Глава 9

I'm looking for someone.

Someone I should've burned to ashes.

Who?

An evil god who calls himself immortal.

Why?

To resist him.

You know how big this country is, don't you? You have only a few months. It's like a needle in a haystack.

That's enough time.

I will find him.

You've gone quiet again, all of a sudden.

I... remembered something.

Here we are. This is it.

This place...

This used to be Reunion's stronghold.

Of course, I only heard about it from the survivors. I have no idea what it was like back then.

What about you? Do you remember?

The silent warrior stops in her tracks.

Amid the vast white blanket brought forth by the Ursus winter, the abandoned stronghold is almost entirely covered in snow, leaving not a trace of its former appearance.

Even Talulah finds this strange. It is as though she can see those scenes unfolding before her. She can immediately tell where the campfire used to be.

The walk was difficult, but the team was as hardened as they could have been. The soldiers once gathered here to sing together and warm their ever-starving stomachs with a soup that had only a hint of salt for taste.

And now, where the campfire once burned, there stands solemnly a misshapen stone slab.

That's...

A cenotaph. It's like a monument.

It was built by the warriors who survived.

No matter how the living judge you, no matter what the future holds, you must return here first.

You need to question yourself.

Nine, we've scouted the road ahead.

We'll go around the village to the west. We'll rendezvous with some fighters there.

We don't have time. Have everyone go on the double. We need to make it back to the stronghold sooner than planned.

Okay...

—Is something the matter?

I will never forget what you said to us in Chernobog, Talulah.

And I definitely won't forget what you did in the core city. Everything you did, every decision you made, I will have you answer for them.

Don't even think about running away.

You heard him. You're not safe here.

We'll meet up with you up ahead, but you don't have much time.

Go.

See for yourself the sacrifices you trampled and hold them in your heart. Etch them into your brain forever.

Remember them.

The Draco begins to walk in silence. Her footsteps alone remain on the white snowfields. With each step on the thick snow, the mud below is imprinted with her weight.

Talulah walks tall with her back perfectly straight.

Aside from that one winter, when the slowly fading warmth behind her drained her of breath, she has never once slouched her back.

The names etched on the crude cenotaph appear to have been scrubbed often; they are starting to fade.

It feels as though only a brief moment has passed. At the same time, it also feels like an eternity, to the point that the world itself falls still, and that the weight of emotions falling on the mud amidst the snow can only be borne by the land.

From afar, the warrior appears as both a solemn statue and a tree growing in the snowstorm.

Her roots must dig deep into the earth. Her figure can only expose itself above the snow ever so slightly. Beneath the hidden soil, the massive roots trickling out of the Draco continue to expand and steadily take hold.

At this moment, even the silence itself is engulfed by the snowstorm.

The warrior raises her head. A snowflake flutters downward onto her cheek, dried up before it can dissolve.

The snow ended long ago, in actuality. It's hard to believe that the northern wind granted her this bit of kindness, with the clouds dispersed and the sun shining down brightly.

The weather is fine today. A rare occurrence here in the tundra.

It's cold.

Looks like I need to get used to this weather all by myself again.

Sorry, I can't take too long. I need to go now. There are many to whom I owe an explanation.

One day, we will make it through this snowstorm and reach that end we must ultimately reach...

But, right now, it looks like this place needs a flame to awaken it.

—I'd better hurry and start a fire.