The steel behemoths rumble.
They have plowed through snow, mud, and soil to reach their target.
Windsong: ...
Windsong: I haven't done any field investigation of ley energy since our school fell apart.
Windsong puts away her tools, hands trembling slightly.
Knut: Don't worry, Comrade Windsong. Look, these stones are still the same stones we've always known.
He catches the worry in Windsong's expression.
Knut: And don't be afraid to fail. My father told me that failure is just success in progress, hahaha!
Knut: Even if we cannot find this new resource or save our Rayashki ...
Knut: We've come back here together and worked for our common goal. We have nothing to complain about.
Windsong: Alright.
Knut: Whatever the result, we thank you for your efforts.
Knut: Now leave the rest to us!
He turns his head and shouts toward the drilling machine.
Knut: Comrade Yuri, check the connection status.
Knut: Don't forget to check the drill, Comrade Elena.
Worker I: Relax. It's much easier than opening a can with only your fingers.
Workers: Hahahahaha!
The excited queue flows like a steady river.
People crowd together, shovels, hoes, and picks ringing out in unison.
Magnificent drilling machines emerge up from the snow.
They roar as their drills pierce the earth.
The stubborn frozen soil does nothing to hinder their progress.
Their resonance is a sound that echoes in Windsong's ears, the sound of impassioned unity of purpose and vision.
This place is like the square, like their public canteen, like their factory.
Like every corner of Rayashki.
Clearly, it is a scene worth capturing.
Avgust: Knut had grown a slender arm. One that reached places no one could and picked up stones there.
Avgust: They are not like the soft, transparent stones from the sky; these are hard as chocolate!
Avgust: I think they are good stuff, too. Vila said we could make them into cans and houses to help the town!
Avgust: But maybe we will irritate the owner of the stones?
The busy adults pay no heed to the child's mutterings.
They gather around the newly collected core samples.
Worker I: Am I right that this sample is from 100 meters underground?
Worker II: Yes. Usually, we don't need to reach that deep to find runium ore.
Knut: Relax, comrades. At least, it proves there is something new under Rayashki.
Worker II: Hmm, I have been a miner for forty years, and one thing I know for sure is this: this is not bedrock.
Windsong: It's a Kikituk's hair.
Windsong carefully scrapes the colorful powder from the rocks and places it into a test tube.
Windsong: The black marks are the new resource we're looking for, the red brown ones are the Kikituks, and the bright yellow ones are their mineral-eating relatives, the Hoituks.
Windsong: Hmm. The machine will show us the stability of the ley energy in a minute.
Windsong: We are at the source of the ley energy now, so the lines should have been pure.
Knut: If my eyes serve me right, I think I see bad news.
Windsong: You're right. This source is like an estuary polluted beyond recovery.
Windsong: It is carrying too many traces, both from creatures and non-creatures. Besides, the "black" ore down there seems to have attracted a large number of critters, which has only worsened the pollution.
Windsong: A senior of mine said in his notes that in this case, it will take a push for the core to activate its self-purification system.
Knut: Huh?
Windsong: Shoot, we got a big one!
Avgust: Waves! It's seawater!
Avgust: We should have prepared swimming floats.
Avgust: Yes, but the waves won't reach us if we ride the sled!
There is a slight hum from the vibration.
Windsong: "If the ley energy materializes, put in a 7.62cm sea serpent bone, 3 drops of common vervain sap, and 20mg of snail sawfish embryo ..."
The Emergency Ley Energy Handling Guidelines (Trial) booklet in her hand is thrown to the ground and stamped aggressively.
Windsong: Crazy! Whoa!
A colored slime continues to ooze out.
No longer a mere note in her reference materials, but an observable substance.
The clever dreamer continues his observation.
Avgust: It has a beautiful stone on its neck, too!
Avgust: Did your father also fall asleep in the mine?
Windsong: D**n! Is that the raw runium ore that Zeno has been looking for? The energy is so pure. No wonder it materialized into such a huge body.
Drawn in by the spectacle, more creatures emerge from nearby mine shafts.
Kikituk: roars
Enticed by the potential for a feast.
Vila: Comrades, defense formation.
Vila: Miners, stay behind us and evacuate!
Knut: Comrades! Stand with me if you've got a weapon! No matter if it's a rifle, a staff, or a shovel. Grip them tight. This is our Rayashki's future we're fighting for!
Knut: We've been waiting for this, haven't we?
The Other Resident: That's right.
More "weapons" are raised, clanging together as they begin their battle march.
Vila: Dear comrades.
Vila: This is the critical moment for our town.
Vila: No good weapons, no external support, but we have our friends, our family ...
Vila: And each other, who will never leave anyone behind!
Windsong: Yes!
Windsong: There's nothing to be afraid of.
Windsong: We can always figure it out, so long as ...
Vila: So long as we still have hope.
Voices ring out one after another as they reach the end of their march.
COMBAT
The nosey critters have all disappeared, and the strange entity has slumped down.
The gathered warriors are exhausted, but alive.
Vila: Did we make it?
Windsong: After we drove the critters away, the self-purification system began to run slower.
Knut: Haha! Time to go all out. Let's go, comrades!
Worker I: For a brighter future!
The crowd redoubles their strength as they follow Knut forward.
Ley Energy?: ...!
Deafening sounds reverberate all around them.
A brilliant red splashes across the snowfield.
Worker II: Oh!
Vila: Comrade Yuri! Get a few more comrades here. We need to move him to the back!
Many comrades are wounded, blood soaking their arms, but their hearts have not faltered.
Never retreat, never surrender.
Windsong: Its energy has not run out yet. What on earth ...
Ley Energy?: roars
Windsong: That's the ore! Dn it! Don't tell me it's still powering this thing!
Worker I: I see. So we just break that stone, and it's over, right?
Windsong: Yes, theoretically.
Windsong's voice wavers as she catches her breath.
Guard I: Leave it to me. I am the marksman here! Just need to get a little closer, a little closer.
Guard II: Comrade Adrian, Comrade Daniel, and I will go with you. There may be something we can do!
Guards: Okay!
Vila: Comrades, watch out!
They charge ahead, their spirits unwavering.
Vila: No!
Knut: Fall back, fall back!
Bullets fly through the air, their sound like a relentless pounding hail.
Ley Energy?: ...
Knut: St! Our attacks cannot break that stone at all.
Vila: Comrade Windsong, wh-what is going on?
The red splashes around them, so vivid against the white snow, halt her words.
Windsong: ...
Windsong: The cycle of ley energy is long. It may take months, years, or even longer than that to return to its source.
Windsong: As long as that ore remains on its neck, the ley energy will continue with the purification until it wipes out everything around.
Windsong's voice is low, despite the din of battle.
Knut: So all we can do is wait?
Windsong: For our own safety, we'd better stay out of this area until it completely returns to the source.
Windsong: I should've seen this coming. I'm so sorry.
Surrounded by fallen comrades and dark red streaks, Windsong attempts to conceal the fear in her voice.
The wind rises, sharp and howling.
Knut: Comrade Patrik, Comrade Nikita, you're not done yet, right? Anyone else?
Knut: We still got the digger, the crane, and our own strength! Let's try harder! It's nothing more than a stupid stone! We can do this!
Knut: It's our last chance!
Rough hands stubbornly rise once more, defying the cold wind and danger.
Trickles of blood seep down their arms from cuts and wounds.
Warm words cover them like a bandage, offering some solace to their pain.
Vila: Stop this senseless sacrifice, Comrade Knut. It's pointless to keep going.
Knut: But, to save Rayashki is also your dream, no?!
Knut: Our little one from afar swore she would unite all of us, no matter who we are or where we're from.
Knut: We must keep all that in our minds. How can we give up now?
The massive creature stands unmoving, like an unyielding mountain.
Vila: ...
Vila: I'm so happy I came here and made friends with all of you, comrades. You each have a kind heart and a strong will.
Vila: Before I met you, my dream was only a joke to the other Rusalki, but you've shown me it isn't unreachable. Now it feels so real and heartwarming.
Vila: Sometimes, I almost forget that you see the fins and scales on my body.
Vila: That's why I don't want you to sacrifice yourselves for nothing. I don't want to lose you.
Her smile is a ray of light breaking through the clouds.
Vila: What we want is to stay together. That's why we are fighting to save Rayashki, right?
Knut: Fk this world!
Avgust: sobs The swans have lost their feathers.
Avgust: Are we still able to reach the sky?
Snow begins to fall again, as if casting a veil over the dead—over Rayashki.
The roar of the wind grows, but there is something else groaning with it. Clouds are pushed aside, and a distorted voice calls out from above.
Evgeni: I must thank you, Comrade Windsong. You've rekindled something in me, in us—a new hope, just as you promised.
Evgeni: I will tell you that I read some papers on your ley lines after that night. It holds some great ideas, I admit. You and Rayashki deserve a better future.
Windsong: ...!
Avgust: Wow, sea swallow, our brave friend!
Evgeni: Comrades, I want you to know I recommended you to Zeno only because I was worried for your future. I did not want you to be stuck in a dying town.
Knut: Comrade Evgeni?
Evgeni: And it gives me pain to see how brave and determined you all have been. I won't let any of you die here.
Vila: Evgeni, what are you doing!
Evgeni: The sad thing is I took a very different path long ago. But what does it matter now?
Evgeni: Rayashki is proud of you. I am proud of you. You will continue to build the new world of your dreams—our dream, no matter where or when.
Evgeni: I will always be there with you.
Evgeni: Seize the opportunity, Vila, Windsong, my comrades!
*boom*
Windsong: Природа это числа и черты.
The trails of the old machines wore deep into the frozen ground, forming a raised pathway that led up and away from the scene.
The children, finally coming to grips with what they've seen, begin to cry.
Vila: Comrade Evgeni.
Do fish mourn? Can a Rusalka cry?
No one can really answer this question.
Yet around the Rusalka, a ring of salty water seems to rise.
Knut: Dn it! This is not fair!
Knut: Just because he was the only pilot here doesn't mean he could make that decision alone! We should have had a vote!
Worker I: We fixed that fighter together!
Worker I: That a*****e left us behind.
Worker II: But he will always be our comrade, right?
Time appears to stand still, as all present stand unmoving, unspeaking.
Until one, and then many, trembling hands rise triumphantly into the sky.
Windsong: ...
Residents: To Comrade Evgeni, salute!
Avgust: But where is the sea swallow?!
Vila: He flew into the future, child.
Vila: The future we'll all reach one day.