To walk through the gate is to face everything you tried to bury.
The wind whispered Ava's name.
Not through the trees. Not in a dream.
But from within her own chest.
It began with a burn beneath her skin right over the rune Maya had drawn days ago. The once-dormant symbol now shimmered like golden threads trying to rip through her flesh.
Ava stood in the center of Maya's ritual circle. Candles surrounded her, casting long, flickering shadows. Liam sat close by, concern etched across his face. Maya moved around them silently, drawing ancient symbols in the air with chalk dust and ash.
"You're sure she's ready for this?" Liam asked, voice taut.
"No," Maya said. "But the soul gate's opening. If she doesn't go willingly, it will pull her in forcefully."
Ava didn't flinch. "Then I go now."
Maya looked her in the eye. "When you step through, you won't be Ava. You won't be Isabella. You'll be everything you were, and everything you feared. You need to hold onto who you are or the gate will rewrite you."
Ava nodded. Her pulse thudded hard in her ears. "Let it come."
The Descent
Ava closed her eyes.
Her body stilled.
Then nothing.
No ground. No sky. No sound.
Just a void.
She floated until the world jerked.
A cold pull. A sensation like falling through her own heartbeat.
Then she landed hard on black marble.
She stood in a vast cathedral.
The ceiling stretched into nothing. Massive stained-glass windows shimmered without light. The air was heavy with whispers dozens, hundreds, all in her voice, all from different times.
Then she heard footsteps.
From the far end of the hall came the veiled woman.
But this time, she wasn't veiled.
And she wasn't older.
She was… exactly Ava's age.
Mirror image. Same face. Same eyes. But colder. Her hair darker. Her smile wicked and wise.
"Welcome to the gate," the woman said, voice echoing through the chamber. "You locked me here centuries ago."
Ava stared. "Who are you really?"
"I'm what you broke off. The part of your soul that knew the truth too early. The pain. The rage. The sacrifice."
Ava's mouth went dry. "And what truth is that?"
"That love doesn't save. It enslaves."
The First Trial
The woman snapped her fingers.
The ground split open and a scene rose from the cracks like smoke.
Isabella's old tower.
She was standing with Vincent, laughing. Her hands glowed with power. Her eyes shone with adoration.
"You loved him," the soul-woman said. "And because of that love, you gave him everything. Your loyalty. Your secrets. Your soul."
The scene twisted Vincent whispering the binding spell. Isabella nodding, whispering it back.
"You weren't tricked," the woman said. "You chose to believe him."
Ava clutched her chest. "That was another life "
"It's still your life," the woman snapped. "You can't unlock your power without owning your betrayal."
The scene faded.
The Second Trial
Next came a different memory.
Isabella kneeling over a dying girl her sister. Her hands were glowing again, but this time, with chaos. Wild, uncontrolled energy.
The girl's lips moved weakly. "You promised…"
And Isabella screamed not in grief, but in panic as her own magic slipped from her grasp, killing the one person she swore to protect.
Ava dropped to her knees.
"No," she whispered. "I didn't mean "
"But you did," said the soul-woman. "You thought power was protection. But it wasn't enough, was it? You buried that failure inside me."
Ava wept silently.
The woman stepped closer. "Now, if you want your magic back all of it you'll have to relive the moment you broke. Without looking away."
The Final Trial
A single door appeared in the far end of the cathedral. Black wood. Golden frame. A single rune burning on its surface the rune of truth.
"You go in alone," the soul-woman said. "And you face the part of Vincent you kept locked inside."
Ava rose slowly. Her body trembled, but her eyes were steady now.
"I won't lose myself," she whispered.
The woman's expression flickered. "You already have. That's why I exist."
And then she vanished into smoke.
Ava stepped toward the door.
Inside the Door
She was back in the chamber where it all ended.
The fire.
The blood.
Vincent dying.
But as she approached his broken body, it rose reformed his face twisting into something inhuman.
"You think you can erase me?" he growled, eyes blazing. "I was made from your love. From your ambition. I'm what you called power."
"No," Ava said. "You're what I let happen when I didn't believe I was enough without you."
He lunged.
She didn't run.
She raised her hand and golden flames erupted from her palms. But this time, they didn't lash out. They wrapped around him like chains.
Vincent howled as they pulled him down into the black.
Ava stood tall.
"Goodbye."
And the door shattered into light.
Return
She gasped awake in the circle, drenched in sweat, heart hammering.
Maya and Liam were beside her, eyes wide.
"You did it," Maya whispered.
But Ava's gaze was distant.
"I saw her," she murmured. "The part of me I cast out. And I saw… him. What he truly is."
Liam took her hand. "And?"
Ava looked down at her glowing fingertips.
"I'm ready now."