CELESTE'S POV
The light surrounding us grew so bright I had to close my eyes.
When I opened them, Theron and I were no longer in the cave.
We stood in a place between worlds—a vast emptiness filled with swirling stars and cosmic energy. Everything shimmered with silver and shadow.
"Where are we?" I whispered, but my voice echoed like thunder.
"Inside the prophecy," Theron said. He looked stronger here, the curse marks fading from his skin. "I think we're seeing what we're meant to become."
A massive figure materialized before us—made entirely of starlight, ancient and powerful beyond imagination.
"You are the Star Witch and the Cursed Knight," it said in the same voice from my dream. "Born and reborn across countless lifetimes. Always seeking each other. Always falling before you could unite completely."
"Why?" I demanded. "Why does this keep happening?"
"Because darkness seeks to prevent what you will become together." The figure gestured, and images appeared in the cosmic void—scenes of past lives. "In one life, you were separated by war. In another, by betrayal. In yet another, you found each other too late and perished before your powers could merge."
I saw them all—different versions of Theron and me, always together, always doomed.
"This is your final chance," the figure continued. "The cosmic threat approaches. The Veil between worlds weakens. If you fail now, there will be no more rebirths. Everything ends."
"What do we have to do?" Theron asked.
"Complete the soul bond. Merge your powers fully—light and shadow, celestial and cursed, two becoming one." The figure's voice softened. "But know this: once bonded, you will share everything. Pain, joy, life, death. If one dies, both die. If one falls to darkness, both fall."
My heart pounded. "That's the choice? Bond completely or let the world end?"
"Yes."
I looked at Theron. His dark eyes met mine, and I saw fear there—but also determination.
"I don't want to trap you in this," he said quietly. "If we bond and my curse consumes me, it will consume you too."
"And if we don't bond, everyone dies anyway." I took his hand. "I choose to fight. With you."
"Celeste—"
"Two souls, one destiny. That's what the prophecy says, right?" I smiled, even though I was terrified. "So let's give it what it wants."
Theron stared at me for a long moment. Then he smiled back—a real smile that transformed his scarred face completely.
"Your grandmother would be proud of you," he said.
"She'd be proud of both of us."
The cosmic figure raised its hands. "Then let the soul bond begin."
Light and shadow exploded around us, wrapping us together in bands of pure energy. I felt Theron's presence flooding into my mind—his thoughts, his memories, his emotions. Everything he was poured into me.
And I poured myself into him just as completely.
I felt his childhood pain—the terror of watching his parents die, the loneliness of being an orphan, the cold determination that kept him alive when he wanted to give up.
I felt the moment my grandmother found him, offering kindness when the world had shown him only cruelty.
I felt him becoming a knight, training until his hands bled, proving himself worthy again and again.
I felt the curse taking hold—the dark magic spreading through him, killing him slowly, and his grim acceptance that he would die young.
And I felt the moment he decided to save me—not just because of a promise, but because something in his soul recognized mine.
He felt everything about me too. My memories of betrayal, my broken heart, my determination to survive. He felt my fear and my courage, my pain and my hope.
We were no longer two separate people.
We were one soul in two bodies.
The cosmic figure's voice echoed through the void: "The bond is sealed. Use it well."
Reality snapped back.
We were in the cave again, gasping for air. But everything had changed.
I could feel Theron in my mind—not his thoughts exactly, but his presence. His emotions. His life force intertwined with mine.
And when I looked at him, I saw the shadow marks on his skin transforming. They were no longer spreading. Instead, they glowed with silver light, becoming something new—not curse, not poison, but power.
"It's changing," Theron breathed, staring at his hands. "The curse is becoming something else."
"Shadow magic," I said, somehow knowing it was true. "Controlled shadow magic that you can use."
He looked at me with wonder. "I can feel you. Your magic, your life force, everything."
"I feel you too."
We sat there, connected in ways I couldn't fully comprehend. It should have been terrifying—having someone else so completely inside my soul. But it felt right. Like finding a missing piece of myself I never knew was gone.
Then horses' hooves thundered outside the cave.
The moment shattered. Theron was on his feet instantly, pulling me up with him. His sword appeared in his hand.
"They found us," he said grimly.
We emerged from the cave into pre-dawn darkness. At least fifty royal guards surrounded us, torches blazing. And leading them, sitting on a white horse with a cruel smile on his face, was Adrian.
"Well, well," Adrian drawled. "The escaped prisoners. How romantic that you'll die together."
Theron stepped in front of me, his new shadow-light magic swirling around his blade. "You'll have to go through me first."
"Gladly." Adrian dismounted, drawing his sword. "I've wanted to kill you since the moment you took what's mine."
"She was never yours," Theron growled.
"Her magic is!" Adrian's eyes gleamed with madness. "I need it to break my family's curse. And I will take it—from her corpse if necessary."
The guards advanced, weapons raised.
But I felt something building inside me—not just my magic, but Theron's too. Our combined power, stronger than either of us alone.
I stepped forward, standing beside Theron instead of behind him.
"I'm done hiding," I said, my voice ringing with power. "I'm done running. I'm done being afraid of people like you."
Adrian laughed. "Your magic was bound—"
"You never understood celestial magic." I raised my hands, and silver starlight blazed around them. "It can't be truly bound. Only delayed."
My power exploded outward.
But this time, it wasn't wild or uncontrolled. This time, I had Theron's presence in my mind, steadying me, strengthening me. Our powers merged—celestial light and controlled shadow, creating something that had never existed before.
Twilight magic.
The combined blast hit the guards, sending them flying. Adrian barely managed to shield himself with dark magic, his eyes wide with shock.
"Impossible!" he screamed. "You've bonded! But the prophecy said—"
"The prophecy said we'd either save the world or destroy it," Theron finished, his shadow magic swirling around his sword. "Want to guess which one we chose?"
We attacked together.
I'd never fought like this before—perfectly in sync with another person, knowing exactly what they'd do before they did it. Every move Theron made, I supported with my magic. Every spell I cast, he followed with his blade.
We were unstoppable.
Guards fell left and right. Adrian kept retreating, his face twisted with rage and fear.
"This isn't over!" he shouted. "The Shadow Covenant will never stop hunting you! You've only made things worse by bonding!"
"Let them come!" I called back, my hands blazing with power.
Adrian turned and fled into the forest, his remaining guards scattering after him.
Silence fell over the battlefield.
Theron and I stood there, breathing hard, still connected through our soul bond. I could feel his satisfaction, his relief, his growing affection for me.
And he could feel mine.
"We did it," I whispered.
"We did." He turned to face me, and something in his expression made my heart race. "Celeste, I need to tell you something."
"What?"
Before he could answer, a new voice cut through the darkness.
"How touching. The prophecy children, finally united."
We spun around.
A woman stepped out of the shadows—tall, beautiful, and radiating dark power that made my skin crawl. She wore robes marked with symbols I'd never seen before, and her eyes glowed with unnatural light.
"Who are you?" Theron demanded, raising his sword.
"I am Morgath, High Priestess of the Shadow Covenant." She smiled, and it was like watching a snake prepare to strike. "And I've been waiting centuries for you two to finally bond."
"Why?"
"Because now that you're connected, killing you will be so much easier." Her smile widened. "Kill one, and both die. It's really quite convenient."
She raised her hands, and the darkness around her began to pulse with terrible power.
"And I think," she said sweetly, "I'll start with him."
Dark magic shot toward Theron like a spear of pure night.
I threw myself in front of him without thinking.
The dark magic hit me square in the chest.
Pain exploded through my body—and through our soul bond, through Theron too. I heard him scream my name as I fell.
The last thing I saw before darkness claimed me was Theron's face, twisted with rage and grief.
Then nothing.