January 20th, 5735…
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Even though she continued to break out in sweat, Ayane continued to focus on the thing she wanted to find. The stone life-like bird she found 3700 years prior. She didn't want to take the risk of breaking the human statues, since she believed that they were still alive like she was when she was petrified.
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"Come on. Where are they?" Ayane continued to look around, when out of nowhere, Hansuke came running back with something in his mouth. "Hmm? Hansuke, what's that?" Ayane asked as she pulled out what was in Hansuke's mouth, only to get an epiphany. Even though its left wing was broken, it clearly looked similar to the bird she had, maybe even a bit bigger. Bending down to look at Hansuke's face, Ayane asked. "Hansuke, take me to where you found this."
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Barking, Hansuke turned around and began to run in the direction he came from. Following right behind him, Ayane was smiling from ear to ear at the luck Hansuke brought with him. As tears began to form in her eyes, Ayane couldn't help but get excited at the fact that her experiment was starting sooner than she expected.
After a few minutes of running, Hansuke began to sniff around until his nose pointed in the direction in front of him like a compass. Rubbing his head, Ayane walked up to the bush in front of her and began to brush off the snow that laid on top, only to feel something hard as stone. Smiling at the sight, Ayane put her hand in and pulled out another bird, placing the larger basket she made down just for the sake of carrying these birds back to camp, Ayane carefully placed the bird in only to see another close by. Continuously grabbing bird after bird, Ayane looked up after looking towards the ground for what seemed like 30 minutes and looked up to see a wall of statues. Standing still just watching the mountain, Ayane closed her eyes and put her hand together before departing back towards camp.
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Back at Camp…
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Looking around the camp, Ayane began to pull weed, mushrooms of all sorts, and flowers that bloomed within the snow, and even the sour grapes she ate during the first days of her reawakening.
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"Okay, let's go." Ayane said with a grand smile on her face. "Luckily for me, Home Economics was the thing I was excellent in."
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Grabbing some plants, Ayane was careful to place wool gloves to prevent her from touching the plants themselves, since she was still unsure if some were poisonous or not. Cutting, dicing, mashing and crushing, Ayane used all types of methods she could think of in that moment. Even as her body began to weaken due to her cold, she continued forward. Resting, then working, Ayane also made sure to keep an eye on her health so as to not fall ill and die pathetically.
After she had used all her ingredients, Ayane began to place the plants into separates clay cups, then added the acid she found in the cave, and mixed it, then let it sit for a couple days, giving her time to rest. She continued this process for a whole month and a half, with no luck whatsoever in any aspects.
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March 1st…
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"What I'm I doing wrong? Even though I've used everything I've had, and used every process I could think of, there has to be something I'm doing wrong…but what?" Ayane asked herself as she turned to her side, only to hear a struggle happening outside. "Hansuke?"
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Walking out, Ayane noticed Hansuke looking at another wolf, who seemed to have woken up for the new Spring. Seeing this, Ayane didn't even hesitate to grab the spear she had made, and held in outward, and stood behind Hansuke. As Hansuke growled, the other wolf growled as well upon seeing a new threat. Trying to keep a good distance between the two wolves, Ayane gave a command.
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"Hansuke, go!" Lunging at the command, Hansuke rushed his opponent and began to attack it without hesitation.
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As the two dogs began to duke it out, they began to gnaw and scratch at each other. Even when Hansuke received scratches and gashes from his opponent, he didn't let up. Also trying her best to help out, Ayane continued to thrust the best she could with her spear to try and give Hansuke the room he needed to overpower his opponent more.
Not liking the situation, the wolf kicked Hansuke back and ran for Ayane. As it jumped, Ayane pulled up the spear's body and caught the wolf's mouth. As it kept biting, Ayane was having a hard time keeping him at bay, then looking up Ayane noticed something in the corner of her eye. Using all the strength she had, she pushed the wolf back and grabbed a small cup filled with the acid and one of her ingredients. Opening it, she turned and splashed it on the wolf's eyes, blinding it for second, and giving Hansuke the time he needed to finish the small battle.
Not being able to see, the wolf ran away with Hansuke right at its tail. At least until Ayane called out.
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"Hansuke!" Ayane yelled out. "Come back. It's not worth it." Listening to his master, Hansuke returned to Ayane's loving embrace as the other wolf left with its tail in between its legs. "Come on. Let's clean up." As Ayane walked away, Hansuke continued to keep watch just to make sure no other dangers came into his territory.
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The Next Day…
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Running with all her might, Ayane was trying to get back to the Cave of Miracles, a name she gave it when she noticed a stone feather beginning to shatter due to the liquid she used on the wolf. But this matter was more important since…
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"I can't believe I forgot the jug. I just hope it didn't fill to the brim." As she made it to the cave, she noticed a small stream of the acid riding down the small hill and running along the statue that laid in front of it. "Shit…I got to move the jug." And Ayane did. She ran into the cave, moved the jug away, and poured its contents away from the entrance of the cave, to ensure that the statue didn't erode too much. At least that is what she thought.
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Since she didn't know much on acids, only that some are so potent that they can erode rocks in a matter of hours. After pouring the contents, Ayane went to the statue and noticed it still fully intact. Sighing in relief, Ayane went back to the jug, picked it up and walked away.
Arriving back at her camp, Ayane placed the jug down, and leaned herself against a tree. She had many questions on her mind, but she never had the time to think about it, since she had other pressing matter on her plate, and now for the first time in almost a year, her plate was clear and she was truly able to think about the questions that lingered in the back of her mind.
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"Why was I the only one who woke up?" Ayane asked herself. "I looked around from where I woke up, only to noticed not a single trace of the acid. Was there someone else who woke up, and deliberately woke me up for some reason, or did I wake up some other way that doesn't involve the acid? Either way you look at it, the questions continued to pile on."
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As Hansuke began to walk up close, Ayane bent down and began to rub his head, even though he hadn't' been eating much, he still was able to gain some muscle, probably not a lot, but enough to look intimidating.
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"I guess tomorrow, we go and find more food, huh?" Ayane asked Hansuke who didn't bother to answer due to her hand rubbing his head.
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As the two laid in bed, Ayane looked at the roof of her hut, while she unconsciously patted Hansuke's head while he slept.
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"Why did I wake up? Who woke me? What would they gain from waking up someone like me? What can I offer to this world?" Ayane continuously asked herself questions not really trying to find a good point. "Well not that it matters, time to go to sleep."
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Ayane rotated herself to face Hansuke and wrapped her arm around his neck and fell to sleep.
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2 Months Later…
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"It has been two months since I began experimenting, again, in finding the cure to the petrification. I mean I found it before but used it in self-defense without so much as leaving a bit to go off on." Ayane looked up from her slab to the large table she managed to create which held a ton of small clay cups and pots which carried the acid and different plant, herbs and berries. "I've decided to expand my research by finding apples and using animal blood. I can't rule out any possibilities."
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Stretching her arms backwards, Ayane laid down on the ground and just stared off into the afternoon sky. Hansuke would always leave at this time, for some unknown reason, but at least it gave her time to think. Getting up to her feet, Ayane walked towards the table and began her experimentation.
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"First let's start with the mushrooms." Ayane spoke to herself, as she placed the wool gloves to prevent any contamination. "First let's slice it, then I'll mince another, then finally mash the last." Doing it in that order, Ayane first sliced several mushrooms placed it in a clay cup, then added the acid and placed a cap to let it rest. She did the same with the other two groups but minced and mashed each and separately placed each in its own cup.
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She continued with every ingredient she had, no letting anything go to waste. Then, almost like instinct, she began to hum. She found it soothing and calming to just hum music she heard during her time in middle school. After finishing her first batch of ingredients, Ayane went out and went to collect more ingredients. But it was on this day that Ayane's life would forever change.
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Later that night…
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After going out and collecting the supplies she needed. Ayane looked up towards the night sky and smiled. Then as she began to trek home, she tripped on something that felt as hard as rock.
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"Ow, what was that?" As Ayane looked, she noticed a large rock, the largest one she had seen. "What's this?" As she placed her hand upon it, she knew exactly what it was. "It's clay. But if it was here, then…" Coming to the sudden realization of what she found, Ayane called out into the night sky. "Is anyone there?! I found what you had made! I'm here! I'm…here!" As Ayane's eyes began to tear up, she rubbed them and picked up the large clay boulder. "I better take this with me."
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Then, as soon as she returned to camp, Ayane placed her basket down and began to inspect the boulder itself. It was obviously man-made, due to the how rough it looked. Though it could be just due to nature itself, she wasn't sure. Not wanting to stare at it any longer, Ayane picked up a small rock, and began to lightly pound at it. For several hours that is all she did. Then, after one last small tap, the clay cracked and revealed the contents inside.
It showed what looked to be a small round robot with two circular pegs on each of its sides. The top of its circular body had two large black eyes, and a square mouth. It also had four large holes, possibly for maneuvering, and the name: "REI37." Broken by this new find, Ayane's hopes for another person to be alive in this new world, went to dust.
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"This, this wasn't made in this era. No, it was made during the time humanity had all the resources at its disposal." Looking at it more clearly, Ayane began to cry. "It's a robot."
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Holding the glass container that contained the robot, Ayane began to cry. For the past year, Ayane had tried her best to contain her emotions, and there times when she would want to give up. But for the sake of her own survival, as well as the revival of humans kept her mind away from such thoughts. But now, with what looked to be humanity's last gift, caused her to break down.
After crying her eyes out for 10 minutes straight, Ayane held the glass contain upside down to prevent the glass from shattering the robot. Then as soon as it was out, Ayane held it before her and just huddled with it.
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"It's cold. Well that is to be expected. I'm surprised that it had lasted all this time." Looking up to the night sky, Ayane sniffled as she tried to hold back any more tears from escaping. "Why me?" And as quickly looked back towards the pile of clay and back to the sky, something had caught her eye. Placing the robot down, she rummaged through the debris and found…
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"Paper?" Ayane said to herself. "No, it's a letter."
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And thus, the letter stated: "For whoever reads this, please take care of him. He abandoned his mission to find his creator, Byakuya Ishigami. But because he did, he managed to revive me 9 months after the Petrification had passed. In this note you will find all the instructions needed to revive him. And when you do, please…please take him back to Byakuya. For someone like myself, will never be able too. Little girl, I am placing my hopes in you."
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Scared beyond compare as to what Ayane read, it was obvious that whoever wrote this, they had intended to give it to her from the start. But seeing as there was more to read, she continued.
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"You may find yourself in a new world, and I myself will not know when you will awaken, but I hope it is not too soon. The world I see is desolate and ugly, but perhaps the world you will awaken in will be different. I had made a revival fluid from the knowledge I had when I was awakened, and thus placed it upon you, since you were the first one I found. I am not sure how long it will take for you to be revived, but when you do, you will want his knowledge and assistance. I wish you well, brave one."
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As Ayane looked at the back of the paper, she noticed instructions on how to use what she had around her to revive the robot, or in this case, wake him up from his long slumber.
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"Alright." Ayane, now feeling more vigorous than ever, picked up the robot and rushed out to find the supplies she needed. "Let's do this!"