The moment Ava sliced the golden stitches from her real mother's lips, the chamber trembled.The bones stirred like dry leaves in a wind that didn't exist.
The woman—no, her true mother—collapsed against the chains, gasping. Blood trickled from her mouth, but her eyes—those unmistakable emerald eyes—locked onto Ava with a truth so raw it silenced the storm.
"Ava," she rasped. "She's already taken Lily through the door."
Ava's heart shattered into motion.
She ran.
The Chamber of Ashes
Stone cracked beneath her boots as Ava sprinted across the collapsing chamber. The earth groaned and split apart, revealing a spiraling staircase of charred obsidian that descended into pitch-black smoke.
From above, her mother's voice echoed:
"Once you enter the Door of Ashes, your soul will burn to find the truth. Not all return whole."
Ava didn't pause.
She descended.
Each step plunged her deeper into the scent of cinders and scorched dreams.
The Door
At the bottom, it stood.
A black iron archway, carved with symbols that bled ember-red. Pulsing. Alive.
Before it, the Ember Witch waited.
Wearing her mother's face.
Her silhouette was elegant and inhuman—hair cascading like smoke, skin glowing faintly like heated coal. She stood barefoot in a circle of ash.
And in her arms...
Lily.
Still.
Unmoving.
Ava froze. "Let her go."
The Ember Witch smiled with lips too red, too sharp.
"You're too late."
The Bargain
Ava raised her dagger. "If you hurt her—"
"She's not hurt." The Ember Witch held Lily higher. The girl's chest rose, slowly. "But if you want her soul to stay inside her body, we must make a trade."
Ava stepped forward.
"Name it."
The Ember Witch's eyes flared gold.
"Your fire. Your gift. Your memory of the man you love."
Ava's mouth dried.
"You want me to forget Damian?"
"To never know him. Never crave him. Never feel the heartbeat that makes you Ava Romanov. I will take it, and in return... your daughter walks away whole."
Ava's hands shook.
Her memories of Damian—the nights under the stars, the taste of his promises, the way he said her name like it was his religion—they burned within her brighter than any ember.
"You're lying."
The Ember Witch laughed. "Of course I am. That's what mothers do."
The Twist
Suddenly, Lily stirred in the Ember Witch's arms.
She opened her mouth.
And spoke in the Witch's voice:
"Or… you can let her go, and I keep you. I just want one of you."
Ava's blood turned to ice.
Her daughter's eyes glowed—black.
The Ember Witch smiled.
"Choose, Ava. Yourself… or your daughter. But choose fast—her heart only has a few beats left."
but the Door of Ashes split open behind them, sending a gust of scorching wind into the chamber.
Time froze.
Ava reached for Lily's hand—but the Ember Witch's fingers tightened around the girl's throat.
"Choose. NOW."
Ava whispered—
"Take me."
Everything went dark.
The wind died.
And when Ava opened her eyes—
She was back in her childhood bedroom.
Alone.
Six years old.
And outside the door…
Her father was screaming.