The sky turned silver.
Not bright.
Not beautiful.
Dangerous.
Hundreds of winged soldiers descended through the clouds, their silver armor shining beneath the moonlight. Their wings moved together like one enormous creature.
I stood frozen.
Behind me, the sea was no longer calm.
Waves rose higher and higher.
Mermaids, sea warriors, and creatures from the deep gathered behind Shawshank.
And Shawshank stood at the center of them.
His golden mark was glowing.
The crown wasn't physically on his head, but somehow I could feel it.
The sea had chosen him.
And now the sky wanted to test him.
Celestia floated above us.
Her white wings stretched across the darkness.
"Shawshank," she called.
He stepped forward.
I grabbed his arm.
"Don't."
He looked at me.
"I have to."
"No," I whispered. "That's exactly what she wants."
His eyes softened.
"She wants me to prove I'm worthy."
"And what if proving yourself starts a war?"
He looked behind him.
The sea creatures were waiting for his command.
Then he looked up.
The silver army was waiting for Celestia's command.
He slowly turned back to me.
"Then I won't fight."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"I became king because I chose what to protect."
His fingers closed around mine.
"And I choose you."
My heart tightened.
Before I could answer, Celestia raised one hand.
"Attack."
The sky exploded.
Silver arrows fell from above.
"RUN!"
Shawshank pushed me behind him.
The sea rose like a wall.
The arrows struck the water and exploded into white fire.
Creatures screamed.
Mermaids disappeared beneath the waves.
Sea warriors lifted their weapons.
"MY KING!" one of them shouted.
Shawshank raised his hand.
"DO NOT ATTACK!"
The creatures froze.
I looked at him in disbelief.
Even while being attacked, he refused to fight back.
Celestia's expression hardened.
"You will allow your people to be destroyed?"
Shawshank shouted back.
"They are not weapons!"
"They are your kingdom!"
"They are lives!"
For the first time, Celestia looked uncertain.
Another wave of silver arrows came down.
This time, they were aimed directly at me.
I felt something inside me awaken.
The golden circle on my chest burned.
I lifted my hand.
Everything stopped.
The arrows froze in midair.
The waves stopped moving.
The creatures stopped breathing.
Even the silver soldiers became motionless.
I stared at my hands.
"What did I just do?"
Shawshank slowly turned toward me.
"Bjei…"
I could barely hear him.
"I didn't control them."
I looked at the frozen arrows.
"I chose."
The golden light spread from my body.
One by one, the arrows turned into tiny golden particles and disappeared.
Celestia's eyes widened.
"That power…"
She descended closer.
"You finally awakened it."
I frowned.
"Awakened what?"
She didn't answer.
Instead, she looked at Nerath.
For the first time since I had seen the ancient darkness, Nerath looked afraid.
Not surprised.
Afraid.
"You shouldn't have given her that power," Celestia whispered.
Nerath's voice came from the darkness.
"I didn't give it to her."
Celestia stared at me.
"She was born with it."
My stomach dropped.
"What exactly am I?"
Nobody answered.
Then the girl who looked like me stepped forward.
"She isn't sea."
She looked at the sky.
"She isn't darkness."
Then she looked at me.
"And she isn't sky."
Her voice trembled.
"She is the boundary."
Silence.
The word echoed inside my head.
The boundary.
The thing separating the worlds.
The thing everyone had been fighting over.
The thing that had been breaking.
Me.
I looked at Shawshank.
His face had gone pale.
"Is that why they wanted me?"
He nodded slowly.
"Yes."
I stepped backward.
"No."
My breathing became faster.
"No, no, no…"
Angela rushed toward me.
"Bjei."
I pushed her away.
"You knew?"
She stopped.
My eyes filled with tears.
"You all knew!"
Nobody spoke.
I looked at Seraphina.
"You knew."
She lowered her head.
"Yes."
I looked at Azrael.
"You knew too."
He couldn't meet my eyes.
My chest hurt.
"All of you knew what I was."
Shawshank stepped toward me.
I looked at him.
"And you?"
His eyes filled with pain.
"I knew pieces."
"Did you know I was the boundary?"
"No."
"Did you know you were created to protect me?"
"Yes."
I swallowed.
"But you still chose me."
He came closer.
"I chose you before I understood why."
Those words broke something inside me.
I looked away.
Above us, Celestia suddenly lowered her weapon.
"Enough."
The silver army stopped.
The sea creatures remained still.
Celestia looked directly at me.
"The war cannot continue."
I wiped my tears.
"Why?"
"Because if you lose control…"
She looked toward the ocean.
"…both worlds will collapse."
The ground shook.
A deep sound came from beneath the sea.
Everyone turned.
The water began to turn black.
Nerath stepped forward.
A smile slowly appeared on its face.
"You see?"
Celestia turned sharply.
"This is what you wanted."
Nerath laughed.
"No."
Its eyes locked onto me.
"This is what she was made for."
The ocean split open.
Something enormous began rising from beneath it.
Shawshank immediately moved in front of me.
"Stay behind me."
But I couldn't move.
Because whatever was rising from the sea…
I could feel it.
I knew it.
It was calling my name.
And then I heard a voice beneath the waves.
My own voice.
"Bjei…"
I stared at the darkness.
The voice whispered again.
"Come home."