Chapter 6 - Soul Searching
Iryna sits alone on the steps of her apartment building, shrouded in the fading night fog as dawn breaks over Kiev. She left Anastasia's hotel hours ago, however she’d rather not see her family right now, she doesn’t know what she could possibly say to them after learning what her wish has done. Not that they would be angry for it; they will never be angry ever again. For something that sounds so wonderful in theory Iryna knows that in practice she has ruined every member of her family. If only she had never accepted that contract, never made that stupid wish. But there is nothing she can do now.
“God… If you can hear me, if you want to listen to me…” Iryna whispers with a trembling, guilt filled voice. “I have made a terrible mistake. I have been misled and now my family must suffer for it. I beg of you, in all your mercy, please, please show me how to atone. How will I ever be forgiven, oh God!?” she cries, her face burning red as tears flow down her cheeks without end.
It’s then that the world around Iryna begins to stir to life. The city is waking up after a long and bitterly cold night. Across the street; at the store Iryna has walked past every day since she arrived comes a man from the rear exit who stands alone in the narrow alleyway out back. As Iryna wipes her painful, heavy eyes with her sleeve she watches as the man leans against the wall with a look of tiredness and fatigue on his aged face. He is much older than Iryna, with much darker skin, all wrinkled and cracked, and he sports a beard just as large and imposing as her fathers. Iryna knows this man; he is the owner of the store from which he just left, a store which is already drawing a small queue of customers before the doors are even open.
She doesn’t know his name but from the few times she has entered his business he has always looked this way; overworked and horribly stressed. It’s no wonder when the system to purchase food here in Kiev is so inefficient. Customers would have to line up for ages before entering the store and then that was only to talk to the first of three clerks. The first to receive a state issued purchasing ticket, and then they would have to queue up in another line to see the cashier and pay, before finally waiting in a third line to get their items and receipt. This could take hours on busy days and the work must be back breaking. It’s no wonder this poor old man is struggling this morning.
As Iryna continues to watch the cue grow along the street she suddenly has an idea. She is adamant that she doesn’t want to be a Magical Girl any more, and even if she can’t go back to the way life was before she would rather make herself useful and help out others in any way she can, as long as she doesn’t have to use the evil powers Kyubey bestowed upon. Perhaps, she thinks; proving herself as a good person by helping those in need without her magic might just be enough to wash away her sins, or at least ease her awful guilt.
After taking a deep breath Iryna gets up and jogs across the wide open street to the man before he disappears back inside his shop. He’s truly massive, towering over the young girl and smelling distinctively of cigarettes, even this early in the day.
“Excuse me sir. Could I maybe speak to you for a moment please?” Iryna says as innocently as she can, desperately trying to hide the fact that she has been crying all night. The man at first pays the girl little attention. Surely he must get lots of people coming up to him to ask for favours before he opens shop for the day. However soon he heaves a deep, raspy sigh and looks down at Iryna. “I’m sorry to disturb you so early, and I know this is really out of the blue but: well you look really tired mister.” Iryna says gently. Evidently the man hadn’t expected this as he shifts about quite uncomfortably.
“Are you… propositioning me, child?” he speaks with a heavy foreign accent that Iryna has never heard before. “You won’t get that from me.” He adds. Suddenly the girl realises that her wording just now may have sounded a little more suspect than she had intended and she quickly turns red with embarrassment and shock.
“Oh! No I didn’t mean... I wasn’t… No. What I mean is: I’ve seen you a few times and you always look like you work so very hard. I was hoping, if there is anything I could do to help you, maybe I could work for you?” Iryna blurts out rapidly trying to ignore the man’s previous accusation.
“You want to work for me? You, a child, a woman, a Jew and someone assuredly not registered to work; wants me to employ you? Surely you must be joking. I don’t have time for this.” The shopkeeper says with deep sadness as he moves to go back inside.
“You don’t have to employ me. I don’t need paying if that’s your worry. I just want to help. I just want to be useful.” Iryna says in a last ditch attempt to persuade the man who pauses to think for a moment before opening the door.
“Hmm. What experience do you have?” he finally asks with a grumble.
“I grew up working on a farm outside the city, so I’m familiar with fresh produce and animal goods. My father recently got permission from the state to come and work in a ceramics factory here so I’m not homeless. I won’t be a burden, mister.” Iryna explains dutifully.
“You know your way around food? That's good. Listen to me child; come back in an hour and come through the rear exit. If you’re serious then I might have some stock for you to move about in the store room, somewhere out of sight of the customers. If the law comes you leave, as fast as you can.” The man says sternly, drawing a small smile from Iryna as her sadness begins to wear off.
“Oh, thank you mister! You won’t regret it, I promise!” she beams.
“I had better not. My name is Melik, now go! I have a business to open.” The man replies loudly. Doing as she is told Iryna leaves Melik to his duty and returns to the steps of her apartment building, where she watches as the man opens the front doors of his small store to the crowd of waiting customers that already disappears around the corner.
Later that day Iryna returns to Meliks store to begin her first shift working with the man. It had all been so very sudden and hush-hush but regardless the feeling of excitement as she enters the stock room via the alleyway was exhilarating. As always Iryna longs for new experiences and this is certainly a new one, she’s never seen the back of a shop before. Despite this; it is extremely obvious even to a layman such as Iryna that this particular stock-room is very much out of order. There are boxes and crates strewn everywhere, falling over each other and stacked haphazardly. It’s a mess and anyone would be lucky to find anything back here.
From the front of the shop Iryna can make out the sounds of customers chatting and arguing with the cashiers, the tills ringing and receipts being written up. Even for such a tiny store the activity is suffocating. It's no wonder then when Melik comes barging through the staff door that he already looks ready to keel over and fall asleep. Despite this Iryna gives the man a friendly smile, which, to his courtesy, he tries to return in kind. Iryna can feel that she has a long day ahead of her, but that’s no worry. If she can ease this man's burden even a little bit then she knows she must have begun her path to redemption. Thus; Irynas' very first day working secretly out the back of a grocery store stock room begins.
Iryna would continue to work for Melik at his shop unpaid and unseen by the customers who visited. After only a few days she had already rearranged and tidied the stock room to a workable level. Now whenever one of the cashiers needed to find a product not already on the sales-floor it would be easy to grab. There were all kinds of things in the store ranging from almost-fresh vegetables and cheese, to canned goods such as condensed milk. Iryna can’t help but wonder if all this food was available years ago why she and her family had to suffer through a famine.
Eventually Iryna began taking on more roles around the store, still always hidden from view but very helpful for Melik and his legal staff members nonetheless. Iryna would come after hours and clean the floors and surfaces in the night. She would check for defective and mouldy products and would often brew drinks for her peers whenever they needed a pick-me-up. While some of the other staff were worried at first about having an unregistered worker, and a Jewish one at that, doing such things for Melik they very quickly warmed to the young girl, who proved her worth tremendously.
As Iryna engaged more and more with her work she slowly began to forgive herself. It was still incredibly painful whenever she went home and saw her family, but at the very least they were proud of her for taking on such a job with enthusiasm. To Iryna this didn’t feel like an effect of her wish, their praise was completely genuine even without it. Still: Iryna would have to put in much more work if she was ever going to be forgiven in the eyes of the Lord. And so, a few weeks after taking on her position at Meliks, Iryna began looking for even more things to do about town. Anything to both help whoever she could, and distract from a slowly growing, insidious problem.
Unknown to Iryna even though she hasn’t used her magic once since she swore an oath not to, this hasn’t been entirely true. As a Magical Girl her very own body is fundamentally sustained by magic, allowing it to move and appear human even while the soul is out of the body and bound to a soul gem. Thus: just by existing, especially doing such strenuous activities as manual labour, her pool of magic has been exhausting; slowly at first but as time goes by the effects begin to show. Her body begins to become stiff, joints difficult to move and eventually she even loses her sense of taste all together. Worst of all are the sudden, violent bursts of crippling depression. Iryna believes these episodes to be her guilt about her family; resurfacing after long days at work, however she is unaware that these symptoms are the effects of her soul gem corrupting as her magic depletes.
Despite this Iryna pushes on through the pain and secret anguish, hiding it all as best she can from her colleagues and family. She doesn’t want to worry them, she thinks. Instead she takes on even more ways to help: such as visiting the local park before her shifts to pick up litter and trash, and keeping a watchful eye out at the large tram intersection at the end of the street for anyone, normally elderly women, who need assistance crossing the wide avenue. Almost a month after first taking her job Iryna enrols with the local Dacha, a community garden set up on some wasteland tended to by several of the local house wives. Her knowledge as an ex-farm worker is indispensable to the women, who welcome the Jewish child with open arms.
Every single thing Iryna does for an entire month is wholly dedicated to being a benefit to others and helping wherever she can. In the same way she felt pride and joy whenever she saved someone from a Witch, she now feels the exact same way whenever she knows that she has been of assistance to someone in need. Through all of it, through the thousands of hours of hard work and magic-draining pain, Iryna has been oblivious to her many shadows, watching her from day one.
Anastasia had taken a keen interest in the ex-Magical Girl ever since their meeting at the hotel and had instructed her NKVD cronies to keep a close eye on her. Almost every day Anastasia received updates and reports on Irynas activities. If she thought she was working at the store undetected; she was very wrong. Luckily it seems Anastasia has no interest in bringing the law down, probably because she just can’t understand what Iryna is even doing.
The powers Magical Girls are given are incredible, a priceless gift bestowed on the rare chosen few. As such seeing Iryna discard and ignore these gifts that she could easily use for her own benefit is beyond confusing to the Tsarina. Anastasia has never truly been selfless or charitable in her life. If she does something; it’s for her own self benefit.
One of the most startling, and potentially worrying things to Anastasia however is the fact that Iryna has stuck to her guns, and hasn’t used magic at all. She hasn’t fought a single Witch this past month, and seemingly hasn’t used any grief seeds either, judging by the darkened state of her soul gem. For some reason; this curiosity at seeing someone so dedicated to others' well being, and the inevitable degradation of the girl's soul gem has begun slowly tempering the high-and-mighty Queens attitude towards Iryna. A great conflict grows in Anastasia's mind whenever she thinks of her, as Irynas actions are painting a very different picture than what she had imagined for a Jew.
It’s been a little over a month since Iryna began her journey of forgiveness and atonement. Over that time she’s made several friends at the grocery store, most surprisingly of all; her boss Melik, who has become very warm and welcoming to the young girl. Iryna hadn’t known when she began working for him but she recently found out that he moved to Kiev years prior while fleeing genocide in his native land of Armenia. The pair had found a shared bonding through tragedy with Meliks stories of the Great War and Irynas of the famine out in the countryside.
Meanwhile Irynas family had been going about its business the same as always. Yosyp was a model worker at the factory, Diana a loving house wife and several of the boys had even tried to join the Young Pioneers, to no avail unfortunately. As expected they have been happy and smiling every day. Sometimes the overwhelming positivity becomes too much for Iryna to handle however, especially on days when her magic-depletion induced depression becomes worse. At times like this Iryna finds a way to slip out of the cramped apartment and venture out into Kiev, either to clean up at work or just cool her head by the river.
Tonight is one such night and Diana's constant smiling has gotten under Irynas skin something fierce. Hoping to calm down at work she decides to go and see Melik and maybe have a nice warm tea with the man. Iryna can’t help but struggle while climbing down the flights of stairs in her building. Her legs feel so very stiff and sore and her fingers tend to click and pop now whenever she grabs hold of anything. Her mood swings have been getting worse as well and she can clearly detect not just sadness and depression; but anger forming in her mind as the days go by. She’s long since figured out why, and knows her soul gem is failing; the inky blackness swirling inside the crystal is obvious to her now.
Regardless, Iryna makes her way into the grocery store through the rear entrance as she always does, getting out of the bitter cold and icy wind which has fallen across the city tonight. The child is surprised however to find someone already in the shop; one of the cashiers by the name of Alexei, tending to a blown out oil lamp on the sales floor. It’s unusual for anyone other than her or Melik to be here this late, she thinks.
“Hello Alexi. What are you doing here?” Iryna asks inquisitively.
“Oh, good evening young Iryna. As you can see one of the lamps broke. Melik asked me to take it down so we can get it replaced. What are you doing here?” the young man returns, placing down his tools onto the counter with a metallic clang.
“Well I was actually looking for the boss myself. Is he upstairs?”
“I’m afraid not. He said he had to go out for a while, not sure why. It wasn’t that long ago, so if you hurry you might be able to catch him if it’s urgent. He said he was going to check on something at the station.” Alexi explains. Still wanting to talk with Melik; Iryna thanks the cashier for the tip, apologises for the interruption and heads back out into the night on the trail of her missing employer.
The station isn’t that far away and it doesn’t take very long for Iryna to catch up with the slow and plodding man as he walks into the main ticket hall.
“Melik! Hey, can I talk to you?” Iryna asks as she comes up beside the towering shop keeper. To her surprise however he doesn’t seem to acknowledge her presence as he continues walking silently forward through the empty terminal. “Melik? Are you ok?”
It is then that Iryna spots it, something terrible she had hoped to never see again; a Witches kiss placed on the tall man's neck, just visible behind his bushy beard. Instantly a wave of fear and dread comes across the young girl. She doesn’t know how a Witch managed to possess Melik but it doesn’t look like she has time to find out as he seems to be walking non-stop towards the tracks. What can she do in this situation? She isn’t strong enough to physically stop the man, at least not without magic. If she kills the Witch possessing him; the spell will be broken, but Iryna made a promise to herself and to God to never use those powers again. Panic begins to set in as Iryna wrestles with her choices. She can’t just let Melik die like this, but by transforming into a Magical Girl she will be un-doing all the repentance she has done over the past month.
Meanwhile Anastasia sits alone in a movie theatre half way across town watching the latest film to come out of Moscow, something called “Russian Soil”. She isn’t enjoying it very much, its Soviet propaganda plain and simple. Even then she is hardly watching the movie anyway; rather she wallows trying to make sense of her confused feelings and emotions towards Iryna. For a month she has listened to her men’s reports and even ventured out a couple of times to watch the girl work in person from the unseen safety of the city rooftops. It just makes no sense. As the wealthy teenager sinks back into her seat, the constant whirring of the projection machine lulls her racing mind and soothes her thoughts as she thinks back on the past.
Anastasia was born into captivity in a women’s prison camp somewhere in the middle of nowhere Kazakhstan. According to her mother their family had once been part of the powerful and wealthy aristocracy of the Russian Empire before its downfall. Her father however was allegedly one of the prison guards and her conception was far from consensual. For her entire early life Anastasia grew up here, kept prisoner alongside her mother and eventually being forced into textile production just like the other women in the camp. At least female prisons didn’t use hard physical labour. The conditions however were still horrific by any standard.
Anastasia's mother was understandably an angry woman and she had many complaints and problems with the fledgling Soviet government. Thanks to the Revolution of 1917 she had lost everything, her vast sums of money, her mansions, her land and her status as one of the elite. For someone whose entire life had been luxury at the expense of the peasantry, suddenly being thrust into this situation was humiliating. Luckily for her she knew exactly who was to blame: the Bolsheviks who were, in her understanding, a cabal of thieving, conspiratorial Jewish criminals.
It was these antisemitic notions she passed down to her young daughter, notions which weren’t un-common in the camp at all. As such Anastasia would grow up believing these same ideas, blaming the Jews, a people she wouldn’t even meet until years later, for her and her mother’s sorry state. She would listen to stories of how life used to be for the rich before the Revolution, and over time Anastasia grew to crave such a life for herself. She believes wealth and luxury are her right, a future for her that was stolen away before she was even born.
Luckily for the young prisoner, it was on one snowy day when she first met a creature which would change her life forever; Kyubey. His offer of granting any wish was instantly taken up by Anastasia with the desire to “give her the power to restore her family’s wealth.” With her mother already dead from tuberculosis there was nothing holding the ambitious young girl back and so a new Magical Girl was born, soon escaping the camp without issue and beginning to move out west. Over the course of many years Anastasia would travel from place to place hunting Witches and more importantly using her new magical powers to amass a trove of riches for herself.
Of course under the Soviet system such personal wealth would normally be a problem, the Soviets not exactly being fans of aristocrats. This is where Anastasia's unique Magical Girl abilities came into play. Quite incredibly the young girl found she has the power to manipulate the minds of any man around her. As such whenever the authorities came looking for her and her money they would soon leave claiming they found nothing, or they would conveniently forget what they were even doing. With this puppet-master power Anastasia quickly wormed her way into the highest escalon’s of society, even controlling members of the NKVD itself. She would eventually find a home that suited her in Kiev and has lived here ever since as the Tsraina of the city, protecting it from Witches and keeping an eye on the goings on of the metropolis held firmly in her palm.
Eventually Anastasia awakens from her memories, the movie still droning on in front of her. She just can’t make sense of Iryna at all. A Jew should be selfish, conniving and scheming - that is what her mother taught her, and she has seen members of the Communist party engage in such activities all across the USSR. The Bolsheviks are Jews, she knows it. So why is this one Jewish girl acting so different from her brethren? After a while of quiet, lonely contemplation a member of Anastasia's NKVD loyalists approaches her in her seat.
“Pardon me Mistress but I have an update for you on the Jewish girl.” The officer says formally. “It would seem she is currently fighting one of those monsters you told her not to.” He informs her.
Anastasia is even more confused now. She’s seen Iryna avoid her magic for a whole month, even to her own self degradation. Why all of a sudden would she change now? Something must have happened and Anastasia needs to find out what. Quickly she gets up from the cinema chair and leaves the theatre with haste.
Iryna barely manages to dodge a powerful explosion as she jumps around inside a Witches Labyrinthine, desperately trying to carry around the unconscious body of Melik on her back. She was able to prevent the man from falling onto the tracks, but only by trapping them both inside the lair of whatever Witch is possessing him.
Normally such a heavy load as Melik would be no problem for even a weak Magical Girl to drag around. However as Irynas magic has drained so much his bulky mass is proving to be incredibly difficult to keep a hold of. On top of that, the act of transforming and countering the Witches' attacks is withering her magic even further, her soul gem becoming ever darker with each passing moment. She can feel her body giving out when she jumps, and feel her bones strain against her insides whenever she attempts to cast a prayer.
The Labyrinth she is trapped inside may be the worst possible place for her in her current state: an endless Escher painting of bridges and viaducts holding up train tracks which disappear into brick tunnels before reappearing somewhere else at impossible, unpredictable angles. To make matters worse it is upon these mind bending tracks that the resident Witch races about at incredible speed. Taking the form of a locomotive with multiple train cars; the Witch rolls out of control through its domain. It screams with a painfully loud whistle and gives off plumes of scalding hot steam from its boiler, all the while an army of its vile familiars cheer and mock from the passenger windows like some drunken circus audience. At the very nose of the engine sits what must be the monster's eye, which darts about energetically as it follows Iryna through its home.
It's difficult to avoid getting run over by the beast as whenever Iryna lands on one set of tracks it appears through the closest tunnel to crush her and Melik into paste. Even at a distance the Witch is one of the most violent Iryna has ever seen as several of its cars take the form of warped, almost military-style armoured carriages, bristling with cannons and machine guns firing ordinance in every direction.
“You oh Lord are a shield for me!” Iryna cries out, summoning a wall of angelic light which successfully blocks an incoming barrage of shells and bullets. Even this simple action knocks the wind out of the young girl and she struggles to maintain her balance and grip on Melik as she jumps out of the way of the Witch once more. Every explosion she dodges is another bridge destroyed and by now the number of places for her to take even a second's respite are growing thin.
“Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven so on earth!” she stammers out through pained breaths, sending a return barrage of golden halos towards the rampaging Witch. Unfortunately by now her pool of magic has become so small that her once unstoppable holy weapons have no effect at all on the monster's thick armoured shell and they simply bounce off, falling into the void below. Once more Iryna must leap to another platform to avoid being run over, taking all her strength to do so.
“Please Lord! I can’t go on any longer! Please even if you don’t save me, please save Melik! I beg of you!” Iryna screams as she flies through the air, almost losing her grip on her boss. “I tried my best!”
Irynas body finally gives up as when she lands on the next platform her left leg shatters from the impact, her bones splintering like old wood causing her to topple over in immense agony. In the fall she is trapped below the crushing body of Melik and is only just able to push his heavy frame off her in time to see the Witch bearing down on her from a close-by tunnel. There is no time to pick him back up and even if there was she can’t jump any more. Iryna is certain that this is where she will meet her end, minced below the spinning wheels of the locomotive racing at full speed towards her.
Suddenly however the Labyrinth is filled with the piercing sound of metallic scraping and bright fiery sparks fly from below the train. At the last moment, mere feet from where Iryna lays, Anastasia has arrived and with a single one of her sabres has stopped the Witch quite literally in its tracks. The beast screams in pain, viscous black oil spewing from the stab wound the Tsarina inflicted upon its eye and it retreats like a scared animal back into the darkened tunnel from whence it came. Iryna can’t believe what she is seeing, there is just no way this girl would save her. Anastasia hates her, she’s sure of it.
“Here; use this quickly and get that guy out of here. I opened a way out for you.” Anastasia says in a commanding, serious tone as she produces a grief seed from her jacket which she tosses down to Iryna.
“Why are you helping me?” the defeated Magical Girl croaks painfully. Iryna looks at the black orb with uncertainty and fear. She had promised never to use magic again so why would she want to recharge herself with such a thing?
“It doesn’t matter right now! Just use the grief seed and go! If you don't, that man will die here! You don’t have a choice!” Anastasia yells at Iryna impatiently, readying herself to face the Witch again as it emerges from its hiding spot. “We’re out of time.”
Despite her shaking hands; Iryna picks up the grief seed slowly, and with great apprehension she raises it to the darkened blue gem on her chest. Anastasia is right; there is no other option here if Melik is to be saved. When the crystals eventually connect they both glow brightly as all the darkness which had been swirling inside Irynas soul gem is sucked into the grief seed. As her gem clears, and her magic restores Iryna can feel her leg begin to heal, her agonised joints cool off and her cracking headache clear up slowly. With her strength coming back to her; Iryna looks up to Anastasia with wide and confused yet sorrowfully thankful eyes. Anastasia however is much too preoccupied to return the gesture, as by now the Witch is once again racing towards their position.
Realising that there are only seconds before the train arrives; Iryna picks up Meliks body once again and begins running towards the newly created exit. Meanwhile Anastasia is unfazed by the monster quickly speeding towards her and she gives a smug, confident smile before leaping into action. It takes only a few precise and deadly powerful strikes to cripple the Witches armaments and de-rail its engine which falls from the now crumbling bridge into the endless empty space below. Un-willing to let the Witch potentially vanish; Anastasia throws sword after sword into the now burning train, resulting in a colossal explosion, consuming most of the Labyrinth which thereafter fades from existence, confirming the Witches destruction.
Now back in reality Anastasia stands next to Iryna as she cries on the floor, cradling her boss’s body in the alleyway behind the train station. She can see that the young girl’s soul gem has fully restored thanks to the grief seed and lets out a sigh of relief, even to her own surprise.
“Is he alive?” Anastasia asks, receiving only several frantic head nods from the still weeping Iryna. “Good. I’ll have some of my men come and pick him up. With any luck he’ll think he just slipped and fell down somewhere. You should go home now Iryna.” Still incredibly confused by the whole situation Iryna wipes her tear filled eyes to address her saviour directly.
“Why? Why did you save me?” she sobs distraughtly.
“Because I wanted to. What sort of a Queen would I be if I let monsters eat my subjects?” Anastasia scoffs as she begins to walk off. Iryna is having none of it however and gets to her feet to demand answers.
“I promised I would never use these evil powers ever again! What right do you have to force me to-” she cries out before being cut off by her elder.
“If I hadn’t forced you to restore your soul gem both you and that man would be dead already! I don’t understand why you’ve given up your duty as a Magical Girl, but I do know that if you had maintained your soul gem none of this would have ever happened! Maybe these powers you have aren’t from God, but they aren’t evil either! I’ve seen you want to help people, so how will you ever do that if you let yourself become a walking corpse?” Anastasia rebuts fiercely, looking back at Iryna with angry, narrow eyes.
“I already am a walking corpse.” Iryna replies sadly.
“Corpses don’t work in shops and help old ladies cross the street! I can’t figure you out! You’re the most confusing Jew I’ve ever met. At first I thought it was a trick or a joke but no, you really are that stubborn in helping others for no personal gain.” Anastasia rants loudly and dramatically. “Look; you have a gift and no matter where it comes from we Magical Girls have to use it! It can’t be wasted! I’m more than happy to keep getting rich off my powers. Question is will you be happy letting others suffer because you refuse to use yours?” She demands.
Iryna can give no answer. She doesn’t know what to do anymore. Sure all the help she gave people over the past month was rewarding, however the crippling pain and mental anguish brought on by neglecting her soul gem was agonising. Is there really any reason to not use her powers now that she knows she has the capacity to be a good person without them? Maybe she can do both and protect people from Witches while keeping a clean soul and work a normal, helpful life at the same time. Iryna has a lot to think about, a lot to try and decide and Anastasia can sense this.
“I don’t like other Magical Girls in my city, and you’re still a Jew but… I guess… keep up the good work Iryna.” The experienced Magical Girl says before she jumps away swiftly, disappearing over the rooftops and leaving Iryna alone in the darkened alley.
The following morning Iryna wakes up back on the floor of her small apartment as she always does. Around her lies her family, or at least those who haven’t already gone to work. Last night was exhausting yet as the girl sits up she feels no fatigue, no pain, even her mind is clear. Iryna looks at the shining silver ring on her finger and can't help but feel a sense of pride once again, a feeling she hasn’t had since she first learnt the true nature of this brilliant glowing treasure. She still hasn’t fully decided what she will do next in regards to being a Magical Girl however she has come to terms with the fact that she will have to keep the gem clean from time to time at the very least.
The air is cool and refreshing and a light breeze drifts through the apartment’s slightly ajar door to the balcony. From somewhere else in the building Iryna can smell someone cooking, probably a stew or soup, indicating that she has at long last regained her sense of taste. She never realised how much she missed it. There is another scent that catches her attention, only in passing, barely noticeable; the smell of burning.
With a cheerful, renewed smile she gets up to begin her morning rituals; washing her hands throughout the wash basin and giving a prayer to the Lord while looking out over the city. After getting dressed she suddenly becomes curious if Anastasia stuck to her word and had someone return Melik to his home. She should probably head to the grocery store to find out.
Upon leaving the building however Iryna is met with a bizarre sight. The queue which would normally be backed up waiting for Melik to open his shop; are for whatever reason all crowded around the local radio speaker. Iryna has always been fascinated by these strange devices which are scattered about around Kiev, which spew news reports and government messages daily. Among the crowd also stands Melik, much to Irynas relief and surprise. The young girl bounds down the steps to meet up with her boss, a happy grin across her face as she goes.
“Oh, Iryna there you are! Good morning. Listen, I had the craziest dream last night, I must tell you.” Melik smiles when he spots his assistant running over towards him. Quickly however he is shushed by another member of the growing crowd of people and instead begins whispering to Iryna quietly. “I’ll tell you about that later. Don’t tell me you slept through that explosion last night?”
“What’s going on out here? What explosion?” Iryna likewise whispers back. For a moment she is concerned that her fight with the Witch last night might have caused something terrible in the outside world. Then again she did fall into a deep sleep after getting home; it’s very possible she missed something that went down in the city.
“They say there will be an important radio broadcast from the government. You’re just in time.” Melik replies softly as they both look up at the metal conical speakers high above their heads. Soon the radio sparks to life, first with static then with the triumphant anthem of the Soviet Union itself. It doesn’t last long before the voice of a man begins to sound through every radio in Kiev, the city falling silent as he speaks. Some recognise his voice; that of the Foreign Affairs Commissioner Vyacheslav Molotov, while others look about in confusion and worry. By the end of his speech that worry would give way to panic and fear.
“Citizens of the Soviet Union. The Soviet government and its head, comrade Stalin, have ordered me to make the following announcement: Today, at 4 o’clock in the morning, German troops have entered our country, without making any demands on the Soviet Union and without a declaration of war. They have attacked our borders in many places and have subjected our towns - Zhitomir, Kiev, Sevastopol, Kaunas and some others - to aerial bombardments during which more than 200 people have been killed or wounded. Hostile aerial attacks and artillery barrages have also taken place on Romanian and Finnish territory. This attack is unheard of and is a treacherous act that has no equal in the history of civilised peoples. The attack on our country was launched despite the fact that a non-aggression treaty between the USSR and Germany has been signed and that the Soviet Union has observed all conditions of this treaty in full honesty...”
“The whole responsibility for this raid on the Soviet Union lies in its entirety in the hands of the Fascist German government…”
“The government of the Soviet Union is firmly convinced that the entire population of our nation, all workers, farmers and the intelligentsia, men and women, shall meet their obligations and devote themselves to their work with the necessary conviction. Our entire population must now be staunch and unified as never before. Each of us must demand discipline, order and self sacrifice from themselves and others, worthy of a real Soviet Patriot, in order to attend to all needs of the Red Army, the navy and the air force in order to guarantee victory over the enemy. The government calls on you, citizens of the Soviet Union, to close the ranks around our triumphant Bolshevist party, around our Soviet government and around our great leader, comrade Stalin even further. Our cause is just. The enemy shall be defeated. Victory shall be ours!”