Seraphina's POV
My legs give out.
One second I'm walking behind Kael through the forest, the next I'm on my knees gasping for air. My chest feels like someone's crushing it with both hands.
"What's happening to me?" I choke out.
Kael spins around, eyes wide. For the first time since we met, his cold mask cracks. "You're rejecting the mortal world. Your body died—coming back isn't simple."
Black spots dance across my vision. My hands shake so hard I can barely see them. "I thought the goddess fixed this! I thought—"
"The transition takes time." Kael drops to one knee beside me, hand hovering near my shoulder but not touching. "Your soul needs to fully bond with your new body. It's fighting itself."
Pain explodes through every nerve. I scream.
Through the agony, I feel Kael's emotions bleeding through our bond—panic, fear, guilt. He's terrified I'm going to die again right here in front of him.
"Make it stop," I beg. "Please, make it stop!"
"I can't." His voice cracks. "Only you can accept what you've become."
What I've become? I don't even know what that means!
The world tilts sideways. I'm falling, falling, falling into darkness...
I slam back into consciousness in that white place again—the goddess's realm.
But this time I'm not standing. I'm curled on the ground, shaking, tears streaming down my face.
"Help me," I whisper to the empty air. "Please, someone help me."
"Oh, child." Elara's voice wraps around me like a warm blanket. "I'm here."
The goddess kneels beside me. Up close, I see her eyes aren't just gold—they hold entire galaxies, stars being born and dying in endless cycles.
"Why does it hurt so much?" I sob.
"Because you're caught between two worlds." Elara's hand hovers over my chest, where I can feel the bond with Kael pulsing weakly. "Your mortal body died. I gave you a new one infused with divine power. But your soul remembers death. It's scared to commit to life again."
"I don't understand!"
"You died believing you were worthless. A witch. A monster. Something deserving of fire and pain." Elara's eyes fill with ancient sadness. "Deep down, part of you still believes that. And that belief is poisoning your resurrection."
Her words hit me like physical blows. She's right. Even now, even here, some small voice in my head whispers: Maybe they were right. Maybe you deserved to burn.
"No," I whisper. "No, that's not true. I was good. I helped people. I—"
"Then prove it," Elara interrupts gently. "Accept the truth of who you really are. Not what they called you. Not what they made you believe. Who you truly are."
"I don't know who that is anymore!"
The goddess smiles sadly. "Then let me show you."
She presses her palm flat against my chest.
Light erupts through me—but not painful this time. It's warm. Safe. Like coming home after being lost in the cold for years.
Images flood my mind:
A baby with glowing marks on her skin. A woman—my mother—holding her and crying. "She's so beautiful. So powerful. They'll try to take her from us."
A dark figure in a hooded cloak standing over my crib. "The Lightbearers cannot be allowed to rise again. This child must be suppressed." Black magic wrapping around the baby, dimming her light, hiding what she truly is.
Years of being weak. Small. Overlooked. Called useless by my father, ignored by my sister, pitied by everyone. All because of a curse designed to break me before I could bloom.
And finally—my real face. Not the plain, forgettable girl I saw in mirrors. But a young woman with golden light beneath her skin, marks of divine power tracing her arms like living tattoos, eyes that glow with inner fire.
This is me. The real me. The one they were so afraid of they tried to kill me twice—once with magic, once with flames.
The vision fades. I'm back in the white realm, gasping.
"You are Seraphina Ashvale," Elara says firmly. "You are a Lightbearer—one of my chosen warriors. You were cursed as a baby to hide your power. Your family murdered you to keep you weak. But they failed."
She pulls me to my feet with surprising strength.
"You are not a witch. You are not worthless. You are not a mistake." Each word rings with divine command. "You are mine. And I do not choose weaklings."
Something inside me shifts. Clicks into place like a key in a lock.
The pain vanishes. Completely. Instantly.
I gasp, touching my chest. "It's gone. The pain is—"
"Gone because you accepted the truth," Elara says. "Your soul stopped fighting itself. But understand this, child—coming back from death is only the beginning. The path ahead will be far harder than anything you've faced."
She waves her hand. The white space ripples, showing me visions:
Dark creatures with too many teeth pouring through tears in reality.
Villages burning. Children screaming. Families torn apart.
A massive shadow spreading across the land like infection, consuming everything it touches.
"The world is dying," Elara says quietly. "The Voidborn King grows stronger every day. He feeds on despair, on broken bonds, on the pain of mortals. Soon he'll be powerful enough to tear down the barriers between realms and devour everything—including my home."
"Why me?" I ask. "I'm nobody. Just a girl who got murdered by her own family. What can I possibly do against something that scares a goddess?"
Elara's smile turns knowing. "Because you've tasted death and chosen life. Because you've known the deepest betrayal and still have compassion in your heart. Because you're angry enough to fight but kind enough to care who you're fighting for."
She steps closer. "I need a champion. A Lightbearer who can close the rifts, heal the wounds in reality, and eventually face the Voidborn King himself. But that power doesn't come free."
Here it comes. The catch. There's always a catch.
"What do you want from me?" I ask carefully.
"Your service. Your loyalty. Your promise to use the powers I give you to protect the innocent and fight the darkness—even when it's hard. Even when it hurts. Even when you'd rather walk away."
She holds out her hand. It glows with golden light.
"Bond yourself to me as my Chosen. Let me awaken your true powers. In return, you'll have the strength to face anyone who wronged you. The ability to make them pay for what they did."
Revenge. She's offering me revenge.
Images flash through my mind: Callista's mocking smile. Father's turned back. The crowd cheering as I burned.
Yes. I want them to suffer like they made me suffer.
But Elara's eyes hold a warning. "Power always has a price, child. The stronger you become, the more the darkness will want you. The Voidborn King will send everything he has to corrupt you or kill you. Your life will never be safe again."
"It was never safe before," I point out. "At least this way I can fight back."
"True." Elara's expression softens. "And you won't be alone. The guardian I've bound to you—Kael Nightshade—is my strongest warrior. He's rough around the edges, but he's kept me safe for three centuries. He'll teach you. Protect you. Even if he acts like he hates every second of it."
I think of Kael's cold silver eyes. His barely controlled anger. The loneliness I felt bleeding through our bond.
"He doesn't want me," I say quietly. "He made that very clear."
"Kael doesn't want anyone," Elara says. "He's been hurt too many times. Lost too much. He's built walls so high around his heart even I can't break through them." She tilts her head. "But you? You might surprise him."
Before I can ask what she means, Elara's expression turns serious.
"I need your answer, Seraphina. Will you be my Chosen? Will you fight for the innocent, close the rifts, and save a dying world? Even knowing it might cost you everything?"
I think about the easy answer—no. Go back to being dead. Let someone else save the world. I've suffered enough for one lifetime.
But then I remember the children I healed. The families I helped. The people who smiled at me with genuine gratitude before Callista poisoned them against me.
If I walk away, they all die. Everyone dies.
And Callista wins.
That thought makes my decision easy.
I look Elara straight in her glowing eyes. "I have one condition."
The goddess raises an eyebrow. "You're bargaining with a deity?"
"You said I'm valuable. That you need me." I lift my chin. "So yes. I'm bargaining."
Elara's smile is amused and approving. "Name your condition."
"When this is over—when the world is saved and the darkness is beaten—I want justice. Real justice for what my family did to me. Not revenge. Justice."
"What's the difference?"
"Revenge is me killing them in rage. Justice is them facing consequences for their crimes. Being held accountable. Understanding what they took from me." My hands curl into fists. "I want them to know they were wrong. That I was never a monster. That they murdered an innocent person."
Elara studies me for a long moment. Then she nods slowly. "That I can promise. Serve me faithfully, become the Lightbearer you were meant to be, and I swear on my divine name that your family will face justice for their crimes."
She extends her hand again. "Do we have a deal?"
I look at her glowing palm. At the power being offered. At the chance to become something more than the weak, overlooked girl everyone dismissed.
This is it. The moment everything changes.
I take her hand. "Yes. I accept."
Light explodes through the realm. It's not gentle this time—it's a wildfire, a supernova, a star being born inside my chest. Power floods into me in waves so intense I think I might shatter from the pressure.
My skin glows. My eyes burn. Energy crackles around me like lightning.
"Welcome, my Chosen," Elara's voice echoes from everywhere at once. "Welcome to your true self."
The white realm dissolves.
I slam back into my body so hard I actually bounce off the ground.
Kael catches me before I hit the dirt again. His silver eyes are wide with shock. "Seraphina? Can you hear me?"
"I'm okay," I gasp. But my voice sounds different—stronger, clearer. "I'm more than okay."
I look down at my hands. They glow with soft golden light, the same color as Elara's eyes. Marks trace up my arms—beautiful swirling patterns that look like they were painted with liquid sunshine.
"What happened to you?" Kael breathes.
I meet his gaze. Through our bond, I feel his shock, his awe, his reluctant curiosity.
"I accepted who I really am," I say simply. "I'm done being afraid. Done being weak. I'm the goddess's Chosen now. And I have work to do."
I push away from him and stand on my own. My legs don't shake. My chest doesn't hurt. I feel powerful for the first time in my entire life.
Kael rises slowly, hand still on his sword like he doesn't trust what he's seeing. "The Chosen transformation usually takes weeks. How did you—"
A scream cuts through the forest.
We both freeze. It came from the east—a child's scream, high and terrified.
Another scream joins it. Then another.
"The village," Kael says. His face goes hard. "Something's attacking Thornhaven."
Without thinking, I start running toward the screams.
"Wait!" Kael yells behind me. "You don't know how to control your powers yet! You'll get yourself killed!"
I don't stop. Don't even slow down.
Because with my new powers comes new senses. I can feel the terror of every person in that village. Feel their pain. Their desperate hope that someone—anyone—will save them.
I'm that someone.
I burst out of the forest into chaos.
The village is on fire. Dark creatures—the same shadow wolves from my visions—tear through the streets. They're hunting. Killing. A woman clutches two small children, backing against a burning building with nowhere to run.
One of the creatures lunges for them.
Pure instinct takes over. I throw out my hand.
Golden light explodes from my palm in a beam so bright it turns night into day. It hits the creature mid-leap, and the thing doesn't just stop—it disintegrates. Turns to ash. Gone.
Everyone freezes. The creatures. The villagers. Even Kael, who just caught up to me.
They all stare at me—the glowing girl with marks on her skin and power crackling around her like visible rage.
The remaining creatures snarl. There are at least twenty of them.
They all turn toward me at once.
"Oh," I breathe. "That's bad."
As one, the pack of shadow wolves charges straight at me—fangs bared, claws out, murder in their glowing yellow eyes.
And I have absolutely no idea how I just did that light trick or how to do it again.