"No."
Shawshank's voice was barely a whisper.
I looked at the golden tree.
Its branches were breaking.
The five stones in my hands were burning hotter and hotter.
"The first world is dying because I remembered it?"
The First Mother nodded.
"It was held together by your forgotten memories."
"So make me forget again."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because you would lose yourself."
I stared at her.
"I've already lost myself so many times."
My voice shook.
"I can lose my memories again if it saves everyone."
Shawshank grabbed my hand.
"No."
I looked at him.
"You don't understand."
"I understand perfectly."
His eyes were filled with tears.
"You're ready to sacrifice yourself again."
"I have to."
"No, Bjei."
He stepped closer.
"You promised me."
"When?"
"When we were children."
My breath caught.
He touched my cheek.
"You promised you would stop choosing death whenever you were afraid of losing someone."
I remembered.
A little girl.
A young boy.
A golden world.
A promise beneath the tree.
I closed my eyes.
"I remember."
"Then keep your promise."
The ground shook violently.
A crack opened beneath us.
The first world was disappearing piece by piece.
Trees turned to dust.
The golden sky became black.
The water floating above us began falling.
"We're running out of time," the First Mother said.
I looked at the five stones.
"What happens if I put them back?"
"The worlds will become one."
"And what happens to me?"
"You become the first world."
I swallowed.
"And Shawshank?"
The First Mother didn't answer.
I already knew.
"He disappears."
Shawshank looked at me.
"Then don't do it."
"But if I don't…"
"All five worlds collapse."
I looked around.
Five worlds.
Millions of lives.
One choice.
Again.
I laughed bitterly.
"Why does everything always come back to me?"
Shawshank took my face in his hands.
"Because you're the one who keeps trying to save everyone."
"I can't watch people die."
"You don't have to."
"What other choice do I have?"
He looked at the five stones.
"Maybe we stop trying to save the worlds the way they were."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"The worlds were created because everyone believed they needed boundaries."
He looked toward the dying world.
"But maybe they don't."
The First Mother slowly lifted her head.
"Shawshank…"
He continued.
"Bjei doesn't need to become the world."
He looked at me.
"She can become the connection between them."
My heart started racing.
"The bridge."
He nodded.
"Not a queen."
"Not a sacrifice."
"Not a weapon."
He squeezed my hand.
"A choice."
The First Mother stared at us.
"You cannot create a bridge without a sacrifice."
I looked at her.
"Then maybe the rule needs to change."
She shook her head.
"Ancient laws cannot simply be changed."
I smiled through my tears.
"Apparently, I have a habit of doing things that aren't supposed to be possible."
The five stones began glowing.
I raised them.
The first world screamed.
Not with a voice.
With memories.
I saw every person who had lived there.
Every creature.
Every forgotten soul.
Every queen.
Every king.
Every person who had been hurt because the worlds were divided.
Then I understood.
The first world wasn't dying because I remembered it.
It was dying because nobody remembered what it was supposed to be.
A world without borders.
A world without rulers.
A world where no one needed permission to belong.
I looked at Shawshank.
"I know what to do."
His eyes searched mine.
"What?"
"I don't have to become the first world."
I looked at the five stones.
"I have to remind the worlds that they were never meant to be enemies."
The First Mother stepped forward.
"If you fail…"
"I know."
"You could destroy everything."
"I know."
"You could die."
I looked at Shawshank.
He was crying.
"I know."
Then I turned back to the five stones.
"But I'm not choosing death."
I raised my hands.
"I am choosing life."
The stones shot into the sky.
Blue light covered the sea.
Silver light covered the sky.
Gold light covered the land.
Black light spread across the fourth world.
And the fifth stone released a brilliant white light.
The worlds began moving.
Not collapsing.
Connecting.
The sea touched the sky.
The sky touched the land.
The fourth world opened its gates.
The fifth world returned from darkness.
The first world stood at the center.
And for the first time…
nothing was fighting.
I fell to my knees.
Shawshank caught me.
"Bjei!"
"I'm okay."
But something was wrong.
I couldn't feel my heartbeat.
I looked at my hands.
They were becoming transparent.
Shawshank's face changed.
"No."
I stared at him.
"I'm not disappearing."
"You are."
"No."
I touched my chest.
"I can still feel myself."
The First Mother stared at me in disbelief.
"She isn't becoming the first world."
"What is happening?" Shawshank demanded.
The First Mother whispered,
"She is becoming something the first world never had."
I looked at her.
"What?"
She smiled through tears.
"A choice."
The golden light around me changed.
It wasn't taking me.
It was becoming part of me.
The five worlds connected through my heart.
But I remained human.
I remained Bjei.
Shawshank held me tighter.
"You stayed."
I smiled.
"I told you."
He laughed through his tears.
"You really are impossible."
"And you love me anyway."
"More than anything."
We held each other while the five worlds settled.
Then a new sound came from the distance.
Footsteps.
I turned.
The First Queen was walking toward us.
Behind her stood Marina.
Angela.
Lyra.
Nerath.
The woman who carried my darkness.
The king of the fourth world.
And countless others.
They were all watching me.
The First Queen slowly removed her crown.
Then Marina did the same.
One by one, the rulers lowered their crowns to the ground.
The First Queen looked at me.
"No more queens."
The Sky Queen nodded.
"No more kings."
The fourth-world ruler bowed.
"No more forgotten."
Nerath looked toward the sea.
"No more darkness ruling through fear."
I looked at Shawshank.
"And no more sacrifices."
Suddenly, the golden tree behind us began blooming again.
But this time…
it had six branches.
The First Mother stared at it.
"There were only five worlds."
I looked at the new branch.
A small golden light formed at its tip.
"What is the sixth?"
The light opened.
And a voice whispered from inside it.
"The world you haven't created yet."