Rubuska: And so, the great Rubuska discovered a way to speak with her kin, vampires enduring their trials in the darkness—through shadows.
Rubuska: But this was only the beginning of her own challenge. Once again, she called on her uncanny wit, searching, sensing ...
Rubuska: Until at last she found a way to deliver them from the dark.
Orphaned Child I: Mama ... I won't run off again ...
Orphaned Child I: Please wake up, Mama, please!
Orphaned Child II: Grandpa, they burned down the house. There's nothing left.
Orphaned Child II: And sister's gone too ...
Orphaned Child II: Now it's just me ... Grandpa, what should I do?
The cemetery fills with more and more bodies, packed tightly together. Soon the dead outnumber the living.
Mourning floods in over mourning.
Mourning Father: Penka ... my son ... ah ...
Mourning Father: I'll avenge you, I swear it ...
Grieving Mother: Sleep now, sleep, my dear ...
Grieving Mother: Go to that place where there's no pain, where tears will never fall again.
Young Rubuska: Dad! How did you lose your way in the forest? And how did you get out again?
Young Rubuska: We waited for you five whole days ... I must say, holding a feast without the great Count Arnold was most dreary.
Young Rubuska: Oh, shh—yes, yes, I know. The venerable vampire count, lost in the woods ... not the most dignified tale to spread, is it?
In the corner of the cemetery, her voice takes on a light, playful lilt as she speaks to the shadows.
Young Rubuska: Now ... you live in the shadows! That means we'll never be apart again.
Young Rubuska: Hm? Kolyo, you want your shadow to be taller?
She lifts her flute, and as the melody strings together, her "Kolyo" stretches up taller and taller.
Young Rubuska: All right, all right! I know you'll grow up big and strong, just like this ...
She continues to grow his shadow, until "Kolyo" takes on the form of a young man. She can't help but giggle.
Young Rubuska: Mама ... is this what our Kolyo will look like all grown up?
She lies down in between her family's bodies, whispering softly to their shadows.
Yet one shadow stays silent. It is small, curled up in the corner, with long hair falling over it.
She chooses a clear day to cut away her long hair.
???: "In the light of the blood moon, they rise and stride under the veil of night ..."
???: "Freely, they live, without fear of death ..."
???: "For through blood they live forevermore."
The shadow speaks in a childlike tone, retelling the words of their bedtime story for what feels like the thousandth time.
The girl mimics her younger self, imagining the warm bed, the patterned plates slick with gravy, and the candle blown out at the story's end.
"Young Rubuska": Mама, Dad, Kolyo ... your souls will never fade ...
"Young Rubuska": Not until the end of the story ... and even long after the story has ended.
Young Rubuska: Long after the story has ended ...
Young Rubuska: That's right. As long as your souls are here, we'll always be together.
Young Rubuska: I swear ... I'll never let anything harm you again.
After driving the birds away, she gathers rainwater and berries, arranging a little feast for her family.
She eats only her portion despite her growing hunger and lies back waiting for sleep to overtake her.
Mourning Father: ... Wait. This one's still alive.
Mourning Father: There's a girl sleeping here!
Grieving Mother: My God.
Grieving Mother: Poor thing ...
The firelight breaks a patch of the night. The sleeping girl stirs awake at their voices, sitting up warily.
Young Rubuska: You ...
Young Rubuska: What do you want?
She sits covered in mud and dirt, hugging her knees, cheeks sunken, eyes like black hollows.
Mourning Father: Child, I think ... it's time you said goodbye to your family.
Mourning Father: Just as we must too.
Grieving Mother: Pray for them, won't you?
Grieving Mother: Pray their souls have already found peace ...
The torchlight wavers over their closed eyes. Their bodies are still and rotted, but she cannot accept the plain truth.
Young Rubuska: You're wrong.
Young Rubuska: Their souls are right here.
Grieving Mother: Child ...
The woman's voice is calm and nurturing.
Yet Rubuska pierces the night with a sharp note. As a familiar desperate melody follows, and black shadows rise against the night.
In the glow of the flames, the outlines sharpen, like living figures standing over their lifeless forms.
GAMEPLAY
"Rubuska's Mother": My dearest girl ... why do you look so afraid? Has someone disturbed our rest ...
"Rubuska's Father": Don't be afraid, Buska. We can take care of things now. No one will harm you ...
"Kolyo": Sis, I'm not scared of the dark anymore! Because now we live in it ... I'm all black, see?
"Kolyo" waves his little shadow hand, curious and playful.
Young Rubuska: Mама! Dad! No one disturbed me. I just wanted to tell them ... your souls are still here.
Those who lost loved ones stand in silence, unable to comprehend the scene before them.
"Rubuska's Mother": Oh, of course ... my dear. The souls of vampires are eternal and undying.
"Rubuska's Mother": I may have embellished some of my stories ... but that part is beyond doubt.
"Rubuska's Father": That's why loneliness can never touch a vampire, my child.
"Rubuska's Father": And if you ever feel sad, we can always meet in this way ... here in the place where shadow meets the light.
"Kolyo": Sis, even if we can't hug anymore or keep warm together ... we can still watch shadow theater and play hide-and-seek!
Young Rubuska: Of course, Kolyo!
Young Rubuska: Mама, Dad, Kolyo ... you're still here with me. You never left.
Grieving Mother: Child ... do these souls really ... truly remain?
The three bodies have begun to lose their features to rot and exposure, yet the shadows she conjures feel vivid, alive.
But they do not speak, not really; she only shapes their voices with her own, mimicking their tones, as if all three souls were speaking from within her.
Young Rubuska: We are a vampire family, you see. They just temporarily stepped into the night.
Young Rubuska: But our souls can never be parted!
Pale and dizzy with hunger, she still speaks with total conviction.
Grieving Mother: Then could you ... help me? Could you bring my child back, let me see her again?
Grieving Mother: Oh, my Milena ... I just want to see her one more time. She was gone before I could say a single word ...
She buries her face in her hands, weeping.
Mourning Father: And my Penka. His body wasn't even whole when he died ...
Mourning Father: Who could do such a thing to a boy? He was only seven!
Mourning Father: Please, child ... let me speak with him, just once more ...
Orphaned Child I: Please ... I want my mama to come back too.
Orphaned Child II: If only Grandpa were still here ...
Their pleading eyes weigh heavy on the girl, pressing down like a tide. She is their last hope.
They do not ask for eternal life. Just one final moment. One last meeting.
"Rubuska's Mother": My child, you should help them. There's been so much loss here.
"Rubuska's Mother": I believe you can do it ... You've already found a way to reach us again.
"Rubuska's Father": Rubuska, this is why vampires are strong. We are united, and in that, we are eternal.
Young Rubuska: Mама, Dad, you're right.
At last, faint smiles and hope return to their pale faces. Before them, the girl stands as a symbol of salvation.