The golden light exploded around us.
I couldn't see anything.
I couldn't hear anything.
For a few seconds, there was nothing but light.
Then I heard Shawshank's voice.
"Bjei!"
I opened my eyes.
He was kneeling beside me.
The girl was lying on my other side.
Her eyes were closed.
"Is she alive?"
Shawshank checked her breathing.
"Yes."
I released the breath I had been holding.
Then I noticed something.
The golden mark on my chest was gone.
I touched my skin.
Nothing.
No burning.
No light.
No crown.
My heart began racing.
"My power…"
Shawshank looked at me.
"Maybe it's gone."
I stared at my hands.
For the first time since everything began, I felt completely ordinary.
And strangely…
free.
Then the girl opened her eyes.
She looked at me.
"You did it."
"Did what?"
"You broke the prophecy."
I slowly sat up.
"How?"
She smiled.
"Because you refused to choose."
I looked around.
The creature was gone.
The golden door was gone.
Even the ancient gate beneath the sea had disappeared.
The ocean was calm.
Too calm.
Seraphina walked toward us.
She looked exhausted.
"It worked."
I stood.
"What happened?"
She looked at the girl.
"The prophecy depended on separation."
"What does that mean?"
"The prophecy said one of you had to die because it was written when everyone believed you were two separate beings."
I frowned.
"But we are two people."
"Yes."
She smiled.
"But you are connected by power, not destiny."
The girl slowly stood.
I looked at her.
"So what happens now?"
She looked toward the sea.
"Now we find out who we are without the prophecy."
I smiled.
For the first time, I liked the sound of that.
Then a voice came from behind us.
"You shouldn't have done that."
I turned.
The false queen stood there.
Her face was pale.
"What do you mean?"
She looked at the place where the golden door had been.
"You don't understand what you just released."
My stomach tightened.
"What did we release?"
She pointed toward the ocean.
"The boundary."
I looked at the water.
At first, nothing happened.
Then I saw it.
A thin line of golden light stretching across the horizon.
It wasn't a wall.
It wasn't a gate.
It was a crack.
Shawshank moved beside me.
"What is that?"
The false queen whispered,
"The worlds are touching."
I felt cold.
"You said breaking the prophecy would save us."
The girl shook her head.
"It saved us from the prophecy."
She looked toward the horizon.
"But it created something else."
A distant roar shook the air.
Birds suddenly flew from the trees.
The sea rose.
Then something emerged.
A giant fin.
It disappeared beneath the waves.
Another appeared farther away.
Then another.
Shawshank looked at me.
"They're coming."
"Who?"
"The creatures."
I turned toward Seraphina.
"Can they cross?"
She nodded slowly.
"The boundary is weakening."
Angela suddenly ran toward me.
"Bjei!"
I turned.
She grabbed me tightly.
"You're alive."
"I am."
She pulled away and stared at my chest.
"Your mark…"
"It's gone."
Her expression changed.
"What?"
"I don't have my powers anymore."
Angela looked terrified.
"That isn't possible."
"Why?"
She touched my face.
"Because your power wasn't a gift."
I stared at her.
"What was it?"
She whispered,
"It was a seal."
My blood went cold.
"A seal for what?"
Angela looked toward the ocean.
"To keep something inside."
The girl stepped closer.
"What?"
Angela's voice trembled.
"The thing that has been pretending to be Bjei's enemy."
Everyone went silent.
Shawshank frowned.
"You mean the creature?"
Angela shook her head.
"No."
She looked at me.
"The creature was guarding something."
My heart pounded.
"Guarding what?"
Before she could answer, the sea suddenly split.
A massive black shape rose from the water.
The creature we had feared appeared again.
But this time it wasn't attacking.
It was running.
Something was chasing it.
The creature looked toward us.
For the first time, I saw terror in its eyes.
"Run!"
I froze.
"You're telling us to run?"
"Yes!"
"What are you running from?"
The creature turned.
A shadow rose behind it.
Larger.
Darker.
Older.
The creature whispered,
"Him."
The shadow opened its eyes.
The entire ocean went silent.
And then a voice came from the darkness.
A voice that sounded exactly like mine.
"Bjei… I finally found you."