She might as well be skipping down the stairs. A voice not yet within hearing distance muttered.
Saya stopped to look at individual ones, like looking through a museum or library. She wasn’t sure exactly what was going to or supposed to happen, considering the process wasn’t fully explained or even had a set procedure. But Sayaka wasn’t impatient. Her hands folded her skirts under her legs, as she sat in a corner of the room, her knees propped up. Her cold hands were slightly warmed by the heat of her thighs, her hands lifting to spread her hair over her cold naked expanse of her neck. It sure was cold .. There was little else she could do to keep her limited warmth, staring upwards at several more runes. Her hands raised to cover her mouth, warm air seeping through the open web of her fingers.
Was she supposed to pick one? If so, which one?
The misty silence, in which a certain rune was sizing the female and her qualities and capabilities in his head, was one that she remained oblivious to. It was a lax atmosphere, the picture of a male exhaling a breath from a cigarette, his fingers in the gesture of pointing a gun. Instead, in this case, this gun didn’t shoot bullets.
Saya’s body curled to her as close as possible, it wasn’t hard to see her wonders or uncertainty of being here. When silence eclipsed, and answers that seemed like they would never be given, Saya thought of the last fully detailed memory in her mind. It was of a song, he was humming it, on the last motorcycle ride.
A warning to the people, the good and the evil
This is war
To the soldier, the civilian, the martyr, the victim
This is war
A war that had appeared so suddenly, even if it had been waged for centuries. She still couldnt seem to grasp the idea fully, closed in this little room, seeming cut off from the rest of the world.
Or not so cut off--
" 'Scuse me, coming through."
Saya opened her eyes, her body instinctively shifting to the side as the voice called from .. She wasn't sure where it called from. She hadn't heard anyone walking in. A low humming filled the silent chamber, vibrating close to her figure, as if a presence was next to her. No, she mistook it, it wasn't a physical sensation. Her hand reached out only to find air, her common sense trying to convince her that the voice had only been a figment of her imagination.
"You walk in here and sit down, and start singing. What does this place look like to you? Don't give me a stupid answer."
Silence. Saya didn't answer, she simply pulled her body closer. She thought, no matter what answer she gave, it would sound stupid. If it sounded stupid to her ears, it was going to sound stupid to him too. Whoever, this voice was. When it was painfully apparent that Saya wouldn't answer, the voice changed topics.
"You don't look like a believer. If you were, you wouldn't have dared walk in here so half-hearted."
Saya shook her head mutely. She couldn't bring herself to believe, just yet. Not in herself, her inefficient and delicate self, the kind young man who took her in (and had left her) or, least of all, Deus Ex, a mysteriously harsh academy that demanded their lives as payment.
"If you haven't decided to swim, why not just sink?"
Saya considered the question. It would have been such a relief to .. Except, when looking back, she wasn't sure why she had gone so far, taken more steps, if she was simply going to stop here. Why didn't she want to stop? She didn't want to swim but she didn't want to sink, back into those dark helpless depths. Why was she here? Because he told her to go? Because she had nowhere else? Because they thought she had adequate abilities? She didn't remember the choice or if she even made a choice. Or had it been made for her? If she got this far, she must have chosen some part of it on her own. Mulling over these thoughts, she was nearly blown away in surprise when the voice interrupted once more.
"It was your conscious decision either way. I dont care who asked you to choose it or not, if you sunk or swam last time--" A earnest laugh exploded within her mind, a male voice, heightening her confusion, finally locating a glowing rune by her foot that glowed in rhythm with the laughter. She knelt down, the curious glow warming her finger's touch.
"But this time, you're choosing."
It's the moment of truth and the moment to lie
The moment to live and the moment to die
The moment to fight, the moment to fight
"Sear this moment in your memory. My words into your hesitant brain. Listen up, I chose you. You can go into this hellhole of a party with me or without me. I'm not your coddling best friend but I'm not your merciless enemy either. If you can't bring yourself to believe in anything else, believe in me for all it's worth." His personality was so distinct, it nearly created the image of a male with his hand held out towards the female.
"So what do you say?"
Saya finally spoke, her fingers running along the strange runic symbol.
"You'll stay?"
"Until death do us apart."
"Everyone left." She whispered, memories floating through her mind.
"If you don't trust me, I'll just make you trust me. No matter how long it takes. I won't shatter your world-- Not unless you shatter it yourself."
It was a nice thought. For him to be her one and only. Just like the man who cared for her .. except, Saya hadn't been his. She had wanted to be, not romantically, but she couldn't have lived without him. But she had and would, she found out harshly. She still missed her old life horribly. But to continue that regret..
"Will I be your one and only?" Saya couldn't believe the selfish question she asked-- but she wouldn't have taken it back for the world.
"Is that your condition?"
".. I suppose it could be."
The gunbow materialized in her hands, a cool watery mist washing over her being. She was surprised at how large it was but how easy it was to hold. She pulled a bow string back curiously, a whisper brushing against her mind, another consciousness materializing deeply within her own.
"You'd better bring your A-game with you."
Prompto.