Before the Trailblazer can even ask for a blanket, the Astral Express dumps them on Jarilo-VI, a planet that looks like a snow globe with zero charm and maximum danger. This arc is basically a masterclass in bad first impressions: a smarmy scammer pops out of a snowdrift, the local police try to jump the squad, and the Supreme Guardian has more red flags than a parade. Still, the Trailblazer manages to save the day, unlock the Preservation path, and collect enough emotional damage to fill a Stellaron-sized suitcase.

The Icy Welcome

After leaving Herta Space Station, the crew boards the Astral Express, where Pom-Pom, the conductor, bravely tries to keep March 7th from turning the warp jump into a slapstick routine. The moment they land on Jarilo-VI, Dan Heng drops the bad news: something on this frozen rock smells like Stellaron trouble. March, ever the optimist, figures nothing can stop them because the Trailblazer literally has a Stellaron inside and the others have their own special powers. Solid logic, honestly.

Cue Sampo Koski, who emerges from a snow pile like a suspicious yet oddly charming raccoon. He warns them about the Silvermane Guards and offers to play tour guide, but the welcoming committee quickly turns into a fight with Gepard. Once Gepard realizes the Trailblazer isn't Sampo's accomplice, he escorts everyone to Belobog, the last real city on the planet.

The lore dump is heavy: roughly 700 years ago, the Antimatter Legion turned Jarilo-VI into a barbecue, and then the Eternal Freeze dropped in like an uninvited houseguest. Belobog survived thanks to the Architects and their devotion to Qlipoth, the Aeon of Preservation.

Meet the Boss Lady

Inside Qlipoth Fort, the Trailblazer meets Cocolia Rand, the Supreme Guardian whose vibes are best described as "used-car saleswoman meets doomsday prophet." She listens to the Stellaron-sealing pitch and offers hotel rooms, which sounds polite until the player remembers this is a HoYoverse game.

That night, the Trailblazer hears teenage Cocolia chatting with the Stellaron, which is never a good sign. By morning, Bronya and a squad of Silvermane Guards show up with arrest energy. The crew bolts into a Fragmentum portal, gets ambushed, and nearly fights Bronya before Sampo—of all people—saves them with smoke bombs. It turns out running from the law is a great bonding exercise.

Underground Belobog: Mole Games and Robot Problems

The Trailblazer wakes up in a clinic run by Natasha, who is far cooler than she lets on. The underground is rough, full of miners, vagrants, and a kid gang called The Moles led by Hook. To find Dan Heng, the Trailblazer has to win a hide-and-seek game against children, which is arguably more stressful than fighting Cocolia.

After joining Dan Heng in a robot arena fight, the squad meets Seele, who crashes in to save Bronya with maximum sass. The two bicker like rival sisters while the Trailblazer is stuck in the middle. Later, they venture into the Great Mine, fight an Automaton Direwolf, and meet Clara and her overly logical robot dad, Svarog. Svarog has all the warmth of a spreadsheet and refuses to see reason until the Trailblazer proves they are the unexpected variable he didn't calculate.

The side trip to Rivet Town adds more heartbreak: a kid named Eric steals medical supplies, Bronya realizes she may have grown up in the orphanage before being adopted by Cocolia, and Seele suddenly becomes a beginner therapist with a purple glow.

Svarog Spills the Tea

After beating Svarog in a tough fight, he finally shares the truth via old transmissions. The Eternal Freeze was triggered by Alisa Rand, a famous Guardian, when she activated the Stellaron. Another Guardian covered it up to avoid public panic, and the whole cycle of secrets kept rolling downhill. Then Natasha reveals she is the leader of Wildfire, because of course the kind doctor was secretly running the resistance.

Solving the Stellaron Crisis

The final stretch is a full-blown snowbound rebellion. Bronya goes ahead to confront Cocolia, so the Trailblazer teams up with Serval, who sneaks the group past guards before Gepard almost blows their cover. After some heartfelt mechanical tinkering and a second scrap with Gepard, the group reaches Everwinter Hill, where Cocolia is busy trying to shove Stellaron propaganda into Bronya's brain.

The first fight against Cocolia goes about as well as expected: the Trailblazer gets impaled and wakes up in a strange universe, which is just a normal Tuesday for this crew. There, the Guardian's Will offers the touch of the Amber, handing the Trailblazer the Preservation path and Fire combat style. With the Engine of Creation minus one arm, the rematch is much more balanced.

When Cocolia falls, Bronya chooses to tell Belobog that her mother died fighting the Stellaron rather than revealing the ugly truth. She also reopens the passage between the surface and the underground, proving that even a frozen city can thaw a little.

The Solwarm Festival and an IPC Debt Collector

Just when Belobog starts rebuilding, the Interastral Peace Corporation shows up like a landlord demanding back rent. Topaz arrives during the Solwarm Festival to collect a centuries-old debt, and the situation gets messier than a snowball fight in a china shop. Bronya nearly accepts the deal, but Himeko shows up with receipts: only 63 percent of IPC-handled planets are actually saved, while Topaz personally has an 80 percent success rate. Numbers aside, Bronya decides to stall Topaz and show her the Engine of Creation, the one machine Belobog built without IPC help.

In the end, Topaz backs off, Belobog keeps its independence, and the Trailblazer earns another star on the Astral Express disaster resume. If there is one lesson here, it is this: never trust a snowbank, always question a glowing rock, and absolutely do not skip the hide-and-seek quest.