His hand drifted to his messenger bag, pulling out the Matryoshka doll. Its painted eyes seemed to stare back at him, unblinking, as he turned it over in his hands.


    “It’s still here,” he muttered.


    Missy nodded. “It’s a symbol, Yuki. Layers upon layers of lies and truth. You’ve been peeling them back, one by one.”


    Yuki swallowed hard. The doll, a token from The Void, now felt heavier than ever. It represented everything he had been through—and everything he had to face.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    “Can I trust you?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper.


    Missy’s gaze softened. “That’s not the real question, is it? The question is, can you trust yourself?”


    The silence that followed was deafening. Outside, the cornfield swayed in the wind, the golden stalks whispering secrets to the sky. Yuki’s journey was far from over, and the road ahead was shrouded in uncertainty.


    But for the first time, he felt a flicker of clarity. And perhaps, a chance at redemption.