The Last Fallen Star: Chapter 23–Epilogue

Their familiar scents remind me of home, and I sob inconsolably.

"You kidnap our child and then have the gall to ask why we’re here?”

“You’re lucky we didn’t bring reinforcements.”

Emmett is sending death glares at Auntie Okja after what his mom said through the gwisin halmeoni, and Taeyo and Austin are standing staunchly with Sora.

It all centered around one person who was adamant about keeping the scholars in the community’s disfavor.

It’s not that much out of the realm of possibility that the Cave Bear Goddess has been playing with us mortals this entire time. “Blasphemy!” Eomma cries.

The eight artifacts are the fallen fragments of the dark sun and moon, which means they’re the physical manifestations of the six goddesses’ original sin.

The goddesses believe that if all the fallen artifacts are destroyed, their original sin, too, will be wiped away. They are assuming their punishment will be rendered null and void and they will have open, unfettered access to the three realms once more.

“That would be mayhem. If the goddesses came down, the world as we know it would end.”

“It reveals the threads that connect a witch to a patron goddess. The council has had to perform this kind of spell on rogue witches from time to time, when they weren’t willing to tell us which clan they belonged to. The spell can not only reveal the link, but also make the connection vulnerable.”

The plan is kind of devious, sure, but no more so than a goddess impersonating a Gom.

What would a creature like that demand as payment for conjuring the last fallen star?

Leaving Mr. Pyo drenched and dejected on the pavement, we make for the temple.

“I know this situation could affect the fate of all mortalkind, but it is first and foremost a rescue mission for my daughter. So I’d like to be the one to face the dokkaebi, and I hope everyone can respect that.”

If at any point there are worrying noises coming from the room, the outside team will enter with expediency.

And when I look up, I am facing the most grotesque creature I have ever seen.

He’s wearing a small gold hoop earring in each ear, and his swollen nose protrudes from his face like a pus-filled volcano.

“Oh, how I treasure the aroma of frightened human girl!” He leers.

“We need to neutralize her before she becomes a threat.”

“The dokkaebi told me I was already in possession of the fallen star. I thought he had duped me, but I see now. The gold compass is the gold-destroyer from the prophecy.”

What a shrewd disguise!

“I don’t know about employee of the month,” I say modestly, "but I have found the Godrealm’s last fallen star, just as you asked.”

“Come on, Goddess!” I say, hitting her jovially on the arm. “You said so yourself—I’m best-employee material. How about you bring my sister back first? Then I’ll give you the star.”

The young witch’s heart perished, and it seems an opportunistic gwisin has possessed her body.

She is no longer limp on the ground, cradled in my eomma’s arms. She now stands, her body in an unnatural position, like that of a marionette, her arms outstretched.

“Tsk-tsk, you insolent gwisin. You have the audacity to return from the dead to accuse me of such a petty crime? Don’t you know who I am?"

His perpetual pout has been erased, and it’s as if the weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders.

How can she be so nonchalant when she’s brought pain to so many lives?

With each step her dowdy clothes are gradually being replaced by a flowing gold gown.

I stop slashing and look at the threads between my auntie and the goddess. I expect to see them cut and drooping like wilting flowers. But they’re still connected, firm and taut, as intact as they were when they first appeared.

You don’t complete your job, and then you try to attack me. What utter insubordination!

Auntie Okja’s body convulses and floats in the air. Her face distorts and her limbs flail about.

Noah takes the opportunity to push four wooden pews into a square around the weakened goddess, and she falls to her knees. Sora uses her magic to lattice some pews on top, forming a wooden cage.

"You will pay for this, you insolent mortals!”

Intertwined with these feelings is my love for both sets of parents, compassion for my sister, thankfulness for the companionship of my best friend, and gratitude for the unity of the Gom. I fuse it with my appreciation for the scholars’ bravery, the loyalty of the inmyeonjo, the support of my auntie, and the courage of my gifted friends.

She stands in her frumpy mortal guise once more, fear gripping her eyes.

To be honest, everything feels sort of anticlimactic after that.

Just to recap, I’ve found out I’m a piece of the divine—the Godrealm’s last fallen star (which is kind of awesome), and I’ve managed to vanquish the Cave Bear Goddess (which is also kind of awesome, since I pretty much saved the world).

“Yes, the Horangi thank you, too,” Sora agrees, calm but solemn. “You showed great courage today, and we will always remember that.”

“Hat,” I whisper, tracing my finger along her pale, gaunt face.