Arknights story · Critical Phase Transition
17-21 Burning in the Night
Reunion and Milana officially start working together as the Ursine army raids Reunion's farm. Fyodor digs up an empty coffin as Klim buries his wife, and Kal'tsit abandons eternal life as she returns AMa-10's core code to the Sarcophagus to stabilize and seal it for good.
1 scenes, 333 lines
1. Interlude
333 linesThank you for the generous invitation, Talulah.
I understand it's hard for your farm to take in so many residents and miners at once.
Taking in some non-Infected is also a dilemma for your people.
But please trust me when I say we are all skilled workers. We need only shelter to be self-sufficient, and we'll take care of anyone who needs our help.
I'm not worried about your people at all. I saw what they can do in Zelgrad, Tulin—I mean, Milana.
Sorry, it'll take some time for me to get used to it.
No, I should be the one apologizing. I took up that name myself, causing such a long misunderstanding.
So, the reason you've brought me over here for a chat is...?
To discuss what to do next... discuss our future.
I once fought the imperial army in the countryside by scattering their forces, and I was sure this was the best way to deal with them.
But we were naive and disorganized then. Some of us lost our convictions, and some went astray... most of them are dead now.
We enjoyed a relatively peaceful period after... I spent my days wondering if we could shore up our numbers, tighten our bonds, and hold onto our original ideals—
If we can let all Infected... no, all our comrades believe in a better future, have everyone share the same dream, perhaps things could be different this time?
We've found the enemy we must defeat, and now, we need to gather more comrades to our cause.
I'm glad to hear that, but I can't help but feel a little regret.
I'm sad Tulin never got to meet you.
I would be ashamed to meet him, Milana...
I heard plenty of your stories from Lyudmila... we walked similar paths, experienced similar suffering, but you've done much better than I.
You've never fallen to despair.
I'm sorry, but I don't quite get you...
Isn't Reunion a group of strong warriors who have fought their way here? Why would you say something like that...?
I'll tell you what happened, if I get the chance.
Anyway, Milana. If you are willing to continue down this path of resistance to the injustices of the empire... let us journey, side-by-side.
I would be honored.
The youth steps forward and grabs Talulah's hand.
Though, I only know your name, your team—
They have no name... we never had the time to work one up.
But I hope we can work under Reunion's name, if you'd let us.
What...?
Don't get me wrong, it's not that I want to permanently borrow someone else's name.
No, I'm just worried... Reunion has a past full of mistakes. Perhaps our name might cause some more misunderstandings.
Do you still remember, Talulah? When I told you how the most depressed miners would surge back to life upon hearing your stories.
Even in Zelgrad, an affluent city in the south, there are still people who act in your name to bolster their voices.
If we want a name inspiring enough to unite those in pain and frighten those oppressors, our only option in this country is Reunion.
Perhaps...
Talulah, I finally found you—
Hold on, we aren't done talking just yet.
Forgive me, but it's urgent news from the south—
Something's happened on our farm.
—!
Under the gloomy sky, a fierce fire rages.
First, the barn roof flies into the sky, but before the wooden frame touches the ground, another shell smashes through the barn, flipping barrels by the well...
Over the distant hillside, cannons flash and flicker, like matches being lit, one after another.
Enemy artillery! Everyone hide, and fast—
Another barrage of shelling hits the field even before that shout could finish. Splintered wood and dirt rain down as burdenbeast herds neigh alongside children crying, their long period of peace ripped apart.
Wh-What's going on...?
Don't panic, just think what you should be doing now!
Nine! You're here!
I've brought reinforcements, and more hands for evacuation efforts.
Go and see if we've missed anyone who needs help moving. Get them all out, then evacuate at once.
We'll hold them off, no matter who they are!
Right!
I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Bułka. Please keep your distance from us, and join the evacuation team for now.
This is for your safety.
Alright, Nine. For, ah—
We, we're willing to continue our discussion, and trade if you can—
Someone, take him away!
A-Alright, I'll go, I'll go now...
Nine and the Reunion warriors following her arrive in the center of the farm, looking upwards at the massive infantry force rushing down the hill.
Before her blossoms a sea of blood-red flowers, surging towards their enemies.
Sir! Two telegrams just came through.
Go ahead.
The first: a protest from Kazimierzians. There is fighting on the Ursus-Kazimierz Border, and there's already—
Enough. No need to concern ourselves with the Kazimierzians, next.
Sir... this is from headquarters. The Marshal is still recovering from her wounds, but is very satisfied with your progress, and hopes to see the Ursine banner flying over the traitors' base as soon as possible.
Heh, we should have done this much sooner... Send a reply: we will fly the flag of the First Army alongside the flag of Ursus.
I will show every citizen of our country the most glorious army on this land.
The most glorious army, huh...?
I know Father and Mother were not buried together.
Father is interred in the royal mausoleum, while Mother is buried in the apple orchard of the summer palace, in a small graveyard at the end of the rows.
...I couldn't possibly have hidden this fact from my mind by simply refusing to think about it.
This... is not an apple orchard.
Your Imperial Majesty, this was on my mind as well.
During the reign of the last Tsar, there was a rust sickness outbreak, so the original trees were removed and replaced with other varieties.
This happened before you were born.
......
So the grave on the side here...
Who does it belong to?
...I did my investigation before you decided to come, and found no one in the palace records. The grave is much smaller than what one would expect for a royal tomb.
According to tradition, what is buried below may be a beloved pet—
No. Even a pet would have a name. But this grave lacks one.
Only a single inscription is carved upon the stone.
'For my eternal love. Here I lay to rest in peace her soul.'
Inside the cemetery, a small, simple gravestone leans upon an ornate, royal tombstone, like a child nestling in its mother's arms.
Dig it up.
...I beg your pardon?
I said, dig out the coffin inside the grave!
Majesty!
Whatever it is you are trying to prove, this is only a fake. It can only be a fake.
What are you saying?
An unidentified individual claiming to be a Grand Princess has appeared in Bresk, with the Grand Duchess's clear support.
This is proven by her first appearance in the city to appease the masses, but there is one thing our spies have so far failed to understand.
That this 'princess' has made no effort to conceal her face, and according to witnesses...
The usually frank servant suddenly pauses. She looks up at the Tsar to observe his expression, as if unsure if she should continue.
Out with it.
Her face is a picture-perfect replica of the late tsarina's.
In Bresk and the Far North, practically every household has a 'Red Corner', where they display portraits of the late tsar and tsarina.
You need only see and hear her, and witness her 'divine' gifts...
It was but a matter of time before word of this false Grand Princess reached the capital.
......
There are no princesses of Ursus, the late Tsar had no other children. You must know this truth better than anyone else, otherwise all our efforts will have been in vain—
Do not make me repeat myself, Witte.
Open it, even if it's just for my sake alone...
......
The coffin was buried in a shallow grave—one man is enough to haul it up.
It opens to a question. The small box, enough only to house a pet or young child, is completely empty.
No remains nor any belongings are inside.
Nothing at all.
......
The Tsar approaches the coffin and gets down on one knee, reaching out to rub the surface.
Finally, he spots a name engraved upon it.
...'Anastasia Vladimirovna Lacitsara'.
Anastasia.
Sister.
Nastya.
He looks up at the yellow-green leaves and branches, growing from the trees—none of them apple trees.
If the dead are not dead, if vivid memories can be wrong, if forgotten history can be recovered, then...
What other impossibilities lie in wait?
...This will do.
'Two meters long, one-and-a-half meters wide, one-and-a-half meters deep.'
All the land that a person needs their entire life. So this is what it looks like.
I don't have a coffin, but this will fit one woman.
And only one.
......
How I wish... I could just stay here with you. To dig another hole next to yours, to lie down and close my eyes, to keep you company forever.
But I can't. I know where Lada is now, so I have to follow those people to find her.
Oh, yes. I never got to tell you...
I heard Lada's voice on our frequency.
She's grown, and she remembers everything... she remembers every story we told her. She recognized them immediately!
She's so smart... she takes after you.
......
I know, you want to go back to Chernobog, but I can only bring you here for now.
Wait until I see Lada again. I'll bring her here to see you.
......
And then, together...
We'll go home.
'...General Afanasy Igorevich Khratov, former commander of the Sixth Army's First Division and chief of staff.'
He first distinguished himself in the battle of the Four Emperors, and in the Tenth Ursus-Kazimierz War, led a small elite force to thwart the enemy's counterattack, a rare feat amongst his peers.'
'Later, he demonstrated exemplary prowess in both border and local conflicts with his considerable expertise in combat, raid, suppression, and mediation operations.'
'He learned from his defeat on the Bloodpeak Campaign, and in the Great Rebellion, led his troops away from the Sixth Army and surrendered to the State Council, all to buy more crucial time for a later counterattack...'
......
What are you up to, General?
Nothing, just reading.
What's the book?
Just something a friend returned to me. Are you interested?
Not itching to read it... I remember you having a thread-bound book no one was allowed to touch, and this one is in even worse condition.
In between his words, Hellagur swiftly lifts the book to show her the cover, while simultaneously ripping out the page he just read, crumpling it into a ball in his palm.
The already fragile book shakes only slightly, instead of falling apart.
...Let's just say I haven't given up yet, General.
We have a moment's pause for now, but there are even bigger waves about to roll in.
So I must ask again. You have seen so much more in recent days, yet you're still unwilling to return to our side?
No.
What if—what about returning to a brand new Ursus?
That's not the main point, Eloysius.
I refuse, because I know deep inside this place is no longer my home.
......
Well. Could I please ask you to accept this book at least?
From my father's... the Vice Chairman's collection. He always wanted to 'return it to its rightful owner'.
Of course, this is also a thank-you gift, for your help.
Thank you for bravely defending me, Gospodin Hellagur.
The Endless March...? A novel? Or is this a history book?
You can decide that yourself.
The pages are practically falling out. Can I really borrow it?
Of course.
Alright... thanks.
Oh yeah, almost forgot what I came here for. The Zelgrad group's back, and wanted an office gathering before they leave Ursus. Will you come?
When?
Tonight.
Alright. I will be there.
...Who are you looking for?
Just go in and ask...
Excuse me...
Is Vetochki, the miner from the citizen's forum here?
I've seen you before. Who might you be?
Oh, I...
(Whispers) I'm also a miner, a survivor from the Far North.
......
...It's snowing again.
Who knows how many more in the capital will freeze to death tonight.
You will not manage to save them all, no matter what you might have in mind.
......
I should have known how much pride you've always had in yourself. Likewise, I will always be proud of you, Elotta.
How excellent you are, that I forgot to teach you the most fundamental principle.
This land has its own rules, and no one can change them by willpower alone.
The late Tsar failed, and as for our reigning Tsar and Witte... only failure awaits them in turn.
Should I take it that you're happy to see them fail?
And only with their failure, can you protect your own interests. But whose interests are you actually protecting, with the order you endorse?
I see you've forgotten, but the very 'people with something to gain' you're scoffing at were the same ones protecting those Infected from the Far North, and you.
So you see it as a sort of charity, and not an innate right?
I see it as just a slogan that sounds correct, but has absolutely no substance.
No... I'm completely wrong, while you're absolutely right—someone who stays still will never make any mistakes.
Chairman Witte and the others will do wrong, because they're trying to do something, trying to change, to stop something.
Why see compromises and appeasements as wise decisions, when staying stagnant has never been a difficult choice?
Still you try to fight reality with naive arguments... it's a habitual mistake, but a mistake of mine too.
Tomorrow I will bring you out of the city, but until then, just stay here and calm down.
Reflect on your rash actions and the disastrous consequences they're bringing onto the monarch you serve, as well as your family.
Father.
Do you still think me the girl who trembles at the mere mention of 'confinement' or 'reflection'?
......
You know well I grew out of that long ago.
I came back to see you again, because I wanted to. And now...
Since you remain obstinate, there are some matters I'll have to take into my own hands.
—Elotta!
The evening breeze lifts the tattered curtains, revealing fresh footprints and bloodstains on the window frame.
Outside the broken window, the twin moons hang high in the night sky, as they always have.
But in the next moment, change occurs. Surprising, silent change.
Streetlights gradually flicker to life on the cold streets.
Lanterns from residences follow after.
Warm lights brighten, one-by-one, gradually blanketing the entire city. Like a palette daubed with bright colors, or a restarted heart beating again.
Mama, there's light!
The new year lights on the tree are lit up too!
Silly... I hear even the electric heaters are running again.
Don't run about now, we got our bread. Let's go home quickly.
Now we won't be cold, even if it snows!
Now we won't be cold, even when the snow melts.
Cheerful laughter accompanies the lights turning on, filling the cold night with warmth.
Only the grand Amber Palace is left in the silent, long darkness.
...Alita.
Have I done what you wanted to do?
Are you sure you want to do this?
Why not?
You may have temporarily stabilized the Sarcophagus, but you need some assistance to turn it into a stable energy source.
AMa-10's core code can be permanently stored here as an administrator program.
From another angle, the Sarcophagus is indeed a fitting tomb for the name of AMa-10.
Sounds like a coincidence.
A new story always begins from here.
Doctor, I've had many links to this Sarcophagus in my long past. Many times I have hidden its existence from civilization.
Until the last time, when I chose to trust someone... and you know the outcome was not ideal.
I remember my words, the last time when we sealed this Sarcophagus together.
If they are truly able to reactivate it, I am willing to believe that it will only be reactivated by someone who's kind in nature.
The future is in the hands of those who seek to truly change this world.
Now, we are indeed faced with the choice once more—to cooperate with all civilizations upon this land, or to go it alone.
I will not deny our current choice is akin to a desperate gamble. I cannot judge it with reason, but we no longer have time.
Instead of being stubbornly conservative... we choose to stand on the side of 'hope'.
Sounds like you've let go of some burdens.
But this also means...
You won't get a next 'life'.
Isn't that great?
Having but one life, enough to live as a human—is this not a gift from fate?
Distant gunfire ceases, smoke slowly dissipates. Once again the setting sun bathes the broken city in a red glow.
You hear all armies have agreed to a temporary ceasefire, which means the people will have time to evacuate, for now.
So, you embark on your way home.
So you're saying the Sarcophagus is a stable power source now? I guess Ursus's energy crisis will be somewhat alleviated.
We've done our part for Grypherburg, so we can say our mission's complete, right?
Even if they manage to draw out the Sarcophagus's energy, I fear it'll only be enough for a few nomadic cities in central Ursus to last through this winter.
They still have a tough problem to solve in the long run.
We can only hope, that the sealed Sarcophagus here won't trigger any more unnecessary conflict...
But Dr. Kal'tsit is back, and all of us are still here too. This mission has been a great success.
You're right! We got Kal'tsit back! A total Rhodes Island victory!
We did what we could.
And from the results, we did pretty well.
You look to Kal'tsit, walking behind you.
Kal'tsit?
How are you feeling?
I think... I've remembered many things, from a long, long time ago.
About the Sarcophagus, as well as people and business related to it... only now can I consider those matters to have reached an outcome.
Some memories are so distant they seem to be fading from my mind, which is a new feeling for me.
Breathing like this... is suddenly a strange, novel feeling.
Kal'tsit! If you don't feel well, I can hold you, just like before—
No... Thank you, I'm fine.
I will get used to it... as I am now.
...as I will live this life of mine.
Doctor, I need you to explain why you asked me to come here as soon as possible.
Be patient.
We'll be there soon.
Closure spent a long time preparing for this reunion.
Hopefully, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Welcome back to Rhodes Island.
......
Speechless?
Just like you said, Rhodes Island will not stop because of the loss of any one person.
Although we hope from the bottom of our hearts that no one will be lost in the first place.
The device here... a regional Originium stasis machine?
Is this the result of new Rhodes Island's research?
We put in a lot of work.
To make sure that accident won't happen again.
An admirable result... but I fear this will not be enough to fend her off completely.
We still don't know her true aim...
Doctor, I just thought of something else.
In Zelgrad, you found AMa-10's core code in the Sarcophagus's control program.
AMa-10 was originally designed with access privileges to manage all kinds of devices from the previous civilization, but this function was ultimately not implemented.
In other words... the code within the Sarcophagus was planted by her after waking up.
Why would she do that?
If I were to make a reasonable guess, the next step of her plan involves more legacies left by the previous civilization.
We may not know what exactly she's planning, but we have reason to believe she can do far more than what she has done, if she merely wanted to devastate the current civilization on this land.
What you have experienced, is a proof that she is more observer than participant on this Terra.
Actually, I heard her voice in a mine, in the Far North.
A debate that has lasted for millennia, a debate about civilization itself.
Now, there is only one thing left to do...
Prove to her—that the civilization on Terra today has the potential to survive, that it has value.
We choose to accept this invitation.
Hierda... where are we headed?
Many of my companions are scared. No one's been well since the atrocities in Zelgrad, should we just leave Ursus...?
We...
I don't think any suffering has to be inevitable. The pain imposed upon us is something that we should fight with all our strength.
To help those who are suffering and defeat the ones inflicting the suffering... that's what we should do.
...
Someone once told me of her dream, of her vision for this land... when people will overcome their differences, and Terra becomes a home for everyone.
There may be no end to suffering, but hope continues to live on.
......
No, we won't be leaving yet, for now.
There are still many of our people here suffering, awaiting salvation, and we can't abandon them.
Peter! Why did you—
The spots! You caught it too?!
Yeah... *cough* *cough* Couldn't dodge it in the end.
It's fine... leave me... I'm gonna die anyway—
Don't worry... we never leave any of ours behind.
Hierda reaches out, manifesting a pure Originium cluster from thin air in her palm.
Then, she inserts it into the Infected's heart.
Ughh—!
Hierda! What are you—
Blood gushes from the wound, but only for a brief moment.
Soon, crystals spread all over. They cover his wound, then his entire body, and new flesh grows from the Originium.
A brand new body.
I... The pain, seems to be gone.
Am I... reborn?
It's a miracle! Hierda has shown us another miracle!
The crowd cheers, then bows and kneels before her.
The girl also gets to her knees. She clasps her hands and prays toward the distant sky.
God... please, tell me...
Is suffering truly the only law of this world?
Poor child... How do I even break it to you?
Pain in the mind always stems from a flawed perception of reality.
But this is an eternal chasm between individual life and this universe, and also an unavoidable divergent path for civilization, that no one can escape.
Though, not for long.
I will find the answer for you all.
Immersed in the bright light of the twin moons, she casts her gaze to the depths of the ocean.