Mausoleum of Nature

Tuot woke up in a cabin with two bunks, a table between them and a round window in a wooden wall. Itinit sat on the bed opposite and looked at the virtual screen.

“Where are we?” Tuot asked.

“On the train,” Itinit smiled.

Tuot looked out the window and saw a gray sea to the horizon.

“Trains can’t float on water,” the dinosaur objected.

“Now they can,” Itinit smiled even more. “New model trains do not sink in water.”

“Where do they get energy from?”

“Electricity comes from sea waves. There is a built-in power plant inside the train that converts wave energy into electricity.”

There's something wrong here.

“Of course. We are on a ship. But we are not on an ordinary ship. It's a robot ship.”

Tuot looked out the window. An island appeared in the middle of the sea, covered with light green deciduous forests.

“We are at sea, not far from the coast of the Northern Continent,” Itinit explained. “But don't be scared. We are still not far from Tohsonun. You fell asleep and that's why you don't remember anything.”

“Yes, this often happens. There are times when I wake up and can’t remember what day or time of year it is. And only by the posters on the wall can I determine that I am at home.”

“Now it’s clear why he really needs these posters,” Itinit guessed.

Itinit minimized the virtual screen and looked out the window. The island began to increase. The ship was slowly approaching him.

“Have we arrived?” Tuot asked who was also looking out the window.

“There’s something wrong here,” Itinit noted. “We must sail to another place.”

Itinit left the cabin and found himself in a corridor with ten doors on either side. At the end of the corridor there was a massive wooden door with a virtual sign in red symbols. Itinit walked up to it and pushed it.

The door opened. Itinit entered a cabin with a large thick glass instead of a wall and an orange virtual control panel in front of it with many buttons.

“Why are we sailing in the wrong direction?” Itinit thought. “Perhaps there is an error in the program?”

Itinit touched one of the buttons on the virtual control panel, but it did not respond.

“The control panel is locked,” Itinit thought. “I can’t change course. Even if I could, it wouldn't help much. I don't know how to steer a ship. I only know how to press some buttons. We can only hope that the ship will not crash on the coastal rocks.”

The ship entered a small bay and stopped near the shore. Itinit ran into the corridor, from there onto the deck and saw a shore with large stones against which the waves were beating and a deciduous forest behind them.

Soon Etinnei and Tuot climbed onto the deck.

“What's happening?” the arctic fox girl asked.

“I don’t know,” Itinit answered. “For some reason the ship stopped near this island.”

From behind the trees, a humanoid creature came out onto the shore wearing a black-purple plate vest, worn over some dark blue clothing, black pants, boots and gloves. His head was covered with a purple hood, from under which strands of black hair hung.

“I don’t want to scare you,” the hooded being looked at Etinnei. “I just want to take my character.”

The arctic fox girl happened to look at this creature, noticed a gray metal carrot where the nose should be and turned away. She was seized by a strong fear that affected her limbs. The arctic fox girl could no longer stand on her feet. She fell to her knees and saw her reflection in the water.

Suddenly Etinnei understood why she was so scared. She was afraid of this creature on the shore at first sight...

... Etinnei in winter clothes with white-yellow hair lay in a wooden coffin in a room partially covered with snow. The door was ajar, allowing light to enter the room. Near the wall, a virtual screen with a program in a blue-green frame “hung” in the air. In the program window there is a full-length model Etinnei in a winter look, and around her there are buttons in the form of snowflakes with black symbols. Standing next to the screen was a girl with long black hair, wearing a purple fur jacket, black skirt, fur stockings and boots.

“Everything is fine, Etinnei,” the girl said. “Now you can come out of your container.”

Etinnei sat down and bent her leg at the knee, but could not get out of the coffin.

“Creator, I can’t get out of the container,” Etinnei said.

“Try,” the girl answered. “You’d better get out of your container on your own. Of course, I can help you do it, but then you won't learn to do it on your own.”

The virtual screen has disappeared. The creator left the room. Etinnei bent her other leg at the knee, and then dangled her legs over the edge of the coffin...

… Evening came. It became dark outside and in the room, but Etinnei was still sitting in the container. Her legs were hanging over the edge of the coffin.

“I have to do this,” the arctic fox girl thought. “But I can’t decide. I’ve never stood with my feet on anything other than my container.”

Etinnei fell asleep and woke up only in the morning. The doorway glowed with bright light. The room became light again.

“What is there, beyond the exit from the room?” the arctic fox girl thought. “I can check this, but to do this I need to go down from the container to the floor. But it may be cold, and there is nothing on my feet. What if I freeze? Maybe it’s better to stay in the container?”

So for the first time Etinnei became interested in what was behind the visible obstacle.

The arctic fox girl looked at her feet. Suddenly she realized that they didn't feel anything.

“I’m not cold now,” Etinnei thought. “Perhaps if I stand with my feet on the floor, I won’t be cold either. But I still can't decide. Something is holding me in place.”

Etinnei lowered one leg a little, then the other and stopped.

“If I try, I will someday get out of the container,” the arctic fox girl thought.

By the morning of the next day, Etinnei's legs had almost reached their goal. The Arctic fox girl made the last movement, and her feet landed on the floor. Instead of cold, Etinnei felt only a slight coolness.

“The floor is not cold,” the animal girl was happy. “Perhaps I can leave the room.”

Etinnei finally got out of the coffin, but was unable to stay on her feet and fell. The Arctic fox girl's hands touched the floor, and at that moment she felt how cold it was.

“The floor is cold for my hands, but not for my feet,” Etinnei thought. “This means you need to stand on your feet and walk on them, and not crawl on all fours.”

Etinnei stood up and walked towards the exit of the room. The animal girl is staggering but did not fall again. Soon she reached the door and then looked outside...

... Bright sunlight illuminated the snowdrifts and “made” them shine. A young coniferous forest began near the house. The branches of the trees were covered with a thick layer of snow and hung down under its weight.

Etinnei left the building and walked along a well-trodden path through the forest. With every step, the arctic fox girl stood stronger on her feet and swayed less.

In the forest, Etinnei saw a thick tree with black bark, which stood alone in a forest clearing surrounded by young trees. The arctic fox girl looked up and saw that there were no needles on this tree. Thick branches that were located high from the ground were covered only with a layer of snow, on one of the branches hung the head of a human with long yellow hair.

Etinnei stopped and began to examine the head. Large open eyes stared motionlessly at the animal girl, and the open mouth looked black, without teeth or tongue.

Etinnei did not understand anything. After a few dozen moments, the spirit of the arctic fox felt something strong appear inside her and quickly spread throughout her body. Etinnei ran further through the forest and looked around. There were ordinary trees around, without heads on the branches.

“I don’t want to look at that head,” the arctic fox girl thought. “I want to find the creator and tell her about this.”

The forest is over. Etinnei came to a large stone two-story house on the bank of a wide river. The animal girl approached the open door and looked inside...

... It was a large room with a high ceiling, a stone floor and small round windows on the walls. At the end of the room there is a stone staircase that leads to the second floor.

Etinnei went up to the second floor and found her in the same room as on the first floor, but with several doors on the side. One of the doors was open as an entrance. Etinnei approached this door and then entered the room...

... There was a large round window in the wall. Near him is a bed on which a girl was lying with her eyes closed. Her long red hair was neatly styled and reached her knees, and her body was wrapped in a white translucent cloth.

The girl's face seemed familiar to Etinnei.

“She looks like my creator,” the arctic fox girl thought. “But for some reason her hair is different.”

Etinnei approached the bed and could now better see the girl’s face.

“This is definitely my creator,” Etinnei thought. “Finally, I found her! I need to tell her about the head on the tree.”

Etinnei knelt down and licked her creator's cheek with her tongue. The girl's eyes opened and looked at the character. This look made the beast girl feel uncomfortable.

“Creator, what happened to you?” Etinnei asked. “Your hair is red, but it was black.”

“Get out of here,” the girl looked at Etinnei and did not blink. “My little brother transformed me a doll. I won't explain to you what it is because I don't have time for that. Leave before my brother returns.”

“I won’t leave, creator. You look scary. Why did he do this to you?”

“Go away. My brother is very scary.”

Tears came out of Etinnei's eyes. The arctic fox girl turned to the wall because she could no longer look at her creator.

The doll's pupils turned purple, and a purple aura surrounded its body. A virtual screen with a program in a blue-green frame appeared in front of the doll.

The doll pressed several buttons. A wooden coffin appeared near the bed.

“This is the container in which I was lying,” Etinnei guessed. “Why is he here?”

Heavy footsteps were heard. A humanoid creature wearing a purple jacket with a hood, pants and boots entered the room. On his face was a mask with a metal carrot where his nose should be, and a long blue tongue hanging out of his mouth.

“Ikte, are you okay?” the man with the carrot nose asked. “I hope becoming into a doll helped you.”

The doll looked at Kuttanai and threw him towards the wall with her gaze.

“I feel like you’re okay,” Kuttanai said. “Now you don’t have a headache. It's a pity you won't be able to be happy about this.”

Etinnei looked at Kuttanai and felt energy being released inside her, although in reality the animal girl’s head simply turned away.

“My eyes cannot look at him,” the arctic fox girl thought. “My head turns away on its own. Why is this happening?”

A wrench appeared in Kuttanai's hand. Ikte noticed this and rose to the ceiling to prevent the enemy from pointing the weapon at herself.

“I’m not going to fight you,” Kuttanai said. “I’ll just take your character. It was created on my account, which means it belongs to me.”

Kuttanai pointed the wrench at Etinnei and began to pull her towards him. Ikte was able to catch the character with her own gaze, and the animal girl’s body stopped in the middle of the room.

Etinnei accidentally looked at Kuttanai and noticed his creepy nose, blue tongue and eyes that did not move and shone strangely. It seemed to the character that something dangerous emanated from a creature with such an appearance.

Etinnei turned away. Her eyes closed. The arctic fox girl felt her body move backwards and then lie down on something hard...

Etinnei's eyes opened. The arctic fox girl noticed that her body was lying in a coffin. A moment later, a lid appeared over the coffin, after which the coffin flew out the window and broke it...

... Etinnei found herself on a rock between the ship and the shore. The arctic fox girl knew that she should not look in the direction of the scary man with the carrot nose, so she looked at the ship, where Tuot and Itinit were standing on the deck.

“Did you specifically lure us onto the ship so that this being would take Etinnei?” Tuot asked his friend. “Are you with him?”

“No,” Itinit answered. “I ordered this ship before. He already took me to that island, and this creature was not there.”

Tuot activated his energy aura and jumped onto the stone next to the arctic fox girl.

“I won’t leave without Etinnei,” Tuot said.

“Why are you disturbing me?” Kuttanai asked. “This is my character, not yours.”

A short curved sword appeared in Tuot’s hand, and on his other hand, near the elbow, a purple semicircular shield with a black symbol appeared.

Kuttanai summoned a wrench. The dinosaur jumped forward, flew over the water to the shore and ended up next to the man with the carrot nose.

Tuot's sword and Kuttanai's wrench almost met. Tuot tried to move his hand to strike, but he couldn’t. The force of the wrench tightly constrained his movements.

Etinnei tried to overcome her fear and fired lightning from her hand at the man with the carrot nose. Kuttanai was forced to redirect the wrench from the enemy to the arctic fox girl's lightning. The lightning was stopped by a wrench and sent back to Etinnei.

Tuot struck with his tail, and Itinit launched an energy ball with a spark inside at the enemy. It is a trap. If Kuttanai parries one of the attacks, another will overtake him.

But Kuttanai disappeared. The ball exploded and Tuot was thrown into the water by the blast wave.

“The ball exploded because the target disappeared,” Itinit guessed mentally. “He knows how to counter homing skills.”

Kuttanai appeared on the highest rock. Tuot jumped from the water onto the ship. There was no longer any aura on him.

Etinnei dodged her lightning, fell into the water and found herself in an ice crust. The defensive passive skill that was meant to prevent her from drowning became a trap for her.

Kuttanai pointed the key at the arctic fox girl, took her out of the water and began to pull her towards him.

Tuot released an energy harpoon from his tail and intercepted Etinnei. Kuttanai lowered the wrench. The harpoon pulled Etinnei towards Tuot.

Kuttanai swung the wrench. A white luminous silhouette of a man curled up in a ball appeared in front of him. After a few moments, the silhouette turned into a girl with closed eyes and long pink hair. Instead of clothes, her body was wrapped in chains.

“This is my little sister, Yuehei,” Kuttanai introduced the girl. “She’ll take care of you. I need to talk to Etinnei.”

Kuttanai turned a wrench on Tuot and threw him into the sea. He then pointed the weapon at Etinnei and pulled her towards him.

The arctic fox girl could not move. Kuttanai's skill completely hampered her movements, and fear paralyzed her vocal cords, making it impossible for her to call for help.

Kuttanai disappeared behind the trees and dragged Etinnei's body through the air. Itinit jumped from the ship onto a coastal rock to catch up with the man with the carrot nose, but could not go any further.

The pink-haired doll that Kuttanai had summoned opened its eyes and looked at Itinit with purple pupils.

***

Halankuo was sitting on the floor in front of the window of the “Mausoleum of Nature”. The full-length model of Kyotyoryon was in its own window on the left side of the program. The character looked like there was nothing wrong with him.

The girl touched the character appearance button with her finger. A white luminous silhouette of Kyotyoryon appeared next to the program window, which slowly descended to the floor.

Soon the glow disappeared and the silhouette turned into a character with his eyes closed.

After the metal spirit's feet reached the floor, she fell to her knees and opened first one eye and then the other.

Halankuo felt joy, which then turned to anxiety. The girl was afraid that Kyotyoryon would not understand her decision and would be offended.

“I was again where there is nothing,” Kyotyoryon said. “Did you send me there?”

“Yes,” Halankuo answered. “But I was forced to do it.” You're broken.”

“Is it broken?” Tears appeared from Kyotyoryon’s eyes. “Am I broken like a robot? Am I non-living?”

You stopped moving. I sent you back to the program and then summoned you. I didn't want to keep you there.

“I was bored and lonely there. There is nothing. It's dark and empty. You told me you wouldn't send me there again.”

“I’m sorry. I was forced to do this. If I hadn't done this, I wouldn't have been able to fix you.”

“If you hadn’t taken me there, I would have corrected myself. I didn't need to be moved there!”

“I'm sorry. I won't do that anymore.”

Tears streamed down the metal spirit's face and fell onto his chest.

“I don’t believe you,” Kyotyoryon said. “You say one thing and do another.”

Halankuo didn't know what to answer. Her character was too stubborn to trust the creator's words.

Kyotyoryon got up from the floor and took a few steps towards the door, but tripped and fell. Halankuo silently looked at her character and understood that she should not help her, because then Kyotyoryon would treat her even worse...

... The girl was so immersed in thoughts that she did not notice how her character approached the window and broke it with a blow from the bracelet on his hand...