The chamber began to shake.
Dust fell from the invisible ceiling.
The little girl stood in front of me, her black eyes fixed on mine.
"They divided your life."
Her words kept repeating inside my head.
They divided your life.
I looked at Shawshank.
"What does that mean?"
Before he could answer, the ground cracked.
A deep growl came from beneath us.
Nerath.
It was coming.
Shawshank immediately pulled me behind him.
"Stay close to me."
The little girl laughed softly.
"You still think you can protect her."
Shawshank looked at her.
"I will."
"You don't even know what you are protecting."
"I know enough."
She shook her head.
"No. You know what they allowed you to remember."
Shawshank's face hardened.
"What are you talking about?"
She pointed at him.
"They erased you too."
He froze.
I looked at him.
"Shawshank?"
He slowly touched his head.
A sudden pain crossed his face.
"I…"
He staggered.
"Shawshank!"
I caught him.
His eyes closed.
Then another memory appeared.
A small boy standing in front of a golden door.
Azrael was behind him.
The boy was crying.
"I don't want to forget her."
Azrael placed his hands on the boy's head.
"You have to."
"Why?"
"Because if you remember her, Nerath will find her."
The boy shook his head.
"I promised to protect her."
Azrael's voice became softer.
"And you will."
The memory disappeared.
Shawshank opened his eyes.
Tears rolled down his cheeks.
"I remembered."
I held his hand.
"What?"
"I knew you before you knew me."
I swallowed.
"How long?"
"Since we were children."
The little girl stepped closer.
"And you were never meant to be her enemy."
Shawshank stared at her.
"Then what am I?"
The girl looked at me.
"You were the second child."
My heart stopped.
"Second?"
She nodded.
"There were three."
She pointed at me.
"You were the first."
Then she pointed at herself.
"I was the second."
Finally, she pointed toward Shawshank.
"He was the third."
Silence.
I couldn't understand.
"Three children?"
"Yes."
"What happened to us?"
The little girl looked toward the black door.
"They were afraid of what we would become together."
The chamber shook again.
A crack opened across the golden floor.
Black smoke began rising.
Nerath's voice echoed through the chamber.
"Enough."
The little girl turned toward the darkness.
"You're too late."
Nerath emerged.
Its enormous form filled the chamber.
"You should have remained forgotten."
The girl smiled.
"I remember everything."
Nerath looked at me.
"And now she will too."
My body went cold.
I stepped forward.
"Tell me the truth."
Nerath stared at me.
"Which truth?"
"Why were there three children?"
Nerath remained silent.
I raised my hand.
The golden power inside me awakened.
"Tell me."
The chamber shook.
Nerath finally spoke.
"The three of you were created to control the three worlds."
I frowned.
"Three worlds?"
"The sea."
It pointed toward Shawshank.
"The sky."
Then toward the little girl.
"And the land."
Its eyes settled on me.
"You were meant to connect them."
I shook my head.
"No."
"Yes."
"And what went wrong?"
Nerath smiled.
"You developed something none of us expected."
"What?"
It whispered,
"Choice."
The word echoed through the chamber.
"You were supposed to obey your nature," Nerath continued. "The sea child would rule the sea. The sky child would rule the sky. And the land child would remain human."
I looked at Shawshank.
"You're the sea child."
He nodded slowly.
I looked at the little girl.
"And she's the sky?"
The girl shook her head.
"No."
She looked at me.
"She is."
I felt my stomach drop.
"Me?"
The girl nodded.
"You were the sky child."
I stared at my hands.
"But I lived on land."
"Because they hid you there."
Nerath laughed.
"They feared what would happen if the sky discovered what you really were."
A sudden flash of lightning appeared inside the chamber.
Celestia's voice echoed from somewhere beyond the door.
"BJEI!"
I turned.
"Celestia?"
The black door began opening wider.
Silver light flooded the chamber.
Celestia appeared on the other side.
She looked at me.
Then at Nerath.
Then at the little girl.
Her face changed.
"You found her."
I stepped forward.
"Who?"
Celestia looked at the little girl.
"The missing sky child."
My heart stopped.
The little girl smiled.
Then she looked at me.
"And you're not the sky child."
She whispered,
"You're the one who was supposed to rule all three."
Before I could respond, the entire chamber exploded with light.
And when the light disappeared…
Shawshank was gone.