The Dyatlov Pass Incident. Mystery of the Fireballs. Sergei Mikhailov

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      The world around them swayed and blurred like melting wax. They found themselves beside a majestic cedar tree, next to a crackling fire. Two young men – Yuri Doroshenko and Yuri Krivonischenko – sat by the flames, shivering from cold, unaware of the invisible eyes watching them.

      “Look,” Anna whispered.

      Something gleamed in Krivonischenko’s hands – an object shimmering in the firelight with a living, unearthly glow.

      “A key to the gates between worlds,” Anna explained in response to Maxim’s unspoken question. “They received it shortly before the tragedy.”

      The night sky suddenly exploded with light. Fiery spheres darted about like maddened fireflies. Horror and wonder froze on the faces of the two Yuris as they leaped to their feet.

      “The gates are losing stability,” Anna’s voice grew anxious. “And they have neither the strength nor knowledge to control them.”

      Reality shifted again. Now they saw the tent on the mountainside – and the panic that overtook the group. There they were, cutting the tent fabric from inside, scattering across the snow, then forming a line. Their struggle was visible, each breath seemingly difficult, but despite the bitter frost and their overwhelming fear, they began descending the slope – each step a battle for survival.

      Maxim lunged toward them, but Anna held him back.

      “The past cannot be changed, but we can prevent its repetition,” suddenly in her outstretched hand appeared the familiar device from Maxim’s backpack.

      “This is one of the keys to closing the gates. Soon you’ll understand how to use it,” Anna looked at him with slight concern in her eyes, as if unable to tell him everything.

      When Maxim took the device, the ancient symbols on it flashed, as if recognizing their master.

      “How?” he asked.

      “You’re from the lineage of guardians. The knowledge flows in your blood. Just trust it.”

      Maxim closed his eyes, feeling the device’s energy streaming through him. Understanding came naturally, as if awakening from the depths of memory.

      When he opened his eyes, the summit of Kholat Syakhl spread beneath him. In the raging chaos of realities, all times merged at once.

      Raising the device above his head, Maxim was ready to meet his destiny. The mystery that had waited more than half a century had finally found one who could unveil it.

      Chapter 7 – Keys from the Past

      Suddenly Maxim felt his consciousness expanding, encompassing multiple dimensions at once. He saw the history of Mount Kholat Syakhl stretching back thousands of years. Ancient shamans performing their rituals; a secret society founded in the 19th century to study anomalies; Soviet scientists conducting experiments in the 1950s. All these events were connected by a single thread leading to this moment. At some point, this stream of knowledge seemed to break free, and the world before him changed. The very air around him became saturated with some new force, and the space around him acquired an unknown depth.

      His gaze now turned toward the majestic forest growing at the mountain’s foot. Among its dark, ancient trees stood Anna, meeting his gaze with understanding. She smiled softly, and her words resonated like an echo from another world:

      “Your journey is only beginning. You are one of the guardians. You have an important mission that must change everything.”

      Maxim approached her and nodded, understanding that his life would never be the same. At that moment, Anna pulled a worn notebook from her pocket.

      “This is Semyon Zolotarev’s notebook,” she said. “It was empty when they found it, but that doesn’t mean it contained no information.”

      Maxim took the notebook and ran his hand over the cover. Suddenly images flashed before his eyes: he saw Zolotarev hurriedly writing something, then running his hand across the page, making the text disappear.

      “Invisible ink?” Maxim suggested.

      Anna shook her head.

      “Something more complex. Zolotarev had the ability to encode information in the paper’s very structure. Only those who know the secret can read these writings.”

      She pointed to Maxim’s wrist.

      “The watch. Zolotarev had two of them. They didn’t just tell time – they were instruments for determining exact coordinates and navigating between realities.”

      Maxim raised his hand and was surprised to discover an antique watch that hadn’t been there before.

      “How is this possible?”

      “You’ve inherited not only the knowledge but also the artifacts of the guardians,” Anna explained.

      Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. An elderly Mansi man in traditional clothing emerged from the forest. He bowed to Maxim and Anna.

      “I am Itokai,” he introduced himself. “My people have guarded the secrets of these mountains for centuries. We knew of the new guardians’ coming.”

      Itokai told them about ancient Mansi legends, the mountain spirits, and those who came to study the anomalies. He mentioned the second group that was on the mountain at the same time as Dyatlov’s team.

      “And now,” said Itokai, “let me show you something.”

      He led them to a small cave. Inside, they saw rock paintings depicting people, stars, and strange devices.

      “This is the history of the guardians,” Itokai explained. “And now you are part of this history.”

      As they studied the drawings, Maxim suddenly felt his consciousness expanding again. He saw the Dyatlov group boarding their bus, heading for their fateful trek. He felt their excitement, heard their conversations and jokes.

      He saw Yuri Yudin especially clearly – the tenth member of the Dyatlov group who had to turn back due to illness.

      Maxim felt his disappointment and simultaneously an inexplicable relief, as if part of Yudin knew of the approaching danger.

      “Yudin,” Maxim whispered. “He must know more.”

      Anna nodded.

      “Yes, Yudin is a key figure in this story. He didn’t just survive – he was the keeper of memory.”

      Itokai added:

      “Many searched only for external causes of the tragedy: avalanches, weapons, wild animal attacks. But the real mystery was always deeper, in the very fact of boundaries between worlds.”

      Maxim looked at Zolotarev’s notebook, at the watch on his wrist, at the ancient drawings on the cave walls. He understood that each of these elements was part of an enormous puzzle he had to solve.

      “What now?” he asked.

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