A good thing about adrenaline is that I don’t feel the pain as much as I should. So I draw the power of my divinegifrom my chest and hurl it at the Amheuk before it can gloat. The ball of white light tears off its massive arm.
I land on the ground and stumble for balance. I hope I bought myself some time. It should take a while for the darkness to heal itself from that injury. I plant my hands on my thighs and drag air into my burning lungs.
Unfortunately, the Amheuk doesn’t even pause for its arm to grow back. It brings down its other fist, and I take a flying leap before I’m creamed. I roll to a stand, but I’m so turned around that my next attack barely skims the Amheuk’s pinky.
I fall, and I fall again. And every time, I get up like an obstinate teeter-totter. Like this, the relentless battle rages on until night descends on the Kingdom of Sky.
Too tired to strike first, I sway on my feet and brace for the next attack. But ... it doesn’t come.
What is the Amheuk waiting for?
“Has hope blossomed in your heart, Goddess?” Its red mouth stretches into a condescending sneer. “Have you begun to think maybe you can defeat me?”
“Icandefeat you,” I pant. My T-shirt and jeans are in tatters, but the copious amount of blood that I have spilled doesn’t show through.Black is always a good choice.“I will end you and wipe that nasty smile off your hideous mug.”
“Ah, yes,” it drawls. “You feel more than hope. You havefaith. It would be satisfying to crush your pathetic hope. But crushing your faith will be transcendent.”
Fuck.
Dread spreads through me as I glance at the dark sky, and realization dawns on me. The Amheuk has been stalling this whole time because it is most powerful after nightfall.
“I changed my mind,” I snarl. “You talk way too much. Stop using your words.”
“Did you truly believe that you, thegoddessof Light, can defeatme?” Rage spills past the red slash of its mouth. “I am no mere god. IamDarkness. I existed even before time itself.”
The Amheuk explodes and blankets the sky. Soon, the darkness will encompass the Kingdom of Sky—the last of the Realm of Four Kingdoms—and all will be lost. I have to stop it. My panicked eyes skip left and right, searching for an answer.
I have to become the Cheon’gwang.
I hug my arms around my stomach.This body.A sob tears through my throat.This mind.I have to stop being ... me. I can’t become the Cheon’gwang until I cease to exist. My teeth chatter as I curl in on myself.
I’m scared, Ethan.
I can’t be me. I can’t be yours. Not anymore.
But I hear his voice as though he’s standing right next to me.You are still you. You are still mine.
I dig my nails into my palms and hiss a shaky breath. I straighten to my full height and glare at the dark sky.Everything will be okay, Ethan.I will make sure of it.
The Yeoiju spins at my heart’s center and calls to my life force. My gi, turned white from the union of the four divine gi, answers the call and flows into the Yeoiju.
The orb grows and expands, beating to the rhythm of my heart, until my chest gleams white. Then the white light spreads to every corner of my body, down to my toes and to the tips of my fingers.
I let go.
Light bursts from my chest, my mouth, my eyes. My arms crack like porcelain, and my fingers split apart. Agony rips through me, but I no longer have a throat to form a scream, a mouth to release the sound.
My human form shifts into mygumihoas I seek relief from the pain. Mygumihois strong. She can hold me together. But the light of the Yeoiju tears through her body, and we shatter.
I become the Cheon’gwang and fill the Kingdom of Sky, expanding to the farthest reaches of the night. I meet a wall of darkness, and the Amheuk trembles in fear, clinging on to its existence. Silent laughter flickers through me. It is hanging on to false hope.
I am Light.
I shine on the darkness, and the Amheuk dissipates with a terrible shriek until ... there is only light.
I am Life.
But for there to be life, there must be death. This balance is immutable—a fundamental truth.
