Star Rail: The Aeon Hunters

"It's been two days…" Serval muttered. "And Gepard haven't been looking for you yet…" she turned to Lynx who looked between her phone and the window, anxious. "There's no sign of Silvermane Guards too… Did Cocolia make them storm the underground?"

Lynx shook her head. "No, everything seems fine in the underground. Pela met the Wildfire and they all had a talk with a giant robot named Svarog," she showed Serval a picture of it. "And Pela asked if I can ascertain the Supreme Guardian's motivation,"

"Ascertain Cocolia's motivation?" Serval sighed and looked up. "I dunno, brain damage? That woman went mad ten years ago."

Lynx bit her lip. "That doesn't explain anything though… The robot is asking information about Supreme Guardian's motivation, accomplices…"

"Accomplice?" Serval raised an eyebrow. "Well, the Silvermane Guards are all her accomplice, well, unknowing accomplice. I don't think anyone in Belobog is a fucking sociopath like her,"

And as the hours ticked by, the two began to feel anxious.

"Goddammit Gepard, aren't you at least worried about Lynx?" Serval checked her phone and tried to call him. "Hmm… No answer, let me try Dunn…" 

"Serval?"

"Oh hi, Dunn, yeah have you seen Gepard anywhere? I haven't heard of him in a while,"

"Ah, that must be the emergency. The Supreme Guardian ordered every single Silvermane Guards to meet up somewhere. I wanted to go, but me and my men got stuck near the Restricted Zone, one of the bridge is jammed,"

A foreboding feeling welled up in Serval's stomach. An unbearable feeling of dread that she just cannot explain. "Ah… I see… Do you… need help?" she couldn't help but notice how weak her voice is.

"Yes, Gepard will scold me the longer I stay here, then I won't have time for the band, ahaha!" Dunn replied with a small laugh. "Anyway, Serval, are you alright? You sound… tired… Oh wait, you must be worried about Lynx huh? Don't worry, we'll find her! It's a promise!"

"Y-yes… I'll be there," Serval turned off her phone and looked at Lynx. "Let's go to Silvermane Guards restricted zone, Dunn is stuck there with his men. Maybe then he can show us where everyone is,"

Lynx narrowed her eyes. "What about the plan?" she glanced at the rope, chair, and sleeping gas they were gonna use on Gepard once he came looking for her.

Serval shook her head. "Look, Lynx, I… I have a really bad feeling about this…" she shifted around anxiously. "We have to go, quickly…"

The two stepped out of Neverwinter Workshop, finding not a single Silvermane Guard anywhere. Serval quickened her pace until she start running before she realizes it. "Cocolia… Whatever you're planning, please don't do it… Please, please don't do it…" she whispered to herself.

Behind her, Lynx tried to keep up with her sister. She too began to really worry, there's something really, really unsettling about seeing the streets devoid of any Silvermane Guards. "Serval… What's going on?" she thought about her brother and dread crept up her chest.

Serval said nothing, she's too afraid to think about it. All she wanted now is to meet Dunn and figure out what's happening.

Soon, they made it to the Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone. There's nothing there, everything so quiet and empty. Serval slowed down, catching her breath as she took out her phone. "Dunn, where are you?" she called him.

"Near the spinning bridge, at the eastern part," Dunn replied.

Serval nodded and the two walked towards the place. She found the spherical device that controls the bridge. She can also see Dunn and a quite a lot of his men, trapped at the other side of the bridge. "Dunn! Can you see me!" she shouted.

"Loud and Clear Serval!"

Serval approached the device and saw… a little girl standing near it, holding the device. "Hey… what are you doing?" she said to the child.

The child turned to look at Serval. "I'm sorry…" she spoke. "I can't save everyone…"

Serval narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"Who are you talking to Serval?" Lynx asked suddenly.

Serval turned to Lynx. "No, there's this kid…" her words faltered when she realized that the kid already gone. "Wait… where did that kid go? This place is dangerous," she muttered to herself.

"I haven't seen anyone, look, just hurry up and open the bridge…" Lynx said, anxious.

"Right…"

Serval operated the bridge and it began to turn. Dunn and his men quickly crossed the bridge. "Thanks for the help Serval, now I have to go lest your brother scold me for being tardy," he said.

"Wait!" Serval said. "Where did the Madam Guardian asked you to meet?"

"In the snow plains, at the northern part of the restricted zone," Dunn replied. "I'm not sure why, but orders are…" he narrowed his eyes when he realized the girl standing next to Serval. "Wait… isn't that Lynx? Lynx! Your brother is worried sick, you've been hiding here all the time!?"

Lynx shook her head. "Yeah, I know, let's just go, show us the way Dunn."

Dunn shrugged in response. "Alright! Come on men, let's meet up with the rest," he ordered the other Silvermane Guards. "Stay close Lynx, dangers ahead!"

[LINE BREAK]

"Hey Pela," Lynx said to her phone.

"Hi Lynxy," Pela said through the video call. "How's the situation?"

Lynx waved her phone around, showing the snowy mountains where Dunn is leading her. The wind howl louder and louder, making it hard for the two to hear each other. Strange shapes jutted out of the snow, shapes resembling humans trapped in ice.

"The Supreme Guardian brought all Silvermane Guards here?" Pela asked. "Why?"

"I don't know," Lynx replied. "But… I have a really bad feeling about this…"

Soon, Lynx found herself gazing at a gigantic metal structure. "You guys know what this is?" she asked, showing the structure to everyone.

"Svarog said that it's something the Architect Built," Pela replied. "We're watching you on a projector by the way, give us the best view,"

Lynx smiled a little. "I will," she turned her phone to Serval who gave them a peace sign. Though her smile is forced, outweighed by her dread. "Say something sis!" Lynx tried to melt the atmosphere.

"Bronya, after all this is done, I'm dragging your mom to the nearest mental hospital!" Serval exclaimed, half serious. She then sighed. "But for real, this is fucking insane…"

"Hey, no cursing in front of minors," Dunn scolded her.

Lynx giggled and turned her phone to Dunn and the Silvermane Guards who gave her a thumbs up.

They climbed through the mountain and they can hear voices from above. It's Madam Cocolia's voice and she sounds like she's making a speech of sort. However, she already fell silent, as if she just finished her speech.

"Ah, darn it, we're late…" Dunn muttered. "Wait here, I'll go first and apologize," he was about to run up to the mountain when he found himself falling flat on the snow. He turned around and saw Serval pulling him back.

"Serval, what are you…" Dunn's voice faltered when something flashes in his peripheral vision.

A golden ray of light burst forth from above the mountain. The group scrambled into the cavern beside them. The traces of golden light slithered like snake, as if looking for something, before dissipating. Dunn, the guards, Serval, and Lynx huddled together in fear at the foot of a cliff.

"Lynx! What's going on?!" Pela's voice came from her phone.

Lynx picked it up. "I-I don't know… Pela I'm scared… Something just happened…" the girl followed Dunn and Serval up the mountain before the other guards could stop her.

[LINE BREAK]

Serval have always thought of what's the worst thing Cocolia could've done. She thought of horrendous things like ordering her execution, she thought of inhumane thing like committing mass genocide of the people in the underground. Serval thought she already prepared for the worst.

Yet, the scene that unfold before her is a nightmare beyond her comprehension. The Supreme Guardian stood tall amidst fallen Silvermane Guards. Hundreds of them, groaning and moaning in the ground as if in pain. Curling in fetal position as they grabbed their own head.

"COCOLIA!!!" Serval yelled, eyes glaring with bloodlust. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"

Cocolia glanced at her and smirked. "Ah, sorry, I suppose you're not invited to be part of the new world,"

"New… world…" Serval's blood ran cold when she saw him, her beloved brother. "Gepard!!!" she ran up to him as he groaned in pain, holding his head. "Bro, let's get the fuck out of here… Cocolia's gone mad…"

"Ser-Serval…" Gepard turned to look at Serval, but instead of his usual blue eyes, it was gold and sinister. "Sister… You have to go… tell someone… Quick… AAAAHH!!!!" he yelled in agony and banged his fist on the snow. "I can't… hold on… run! Please…"

"Geppy… No… Not like this… not like this…" Serval tried to pull him up. "We need to get help…" she gritted her teeth, finding him becoming heavier and heavier by the second. "Come on, let's… get the fuck out of here…"

Serval tried to pick up her little brother, wondering when's the last time she did this.

"Sister…" Gepard's voice became warped, almost intelligible. "I'm sorry you couldn't trust me…"

She dragged him with all his might, ignoring everything else around her.

"I wasn't there for Lynx… That's why she never told me…"

She felt her legs giving out below her.

"I wasn't there for you… That's why you never told me…"

The two fell on to the ground. "Gepard!!!" Serval cried as she scrambled to get up, she tried to pull her brother with all her might…

But a Fragmentum Monster was simply too heavy for her.

"Serval!" Serval felt a pair of arms dragging her up from behind. "We have to go! Men! Protect the Landau siblings back to Belobog!" Dunn exclaimed.

"No! Let me go! Please! Don't leave him behind!" Serval struggled against his grip, but she can't muster up anymore strength. "Gepard!!!"