Page 109 of Goddess of Light

“The gift is sacrifice. Your sacrifice.”

Oh, yeah, that’s agreatfucking present.

“Excuse me?” I exclaim. “A sacrifice?”

“You have the power of all life, Hanna. It is part of your bones, part of your blood. This power is stronger in you than it is in me, because your humanity is strong enough to control it.”

“And you think I should die because of that?”

What the fuck?

“Most of your power will die, yes, because you exhausted it first. But you are not dying, Hanna. You are saving the people you love. The people of the realm. The ones sent to Oblivion.”

I shake my head. “I have no idea what you’re saying.”

“Your gift, Hanna, nurtured in sunlight, is that you can reverse Oblivion. Your gift of life can pull everyone out until Oblivion ceases to exist. The dead will return and walk again here.”

I can hardly believe what I’m hearing. Mostly because I don’t understand it. “You’re saying I can somehow, like, Uno Reverse Hell?”

She stares at me for a moment and I can almost hear her brain trying to compute whatUnomeans. “You are light. Oblivion is dark. Your eternal sun and power of life will destroy it completely.”

My heart starts to beat faster, hope rising in my chest. “So you’re saying I have the power to bring everyone back to life? Tuonen? Bell? Rasmus? Vipunen?”

“Vipunen is not dead,” she says to me, a hint of haughtiness in her tone. “He has been with me on the sun. Punishment for getting involved with Tuonen’s fate when he knows better than that. He has been watching you though. He is proud.”

Pick up the sword and try again.

I blink at that, my circuits overloading with too much information.

“I can bring back the dead. Like thedeaddead?” I repeat.

“Every being that has been sent to Oblivion, yes,” she says, patience waning. “And I do mean,everybeing.”

“Wait. So that means like Louhi and Rangaista and Salainen?”

“Yes.”

My eyes widen in horror. “That’s not fair.”

“You are correct. It is not fair,” she says stiffly. “If you want it to be fair, you would only bring some back, but not others.”

“But…how?”

“Your power can only bring everyone back. But you do not possess the metaphysical ability to become a replacement for Oblivion and become the great judge of humanity, only letting worthy souls in while keeping others out. That is not in your markup.”

“If I may?” a voice says.

Startled, I whirl around to see the Magician standing in the doorway with his flowing robes.

“What areyoudoing here?” I ask.

But his focus doesn’t seem to be on me. It’s hard to tell because he doesn’t have a proper face, he’s like the superhero Rorschach but with stars and planets instead of ink blots. Still, I can feel he’s staring at my mother.

I look back at her and she nods.

“Yes, I knew you would come,” she says. “Tell me your plans.”

“Wait, what?” I stammer, watching as he glides across the room. He gives me a nod and then stops right in front of her.

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