The Thames' current hummed with fractured voices as Ethan emerged from the Well of Segais, his veins now etched with golden light. The salmon's wisdom burned in his mind—a kaleidoscope of Celtic myths, Lir's forgotten bargains, and Cernunnos' ancient treachery. Above, London's skyline twisted into antlers beneath the crimson moon, a reminder that the Horned God's influence still festered.
Rowan staggered toward him, her silver hair matted with blood. "You… you did it," she gasped, clutching her side where a dullahan's scythe had torn her flesh. "The geis… it's broken?"
Ethan nodded, but his gaze lingered on the horizon where Cernunnos' antlers glowed. "The river's soul is free… but Lir's corruption remains. And Cernunnos… he's coming."
Rowan collapsed onto the riverbank, her breath shallow. "Then we need to find Lir's daughter," she whispered. "Only she can undo the curse completely."
Ethan knelt beside her, pressing a hand to her wound. The river's energy surged, knitting her flesh back together—but the price was visible in the lines of exhaustion etched into his face. "Who is she?"
Rowan hesitated. "She's… me."
Ethan froze. "What?"
"Long ago, Lir bound his children to swans for nine hundred years," Rowan said, her voice trembling. "I was the last to break free. But the curse left a fragment of his soul in me—a fragment that Cernunnos now seeks to claim."
Ethan's mind raced. Lir's daughter—the key to both healing the river and destroying Cernunnos. But how?
Grampa's voice echoed in his memory: "Your grandmother's final ritual… she tried to merge human and divine souls. But the cost was too great."
Ethan turned to Rowan. "If we merge our souls… could that destroy Cernunnos?"
Rowan's eyes widened. "It's suicide. The ritual would consume us both."
"Then we need another way." Ethan stood, staring at the river. "The salmon showed me Cernunnos' weakness—the Well of Segais' waters. If we can flood the Thames with its power…"
Rowan shook her head. "The Well is a gateway to the Otherworld. Flooding it would tear London apart."
"Better that than let Cernunnos win."
Before Rowan could argue, the ground trembled. A figure emerged from the mist—a stag with antlers of twisting iron, its eyes pits of shadow. Cernunnos.
"You've grown bold, little river boy," the god rumbled. His voice was a storm, shaking the bridge overhead. "But the geis is only half-broken. Without Lir's daughter's soul, the Thames will rot from within."
Ethan stepped forward, summoning a geyser to his hand. "We'll never let you have her."
Cernunnos laughed, a sound like cracking ice. "You already have."
The river surged upward, wrapping around Rowan's ankles. She screamed as silver tendrils pierced her chest, dragging her toward the water. Ethan lunged, but the current threw him back.
"Her blood will complete the ritual," Cernunnos intoned. "The Thames will become my throne… and humanity will drown in its depths."
Ethan's vision blurred. The salmon's wisdom flared, revealing a hidden truth: Rowan's soul was the key to both breaking the geis and binding Cernunnos. But the ritual required a sacrifice—a soul for a soul.
He reached into his chest, pulling out a shard of golden light. "Take mine instead."
Cernunnos hesitated. "You'd give up your humanity… for her?"
Ethan nodded. "She's worth it."
The god's antlers glowed. "So be it."
The river erupted, swallowing Ethan whole. He fell into darkness, the salmon's voice whispering: *"Choose wisely."*
Images flooded his mind: his grandmother's final moments, Grampa's tears, Rowan's hesitant smile. He saw the Thames as it once was—pure, alive, a guardian of souls. And he saw Cernunnos' plan: to merge the river with the Horned God's essence, turning it into a weapon of destruction.
Ethan clenched his fists. "No."
Light exploded from his chest, merging with the river's current. The water turned to gold, surging upward to meet Cernunnos. The god roared, his antlers shattering as the golden light burned away his corruption.
Rowan gasped as the silver tendrils released her. She stumbled to the riverbank, watching as Ethan's form dissolved into the current. "Ethan!"
The river rippled, forming a human shape. Ethan emerged, his eyes now pools of liquid gold. "The geis is broken," he said, his voice echoing with the river's song. "But Cernunnos… he's trapped in the Well of Segais."
Rowan stared at him, tears streaming down her face. "You're…"
"A bridge between worlds," Ethan said. "The river needs a guardian. Someone who can keep the balance."
Grampa approached, his journal clutched in his hands. "Your grandmother would've been proud," he said softly.
Ethan smiled faintly. "Tell her I'll make sure the river never forgets her."
He turned to Rowan. "Go. Find Lir's daughter. Help her heal the sea."
Rowan hesitated. "What about you?"
Ethan stepped into the water. "I'm the river now."
The current swallowed him, leaving only a golden ripple. Rowan collapsed onto the shore, sobbing. Above, the crimson moon faded, replaced by the first light of dawn.
The Horned God's bargain had been shattered… but the price of freedom was a soul lost to the current.