In the bright world, Lyra awakens beside Will, who is still asleep. She calls for Pan and then goes for a swim in the clear blue water.

Will joins her and dips in his feet. He asks if she's seen their daemons. He remarks how strange it all feels after all they've been through.

Lyra thinks her mother is dead, as the golden monkey disappeared before her.

Lyra says there are so many things she doesn't understand about her parents -- like how they weren't honest with her, why they did such horrible things, and why they abandoned her. 

Lyra says she used to idolize Asriel, then hate him, but even though she can't forgive him, she doesn't hate him anymore.

Will notes that Asriel won the war, and now they get to be in this bright world. Lyra suspects that Asriel is also dead, which means she's alone.

Will assures her she isn't alone. He splashes her, removes his shirt, and jumps in the water.

Pan and Will's daemon observe from a distance, and Pan remarks that Lyra doesn't seem to miss him much. Will's daemon assures him that it will be nice to be together again.

Pan worries it won't feel the same, but Will's daemon assures them they are safe now that they are in the same world.

Father Gomez enters the bright world with a rifle on his back.

Mary looks through the amber lens.

Will and Lyra walk through the world together. Lyra reads the alethiometer. It tells her their daemons are safe, but there is someone else they need to meet. She feels Pan close.

They hear the sound of animals trumpeting and trampling in the distance.

A herd of mulefa rolls past them on their seedpod wheels. One of them stops and approaches Will and Lyra. It is Atal.

Atal recognizes them as the girl and the boy and bids them (in her language) to come to see Mary. They discern that she wants her to follow, and do so.

Atal brings them to the great big trees. Mary emerges. Lyra runs to her, and they hug, overjoyed to see each other. Mary and Will greet one another, and Mary welcomes them in.

Father Gomez, with his electronic scout insect, finds a piece of fabric Mary left behind. He aims his rifle at one of a herd of animals nearby and shoots.

Atal notes that Will and Lyra have less "Sraf" than Mary and asks Mary when it will come to them. Mary isn't sure. Will and Lyra look on from a distance, marveling at Atal's beauty.

Mary brings them some water. Lyra says this is her favorite world so far.

Mary tells them how much she has learned from Atal and the mulefa -- how to trust her instincts and treat a tree with respect.

In the morning, Mary shows Will and Lyra the amber lens through which they can see dust, which she calls shadow particles, and the mulefa call Sraf. She believes it's consciousness -- what makes them alive.

Lyra realizes dust is not sin. Will looks through the amber and asks why Mary has more dust around her than Lyra. Mary tells them it comes with age and experience.

Mary explains that it's the seed oil that allows the lens to work and that the mulefa have evolved with the trees, and that's why they can see the Sraf.

However, something has changed, and the Sraf is flooding out. The trees and the world are now dying.

Will asks what can save it. Mary says they need a way to draw the dust to the world. Dust is attracted to creativity, thought, imagination, or some great discovery.

An angel flies overhead.

Father Gomez continues on his search.

Mary, Lyra, and Will sit around the fire. Mary asks about the daemons, and Will explains they look like animals but can change forms.

Lyra explains that initially, Will thought he didn't have a daemon because he's from a different world, but he does, and Mary does, too.

Lyra confirms that Mary believes in the soul, as she was a nun. Will is surprised to learn Mary was a nun for their world and asks why she stopped being one.

Atal urges Mary to tell them stories.

Mary tells them a story of when she was at a conference in Lisbon, giving a paper on particle physics. It had gone well, and they were celebrating after, and she met a woman who was very easy to talk to.

Mary began sharing a lot about herself, more than she'd shared with anyone else, and it opened up her world. The woman gave her a little piece of fruit-shaped marzipan.

As Mary ate it, a memory came back to her -- she'd felt this before, when she was at school, butterflies in her stomach, the ache to be close to someone, and she didn't want to forget it.

Mary knew she couldn't go back to the convent after that. She took off her crucifix that night. She wanted to experience everything the world had to offer -- including love.

Lyra asks if she did experience love, and Mary confirms it. Will asks if she was scared. Mary says she was, but it was worth it, saying you have to grab it when you feel that way.

Will and Lyra look at each other.

At night, Lyra lies on the straw, whispering for Pan, wondering where he is, saying she has so much to talk to him about.

Father Gomez's robotic insect scout returns to him, and he walks through the woods. An angel watches him.

Mary collects fruit and brings it to Lyra and Will for breakfast as they wake up. Mary says she was going to join Atal and the others at the seedpod grove but then offers to help Will and Lyra look for their daemons.

Will assures her they'll be fine on their own. Lyra concurs, and Mary leaves them to it.

Will and Lyra go for a walk together. Lyra remarks it's strange that Pan won't show himself and worries that he's mad. Will says that his daemon and Pan will understand.

Will worries that his daemon will settle as something terrible. Lyra tells him of a man she heard of who had a dolphin daemon. They laugh together. Lyra touches his arm.

Father Gomez stalks from a distance.

Lyra and Will play in the water. Lyra asks Will if he finds it hard to answer Mary's questions. He says it's hard for anyone to understand what they've been through except for each other.

They both agree on how much they like Mary, and Will thinks she's right about many things -- "dust and trees."

Lyra gets out of the pool. Father Gomez has his target locked on her.

Father Gomez hears a voice telling him to stop. He turns, and Balthamos, the angel, appears before him. Father Gomez says they are on the same side, and Balthamos tells him they are not.

Father Gomez approaches, on his knees, begging to be allowed to perform this task to rid the world of sin. Balthamos tells Father Gomez that desire is not sin and all love is beautiful.

Balthamos kneels before Father Gomez and grabs his spider daemon, crushing her in his hands, saying he will not allow him to kill an innocent child.

Father Gomez falls, dead. Balthamos disintegrates, whispering Baruch's name.

Lyra and Will eat fruit together beside the water. She touches his hand as he reaches for a strawberry. They pause, look at each other, and kiss. Dust floods onto them.

Mary notices dust returning to the trees.

Xaphania and Serafina look out into the world as green aurora sweeps the sky, as it does in all the worlds. Serafina aks if it is Lyra and Will. Xaphania confirms it, and Serafina realizes the prophecy has been fulfilled.

Will and Lyra smile and laugh together.

Atal notices the "young ones." As Will and Lyra return, Mary looks at them through the amber, seeing the excess dust around them, realizing they did this.

At night, Will and Lyra lie together, considering where they could go together or if they want to stay. Lyra wonders if Pan knows.

Will notes that they'll have to return to their worlds for a bit to ensure the daemons are okay. Lyra wants to show Will Jordan College and suggests they go to his world too -- and go to the cinema again.

Serafina and Kaisa arrive in the bright world and find Pan and Will's daemon. Serafina asks them if they've noticed how the world is changing, telling them this is because of them and their humans.

Serafina says someone who has given the world such a gift needs a name, and she names Will's daemon Kirjava. Serafina urges them to return to Will and Lyra, for they will need them for what's to come.

Pan and Kirjava return to Lyra and Will, who are still asleep. Pan sniffs Lyra, and she awakens, approaching him gently. He tells her he traveled so far to get to her.

Lyra apologizes, saying how much she missed him and she loves him. Pan jumps into her arms, and they cuddle. He has settled as a pine marten.

Kirjava approaches Will and introduces herself properly. He strokes her cheeks. Tentatively, Lyra pets Kirjava and Will gently touches Pan.

Mary awakens in the trees to see something beautiful descending in flight. She gets up and goes to the ground, where she meets Xaphania, who expresses gratitude. Mary does not recognize her.

Xaphania tells her they spoke in Mary's laboratory. Xaphania has been guiding her, and thanks to Mary, the multiverse is healing.

Mary claims she didn't do much. Xaphania tells her she showed the two innocents what it was worth to love, and by doing so, dust was drawn back into the world.

Mary is surprised it was something so simple. Xaphania tells her it is time for Mary to return to her own world.

Xaphania explains that dust has been flowing out of the universes for centuries, and though Will and Lyra's love has helped return it, it is not enough to sustain it forever. The windows must be closed.

Will insists he has closed every window he has opened. Xaphania tells him there are countless others left open by previous knife-bearers. 

Xaphania explains that each time the knife makes a cut, the flow of dust increases, and a little bit of darkness from between worlds is released, bringing destruction across all of the worlds.

Lyra tries to understand and concludes that if they cannot leave windows open, they must choose one of their worlds to live in permanently.

Will tells her that daemons can't survive in a world that's not theirs.

Lyra realizes this means they will have to be apart, and she tells Xaphania that's unfair after all they've been through. Lyra refuses. Holding hands, Will and Lyra walk away.

Will and Lyra find a place to sit together, where she asks the alethiometer what to do. It is unresponsive. She runs off.

Serafina tells Lyra the alethiometer isn't broken -- it's just that she has grown up. She will be able to read it again, but she'll have to learn how to do it.

Lyra asks what the point of it all was if she and Will can't be together.

Will confides in Mary about how terrible he feels. She says it won't always feel this way. He tells her he doesn't not want to feel that way about Lyra.

Lyra insists it's all wrong and that she and Will are meant to be together.

Mary tells Will that love is worth living for, not dying.

Serafina assures Lyra that she has a future, though it may not feel like it now.

At night, in silence, Lyra and Will sit by the fire with Pan and Kirjava.

Xaphania says they can leave one window open, but Will and Lyra realize it must be the one in the land of the dead.

Xaphania says that while the knife exists, only Will can close the windows, but if he destroys the knife --once he has returned to his world -- the angels will be able to seal the windows.

Lyra asks that if there is any way for them to be together, Xaphania should tell them now, but Xaphania tells them some fates are too powerful.

Will and Lyra sit alone together. He tells her he loves her and will never stop until he dies. 

Lyra tells him she loves him, declaring that after they die and go through the land of the dead, and their atoms make up new life, they will be joined together and be a part of everything together.

They hug each other tightly, sobbing.

Serafina, Mary, and Xaphania wait by the great trees. Will and Lyra return, telling them they will accompany them.

Atal gives Mary some seeds and tells her to keep telling stories. They press foreheads together, and Mary tearfully leaves with Will, Lyra, and their daemons.

Serafina leads them to the top of the mountain. She assures them that once the windows are closed, the worlds will be properly aligned, but for now, this is where they must cut to get into Lyra's Oxford.

Will cuts a window. Serafina goes through, followed by Mary, Will, and the daemons. Lyra takes one last look and heads back to her own world again. Will closes the window.

Will and Lyra sit together in the botanic garden.

Mary and Serafina walk together. Mary asks Serafina to watch over Lyra, as she senses this will be difficult, though she's a strong girl. Serafina pledges to do so, saying Lyra will be her sister.

Mary notes that at least Will has Kirjava.

Serafina tells Mary she could see her daemon, too, if she wanted, telling her to hold herself in a special state of mind, as she did when she spoke to the angels in her "cave."

Mary tries it. She hears birdsong. When Mary opens her eyes, she spots a little black chough. She holds out her finger, and he flies over and lands on it.

Lyra and Will sit on a bench overlooking a pond.

Lyra suggests they come back here once a year, on Midsummer's Day, at midday, for an hour, so they can "be together" even though they will be in their own worlds.

Will pledges to be there every year for his whole life. Lyra says that if they meet someone they like in their lives, they should be kind to them and not compare them. Will and Lyra hug.

Mary and Serafina return. Will opens the window. Mary hugs Lyra goodbye, telling her she'll never forget her, and then tearfully heads through the window.

Will tells Lyra he'll break the knife as soon as he goes through -- otherwise, he'll want to come back.

Will and Lyra look at each other, and she stares at him, touching his face, trying to imagine what he'll look like when he's older.

Will heads through and gazes back at her, then reaches through to give her one last kiss.

Will pulls away and closes the window.

In tears, Lyra turns to Serafina. Pan sniffs at the spot the window used to be.

In his world, Will considers the knife. Kirjava tells him to think of Lyra. As he does, he tries to cut with the knife, and it breaks.

The angels move through the worlds and close all the open windows.

Lyra heads back to Jordan College with Pan.

Mary walks Will back to his home. His mother opens the door and greets him with a hug. Kirjava and Mary look on.

A year later, Lyra (and Pan) and Will (and Kirjava) head back to their bench at the botanic garden and sit "together."

Year after year, they return. Will puts his hand down in his world, and Lyra rests hers on top of where his hand would be in her world.

An end title card explains that Will and Lyra go on to live full lives.

Will becomes a medical student and, later, a surgeon.

Lyra goes on to St. Sophia's College in Oxford, where she re-learns how to read the alethiometer.