MAY
The world tilts.
Break the bond.
Or lose him forever.
Neither feels like a choice.
Both feel like death wrapped in different sentences.
Nathel's breathing grows fainter beneath her, each inhale a struggle, each exhale a plea she can't hear.
"No…" May shakes her head, tears blurring everything. "There has to be another way. Something else. Anything else."
The Keeper watches her with the calm patience of someone who has seen mortals break a thousand times.
"There is no loophole," she says softly.
"No secret path."
"No hidden door."
Her golden eyes dim.
"You two sealed your fate the moment you formed that bond."
May bites back a sob.
"That bond wasn't a mistake."
"Oh, I agree," the Keeper murmurs. "It was destiny. A soul-thread older than you both. But destiny, child… destiny is rarely kind."
May presses her forehead to Nathel's shoulder, trying to steady her breath. The silver under his skin flickers dimmer with every second.
He's slipping.
"Nathel," she whispers shakily, "if you leave me now… I won't survive it."
His fingers twitch weakly, just once.
Like he's trying to respond.
Trying to stay.
May lifts her head.
"Keeper. If the bond breaks, he dies. If it doesn't break, the shadow takes him. So what's the difference?"
The Keeper steps closer, her expression unreadable.
"The difference," she says quietly, "is this:
If the bond breaks, he dies…
but you survive."
May's chest caves in.
"And if I don't break it?"
The Keeper sighs — slow, tired, ancient.
"Then you die with him."
The silence is crushing.
May's tears hit Nathel's shirt.
Her throat closes.
"You want me to choose my life over his."
"No," the Keeper says.
Her voice turns heavy.
"I want you to choose your fate. Because whether you accept it or not, May… the bond belongs to you, not him."
May's breath stutters.
"What does that mean?"
"It means," the Keeper says, "you are the anchor. The center. The heart of it. You always were."
May steps back.
"No. No, I—I'm normal. I'm not anything special."
The Keeper smiles sadly.
"That is what you begged me to help you believe. When you broke down in this very street— months ago — sobbing that you didn't want to carry this anymore."
May freezes.
"This street?" she whispers.
The Keeper nods.
"This exact spot."
May looks around.
The cracked pavement.
The flickering lights.
The silence.
A memory flickers—
Like a spark behind her forehead.
Her own voice.
Broken.
Sobbing.
"I can't… I can't do this anymore. Please… take it away."
She stiffens.
The Keeper watches.
"You felt the bond killing him," the Keeper whispers. "Killing you. You thought it was destroying both your lives. You didn't know how to control it. You thought you were losing your mind."
May's throat tightens.
That explains the nightmares.
The chest pains.
The strange visions.
The reason she pushed Nathel away without knowing why.
May shakes violently.
"Why didn't I tell Nathel any of this?"
The Keeper's eyes soften.
"You did."
May freezes.
"You said you loved him too much to let him die for you. You begged me to erase his power so he could live a normal life. And he made his vow…"
She glances at Nathel, lying unconscious.
"…to never disturb the bond again."
May covers her mouth, trembling so hard she almost collapses.
"We both asked to forget," she whispers.
"Yes."
"But the bond woke up anyway."
The Keeper nods.
"Because the heart can only lie for so long."
May stares at Nathel — pale, shaking, barely breathing.
She can feel his pain through the bond.
His fear.
His fading heartbeat.
Her own pulse stutters.
There is no universe where she chooses a life without him.
Not again.
Not after all this.
May stands slowly.
"I won't break it."
The Keeper's brows lift slightly.
"You choose death then?"
May looks down at Nathel — the boy she loved before she even understood what love was.
"I choose him," she whispers.
"Whatever that means."
The Keeper studies her for a long moment.
Then she nods.
"Very well."
She raises her hand.
"But understand this, child: once you make this choice, there is no turning back. The bond will complete itself. Fully. Irrevocably. And when it does… your fates will merge."
May swallows.
"M-merge?"
"Your life.
His life.
Your soul.
His soul.
One path. One death. One destiny."
May hesitates.
Just for a heartbeat.
Then she kneels and takes Nathel's hand.
"I'm not afraid."
The Keeper exhales — a sound like wind through ancient ruins.
"So be it."
Golden light gathers in her palm.
May squeezes Nathel's hand tighter.
The Keeper lowers her glowing hand to May's chest—
The bond inside her explodes.