The air beyond the obsidian gate was thick.
Not with smoke. Not with dust.
But with memories that didn't belong to her anymore.
Ava staggered through the veil, clutching the necklace Lily had left behind. Her boots echoed across the polished marble floor, slick with a sheen of violet mist. Statues lined the hall—each one a twisted version of herself.
One wept with her face burned.
Another cradled a lifeless child.
Each sculpture whispered.
"You were too late.""You didn't fight hard enough.""You let love blind you."
She pushed forward.
At the far end stood Damian and Lily—yet neither looked real. They glowed like phantoms, bathed in unnatural light. Ava's chest ached as she stepped closer, every breath a storm inside her lungs.
"Lily," she whispered.
Her daughter didn't blink.
Didn't breathe.
Didn't recognize her.
Eyes Like Winter
Damian raised his hand, sword pointed straight at Ava. His voice was calm—too calm.
"She belongs to the Ember now."
Ava's blood ran cold.
"Get away from her," she said, voice trembling but fierce.
Damian stepped forward. His eyes, once storm-gray, were black mirrors. No light. No remorse.
"You gave her up the moment you left. Now she's finally chosen her real family."
Lily turned to Ava, and her voice sliced like glass.
"You're not my mother."
The Chains of the Ember
Violet fire lashed out.
Chains formed from thin air—glowing and serpentine—snaking around Ava's wrists before she could dodge. They burned her skin, but she didn't scream.
She looked only at Lily.
"You used to cry when the thunder scared you. I used to hold you and sing until it passed. You begged me never to leave you, and I promised I wouldn't."
Lily blinked.
A crack shimmered across her irises.
For a split second—just one—Ava saw her daughter again. The real Lily. Scared. Trapped.
"Remember me," Ava pleaded. "Please."
A Shard of Memory
A single tear rolled down Lily's cheek.
And then—
The violet fire around her sputtered.
Damian flinched, shaking his head as if something rattled inside his skull. The sword in his hand trembled.
But the moment shattered too quickly.
From behind them, a voice slithered across the walls.
"She was mine before she was yours, Ava."
The shadows twisted.
A woman stepped forward—tall, crowned with embers, her hair burning like wildfire and her eyes glowing blue-white like frostbite.
The Ember Witch.
"Love can't save her now," she purred. "She's already become my vessel."
The chains dragged Ava to her knees.
The Ember Witch lifted her hand, a searing brand glowing in her palm. She moved toward Lily.
"If she accepts me fully… you die."
And Lily, trembling, took a step toward her.