Chapter Eleven: The Heart Remembers 

(POV: Ava) 

There's a sound the soul makes when it starts to crack. 

It's not a scream. 

Not a wail. 

It's quieter than that. 

A hum—like glass straining under pressure. Like the air just before lightning splits the sky. 

I could hear that sound now. 

Inside me. 

 *** 

The First One's touch hadn't burned. It had frozen—paralyzed every nerve, every thought. And in that stillness, I was sinking deeper into the in-between. Caught between my former self's memory and my present soul. 

But I wasn't lost. 

Not yet. 

The vision before me began to warp. 

I stood again in that temple of fire—but now I was not alone. 

A mirror rose from the ground. Tall. Ancient. The reflection within it didn't show me—it showed her. The woman I used to be. The priestess. 

She stood in white robes, glowing with gold light, her face calm even as flames swirled behind her. 

"You have come far, Ava," she said. Her voice was mine, only older. Stronger. "But now, you must remember everything." 

I stepped closer. "I don't want to be her." 

"You don't have to," she whispered. "But you must understand her." 

The mirror pulsed—and then shattered into dust. 

And the memory swallowed me whole. 

 *** 

The Past Life – Ava's Memory 

He was chained to the altar. 

His body—Kael's body—was covered in deep slashes, glowing with dark energy, pulsing like a dying star. His eyes—still human then—were filled with pain. But not fear. 

He looked at me with trust. 

"Are you sure?" he whispered. 

I stepped forward, hand trembling as I raised the ceremonial dagger. "If I don't bind it, the darkness will consume you. You'll become what they made you." 

"I'm not afraid of dying." 

"But I am," I said, voice breaking. "I won't lose you to them." 

He smiled. "Then do it." 

I placed my hand on his chest. The symbol of the flame burned beneath his skin. "With this bond, I seal the First One inside you. And tie your soul to mine." 

Then I carved the rune. 

He screamed—but did not resist. 

And then… I kissed him. 

And the world ended in light. 

 *** 

Now 

I gasped as I was ripped from the memory. 

Back in the fire-realm. Back in my body. 

I collapsed to my knees, chest heaving. 

"I remember," I whispered. "Gods… I remember it all." 

"You see now." 

The First One stepped forward from the shadows, mask glinting with wicked delight. 

"You were the fool who broke the seal the moment you kissed him again. Love is so fragile, so easily twisted." 

I stood slowly. My legs shook, but the fire inside me no longer flickered. 

It raged. 

"You think I regret loving him?" I asked, voice low. 

The First One laughed. "You will. When he's mine." 

 *** 

Suddenly, the ground shook. 

A wind ripped through the realm, hurling chains aside. 

The air ripped open like paper— 

And Kael stepped through. 

 *** 

His face was bloodied. His chest rose and fell in furious gasps. His eyes—red with the echo of the monster, but clear, focused—locked on mine. 

And when he saw me, something in him broke. 

"Ava," he breathed. 

I ran to him. He caught me in his arms, holding me so tightly I could barely breathe. 

"I thought I'd lost you," he whispered into my hair. 

I clung to him. "You came." 

"Always." 

Behind us, the First One hissed. "Touching. But pointless." 

Chains rose from the ground, striking toward us like serpents. Kael pushed me behind him and raised his arms—but this time, I didn't let him fight alone. 

I stepped forward. 

I raised my hands—and let the fire out. 

 *** 

The chains met my light and shattered. 

The whole realm pulsed. 

The First One stumbled back. 

"What have you done?" 

I walked forward, eyes glowing gold, heat pouring from my skin. 

"I'm done hiding who I was." 

Light swirled around Kael and me, sealing us in a barrier of flame and memory. Together. 

"You used us," I said. "Broke us. Burned us." 

"Now we burn you." 

 *** 

Kael stepped beside me, blade drawn. "Ready?" 

I reached for his hand. "Let's end this." 

Together, we charged. 

The battle was chaos. 

The First One struck with claws of shadow, warping the realm around us. He twisted illusions, made me see Kael dying, my own face screaming in terror. 

But we held onto each other. 

Every time he struck, we struck back—me with fire, Kael with steel. 

He tried to separate us. We stayed together. 

We bled. We screamed. 

But we did not fall. 

 *** 

Finally, as the First One lunged for Kael, I raised my hands and poured every last drop of power into a single word: 

"Bind." 

Light erupted from the rune on Kael's chest. 

The First One howled as it dragged him in—screaming, clawing, resisting. 

Kael dropped to his knees as the weight returned to him—but this time, I knelt beside him. 

"I'm here," I said. "You don't carry it alone anymore." 

The bond shimmered—glowed— 

And the realm cracked apart. 

 *** 

We landed back in the chapel just before sunrise. Dust settled. The light of dawn filtered through the broken roof. 

Kael lay beside me, panting. His skin was burned, bloodied. But his eyes—still human. 

I reached out and cupped his face. He leaned into it. 

"I remember everything," I whispered. 

"So do I." 

He pressed his forehead to mine. "You saved me. Again." 

I smiled through tears. "We saved each other." 

 *** 

As the light poured in through the windows, we lay there—together. 

Broken. 

But whole.