Chapter 64: Stars Are Cold Toys

The manned shaft was slowly ascending, the dull sound of gears meshing and turning echoing from the top. The dark shaft was illuminated only by a single old, dim mining lamp.

Clara and Svarog quietly experienced the "weightlessness" of the ascent in this serene atmosphere.

"...I’m a little scared," Clara admitted, looking up and nervously leaning closer to Svarog, relying on him more than she ever had in the lower district.

Although she had made up her mind to go to the upper district, leaving the place she was most familiar with and being swallowed by this massive contraption, slowly being transported to an unknown destination, Clara couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease.

"There’s no need to worry. We’ll reach the platform in approximately ten minutes. We’ll then pass through the deactivated heating pipeline in the outer district and enter the administrative zone—that’s when we can start looking for the bard."

"Hmm, has Mr. Svarog been to the upper district before? You seem very familiar with the routes up there!"

"In the past, I spent some time in the upper district. I’ve preserved maps of the upper district’s terrain and buildings. As long as the city’s layout hasn’t changed significantly, we don’t need to worry about getting lost."

In truth, Svarog hadn’t been back to the upper district for a long time. As a relic of the old era, he had been sent to the lower district by the wise Alexandra and had remained dormant for several hundred years. By the time he was reactivated, everything had changed.

The ruling Supreme Guardian had shifted from the second, Alexandra, to the current eighteenth, Cocolia.

He wasn’t concerned with the changes in leadership, merely recording the information before continuing to carry out the Preservation directive he had been programmed with at his creation.

Until that day.

He discovered a human child, an abandoned girl, in the landfill southeast of Boulder Town—Clara.

At the time, her mental state was unstable. She was resistant to communication, clearly avoiding any interaction.

When Svarog attempted to communicate with her and gather information, Clara cried.

For three hours and seven minutes.

At the time, Svarog’s conclusion was to take the orphaned Clara back to the base for observation, to collect more information and formulate a plan for her future.

But this choice ended up changing him.

Raising Clara with his own hands, letting her grow up among the automatons, her every action and behavior guided by true rationality.

During this process, he had positioned himself as a "teacher," but the girl saw him as "family."

The teacher was instead taught by the girl what "emotion" was.

At one point, he had treated his calculations as absolute law—nothing and no one could sway Svarog.

But under the influence of Clara’s sincere and passionate emotions and the external factor of the bard, he gradually realized that his past approach had been biased.

Though it wasn’t wrong, he had to reconsider whether people had the potential to reach a "happy" future.

In his calculations, the inevitable demise of Belobog seemed almost unsolvable, with only the length of survival for the upper and lower districts varying. Any attempt to reverse this outcome had been proven futile.

But the fact was, not long ago, this conclusion had been overturned.

The bard, whose actions even a robot couldn’t fully interpret.

First, he had come to the Mechanical Settlement on his own, then won over the people with his performances, and finally became "family" with Clara.

Svarog had to admit that at the time, he had felt "resistance" toward the bard, believing that if Clara spent too much time with him, she might pick up bad habits, even developing a taste for alcohol.

That’s why, when testing the bard’s true intentions that day, Svarog had shown "hostility" without hesitation.

But the bard had passed Svarog’s test, fulfilled his promises, and demonstrated the power to "save the world."

An invisible shackle seemed to have been lifted, allowing Svarog to devote more of his computational power to Clara.

During this process, Clara, as the bridge between them, had naturally caught the attention of the Supreme Guardian’s heir, Bronya Rand.

This held great significance for Clara’s long-term development in Belobog.

It was also from that moment that Svarog couldn’t help but think of one thing.

Perhaps—one day, Clara would leave him.

Children grow into adults, forming their own social networks. Their closest relationships would no longer be limited to family. She would have her own lover, even marry and start a new family.

Where would that leave him?

Though this thought came suddenly, and Clara was still young, Svarog was a robot.

With proper maintenance, his lifespan would far exceed that of a human. He would witness the girl becoming a woman, then a mother, and finally growing old, passing away, becoming a small flower on a cold gravestone.

This thought had once caused his logical processes to stall.

But this concern for the future also gave rise to a certain "emotion."

That was contentment.

He wanted to ensure that Clara lived her life with as few regrets as possible.

Therefore, if Clara wished to do something or was hesitant about a decision, he would help and support her in making a choice true to her heart.

Even if it was something the Svarog of the past would never have done.

As his thoughts wandered, they arrived at the upper district.

A warm ray of light pierced through the shaft, dispelling the gloom and illuminating their faces.

Clara shielded her face with her small, soft hands, adjusting to the brightness before opening her ruby-like eyes wide.

"Ah... we’re here. So fast, it’s like a dream."

Seeing the anticipation in the girl’s eyes, Svarog stepped out of the shaft and knelt on one knee, gesturing for her to sit on his arm.

"There should still be many intact buildings outside. We can observe as we move forward."

"Hmm, is it because of the sunlight? Mr. Svarog seems much gentler now."

Clara blinked but didn’t resist. Even with her small feet resting on his palm, she didn’t take up much space.

"According to calculations, children leaving familiar areas may experience tension, worry, and other emotions. In severe cases, it may lead to stomachaches or other adverse conditions.

Therefore, I believe that until Clara becomes familiar with the upper district, I should fulfill my duty as family."

After placing Clara in the crook of his arm, Svarog took his first step into the exploration.

First were the abandoned pipelines. These were nothing special—the greenhouse effect device for Belobog’s heating was more symbolic than practical.

The long-wave radiation emitted by the device accounted for only 5.2% of its total output.

In the face of the long ice age, people truly relied on the geomarrow heaters in their homes.

And an unknown factor that kept Belobog’s temperature constant.

For now, Svarog could only assume it was—interference from another dimension.

Or, to put it more bluntly, a "miracle" from Qlipoth.

However, the current temperature in the upper district was abnormal...

While ordinary people might not notice the change, as a special machine created with the ancient technology of the Architects, Svarog could detect that the surrounding temperature was slowly being drawn away toward a certain point.

He looked up at the ceiling, where the blue dome had a transparent hole, and a crimson Fragmentum seed flickered faintly.

"Is that a star?" Clara asked innocently from his arm.

After a moment of silence, Svarog replied, "No, the stars are much farther away. That one is just a cold toy created by the Fragmentum."