Ava stood at the precipice, the void beneath her alive, pulsing with a twisted rhythm that mirrored her own heartbeat. The fragment of the Abyss in her hand seemed to pulse harder as if in sync with the hungry darkness below. Her breath hitched, her chest constricting in a mix of terror and resolve. This was it—the moment she had been dreading, the leap into the unknown.
The wind tugged at her hair, pulling her toward the edge, urging her to fall, to give in. Shadows wrapped themselves around her ankles like cold fingers, whispering promises of oblivion, of release. She had never felt so isolated, so completely and utterly alone.
Behind her, Leo's voice cut through the tempest. "Ava, stop!" His words were sharp, tinged with desperation, but she couldn't turn back now. Not after everything. This journey—this confrontation with the Abyss—was hers alone. No one else could face it for her, not even Leo.
