Darrian's POV
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I charged with everything I had.
The part of me that believed I wasn't enough tried to hold me back.
But Heather's face cut through the doubt.
Her laugh.
Her pain.
Her belief in me even when I didn't believe in myself.
That belief became my blade.
I swung at the version of myself who thought power was everything. Who believed emotion was weakness. Who would've let Heather die and called it fate.
He blocked every strike, but he was faltering.
For every cruel word he snarled, I countered with a truth I'd learned from her.
"You only ever ruled with fear," I said as I dodged a crushing blow. "But fear doesn't make loyalty. It makes traitors like Mikaela."
He hesitated.
"You called love weakness," I hissed, slamming my shoulder into him, knocking us both down. "But it gave me strength enough to walk into death and drag her back."
The shadow me growled, rolling to his feet, snarling like an animal cornered.
"You think you're different now?" he spat. "You're still me. We are the same."
I shook my head. "No. I've changed. You were forged in survival. But I was reforged in love."
He lunged—and I caught him.
For a long, terrible moment, we struggled. His hand around my throat. My fist against his ribs. But slowly, surely, I pushed him down.
"I'm done letting the worst part of me lead," I said, panting, as I held him still. "You're not gone. You're part of me. But you don't get to win."
He roared.
And I let him go.
Not in surrender.
But in acceptance.
Light erupted between us, blinding, and the floor beneath us cracked open.
He screamed—then vanished, fading into dust and shadows and wind.
And I fell through the light.
I landed in silence.
Everything around me was white—endless and still.
Then a woman stepped out from the void.
Tall. Regal. Eyes like twin moons.
The Moon Goddess.
She regarded me with something like pity, something like pride.
"You passed," she said simply.
"I almost didn't."
"But you did." She walked around me, her presence calming and powerful. "Few face their true selves and come out stronger. Most let fear win. Or guilt. Or anger."
I stared at her. "Where is she?"
She smiled faintly. "She waits. But one final truth must be spoken."
"What truth?"
"You were willing to burn the world for her," she said. "But love, true love, is not in vengeance. It is in sacrifice. What are you willing to give, Darrian, to bring her back?"
"Anything."
She tilted her head. "Even yourself?"
I hesitated.
Not because I didn't mean it. But because I knew what she meant.
"You can bring her back," she said, softer now. "But the bond between you must break forever. She will live. But she will not remember you. Your touch. Your love. She will live a life free of pain, free of you, and you will walk this world alone."
My heart shattered in my chest.
"Or…" she continued, "you can remain dead beside her. And in the next life, you may find each other again."
I sank to my knees.
Heather… without me?
Safe. Happy. Alive.
But without ever knowing me again.
Could I live with that?
"I can't lose her again," I whispered.
"And yet," the Moon Goddess said gently, "love sometimes means letting go."
The silence was suffocating.
I looked up, fists clenched.
"Let me choose neither."
Her eyes widened slightly.
"I don't want her to forget," I said. "And I won't leave her side. Not again. So do what you must—but I'm walking back with her."
The Goddess stared at me for a long, impossible moment.
Then, she smiled.
And the world cracked open.
I gasped as my lungs filled with air again.
The veil vanished, and I stood at the edge of a shimmering lake.
On the other side, Heather waited.
Her eyes—wide, scared, but alive.
She ran.
And so did I.
Our hands met in the middle.
Alive.
Together.
And I knew then…
I hadn't just fought for her.
I'd fought to become someone worthy of standing beside her.
Even if I lost her again in another life—I'd always fight my way back.
Every time.
Forever.
She was in my arms.
Warm.
Breathing.
Heather.
I buried my face in her hair, letting the scent of her ground me. The ache in my chest began to fade, replaced with something just as dangerous—hope.
We had made it.
She was alive. I was alive.
I felt the bond flare between us, no longer cold and lifeless, but vibrant—throbbing like a heartbeat as it reconnected piece by piece. Her fingers trembled against my back. She clung to me like I was the only thing tethering her to this world.
And maybe I was.
But then the world shifted.
The light dulled. The veil shimmered and split open behind us.
And the Moon Goddess stepped through once more.
Her presence silenced everything. The lake stilled. The wind died. Even our heartbeats felt like they hesitated.
Heather pulled back in my arms, eyes locking with mine, confusion blooming.
"What's happening?" she whispered.
I didn't want to answer. Because I knew.
I already knew.
"You have returned her to life," the Moon Goddess said, her voice ringing like bells in the stillness. "But life requires balance."
"No," I said, voice breaking. "Please…"
She shook her head gently. "One soul cannot be restored without consequence. You've passed through all three veils. Faced truth, pain, and death. And now, you stand at the gate with a soul returned to you. But the world must take something in return."
Heather stood, eyes wide, clutching my hand. "What… what does that mean?"
The Goddess turned to her, face solemn. "One of you must remain. The bond must be severed, or it will claim you both."
Heather staggered.
"What?" she breathed.
"You may both pass," the Goddess continued. "But only if you let go of each other entirely. I can break the bond. You will live, but never again remember what you meant to each other."
"No," I choked.
"Or," she said, "you may keep the bond intact, let it carry your souls onward into the next life. But that means both of you must stay. Together. In death."
Heather's hand tightened in mine.
My mouth was dry. My body shook.
I'd come all this way… died to save her.
Now I had to choose between losing her forever—or dying with her.
She looked at me, her eyes wet with tears. "Darrian…"
I shook my head. "Don't say anything. Don't—"
"No. I need to. I need you to hear me."
I turned to face her. The woman I'd burned kingdoms for.
"Everything I've survived," she said, "was because I hoped. That one day, I'd be free. That one day, I'd love and be loved and live. Really live."
Her voice cracked.
"I never had a choice before. But I do now. And I choose life."
My throat closed.
Tears burned my eyes.
"Heather—"
"But I choose it with you," she said fiercely. "Not without. I won't go if you're not with me."
The Moon Goddess stepped forward. "Then you must choose together. Keep your bond and remain in the veil… or sever it and return to life, alone."
The silence pressed against my chest like stone.
She was right.
We couldn't survive another loss.
But could I really live in a world where she didn't know me?
Did I love her enough to let her forget?
Heather looked at me again. "What do we do?"
I stared into her eyes.
And somehow, I knew.
There was one more path.
"We don't let the Goddess choose for us," I said quietly. "We choose for ourselves."
I turned to the Goddess. "Break the bond."
Heather gasped. "Darrian—"
I took her face in my hands. "I want you to live. Even if it means I'm nothing more than a shadow in your dreams."
"No—please—"
"I love you, Heather. I'll always find you. In this life or the next."
Her knees buckled, but I held her. Kissed her. Memorized her. One last time.
Then I looked at the Goddess.
And nodded.
"Do it."