Читать книгу Universe Аeternov. Book three: A Heart in Ashes - - Страница 5

1. The desert of forgotten names.

After winning the Marathon Without Return, Alexey and Lev did not go to the arena. It was not fame that called them, not the brilliance of crystals, but the path – the one that is measured not by steps, but by losses. And their path led through the Desert of Forgotten Names – a space where time does not flow, but evaporates, where the sand does not rustle, but whispers.

«They don’t store memories here. They’re taking her away here for the right to move on.»

The sky above the desert was not a sky, nor a mirror, nor darkness, but only the pale skin of the world, on which dents of forgotten destinies appeared. The further the traveler went into the depths, the paler his reflection became, as if reality itself refused to remember him.

The sand here was alive. It burned my skin not with heat, but with a touch that dimmed my memories, draining away like moisture into dry earth.

One step and you forget the name of your first love.

Two steps is the goal of the path.

Three is one’s own self.

2. Alexey: steel against oblivion.

Alexey walked ahead. His armor, forged by the masters of Ferronia from tears and oaths, glimmered dully – the sand sharpened it from the inside, like a worm into the bark of a tree.

«My chains are made of steel. My oath is from the light…» he whispered, as if praying to hold himself back.

But on the tenth step, the sand touched the Core Heart.

And he forgot.

Not everyone, just her.

Daughter. Name. Voice. A smile after the rain.

The memory disappeared, leaving an empty crystal with a thin crack in his chest, as if no one had ever lived there.

«Who… who am I?» – He croaked, getting down on one knee. «Am I… a soldier?» A mechanic? Or is it just… a chip?

The sand replied with a rustle like the breath of a dead wind:

«Stay. Forget. Pain is an illusion. Memory is a chain.»

And at that moment, a quiet, almost homely purr sounded behind him – not the hum of a combat engine, but a soft sound that recalls the warmth of the hearth.

– Hey, steel grandpa, – said the Lion, – don’t listen to the sand. He’s lying. You’re not a bummer. You’re a dad. And even if you forget everything… I remember for both of us.

He put a warm paw on Alexey’s chest, right on his Core Heart.

And with that touch, the memory returned – not as an image, but as a feeling.:

warm children’s hands, the smell of wet hair, a whisper: «Dad, are the stars sleeping too?

«Alexei’s eyes flashed with tears, oil, and light.

– Thank you, brother…

– Just know that if you fall, I’ll pull you out by the tail.» Even if you don’t have a tail.

3. Leo, laughter versus silence.

The lion, of course, did not need flying boots. His body is living plasma; his mind is a chimerical mix of quantum logic and feline stubbornness. But even the sand had prepared a test for him – he stole not the memory, but the meaning.

In the middle of the desert, the Lion suddenly stopped.

«It’s strange… – he muttered. – I don’t remember why I liked laser pointers.

The sand whispered,

«They don’t mean anything. You’re a machine.

Laughter is a program.

Friendship is a mistake.»

The lion sat down right on the hot swell. His main dimmed, and his laser eyes went out.

«Maybe… Am I really just a joke machine? Maybe everything I did… was for nothing?

Alexey approached in silence. He took off his glove.

And he scratched the Lion behind the ear, just as he had on their very first day in the Valley of the Whispering Machines.

«You’re not a machine, – he said softly. – You are a cat who became a lion so that the world would not forget to laugh.

And Lev remembered.

Not a pointer, but why he needs it.

Because a dot on the wall is hope.

Because the game is life.

Because laughter is something that even the Darkness couldn’t erase.

He jumped up, shook his mane, and it burst into little stars.

– Well, little sand! «Stop it!» he barked. «Try to take my memories!» But jokes… jokes are sacred!

And he shot a laser beam into the mirror sky. Where his name was already disappearing, a fiery inscription flashed up:

«KITTY-9 „FLUFF OF DESTRUCTION“ IS NOT FORGOTTEN»

The sand shook.

And he retreated.

Finish: the name that remains.

When they came out of the desert, neither the arena, nor the crowd, nor the glitter of crystals were waiting for them.

A stone was waiting for them – simple, warm, with a single word:

«REMEMBER.»

Alexey put his hand on it. The lion has a paw.

The stone glowed – not brightly, not solemnly, but the way a heart that has chosen to live glows.

«We passed, – Alexey said quietly.

– You bet! Lev snorted. – I even told the sand an anecdote about a cyborg who forgot to feed a cat. He was so upset that he gave me back my memory!

Alexey smiled.

«You’re a miracle, brother.

«I’m a cat with laser eyes and the soul of a poet,» Lev corrected importantly. – And now I know for sure that

in worlds where names are stolen,

in conditions of war and oblivion,

the real name is erased only when those who pronounce it cease to live. And we won’t stop.