The temple burned.
Not with heat—but with power.
Red-gold light danced across the cracked stone walls, casting long, writhing shadows. Ava stood at the center of the storm, her chest heaving, her golden magic flickering like a dying flame.
Above the altar, Lily floated. Her eyes glowed like twin suns, her mouth slightly parted, and from it, an unnatural harmony sang—a chilling duet between child and monster.
"I see you, Ava Hart.""I see your fear. Your guilt. Your weakness."
The voice was Lily's and not. The Ember Queen was awakening fully now, and her vessel—Ava's daughter—was vanishing beneath the godfire.
Damian coughed from behind the shattered columns, trying to crawl toward them. His chains had melted from the explosion, but his limbs were barely functional.
"Ava… don't let it win..." he whispered.
But Ava was already moving.
The Forbidden Blade
From the folds of her scorched cloak, Ava drew a blade no one was meant to wield again.
Forged in the blood of gods. Tempered by betrayal.
Its name whispered itself into the air: Nyxvenom.
The metal shimmered black and blue, with veins of silver pulsing like a heartbeat. As her fingers closed around the hilt, it bit into her skin—but she didn't flinch.
"If I can't save her," she breathed, eyes burning,"I'll end it before she becomes you."
The Ember Queen laughed—no, screamed with joy through Lily's mouth.
"You'll try to kill your own daughter?""Even now, you still don't understand what she is."
The Truth Behind the Flame
Just as Ava stepped forward, about to strike—A thunderous crash split the temple.
A section of the wall exploded inward, stone and fire raining down. Smoke swallowed the chamber, and from the dust emerged a figure cloaked in deep midnight-blue robes, lined with sigils that shimmered in languages lost to time.
Ava froze. Her blade lowered slightly.
She recognized that magic.
"Elias…"
The man who stepped forward removed his hood. Time hadn't aged him, but his eyes were hollow—haunted.
"You shouldn't have called her, Ava," he said softly."The Ember Queen isn't just a goddess. She's your blood."
Ava's world shattered.
"What...?"
Elias didn't flinch. He looked up at the child floating in the light, her golden fire reaching toward the heavens.
"She's your daughter, yes.""But her soul? It's not human. It's... it's your mother's
Ava stumbled back. Her blade clattered to the ground.
The Ember Queen's laughter rose louder, drowning everything.
From Lily's lips came the voice Ava had tried to forget since she was a child—the woman who had cursed their bloodline.
"Hello, little Ava," the Ember Queen cooed."Did you really think death would stop me?"