Ada stood in the center of the training room, her breath still shaky from her encounter with the artifact. It had felt as though she were on the edge of losing herself—just a hair's breadth from giving in to the overwhelming power that surged through her. But she hadn't. She had held onto her sanity, her control, even if it had come at a cost.
Lena's gaze was steady, piercing. She didn't congratulate Ada, didn't offer any words of comfort. Instead, she just stood there, watching her. Waiting.
"Do you understand now?" Lena asked, her voice flat, but there was an edge to it—something like a challenge. "The artifact isn't just a tool. It's a test. One you will face over and over. It amplifies everything, Ada—the good, the bad, and everything in between. It can make you stronger, but it can also destroy you if you're not careful."
Ada nodded, her throat tight. The sweat on her skin felt cold now, and the adrenaline that had surged through her had begun to fade, leaving her with nothing but a sense of unease. She had felt the artifact's darkness, its hunger. And she had barely managed to keep it at bay. How much longer could she continue to wield it without being consumed?
"I understand," Ada said quietly, her voice almost lost in the vastness of the room.
Lena crossed her arms, her expression hardening. "You can't afford to understand only in the moment. This power doesn't let you live in the now. It drags you into the past and the future. It forces you to confront your deepest fears, your darkest desires, and it feeds on them. It will test your very soul."
Ada swallowed, trying to ignore the way the air in the room seemed to press in on her, heavy and thick. The artifact had revealed so much, but it had also shown her things she wasn't ready to face. Was she truly strong enough for this? Could she handle the consequences of the power she had inherited?
"Is there a way to stop it?" Ada asked, her voice almost a whisper. "The artifact... is there a way to control it without it consuming me?"
Lena didn't answer right away. Her gaze flickered to the artifact resting on the table in the corner, its dark surface gleaming like an ancient predator waiting for its next victim.
"The only way to truly control it," Lena said after a long pause, "is to confront the one who sacrificed everything for it."
Ada's heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean?"
Lena's face softened for the briefest of moments, a flicker of something—regret, perhaps?—passing through her eyes. "The person who gave their life to bind the power to your bloodline... they're not gone. They've been trapped in the artifact for all these years, and they're waiting for you to free them."
Ada's stomach turned. She had always known there was something more to the artifact, but this... this was more than she had imagined. The idea that someone's soul—someone's very essence—had been sacrificed to create the power she now wielded was almost too much to bear.
"Why would they do that?" Ada asked, her voice trembling. "Why would someone give up their life for this? For me?"
Lena's lips pressed into a thin line. "It wasn't about you, Ada. It was about protecting the legacy. About ensuring the family's power would never be lost, even if it meant sacrificing everything. The power was never meant to belong to just one person. It was meant to be shared. To be passed on."
"But it's not being shared," Ada said, her voice rising. "It's just me. I'm the one carrying this burden."
Lena's eyes darkened. "And that's why you have to face what's coming. You have to understand that this power isn't just yours to control. It's a part of a greater whole. A force that has been shaping your family's destiny for centuries. And now, you're at the center of it."
Ada took a step back, her mind racing. She was at the center of something much bigger than herself. The artifact, the power, the legacy—none of it had been her choice. Yet here she was, trapped in a cycle that had been set in motion long before she was born.
"What do I do now?" Ada asked, her voice small, lost.
Lena's gaze softened, just slightly. "Now, you prepare. You have to be ready for what's coming. The person who sacrificed themselves for the artifact—they are waiting for you. And they won't rest until you free them."
Ada's heart beat faster. She had thought she was ready. But now, the weight of it all felt crushing. She wasn't just fighting for control of her power—she was fighting for her own soul.
"There's more to this, isn't there?" Ada asked, her voice trembling. "There's something else, something you're not telling me."
Lena looked at her, her eyes filled with a sorrow that Ada hadn't seen before. "There's always more, Ada. There's always more than you think."
And with those words, Lena turned and walked out of the room, leaving Ada standing in the quiet aftermath of their conversation. The weight of her words hung in the air like a storm on the horizon, ready to break.
Ada's gaze flickered to the artifact, still resting on the table. It called to her, its dark surface gleaming with the promise of answers—and the threat of destruction. She didn't know what the future held, or what price she would have to pay, but one thing was certain: she couldn't run from this.
She would have to face whatever was coming. Whatever it took.