Soul Chains

Chapter 50: The Labyrinth of Your Desires

"Where are the others?" I ask as I pull out of Reine's hug, wondering where Ayette and Nathan are.

"They still need to come out of their mirrors," Mikasa says as she nods towards the tree, "Medea's garden traps its victims in mirrors where they're forced to face their reflections. If they don't come out on top, well..."

"Then they turn to stone," Tien finishes, "she forces them to see things about themselves that they don't want to, all of their selfishness or any thoughts they may have had. The garden twists prior experiences and thoughts into something convoluted, far from reality."

"Speaking of which," I raise a brow and look at Tien, "could you explain to me what you meant when you said you died? Reine and Mikasa seemed to understand, but I certainly don't."

"I...uh," Tien rubs the back of his neck awkwardly and averts his gaze, "I'm not exactly who you think I am."

"Go on..." I nod.

"You see, I'm still me, but I used to be somebody else," Tien starts, his eyes cautious and guarded, "in fact, ironically enough, I've devoted my entire life to trying to hunt down the one person who I used to hold dearly to my heart in my former life."

"I don't understand," I furrow my eyebrows.

"I used to live in a little village in winter," Tien smiles fondly, but sadness swirls in his eyes, "It was always somewhat dreary there and I made friends with a lonely girl who reminded me so much of the embodiment of winter itself. Turns out, she is. The people there were quite judgemental though. I never understood why. One day, I was dragged away, condemned for a crime I didn't commit, and thrown down a well to freeze to death. And that's exactly what I did. I died of hypothermia. And to rub salt in the wound, the crime I was falsely accused of was the murder of her mother, and it wasn't even her that accused me. It was the townspeople. I was seen as an easy scapegoat, so that's what they used me as. Somehow, my spirit was reborn and I became a completely different person, but I still had my memories."

"You mean...you were Coralyinn's best friend?" I raise my eyebrows in surprise.

"That'd be me," Tien laughs dryly.

"Damn, that's depressing," Nathan sighs from behind us as he stands in front of his mirror, having recently just got out, "and I thought that what I just went through was depressing enough already."

"Sion knows this, doesn't she?" I ask.

"Not exactly," Tien clears his throat and looks to the side, "Sion is quite...well..she's something. As much as I love my twin sister, I could never tell her. She wouldn't understand. All she wants is to destroy Coralyinn, but I want to save her."

"What happened to you?" Mikasa asks as she looks over worriedly at Nathan.

"It's..." Nathan runs a bloodied hand through his hair and smiles wearily, "it's nothing. It's over now anyway."

"You really should tell her, you know," Reine says and looks at Tien.

"Yeah..." Tien breathes out, "someday..."

"Dude," Nathan says as he walks up next to me and glances me over, "you look worse than I do. Are you gonna be alright?"

"Yeah," I wave a hand, "I'm fine. Besides, looking worse doesn't actually mean you are worse."

Nathan becomes silent at the implication behind my words, knowing I'm hinting that he should tell me if he's mentally unstable, but I also know that he won't admit it.

"You really should be treated..." Mikasa says wearily, her blue eyes full of worry as she looks at me.

"We really can't do much in this garden though, I'm afraid," Tien sighs, "we'll have to wait until we're back at the camp."