After the rude awakening, the first thing that caught Yuw’s attention were the whispers in her head. They had gotten louder and sharper than ever before. And yet, despite their volume, she still couldn’t make out what was being yelled at her. Only the tone was recognizable as scolding and belittling. The giant was frightened, unsure how or why they were back. ‘Did my actions cause this? I might’ve made a grave mistake, offending someone on sacred land. Is this punishment for it, then? The guard must’ve put a spell on me.’ Her thoughts felt heavy, scared of the repercussions of what she did.

Panicking, she instinctively reached for her phone by the bedside and searched for Autumn in her contacts. Noting the time, it was 5:03 am in the morning. Yuw hoped that the friend was already up and doing her morning exercise routine. A part of her felt bad to disturb the woman so much, but she was desperate. 

“Autumn,” words were forced out as soon as she heard the woman pick up the call. The giant’s eyes began to water with tears as she spoke, frightened by the whole situation. “Can you come over? Please? Everything is so loud. I-... I need you.”

“Stay where you are.” The friend’s voice spoke sincerely to comfort Yuw. “I am on my way.” And with that, the call was dropped. Yuw wished she hadn’t, she was scared of what may happen next, and just didn’t want to be alone. 

Minutes seemed like hours, and for Yuw, that short span of time felt like hell. She could feel the pressure that was increasing inside her skull, worsening the already existing headache. Any little sound in her room felt like a boom in her ears. Even the sound of the door clicking open as Autumn entered was unbearable.

“Yuw, is everything oka-” The woman hastily stepped in, only to be stopped at the sight of her friend on the floor.

“No. No, nothing is okay!” The giant said on the ground as she covered her ears and face. “The voices are tormenting my mind, they are driving me insane! Please help! Get rid of it, please!” Yuw pleaded, on the verge of madness.

The brown haired woman had knelt down to comfort her friend, reaching a hand out towards her. Once again, she checked around the room for an entity, but didn’t see anything. Instead, she noticed how the energy within Yuw were like spikes keeping her from getting closer, chaotically tumbling and turning, swirling around the giant’s body.

“Hey…” Autumn called, in an attempt to get the energy’s attention. “Hey, hey.” She called once again. The voice within Yuw started to become restless. “Enough.” The woman raised her voice, in a commanding tone, then suddenly everything came to a screeching halt. Silence. No voices. It was all quiet.

“You… stopped it?” the larger woman looked up, surprised by the outcome. “Was it some ghost or something?” 

“No, I only calmed your energy.” Autumn shook her head, “Yuw, is there something bothering you? Do you want to talk about it?” She asked to comfort the panicking giant, sitting down on the floor next to her.

“I… um…” The larger woman pondered on where she should even begin. A lot has happened within one night. What started off as simple meditation, turned into a trip to some new place with floating islands, and then the Library. With so many sights there, the giant pondered at the thought, thinking of a way to tell Autumn without sounding crazy. “Well, I guess I’ve become better at meditation…” Yuw said as she sat up against her bed. “Have you… ever felt like you’ve ended up in another place when you meditate?”

“Sometimes. It’s all about focus and where I dedicate it to.” Autumn replied, caution and worry were still present in her tone. Yuw knew her friend was skillful in the art of meditation, but never knew to what extent. For the giant, it was something she didn’t think was possible. These tales of traveling by mind and visiting other worlds were merely bedside fairytales to her.

“I see.”  Yuw chuckled awkwardly, remembering she’s talking to someone who has probably already mastered it. “So have you been to the Library before? The one that the Guild owns.” Yuw mumbled the questions.

“Oh! You’ve been to the Library in the Realms?” Autumn exclaimed seemingly perked up from her worry. “It’s such a beautiful place! Even if you’re not there to seek knowledge. Just being surrounded by the plum trees is enough to make you feel calm and still. Sometimes, the answers just come to you.” She kept going, slightly rambling. It was clear she was ecstatic that the topic came up. Yuw found herself smiling, and felt better as she heard her friend’s excitement.

“Well, I haven’t been inside just yet.” she said, not wanting to admit to Autumn that she was denied entry. “But it’s nice, yeah… That uh… That one library guard sure is tall, huh? And that’s coming from me!” Yuw laughed in an attempt to keep her friend smiling. 

“Nio-er is doing a wonderful job, isn’t he?” Autumn purred with happiness. “He has improved on directing the visitors. He doesn’t even need to speak a word to do it now.” She then inched closer to lean against the bed, finding herself being able to relax, now that Yuw had calmed down. “And the backdoor guardian? She’s still training, but she’s trying her best. You can tell.” 

Yuw was able to recall the face of ‘The backdoor guardian’ that Autumn was referring to. Miao. Perhaps that’s why there weren't many people going through that entrance. It was a backdoor, probably for only the staff and special people.

“I’ve met her.” Yuw started to say with her head leaning back onto the mattress. “She's so stiff. No humor at all. And not really good at conversation.” Her smile quickly became resentful, remembering the unpleasant rejection of entry and the forceful exit. It still made her wonder if she went too far.

“Miao wants to make sure she does the job right, that’s all. Ah, such a kitten,” Autumn smiled and chuckled softly. “I heard that this is the first time they’ve hired someone like this. Smaller, less build for combat. I think the owner has something special in mind.”

Yuw looked to her friend, wondering what plans they could have for someone like Miao. She didn’t look fit or trained to do security work, that’s for sure. Miao reminded Yuw of an introvert who doesn't like to be face to face with strangers, the kind that likes to hide behind the office table and be left alone to do tasks in solitude. 

“Well, aside from the Library…” Yuw then said, wanting to change the topic from the events of that island. “The place is just breathtaking.” She didn’t get to see much of what Autumn called ‘The Realms’ due to her focus on the pyramid building. Though this talk with her friend made her ponder what more she missed, and in the back of her mind she wondered how much Ryahno explored.

Yuw found it hard to tell Autumn the whole truth, worried that the rejection from the place was some bad omen. She was already afraid of her friend thinking of her as crazy due to the voices. After all, not even she knew what they were.

The giant’s mind wandered off, thinking of ways to tell her friend what had happened without putting herself in a bad light. It was then she had realized that her friend was still carrying the conversation. Only the last few syllables of Autumn speaking caught her attention as she focused her gaze back to her. 

“The Guild provides a safe place for souls and spirits to pass by on their journey.” She said, talking about why the Realms were so beautiful.

“Oh, so all the people I see there are actually dead?” Yuw asked, “Sorry if that is a stupid question. I am new to all of this.” The awkward smile continued as she tried to understand it all.

“No, no, not all. Only some are. Others are just bypassers or travelers, like us. Some have never been alive to begin with. Well, not alive as we know it.” She then glanced over at her friend who seemed more at ease now. “Will you be okay?” Autumn asked, placing her hand on top of Yuw’s.

“It’s fine. It’s over now.” Yuw lifted her head and started to get off the floor. As she went to wash her face, she felt like the talk with Autumn didn’t help. It left too many questions unanswered. The giant was, at least, relieved that the voices had quieted down. “Hopefully it stays that way.” She then splashed some water on her face, wiping away the tear streaks on her cheeks.  “Anyways, I should get to work.” The blue haired woman’s voice was low and quiet, there was no attempt to hide the feelings of helplessness and defeat. “So… take care, I guess.”

“You, too. If there’s anything you need, just call me.” Autumn replied back. The woman then packed her things and headed for the door.

“Yeah.” Yuw said with a cold tone. She had waited a couple of minutes after Autumn left to begin getting ready for her day. Despite the rough morning, she still had work. Her day consisted of watching the students during gym, helping some after class with their homework, and attending the daily meetings.  All the giant could do was push through whatever happened, and only hoped to get more answers when she could. 

After a long day at work, dealing with all the children and their grades, all Yuw could think of was going back to the Realm. She needed to know more, and was certain what she wanted was in the Library. Once she got home from work, the eager giant went straight to meditation and wasted no time. She laid down, and searched for the pulses. She tried to envision the view of the Library, the trees that surrounded it. When she opened her eyes, she was back at the fountain just like before.

It was the second visit to this new place, and this time, Yuw had taken time to look at everything on her way to the pyramid. As she traveled, the path was more lively with people and vendors. Voices were heard throughout, scents of exotic and familiar foods filled her senses, and the same curiosity from her first visit filled the mind again.

There was so much Yuw had wished to try while walking along the path. It was comforting to see a place with so many different types of individuals, with lots of color radiating from the crowd. It pleased her to see such a familiar sight, reminding her of the evenings when the night market across from her house would be held. 

As she walked through, some of those individuals started to stand out from the lot. One of which she had seen in her last visit, the small gopher that went into the Library, they were accompanied by what looked like a large moth, and three women. Two of the women wore long, maroon colored dresses, one with light brown hair wore an open vest with a rolled up long sleeve. The other had dark brown hair, wearing a lighter red jacket showing a floral design on the front. The last woman had long white hair, wearing the same colored wrap garments as shorts and tank-top.  

The group was seemingly getting lectured by the small rodent, as if one of them said something wrong. Some of them hid their smiles, finding the situation cute. 

The giant couldn’t help but smile as she peered over the lot, seeing how far this market stretched she almost forgot why she was here. With the Library in the distance, she continued forward, resisting the temptations for the time being.

While making her way through the sea of people, something caught her attention. She looked and saw a woman with white hair and piercing blue eyes being tossed up by a group of Canikin, similar to those back in Dikuda, a canine race that are native to the island where she is from, and howling as they do so. One of which was much larger than the rest, seemingly doing most of the work of lifting her up. With a drink in the lifted person’s hands, it looked like they were having a good time, and Yuw couldn’t help but widen her smile at the sight of the fun. Their happy energy was, no doubt, spreading to everyone that surrounded them.

Once passed the assemblage, she finally arrived at the building, looking back to watch the sea of souls moving about before continuing forward. Yuw hurried towards the back of the Library, just like before, but this time, she was greeted by another congregation. Yuw immediately started to clear a way towards the center to find the source, only to hear a familiar voice, while arguing with another, explode from the center.

“Let me in!” A man yelled soon after as Yuw’s instincts as a veteran kicked in, and pushed through the crowd to find the source. “You useless animal slave!” The taller woman peered over and saw a man who looked to be a mobster trying to push Miao away from the door.

“You may not enter!” Miao exclaimed, shocking everyone around her, including Yuw. The silence was deafening as the crowd grew too scared to say a word. The guard’s stance and composure was a lot more aggressive, and the giant knew what was to come. The man finally broke the silence, wanting to match her threatening aura.

This person had a dark gray overcoat, and a white shirt underneath. He spoke as if he had power, but his looks made Yuw think otherwise. As they reminded her of some of the wannabe gang members or scammers in her city. She remembers having to educate some of the children to stay away from such people. 

The giant started to push through the crowd, wanting to get to the guard to offer her assistance. A few people resisted and eventually Yuw was shoved back, causing her to fall into the wall, scraping her arm. Before she could confront the person, her attention was drawn back towards the entrance.

“Do you know who I am-” Before he could even finish his sentence, the man was sent flying, shocking Yuw in the process. The movements were too fast for most people, but to the giant she knew every bit of it. In another blink of the eye, a quick kick was delivered into the man’s chest that sent him flying away from the entrance. Instead of falling to the floor, he had warped out of existence. 

While others focused on the poor soul that was just kicked out of the Realms, Yuw focused on Miao’s movements and how familiar they were. The giant had spent many years training under similar martial arts, and though the movements of the small woman were stiff and novice, she could recognize them right away. The potential was there, if given the time and practice, it can become something great.