A couple days passed. The discerning citizen throughout Bastion slowly but surely picked up on a story. At first, it was a one sided trickle of information. Something about a wild Warden that should be hit with legal restrictions for her brutality. It was small, not reaching further than a few hundred thousand people at first. Even that was thanks to how much Tzon spent to get the story out.

  Then SeluNet’s Bastion Today, a leading news outlet, published a story about it. Really, it started from a bored pencil-pusher who saw a Warden named Moon and thought, hey, that fit SeluNet’s icon. He liked symmetry, and purely based on her name, he sent the email up. From there it kept climbing up and up through the ranks.

  It was finally published by a woman who’d just had her heartbroken by her deadbeat boyfriend. Err—ex-boyfriend. The valiance and sheer knightly aura depicted in the videos nearly made the woman swoon on the spot. Almost by complete ‘luck’, Moon gained a die-hard fan in a very high position.

  [Warden Moon, Bastion’s White Knight?]

  With it on Bastion Today, more and more reporters jumped on the bandwagon to put out their take. Without using any connections or paying anyone off, which was commonplace these days, the story spread like a wild fire. The sheer availability of video and information pushed out by Cernobog Industries acted like the perfect kindling.

  There were those who still insisted the duel was a textbook case of Warden brutality, of course. They were the minority though. Far more were interested in the ‘modern knight’ side of the story. On the side of the story that justified her actions as protecting her boss from the malice of Temoc and Tzon.

  There were also some more… questionable articles mixed in there. It was simply the cost of being on the Grid.

  [Not All Knights Wear Shining Armor!]

  [Why I’d Let Moon Step On Me.]

  [How Warden Moon Stole Your Girl.]

  [Beautiful Eyes And The Stories They Hold]

  [Would You Let That Stand?]

  [White Knighting And Why She Still Hates You.]

  [Aura: What You Lack]

  [How Moon Stole My Heart And Wallet.]

  [Warden Moon’s Guide to Badass Poses]

  Quite simply, it exploded. More and more people dug into Moon, Temoc, and Tzon. Temoc was vilified by each and every new article. With so many eyes on the story, it was eventually dug up that an ex-executive of Cernobog set Tzon Enterprises up to the duel. The Grid exploded with conspiracy theories and mockery.

  Said executive was then found dead in an alley. A young enterprising PI linked the crime to several other murders thought to have been committed by Tzon Enterprises. The corporation went under even more hot water than they already were after their crushing defeat, especially since they no longer had a contract with Throne. The Enforcers and Overseers didn’t hold back.

  Lucia’s insight, with the assistance of Eyes of Providence, turned Moon into a sensation almost overnight. The distinctive way she carried herself and the tale of knighthood pushed by the media netted her fans by the thousands. Millions more were at least introduced to her. In the modern world, full of fakes and despair, the tale of a noble knight was incredibly intoxicating.

  She was still a small-time Warden, only officially recognized as an F-rank by Throne, but if the ball could keep rolling? If they could capitalize on the sudden burst of popularity? Well, it was a good thing a certain CEO with an eye for things carefully watched everything play out. She sat back, a smug smile on her face, and went back to scheming.

  As for Moon herself? Completely unaware about what went on around her, she-

  — — —

  I watched Glitch Scouts in the big meeting room while I waited for Lucia to finish up her CEO work. It’d been a while since we hung out, and I figured she could use the break, if nothing else. After this, more rifts. I already had one setup in a couple hours.

  “With the power of friendship, evil stands no chance!” A group of kids gathered around a shadow monster and got some kind of mid-fight power up. If only things were that easy… but it was part of Glitch Scout’s charm. Everything always worked out in the end.

  I sipped at my coffee, pausing my show when the door clicked open. Lucia’s secretary, whose name I didn’t quite remember, peeked her head into the room. “S-sorry. I know you’re probably really busy… can I get you anything?”

  ”…” I eyed the fresh pot of coffee in front of me and shook my head. This was the third time she’d come to check up on me in the last hour…

  ”R-right! Just l-let me know if you need anything!” The secretary fanned her face and backed out of the door, closing it behind her.

  I hit play on the TV. Contrary to appearances, I really was working on something. Specifically, stealing a Skill from Temoc. I’d been stuck in indecision about the whole thing.

  [Code: WD-1-7-7]

  [Time: 04:49:03]

  [{Temoc}

  Skills: [Bone Barrage], [To me!], [Whirlwind], [Turtle Shell], [Bone Burrow], [Mictal Fog], [Handsome Face]]

  That last one was… interesting. He should get a refund. It definitely wasn't helping him in the slightest. Especially after I caved in half his skull.

  I was given three days back when I first defeated him. I just wasn’t sure what I wanted to pick from the list. Nothing seemed particularly interesting to me. Out of the set, To Me! and Mictal Fog were probably the best.

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  Turtle Shell could be nice for a defensive option, maybe. The rest were… well, they’d still probably be better than a couple of my Skills. Not by much though. They’d be scrap Skills when I got something even remotely better. Shouldn’t be long with any luck.

  The bone stuff just wasn’t all that useful. It was good for him since he had the Ossuary Trait to use with it, but for me? They didn’t do enough damage, and the nature of the Skills would make them harder to buff with Etheric Reinforcement and Ebonshroud.

  Whirlwind and Handsome Face weren’t really options. Unless… no, what were the chances I’d become famous enough to need something like Handsome Face? Besides, I was better off getting all seven combat skills. At the end of the day, I was a combatant. Getting that confused wouldn’t do me any favors.

  Hmm… I picked Mictal Fog, dropping Ether Shot for it. I didn’t really use guns, so it was a useless Skill for me. Mictal Fog definitely seemed interesting when he used it against me. To Me! was a summon Skill. I was never much of a summoner. I probably wouldn’t get much use out of it before throwing it into the blender for something else, but it might be cool to use once or twice.

  [Aylin Io

  Titles: Nyx, Moon

  Innate Trait: [Dream Stride], [Adaptive Ebonshroud], [All-Speech]

  Skills: [Etheric Reinforcement-9], [Brace-3], [Guard], [Flame Spear-2], [Harvest]. [Mictal Fog], [Ether Physique-2]

  Boon: Nighteye - [Guiding Moonlight]

  Bound: [Will Wire], [Thorn’s Defiance]]

  Things were looking good. It’d look even better once I started clearing some more rifts. Etheric Reinforcement was so very close to its first evolution. Once I hit that, it’d be a big boost. Etheric Reinforcement worked on practically everything I used on a day to day basis, so my entire kit would improve.

  Interestingly, Nyx and Moon were both added under a title tab. That hadn’t been there before. Was it based off my reputation? Or simply a whim of the OS?

  After a second’s hesitation, I activated Mictal Fog in the meeting room. White fog billowed up out of me, filling the entire meeting room. Ether pulsed throughout it, draining the room of warmth.

  [Mictal Fog - Suck the life out of your foes.]

  I took a breath, stirring the thick fog. Would it work on constructs and undead too? How did that work? Would it just be a sight blocking Skill?

  The door opened up- “Aylin! Shut this off!”

  “Sorry.” I deactivated Mictal Fog. It slowly dissipated, revealing the frowning face of Lucia on the far side of the room. “Done?”

  ”Yeah- for now… what did you want to talk about?” Lucia rubbed at her face. Her golden hair hung limply like she hadn’t been sleeping.

  I stood up, hitting pause on Glitch Scouts. “Come with.”

  ”Where?” Lucia shifted from foot to foot.

  ”Out. For break.” She’d been working almost non-stop since taking the corporation back over. It reminded me of Elysia, actually. Once she got started on something, it took all my efforts to drag her out for a break.

  “I don’t know… I have a lot-“

  I shook my head. “Be here. When return.”

  ”I guess.” She rubbed at her elbow. Eventually her head dipped and a sigh came from her. “Fine… what are we doing?”

  Something we used to do in Serhymn all the time with those close to us. It’d probably been… what, a couple hundred years since I did it last? After everyone died or otherwise vanished, there was just no point. ”Kite.”

  Her brows furrowed. “What’s a kite?”

  “…?” I stared at her in shock. They had so much in this city, but not kites? That was… insane. Kites were super important in Serhymn, so I never even imagined they didn’t exist here.

  [Nighteye shakes her head. She also didn’t know what a kite was either.]

  Then the both of you were in luck. I opened the door to the meeting room, leading us back toward the first floor. The walls would make a perfect place to fly one.

  — — —

  I led Lucia up the back way onto the abandoned wall of Bastion. There were a few people out and about up here, but almost everyone that knew about this place also knew better about approaching each other. Almost.

  A group of teenagers ran up to us when we got up on the wall. One of them looked like he might faint at any moment. “Are you Moon!?”

  ”…” I nodded my head. How did he recognize me?

  ”You’re, like, my role model. Can I have an autograph?” One of the kids asked. She wiped out a pen and paper, holding them out to me.

  ”…!” Autograph—that was a totally famous person thing in Bastion, wasn’t it? Back in my day, people challenged me to duels since I was famous. This was… maybe not better since I liked fighting, but also not nearly as big of a time waster.

  I carefully wrote out Moon on the piece of paper. Lucia leaned over my shoulder. “Remind me to get you autographing lessons too.”

  ”…?” It looked fine to me? What was wrong with my signature?

  [Nighteye shakes her head. Just a bit simplistic, kitten.]

  Hmm… I drew a crescent moon underneath the oo of Moon. That was better yep? I didn’t really know all that much about making a signature not basic, to be honest. Never had to practice much.

  I signed the rest of the various stuff they handed me. They chattered almost constantly, asking me various questions. Thankfully, Lucia handled most of it. And then they were off, letting us move on to what we originally came up here for.

  We took a seat at my usual spot, and I dredged up white Ebonshroud to create a rather simple kite. I tied the Will Wire around it, and then tossed the kite up into the wind. It caught, fluttering out over the side of the wall. Tassels dangling off of it flapped and fluttered in the wind.

  Up here, the wind was almost constant. I didn’t have to worry about it nosediving or having to run along to keep it afloat. Watching it play up in the wind brought back memories.

  ”Is that it?” Lucia watched the Ebonshroud kite floating gently in the sky.

  “…!” I carefully created a handle for the string and handed it over to Lucia. Historically, it was a sign of immense trust, usually only shared between close friends, to hand over a kite.

  ”Oh!” She carefully took hold of the handle. I held onto her gently, worried that the pull of the wind might take her off guard. After a few moments, she got the hang of it.

  Watching her relax and just fly a kite sent surges of calm through me. The antsy feeling that’d started to build up in me thanks to pushing off my next dose of Dew faded away like a distant storm.

  It was a bit sad only seeing one kite in the entirety of the city. Back in Lyrikt, the capital city of Serhymn, kites used to fly through the skies by the hundreds. Establishments would sometimes have several of them dangling from their spires. There were all sorts of designs too, from mystical beasts to just plain and simple diamonds like the one I just made.

  And the duels! I was never great at them, but kite dueling was always such a joy to watch… Silence stilled the wind though. Not even a stray breeze blew through Lyrikt in the end of days. The colorful kites that’d been so prevalent went entirely still, just as most in Serhymn did.

  My mind slowly drifted. Was this really alright? To be here, next to her? After all I’ve done and all I’ve seen. Was a second chance really something I deserved? I stuffed my trembling fists into my pocket to hide them. I still felt her blood, all these years-

  “Aylin!” Lucia grinned brightly, twirling the strings of the kite. It swirled and dipped in the air, doing a small trick. “Did you see that?!”

  I took a breath. ”Yep.”

  A few moments of silence passed. We just enjoyed being up on the walls. Lucia shifted next to me, making the kite do another trick. “Is this… from back home? Where were you from again?”

  I stared up at the kite for a moment. It always seemed so very free up there. No worries, just living in the moment, letting the wind blow it wherever it may. How very enviable.

  I laid back on the wall, watching the kite make lazy circles above us. “Um… Serhymn.”

  She followed after me, stretching up her arms to twirl the string. “Did you have anything else you did for fun back home?”

  “Fight?” The arenas and duels were always fun, I guess. I didn't really have a lot of time to do stuff by myself though. I was always running from one place to another as befitting my knightly duty.

  ”No… like, watch TV or something?” She passed me the handle of the kite, entrusting me once more.

  I took hold of it, feeling the wind pull at my arms. I held it, carefully protecting the kite from being taken by the wind. “Sing.”

  She propped herself up on her elbows and stared at me. Her golden hair spilled around her, catching the ambient neon. He eyes widened in surprise. ”You—you used to sing?”

  “…” I pulled in the kite slightly, Will Wire making the process so much easier. That was a lifetime ago. Several, even, depending on the species. I lost my voice… was it really three hundred years since then?

  Lucia chuckled and dropped back onto the wall with her hands behind her head. “I hope your voice recovers. You have so many stories to tell, Aylin.”

  “…” Most better left buried.

  We sat up on the wall and played around with the kite for over an hour. It was nice to just lay back and relax for so long. And it got Lucia to take a break. Eventually though, like all good things, it had to come to an end. Lucia had to go back to work, and I had a rift raid coming up soon.