Mistborn #02 The Well of Ascension

body, crawling, forcing its way through the pores and openings in her skin. She opened her mouth to scream, and it rushed in that way too, choking her, gagging her.
    With a sudden flare, her earlobe began to hurt. She cried out, pulling her earring free, dropping it into the depths. She pulled off her sash, letting it—and her Allomantic vials—go as well, removing the only metals on her person.
    Then she started to burn. She recognized the sensation: it was exactly like the feeling of burning metals in her stomach, except it came from her entire body. Her skin flared, her muscles flamed, and her very bones seemed on fire. She gasped, and realized the metal was gone from her throat.
    She was glowing. She felt the power within, as if it were trying to burst back out. It was like the strength she gained by burning pewter, but amazingly more potent. It was a force of incredible capacity. It would have been beyond her ability to understand, but it expanded her mind, forcing her to grow and comprehend what she now possessed.
    She could remake the world. She could push back the mists. She could feed millions with the wave of her hand, punish the evil, protect the weak. She was in awe of herself. The cavern was as if translucent around her, and she saw the entire world spreading, a magnificent sphere upon which life could exist only in a small little area at the poles. She could fix that. She could make things better. She could. . .
    She could save Elend.
    She glanced down and saw him dying. She immediately understood what was wrong with him. She could fix his damaged skin and sliced organs.
    You mustn't do it, child .
    Vin looked up with shock.
    You know what you must do , the Voice said, whispering to her. It sounded aged. Kindly.
    "I have to save him!" she cried.
    You know what you must do .
    And she did know. She saw it happen—she saw, as if in a vision, Rashek when he'd taken the power for himself. She saw the disasters he created.
    It was all or nothing—like Allomancy, in a way. If she took the power, she would have to burn it away in a few moments. Remaking things as she pleased, but only for a brief time.
    Or. . .she could give it up.
    I must defeat the Deepness , the Voice said.
    She saw that, too. Outside the palace, in the city, across the land. People in the mists, shaking, falling. Many stayed indoors, thankfully. The traditions of the skaa were still strong within them.
    Some were out, however. Those who trusted in Kelsier's words that the mists could not hurt them. But now the mists could. They had changed, bringing death.
    This was the Deepness. Mists that killed. Mists that were slowly covering the entire land. The deaths were sporadic; Vin saw many falling dead, but saw others simply falling sick, and still others going about in the mists as if nothing were wrong.
    It will get worse , the Voice said quietly. It will kill and destroy. And, if you try to stop it yourself, you will ruin the world, as Rashek did before you .
    "Elend. . ." she whispered. She turned toward him, bleeding on the floor.
    At that moment, she remembered something. Something Sazed had said. You must love him enough to trust his wishes , he had told her. It isn't love unless you learn to respect him—not what you assume is best, but what he actually wants. . ..
    She saw Elend weeping. She saw him focusing on her, and she knew what he wanted. He wanted his people to live. He wanted the world to know peace, and the skaa to be free.
    He wanted the Deepness to be defeated. The safety of his people meant more to him than his own life. Far more.
    You'll know what to do , he'd told her just moments before. I trust you. . ..
    Vin closed her eyes, and tears rolled down her cheeks. Apparently, gods could cry.
    "I love you," she whispered.
    She let the power go. She held the capacity to become a deity in her hands, and she gave it away, releasing it to the waiting void. She gave up Elend.
    Because she knew that was what he wanted.
    The cavern immediately began to shake. Vin cried out as the flaring power within her was ripped away, soaked up greedily by the void. She screamed, her glow fading, then fell into the now empty pool, head knocking against the rocks.
    The cavern continued to shake, dust and chips falling from the ceiling. And then, in a moment of surreal clarity, Vin heard a single, distinct sentence ringing in her mind.
    I am FREE!

. . .for he must not be allowed to release the thing that is imprisoned there .

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    VIN LAY,