Darkness takes its final breath,
Double dragons reunite.
Fierce shall jade and silver burn,
The truth of tears and blood unchained.
Blinding sorrow extinguish dreams,
Hope shines forth, the unveiled pearl.
The true heart of the righteous shall
Shatter the light that reveals all paths.
Ethan and I are the double dragons. We were both born in the year of the dragon—one hundred and eight years apart. And by breaking his jade necklace, he unchained the truth of his mother’s blood and tears, along with his silver-and-green magic.
The Yeoiju, of course, is the unveiled pearl. I bitched and moaned about being the last hope to save the worlds, but a secret part of me was... proud. I always feared that I was the bad guy, but the Yeoiju gave me hope that Icouldbe the good guy after all—the good guy who saved the whole freaking world.
But I had it all wrong, didn’t I?
“And I presume ‘the righteous’ in the final verse refers to Ethan?” I ask woodenly, even though I already know the answer.
“I-I believe so.” Minju’s chin trembles as tears rain down her cheeks.
I know so because I remember the last verse of the prophecy of the King Foretold:
Brave is the King who discerns,
Path of truth from path of shame.
When Ethan broke the stone of tears, his mother’s memory revealed the prophecy of the End of Days to him. That’s why he told me at Heaven Lake that he is the one destined to kill me. Even then, he understood who he was—the righteous king who discerns the path of truth. But he didn’t understandwhyhe has to kill me.
I do, though.
When the time comes, he and his true heart will know what to do. He will kill me before I burn down the Realm of Four Kingdoms and the Mortal Realm. He will understand that I would rather die than become the destroyer of the worlds—the death of everyone I love.
“Stop being a crybaby, Minju.” I wipe away her tears with the pads of my thumbs. “I know what must be done. Everything will be okay.”
Because I understand now.
My destiny is to become the End of Days. And Ethan is meant to be my salvation.
Chapter Forty-Two
Sunny
Ethan catches my gaze when Minju and I return to the audience hall, raising his brows in question. I widen my eyes innocently and offer him a closed-mouth smile.
I’ll tell him everything when it’s time. No matter what, he will be by my side through it all. I will not be alone, even in death. Especially in death.
Forgive me, Ethan.
“Is everyone ready then?” Gyun asks.
“I’m ready.” Hailey nods, calm and determined.
“My king.” Jihun bows formally to Ethan, then raises his head with a wry quirk of his lips. “Try not to die.”
