(POV: Ava)
There is a place between waking and sleep—
Where dreams wear the mask of memory
And truth feels like myth.
I was there now.
Floating. Drifting. Burning.
***
The world shimmered like candlelight through water. I stood barefoot in a vast temple with no roof, no end, and no time. Pillars of stone rose into a starlit sky that wasn't really a sky at all—just a canvas of shifting fire.
At the center of the temple stood her.
The woman in black and gold.
Tall. Unmoving. Eyes the color of eclipses—dark centers surrounded by radiant rings of fire. Her dress flowed like ink, lined in ancient symbols that flickered when she breathed.
"You came late," she said, her voice reverberating across the marble. "But not too late."
I stepped closer. My feet didn't touch the ground. I didn't move—the temple moved around me.
"Who are you?" I asked. My voice was small. Mortal.
Her eyes narrowed, and a slow, sad smile curved her lips.
"I am the first echo of who you once were."
***
Images flashed around us—visions burned into the fire:
Me, draped in white, hands glowing, standing before a chained Kael, his body trembling with rage and pain. Me, lifting a dagger… and carving a rune into his chest. Me, whispering a name that wasn't his—but bound him. And then… me, pressing a kiss to his lips before the fire consumed the world around us.
"You were the High Flame," the woman said. "The one who gave him purpose… and pain."
"No," I whispered, horrified. "I—I wouldn't hurt him."
She stepped closer. "You didn't hurt him. You saved him. You bound the monster inside him with your blood. With your soul. That bond lives still."
My knees buckled. I fell to the temple floor, heart pounding.
"All this time… all this pain he's carried… It's my fault?"
The woman knelt before me. Her fingers touched my face, burning but gentle.
"It was your sacrifice that gave him time. Years of peace. Years of choice."
"But the power inside me… it's changing. Growing."
She nodded slowly. "Because the seal is weakening. The First Ones are stirring. And if they take him—there will be no world left."
I looked into her eyes. My own reflection stared back.
"What do I do?"
The woman tilted her head.
"You remember. You awaken. You burn brighter than you ever have before. And when the time comes… you choose."
"Choose what?"
"Whether he lives free… or dies with the darkness."
A wind tore through the temple. The sky cracked.
The woman began to fade.
"Wait!" I cried out. "Tell me your name!"
She smiled one last time.
"You already know it. You are it."
And then the world split in two—
And I fell.
***
Kael – Hours Before
(Still in Ava's POV)
I woke to cold.
To emptiness.
The space beside me was bare, the warmth of her body gone. My hand reached out instinctively, grasping at nothing but dust and fabric.
"Ava?" I called.
Nothing.
Panic clawed through me. I stood too fast, pain surging through my side from last night's fight, but I didn't care.
I searched the chapel—shattered altar, broken pews, the fading blood of the Hounds still staining the floor.
No sign of her.
Only a single smear of golden light across the stone where she'd slept. Still glowing.
I fell to my knees, touching it. It pulsed against my fingers—warm, alive, calling to me like a heartbeat.
And then… I heard her scream.
Not with my ears.
In my head.
My blood froze.
Ava.
Something had taken her.
And I knew—without a doubt—if I didn't find her soon, she wouldn't come back the same.
***
Ava – Somewhere Between Worlds
I hit the ground hard, breath knocked out of me.
But I wasn't in the temple anymore.
I was in a cavern of fire.
Walls pulsed like living skin, veins of red light racing up toward a bleeding sky. Chains hung from nowhere. Whispers filled the air like insects—buzzing, clicking, calling my name.
In the center of it all stood a throne of bone.
And sitting on it was a man cloaked in shadows, his face hidden behind a golden mask.
He leaned forward, fingers steepled.
"Ah. The priestess returns," he purred. "But not quite whole."
I couldn't move. My body felt heavy. My voice stolen.
He stood and approached.
"Your flame is waking. But without your little soldier, you are breakable."
His hand reached toward my chest—and stopped just inches from my heart.
"Still… you are beautiful in your defiance. I remember when you carved his soul to save him. Such poetry. Such pain."
I managed to whisper. "You're one of them."
He nodded. "The First. The voice that whispered into Kael's bones before he knew how to bleed."
I stared at him. "Why show yourself to me now?"
His mask tilted. "Because the time for choosing is near. And because you, Ava… you burn brighter than even we expected."
He leaned in close.
"And because I want to watch you fall."
Then he reached out and pressed a single finger to my temple—
And the world exploded into white.
***
Kael – Present
I was already running.
Through forest. Through fog. My blade on my back. My vision blurring with every step.
The golden light on the chapel floor had shown me a direction. And I followed it like it was blood in my veins.
She was calling to me.
She was calling me home.
And if anything stood in my way—
Gods help them.