"You left me behind."
The voice wasn't coming from Nerath anymore.
It was coming from inside me.
I couldn't move.
The darkness rushed toward my body, but instead of attacking me, it entered my chest.
I screamed.
Shawshank grabbed me.
"Bjei!"
I could hear him.
But his voice sounded far away.
Suddenly, I was standing somewhere else.
Alone.
Completely alone.
There was no sea.
No sky.
No land.
No Shawshank.
Only darkness.
Then I saw her.
The other Bjei.
The one who had chosen darkness.
She was sitting on the ground with her knees against her chest.
She looked small.
Not frightening.
Not powerful.
Just broken.
I walked toward her.
"You."
She looked up.
"You finally came."
I sat beside her.
"What do you want?"
She laughed softly.
"I wanted you to remember me."
"I do."
"No."
She shook her head.
"You remember that I existed."
She touched her chest.
"But you don't remember what I felt."
I looked at her.
"What did you feel?"
"Everything."
Her voice cracked.
"Every pain you couldn't carry."
I froze.
She continued.
"When you were afraid, I felt it."
"When you cried, I felt it."
"When people betrayed you, I carried the anger."
"When you wanted to give up…"
She looked at me.
"I was the one who stayed awake."
Tears filled my eyes.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Because they needed you to be innocent."
She smiled sadly.
"They needed you to believe you were good."
I shook my head.
"I am good."
"I know."
She touched my hand.
"But you're not only good."
The darkness around us began moving.
Images appeared.
Every time I had felt rage.
Every time I had wanted revenge.
Every time I had wished someone would suffer for hurting me.
Those feelings weren't disappearing.
They had gone somewhere.
To her.
I began crying.
"I did this to you."
"No."
She shook her head.
"They did."
"Who?"
"The ones who divided us."
She stood.
"They thought darkness was evil."
She looked at me.
"But darkness is only what happens when pain has nowhere else to go."
I couldn't speak.
Then someone appeared behind us.
Nerath.
But he looked different.
Weak.
Old.
Tired.
He looked at me.
"I carried her after she was separated from you."
I stared at him.
"You protected her?"
"At first."
He looked away.
"Then I became angry."
"Why?"
"Because she kept calling for you."
My heart broke.
"She waited for me?"
"For centuries."
I looked at the other Bjei.
She nodded.
"I never wanted to destroy you."
"Then why did you attack me?"
"Because I wanted you to see me."
I stepped forward.
"I see you now."
The darkness around us began fading.
I reached for her.
"Come home."
She stared at my hand.
"What if I can't?"
"You can."
"What if I hurt you?"
"Then we'll heal together."
She slowly took my hand.
The moment our fingers touched, the darkness shattered.
I opened my eyes.
I was back in the chamber.
Shawshank was holding me.
The other Bjei was standing beside me.
But something had changed.
Her black eyes were now half-gold.
Nerath was on the ground.
The First Mother looked at us.
"You have reunited."
I shook my head.
"No."
Everyone looked at me.
"We aren't the same person."
The other Bjei smiled.
"We're two people who share one beginning."
I squeezed her hand.
"And we choose to stay that way."
The First Mother smiled.
"Then you have done something the queens never could."
"What?"
"You chose unity without destroying individuality."
Suddenly, the five worlds began glowing.
The sea rose gently.
The sky filled with stars.
The fourth world stopped shaking.
The fifth world began healing.
For the first time, the worlds weren't fighting.
They were listening.
Then I heard a familiar voice.
"Bjei."
I turned.
Marina stood at the edge of the chamber.
My mother.
Alive.
I ran toward her.
"Mom!"
She caught me in her arms.
I cried against her chest.
"You knew?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I was afraid."
"Of what?"
She pulled away and held my face.
"Of losing you again."
I wiped my tears.
"You won't."
She looked past me.
Her expression suddenly changed.
"What?"
She stared at the First Mother.
"You brought her back."
The First Mother nodded.
Marina stepped backward.
"No."
I frowned.
"Mom?"
Marina looked terrified.
"She was never supposed to return."
The First Mother became silent.
Shawshank moved closer to me.
"Who?"
Marina pointed at the woman beside me.
"The first Bjei."
My heart stopped.
Marina whispered:
"She isn't the one we were trying to save."
The chamber went silent.
"She is the one we were trying to stop."
Then the other Bjei slowly turned toward me.
Her eyes were completely golden.
And she whispered:
"Mom is right."