His ruby eyes soften. “Mago Halmi wanted you to discover the truth for yourself. This was your journey to take. I was just here to guide you in the right direction.”
He solidifies in Haetae form, and my eyes lower to the shiny bell around his neck. A scene materializes in its reflection like it did at the library, and I recognize it like I remember an old dream—hazy and fragile, drifting just beyond my grasp.
I’m falling from the sky—a screaming ball of pure, divine heat. A piece of the Godrealm’s dark sun. I burn through the Earth’s atmosphere and, as the Haetae’s voice guides me, I fall into the Mortalrealm.
The Haetae flickers back into his human form, and I blink a few times, the scene receding back into the cloudiness of my memory.
“So I’m a piece of the dark sun that fell to Earth, and you hid me in my Horangi mother?”
“That’s correct,” he confirms. “You now know the full truth. And like I said, you performed your prescribed duty beautifully. But listen well, because you must remain vigilant. You may have destroyed the Cave Bear Goddess today, as the prophecy predicted, but there are five more goddesses in the Godrealm who crave access to the three realms. Now that one of their sisters has fallen, there is no knowing if, or how, they may retaliate.”
“But, Haetae, my families don’t remember me anymore. What do I do now? I have nowhere to go. I’m all alone.”
“Do not despair, fallen star. There are ways lost memories can be recovered. Nothing is ever truly lost, after all. And as for being alone, I think you already know how wrong you are.”
He removes a marble from his pocket and holds it up to me. I immediately take a step back, remembering the blue-and-purple gas that knocked Emmett and me unconscious.
The Haetae smiles sheepishly. “There is no need to be afraid. Biting the dark sun and dark moon burdened me with many troubles. But it did provide me one gift, and that is the ability to manipulate time. Now that you have successfully completed your journey, I would like to grant you one divine favor. By turning back time, I can restore one thing of your choosing to its original form. But choose wisely, fallen star, for you may use this once and for one thing only.”
I open the sanctuary door slightly and peek inside. My parents are grieving over Hattie’s still body. But I also see Austin showing Jennie how his biochip works. Cosette and Emmett are giving each other cheesy salutes, and Noah and David are asking Taeyo to do another water trick. Auntie Okja is speaking with Sora, and at one point, they share a warm handshake. This must be the first time in a long time the Horangi are standing as equals among fellow gifteds, and in the temple at that.
I imagine being there with my families, being remembered by them, and being welcomed home. My heart physically aches to be a part of that picture.
I know more than anything what I want to reverse.
“Haetae,” I start, removing the vial from around my neck that now contains nothing but a charred remainder of my sister’s heart, “I want you to restore this.”
The Haetae takes the vial but lets it hang like a comma between us. Areum coos from her perch on my shoulder.
“Are you sure that is what you desire?” the Haetae asks. “You could ask me to restore what the dokkaebi took from you.”
I shake my head. “I’m sure. Like you said, there are other ways to recover lost memories.”
“As you wish, fallen star.”
The Haetae makes his way into the Gi sanctuary, and Areum and I follow.
Everyone starts whispering as he gets near. I’m sure they’re wondering who this strange man is. But no one bothers to ask. I guess after everything they’ve seen today, there isn’t much that will surprise them anymore.
The Haetae takes the vial over to Hattie’s lifeless body, and Eomma and Appa look uncertain. But I nod to them, and they silently move aside, allowing him to get close to her.
He puts the vial on top of her chest, above her heart, and steps back. Holding his marble in his open palm, he starts chanting ancient words under his breath, and blue-and-purple smoke wafts from the sphere, swirling like a small tornado in his hand. He blows on the storm as if wishing on a dandelion, and the clouds fly obediently toward Hattie, enveloping her entire body in the colors of the divine.
Suddenly I feel a bit nauseated, as if I’m on a rocky boat ride. The ground seems to be slipping under my feet, as if we’re literally moving back in time.
Then, just as quickly as the feeling came, it’s gone.
And the Haetae with it.
I rush over to Hattie, who remains still and unmoving. The vial on her chest is now empty—no red, no black, no nothing. I shake her shoulders.
“Hattie, wake up, wake up! Come back to us.”
Emmett and Auntie Okja join me at Hattie’s side, with Eomma and Appa opposite me. Taeyo, Sora, Austin, and the rest of my friends surround us in a circle. And together we repeat Hattie’s name over and over again like a prayer.
Then, like a miracle, her eyes flicker open. And this time they’re not pitch-black. They are warm brown—the color of healing-spell training sessions, the color of Saturday night tteokbokki and K-drama marathons, the color of late night gossip-a-thons under the covers…. They are the eyes of my sister.
“Oh my Mago,” she croaks, coughing and spluttering as she comes to. “Where am I?”
We all cheer—the witches and the fallen piece of the
