Beyond every shadow lies a summit… but not all who climb it return.
With the bark of the silent tree secured in Uzoaru's satchel, the maidens pressed forward. The path narrowed into an ascending trail carved into jagged hills. It led to a place only spoken of in riddles and hushes: Ufie-Ugwu, the summit where kings are spiritually tested—and fates rewritten.
The wind was no longer cold. It was sharp. Harsh. It carried whispers that weren't theirs.
"Do you hear it?" Nwanne asked.
Uzoaru nodded. "They're speaking… but not to us. To the mountain."
Each step forward felt heavier. Not from fatigue, but from reckoning. The mountain, like the river, knew their hearts.
By mid-climb, their hands were bruised from gripping sharp rocks. Their bodies ached, but neither maiden yielded.
Suddenly, the air split with a howl—not animal, not human.
A shadow beast, the mountain's guardian, lunged from the mist.
Its form was fluid—smoke and bone. Eyes like hollow moons. Teeth that shimmered like obsidian.
Nwanne drew her blade. Uzoaru gripped the bark tightly.
"We have to face it together!" Uzoaru shouted.
But Nwanne hesitated.
The shadow beast growled—and charged.
Uzoaru dove left, rolling into a crouch. Nwanne swung—missed—and fell hard.
The beast pounced toward her, claws outstretched.
Uzoaru screamed, throwing the bark toward the creature. As it touched its smoky flesh, it hissed—pulling back.
She ran to Nwanne, yanked her up.
"You saved me…" Nwanne said breathlessly.
Uzoaru looked at her, voice calm but firm. "That's what sisters do."
Together, they circled the beast. With a scream born of unity, they lunged—Uzoaru slashing with the enchanted bark, Nwanne striking with steel.
The beast shattered into mist, scattering like ash in sunlight.
The summit was now visible—just ahead.
They climbed the final slope, hand in hand.
At the top was a stone dais. And on it, a crown of woven light and shadow—floating, untouched.
As they approached, a voice thundered from the wind:
"Only one shall wear the crown…But both shall bear the truth."
Uzoaru and Nwanne looked at each other.
They had made it.
But the journey's end wasn't just about healing the prince.
It was about healing what had broken between them.
Nwanne lowered her gaze. "I envied you. Hated you. But I see now—you never stopped being true."
Uzoaru smiled gently. "And I judged you… but now I understand."
They stepped forward.
The crown pulsed.
And a beam of light shot into the sky—calling the spirits of the ancestors to witness what was to come.