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'Um... I'm recording all of this to maybe give us a better understanding of her.'

Why don't you head back to eat and swap with me when you're done? Scene is photographing that shell crater right now, and I don't want to miss this part.

Alright, sure. I'll go get–– Oh, he already left.

Be right back!

Day after day, Scene continues to wander through the ruins.

She does not speak to anyone, only silently ordering her robots around, kicking up a trail of fine dust over the rough ground.

She remains silent, for the battlefield is whispering to her.

Within her camera, the ruins change from real objects to shadows: the present moment turns into a flat, delicate sheet.

But behind it is the weight of reality, a freeze-frame of a moment powerful enough to overwhelm reality itself.

It is more real than the things written on a page, an affirmation of the very land's experience, a call to awaken one's consciousness.

Scene has read the records of this war: back when the battlefield was cleaned up, a crossbow bolt pulled from a corpse was heavier than the body itself.

They clearly knew they would die, yet they still fought on.

Their blood dyed the ground black, so thick that not a single plant could grow here.

The distant morning light penetrates the thin clouds and sprinkles across the ground. This place of death finally glows with a bit of the sun's golden light.

Atop a high, withered branch, Scene presses the shutter to record this moment of false life.

A hoarse fowlbeast rises from the dead branch, its thin claws loosening up a small puff of dust. Time flies away from this single fragment of a moment.

Behind the fine dust hide the restless eyes of others.

I haven't slept soundly these past few days. Been waking up with a headache every morning.

What's she doing up so early? The material isn't going anywhere, and she's not even saying anything.

And she's staying so close to that place too. Sure knows how to pick a good location.

Newbie photographers just don't know how to get things done.

'Ninth day of the shoot.'

'I don't know if every battlefield turns out to be like this.'

'I wondered if anyone came here to paying respects to fallen family members, but in the few times I've followed Scene around, I haven’t seen flowers or anything of the sort.'

'Maybe too much time has passed, or the cities have gone too far from these ruins for anyone to ever come back again.'

See that? She's just a pretentious foreigner.

She's a foreigner? Never would've guessed.

Yeah, from Bolívar. I bet she's participating in our Photography Society on behalf of the nobles. Probably came here after hearing they wanted to do a shot of a battlefield to curry their favor or something.

Let's drop it. You really shouldn't talk behind someone's back.

What's the big deal? Someone like that already knows she's being badmouthed. It'd be weirder if you didn't give her some shit.

'My pants are already dirty. That one's putting on a good show sitting in a car like that, not getting her feet dirty at all. Wasted a bunch of time just looking around idly.'

'If photography's such a good profession, how much money can I make from this documentary?'

We really need to cut that part out...

Hah, I'll be the one making that call. I'm the one editing the video, not you.

Fair enough.

Scene, would you like to come back to camp for dinner tonight? We boiled some hot water in the morning. We can cook you a hot meal.

Hey!

I'm the one who boiled the water! Why are you sharing with her?

She has her robots to do everything for her. We need to take care of ourselves first!

Come now, show a little hospitality.

I'll go boil some more water. We're not going to run out.

Huh?

You're gonna boil the water? You don't think you've been running enough errands?

What's the point of doing that? Is she gonna tip you? Thank you? Will you get a raise?

She's gonna get both fame and fortune once we finish the shoot. And what will you get? Bah, boil water.

Enough of that, this is our job. I...

I'll do it.

Well shit, aren't you the good little worker drone?

Let's not start a fight...

I'm TEACHING you!

Look here, who here's actually treating you better? Is it the one who doesn't say a word or the other who just does her own thing? How long do you plan to stupidly bumble along as her entourage?

Work when you get work. Take a few pictures of what you're asked to shoot. And if the pictures can express a tiny sliver of what you hoped to convey, are you gonna go happily on your way thinking it's your own work?

Wake up already!

W-Well, we can always find something we want to shoot...

You could shoot something that inspires you, just like Scene––

––Shut up, dumbass!

Say that again! Try me!

Why are you–

Hah! I don't give a shit anymore.

You don't deserve to learn from me, and this film isn't worth my time.

I...

Beep beep, beep beep.

Beep beep.

'Ster left today.'

'He got pretty opinionated about the shoot... Or, I guess, about a lot of other things.'

'I can't leave yet. I need to finish this job. Maybe he was right, maybe I will be happy if this project manages to express even a little sliver of what I hoped to convey.'

'I can't make my own work, the way people like Scene can. But, still...'

Wait, I can't be recording stuff like that. Better delete it...

'Judging from these last few days of filming, it appears Scene loves capturing a precisely thrilling moment.'

'Naturally, war ruins have plenty of places worth digging around, and the conditions here are much more difficult than I expected. This is the first time I've been in a place like this.'

'But I'm starting to worry, now that we're short a crew member.'

Hm, you're back? Want to record something?

Ster left?

Yes.

He never wanted to be here. Not from the very beginning.

I've been thinking... can we even continue filming like this?

'I've taken my own pictures of the battlefield. It's different from what I experienced myself... and that's exactly what I wanted. I am trying to understand the anatomy of a war.'

'After a few days of filming Scene, I've come to realize that she is working tirelessly to tell the story of these ruins.'

'When this is over, I might like to have a chat with her.'

Lens moves from the ruins to the camp, bringing back a note.

As the crew members leave one after another, the discussions among the them spill over into outward panic.

They argue, refuse to work, and leave one by one.

Scene continues shooting amid the turbulence, slowly raising her camera and pressing the shutter.

*click*

The ruins she experiences and records are not just those of war.

Beep beep!

*Bzzzt*

*Chime* *Chime*!

'Scene is getting ready to apply the finishing touches. After more than two weeks, our filming is about to come to an end.'

'The last members of the film crew left about three days ago. They said there's no way we'd be able to finish the filming.'

'I've shot enough material to make a documentary of my own, so––'

Um... Scene, ma'am?

Beep beep!

Is this for me? Did you want to talk?

'The others all left. Why did you stay?'

Well, let's sit down and chat.

When you look at this battlefield, what do you think about? The clash of civilization against barbarism? The surging tide of history? Or is it... at the most fundamental level, the loss of human life?

I came to shoot the battlefield, because war took everything from me.

Not on this battlefield specifically, but that doesn't matter.

I left home and came here to be a photographer, to take pictures of all sorts of people and places. Though they are sometimes happy and sometimes not, at least they are still alive.