"Where is it...? Where is it!? WHERE IS IT!? ALL THE GODS IN THE SKY, TELL ME!" I go, building up with rage and toppling the tower of tablets. They crash and bang across the floor while my shoulders heave with the heat of my breaths. Turning to the noise disturbing my room, I spot one of my dormmates as she strides in, light flicking on. Her face is set and stern with annoyance while I flinch at the brightness.

"Be quiet, we do not want to hear you." she goes.

"Get ou-" I start to hiss and she snaps.

"Stop acting like a child and grow up!" she interrupts, leaving me quiet. Blinking once, my hands flex and I step forward.

"I... Am... I AM TRYING TO FIND A SOLUTION TO OUR PROBLEM, SO THAT THE DEATH OF MY FRIEND IS FOR SOMETHING! SO SHE DIDN'T PUT MY LIFE OVER HERS FOR NOTHING!" I roar, walking with every bit of fury I have and shoving her back. The sternness vanishes and her eyes waver, she starts to bend in on herself. Forcing the issue further, I keep roaring down as the first signs of tears appear.

I snap like a wild animal and she runs off, hopefully, to never be seen again. Grabbing the door, I smash it back into the frame with all I have. It slams too quietly. Opening it up again, I repeat the process and grab onto a drawer to bring it down. No one will disturb me, not now... Not now.

The light switch flicks and pitch black meets me.

Returning to the desk, I stub my foot on one of the tablets and hiss into a hopping frenzy. I blink and squint, adjusting to the dark before I growl back towards the switch. Putting myself back into the light, I mind my way to the desk and stop. The mirror on my right becomes my focus, rather, I do.

Eyes shaded with exhaustion and a lack of sleep. Skin pale from the absence of the Orbital-Halo's light, I'm thoroughly gaunt. Raggedy hair knotted without end and slicked with the grease of my sweat. If I wait any longer with my face, I'd probably end up with a full beard.

The lack of an occupant for the bed near mine catches my attention and my expression is sullied. Ioike didn't make it back with me, she never returned to this useless place. She died because of me. She's been dead for months now.

Blinking and wiping my dry eyes, I slowly get back into my hunchback position and pick a tablet up. Brushing it off for no needed reason, I linger on the signs of her hand writing. It's not fancy or thoughtful, it's fairly repetitive. Her mind forgets so quickly and she repeats herself a fair bit, but, it's hers.

"Why did you save me? You stupid girl... I have no idea where I am supposed to be looking. You nearly got us both killed looking for the... Oh, you'd know." I mutter, diving my face into my worn and sore hands. Throwing them ahead onto the desk, I let the pins and needles bugger off on their own without a care. The back aches drive me to lean backwards, on the rear legs of my chair.

Letting the lack of balance take me, I try to knock myself out on the mess below. All it does is hurt and I stare up at the ceiling while my head throbs. Blinking back the burning rims around my eyes, I force my way back up and sigh. Seat back under, I get back to reading what is probably another useless tablet of ramblings.

I refuse to believe that Ioike didn't have something written up about the giant's weakness. Something, anything! There's no way she couldn't have, she's documented everything there is. Surely... Surely there is a hint somewhere in these tablets? There has to be.

The armies of this country and others cannot handle the giant, only something equal can. I couldn't find anything within the libraries, there was nothing on the giant. The Archaeology Club had nothing either, not even me beating them within an inch of consciousness got me anything... I've tried asking, begging, pleading and threatening and I know nothing more than I did back then.

Ioike didn't make much sound when she died, no, she gave me a sad smile while the rear car vanished with her. Why did she have to die for my sake? Whatever compelled her to die on my behalf to make sure I made it back here? Why couldn't anyone else have died over her, why couldn't it have been me?

She would know what to do, somewhere in here, she knows what to do. I need to find it. Read it clearly and carefully and take it all in with every bit of rabidity as I can. Then, the world needs to know.

Yet... I am lost.

One tablet, two, three, four, five, six, seven and more, so many more! All of them equally empty and devoid of helpful information. I can't find anything in this mess. It's just useless crap!

Kicking an empty bin away, it bangs on the wall and rolls onto its dented side. The reflective metal catches onto the faded image of something and I get up. Shuffling around the mess, I lean over my destruction to pick it up. It's nothing special, just what appears to be an empty picture frame.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

I aim to toss it to the ground without care and catch the signs of truth decorating the floor. Paper, ribbon and scissors and a little laminated sheet of all things. Gently, I slip it into my fingers and lock up at its contents. I don't understand, how long as this been here?

"Ioike..." I mutter, staring at the crude but memorable photo. Ioike took this near the time I passed my entrance exam. She said she was really happy to have someone to share her dorm room with. Finally, someone would be coming to her place of rest, she would not have to do any games or that in the rooms of the others.

We never played any games or did any of that stuff, but, she never shut up about it around the time this photo was taken. We all made a lot of fun out of her when she let slip the fact she spent a small fortune on a paper photographer. Minding what's coming out of my eyes and the alerting trail they make, I move the photo up and out of the way. Little darks spots spatter across the carpet.

The frame and photo rest on my bed and I turn back to my work. With a loose-hinged chair now back under me, I pick up the tablet on my broken desk. I give it a quick look over for anything that could actually be useful and seem to find nothing. A heavy sigh snorts right on out and my eyes linger on one of the words in this tablet.

Segaansallis.

"Isn't that...?" I recall slowly, setting aside my memories of Ioike distinctly mentioning how she's never been. The Sword-Faced Giant fills out the space the images of the imagination go and I ponder a date. Gods above, it's been a while since I laid my hands on that Inter-House Talent Display trophy, hasn't it?

I don't think this tablet will be of much use, though, the details are all describing someone else's words. It's all a load of rubbish about there being a cave system that led to a strange door. Something about a workplace accident spilling blood on the wall and it opened up. The material was otherwise invulnerable to any attempt to do the same...

I reread the entry and linger my attention on the annotations. Ioike wanted to visit Segaansallis so badly but she could never get permission to do it. For all of her willingness to ignore others, she wasn't good at ignoring the letter of the law. At least, when it came to what she could and couldn't do, where to go and whatnot.

Putting the tablet down, I use one hand to pinch the top of my nose and I drag it down onto my nostrils. Flaring them up, I clear the pair and look over to the window. The curtains have been closed for some time. Natural light flashes the room, overpowering the weak magic one even with the grey skies above.

Placing the tablet on the windowsill, I read through it further until I reach a sudden change in topic. Much like Ioike's speech, her writing is much the same. For some reason, we are now on the ramblings of legends and ancient heroes who fought each other. I try to consider why it might be here but I just cannot...

"Divine gear can damage divine gear." I speak aloud, my mind repeating the sentence for quite some time while I uselessly hang my mouth open. Turning back to the mess, I walk around until I can cluck away at the one with a familiar opening face. I pick it up and use the magic within to flick to the page I know I can remember... Where... Where?

Here!

"The... Necro-Titans..." I joke with the obvious nothing responding with nothing. She would have my head if I told her that in person. Ioike wanted her work to be treated with respect, though the real name slips my mind. It doesn't matter, anyway, it's just a name.

I gently tap slap some focus back into my thoughts.

"The Necro-Titans are the seven constructs made by the gods and goddesses. What we know of their purpose is that they were designed to handle creation where the divine was directly not. Serving as caretakers. While I am upset I will never be able to see its real form, I know of one in Errakur. The very tunnel to the continent of fire is the 'corpse' of the immense divine machine." I read, losing track of where I am meant to go as the details pile on. So much information to register and properly stick into my head...

I sigh again.

"Of the seven machines, three are known to have touched what is now Jherikra. Segaansallis, Atarifuge and Hadeshstation. Warrior, Apath and Farmer. Apath...? Apathy? Like with most divine objects, it is believed the best chance to study either will require something godly and with a sharp edge." I finish reading and the tablet is set back down.

The divine is needed to destroy the giant?

Then, why does magic not destroy it, magic is divine! God-Mountains give it, the gods made them and their blood made us. What is the point of change that makes something not divine enough to affect the giant? Glass whacks and I twist to the noise.

A little, tiny bird shakes its head, hops around and falls back into the air. I blink and my eyes stay wide open. Of course... Of course!

It's not a problem of divinity alone, scale matters here and the giant is simply too big!

If Segaansallis can be entered with the application of blood onto its body at set points. Then I or someone else can pilot the ancient machine and stop the giant! I can smash Atarifuge to pieces for what it did and Ioike's memory can finally rest in peace... I will finally make it up to her for putting her in a situation where she had to save me...

Sniffling, I rub a filthy sleeve along my face to keep it dry and look outside one more time. I have not a clue about the finer details of Segaansallis, though. Guess I can gather all I need but what if just me alone is not enough? I will need help, especially for something as complicated as travel these days.

Or, perhaps I can make use of the soldiers to do this? I can gather everything and pass this information on to them. Yeah. Yeah, I should do that, there's a gathering right now with lots of important people...

I'm pretty sure that's what that earlier speaker announcement was, anyhow.

I look to the mess on the floor and nod slowly. I've got to gather up everything that's important and fast. My reflection comes back into view and I stare at the mess I've become. Maybe I should also work to make myself presentable.

"Don't worry, Ioike, I've found the solution... I've found it." I mutter, moving to shove the drawer back up.