"Are you sure you are going to be alright "that question knocked Ash out of his deep thoughts, he wasn't expecting that question from the person who Asking was, his aunt rarely shows any concerns for him, so such a question was meant to catch him off guard.
He gave her a weird look before turning his attention outside which seemed to be an open field that there were passing through , what he is sure that used to be a green open field now turned to a gray landscape filled with nothing but ash with nothing surviving in it , words even have it that nothing can grow in that field " well my life can get any much worse I don't really care" he replied with a Calm sigh.
"That place isn't going to be any forgiving …... you are going to break before you know it "she said this time his tone carried worries and a hint of anger which was something that Ash couldn't really understand or better still didn't even bother to since he didn't care.
He was being sent to a place that is worse than a jail, where many wouldn't want to even think about, where most criminals were sent to when their crimes were worse than they could be put in any cell or were too stubborn or uncontrollable they would be sent to a place known as the bastion.
The name sounded fancy until he got to know many this about it and the dangers that lurked inside of it, which was rather in a sad way, a briefing before he was sent on the road.
"it's not like I have a choice …... I'm sure it will be very much fun what people know it for "Ash gave that reply with a nonchalant shrug like he wasn't afraid on the inside but keeping a straight face which was something he was good at doing, hiding whatever was going on and putting on a smile like nothing was happening.
She gave him a look that showed that she was tired, she has been trying very hard to dissuade him but there was nothing for him she was doing that was getting to him, "you were giving the option to just hand over the papers, why didn't you ?" she asked this time already close to giving, if there was anything she knows that he is as hardheaded as he could be and a total menace like his mother.
Hearing this made Ash pause the song which he was humming turning to look at her with his head tilted slightly like he was trying to read her intention meeting her gaze with what look like the most confused human on planet earth "I thought you knew me a little …. If there is anything you should know that it would be over my dead body before that will happen "Ash gave the most honest reply, he knew what he had to go through with many nights without proper sleep before he was able to create what he was being framed with.
He would rather die than hand over his hard-earned effort to a child who doesn't know it's worth, just thinking about it made his mood to become even worse "and where did this stubbornness put you …... a thirteen year old that is living in the bastion a good news to go around " she said already tired one could even see the visible strained veins on her head "it's not that bad at least the news won't go around only within the walls of the bastion" ash said knowing that the news of his sentence would only be whispered in quiet places and not to the public .
He had many reasons why he couldn't hand it over to them , one of them being that it was a knowledge that didn't belong to this world , he didn't belong to this world in the first place , one minute he was working the next minute everything was black and white then he was young again but this time In another world and in another body but with similar name and life but with magic in the mix .
At a young age he had been learning how to use magic very similarly to how he used and managed technology which had him learn a lot until they found something that he wasn't supposed to and now his whole family wanted it and not minding the dangers that accompanied it , planning to use it for the betterment of the "star child "since he was basically useless
The carriage remained quiet until they arrived at the place which seemed very terrifying to look at , a very massive wall that stretched distanced that he dint want to even know the length and the sheer size was nothing to laugh at , from afar it dint seem much of anything until there got very much close to it and he could see why people were afraid .
He could only describe it as a place of no return as it was literally written on it , dressed in skulls of monsters that formed a very long line tired with a rope mixed with that of humans which if he wasn't mistaken was that of the people who wanted to escape the environment "well you might be right on this one …. Its closer to Hell than I thought "Ash said in a low tune as he could feel his heart rate increase at an exponential rate.
The bastion was built for two main purposes according to the person who briefed him; one was to act as the first line of defense against what seemed to be the planets worst enemies which is known as Gates which are rifts in space which open up in places with high enough spatial distortion bring with its invaders of other dimensions.
The second was to act as a jail to hold criminals on death parole using them as either assets or dispersible soldiers.