“Taeyo,” I quickly say before Austin activates the metal stars on his jacket. “You gave me this. For good luck. This is proof I am who I say I am.”

He comes over to examine it. “How weird. It looks just like my gold compass, but why would I have given it to you?”

His gold compass.

Suddenly, the final two lines of the prophecy ring like a bell in my ears:

In the one last divine, a weapon shall rise;

Unless the gold-destroyer ends the soul who lies.

“This is it!” I scream, holding up the compass. “This is the last fallen star.”

“What are you talking about?” Taeyo asks, stepping back in alarm.

I try to contain my blossoming excitement so I can explain clearly. How did I not see this earlier? “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.” I push on the overlapping symbol on the back, and the triangular blades eject out. “See? It’s a weapon. In the shape of a star. It’s gotta be the Godrealm’s last fallen star!”

“Oh my Mago…” Eomma glances at Appa and Auntie Okja. “Could she be telling the truth?”

“But how can we trust her?” Austin narrows his eyes at me.

Emmett puts his ring back on his finger and stares thoughtfully at Boris’s wagging tail. “I vote we give her a chance.”

I think quickly. Taeyo had said when the Horangi lost their Gi, they started focusing on what they possessed rather than what they had lost. My two clans may have forgotten me, but like Areum and Boris, there are others whose memories will still be intact. “How about we go up to the Gi sanctuary, then?” I suggest. “If what I say is true, there’ll be people from the other four clans who’ll recognize me. If they know who I am, you’ll know I’m telling the truth.” I hold my breath. This is my ace card. It has to work.

“I believe her,” Taeyo finally says. “It’s too much of a coincidence that she had both Emmett’s ring and my compass. The probabilities work in her favor.”

Eomma gasps and points to Hattie’s heart. I look down and blanch. There is only one tiny sliver of red left on the shrunken organ. “We’ve run out of time,” I whisper, gripping the vial tight in my hand. “We need to act now.”

And that is the final push they need. Everyone stares at Hattie’s dying heart in silent agreement. I guess desperate times call for desperate measures.

“Let’s go to the sanctuary,” Auntie Okja says.

Sora nods. “You lead the way.”

With adrenaline pumping through my body, we take the elevator up to level 88.