Single Wish: Rise Of The Omniscient Paragon
Chapter 838 838: 835: The Second Night (2)

The sky had been bright that day.

A rare kind of brightness where even the sun seemed gentler as two kids played on a large garden.

A little Yara was running.

Her small feet pounded against the stone walkway as she laughed, the sound echoing around the mansion gardens.

Her arms were outstretched, and behind her, not far off, was a smaller girl trying to catch up.

"Wait for me, Yara!"

Yara turned and slowed down with a teasing grin. "You're too slow, Lili."

The little girl pouted but laughed as she caught up, grabbing hold of Yara's sleeve. Her bright, ocean-blue eyes sparkled as she looked up at her older sister.

"I'm gonna run faster than you one day."

"No way. I'm older, so I'll always be faster."

"But I'm cuter."

Yara paused, then smirked. "That's because you're too young and small. I was cuter when I was your age."

Lili stomped the ground with a pout. "That's a lie!"

Yara laughed, and then she grabbed her sister's hand.

They walked together, hand in hand, until they reached the edge of the pond in the garden. The lotus flowers bloomed that day, swaying gently with the wind.

Yara knelt and pointed, "Look, Lili. That one looks like a little star."

Lili squinted, then looked at her sister with a suspicious gaze. "That does not look like a star, Yara."

Yara harrumphed, and folded her arms. "If I say, it does. It does."

Lili harrumphed too, and folded her arms like her older sister. "I'm not going to listen to you."

Yara pointed at her with a mock angry expression. "You, copycat!"

Lili stuck out her tongue, and a dangerous glint flashed in Yara's eyes.

Much to Lili's shock and horror, Yara pushed her into the pond, causing a yelp to escape Lili's lips.

"Sis!"

Lili fumed, and Yara laughed her ass off while rolling on the ground.

Lili looked around, and then she dipped her hand inside the pond and threw as much water as her little hand could carry.

Yara yelped, but Lili did not stop.

Later on, it ended in loud laughs of play and joy.

The joy of being a kid.

----

It was seven years later when everything broke.

A simple mistake was all it took.

A day Yara could never forget, and a day which gave her nightmares for years.

Their parents were out that day.

Yara had stayed home from work just to make sure she could spend some time with her sister.

She was supposed to cook lunch, and Lili had been sick with a bad fever and had take strong sleeping pills, prescribed by their family's healer.

The medicine had knocked her into a deep sleep.

Yara, thinking she had turned off the gas, stepped out to grab some snacks and drinks from the nearby supermarket.

But she never turned the stove off.

And she was delayed by a long queue at the supermarket.

By the time she returned, smoke was already rising.

She remembered screaming.

Running.

Burning her hands trying to open the door.

But it was too late.

The fire had spread way too much, and the neighbors said it had taken only minutes.

They found Lili curled on the floor by the bed.

Still asleep, and surprisingly unburnt.

The fire had miraculously not reached her room before the Fire Fighters arrived.

She remembered being relived and full of hope when she saw her curled up sister.

She shook her to wake her up, but Lili was unresponsive.

The smoke had taken her before the fire ever could.

When her parents returned, she found no words to tell them.

They didn't blame her, shout at her, accuse her, or constantly remind her of her stupidity.

They did none of that.

But she knew that they were broken, shattered, and full of grief for a very very very long time.

She never forgave herself.

She never talked about her recurring nightmares, not even her parents.

She never said anything about her depression, and this continued for years.

She was better, much better, compared to before.

But she had never forgotten.

---

(Present)

Knock

A knock resounded once again, and everyone stared at the door.

Then the voice came again.

"Yara? Are you there? Please let me in."

The voice was small.

Soft.

Zeke was the first to react. "What the actual fuck?"

Aelric stood and took a step back from Yara while keeping his gaze on the door. "Yara... who is that?"

But Yara couldn't answer.

She was still kneeling while her body was pale and trembling.

"No...no... that's not..."

Myra moved closer, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "Yara, talk to me. Who is it?"

Yara slowly turned her head, and the look in her eyes made the group uneasy.

It was one of fear, disbelief, confusion, regret, and hope.

"...She's dead."

A silence fell again.

Zeke's brows drew together. "Who's dead?"

Yara opened her mouth, but only a whisper came.

"My sister."

Outside, the knock came again.

Knock

Corey slowly stood while leaning on the wall.

His Eyes of Omniscience were already active, and he observed the scene outside through the thick wall and broken glass.

A girl stood in front of the door.

She had a young face, and she looked no older than twelve.

A little white pyjamas with teddy bear designs all over it covered her body.

She wore bathroom slippers, and her hair like midnight silt cascaded down her back.

Her skin was pale, and her smile was soft.

She held a white teddy bear in her hands.

Corey's brows were furrowed slightly when he saw her expression.

'An almost perfect illusion.'

He increased the output of his eyes, and the illusion peeled away.

The moment he did this, what stood beneath the mask that was Yara's sister, became open to him.

It was not a child.

It was a thing, still in the shape of a girl. But her mouth... was too wide.

Her smile reached both cheeks, and her teeth were too many.

They were small, serrated, and seemingly endless.

And her eyes?

There were a thousand tiny eyes all over her body, most especially her head.

Each blinked at random, and each twitched independently.

Her finger were long. Too long.

And they bled from the tips.

On her back was a mound of flesh.

It was pulsing.

It was alive.

And from it, small sharp appendages like that of spider legs grew. There were a dozen hands, and they constantly moved about.

Corey did not react to this. He merely analyzed.

'I can feel a fair amount of danger from it. It's presence is at the level of a mid-level Tier 5.'

'It's far too powerful for any of them to battle... I might have to be more involved than I initially wanted for this trial.'

Corey's eyes flashed.

'It also seems to be getting stronger. Is it feeding on Yara's grief and regret?'

Knock

The girl outside tilted her head.

"Yara?... Why won't you let me in?"

Tears slipped down Yara's face, and her lips trembled.

"Lili... I'm sorry."

Zeke's head snapped to her. "Yara, that's not-"

But she didn't listen, and without hesitation, she dashed towards the door.

"Damn it." Zeke cursed.