Fortress of Light

The calm of a rainy evening in an unremarkable world in a remote corner of the universe was disturbed by a bright flame that appeared out of nowhere. The damp air was thick with sounds, like the chirping of cicadas, and the slow waves were noiselessly licking the tense moss from the rocks. Everything was frozen in anticipation - the object that appeared suddenly and out of nowhere beckoned, attracted, and at the same time frightened and repelled, like an electrified discharge of ball lightning.