Scenario:Uruki - Nowhere to Go
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Nowhere to Go
Beside the frozen Uruki, the restaurant manager, Xuanwu, and various other creatures are also encased in ice. The crew stands in horror when an unfrozen Uruki—the one who guided them to the estate—reappears. A battle with the Uruki ice sculpture ensues.
(Captain), desperate to check on Uruki's condition, approaches and places a hand on her frozen figure.
Vyrn: I'm guessin' she's in the same state that Xuanwu was on the deserted island?
Lyria: W-we have to save her quick...
Vyrn: H-hold on, Lyria. Take a good look around us.
Lyria: Huh?
Harvin Woman: ...
Shopkeep: ...
Lyria: Th-they're all frozen...
Vyrn: Wait a sec... That's the manager of the restaurant where Uruki works! I thought she was sick in bed...
(Captain) points to the far end of the spacious basement.
There lies the cardinal beast, encased in ice as it had been many times before.
Surrounding it are numerous animals such as rabbits and dogs, all immobilized in a sheer layer of frost and displayed as decorations.
Lyria: Xuanwu too... And they're all alive? How did this happen...
Vyrn: Who'd even do such a creepy thing? Wait, who can do this kinda thing?
Lyria: But she's turned into an ice sculpture herself...
Uruki's Voice: You think so? Maybe it's time to rethink that.
Lyria: Aiiee...
A cracking sound begins to echo as a chilling frost spreads throughout the room.
(Captain) and company turn toward the source of the voice to see that a girl has frozen the door, cutting off their escape route.
She directs an icy gaze at the crew, her expression void of emotion.
Lyria: Uru?
Vyrn: Sh-she can't be! You said it yourself, Lyria—Uruki's turned into an ice sculpture!
Vyrn: The one before us has gotta be a fake who's tryin' to dupe us!
Uruki: You sure about that? Well, maybe don't be. Not to say you're wrong, but who knows. Wouldn't that be nice though?
Vyrn: Wh-who the heck are ya and whaddya want?
Uruki: Now that's a strange question. I'm Uru. Who else would I be?
Uruki: That's Uru, and I'm also Uru.
Uruki: "There's more than one Uru?" you must be asking. Yeah, pretty wild, huh?
Uruki: What am I doing? What do I want to do? And how am I going to do it?
Uruki: No, I have to protect them... I have to protect everyone. Yes, that's right.
Lyria: Uru...
Vyrn: I don't know what you're goin' on about, but you've gotta let everyone free!
Uruki: Nuh-uh, that won't do... Absolutely not.
Uruki: I have a better idea. Why don't you come closer so I can protect you?
Lyria: What do you mean by "protecting" everyone?
Uruki: We're... friends, right?
(Captain)?
(Captain)?
A sharp sound pierces the captain's eardrums amid the silence. As frost spreads across the floor and ceiling, (Captain) quickly realizes it is the sound of the air freezing.
Weapon in hand, the captain swings reflexively.
Doing so proved to be the right choice. The attack struck something radiating cold that had swiftly closed in.
Uruki: ...
That something in the form of Uruki, which had tried to touch (Captain), shatters into ice fragments.
Vyrn: I didn't even see that coming... Ice though?
Looking down at the scattered fragments on the floor, (Captain) comes to a realization.
That something lands on the shoulder of (Captain), who is rooted in place, trying to process what has just transpired.
Uruki: Ooh, it's so comfy up here. Ehehe.
Vyrn: Is everything okay? You've been rubbing your neck this whole time...
(Captain) mentions having a chilly neck ever since giving Uruki a piggyback ride.
Lyria: Wow, it really is cold... I'll lend you my scarf to help you stay warm!
Vyrn: Hm... it's not frostbite, but somethin' seems off...
The girl (Captain) had believed to be Uruki since their encounter was, in fact, a mobile ice sculpture emanating an unnatural coldness.
(Captain) suspects that the ice sculpture attacking them right now is the culprit behind the recent series of events.
It must have also frozen Xuanwu, Uruki, and the others in the same manner it froze the room.
Vyrn: The one we thought to be Uruki all along was actually that sculpture, huh...
Vyrn: The real Uruki must be the frozen one over here... Darn, sure had us fooled.
Uruki: ...
Lyria: Hm, are you sure about that?
Vyrn: Why wouldn't I be! She's gotta be some fiend that kidnaps and freezes people!
Vyrn: Bet she was planning to add us to her collection too by foolin' us with some made-up story.
Lyria: B-but she went out of her way to tell us about Cardinal Saints and the yupei...
Lyria: How much of it was lies... And how much of it was real?
The shattered pieces of ice on the ground come together, further confusing the bewildered crew.
Uruki: ...
Vyrn: I-it's taking the shape of Uruki again... She's back...
Uruki: Scary, huh? Sorry, didn't mean to frighten you. Really, really sorry.
Uttering a sorrowful apology, the ice sculpture in the shape of a girl points its axe at (Captain).
Uruki: The pain and suffering will only last a moment... Please don't resist.
Uruki: This is... the only choice left to me.
Vyrn: You're not making a lick of sense... This gets more confusing by the second.
Vyrn: But if it's a fight you want, then you've got it! C'mon, (Captain)!
The captain enters a battle stance, only to then show a moment of hesitation.
The sculpture is shedding tears. They trail down its cheeks, turning into icicles that fall to the ground.
Uruki: Sorry...
Vyrn: Here she comes!
Nowhere to Go: Scene 2
As the Uruki sculpture begins to crumble, Xuanwu steps in to defend it. (Captain)'s yupei glows and plays a past exchange between Uruki and Huanglong. Huanglong had planned to destroy Qilin, who shares his fate, via his own demise. Uruki was opposed to this because countless other lives connected to Huanglong would also be lost.
The Uruki-shaped ice sculpture regenerates every time it is shattered and continues attacking (Captain).
Whatever it touches turns to ice in an instant and crumbles away.
Vyrn: Your weapon's about to give, (Captain)... It could shatter any moment now.
However, the limit comes for both sides equally.
The sculpture begins regenerating at a visibly slower pace. After close to another hundred clashes...
Uruki: ...
It finally collapses to the ground.
Uruki: I don't think... I can protect everyone anymore...
Lyria: Um... What exactly do you mean by "protecting everyone"?
Xuanwu: ...
Xuanwu: ...!
Vyrn: Urk! Xuanwu's back to normal! Talk about bad timing!
The freed Xuanwu dashes toward the sculpture on the verge of shattering.
As if to protect it, Xuanwu stands in the way of the crew.
Xuanwu: ...!
Uruki: Xuanwu?
Vyrn: I can't believe Xuanwu's protecting it...
Xuanwu: ...!
Uruki: Xuanwu... Sniff...
Taken aback by this whole situation, (Captain) drops the battle stance.
Lyria: Yeah, this isn't right... Why are we fighting Uru?
Vyrn: Cept she's not Uruki though? Uruki's frozen over there and hasn't budged.
Vyrn: I thought the one we just fought was an impostor who goes around kidnappin' people?
Uruki: Mm... It's all my fault... Go ahead and do what you have to.
Xuanwu: ...!
Lyria: I think I can understand Xuanwu... It's saying that's the real Uru.
Lyria: I know it's hard to believe, Vyrn, but just think about it...
Lyria: While it's true she was a moving ice sculpture from the moment we met...
Lyria: I want to believe that the Uru who made us delicious food and fought to protect the townspeople was genuine!
Vyrn: You've got a good point...
Choose: She held back the whole time.
Uruki: Held back? Me? How?
Vyrn: I noticed too... You had so many chances to freeze (Captain)'s sword and even us, but you didn't.
Lyria: Uru! You and the one that's frozen... Both of you must be real!
Lyria: Something tells me that deep down, you didn't really want to do this!
Uruki: I mean...
Uruki: Isn't that obvious!
Lyria: Uru...
Uruki: Who in their right mind would freeze people they love and care about! That would be insane!
Xuanwu: ...
Uruki: Xuanwu doesn't deserve this either! I'd let it go if I could!
Uruki: But I can't...
This was the only option I had... I didn't know what else to do!
This was the only option I had... I didn't know what else to do!
Uruki: I can only try to delay the inevitable... Even if just for a bit...
Lyria: Delay the inevitable?
Xuanwu: ...
Uruki: Xuanwu?
The cardinal beast looks skywards and lets out a silent roar.
Its body vanishes, leaving behind a beautiful ornament—a yupei—in its place.
Vyrn: Wha? I thought it shattered already...
As the yupei begins to emit a faint glow, the crew's consciousness grows hazy.
Having regained consciousness, (Captain) and company are greeted by an astonishing sight.
They were in Uruki's estate moments ago, yet they've awoken in the mountains, where a solemn stone monument lies.
Facing each other in front of the monument are Uruki and a mysterious man.
Lyria: That's Uru over there... But she's also here...
Uruki: This is... a memory from a long time ago...
Uruki: Xuanwu... Are you saying I should just tell them everything?
The flummoxed crew watches while a presumably past version of Uruki lunges at the man.
Uruki: Huanglong... Stop it already.
Huanglong: Oho, most impressive. Even though I am borrowing a mortal vessel, for you to evade my senses...
Huanglong: You've nurtured my power well. To freeze only my soul without harming the body is no easy feat.
Uruki: Stop messing around... Release that body too.
Huanglong: Certainly, but I must ask you to wait. That rampaging, hollow body of mine is a rather inconvenient one, you see.
Huanglong: And I am not "messing around," as you put it. Accept my praise sincerely, for am I genuinely impressed.
Huanglong: It is proof of my own weakening—a pity indeed. If my children would fulfill their duties...
Huanglong: I would be that much closer to death. Please tell me you're still willing to fulfill your role.
Uruki: Absolutely not. I know exactly what would happen next...
Huanglong: Oh, my wise child. Your primal crystal has reached your heart and taken root in your soul.
Huanglong: Hence you are able to perceive the memories of previous Cardinal Saints through your soul, which led you to me.
Huanglong: Your lifespan is nearing its end as a consequence. But worry not; live out your life's natural course.
Vyrn: Hey, is that guy really... Huanglong? That's some crazy stuff he just blurted out...
Lyria: Uru's lifespan... is ending?
Huanglong: Cast aside your concerns for successors. By my power, new life shall bloom. A new Cardinal Saint will be born soon enough.
Uruki: That's what I'm telling you to stop! I'm willing to die if that's what it takes!
Huanglong: Would you relish the destruction that Qilin would wreak? Do you not care what happens to this world?
Huanglong: Qilin is a weapon of death. If it regains full strength, the world would end as we know it.
Huanglong: My child, I do not wish for that. Qilin and I are bound together. We are immortal, indestructible...
Huanglong: However, there is a means for us to shuffle off this mortal coil. Qilin and I, relics of a bygone era, are no longer needed in this world.
Uruki: Yeah, I get it... But still...
Huanglong: That is why I split the powers of Qilin and myself, scattering them across the skies in the form of four beasts, then created Cardinal Saints to further disperse that energy.
Huanglong: It has not been easy coming this far, but at long last, we can finally pass on.
Huanglong: Qilin seems to have devised certain extraneous countermeasures; fortunately, they will have little effect.
Uruki: But if you die... the beasts and the Cardinal Saints... We're all going to die with you!
Lyria: Oh no... Does that mean Uru and the other Saints are going to leave us forever?
Uruki: That's not all. Huanglong is a weapon that governs birth... He's created countless beings...
Uruki: From creatures to people of all kinds... They're all going to be affected too...
Uruki: In other words, should Huanglong die, every being that's even remotely connected to him will also die.
Vyrn: Lemme get this straight... If Huanglong survives, Qilin destroys the world?
Vyrn: On the other hand, if Huanglong dies, everyone else kicks the bucket too?
Lyria: Oh no... What do we do?
Huanglong: Worry not; the Sky Realm itself will endure. The sacrifice called for here is a necessary one.
Uruki: How can you say that knowing Chichiri, Ami, and Shushuku will die!
Huanglong: Look at the bigger picture. Fulfill your role, along with Qilin and myself.
Huanglong: Die.
Uruki: No... This can't be the end...
Huanglong: I shall return this mortal's body soon. However, because my true body lacks the ability to smell or taste in its weakened state...
Huanglong: Perhaps I should at least wait until I've had a taste of the new fruit beer to be released soon. The mortal whose body I occupy will have my blessing in return.
Uruki: Sniff... What am I supposed to do...