Ava hit the stone floor with a gasp, air bursting from her lungs.
The heat was gone.
The flames were gone.
Now—only silence. And bones.
Thousands of them.
Scattered across the cavern like brittle leaves, skulls tilted as if still watching.
She pushed herself up, wincing. Her palm—still sliced—glowed faintly under her skin, the Romanov fire whispering beneath her blood.
A drop fell. The stone hissed as it met her blood. A glow pulsed beneath her knees.
Then—
A chain rattled.
A soft hum.
A woman.
The Second Mother
Across the catacomb, shackled in silver chains, suspended like a forgotten saint, she watched Ava through hollow green eyes.
Identical to her mother.
Same hair.
Same voice.
But this one—ragged, bound, lips sewn shut with gold thread.
And weeping.
Ava staggered forward. "Who... who are you?"
The chained woman lifted her head slowly, painfully. Her body trembled like a violin string stretched too thin.
And then Ava heard it—
A voice not with her ears… but in her mind.
"You know who I am, Ava."
She stepped closer, heart hammering.
"No. My mother—my real mother—is upstairs. She just gave me the blade. She saved me."
The woman's head shook violently. Tears ran down her soot-streaked cheeks.
"She lies. I've been here since the fire. Since the night he took everything."
The walls around them began to pulse—like a heartbeat.
Ava touched the dagger still strapped to her hip.
One mother gave her answers.
This one gave her pain.
"You were five. You watched me burn. But you don't remember what really happened, do you?"
Suddenly—a memory slammed into her like a wave.
Fifteen Years Ago
The cabin.
The fire.
Little Ava hiding beneath the staircase.
And someone dragging her mother away—a man with silver eyes.
She screamed. But it wasn't Vera Romanov who disappeared into the flames.
It was this woman.
And the one who came back years later…
Had never been her mother at all.
Present – Catacomb of Ash
Ava dropped to her knees. "Then who is she?"
The chained woman sobbed without sound.
"A shapeshifter. The Ember Witch. He made her wear my face. He made you love her. But she's always served him."
Ava stood.
Shaking.
Fury building in her throat.
"She used Lily."
The woman nodded, barely conscious.
"And she will burn her… unless you stop the door from opening."
"The Door of Ashes."
"Your blood can seal it. But your choice will shape who dies."
Up Above – Meanwhile
On the surface, the false Vera paced in a circle of flame, watching as Damian and Levi ran toward the cabin.
She smiled.
Her eyes no longer green.
Black. Pitch black.
She turned toward the fire. "Let her see the truth. And when she returns…"
The Man Without a Name stepped out from the smoke.
"…we open the door together."
Cliffhanger Hook
Back underground, Ava looked at the golden stitches sealing her real mother's mouth shut.
Her fingers trembled as she raised the dagger.
And with one swift, shaking slice—
she cut the stitches.
The woman gasped, coughing blood and smoke, eyes wide with terror.
Then she spoke:
"Ava… she already took your daughter through the door."
The stone beneath them cracked.
A great wind howled through the cavern.
And the bones began to whisper Lily's name.