"My first child."
Nerath's words echoed through the chamber.
I stared at him.
"No."
His smile widened.
"You still resist the truth."
"I am not your child."
The woman with my face stepped backward.
"He is lying."
Nerath looked at her.
"You were always the difficult one."
Her black eyes narrowed.
"You abandoned me."
"I gave you purpose."
"You gave me darkness."
Nerath laughed.
"And yet you survived because of it."
Shawshank moved in front of me.
"Stay away from her."
Nerath looked at him.
For a moment, his expression became almost amused.
"You."
Shawshank's golden mark began glowing.
"My greatest mistake."
Shawshank froze.
"What did you call me?"
"I created you to guard her."
Nerath stepped closer.
"But you made the unforgivable mistake of loving her."
My heart tightened.
Nerath continued.
"That was never part of the design."
Shawshank's eyes hardened.
"Then your design failed."
Nerath's smile disappeared.
"Perhaps."
He lifted one hand.
The shadows behind him rushed forward.
Shawshank raised his hand.
A golden wall appeared between us and the army.
The impact shook the entire chamber.
"Run!" he shouted.
I grabbed his arm.
"I'm not leaving you."
"You need to!"
"No!"
The woman with my face suddenly grabbed my other hand.
"Then we fight together."
I looked at her.
"You're helping me?"
She stared at Nerath.
"He kept me trapped for centuries."
She squeezed my hand.
"I want him dead."
Nerath laughed.
"You think you can defeat me?"
The woman released my hand.
"No."
Her eyes turned completely black.
"But we can hurt you."
She slammed both hands into the ground.
Darkness exploded across the chamber.
The shadow army screamed as they were thrown backward.
Shawshank looked at me.
"Now!"
I raised my hands.
Golden light burst from my body.
The darkness and gold collided.
For one moment, everything became silent.
Then—
BOOM!
The chamber shattered.
We fell through the floor.
I screamed.
Shawshank caught me.
We landed in a strange place beneath the chamber.
There were thousands of doors.
Golden.
Silver.
Black.
Blue.
Red.
Each one carried a different symbol.
I looked around.
"What is this?"
The woman landed beside us.
"The memory vault."
Shawshank looked at her.
"Whose memories?"
She pointed toward the doors.
"Everyone."
I walked toward one.
A golden door opened by itself.
Inside was a memory.
I saw Marina.
She was holding baby me.
She was crying.
Beside her stood Lyra.
And the First Queen.
Marina looked at Lyra.
"Please."
Lyra shook her head.
"If we do this, she will never know who she really is."
Marina hugged me tightly.
"I don't care."
The First Queen looked toward the darkness.
"Nerath is coming."
Marina kissed my forehead.
"Then erase me from her memories."
I froze.
"What?"
Shawshank stared at the memory.
Marina continued.
"If she remembers me too early, Nerath will find her."
Lyra cried.
"She is your daughter."
"I know."
Marina looked at me.
"That is why I have to disappear."
The memory vanished.
I couldn't breathe.
"My mother…"
Shawshank held my shoulder.
"She was protecting you."
I nodded.
Tears ran down my face.
Then another door opened.
This one showed Angela.
She was younger.
She was holding me.
Behind her stood Marina.
Marina handed baby me to her.
"Raise her as your own."
Angela was crying.
"I don't know if I can."
"You can."
Marina touched my cheek.
"Tell her I abandoned her if you must."
Angela shook her head.
"I can't."
"You have to."
The memory disappeared.
I covered my mouth.
All these years…
I had thought my mother had simply left me.
But she had been hiding me.
Protecting me.
Loving me from a distance.
Then the woman beside me whispered:
"There is one more memory."
I turned.
"Whose?"
She pointed at a black door.
"Yours."
The door opened.
I stepped inside.
There I was.
Standing before Nerath.
But I wasn't afraid.
I was older.
Powerful.
And beside me stood Shawshank.
I heard my own voice.
"If you touch my world again, I will destroy you."
Nerath laughed.
"You cannot destroy me."
I smiled.
"I don't have to."
I raised my hand.
"I only have to remember who I am."
The memory ended.
I stepped backward.
Shawshank caught me.
"What happened?"
I looked at him.
"I defeated Nerath once."
The woman stared at me.
"How?"
I shook my head.
"I don't know."
Then a voice came from behind us.
"You didn't defeat him."
We turned.
The First Queen stood at the entrance.
Her crown was cracked.
Blood ran down her face.
She looked at me.
"You sacrificed yourself."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
She stepped closer.
"You didn't destroy Nerath."
She looked toward the black door.
"You erased yourself from existence."
The woman beside me gasped.
"And the worlds?"
The First Queen's eyes filled with tears.
"They were created from the pieces of her sacrifice."
I stared at her.
"No…"
She nodded.
"And now that you remember…"
The entire memory vault began shaking.
"…the worlds are trying to become one again."
Shawshank grabbed my hand.
"What happens if they do?"
The First Queen looked at me.
"You will remember everything."
I swallowed.
"And then?"
Her voice became barely a whisper.
"You will have to decide whether to save the five worlds…"
She looked at Shawshank.
"…or save the person you love."
The lights went out.
And somewhere in the darkness, Nerath laughed.