An Asnean Odyssey: Bastien

Nine

- “What an interesting development...Should we interfere?”

- “Oh, my dear Ignis, sometimes you just need to wait and see how things play out.”

Bastien awoke the next morning with Randgris’ arms and legs wrapped around him. He managed to pry himself free and get dressed. He admired Randgris’ naked form for a moment before opening the hatch and leaving her sanctuary. Duke was waiting for him at the table.

“How did we get out of there?” Bastien asked as he approached the table.

“I flew us back,” Duke responded with a sly grin. “One of the perks of vampirism.”

“Like a giant bat...?”

Duke released a heavy sigh. “There you go again with the myths.”

“I saw a bright light before I passed out. What was it?”

“I can’t say,” Duke rubbed his smooth chin. “When I arrived you and Randgris were lying on the ground. It looked like she used all of her strength to heal you.”

“That doesn’t make sense...”

“Nothing ever makes sense,” Duke replied, then rose to his feet. “I can’t go with you on this one, boy.”

“What?”

“I can’t go to the Heart of the Ocean.”

“Why?”

“I don’t think Randgris would take too kindly to my presence right now,” Duke stroked his chin. “I did kind of drink her blood, after all.”

“Okay, I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Bastien reassured Duke. Randgris emerged from the hatch as soon as he finished speaking.

“Exactly. We’ve no need for you.”

“Just play it safe, okay?” Duke seemed oddly serious. He got up and walked to the door. “Promise me that, please.”

“I promise I’ll play it safe.”

“I thought that would put me at ease,” Duke muttered to himself. “But I think it made it worse.”

“I need to report to Leinhardt before we leave,” Randgris stated. Bastien noticed that she was wearing the locket, which appeared to be glowing faintly. “I have to report our little excursion.”

“Okay, I guess I’ll just wait here then.”

“Make sure you have everything you need before I get back.”

“I only have two things,” Bastien put one hand on Sverker and gestured to his ring with the other. Randgris allowed herself to smile before she left. Bastien waited patiently for Randgris to return. She was gone for a lot longer than he was expecting. When she finally did return, she rushed upstairs and returned with some meat.

“You should eat before we go,” Randgris tore into one of the slabs of meat.

“I’m not hungry, thanks,” Bastien replied as he rose to leave. Randgris quickly finished her meal and followed him. “Which way are we headed?”

“North.”

“Is it far?” Bastien asked. The pair had already made their way through the town and were now outside of the city.

“It’ll take most of the day.”

“That’s not too bad, I guess. Have you been there before?”

“Yeah, it’s an old temple that overlooks the ocean. It’s nothing special.”

“Do you think Zanthe will actually be there?”

“Dragons don’t exist,” Randgris sternly stated.

“But what about the Cockroach King? He said he was Shund.”

“I could say I’m Zanthe. Would you believe that?” Randgris argued.

“If he’s not a dragon how do you explain his invulnerability?”

“You saw his cockroach illusions. Who’s to say he wasn’t an illusion himself? Even if not, Duke has pseudo immortality, they could be similar.”

“I have to believe. It’s the best shot I have at getting my memories back.”

Randgris took a deep breath. “I know.”

Although it was sunny when they left, as the day went on dark clouds began to fill the sky. Bastien couldn’t tell what time it was when they arrived. The temple was a lot smaller than he had envisioned. There was a plateau behind the temple that stood on a cliff hundreds of feet above the ocean. It was lined with marble pillars. The temple itself had two marble statues outside the entrance; one of a dragon, the other a woman. It looked as though they were reaching for each other over the seemingly endless expanse of the arching doorway. There were countless symbols that Bastien didn’t understand carved into the sides of the building, some of which seemed recent. The older ones were uniform, but the newer carvings were scattered, almost like a desperate warning scrawled over a sign.

“This is it,” Randgris announced as she approached the temple. The moon would have been visible overhead, if not for the jet-black clouds.

“This isn’t what I expected.”

“Just because you believe in something doesn’t make it real.”

“Can you read the words on the walls?”

“No. They’re probably just praising the sun or some other false god.”

Bastien remained silent as they climbed the ivory steps leading up to the temple. Once inside, they began to examine the ruined temple. The stone benches that once sat devout followers had almost completely crumbled, leaving nothing but rubble. An altar sat upon a small stage, desecrated from years of misuse. Along the walls of the room were collapsed bookshelves with piles of what appeared to be decomposed books. There were statues inside, as well, but these ones were all humans with their eyes bound, each one holding up a different section of the ceiling. Some were holding it with ease, others were struggling. There was a large circular hole in the middle of the roof through which heavy rain began to fall. Distant thunder echoed through the temple.

“It looked a lot smaller from the outside,” Bastien commented, to which Randgris offered no reply. They passed through a doorway at the back of the temple to find another set of stairs that led up to the plateau. The sound of waves crashing violently against the rocks of the cliff mixed with the thunder.

“What do you expect to find here?” Randgris asked as they ascended the stairs. Bastien gazed longingly at the sky. There were two gaps in the clouds that lit up every time lightning flashed in the distance, like ominous glowing eyes.

“Answers.”

They reached the plateau. There was nothing. Bastien stood drenched from the rain with Randgris at his side.

“See? There’s nothing. You’re misguided, Bastien,” Randgris shouted over the storm. Bastien turned to face her. “I see your motives now, and it pains me dearly.”

“What are you talking about?” Bastien asked as he backed away slowly. Randgris’ eyes were glazed and lifeless.

“You’ve been using me from the start. I can’t believe I didn’t see through your lies,” Randgris slammed her fist against her right shoulder. An audible click could be heard as her gauntlet crashed to the ground leaving a small crater where it landed. She slowly unleashed Ludvig from his prison and pointed him towards Bastien. His blade was an eternal void, devouring any light that dared to venture near. Blood splattered the pillars behind her as a pair of radiant wings exploded from within her back, lifting her into the air. “I, Valkyrie Randgris, Head of the Royal Guard, sworn protectors of the Divine King, Leinhardt, shall put an end to your pathetic delusions!”

“Why are you doing this?!” Bastien cried out. Randgris offered no response. She lunged at him through the air with ferocious speed, forcing him to dive out of the way. Ludvig plunged into the marble floor like it was loose dirt. Randgris ripped him out of the ground leaving a small depression, then thrust him into the air. A bolt of lightning struck Ludvig, causing electricity to crawl around his blade. Bastien quickly rose to his feet and stumbled to retrieve Sverker from his sheathe. “Answer me!”

“You are the worst kind of filth,” Randgris finally spoke. She was steadily advancing toward Bastien, the electricity from Ludvig leaping into the raindrops that passed. “I trusted you!”

“I’ve done nothing wrong!” Bastien cried out in response. Randgris lashed out at Bastien, every swing leaving a crackling blue arc that danced between the raindrops in its wake. Bastien weaved in between her strikes until she had backed him against the edge of the plateau. He raised Sverker to block the blow. When Ludvig and Sverker connected, the remaining electricity in Ludvig discharged. Bastien felt his body convulse momentarily as he fell to the floor. Randgris raised Ludvig to crash down on Bastien’s skull. Bastien gathered his energy and threw himself to the side, out of harm’s way. Ludvig slammed against the plateau, sending a small chunk of the cliff plummeting into the waters below. Bastien managed to pick himself up again. Randgris relentlessly unleashed a flurry of attacks, which Bastien promptly blocked now. Every time Bastien blocked an attack, Sverker was sent reeling to the side from the sheer power behind the blows. As the pair danced around the plateau, Bastien finally saw an opportunity for attack. He put all of his might into his attack, but Sverker simply bounced off of Randgris’ armor. Randgris responded with a heavy kick to the chest, which knocked Bastien to the ground. Winded, he struggled to find his breath. Randgris leaped into the air and came crashing down onto Bastien. At the last second, he pulled himself out of the way. Randgris’ landing shattered the surface of the plateau. Bastien used this opportunity to thrust Sverker into the hole created by Randgris’ wings. She cried out in pain and knocked Bastien back with her wing, causing him to crash into a pillar. Bastien stumbled to his feet and ran to Randgris. Gripping Sverker with both hands, he aimed to bring him down on her head.

Bastien froze. Randgris had risen to her feet with Sverker’s blade grasped tightly in her left hand. He felt a sharp, devouring pain in his gut. Bastien looked down to see Ludvig had chewed through his stomach. Randgris let go of Sverker and placed her boot on Bastien’s chest, then yanked Ludvig from his body.

“Do you think your precious dragons are going to save you now?” Randgris raised Ludvig to her face and tasted Bastien’s crimson fear. A maniacal grin spread across her face. “Why are you so scared? This is what you deserve.”

Bastien clutched his gut as he desperately struggled to hold on to Sverker. Bastien could barely speak and coughed, spewing blood onto Randgris. “I don’t understand!”

“You are a threat to my king, you are a threat to my country, and you are a threat to me,” Randgris approached Bastien and began swinging Ludvig wildly. “And now, I will put you out of your misery.”

Bastien’s vision was blurred from tears and rain. He managed to raise Sverker enough to block all of Randgris’ blows, but was slowly edging himself towards the cliff. Eventually he had no more room to retreat. Bastien raised Sverker once more to block Randgris’ attacks. Ludvig cleaved through Sverker, splitting him in two, and then through Bastien’s left arm, severing it completely. Bastien cried out in pain as his blood painted the pillar and spurted onto the floor beside him. He raised his remaining hand to block her next blow, but ended up falling backwards. Ludvig sliced off his thumb and index finger as he tumbled over the edge. Miraculously, Bastien managed to cling to the edge of the cliff with his remaining fingers. The rain and blood that was now pouring onto his face did not assist him in clinging for his life and he could feel himself slipping fast.

“Why Randgris?!” Bastien cried out. His eyes were burning and all of the pain in his body was concentrated in his chest. “Why are you doing this? You were everything to me! I loved you!”

“You’re less than the dirt beneath my feet, Bastien,” Randgris placed her boot over Bastien’s disfigured hand and began to press down, crushing his fingers. He could no longer hold on and fell from the plateau. As his mangled body was thrown against the rocky cliffs into the sea below, Randgris’ final words rang out in his head.

“You’re nothing to me.”