Darkness.
Then fire.
Then a heartbeat—not hers.
Ava opened her eyes to a world made of ash and memory.
The Soulforge.
It was not a place, but a mental crucible, built from her daughter's soul and the invading will of the Ember Queen. Everything here pulsed with emotion—grief, rage, guilt. Even the sky wept glowing embers.
The ground cracked beneath her feet with every step. Towers of broken toys and forgotten lullabies loomed in the distance. A river of molten gold roared below, fed by Lily's fears.
And ahead, on a throne of burning bone—Seraphina Hart waited.
Her mother.
The Queen of Flame Revealed
Seraphina was regal, horrifying, and heartbreakingly familiar. Long red hair flowed like wildfire. Her dress shimmered in molten silk, adorned in glowing runes. But her eyes—gods, her eyes—were Lily's.
"So good to see you again, Ava," she purred."I always knew you'd follow."
Ava gritted her teeth, stepping forward, Nyxvenom gripped tight.
"This ends now. You're not taking her."
Seraphina rose, her smile a cut through heaven.
"My dear girl… you never had her.She was mine the moment you conceived her. A vessel for fire.You were just the cradle."
Lily's Spirit Emerges
Suddenly, a gust of golden wind surged across the scorched plain. A smaller figure appeared—hovering behind Ava, flickering like a candle in a storm.
"Mom?"
Ava spun.
Lily.
Her daughter was wearing the same pale blue dress she died in—a ghostly echo of innocence. Her hands trembled, her eyes wide with terror.
"She won't stop, Mom. She's inside everything. Even my dreams. She keeps showing me... what happens if I let her win."
Ava knelt, grabbing her daughter's face, tears mixing with soot.
"Don't you dare give up. I'm here. And I'm not leaving without you."
The Trial of Guilt
But the world shifted suddenly. Seraphina raised her hand—and the entire Forge bent to her will.
Ava was yanked backward by invisible chains, flung into a nightmarish mirror of her past.
She was in the hospital again.
Lily's tiny body lay still on a stretcher.
Blood. Screams. The doctor shaking his head.
"You weren't strong enough.""You let your daughter die."
Ava screamed. She knew it wasn't real—but the guilt twisted around her throat like a noose.
"Face it," Seraphina whispered into the dark,"You wanted her to die. You knew she'd carry me."
"You let it happen."
Suddenly—crack!
Lily appeared beside her, eyes burning, hair aflame.
But it wasn't just Lily.
Half her face was glowing with golden innocence. The other?
Charred black, with the Ember Queen's eyes.
"I'm tired of choosing," Lily whispered."So I won't."
She raised her hand—and both Ava and Seraphina were caught in a tidal wave of soulfire.