Ava's hand hovered in the air, inches from the sorceress's, her chest heaving with each ragged breath. The Abyss surged around her, its dark tendrils coiling like serpents at her feet, pulling her closer to the precipice. Her fingers trembled, torn between the cold pull of power and the fading warmth of love that Lucas had offered her. His voice, faint but desperate, echoed across the void. "Ava!" The sound reached her, but the distance between them felt insurmountable, distorted by the dark twisting of the Abyss.
The sorceress's voice was like velvet, smooth and poisonous. "He cannot save you, Ava. He never could. The moment you entered the Abyss, you were already lost. But I can offer you salvation. I can make you strong."
Ava's mind reeled, caught in the storm of her own doubts. The sorceress leaned in, her lips curling into a sinister smile, "Look at what you could be." She waved her hand, conjuring another vision.
