Aysel (1)

It’s natural that attraction begets curiosity, as embarrassment begets rolling out the red carpet for its strikingly similar companion—a full-face and vibrant flush. While I may have been drawn to the woman’s performance under the stars, truth be told, from the moment her song ended, I could only feel as if I had walked off the precipice of a fever dream. And her? Well, she was now brightened alongside the luster above as an accompanying blood moon.

I don’t know why I started clapping… I didn’t even have any intention of making any noise, but hey, here we are. At least I can say that the Artificer did right by me for leaving some clothes—and dear lord, thank goodness for that!

The woman before me was seemingly wallowing in a flustered silence, while I, on the other hand, was celebrating a small yet significant victory. But more than anything else, her performance was mystifying, still leaving traces within me even in the aftermath. It had conjured more than a simple loose influence over one’s ears and mind. If I had to describe it to the best of my ability, I’d say that it was almost borderline controlling even.

“You… Are you…one of the Fae?” she quietly questioned with a tinge of aggression and a slight tremble in her voice. Her cheeks had settled back down to her natural pale skin, but now she was embracing an aura of suspicion.
She still certainly appeared shocked, which wasn’t surprising but also was at the same time. I had magically appeared behind her, sure, but given her reaction and question, she seemingly knew nothing about me too.

“Fae?”

Another term that didn’t connect with what little knowledge I held, but as I followed her previously glaring eyes, she was glancing at the dancing lights that hovered above us.

“You’re rather…different though, when compared to those stray Fae that often visit…” she murmured, tilting her head and scanning my entirety in a slow sweep.
Compared to her singing voice and stage-like demeanor from before, she appeared more distant and unapproachable. But anyone would respond the same when a strange person suddenly appears behind them and starts applauding like they belong.

I don’t blame her. You know just how fanatical people can be for idols they adore a bit too much. But wait, I barely have any clothes to my name, so getting her autograph could possibly sell, right? If I say I’ve been a huge fan of hers and she’s been a big inspiration in my life, would she believe me? But, no, let’s not. I should probably take this seriously and just be upfront with her. After all…

The silence that sat between us was doing more harm than good, and fanning that flame would only put me at risk. That’s what my natural instincts were telling me—and the crimson eyes that further creased with her brows, and whose gaze harbored palpable heat.

“I don’t even know what a ‘Fae’ is to begin with, so I doubt we’re the same. Based on their appearance, they seem like…spirits or something? Is that what they are?”

She shook her head sideways, motioning her hand outward as if she were calling one down. And a few seconds later, the previously dancing star settled in her palm. The once glowing orb was more visible now and was almost human-like. It was seemingly a pint-sized girl with green translucent wings, giggling as its eyes didn’t leave the woman’s person.

“They originally come from the east, or at least that’s what they’ve told me. Unfortunately, these little ones here have no home to return to,” she explained with a hint of melancholy as the stray Fae was playfully hugging her thumb. The woman’s eye then twitched as she lifted her hand once again, returning the Fae to her friends above.

“But if you’re not one of them, who are you exactly? There shouldn’t be anyone that can gain access to this place so easily, let alone without me knowing…” The woman’s inquiry wasn’t delivered with just words alone, but it also came with a powerful quake from the platform underneath.
And as my eyes wandered around searching for the reason, I was drawn to something entirely different. A realization that was only settling in at that moment.

Wait, it’s not just on the horizon behind her… Clouds. In every direction? Are we floating in the sky…?

“Answer me!” she thundered alongside a second wave of vibrations. That vestige of a soul-stirring performer from before was now nonexistent, and the golden tips of her silvered-hair were releasing particles into the air around her.
But I didn’t exactly have an answer for her, since I was seeking answers myself. If anything, I was hoping she would be able to fill in the blanks about me and this place—and by that I mean everything the Artificer couldn’t, or more so, didn’t.

Oh, that’s right! The scribbler!

“Wait! Oooooone moment! I beg of you!”

I rummaged through my pockets in a panicked manner, searching for the most poor-excuse for an instruction guide ever written. At the very least, it surely didn’t inform me of a wrathful goddess disguised as a potential neighbor. Just imagine how many victims her song had claimed thus far.

“Before you finish prepping for whatever god-forsaken and righteous-filled assault you have in mind for my very fragile being, please have a look at this first! I wholeheartedly beg of you!”

I bowed pathetically, shoving the letter forward as if it were my final line of defense. My fate was now in the hands of a letter that looked as if a child had written it. And seconds later, after she had snatched the wrinkled note, I realized in hindsight I should have simply read it aloud to her.

“Are you trying to provoke me with incoherent doodles…?” she vocalized her anger to an unmatched perfection. Truly one in whom was familiarized with the ins-and-outs of the scene to a superior degree. It was practically second nature. Good for her.

Damn you, scribbler! Next time just type it out and print it instead! Cool, you can give a soul a body, but how about trying to help keep that body alive?!

“O-okay, that one was a bad call, and that’s my fault. But please, just hear me out…”

In a rushed and clumsy manner, I attempted to explain everything that had happened to me moments before meeting her. Awakening inside of a liquid-filled tank with no memories and the contents of what the letter entailed. I was planning on being forthcoming regardless, since I had hopes that she would do the same.

“...and now I’m here. I didn’t mean to interrupt or anger you, so my apologies. I’m just trying to figure a few things out.”

She seemed to be rendered speechless for several seconds, yet her eyes wandered across the ground as if she were searching for something. And then finally...

“You were…inside of the Bastion this entire time…?” she softly whispered, though it didn’t seem as if it were her intention of being heard. She then descended down the steps that led her away from the balcony’s railing. My body immediately stiffened, but I didn’t dare make any sudden movements.

“That doesn’t make any sense at all. I have searched through the entirety of the Bastion on numerous occasions. Every room, every garden, every tower, from the lowest depths of their dirt to the Bastion’s highest peaks—I didn’t leave anything unchecked. I can’t even make heads of the number of times over the past few centuries, too. So, does that make you a liar? The rational answer is, yes, since there’s no one that knows the Bastion better than I do,” She suddenly placed her hand on my chest and I couldn’t help but flinch.
She was far closer now, and kept silent with her eyes closed. I attempted to ineptly weather my emotions from a storm to at least a drizzle. To focus on something other than her, and yet the more I tried, I couldn’t silence the rotation in my chest.

Wait, something is…spinning…?

I wasn’t one that was entirely well-versed in the true meaning of the word “attraction,” so I couldn’t help but associate the two almost immediately at first. That ethereal sight that came to beget such a telling emotion.
The songstress under the moonlight and the curious palpitation coming from within. That, in and of itself, was quite an issue apparently. It now made me aware of a glaring difference that currently spun inside of my chest—literally. You see, there was no actual fervent beating within, but instead that peculiar rotation.

Strange. I remember what a heart is, but this… Is that how it is? Whatever a homunculus is, it must not have one, huh? But then again, where exactly are these emotions coming from?

That ill feeling and the spurring that led me to the songstress, and even now, it all definitely mimicked the ways of a natural heart. Yet, that striking condition had somehow gone unnoticed before all of this.

“But I was also created by the Artificer,” she casually revealed, suddenly breaking me away from my thoughts, “and I lack the privilege to act against my creator’s wishes.” She then removed her hand and took a few steps back. There was certainly still a vague glare in her eyes, a masked uncertainty, and yet she proceeded to take a short bow anyway.

“Welcome, Luim. I am the Keeper of the Bastion. There is no one but you and I aboard this vessel,” she seemingly swallowed her opinion on the matter of housing a sudden and foreign guest, simply because of that name, Artificer. There was quite the many questions, but since she already knew my name, I couldn’t help but ask about hers.

“Keeper of the Bastion, is a bit of a mouthful. Is there another name I could call you by?”

“A name? The Artificer, our creator, referred to this place once as Aysel, thus you could say that it’s also my own name,” she remarked, while moving back toward the balcony’s railings. If she really did share the same name as the Bastion, it only furthered my belief that the Artificer was one to do things half-heartedly.

“Your name is the same as the Bastion’s? That’s a bit…”

I swiftly bit my tongue, immediately overwhelmed by my survival instincts that were actively against commenting on her creator too critically. The road to friendship wasn’t built on thoughtless mentions, and I’d much rather not have another episode of a Goddess’ Fury.

“Of course, it’s only natural that I share the same name as the Bastion. After all, we are one in the same,” She swiveled in place, facing my direction again as she pressed her back against the railing, “For I am the Bastion.”