Chapter 3: Meeting in the Abyss
How deep could a well possibly be?
From the depths of my mind, a memory surfaced, one from those old, beautiful days that were now lost forever.
The old stone well in the village square…
As far as I knew, it was thirteen meters deep.
My mother… she always told me to stay away from it.
If I leaned too far and fell inside, she would whisper that I could drown in the freezing darkness, that no one would hear my voice.
But now?
What about the well I had been thrown into?
This one that swallowed me like a bottomless stomach?
There was no water here to drown me.
No muddy ground to crash into.
No moss covered walls to cling to.
There was only endless, bottomless darkness.
How long had I been drifting in this void?
Had it been seconds?
Minutes?
Or had I been falling for hours?
Maybe months.
Maybe years.
My sense of time had completely shattered in this pitch black emptiness.
This well had no end.
No bottom.
Gravity itself seemed meaningless.
I could not even tell whether I was falling downward or if the darkness was pushing me upward.
I had completely lost my sense of direction.
Perhaps I had already hit the bottom.
Was I even alive?
Could someone with a shattered heart, a torn chest, and no pulse still be alive?
There was not a single part of me left untouched.
My flesh had been burned, my bones broken, my soul pierced by the hands of those I loved most.
Then how?
How was I still existing?
I do not understand.
I was on the verge of losing my mind.
Was all of this because I was the Chosen One?
Was I truly chosen?
Why had all of this happened to me, an innocent child?
Was this the fate of the chosen?
To be betrayed in such a disgusting way by everyone I loved and trusted?
To be torn apart piece by piece while they smiled at me?
All those stories I believed in for years…
The great god.
The sacred bridge.
Were they all lies?
"Does it hurt, Ava?"
A voice echoed through the darkness.
I could not tell where it came from.
Was it to my right?
My left?
Above me?
Below me?
No.
It was not outside.
It was inside my mind.
I wanted to speak, to ask who it was, but my lips did not move.
I was still paralyzed.
I was not even sure I still had a physical body.
[I am everywhere, my little Ava…]
It was a woman's voice.
Soft.
Deep.
Velvety.
More familiar than my mother's voice.
More gentle.
More loving.
For a moment, a strange sense of peace filled me.
But it was immediately crushed by a wave of panic.
I had not spoken.
I was sure of it.
And yet… she heard my thoughts.
Hesitantly, trembling with fear, I responded in my mind.
[Can you… hear me?]
[Of course I can hear you, my little one,] she whispered warmly. [I have been watching you all this time.]
[Watching me?]
[Yes, Ava. From the moment you were born, from your very first breath, I have always watched you.]
[The life you lived… the small home you grew up in… how you ran through the streets with your noisy little friends… how you fell asleep under the great tree at the edge of the village…]
Her voice was so sincere that I felt tears fall.
[I saw how your eyes sparkled when you ate your favorite apple pie… how happy you were while picking strawberries in the forest… and Anna… I know how much you loved your little sister. I even know about the wooden toy you carved for her with your small hands.]
As she spoke, memories came flooding back.
My emotions swelled like a massive wave in the darkness.
It was not a lie.
She really had been watching me.
She knew everything.
Every tear.
Every laugh.
She had always been with me.
I was not a victim.
I truly was the Chosen One.
But…
The empty smiles on their faces.
My sister driving the blade into my heart.
If she had been watching all along…
Then she had seen everything.
The pain.
The burning flesh.
The betrayal.
The despair.
Why had she not stopped it?
Why had she not saved me?
I did not even need to ask.
I knew she could hear my thoughts.
I waited.
[Do not hate them, my little one,] she said softly. There was a hint of sadness in her voice. [They were only serving me.]
That answer exploded in my mind.
[You wanted me to suffer?!] I cried out inwardly. [You wanted them to tear me apart?!]
[No, Ava. Believe me, it is not like that,] she replied quickly. [For you to truly reach me… for you to become one with me… you needed to go through this.]
[Why?!]
Silence followed.
Then her voice returned, colder this time.
[My little one… it is far easier to enter a broken and shattered will than to reach one that is whole and strong.]
Her words struck me deeply.
So that was it.
I was not a bridge.
I was a fortress that had to be broken.
The innocent belief inside me vanished.
Something darker replaced it.
[So… you are weak?]
I knew how disrespectful that sounded.
I was speaking to a being that could read my mind.
But I did not care.
I was the Chosen One.
My blood had been spilled.
Even if she was a god, she owed me an answer.
Silence.
Long, heavy silence.
Then, unexpectedly, a quiet whisper came.
[Yes… I am weak.]
I could not believe it.
A god… admitting weakness.
[I am weak, Ava. That is why reaching you… forming this bond… required so much pain. Your strong will kept me out. Only when your body was destroyed and your hope shattered could I enter. Forgive me… I am responsible for all your suffering.]
As I struggled to process this, I asked the question that mattered most.
[What will happen to me now?]
I had never learned what happened to the ones before me.
And this god…
She was nothing like I had imagined.
She was weak.
Cruel.
Fragile.
Yet somewhere inside me, a twisted sense of satisfaction remained.
Despite everything…
I was still the Chosen One.
She was real.
And I was speaking to her.
Silence again.
But this time, something felt different.
Something was changing.
[My god?] I called softly.
At that moment, the endless darkness split apart.
A blinding white light, brighter than the sun, burst into existence.
My eyes burned.
Instinctively, I raised my hands to cover them.
I could feel them.
My hands.
My body.
As the light slowly softened, I rubbed my eyes.
Then I realized something shocking.
I could move.
I was standing on solid ground.
Excited, I moved my arms, my legs, my body.
There was no pain.
The pain was completely gone.
I touched my body in panic.
My shoulder.
My knee.
My chest.
Beneath my torn, blood soaked clothes…
My skin was smooth.
Untouched.
Trembling, I placed my hand over my heart.
Where Anna had stabbed me.
The wound was gone.
But…
There was nothing there.
No heartbeat.
Only silence.
[How do you feel, Ava?]
The voice came from right in front of me.
Startled, I looked up.
And froze.
I stood among massive white pillars.
They looked like marble, but far more radiant, with golden veins running through them.
They stretched endlessly in every direction.
The ground beneath my feet was the same.
Pure.
Flawless.
Like it was made of light itself.
The walls were lined with enormous statues.
Perfectly sculpted bodies.
Flowing garments carved in detail.
But their faces…
I could not see them.
They were there.
Yet not.
As if something blurred them.
It sent a chill through me.
When I looked up, I saw no ceiling.
The pillars stretched endlessly into a vast blue sky.
Just moments ago, I had been in darkness.
Now I was here.
A miracle.
My god's miracle.
And then…
I saw her.
She stood a few steps away.
Golden hair cascading like a waterfall.
A face beyond perfection.
Skin glowing with soft light.
Golden eyes, like a predator's, filled with warmth… and something deeper.
Hunger.
She wore a flowing white dress like mine.
But hers felt divine.
As if made of light itself.
For a moment, a childish feeling rose inside me.
I envied her.
How could anyone be so perfect?
Compared to her, I felt insignificant.
Of course… she was a god.
[Pff… ahaha…]
She giggled softly.
The sound echoed like bells.
She had read my thoughts.
I felt my face flush.
Even without a heartbeat, embarrassment overwhelmed me.
She stepped closer and opened her arms.
"My little one…" she said, this time aloud.
"There is nothing for you to be ashamed of in front of me."
She waited.
"Come closer. I have kept my distance for too long…"
Her smile widened.
That strange hunger in her eyes deepened.
"Come… and embrace me."
"Let your god give you the reward you deserve."