The laughter continued.
Deep.
Slow.
Terrifying.
And it sounded exactly like Shawshank.
I turned toward him.
He was standing beside me, staring at the gate with a confused expression.
"That wasn't me," he whispered.
Angela grabbed my arm.
"Stay away from him."
I looked at her.
"Why?"
She pointed at Shawshank.
"The thing behind the gate knows his voice."
Shawshank stepped backward.
"What does that mean?"
Angela shook her head.
"It means it has been inside your blood for a very long time."
My heart began beating faster.
Shawshank looked at me.
"Bjei, I swear I don't know what she's talking about."
"I believe you."
His eyes softened.
"You do?"
I nodded.
"I don't know everything about you, Shawshank."
I took his hand.
"But I know you."
His fingers tightened around mine.
Then the gate moved.
A crack appeared in the darkness.
A pair of glowing eyes appeared behind it.
Angela screamed.
"Don't look at it!"
Too late.
I had already seen it.
And the moment my eyes met its eyes, something entered my mind.
I saw a little boy.
He was standing beside the sea.
He was crying.
An older man stood behind him.
Azrael.
The boy was Shawshank.
But he was much younger.
Azrael placed his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"You must never tell her."
The young Shawshank looked confused.
"Tell who?"
"Bjei."
My heart stopped.
The vision changed.
I saw myself.
A baby.
Wrapped in white cloth.
Marina was holding me.
Angela stood beside her.
Elara was there too.
And Shawshank was standing nearby.
But he wasn't alone.
Something dark was standing behind him.
A shadow.
It whispered into his ear.
"Protect her."
The young Shawshank nodded.
"I will."
The vision disappeared.
I gasped.
Shawshank caught me before I fell.
"What did you see?"
I stared at him.
"You knew me before we met."
His face went pale.
"I…"
"You knew me."
He looked down.
"I remembered something."
"What?"
"My memories were erased."
"By whom?"
He looked toward Azrael.
My eyes followed his.
Azrael stood several feet away, silent.
"Father."
Shawshank walked toward him.
"Did you erase my memories?"
Azrael didn't answer.
Shawshank's voice became louder.
"DID YOU?"
Azrael finally looked at him.
"Yes."
The kingdom seemed to stop breathing.
Shawshank's face hardened.
"Why?"
"Because you were too young."
"You had no right."
"I was protecting you."
"You keep saying that!"
Shawshank stepped closer.
"You protected me by making me forget the girl I was supposed to protect?"
Azrael lowered his eyes.
"You were never supposed to remember."
Shawshank laughed bitterly.
"And what was she?"
Azrael looked at me.
"The child who could destroy the boundary between our worlds."
My stomach dropped.
"What?"
Angela stepped forward.
"That isn't the whole truth."
Everyone turned toward her.
Azrael looked angry.
"Angela."
"No."
She shook her head.
"I have lied enough."
She looked at me.
"You deserve to know."
I swallowed.
"Tell me."
Angela took a deep breath.
"When you were born, the sea reacted to you."
Marina looked down.
"The waves rose higher than they ever had before."
Angela continued.
"Creatures came from the deepest part of the ocean."
Azrael added quietly,
"They were searching for you."
"Why?"
"Because your soul carried the power of the first keeper."
I touched my chest.
"And that's why my soul was divided?"
Angela nodded.
"Yes."
"Then why did the creature want me?"
Nobody answered.
I looked at the gate.
The darkness was still there.
Watching.
Waiting.
Then the creature spoke.
This time, it used my voice.
"Because I am you."
I froze.
Shawshank stepped in front of me.
"Leave her alone."
The creature laughed.
"You still protect her."
Shawshank raised his hand.
The golden mark on his palm appeared.
The creature suddenly became silent.
Then it whispered,
"You don't remember what you are."
Shawshank's expression changed.
"What am I?"
The creature answered,
"My door."
The water exploded.
A black wave crashed against us.
Shawshank was thrown backward.
"SHAWSHANK!"
I ran toward him.
He was lying on the ground.
Blood floated from the corner of his mouth.
I dropped beside him.
"Shawshank!"
His eyes opened slowly.
"I'm okay."
"No, you're not."
He smiled weakly.
"You're crying."
"Because you scared me."
He reached for my hand.
"I'll always come back to you."
I held his hand tightly.
"You better."
Then the golden mark on his palm began glowing.
Mine responded.
Our hands became connected by a thin golden thread.
Angela stared at it.
"No…"
I looked at her.
"What?"
She whispered,
"That connection wasn't created by the queen."
"Then who created it?"
Angela looked at Shawshank.
"Your grandmother."
My eyes widened.
"My grandmother?"
Angela nodded.
"She knew that one day the creature would come for you."
Shawshank sat up.
"Why would she connect us?"
Angela's eyes filled with tears.
"Because you were the only person who could bring Bjei back if the darkness ever entered her."
I stared at Shawshank.
He stared back.
Neither of us spoke.
Then the gate opened wider.
The creature stepped forward.
Only its hand appeared.
Long black fingers wrapped around the edge.
Angela pulled me backward.
"It's coming."
The false queen looked terrified.
Azrael raised his weapon.
Marina moved beside me.
Shawshank stood.
The entire underwater kingdom prepared for war.
But the creature didn't attack.
It simply looked at me.
Then it smiled.
"You have become whole."
My blood ran cold.
"What do you want?"
It tilted its head.
"I don't want your power."
"Then what?"
It pointed at Shawshank.
"I want him."
Shawshank stepped forward.
"No."
The creature smiled wider.
"You already belong to me."
The golden mark on Shawshank's hand suddenly turned black.
He screamed.
"SHAWSHANK!"
I grabbed him.
His body shook violently.
His eyes turned completely black.
Then he looked at me.
But it wasn't him looking back.
The creature smiled through his face.
"Now…"
It whispered.
"…choose."
My heart shattered.
Because I finally understood.
The prophecy was never about one of us dying.
It was about which one of us the darkness would take.