The church felt like a tomb.
Cold seeped through the shattered stained glass, pooling in puddles beneath my feet. Claire had retreated to the pew, her pistol clutched in both hands—though I knew it wouldn't fire. Not against this.
The thing that wore Edmund's face grinned wider, its black void eyes reflecting the starlight that now seeped through every crack in the ceiling. Its skin hung loose, gray and scabbed, as if it had been boiled and peeled. But the locket at its chest… that was Edmund's. The silver chain coiled around its neck, the tiny, shattered pocket watch inside still ticking—fast, like a heart in panic.
"You look… different," the thing said, its voice a guttural parody of Edmund's. "All starry and glowy. Did you think that makes you a god? A bridge? You're just a man."
I took a step forward. My legs felt light, as if they might dissolve into stardust at any moment. But my hands—my hands were steady. They glowed now, the Ursa Minor constellation burning bright beneath my skin, casting blue light that sliced through the gloom.
"How did you do this?" I asked. "How did you… corrupt him?"
The thing laughed—a sound like nails on glass. "Corrupt? No. Awaken. Edmund was always weak. Grieving. Hungry for meaning. The Leviathan… it fed him. Showed him a way to make his wife's ghost real. To undo the void that ate her. All he had to do was… open the door."
It reached into its chest, yanking out the locket. Inside, the shattered watch suddenly sped, its hands spinning like a top. "See? The Eclipse Elixir wasn't for the barrier. It was for him. A key to let the Leviathan's tide in. And he… let it."
I felt a surge of anger. Not at the thing, but at myself. At my naivety. Edmund hadn't been a mentor—he'd been a warning. A reminder that even the broken can be tempted by the dark.
"Where is he?" I said. "The real Edmund. Is he… alive?"
The thing tilted its head, void eyes narrowing. "Alive? No. Not exactly. But his soul's still here. Trapped. Like a moth in a jar. And you… you can set him free. If you're willing to pay the price."
"What price?"
It grinned again, revealing teeth that glinted like star shards. "Yourself. Your bridge. Your light."
A shiver ran through me. The stars outside dimmed further, as if the sky itself were holding its breath. The church trembled, and from the cracks in the walls… something seeped. Not voidspawn. Not slime. Water. Black, oily water, smelling of the deep ocean.
"The tide's rising," the thing said. "Faster than I thought. You've delayed it, Starwatcher. But you can't stop it. Not without a sacrifice."
Claire fired her pistol.
The bullet hit the thing's shoulder, but it didn't bleed. Instead, the hole healed instantly, black fluid oozing from the wound. It turned to Claire, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of Edmund's face beneath the corruption—a flash of fear, of regret.
"Run, Claire!" the thing roared, its voice now a mix of Edmund's gravel and something ancient, hungry. "This isn't your fight!"
Claire didn't run. She reloaded, her hands steady. "I'm not leaving him," she said, her voice firm. "Not again."
The thing lunged.
I moved faster. My body felt weightless, as if I were gliding on starlight. I grabbed its arm, and the glow from my skin sizzled against its gray flesh. It screamed, a sound that tore at my eardrums, and I felt something snap beneath my fingers—a bone? A tendon?
But it didn't fall. It laughed, its void eyes blazing. "You think your light can hurt me? I'm part of the tide now. Part of the Leviathan. You're just a single star in a infinite sky."
I pulled back, my mind racing. The Stellar Fragments lay open on the altar, its pages now glowing with a fierce, white light. The illustration of the Starwatcher had changed again—the figure now held a sword, its blade made of stardust, its hilt wrapped in constellations.
"The bridge is not a path. It is a key."
The voice from before returned, clearer now. "Use the key. Open the door."
I looked down at my hands. The Ursa Minor constellation had spread to my fingertips, each star a tiny, burning sun. I understood.
"Claire," I said, "get to the tower. The telescope. There's a lever there—pull it. Now."
She hesitated. "What are you—"
"DO IT!"
She ran.
The thing lunged again, but I was faster. I raised my hand, and the stardust sword materialized in my grip—glowing, humming, alive. I swung it, and the blade cut through the thing's chest like butter.
It howled, but instead of dying, it laughed. "You think that kills me? I'm already dead. The Leviathan's tide is inside me. You can't kill a tide with a sword!"
I drove the blade deeper.
This time, the thing's body shattered—not into flesh, but into water. Black, oily water that splashed across the floor, hissing as it hit the church's marble. And from the water… a sound.
A whisper.
"Zhou Mingrui."
It was Edmund's voice.
"Don't let me go."
I froze. The water pooled at my feet, forming a shape—Edmund's face, his eyes wide with terror. "Please," he whispered. "I didn't want this. I just… I just wanted to fix things. For Lila. For you. For everyone."
I knelt. My hand hovered over the water, and I felt a pull—a connection, deep and unbreakable.
"You're still here," I said. "Inside. Fighting."
The water rippled. "I'm scared," Edmund's voice said. "Scared of what I've done. Scared of what's coming. But… I trust you. To fix this. To save us all."
I nodded. "I will."
I stood, the stardust sword still in my hand. The thing's water form swirled around my ankles, but it no longer attacked. It pleaded.
"Make it stop," it whispered. "The tide. The pain. Please."
I closed my eyes. The stars outside blazed brighter, their light pouring through the shattered roof. My body glowed, the Ursa Minor constellation now a map of fire across my skin.
"Open the door," the voice said.
I raised the sword.
And I plunged it into my chest.
Pain.
Blinding, all-consuming pain.
But also… clarity.
I saw the stars. Not as distant points of light, but as souls. Billions upon billions, each one a spark, a memory, a dream. And I saw the tide—a black wave, vast and endless, devouring everything in its path.
And I saw Edmund.
His soul, trapped in the tide, clinging to a shard of light.
"Pull me up," he whispered.
I reached out.
My hand, glowing with starlight, pierced the veil between worlds.
And I pulled.
The church exploded with light.
The tide receded, swallowed by the stars. The black water evaporated, leaving only the scent of salt and jasmine. The thing that wore Edmund's face dissolved into stardust, its void eyes dimming to ash.
Edmund stood before me, whole again. His hair was disheveled, his face streaked with tears, but he was alive.
"Zhou…" he whispered.
I smiled. "Welcome back."
He embraced me, his arms tight around me. "Thank you. Thank you for not letting me go."
Claire rushed over, her pistol still in hand. "Is it over?"
I looked up. The stars outside were gone. The sky was a deep, endless black, but there was no void—only… quiet.
"No," I said. "It's just beginning."
But for now…
We'd won.