"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."

"Do you think Ayette's okay?" Reine asks as she glances back at the tree full of mirrors, all red but one lone mirror.

"She'll be fine," I reassure her and she turns to look at me, "Ayette's strong. She'll be able to handle whatever it throws her way."

Just then, Ayette comes out of her mirror smiling triumphantly and looks around at us in surprise.

"You're all here too?" she asks.

"Yeah--" I'm about to explain what's going on, but the tree of mirrors glows and turns into a red portal with a loud rumble, making the ground shake and Ayette stumble.

"What?" Ayette starts as she looks over her shoulder at the portal behind her and stops herself from falling, "what's that thing?"

"It's the portal to Medea," Tien breathes out, "come on."

We hesitantly follow Tien through the portal, arriving at a giant stone staircase that leads up for about half a mile.

"Great," Ayette sighs dreadfully, "just what I needed..."

We ascend the stairway and I throw glances every so often at the others to gauge their expressions, attempting to see if they're feeling the same things I am after having just gone through the tree of mirrors. Walking next to Reine, I silently grab ahold of her hand and thread our fingers together, squeezing her hand gently when she turns to look at me. She smiles and squeezes my hand back as we make our way up the staircase, our weapons in our free hands. Upon reaching the staircase, window blows and whirls around us, loose leaves coming out of the garden with a stone pathway ahead of us. This garden seems much less threatening than the areas before, full of lively plants and floating silver lanterns that glow bright yellow in the nighttime. I kick a few stray pebbles out of the way as I walk down the stone pathway as Mikasa looks around in a mixture of awe and concern.

"Why have you come here?" Medea's voice rings out firmly in the garden, swirling through the air, "since there are six of you who have successfully completed my garden, I will grant you three gifts of whatever you please."

Before us, a tall tanned woman with wavy burgundy hair with a green tint that goes down to her shoulders and bright emerald eyes walks with her arms spread out, wearing a dark green dress with white silk tied around her waist and white silk wound around her arms. She tilts her head to the side and her white headpiece that's made of beads with a diamond hanging in front of her forehead shines in the moonlight.

"Madame Medea," Tien bends down slowly and places his sword on the ground before he crawls down on his knees and holds his hands out in a pleading position, "all I ask of you is the gift of knowledge. Please, tell me how we can stop Coralyinn."

"Silly child," Medea waves her right hand around elegantly, "you already have all you need. You simply cannot see it."

"Then, how...?" Tien furrows his eyebrows and his eyes swim with confusion as he looks up at Medea.

"Do you know why I do what I do?" Medea starts and clasps her hands together as she walks, her white strappy heels that wind around her ankles clicking as she walks, "I am both Retribution and Restitution. I give those who have been robbed a chance to regain what they have lost, or I give them a chance to gain vengeance. I have seen so many fall to their knees who do not deserve to, and so this is why I do what I do. My garden tests any who it deems worthy to enter its gates, and if they succeed and prove to be stronger than their desires and their demons, then I reward them. The world is a cruel place. It takes, and takes, and takes, and takes. I am here to give. However, nothing is ever gained without sacrifice."

Medea stops walking and turns to look at Tien, her emerald eyes fierce.

"Don't you see, child?" she says as she walks over to him and places her index finger under his chin, lifting his head up as he sits there kneeling, "in order do what you desire the most, you must die."

"What..." Tien's eyes widen and he breathes out as Medea walks away from him, swaying her hips lightly.

"You have one gift left," Medea says as she glances over her shoulder, her hands clasped in front of her, "use it wisely."

"What? But we only used one," Mikasa frowns, her concerned eyes flickering between Tien and Medea.

"No, you used two," Medea clicks her tongue, "you asked me how to defeat Coralyinn and I answered you. When my answer was not understood, I explained it. Therefore, you have one gift left."

"Are...are you able to bring back the dead?" Nathan starts and takes a step forward, gaining an interested expression from Medea.

"Nathan--" Reine starts and attempts to head towards him, but Medea holds her hand out, making Reine pause.

"I can grant anything you wish," Medea says and spreads her arms open.

"Then..." Nathan looks down at his feet and clenches his fists before he looks up, his eyes determined, "then I want you to--"

"Give us a way to block out Coralyinn's abilities!" Ayette interrupts with a sharp step forwards.

"If that is what you wish," Medea says with a nod.

"Ayette..." Nathan looks over at her, hurt written all over his face, "why would you..."

"I'm sorry, Nathan," Ayette looks down at her feet, unable to meet his gaze, "but I don't want to lose anyone else."

Nathan looks at the ground and clenches his fists, his lips turning into a scowl as Medea holds out her hand and a golden circular shield with spikes around the edges and white trim appears in front of us, two snakes winding around a rose on the emblem of the shield etched in white. The shield floats over to Ayette and drops into her hands, making her look up at Medea expectantly.

"Go now, you have taken enough of my time," Medea says as she turns and waves her hand.

"Wait--" Reine starts and walks forwards, her hand outstretched as a bright flash of rose colored light goes off and suddenly we're all back in the camp, rose petals blowing away in the wind.

"Tien..." I start and notice how he's still on his knees, his eyes wide as he stares dead ahead, "are you alright?"

I make my way over to him and place my hand on his shoulder gently, unable to comprehend what he must be feeling. Despite asking if he's okay, I know that it's ultimately a useless question. After all, who's okay after being told they have to die?

"I..." Tien trails off and lowers his head, "I'm fine...can...can we not tell my sister about this?"

"Sure..." Mikasa says gently, her eyes flickering over to meet mine sadly, "anything you want."

"Apparently not anything," Tien laughs dryly and climbs to his feet before he makes his way back to my dad's tent.

Mikasa's eyebrows furrow with guilt at her choice of words and she clutches at her heart as she watches his retreating figure while Ayette examines the shield and the others stand around in silence, waiting for whatever comes next and I wonder if there's any possible way we could save Tien.