| CF-ST-3 Daybreak
|
A Flurry to the Flame: Soubo Mountains |
| A new story begins from here. | |
| Characters |
 Kazuya Curious Child Mischievous Child |
| Backgrounds |
 1  2 |
| “ | After the Catastrophe, the children gather to listen to the last part of the hunter's legend. The female scholar ponders the village's future. Yato and Noir Corne return to the ruins of Roka and witness the Rathalos's end. | ” |
| <Background 1> | |
|---|---|
| In the end, the hunter didn't defeat the monster. But the villagers had left, leaving behind only empty ruins to burn in the flames. Wounded and without a target, the monster roared and bellowed, and returned to the forest on its own. As though leaving with the parting words: "I'll be back." The hunter stands quietly facing the forest. A long time passes before he answers. | |
| Mischievous Child | What? The hunter doesn't beat the monster? Lame! |
| Curious Child | Yeah, he's the greatest hunter in the village! Why couldn't he beat the monster? |
| Mirai Takii | That's just how the story goes. |
| Curious Child | But the Rathalos that attacked the village got away. |
| Mischievous Child | It's 'cause they were all too weak. When I become a hunter, I'll chase that Rathalos away in the blink of an eye! |
| Kazuya | Cut it out! I saw it with my own eyes. You're no match for it! Look! What do you think this is? |
| Mischievous Child | The spear used to hunt the Rathalos! |
| Kazuya | Yato told me to take care of it for now, which means I'm worthy of carrying it. I'm the one who's gonna be the greatest hunter in the whole village. You just go home and sleep! |
| Mischievous Child | I dare you to say that again! Spirit Helm Breaker! Take that! |
| Mirai Takii | Alright, kids, that's enough. |
| Curious Child | What did the hunter say in the end? |
| Mirai Takii | Well... It's time for lunch. Go eat, and I'll continue the hunter's story afterwards. Go on now. |
| [The children run off as Ataru shows up beside Mirai.] | |
| Ataru Takii | Mirai... it's already been half a month, but sometimes it feels like it was yesterday. |
| Mirai Takii | Your memory is improving. |
| Ataru Takii | I've never forgotten about Akira... Is old Kashiwau awake? |
| Mirai Takii | Still in a coma, but the doctor says he's gotten a lot better. He has a lot of life in him yet. |
| Ataru Takii | Things have been so busy lately, new streets and new houses... Good thing we'd saved up some money from the Originium mining, and made Hiroshi Ritou cough up the money he embezzled. The beginning is the easy part though. The question is what kind of industry should the village pursue... |
| Ataru Takii | Mirai, can't we try the Suzuka cultivation method you mentioned, once things have settled down? |
| Mirai Takii | Oh, I was lying about that. |
| Ataru Takii | L-Lying? |
| Mirai Takii | You know how sensitive Suzuka herbs are. It's not really feasible to cultivate them outside their native habitat with current technology. |
| Ataru Takii | But you said– |
| Mirai Takii | You guys would never have been willing to move if I didn't. You lost your wits in the face of danger and Ritou played you like a fiddle. I had to find a way to get people to leave. |
| Ataru Takii | The future... Just thinking about the livelihood of the village is making my head hurt. |
| Mirai Takii | Actually, I do have an idea. |
| Ataru Takii | Really? |
| Mirai Takii | Really. |
| Ataru Takii | Go ahead then, I'm listening. |
| Mirai Takii | We can make use of our experience working in the mines. We can have our people go out to work in mature Originium projects and bring back safe, established technologies relying on existing supply chains. |
| Ataru Takii | Do you realize what you're saying? We finally managed to escape that Originium mine, and now you're trying to send us back in? Weren't you one who wanted to blow it up? |
| Mirai Takii | It wasn't about the mine itself, but the fact that you were digging up more than you could manage, and none of you would listen to reason. We've been working directly with Originium ore for so long and gained so much experience. That can only come in handy. |
| Ataru Takii | Originium is too dangerous. Catastrophe, Oripathy... are we really going to go back to living in fear? |
| Mirai Takii | Even so, Uncle, there's nowhere in Terra we can avoid living alongside Originium. The bright lights of the great cities are fueled by the Originium industry, after all. It's too late to turn our backs on it and go back to the old ways. |
| Ataru Takii | But... how can we...? |
| Mirai Takii | Starting over doesn't mean abandoning everything we once had. What we know about the Originium industry is just the tip of the iceberg. We need to move forward, learn from mature industrial systems, and gain more experience. We'll learn to benefit from Originium in a safe, controlled manner. We brought this disaster on ourselves because of our short-sightedness, but that doesn't mean we have to abandon the idea entirely. On the contrary, we must learn to respect Originium and respect the destruction it can cause, in order to fully enjoy the opportunities that it brings. We shouldn't let the sacrifices of the past go to waste. Besides, we have our friends from Rhodes Island helping us now. |
| Ataru Takii | Yes... You're right. I should think about the village's future in more practical terms. Originium industry... I don't know how much of our existing experience will apply, but like you said, it's worth a try. |
| Mirai Takii | And when the situation in the village improves, can you build me a beautiful lab with the latest technologies? |
| Ataru Takii | What? What are you planning? |
| Mirai Takii | To cultivate Suzuka outside its native habitat, of course. Along with other research, with the aim of breaking free from a reliance on Originium. To bring us closer to a day when we won't have to cower in the shadow of disaster, when we can stand tall and look towards the light... Towards tomorrow. |
| <Background 2> | |
| Noir Corne | I-I'm still worried, Yato. What if the Doctor finds out that we took a detour here on our way back from the mission? |
| Yato | Are you going to tell them? |
| Noir Corne | Of course not! |
| Yato | Here we are. |
| Noir Corne | Wow... Everything really was destroyed by the Catastrophe. The whole hill was reduced to ashes. And those ashes rose into the clouds and continue to fall even now... |
| Yato | How long has it been, Corne? |
| Noir Corne | Half a month. |
| Yato | Already? Feels like it happened yesterday. I heard the Felynes have been integrated into Rhodes Island? |
| Noir Corne | Yes. The official name is the Felyne Task Force, led by the Palico, but the Scholar insists on calling it the Terra Research Commission and claims to be the leader. They deal with unusual lifeforms, record the flora and fauna of Terra... and look for a way home. The Palico added that last bit, because apparently Arty and Scholar have completely forgotten about it. |
| Yato | ...Yeah, I can imagine the Scholar's excitement. |
| Noir Corne | The rebuilding of Roka is underway too. Everything's getting better, don't worry. |
| Yato | Mm... do you know why I came here? |
| Noir Corne | Not to reminisce about the past, that's for sure. |
| Yato | You know me so well. Do you remember the Rathalos? |
| Noir Corne | Ah... the monitoring report says it hasn't left the Soubo Mountains. It can be seen circling them amidst the cloud of ashes from time to time. It won't be easy to spot it from a place like this. Lemme take a look... |
| Yato | It's right there, up in the sky. |
| Noir Corne | Where? Oh, I see it now. |
| Yato | I came to... (Catches a piece of ash) Witness its fall. |
| |
| The Rathalos flies towards the skies among the drifting ashes. It flies further and further, as though drawn by a thread. A thread that would inevitably break at some point. Then, it will fall towards the earth. | |
| Noir Corne | ...... |
| He looks to his right and sees her gazing towards the sky. His gaze slowly moves downwards, stopping at her fingertips. | |
| Noir Corne | (Reaches out) |
| Yato | Hm? |
| Noir Corne | Oh, er... You got some ash on your shoulder. |
| [...] | |
| Yato | Mm. |
| Noir Corne | Are you... smiling? |
| Yato | It's nothing. Let's go. |
| <Image fades out> | |
| "I'll be here." The hunter said. At the end of the story, many years have passed, new houses have been built in the village, and the forest looks different. The young hunter stands where the old hunter once did, facing the monster born anew. They gaze into each other's eyes. | |