THE HEIRESS VOW - Chapter 209

Chapter 209: Echoes of the Abyss
The storm gathered with an unsettling intensity, the sky churning into a mass of swirling black clouds. A foreboding wind whipped through the village, carrying with it the faintest scent of something ancient, something wrong. The air crackled with electricity, yet it was the quiet, the eerie stillness beneath the noise, that set Lucas on edge. Every instinct screamed at him that something was coming. Something malevolent.

His eyes scanned the village below. The once peaceful settlement had changed, its people now distant shadows of themselves, their expressions hollow, their movements stiff. The Abyss had left its mark.

“Something isn’t right,” Lucas muttered, clenching his fists, his eyes narrowing as a cold gust whipped his hair back.

Ava stood beside him, wrapped in a thick cloak to hide the trembling that had begun to grip her body. Though the battle with the sentient being had ended, its darkness still lingered inside her, festering, gnawing at her soul. She had fought to suppress it, to keep its poisonous whispers at bay, but the fight was growing harder with each passing day.

“Do you feel it too?” Ava’s voice was soft, laced with exhaustion and fear. Her hand reached out, clutching Lucas’s arm for support.

“I feel it,” Lucas replied, his gaze hardening. “It’s stronger tonight.”

Just as he spoke, a flash of light streaked across the sky, illuminating the village in a brief moment of clarity. The shadows stretched unnaturally long, twisting and writhing as if alive. And then they vanished, swallowed by the growing darkness.

“They’ve been watching us,” Ava whispered, her voice shaking. “Since the battle. I can feel their eyes on me, every moment of every day.”

Lucas’s jaw clenched. He had noticed it too—the villagers’ behavior shifting, their eyes growing darker, colder, like empty voids reflecting the Abyss. He had hoped it was just the aftermath of the trauma they’d all endured, but the symbols—those damned symbols—told a different story.

“They’re under its influence,” Lucas said grimly, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. “The Abyss isn’t gone. It’s still here.”

Ava’s heart twisted painfully. She knew this truth too well. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw it—felt it, pulsing in her blood, whispering in her mind. The Abyss hadn’t been destroyed. It had merely changed form, lurking, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

“They hate me, Lucas,” Ava whispered, her voice breaking as she glanced at the villagers. “They blame me for this.”

“They don’t understand,” Lucas said firmly, though his own doubts lingered in the back of his mind. “They’re afraid, that’s all.”

Ava’s eyes flickered with guilt, her fingers digging into Lucas’s arm. “They have every reason to fear. I can feel it calling to me, stronger every day. What if—what if I can’t control it?”

“You will control it,” Lucas said, his voice unwavering. He turned to face her fully, his hands gripping her shoulders tightly. “You’ve faced worse, Ava. You’re stronger than this.”

Ava shook her head, her eyes wide with desperation. “No, Lucas, you don’t understand. It’s not just a battle anymore. The Abyss is inside me. Every time I try to push it away, it fights back harder. It’s—”

Her words were cut off by a sudden commotion. A scream. Not a cry of pain, but a sound of raw terror. Lucas’s body tensed immediately, and without hesitation, he sprinted toward the source of the noise, Ava close behind.

They found the village leader standing over a man, his eyes glowing with a sickly green light. The man writhed on the ground, his body convulsing violently, as tendrils of dark energy wrapped around him, squeezing the life from his bones.

“It’s spreading!” someone yelled, panic rising in the crowd that had gathered.

Ava’s blood ran cold. She knew this power—she felt it, coursing through her veins like fire. This was the Abyss, reaching out, consuming the villagers one by one.

The village leader, a man once proud and strong, turned to face them, his eyes wild with fear. “This is your doing!” he spat, pointing a trembling finger at Ava. “You brought this curse upon us!”

Ava took a step back, the accusation slicing through her like a knife. “No, I—”

“Don’t deny it!” the leader bellowed, his voice trembling with rage. “Since the day you came here, we’ve known nothing but death and darkness! You’ve brought the Abyss into our homes, into our lives! Look at him!” He pointed to the man writhing on the ground. “This is because of you!”

Ava’s breath hitched, the weight of his words crushing her chest. She opened her mouth to speak, to defend herself, but the words wouldn’t come. Deep down, she knew he wasn’t entirely wrong. The Abyss was connected to her, whether she wanted it or not.

Lucas stepped forward, his voice cold and sharp. “Enough.”

The village leader’s eyes snapped to Lucas, his expression twisted with hatred. “And you—defending her, protecting the one who’s killing us all. You’re no better!”

“I said, enough!” Lucas’s voice thundered through the square, silencing the murmurs of the crowd. His hand rested on his sword, a silent threat hanging in the air.

For a brief moment, the village leader faltered, but his rage was too great, too consuming. “You’ll pay for this,” he growled. “Both of you. We won’t let you destroy us any longer.”

Before Lucas could respond, another scream ripped through the night. A woman this time, clutching her head as her body was wracked with violent tremors. The dark energy swirling around her crackled in the air, filling the square with the scent of burnt ozone.

Ava’s heart raced. The Abyss was claiming them, one by one, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. The villagers were right to fear her—to hate her. She was the cause.

“Lucas,” Ava whispered, her voice barely audible over the chaos. “We have to leave. Now.”

Lucas didn’t hesitate. He grabbed her hand, pulling her away from the crowd. The village leader shouted after them, his voice filled with venom and fury, but Lucas didn’t stop. He could feel the darkness closing in, wrapping its tendrils around them, suffocating them with every step.

As they fled into the wilderness, the sounds of the village grew distant, swallowed by the storm that had now fully descended upon them. The wind howled like a beast, whipping through the trees as if trying to tear them apart.

“We can’t stay here,” Lucas said, his breath coming in ragged gasps as they ran. “We need to find somewhere safe—somewhere the Abyss can’t reach.”

Ava stumbled, her body trembling with exhaustion and fear. “There’s nowhere safe from it. You know that.”

“Don’t say that.” Lucas’s grip on her hand tightened. “We’ll find a way. We always do.”

But Ava’s hope was fading. Every step felt heavier, every breath harder to draw. The Abyss was inside her, and no matter how far they ran, it would follow. It would always be with her.

They stopped at the edge of a ravine, the jagged cliffs stretching out before them like the maw of some great beast. Below, the Abyss called to her, its dark whispers curling around her mind, promising release, promising power.

“Ava…” Lucas’s voice was soft now, filled with concern. He stepped closer, reaching out to her, but she didn’t move. Her eyes were locked on the darkness below, her heart pounding in her chest.

“I feel it,” she whispered, her voice distant, hollow. “It’s pulling me, Lucas. I can’t fight it anymore.”

“You can.” Lucas’s voice was firm, but there was a tremor beneath it. “You have to.”

Ava turned to face him, her eyes filled with a sorrow so deep it seemed to consume her. “What if I don’t want to?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Lucas froze, his heart lurching in his chest. “What…what are you saying?”

Ava looked back at the ravine, the abyss stretching out below them. “What if this is my fate? What if…what if I’m meant to join it?”

“No.” Lucas’s voice cracked with desperation. “No, you’re not. You’re stronger than this, Ava. You have to be.”

But Ava’s resolve was crumbling, her mind swirling with doubt and fear. The Abyss was offering her a way out—a way to end the pain, the suffering. All she had to do was let go.

Lucas stepped forward, his hand outstretched. “Please, Ava. Don’t do this.”

She turned to him, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “I don’t know if I can stop it, Lucas. I don’t know if I want to.”

For a moment, time seemed to stand still, the storm raging around them, the darkness pressing in from all sides. And then, without warning, Ava took a step toward the edge.

“Ava!” Lucas’s voice was a raw scream, filled with panic and fear.

But she didn’t stop. She didn’t look back.

And then, with one final breath, she let go.