Ava's heartbeat thundered louder than the crumbling temple.
"No," she whispered, backing away. "You're lying. My mother died in the fire. She—she was human."
Elias stepped closer, his gaze solemn beneath the glow of ancient runes across the chamber. "She was human. Until she wasn't."
Behind him, the ruined sky opened. The ceiling had collapsed, revealing a churning vortex of red and violet clouds. The altar pulsed with life. Lily hovered still—small, fragile, and glowing with the soul of a monster.
The soul of Seraphina Hart.
The cursed matriarch. The original Ember Witch.
Ava's Forgotten Childhood
The memories returned like shrapnel.
The scent of blood.Her mother's cold hands brushing her hair at night.The strange symbols carved into the bedroom walls.The lullaby… that was never a lullaby.
"Ash to fire, blood to bloom,Daughter mine, become my womb."
Tears streamed down Ava's cheeks as she staggered toward Elias. "Why didn't you tell me? Why hide this?"
Elias's expression broke with grief. "Because I tried to stop her. We both did. But she was too far gone. She planned this for years, Ava. Dying was just another move in her game."
"She wanted you to live… only so you'd bring her back."
The Prophecy of Return
Elias unrolled a scorched parchment scroll. Runes shimmered across it like fireflies. Ava read them slowly, her voice hollow.
"When the blood of the daughter mourns the unborn,When love outweighs death,The gate will open,And the mother shall return in flame."
"That night," Elias said softly, "when you cried for your unborn baby in the forest… that was the ritual. You opened the gate, Ava. You were the final key."
Ava collapsed to her knees.
She had not only summoned the Ember Queen—She had resurrected her mother.
Lily Begins to Break Through
A scream cracked the air.Lily arched above the altar, the golden fire around her now laced with black veins. Her small voice pushed through the thunder of the Queen's laughter.
"M-Mom… I'm still here…"
Ava jolted upright. That voice—it wasn't the Ember Queen.
It was Lily.
She was still fighting inside.
"She's resisting her!" Ava gasped.
But Elias shook his head. "She won't last long. You have minutes—if that. Once Seraphina takes full root, your daughter will be erased."
Ava's fists clenched. Her eyes narrowed.
"Then we're not waiting."
She grabbed Nyxvenom.
"I'm going in."
Elias's eyes widened. "You'll die in there. You're not trained to enter the Soulforge."
Ava stepped onto the altar, flames licking at her feet, voice cold as steel.
"Then I'll learn by burning."
And with a burst of golden fire—Ava plunged the blade through her own chest.
Light exploded.
Everything turned white.