AVA's EDGE

thirteen

The silence was almost deafening as Ava caught her breath. The shadows lingered in the corners of the room, dark and unyielding, yet something felt… changed. The air held a strange, electric energy, as if something had been unlocked. Victor's cold smile faded slightly as he walked around the room, his eyes scanning every inch as if he was searching for something hidden in plain sight.

“Now we must find the plaquette,” he murmured, his voice a mixture of excitement and dread. He looked at Ava and Liam. "The scroll was just a doorway. The plaquette is the key."

Ava glanced at Liam, confusion and weariness mingling in her gaze. "What exactly is this plaquette? Is it… another artifact?"

Victor nodded, kneeling before a section of the floor that seemed out of place. "Yes, but it’s not just any artifact. The plaquette is ancient—older than the scroll, older than even the knowledge of the Veil. It’s what will anchor our connection to the power we’ve just unlocked. Without it, we’re vulnerable."

He traced his fingers along the edge of a barely visible seam in the stone floor. “The plaquette is a binding. It has to be secured here, in this chamber, to keep the Veil intact. Without it, the power we unleashed tonight will be volatile, uncontrollable.”

Liam swallowed, his voice unsteady. “So you’re saying that, unless we find this plaquette, we could still be in danger?”

Victor’s jaw tightened. "Yes. The ritual opened a channel, but without the plaquette to stabilize it, that channel is a tear—one that could widen again at any moment. We bought ourselves some time, but not enough."

Ava’s heart pounded with a renewed sense of urgency. "Where do we even begin to look?"

Victor’s gaze was intense, his eyes locked on hers. "The scroll’s markings—they’re not just symbols. They’re a map, a guide. If we follow them, they’ll lead us to the plaquette."

Together, they unrolled the scroll fully, revealing a complex pattern of symbols and markings that wound around each other like a labyrinth. At the center of the scroll, barely visible, was a small, faint depiction of an ancient emblem—something that looked like a disc with intricate carvings.

Victor pointed to it, his voice low. "This is what we’re looking for. The plaquette isn’t here, but the scroll will guide us to where it’s hidden. It’s bound to this place, so it won’t be far."

Ava’s hand trembled as she traced the lines on the scroll with her fingers, feeling a strange connection to the symbols, as though they were whispering secrets to her mind. Every line, every curve of the ink, seemed to pulse with energy, leading her to a sequence of markings that formed a distinct path across the map.

Suddenly, her fingers stopped over a section of symbols that resonated deep within her. "Here," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "It’s here."

Victor’s eyes lit up. "The ancient hall," he murmured. "Beneath this very room, hidden for centuries."

The three of them rose and, using the scroll’s guidance, made their way to a hidden door in the corner. Behind it, a narrow staircase spiraled down into the depths, the air growing colder with each step they took. The walls were lined with worn carvings, depictions of realms and creatures beyond anything they’d ever seen.

At the bottom, they found themselves in a cavernous chamber, lit only by the faint glow of the symbols on the scroll. And there, at the center of the room, lay the plaquette. It was a circular disc, no larger than a dinner plate, its surface carved with complex, interwoven designs that seemed to shift and shimmer as they looked at it.

Ava approached it, feeling an overwhelming pull. The plaquette’s power radiated outward, like a heartbeat in the silence.

Victor’s voice was barely a whisper. "Ava, you’re the Anchor. You’re the only one who can seal the plaquette to the Veil."

Ava reached out, her hand hovering above the ancient disc. She felt the energy coil around her fingers, pulling her in. With a steady breath, she placed her hand on the plaquette, and a wave of power surged through her, binding her to it.

The room trembled, the ground beneath them rumbling as the connection was sealed. For a brief moment, Ava felt the presence of the creatures beyond the Veil, sensed their rage and their hunger. But the plaquette held firm, containing the energy, binding it within.

Victor let out a relieved sigh. "It’s done," he said quietly. "The plaquette is in place. The Veil is stable."

Ava withdrew her hand, her body feeling drained yet strangely calm. She looked at Victor, realizing that this journey was far from over—but for the first time, she felt ready for what lay ahead.

Victor gave her a nod, respect evident in his gaze. "You’ve done what few ever could. And now, Ava, Liam, we hold the balance of worlds."

Liam saw at ava, and glanced as he was scared and gave a safe......