Part 6: "Passage to the Light"

Nautika: ... They died. All of them.
Nautika: They left me here alone.
Nautika: I ... hm ... I only made it this far because of them.
Spirit I: Tell us, why are their deaths so regrettable?
The spirit asks with confusion and an alien sort of honesty.
Nautika: Because they never reached the end. They got lost somewhere along the way. That wasn't the ending they wanted.
Nautika: It wasn't what I wanted either.
Spirit II: Poor Nautika. Your life's been so short. It's no wonder you're confused.
Nautika: ...
Spirit III: It's because our lives are short that we are never meant to walk the right path alone ...
In the deepest darkness, these souls begin to burn with their own light, searing through the vast, pulsing stomach.
Spirit I: You've received the revelation now—found new wisdom—you even have their guts.
Spirit II: Nautika, we've already come a long way from where we started.
Spirit III: From here on out ...
Spirit I: You need to get out of here. You're already the bravest of us all.
A radiant gate swings open—a distant passage ending in a bright light.
Nautika: Is this ... the way to the end?
Her vision is already fixed on the gate.
It seems so like the stories of the Mother Spirit's welcome: a light at the end of the path where all Her children will be led when they have nowhere left to turn.
Their eternal hope will be met, and they will see home again.
Nautika: Mother Spirit ...
Rolf: I've always had a feeling ...
Rolf: That this Antarctic expedition would finally show me Her glory.
Rolf: All the chaos of the world never shook me. You've proven I was right all along, mu ráhkis.
Rolf: With the Mother Spirit watching over us, there is no doubt we're on the right path.
Rolf: Nautika ...!
Rolf: Everything there ... It was all ...
Rolf: Just empty tales ...
Nautika: Áddjá ...
Nautika: But Áddjá's premonition never came true. He thought that he'd step through a glorious gate into the light.
The memory gives her pause.
Without a body, her drifting consciousness needs only to resolve itself to make a choice.
But this fleeting wisp—that might scatter at the slightest breath—still cannot let go of the illusion of home.
Nautika: Hm ... I need to think ...
Spirit I: Of course. The wise man always thinks before acting.
Spirit II: We'll be right here waiting for you ...
The other wisps drift away, while she wavers at the edge of decision.
She wanders through the mirage of her homeland, retracing the path of her first expedition—that ill-fated venture she remembers all too well.
She also remembers ...
Reindeer: ...
Nautika: Aah ...
The moment her voice escapes her lips, the reindeer calf drinking from the puddle stops, startled.
She locks her alert eyes with Nautika, then turns to leave.
Nautika: Wait—
Nautika: Wait!
The wisp of consciousness flutters after her.
Nautika: Wait for me ...!
The world surrounding her feels so real—as if she's a child again, bounding through spring meadows.
Nautika: panting
Reindeer: ...
Nautika: What's this?
A grave lies under a solemn tree. A breeze stirs, and the woven cloth tied to the branches brushes her face.
A handcrafted fabric. A token of mourning in her homeland's funerary rites.
It feels familiar.
Nautika: Whose grave is this? I can't remember ...
Nautika: ... Who's Dagny?
A name, carved in clumsy strokes, marks the mossy stone. Here lies a story unfinished, its last chapter written too soon.
Nautika: Whoever you are, rest peacefully.
Reindeer: ...
The wisp follows the calf through the landscapes of her home.
Cold air meets the warm earth, and the forest breathes out a morning mist.
The path ahead quickly becomes shrouded in a thick fog.
Spirit I: Nautika ... Nautika ...
Spirit II: Are you lost?
Luminous souls call her name from a distance.
Nautika: There has to be another way out ...
The calf stops by the riverbank. The two of them look out across the water, seeing only more fog beyond it.
Reindeer: ...
Nautika: Should we cross? The water looks deep ...
Spirit III: You've wandered too far, Nautika ...
The fathomless river blocks their way. The calf's hooves scuff against damp earth, hesitant.
Spirit I: You have to turn back before you get completely lost.