THE HEIRESS VOW - Chapter 214

Chapter 214: Whispers from the Void
The fortress groaned beneath her feet, the stones splitting under the immense weight of the darkness that now pulsed through Ava. Her blackened eyes, glowing with a twisted, otherworldly light, reflected the abyss that had fully claimed her. Her transformation was complete, and Lucas, standing several feet away, could only watch in horror. The woman he loved was vanishing before his eyes, and in her place stood something far more terrifying.

“Ava…” His voice trembled as he took a cautious step forward, his heart pounding as if it were trying to break free from his chest. “I know you’re still in there. Please—don’t let it take you.”

The air crackled around her, thick with a tangible energy that felt like it could rip the very fabric of reality apart. The ground beneath Ava’s feet began to fracture, fissures spreading in jagged lines, while the walls of the ancient fortress trembled, their foundations weakened by the sheer force of her power. She turned to face him, but there was no recognition in her eyes, only the empty void of the Abyss staring back.

“Lucas,” her voice echoed, distorted, as if two beings spoke in unison—Ava’s, laced with pain, and another, darker force that dripped with malice. “I warned you. I told you… this is what I would become.”

Lucas’s heart clenched, but he couldn’t allow himself to give up on her. He had seen glimpses of the real Ava, the woman who had once laughed in the sunlight, who had touched his face with gentle hands. That woman was still there, buried beneath the layers of darkness that now threatened to consume her completely. He had to believe that.

“I won’t lose you,” he declared, his voice filled with a desperate conviction that wavered only slightly. He stepped closer, feeling the oppressive energy pressing against his skin, the taste of metal thick in his throat. “I refuse to lose you, Ava. Not to this.”

But her body jerked violently, as if the Abyss was responding to his words with scorn. Her hands, clenched into fists, trembled, dark tendrils of energy snaking out from her fingertips and curling around her like hungry serpents. “You already have,” she hissed, her voice a dagger to his heart. “There’s no saving me. You saw what I did. I destroyed everything. I will destroy you.”

His feet hesitated for a moment, but Lucas didn’t back away. Instead, he reached out, his hand hovering just inches from the dark aura that surrounded her. “No,” he whispered, “I don’t believe that. You’re stronger than this, Ava. You’re stronger than the Abyss.”

Ava’s eyes flashed with rage, her body shuddering violently as the power within her surged to the surface. “Stronger?” she spat, her words twisted with bitterness and venom. “You think I can fight this? You think your words can fix this?!” Her voice broke, a mixture of fury and despair bleeding through, and for a fleeting moment, the real Ava seemed to surface, her face contorting with agony. “I’ve lost, Lucas. I’ve lost everything.”

Lucas’s breath caught in his throat. He had seen her like this before—on the edge, battling the darkness, fighting for control. But this time was different. This time, she was slipping away, and he could feel it.

Suddenly, the doors to the fortress burst open, and the survivors stormed in, their faces grim with determination. “It’s time,” the elder woman, their leader, announced. “We need to perform the binding ritual now, before it’s too late.”

Ava’s body convulsed at the sound of the word, her hands clawing at the air as if she could rip the very idea from existence. “No!” she screamed, her voice a twisted mixture of fear and defiance. “You won’t—! You can’t do this to me!” The dark energy around her flared wildly, crashing against the walls of the fortress and sending debris flying.

Lucas staggered back, his arms shielding his face from the storm of power that erupted from her. “Wait!” he shouted, his voice hoarse from panic. “There has to be another way! We can’t just—”

“There isn’t,” the elder woman cut him off coldly, her eyes hard as steel. “If we don’t act now, she will be lost to the Abyss forever, and there will be no saving her. You know this.”

Lucas’s mind raced, torn between the love he felt for Ava and the brutal reality that stood before him. The survivors weren’t here to help her. They weren’t trying to save her—they wanted to use her. They didn’t care if Ava was destroyed in the process, as long as the Abyss was contained. His chest tightened with rage, but before he could act, Ava’s body lurched again, and this time, her fury was directed at him.

With a cry of anguish, she raised her hand, and a spear of dark energy shot out toward him, fast as lightning. Lucas barely had time to react, throwing himself to the side just as the blast struck the ground where he had stood moments before. The force of it sent him sprawling, the taste of dirt filling his mouth as he hit the floor.

“Ava!” he gasped, his voice raw with desperation. “It’s me—Lucas. Please, don’t do this!”

But she was beyond reason now. The Abyss had sunk its claws deep into her mind, twisting her thoughts, turning her love into something corrupted. “I’ll kill you!” she screamed, her voice a tortured wail. “I’ll kill everyone! Stay away from me!”

The survivors pressed forward, their hands raised in preparation for the ritual. The elder woman began chanting in an ancient tongue, the words flowing from her lips like a river of power. Ava screamed again, but this time it was a scream of pure, unadulterated fear, as if the very thought of the ritual was worse than death itself.

Lucas, still on the ground, his body aching from the force of her attack, watched in horror as the ritual began. He knew that if they completed it, there would be nothing left of Ava—nothing of the woman he loved. Only the Abyss would remain.

There was only one choice.

He had to stop them.

Summoning every ounce of strength he had left, Lucas surged to his feet, pushing through the agony that racked his body. “No!” he roared, his voice filled with a desperate fury. “You’re not taking her!”

The elder woman barely spared him a glance. “It’s too late,” she said, her voice cold, final. “The ritual has begun.”

But Lucas wasn’t listening. He charged forward, his heart hammering in his chest, the weight of his love for Ava driving him onward. In a blur of motion, he grabbed the nearest survivor, pulling them away from the circle, his fists colliding with bone as he fought to disrupt the ritual.

Ava’s screams filled the air, the sound so raw, so filled with anguish, that it cut through him like a blade. She was being torn apart, and Lucas could feel it in his soul. He had to act fast. But just as he reached for her, his hand outstretched, a shadow fell over him.

“Enough!” The voice boomed through the chamber, silencing everything.

The Watcher stepped forward, his presence radiating an ancient power that made even the Abyss recoil. His eyes, dark and fathomless, locked onto Lucas, and in that moment, Lucas felt the weight of something far greater than himself pressing down on him.

“You would risk everything to save her,” the Watcher said, his voice calm, but filled with a terrifying gravity. “You would risk your soul.”

Lucas’s breath came in shallow gasps, but he didn’t back down. “I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll give anything—anything to bring her back.”

The Watcher tilted his head slightly, as if considering his words. “Anything?” His voice was soft, almost gentle, but beneath it, Lucas could sense the threat—the darkness that loomed just beyond.

The survivors had fallen silent, their eyes wide with fear as the Watcher loomed over them. Even the elder woman, so confident just moments before, now seemed unsure of herself.

“You misunderstand the nature of the Abyss,” the Watcher continued, his voice a low rumble that echoed through the chamber. “It cannot be fought. It cannot be destroyed. It is—and it will always be. But there is one way.”

Lucas’s heart pounded. “What way?”

The Watcher’s eyes gleamed, and a cruel smile tugged at his lips. “Become its vessel. Take her place, and the Abyss will have what it wants. Her life… for yours.”

For a moment, time seemed to stop. The words hung in the air, heavy, suffocating, as Lucas’s mind raced. He could save her. He could end her suffering. But the cost…

“I won’t let you do it,” a voice cut through the haze, sharp and filled with fury.

The Shadow Priestess stepped forward, her presence as dark and dangerous as the Watcher’s. “He’s lying to you,” she hissed, her eyes burning with rage. “He was never the guardian of the Abyss. He was its first victim.”

The revelation sent a shockwave through the room, but before Lucas could process it, the Priestess turned to him, her expression hard. “There’s another way,” she said, her voice low. “But you won’t like the price.”