You mean you stop Lan from attacking Yaoshi ?"
Kouga: "Oh, is that what the other Aeon that Lan was shooting at ?"
The holographic image changed.
Now it showed Kouga punching another colossal divine being.
A beautiful figure surrounded by countless branches and blossoms.
Yaoshi, the Aeon of Abundance.
Kouga: "Before you ask, i punched them because they were giving too much healing, like Yaoshi was granting immortality non stop that it would threaten the planet, so i stopped him from giving too much, nullify his so called 'Gift' and just heal the planet like normal."
Dan Heng visibly relaxed.
At least Kouga hadn't been helping Yaoshi.
Caelus wasn't particularly surprised.
Compared to watching Kouga throw hands with Nanook in the Simulated Universe, this felt relatively normal.
March leaned toward Dan Heng and whispered.
March 7th: "Woah and Caelus draw his power dirrectly from him."
Dan Heng nodded.
Dan Heng: "Yes, that would make Caelus his emanator."
Caelus: "Emanator ?"
Dan Heng: "Being that have attained the permission of an Aeon to draw power from that Aeon's Path."
Caelus: "Cool."
Kouga: "Neat."
Meanwhile—
Cocolia.
Bronya.
Gepard.
Seele.
And every Silvermane Guard present were completely stunned.
A being that fired stars as weapons.
Another that granted immortality across worlds.
And the being standing before them had casually beaten both.
Cocolia was the first to recover.
Slowly, she stepped forward.
Then—
Dropped to one knee.
Bronya gasped.
Bronya: "Mother!"
Gepard immediately followed.
Then the Silvermane Guards.
One after another.
Kneeling.
Seele looked completely confused.
Before she could react, Bronya grabbed her arm and pulled her down as well.
Seele: "Hey—!"
Kouga stared in shock.
Kouga: "Wha...?"
Cocolia lowered her head.
Cocolia: "We beg your forgiveness for failing to realize your greatness, oh great one. We humbly pray that you accept our apologies and forgive our actions against you."
Kouga immediately began waving both hands.
Kouga: "Woah, woah, I don't do that."
The kneeling crowd looked up.
Kouga: "But anyway, you should have more important matters to attend to right now, like telling the people of Belobog that the Eternal Freeze is over and allowing the people in the Underworld to go back up to the surface."
Cocolia blinked.
Then nodded.
Cocolia: "Yes, please follow me to Qlipoth Fort."
She turned toward Gepard.
Cocolia: "Gepard, Grab your troop and go and tell the rest of the Silvermane Guards that the Eternal Freeze is no more."
Gepard immediately stood.
Gepard: "At once, Madam Guardian."
He saluted before turning toward his soldiers.
The Silvermane Guards quickly departed to spread the news.
And with that—
Cocolia began leading the way back toward Belobog.
Bronya and Seele walked beside her.
Behind them followed Kouga, Dan Heng, Caelus, and March 7th.
As they walked through the streets of Belobog, Kouga having already detransformed from Kamen Rider Geats IX, the group was greeted by an astonishing sight.
People were pouring out of their homes and businesses, looking up at the clear blue sky. Some were laughing, others were crying, and many were simply standing there in disbelief.
The Eternal Freeze was over.
The news had already spread throughout the city.
Kouga, March 7th, Caelus, and Dan Heng looked around at the celebration.
Kouga: "I forgot how fast news can spread."
Cocolia walked beside them, her expression considerably more subdued than before.
Cocolia: "Once again, I'm very sorry for my behavior at Qlipoth Fort. I was under too much pressure, and seeing my daughter act like that caused me to..."
Kouga raised a hand, stopping her before she could continue.
Kouga: "I understand. Having too much pressure, making hard choices, and being a parent."
He paused for a moment before casually dropping a rather unexpected bombshell.
Kouga: "After all, I'm a father myself, so I understand the pressure."
Cocolia blinked, seemingly caught off guard.
Cocolia: "Oh really?"
Kouga: "Yeah. Wanna see them?"
Before anyone could react, Kouga pulled out his wallet.
He flipped it open, and several photographs unfolded downward from inside.
The pictures showed various women holding their daughters.
Caelus, March, Dan Heng, Bronya, Seele, and even Cocolia herself couldn't help but lean closer, curious about what they were seeing.
Caelus: "Mr. Hayata, are these all your wives and daughters?"
Kouga: "Indeed they are."
Bronya stared at one particular photograph.
Bronya: "Why is one of your wives look like me?"
Seele leaned over and immediately spotted another familiar face or two familiar faces.
Seele: "Heck, why do two of them look like me?"
Kouga shrugged.
Kouga: "To be fair, it's a big universe. There will be people that are similar to you two."
March slowly took a step backward.
March 7th: "Mr. Hayata, are you a playboy?"
Kouga let out a tired chuckle.
Kouga: "I think you misunderstand who's the bottom of the relationship here."
Caelus raised an eyebrow.
Caelus: "Damn, they overwhelm you?"
Kouga: "Yes."
March looked between Caelus and Kouga for a moment.
March 7th: "Y'know, you two look really alike."
Caelus and Kouga simultaneously turned toward her.
Caelus/Kouga: "Huh?"
March suddenly stepped forward and started messing with Kouga's hair.
Kouga: "Hey, what're you doing, March?"
After a few seconds of rearranging his hair, March stepped back proudly.
With Kouga's hair styled similarly to Caelus's, the resemblance between the two became surprisingly obvious.
The main differences were their colors—Caelus had gray hair and golden eyes, while Kouga had red hair and red eyes.
March 7th: "See? You two look identical."
Kouga and Caelus stared at one another.
Kouga: "I guess so."
Kouga then fixed his hair.
Meanwhile, Cocolia's attention remained on the photographs.
In particular, she noticed the women who resembled Bronya and Seele.
Her eyes shifted from the pictures...
To Bronya.
Then to Seele.
Then to Kouga.
Then finally to Caelus.
An idea slowly formed in her mind.
Cocolia: "Excuse me, my lord. May I have my daughter and her friend back for a moment?"
Kouga looked slightly confused by the request but nodded.
Kouga: "Sure."
As Cocolia pulled Bronya and Seele aside, the others continued examining Kouga's photographs.
Caelus: "Why does your daughter look just like their mother, Mr. Hayata? The only thing they got from you was some of their red hair line. Was your gene even trying?"
BONK!
Caelus suddenly received a bump on the head.
Kouga: "They inherited some of my power, you know. And besides, I'm glad that they look more like their mother than me."
Meanwhile, Cocolia dragged Bronya and Seele around a corner, far enough away that the others couldn't hear them.
Seele: "Hey, what's the big idea?"
Bronya: "Mother?"
Cocolia looked at both of them with an unusually serious expression.
Cocolia: "Listen. This is very important. I need you to seduce the gray-haired boy of the group."
Both girls froze.
Their jaws dropped.
Their faces immediately turned bright red.
Seele: "What????"
Bronya: "Mother????"
Cocolia: "Hear me out."
Seele: "No! Whatever you're about to say, I already know this is going to be crazy!"
Cocolia: "The Eternal Freeze caused unimaginable suffering for Belobog. But there was another consequence to it that we cannot ignore. The Eternal Freeze isolated Belobog from the rest of the galaxy—and that isolation also prevented the monster from the sky from reaching us."
Bronya's expression became more serious.
Cocolia: "Outside the city, I heard what Dan Heng explained. That gray-haired boy, Caelus, is an Emanator—a being capable of drawing power directly from Lord Kouga himself."
Cocolia: "Because Belobog may have just survived one catastrophe, but that does not mean another one won't come. If those monsters from beyond the sky or any threat from the sky ever come here, we need allies capable of standing against them."
Cocolia: "And Caelus is not merely powerful. He is connected to someone who can apparently erase a Stellaron and restore an entire frozen world with a snap of his fingers."
Seele's expression became increasingly incredulous.
Seele: "You're seriously suggesting we try to win him over because of that?"
Cocolia: "I'm suggesting that you establish a close relationship with him. Whatever form that takes is up to you. I am not asking you to do anything against your will."
Seele: "Why do I have to listen to you, you crazy woman? I let you know that..."
Bronya remained silent for the whole time.
Then she looked toward where Caelus was standing with the others.
Bronya: "I'll do it, Mother."
Seele's eyes widened.
Seele: "What? Bronya?!"
Bronya turned toward Seele, her expression calm but determined.
Bronya: "Listen, Seele. I also learned from history that monsters from beyond the sky once descended upon worlds. If such a threat ever reaches Belobog again, we need powerful allies who are willing to stand with us."
Bronya: "Caelus and the others have already risked their lives to help the Underworld. They restored our world when everyone believed the Eternal Freeze was irreversible."
Bronya: "If we can establish a strong alliance with them, then perhaps Belobog will never have to face such a catastrophe alone again."
Seele stared at Bronya.
For a moment, she could only see the same pure, determined girl she had always known.
Seele sighed.
Seele: "Dammit, fine. I'm not letting you do this alone. Who knows what he would do to you?"
Bronya blinked.
Bronya: "Seele..."
Seele: "Don't look at me like that! I'm just being cautious!"
Cocolia smiled faintly.
Cocolia: "Good."
The three returned to the group.
By then, everyone had finished looking through Kouga's photographs, and Kouga was putting his wallet away.
Kouga: "Are you done?"
Cocolia nodded.
Cocolia: "Please follow me back to Qlipoth Fort."
Kouga nodded, completely unaware of the conversation that had just taken place.
Kouga: "Alright. Lead the way."