The chamber was silent—unnervingly so. Ava could feel the weight of the Heartstone's energy thrumming in the air, wrapping around her like a protective veil. Her pulse still raced, the intense rush of magic flooding her senses, and yet she remained calm. Focused.
The blinding light that had surged when she touched the Heartstone slowly began to fade, leaving only the hum of ancient power. But she could still hear it, the faint whisper of its calling, a promise of things to come, of the deep, untapped strength within her.
She turned to face Mordana, who had been thrown back by the force of Ava's magic. The sorceress was picking herself up, her face twisted in fury, her dark eyes narrowing with cold, venomous hatred. But there was something else—something beneath that anger. Fear.
Ava didn't need to be told. She could feel it in the air. Mordana was rattled, unsteady for the first time in all the time Ava had known her. It was a crack in the armor. And Ava was going to exploit it.
"You still think you can control this?" Mordana hissed, brushing off the dust from her cloak. "You're nothing more than a puppet to the Heartstone, a plaything of forces you cannot even begin to understand."
Ava's grip on the Heartstone tightened, and the room responded. The runes around the walls glowed brighter, as if reacting to the power she was now channeling. It wasn't just the Heartstone anymore. The energy that flowed through her was pure, raw, and unstoppable.
"I don't need to understand it," Ava replied, her voice unwavering, her eyes locked on Mordana's. "I just need to become it."
With a fluid motion, she lifted her hands, and the Heartstone's energy surged outward. The walls of the temple trembled, and the ground shook beneath them. The magic inside her was wild, untamed—almost uncontrollable—but Ava didn't let it scare her. She embraced it.
A beam of pure light shot from her outstretched palms, striking the sorceress with the force of a thunderbolt. Mordana screamed, raising her hands to deflect the attack, but Ava's magic wasn't something she could simply block. It tore through the air, a wave of energy that ripped apart the shadows Mordana had summoned and sent them scattering into the corners of the room.
Mordana staggered back, her expression one of sheer disbelief. Her hands trembled as she wiped away the blood dripping from her lips, but her eyes gleamed with a dark, wicked light.
"You think you can defeat me with light?" she sneered, her voice dripping with contempt. "You cannot. I am the darkness that gives birth to power. Without me, you would be nothing. You would be weak."
Ava's heart pounded, but she didn't waver. She could feel the storm of magic inside her, building and building, each breath fueling the energy, pushing her toward something greater.
"I am nothing without you," Ava said, stepping forward, her voice stronger now, filled with conviction. "But I am everything with this."
The Heartstone's light flared again, a blinding pulse of pure power that filled the room with blinding radiance. Ava's body hummed with the force of it, and for a moment, everything was silent, as though time itself had stopped.
Then, in the blink of an eye, Ava was upon Mordana. The energy flowing through her was a whirlwind, a tempest she could no longer control—nor did she want to. She raised her hands high, unleashing a torrent of energy that struck Mordana square in the chest.
The sorceress cried out as the power coursed through her, wracking her body with searing pain. Ava's magic was fierce, unrelenting, and Mordana had no choice but to fall to her knees, her hands pressed to her chest, as if trying to hold back the very force of nature Ava had unleashed.
But just as Ava thought she had the upper hand, Mordana let out a guttural laugh—a laugh that sent chills down Ava's spine.
"You think this is the end?" Mordana gasped, her voice rasping with the effort of speaking. "You are a fool. You have no idea what you're truly up against."
Before Ava could respond, Mordana raised her hand toward the Heartstone. Dark energy poured from her fingertips, twisting and coiling like serpents around the glowing crystal. The Heartstone's pulse faltered, and for a moment, it flickered—its glow dimming.
Ava's heart skipped a beat. No. She couldn't let Mordana take it from her. She had worked too hard, fought too long to get this far. She wasn't about to lose everything now.
"No!" Ava shouted, her voice a mix of desperation and fury. With a furious cry, she surged forward, drawing upon every ounce of strength the Heartstone had given her.
The two forces collided—Ava's bright, blinding light against Mordana's dark, suffocating magic. The room cracked with the intensity of the battle, the ground beneath their feet shattering, stones crumbling like dust in the wake of the onslaught.
Ava's magic surged, flooding the chamber, breaking through Mordana's defenses. The dark energy that had wrapped around the Heartstone began to unravel, piece by piece, until it finally broke apart, leaving nothing but a radiant, golden light in its place.
Mordana screamed, her body convulsing as the Heartstone's light burned through her dark magic. She staggered back, her hands clawing at the air as if trying to cling to the remnants of her power, but it was no use. The Heartstone was too strong.
The room fell silent once more, save for the heavy, ragged breaths of the two women.
Mordana fell to her knees, her eyes wide with disbelief. She looked up at Ava, her gaze filled with a mix of rage, fear, and something else—something almost like… respect.
"I told you," Ava said, her voice steady and cold. "You've lost."
The sorceress didn't speak. Her chest heaved with each breath, and for the first time, there was no more mocking, no more arrogance in her expression. She was defeated. And Ava, for the first time, felt the weight of the Heartstone settle into her bones, grounding her, confirming the truth.
She had won.
But even as she stood victorious, a small voice—one that had been whispering at the back of her mind since the moment she had entered the temple—began to grow louder.
This wasn't over.