The crown was burning my hands.
Not with fire.
With memories.
Every life I had lived seemed to rush through me at once.
The little girl who used to stare at the sea.
The girl who didn't understand why she always felt different.
The girl who found Shawshank.
The girl who lost him.
The girl who fought for him.
The girl who discovered she was connected to five worlds.
And the girl who had been divided because everyone was afraid of what she could become.
I looked at the crown.
Then at Shawshank.
He was standing a few steps away from me.
His eyes were filled with tears.
"Bjei…"
I shook my head.
"I can't do this."
He stepped closer.
"You don't have to."
The First Mother watched us.
"Remember what I told you."
I looked at her.
"Love cannot be created."
She nodded.
"But it can be chosen."
I looked down at the crown.
Everyone wanted me to choose.
The First Queen wanted the worlds protected.
Celestia wanted the sky protected.
The fourth world wanted justice.
Nerath wanted what he had lost.
The First Mother wanted the worlds restored.
And Shawshank…
He wanted me alive.
For once, I wanted something too.
I wanted my own life.
I dropped the crown.
It hit the ground.
CRACK.
The crown shattered.
Everyone gasped.
Five stones rolled across the floor.
The First Queen stepped forward.
"What have you done?"
I looked at her.
"I chose myself."
The fifth world suddenly stopped collapsing.
The sea stopped rising.
The sky stopped shaking.
The fourth world became silent.
For one beautiful second, everything was still.
Then the broken crown began glowing.
The five stones lifted from the ground.
One floated toward the sea.
One toward the sky.
One toward the land.
One toward the fourth world.
And the last one…
Came toward me.
I reached out.
The stone entered my chest.
I screamed.
Shawshank ran toward me.
"Bjei!"
Golden light exploded around me.
But this time, it didn't hurt.
I felt something inside me changing.
Not becoming stronger.
Becoming whole.
The woman with my face appeared beside me.
She was glowing too.
Nerath stared at us.
"No…"
The First Queen whispered,
"The divided power is returning."
I looked at my hands.
Golden light flowed through them.
But there was black light too.
And silver.
Blue.
And a strange light I couldn't name.
All five worlds were inside me.
But I wasn't becoming a queen.
I was becoming something else.
A bridge.
The First Mother smiled.
"You finally understood."
I looked at her.
"I don't have to choose one world."
"No."
I looked at the five worlds.
"I can choose all of them."
The First Mother nodded.
"But there is a price."
My heart sank.
"What price?"
She looked at Shawshank.
"The bridge cannot exist without an anchor."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Shawshank suddenly stepped forward.
"I'll do it."
"No!"
He didn't even hesitate.
"If you have to become the bridge, I'll be your anchor."
I grabbed his hand.
"You don't know what that means."
"I don't care."
"You could die."
"I know."
Tears filled my eyes.
"I can't lose you."
He smiled softly.
"You already told me once that love isn't weakness."
He touched my cheek.
"So don't be afraid to love me now."
I pulled him into my arms.
For a moment, the war disappeared.
There were no queens.
No worlds.
No prophecies.
Only us.
Then—
A scream tore through the sky.
We separated.
Nerath was standing in the center of the chamber.
The darkness had returned to his body.
But this time, it was consuming him.
"Run!" he shouted.
I froze.
"What?"
"Run!"
The First Mother looked terrified.
"He's breaking."
Nerath fell to his knees.
"I can't hold it anymore."
Black cracks spread across his body.
Shawshank stepped forward.
"What is happening?"
The First Mother answered:
"The darkness inside Nerath was never his."
I stared at her.
"Then whose is it?"
She looked directly at me.
"Yours."
My heart stopped.
The darkness exploded from Nerath.
It rushed toward me.
And I heard my own voice whisper:
"You left me behind."