"My child…"
My grandmother's voice echoed from the dark doorway.
"Don't trust Shawshank."
I froze.
Shawshank looked at me.
"Bjei?"
I couldn't answer.
The voice came again.
"He was never created to save you."
My heart began pounding.
Shawshank stepped closer.
"Look at me."
I did.
His eyes were frightened.
Not angry.
Not threatening.
Just hurt.
"Do you believe that voice?"
I wanted to say no.
But I couldn't.
Because my grandmother had been the one person I had trusted without question.
"Bjei," Shawshank whispered, "whatever you're thinking, tell me."
The dark doorway behind him began growing larger.
Black energy wrapped around his body.
He dropped to one knee.
"Shawshank!"
I ran toward him.
He lifted his hand.
"Stay back!"
"No."
"Bjei, please!"
I stopped.
The black mark on his chest was spreading.
The stranger from the fourth world smiled.
"Now you understand."
I looked at him.
"Understand what?"
"Your guardian was built with one purpose."
He pointed at Shawshank.
"To open the door when the time came."
Shawshank shook his head.
"No."
The stranger laughed.
"You don't even remember."
Shawshank looked at me.
"I swear to you…"
His voice cracked.
"I never knew."
The First Queen suddenly stepped between us.
"Enough."
She raised her hand.
Golden chains shot toward Shawshank.
He screamed as they wrapped around his body.
I stared at her.
"What are you doing?"
"Keeping the door closed."
"You're hurting him!"
"I am saving all three worlds."
I stepped forward.
"Release him."
She shook her head.
"Not yet."
The darkness behind Shawshank grew stronger.
I could hear thousands of voices.
Some were crying.
Some were laughing.
Some were calling my name.
Then I heard another voice.
A little boy.
"Bjei."
I turned.
A child stood inside the doorway.
He looked exactly like Shawshank.
My heart stopped.
"No…"
The child looked at me.
"I remember you."
Shawshank stared at him.
"Who are you?"
The child smiled.
"Your first self."
Shawshank went pale.
The First Queen whispered,
"No."
The child walked forward.
"You were not created."
He looked at Shawshank.
"You were divided."
I looked at Shawshank.
"What does that mean?"
The child pointed at his own chest.
"They took his memories."
Then he pointed at Shawshank.
"And they left his purpose."
Shawshank's eyes filled with tears.
"Who did this to me?"
The child looked toward the First Queen.
"She did."
Silence.
I slowly turned toward the First Queen.
"Is that true?"
She didn't answer.
"Answer me!"
Her eyes lowered.
"Yes."
Shawshank looked devastated.
"Why?"
The First Queen stepped toward him.
"Because you loved her."
He stared at her.
"What does my love have to do with it?"
"You were willing to sacrifice everything for her."
She looked at me.
"And I needed a guardian who would never abandon her."
My chest tightened.
"So you used him?"
"Yes."
Shawshank's voice became cold.
"You erased my memories."
"I had to."
"You made me forget her."
"Yes."
His eyes filled with anger.
"You made me believe I chose her for the first time."
The First Queen whispered,
"You did choose her."
Shawshank stared at her.
"Even after everything was erased, you still found her."
I looked at him.
My eyes filled with tears.
He looked back at me.
"I told you I'd choose you before I knew why."
I stepped closer.
"And you still mean it?"
He smiled weakly.
"Every time."
The darkness suddenly exploded.
The chains around him shattered.
The doorway opened completely.
A massive force pulled Shawshank backward.
I grabbed his hand.
"Don't let go!"
"I won't!"
The stranger laughed.
"Let him go, Bjei."
"No!"
"He belongs to the fourth world."
"No, he doesn't!"
The golden mark on my chest erupted.
The force pulling Shawshank stopped.
Everyone stared.
I pulled him toward me.
One step.
Then another.
Until he fell against me.
I held him tightly.
The darkness screamed.
The stranger's smile disappeared.
"That isn't possible."
I looked at him.
"I don't care what I was created to be."
My golden crown burned brighter.
"I don't care what Shawshank was created to be."
I held his hand.
"We choose who we become."
The First Queen looked at me with tears in her eyes.
Then the sky suddenly cracked.
A deafening roar came from above.
Celestia looked upward.
Her face went pale.
"The fourth world isn't attacking."
I frowned.
"Then what is it doing?"
She pointed toward the sky.
"They're opening the way for something."
The black crack widened.
Something enormous moved behind it.
Nerath appeared beneath the clouds.
And beside him stood the stranger.
They looked at each other.
Then they both looked at me.
Nerath smiled.
"You finally understand choice."
His eyes darkened.
"Now let's see if you can survive the consequences."
The sky split open.
And an army began descending.
Not from the sea.
Not from the sky.
Not from the land.
From the fourth world.