The lower city sprawled beneath them in disarray—craggy stone walls, no real layout to speak of. Just scattered mining sites and a few small towns, like the outskirts of Belobog.
Felicity followed behind Seele, her eyes darting around with interest.
"Hello."
"I don't do greetings."
"...So your name is...?"
"?"
Felicity's endless chatter was already giving Seele a headache. Pressing a hand to her temple, Seele sighed and turned to her.
"If I tell you, will you be quiet?"
"Mm-hm!"
Felicity nodded furiously, like a bird pecking at grain.
"...Seele."
"Oh!"
Felicity beamed and, to her credit, actually shut up.
Seele sighed in relief and kept walking, leading Felicity toward where the boss was.
But the peace didn't last long. Curiosity quickly got the better of Felicity.
"Seele, Seele, what's that huge pillar over there?"
"...The hearth."
"Seele, Seele, what do people here usually do?"
"Mine."
"Seele, Seele—"
"Can't you just stay quiet for one minute!?"
After being bombarded like that over and over, Seele finally snapped.
She turned and glared at Felicity, like a cornered cat on edge.
But before she could say more, a calm voice interrupted from behind.
"Seele, always getting worked up like that isn't good for you."
Both of them turned. A woman with soft blue-gray hair and a gentle smile was walking toward them.
"Natasha? What are you doing here?"
Seele's expression eased as she looked at her with surprise.
"Oleg brought in a bunch of wounded. The clinic's running low on supplies, so I just ordered more from Sampo."
Natasha replied with her usual gentle tone, then glanced curiously at Felicity.
"And this is...?"
"I'm Felicity, a traveler from the outside!"
Before Seele could respond, Felicity stepped in proudly.
"...Yeah, that's pretty much it."
Seele shrugged, clearly resigned.
"She fell from the [Pipeline]. I was near the Rift when she landed in front of me."
"Fell from the pipe?"
Natasha raised an eyebrow.
There were plenty of pipes between the upper and lower city, but they were for cargo, not people.
Besides, most of them had been sealed off more than a decade ago.
Though curious, Natasha let it go and kept her expression light.
"You said you're from outside the city?"
"Yep~"
"I see. Oleg's resting in the clinic. If you want to meet him, come with me."
Natasha didn't ask for proof or details. She just turned and motioned for the two to follow.
"You heard her. Let's go."
Seele threw another annoyed glance at Felicity.
Felicity: "…"
Natasha's Clinic.
A few injured townsfolk lay in the clinic beds. Their faces were contorted in pain, clothes soaked with blood.
"What happened?"
Seele stepped inside, her brows knitting.
As a Wildfire member, keeping order underground was her job. Seeing civilians hurt like this felt like failure.
Her eyes scanned the room until they landed on a man with silver hair and a hardened face.
"Seele, you're back."
The man gave a tired smile and explained,
"Same as before. Some settlers clashed with wanderers trying to stake their claim. Both sides took hits. It's calmed down for now."
His gaze shifted to Felicity, brow furrowed.
"And who's this with you?"
"Ah, her... Long story. Better if she explains it herself."
Seele gestured toward Felicity. She seemed genuinely too exhausted to introduce her again.
Felicity stepped forward and cleared her throat.
"I'm Felicity. What I'm about to say might sound strange."
"?"
Oleg and Natasha exchanged puzzled looks.
Oleg gave her a calm nod.
"Go ahead. Wildfire isn't afraid of the truth."
"I come from an extraterrestrial civilization. Because of the Stellaron, I'm stuck here. The disasters you've seen—the cold, the rift—all come from the Stellaron."
"You're saying you came from space?"
Oleg looked surprised but didn't seem skeptical. He stroked his chin, thinking.
"This [Stellaron]... I've never heard of it. But if even locals don't know about it, there's only one possibility I can think of..."
"Who?"
Felicity leaned forward.
"Don't rush. If you're really from another world, you'll need to prove it."
Oleg's tone stayed calm, but his gaze turned sharp. In a place like this, leading Wildfire took more than just kindness.
"Proof... Will this do?"
Felicity raised her hand, summoning the power of Abundance. Emerald light shimmered into the air.
"Can't be bothered to say my lines again. Let's just say... this is a care package."
She flicked her hand, and the light spread across the room, flowing gently into each wounded body.
"This..."
Natasha, a doctor with decades of experience, widened her eyes. She quickly unwrapped a nearby patient's bandage—only to find the wound had vanished.
"This is..."
She murmured in disbelief.
"A care package from the community."
Felicity stretched her arms, satisfied.
"...You've convinced me."
Oleg let out a low chuckle. Even he hadn't seen something like this before. To heal all these injuries instantly—wasn't that too much?
He sighed and continued,
"The one you'll want is Svarog."
"Svarog?"
"A machine. Fought in the war centuries ago. It holds most of Belobog's history in its memory. If even it doesn't know what this [Stellaron] is, then we're out of leads."
"...Got it."
Felicity nodded after a moment of thought. It felt like the right time—she needed to go find her companions again.