Yuw tossed and turned as the nightmare played on repeat during her slumber. The whistling of the bombs as they fell, the heat of the fires, and the deafening explosions that rang once more in her ears. She saw Wyse helping the civilians and being reckless as she was. It brought the feeling of resentment in her mind.

The events of that day echoed in her dreams. Yuw gripped her sheets as the scene continued to play on. ‘You know everything, don’t you?’ The giant thought as her eyes followed the woman’s motion. ‘Getting cocky just because you get to spend so much time with Ryahno, huh? Go ahead, go get knocked down again. See what happens.’ The statement swirled in thought, making her question if it was really the same dream.

The restless endeavor continued as the dream went on. The civilians rushing for safety, the two of them searching for others, and picking each other up from the rumbling of the explosions. The feeling lingered in the back of her mind that something was different. It wasn’t until Wyse was caught in another explosion did the dream shift to something more sinister. The giant attempted to resist the actions that befell the aftermath of the last explosion.

She approached the fallen soldier as they struggled to get up. Anger swelled within Yuw, and she met Wyse with a heavy boot to the smaller woman’s back to keep them down. “You took her away from me!” Frustration filled her voice with each word. 

Wyse struggled and gasped for breath underneath the weight from Yuw. Keeping the same pressure, the giant knelt to grasp the woman’s head, and with one swift motion ended their life with the faint snapping sound.

The thought of anger and resentment was washed away, replaced with fear and the repercussions of what just happened. Finally, panic set in. Yuw let the lifeless soldier go, stepped away, and stared at the palm of her hands. “N-no… I-I didn’t want this to happen.” Letting panic lead her actions, she took the initiative, gathering the rubble and covered the mistake she made. ‘An accident, this isn’t my fault. The bomb exploded and she was caught within the blast’.  She had thought, the settling lie becoming truth within her head.

Waking up in cold sweat, her breath shallow, as if a boulder laid on her chest. Yuw couldn’t shake the panic feeling of what had happened in the dream. The anxious giant gazed at her hands with the unnerved feeling of Wyse’s life slipping through her fingers. 

“Traitor!” A voice cried out. Yuw had looked around, startled by the sudden outburst while still trying to calm herself. She hadn’t heard the whispers since her talk with Autumn, but now they were back, resonating with anger. 

“This is betrayal!” The same voice cried out again from the opposite end of her room. She tried to cover her ears, but their words still crept through. They rushed at her from both sides, booming in her ears on repeat with fury. Yuw couldn’t do anything to block it out. 

She bolted from the bed and tried to walk away but the noise followed her throughout the apartment. They persisted, and eventually the giant collapsed to the floor, curling herself into a ball with her ears covered. “This is just another dream.” Yuw began to say out loud to herself, attempting to compose her nerves. “The voice isn’t real. I didn’t do anything wrong!” Tears began to fall, and the whispers overwhelmed her thoughts. “I-I’m sorry, Wyse…” 

She spent the rest of the night restless, wanting to perceive the voice as nothing more than white noise, trying to force herself back into slumber. Eventually drifting herself to sleep, but unlike the last time she found no escape. The angry rambles were still clear as day. 

Yuw only started noticing that she wasn’t on her bed anymore when she heard the sound of splashing footsteps and the chattering of people that surrounded her. She felt the wetness on her clothes and skin. Whether or not she was actually in the Realm or just in her imagination was the question. The gibberish whispers were still aggressive with their hissing; With doubts of her true whereabouts, she didn’t feel comfortable in opening her eyes.

“Are you okay? You have been laying there for a while…” A soft voice cut through it all, shocking Yuw’s eyes open, sharply gasping as she did. Above her was a black-haired woman wearing a red sweater with a light gray overshirt, but what startled the giant was the piercing pink eyes staring right at her. 

In a burst of panic and confusion, Yuw pushed herself back and away from the person. It was one thing to see them from afar, but to have them this up-close was terrifying.

Her brain started to piece things together, ’this lady is one of the people that I locked eyes with when I first got here’. It all made the giant wonder if they were the reason she can’t get into the Library, if the bad luck since coming here is all from her. 

“I-I’m sorry to startle you.” The woman stepped back while staring at the ground, unsure of what to do. “Y-You were laying there for some time… We just wanted to make sure if you needed medical attention or not.” Her voice was still very soft. 

Stricken with fear, Yuw scrambled onto her feet and made a run for it, getting as far away as she could from the lady. Her knees felt weak and couldn’t walk straight. While crossing the bridge, the giant’s mind was still trying to make sense of all this. 

‘What if those pink eyes are not a sign of bad luck, but of what’s to come…’ She asked herself, ‘What if this was all my own doing and I needed to come clean, especially on holy ground?’

With that possibility in mind, she made her way through the crowds of people to reach the Library, approaching Miao in a full sprint. The lone guard was startled, and readied her defensive stance. 

The giant leaned against the wall, out of breath, her voice still shaking in fear. “I need… to confess.” Yuw spoke. The words made Miao raise an eyebrow in curiosity. “I’ve done something horribly wrong.” As she spoke, the guard lowered her defense, willing to listen.

“I… killed someone in my past and it’s coming back to haunt me. I hid the truth from someone I care about, I lied to myself and now everything’s falling apar-'' Tears had started to roll down the giant’s cheeks, her emotions condensing into regret. She tried to wipe away the fallen streaks, but they just kept coming. “I keep having nightmares, I keep hearing voices, I have sleepless nights.” She was sobbing like a child, trying her best to speak and catch her breath at the same time. “I regret what I’ve done! I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” 

The guard’s eyes never left the giant as she listened to the confession. Quietly taking in every word Yuw said, feeling the emotions that was being expressed. “You may enter.” Miao spoke as soon as Yuw finished speaking. 

“Wha-” Yuw’s eyes widen, in shock of the reply and why this of all things was the answer to entering. But then again, perhaps it made sense. Lies, even ones told to oneself, aren't permitted in a place like this. “Why? What’s changed?” She still had to ask, even with a shaky voice. The giant was still trying to hold back her crying, which was giving her a headache. She wiped her tears and tried to calm herself enough to speak properly. 

“You’ve made the first step to change.” The guard said, matter of factly, wearing a slight smile on her face. She took a step to the side, and the gates of the Library opened up by themselves. Yuw’s eyes took some time to adjust, and slowly the dim surroundings brightened up. When she could view things again, she saw a waiting area that stretched itself from wall to wall. On the opposite side from where Yuw would enter stood another large door that seemed to go deeper into the building. 

In the corridor was a scholar already waiting for her, a woman with short blonde hair, tanned skin, and wearing a suit. She stood there, waiting for Yuw to approach. 

The giant was about to take her first step into the Library, but stopped herself dead in her tracks. “This isn’t right…” Yuw said as she took a step back, turning towards Miao. “I just confessed to something evil… And now I am getting rewarded for it? S-Shouldn’t I be punished? Arrested? Taken to jail?” She asked, scared and unsure of what was to happen to her. “T-This isn’t right…” The tall woman repeated, backing away from the entrance.

Miao, on the other hand, simply watched the taller woman trying to define what this moment should mean. There was no interference, only observance.

Yuw didn’t know what to say or do, just that she didn’t deserve this prize she waited so long to claim. In a quick motion, she ran. She didn’t know where, or what she would do, only wanting to get away from this place. Quickening her footsteps, she raced towards the fountain, with the haunting voice following, hissing and incoherently mumbling hatred towards the giant.