Since I remembered being told that it would be helpful, I began to read the book Zerith had given me.

To put its long story short, it was about how the downfall of ‘the human nations’ of ‘Zerpha’, ‘Urduez’, and ‘Resoin’ resulted in ‘The Bastion’ being made, the place I seemed to be in.

Apparently, Zerith fought against The Monster King’s first attack, a bit less than two years ago, where his power had been at its fullest. He managed to survive and save a few people on his way, using his great magical potential to outsmart and evade the king’s army and ‘Monster Lords’.

He was the one that warned the nation of Zerpha(named after his father, its king) of the assault and later was a combatant in countless battles with the armies of monsters, which had gained cunning and deadly tactics when the king took over. He managed to ‘win’ every fight he fought in and was called ‘The Hero’ for it.

Despite his efforts, everything burned down. The Monster King and his lords razed the capital of Zerpha and sent him reeling back, left as the nation’s only leader. The genocide of humans had left him with no choice but to run with the survivors and try to recreate an army capable of threatening the new tyrant of the world.

And that was basically where he still stood, from what I gathered. The Bastion was intended to be ‘the last bastion of civilization’. I didn’t know what was propaganda and what was truth, but it certainly intrigued me for the good hour I spent reading it.

Come to think about it, didn’t Daakyn say paper was rare? Oh well...I guessed that The Hero would have the means to make it.

What had happened to Daakyn, anyway? He’d left because The Monster King was on the move, but why...

I shook my head, not wanting to think about the possibility that came to mind.

Seeing no reason to stay in my room and feeling like talking to someone, I sat up, threw the book to the side, then walked out.

I climbed the stairs up to the donut tunnel, as I affectionately thought of it, then walked through the tunnels, looking about the place with curiosity.

I peeked inside an open door to see a room filled with people sewing, crocheting, and other things like that. I didn’t know all that much about that sort of thing.

A girl around Jeremy’s age waved at me with a finger. I waved back in the same way, shrugged, then walked out.

When I kept walking, I eventually found a skylight. There was a glass dome in the ceiling, where bright moonlight fell in, carpeting the ground gently and curving to cover the whole semi-room it was situated in.

Right, there were two moons in this world. Neat, huh?

A pair of girls were laughing in the corner of the massive room. They reminded me of back home; of Emma.

I sighed, feeling sad or maybe homesick. I had only been in this world, conscious, for a day, and it all felt hectic. I wished I could go back to laughing with friends like that...

I shook my head. Hadn’t I just felt good? Why couldn’t I manage to stay that way?

One of the girls, dressed in a kimono type of dress (I learned what they were from Jeremy’s anime), waved me over, so I approached them.

“Hey, who are you?” she asked, looking me up and down with curiosity. “You’re kinda fat,” she said, seemingly with no idea how rude she was.

“U-uhh...ok...” I said, getting a bad impression of her.

“Oh, and you should put a bit more into your wardrobe. You kinda look...” she locked eyes with the other girl, and she shrugged. “a bit like you just threw stuff on.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, I tried. I nearly died yesterday, so...”

She clicked her tongue and shrugged again. “Sorry about that, then. Didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

“Not a problem,” I breathed out, sort-of lying.

“But anyway, what’s your name?” she continued.

“Psychi.”

“Siki?”

“Good enough,” I said with a wave of my hand. “And what’s yours?”

“Marissa.”

“Finally, a normal name.”

She looked at me like I was being silly. “I’m the one with a strange name.”

“Where I come from, Marissa is a normal name.”

“And Siki?”

“HA! Yeah, not normal at all. I went by my middle name in middle school...Or rather, up until a few years ago when my parents...y’know.”

“Oh, you too?” [They died?]

“Yeah, I guess so...” I reluctantly responded.

She shrugged. “I guess nobody’s safe, no matter where they grew up, huh?” she stated. Before I could respond, she motioned to her silent friend, who wore a yellow robe. “Oh, but guess what? Sussha’s going to be a mother in a few months! Well, y’know, if we don’t die first.” She chuckled like it was funny.

That went dark fast. At least I could chuckle along after I saw the other girl’s flustered, silent pouting. I would be embarrassed if I were pregnant at her age, too. I mean, she was my age, so...Medieval times, deal with it, I guess? Or maybe it was all just one of those scenarios where people stop caring about protection and stuff because of the state of apocalypse.

Hit by seemingly nothing, Marissa yelped in pain, then rubbed her head. “Oh, come on, Sussha, don’t hit me with your ghost servant!”

[Not my fault you go around embarrassing me in front of everyone I meet!] Sussha thought back, crossing her arms with a grunt.

Another signature magic, I guessed.

She looked back at me. “Anyway, who are you? Could I ask?”

“Your new resident super psychic and ultimate weapon against the Monster King, I suspect,” I said, making light of how silly my situation was.

She clapped her hands in sardonic celebration. “Well, good luck on that, girl. I sure hope you save the world!”

“Uhh, thanks,” I said, feeling awkward. To my reoccurring surprise, Marissa meant everything she said, at least in her mind. She really didn’t hold back. I turned to address the girl who hadn’t spoken. “Is, uhh, is it normal to act like her?”

She shrugged sheepishly.

“Cool...Well, since I don’t know what to do, could you tell me where to find The Hero?”

She looked at me like I was stupid. “Do you think I’m keeping track of that dude’s whereabouts at all times?” [Cuz I ain’t!]

“Do you know his office’s location, at least?” I asked, remembering it had been mentioned in the book.

The other girl raised her hand.

“Oh, cool, Sussha just volunteered to be your guide.” She patted the girl hard on the back, sending her careening into my arms. “You two have fun!” she skipped off.

I helped the other girl onto her feet. “Your friend’s a real handful, huh?” I asked.

She nodded.

“Well, I would like directions, so I’ll take care of you on our way to The Hero’s place. Sorry for all the hassle.”

She shook her head, then whispered, speaking for the first time. “I-it’s not a problem. F-follow me...”

I let Sussha lead me through the donut tunnel in silence. Since I knew plenty of shy girls like her and knew they sometimes appreciated silence, it wasn’t too awkward for me. She thought a lot about how strange I was and specifically dwelled on how she’d handle me if I tried to pick a fight for some reason. According to her thoughts, her ‘ghost servant’ could thrash me.

She ended up taking me to a door a lot more intricate and a bit larger than most of the others, and we walked inside.

Inside, I saw Zerith talking to a stalky man in a blue cloak who looked a bit older than him while sitting on his desk. There was a bit of paperwork strewn about it, as well as a few childish nick-nacks I didn’t recognize. He looked away from the man, then nodded at me and motioned to the couch. [Good to see she didn’t dally too much.]

“Look, Kaynad, you’ve done enough for now. Take a rest.” [Why is this guy so insistent on doing everything?]

“But sir-”

“Go,” Zerith said, shooing the man off. “Shoo, shoo. If I don’t see you in your quarters at the end of the day, you’re taking a hundred days off. Heck, I’ll send you to the other world with that girl over there if I have to.”

Reluctantly, the man walked out, stiffly waving at me in greeting as he did. ‘this Hero can be such a pain...’

“C-can you send me back?” I asked once he left.

The Hero shook his head. “Nope. Even if I could -and I can’t- it wouldn’t be in my best interests to let you go back.” [Aww, damn it, she’s going to get it in her head now that I mentioned it that I actually have a way back...I need to watch my tongue.]

Well, that sucked. I wasn’t about to try processing the meaning behind that, though. It would probably lead to an existential crisis if I took what he’d said at face value. And that wasn’t preferable~! Thus, I simply shoved it in the back of my mind, intent on forgetting about it.

“Oh, ok then. Uhh, well, I’m not sure what I should be doing...”

He played with an interesting pen on his desk while he briefly addressed Sussha, still standing behind me. “Thanks for taking psychi here, Sussha. I appreciate it. I’d like it if you left us, though. We’ll be talking about confidential things and such.”

She nodded. [Yay, I can go back to my...empty room...with nobody around...] Oh wow. That was kinda depressing. Where...was the father?

Once she left, Zerith addressed me. “So, I think we should talk a bit about your abilities, eh?”

I shrugged. “Where should I start?”

“How about with your world, hmm?”

“Yeah. Will do.” When he motioned for me to continue, I did so. I gave him a rundown on the key differences between our worlds, like monsters, gods, the ages of our universes, the technology in my world, and, of course, the general concept of psychics.

After I explained, he said, “Yeah, sounds about right.”

“That’s it?” I asked.

“Our world has been plagued by monsters for billions of years. Every time the gods purge the world, they come back. I don’t understand the underlying mechanisms of the god’s worlds much better than you do, but I gather that your world is simply a lucky one.”

“Ever considered your gods might’ve made the monsters themselves?” I asked, curious.

He shrugged. “I have. There’s no evidence either way, unfortunately.” [Blue always denies it, but hasn’t given me any proof, unfortunately. Not that knowing the truth would even be helpful...]

It still seemed strange how causally the people discussed the gods. It was less of a parasocial relationship and more of a fact of life, unlike in my world. His mention of ‘Blue’, though, was quite suspicious. He’d talked to Blue so personally? He wore blue robes, so it made some sense.

“I guess it doesn’t really matter, then?” I said.

“Nope, not at all,” he responded. “Even if the gods hated us, we couldn’t do much about it.”

“Ok...”

He shrugged. “With all of that in mind, you’re now The Basion’s strongest fighter,” [Besides me, possibly.] “That means that, so long as you’re willing, I’ll use you as a weapon as best I can.”

“I love being seen as a tool,” I said sarcastically. Well...maybe that wasn’t so wrong.

He fiddled with a small metal star-shaped nick-nack, flicking it dexterously between his hand’s fingers. “Good to know. Considering that the war has been at a relative standstill for a few months, and the Monster King is now at his full potential, humanity is probably about to face the greatest calamity yet. Your help will be vital to our survival.”

“Wouldn’t it be best if the two of us simply confronted the king together? Just kill him before he could, you know, do his thing?”

He looked at me with a challenging expression. “You were lucky the Monster King was alone when you encountered him. Sorry to break it to you, but it isn’t so easy to get him in that position. Perhaps, side by side, we stand a chance, but if he has substantial allies, that changes.

“Allies like the Monster Lords?” I asked.

“Yes, like the Monster Lords. Did you read the book?”

I nodded.

“Was it good?”

“Needed more polish.”

“I tried my best,” he said, shrugging. [An yet, unfortunately, there isn’t enough paper to print more. I guess it’s a project best left alone.]

I stood in silence for a minute, thinking about what to say next. “C-could i go back?”

“Excuse me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. [I already told her we can’t-]

“Could I go back to find The Marionettes?”

“The who?”

“The people that lived in the mountain you found me near. He cast a spell called Mudscape, and the ruins turned to mud. I...I think people could’ve died...”

“Well, you ‘could’ if you were ready to go back into enemy territory in a place where the Monster King recently stopped by.”

“I can do that.”

“And what would you gain?”

“...” I really didn’t have much to gain, as much as I hated to admit it. If any of the people I’d met died to the spell, I couldn’t save them. Even if people ran, I’d need to track them down. Plus, Azad was probably smart enough to monitor the area for a while after my escape. I rubbed my arm nervously. “Sorry, I guess that was a dumb idea.”

“Not a problem. It’s good to see you’ve got a heart, but we don’t have the resources to make bold moves right now. It’s humanity versus evil, and we’re losing.” [Though, maybe with her, we stand a better chance...]

I thought about what I should do...

Well, I could choose to stay in The Bastion, but...deep down, I knew that would be running. People needed me, and I couldn’t fill my mind with diversions. I had to put my life on the line and fight like I meant it!

It was a bit exciting, now.

“I want to fight,” I said.

He sent me a confused expression. “Were you not going to?” he asked, sliding off his desk with a concerned expression.

“I was thinking about being lazy about it, to be honest.”

[What’s that supposed to mean?] “And you chose not to be? Because?”

I averted my eyes, unused to being so assertive about stuff like this. “People need me.”

He smiled, raising an eyebrow like he found me amusing. “Well, let’s see you fight, then, sis.”