Saa'ir ascended the nearby mountain range, his form gliding across the snow-covered ground without leaving a trace behind.

The crisp mountain air was still, eerily quiet, save for the subtle shift of the wind. Ahead, nestled between huge rocks and skeletal trees, stood a lone wooden cabin. It was a medium-sized, unassuming structure, but his eyes saw beyond the physical.

A thick, sinister aura seeped from the cabin’s walls—an aura invisible to ordinary eyes, but to Saa'ir, it was as clear as day.

As he squinted to focus more, the dark presence solidified, taking on a more viscous, tangible form. Tendrils of this dark force slithered around the outside of the cabin like writhing serpents, pulsating with a malevolent energy.

His brow furrowed, and a low hum escaped his throat as he observed the phenomenon. "This aura..." he muttered to himself, his voice small amidst the whispering winds. "It’s nothing but a mass of hate, anger, and malice. Pure negativity."

Saa'ir paused in his steps, standing a short distance from the cabin as he continued to analyze the darkness. Despite the overwhelming presence of hatred, there was something curious about it—something familiar.

He tilted his head, considering the comparison that surfaced in his mind. “This aura, it's akin to the energy I felt behind the Sin Incarnations,” he murmured whilst grasping his chin, "but this one feels demonic in origin—this one corrupts, but only for sustenance, like a wild animal."

Saa'ir couldn't help but to pause, feeling a shiver down his spine as he reminisced about the comparable dark force. "In contrast, the presence that the Sin Incarnations bear, it feels like something...more. Like a power otherworldly in origin, one that simply consumes for the sake of it—Evil Incarnate."

His gaze sharpened as he stood there, contemplating what could be inside. "Despite that, this is far more concentrated." The darkness wasn’t quite the same as the envy that lingered in Juin’s aura as a Sin Incarnation, but it carried the same weight of unresolved emotion, sporting almost the same potential for destructive power.

Saa'ir approached the door of the cabin, hand outstretched toward the handle. With cautious resolve, he prepared to face whatever lay within, knowing full well of the danger.

The shadowy tendrils surrounding the building reacted in a violent manner, lashing out toward him as if to defend their territory. But, they passed through him, unable to harm a being like him.

Saa'ir paused, glancing at the tendrils continuing to attack him. “Whatever’s inside doesn't want me near," he thought, "or rather, it doesn't want anyone near. All the more reason to find out what’s going on.”

As he stood there, readying himself to phase through the door, a soft sound caught his ear—a whimper. It was faint but unmistakable, the distinct sound of a girl crying inside.

Saa'ir’s gaze hardened. Without a second thought, he stepped forward, phasing through the door with no sweat. He emerged on the other side, prepared for battle, only to be met with a surprising sight.

In the dimly lit cabin, a young girl lay in bed, curled up under a thick blanket. She was writhing and trembling, clutching the fabric as if it were her only lifeline. Her face was contorted in fear, tears pooling at the corners of her closed eyes—clearly in the grips of a terrible nightmare.

But what perplexed Saa'ir the most was that the immense, dark aura was coming from her. The thick, oppressive energy he had felt from outside was pouring out of this girl's small, fragile form—seeping out like a wound that refused to heal.

It first started as a black miasma that pooled from and around her. Then, taking a look around the cabin, Saa'ir could see the miasma solidify and take form the more it spread from the girl.

Crawling and pulsating, the dark substance eventually formed tendrils that stretched, covering most of the furniture in the cabin. The table, doors, pictures of a family of four, the entire floor—nothing was safe from them, say for one item: a lone book on the floor. Those same tendrils of negativity wrapped themselves around the room, coiling and swirling as if alive and to protect her, despite their malevolent nature.

Saa'ir’s brow furrowed. “How could a girl like her be the source of such immense negativity?” he thought whilst approaching the bed, standing over the girl as she continued to whimper and writhe. He could sense her suffering, her inner turmoil manifesting the dark energy.

"Who is she?" he wondered, his gaze softening as he watched her struggle. "Now that I'm closer, I can feel that there's a slight dissonance between the girl and the dark aura. It's as if the dark aura isn't her own, yet they're able to mix so well. Just what is this darkness?"

Determined to find answers, Saa'ir knelt beside the bed and reached out towards the girl. Before he could do anything though, he noticed something out the corner of his eye.

What he saw was two intertwined black crescent moons, just above her left collarbone. The symbol, while unknown to Saa'ir at first, struck a deep chord within him, unlocking yet another puzzle piece to his fragmented memory.

Before Saa'ir knew it, he was standing before an unknown woman, silhouetted by a bright light. The light made him wince as he shielded his eyes. "What the hell? What is this!?"

Then, he heard the woman speak. "Thank you, Saa'ir..." she said with a voice of upmost gratitude.

Hearing the woman's voice shocked Saa'ir to his core, as he recognized that voice, causing him to look up and gaze at the woman with wide eyes, ignoring the bright light.

The woman was as striking as her own gaze was warm. She sported straight, dark brown hair that curled upwards at the ends, wore a violet purple, wide brimmed hat, and a cloak of the same color adorned her figure. With her hands on her hips, she caused her cloak to be parted to the side, revealing a darker purple-toned dress.

The more Saa'ir looked upon her, the more her face came into view, and the more he recognized her. Eventually, he could see what was exposed by her square neck dress, specifically on her left collarbone—two intertwined black crescent moons.

"Gio... No...Eve?" he stammered out before realizing he was back in the cabin again, the vision disappearing as fast as it came.

Saa'ir looked around the cabin in awe for a split second, still processing what had just happened. Shaking his head to snap back to focus though, he slapped both cheeks as he thought to himself. "That can't have been... But that voice and appearance, it was Giona Evelyn Tamaki! Axel said I used to travel with her and Adam before splitting off to lead my own group, but before this point, I couldn't remember anything beyond my missionary days."

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Looking back down at the feeble and whimpering girl, Saa'ir pondered more. "Most extraordinary, however, has to be the fact this girl and Eve have the same mark on their collarbones. I didn't remember at first, but those two black moons is the Witch's Mark! It symbolizes the duality and merging of opposing forces, something she preached day and night for during that damned war."

Saa'ir lowered his head even more as his fragmented mind swept back to a time long forgotten. It was like an aged film that was missing most of its footage, but still held enough to tell a story. "Being the first and only person to come from the joining of a Celestial and Devil, it must have been rough for her to witness those two sides fighting each other to near complete extinction... Along the way bringing millions of innocents from every race into the struggle. That's why I decided to follow her... I remember."

Bringing his attention back to the girl, Saa'ir hovered his hand just above her head. Closing his eyes, he concentrated as his spiritual energy extended outward, enveloping the girl.

His goal: to search for her inner soul—the place where her essence, her memories, and even her deepest secrets resided. "The more I search for answers, the more questions I find. However, I at least am glad to see that Eve's legacy and blood seems to live on in both this girl, and maybe many others within Eranovum by now. For now, I'll do whatever I can to soothe this girl, whoever she is."

The air around them seemed to come to a standstill as Saa'ir focused. The darkness surrounding her pulsed, reacting and trying its best to reject his presence.

Nonetheless, his energy, calm and serene, was able to reach into the girl’s spirit, seeking the source of her pain. With his eyes still closed, Saa'ir could feel his entire body sink into an unknown substance. It felt like something not akin to land, water, nor air, but rather another space in general.

Flipping and tensing up his body to control his movement, Saa'ir opened his eyes, only to be met with a pitch-black void that seemed to stare right back into his very soul.

"This... This should be the mindscape of the girl, but it looks nothing like I'd imagined it to be." Saa'ir thought to himself as he floated through the void, searching for the girl's soul. "This pitch blackness must be the work of the aura that has attached itself to the girl! Everywhere I look, any direction I go in, I can feel its presence all around me."

After what felt like an eternity, Saa'ir stopped, realizing his efforts were in vain unless he took s different approach. He closed his eyes once more and focused, searching deep within the dark for any glimmer of light.

The further he searched, the more he could feel the darkness resisting against him. It strained the ghostly man, causing him to approach his limit.

But, just when he felt the darkness smile into his soul at his struggles, he felt it. A signal of warmth, the glimmer of light he had hoped to discover—he had found the girl's soul signature!

"There!" Saa'ir shouted in his head as he flew towards the soul signature as fast as he could. Despite his efforts though, he could feel the darkness, and by proxy its resistance, getting stronger and stronger the closer he got to the girl's soul.

Saa'ir rapidly slowed from a brisk flight, to swimming through a viscous liquid, to practically clawing at any progress forward. "Dammit! Whatever is attached to this girl won't let up! It's pulling me from behind while also pushing me from the front!" he thought as he mustered as much willpower as he could to not beat the darkness, but simply push through it.

Struggling for a few seconds, he could see the very same faint glimmer of the girl's soul he sense earlier. Seeing that gave Saa'ir the much needed motivation to break through the unseen force holding him back, leading to him crashing onto solid ground.

Pushing himself up, his breaths many and heavy, Saa'ir walked towards the light source within the void. "This is it, the girl's soul. I can feel its warmth even from here. But its not pure, as I sense it holds immense trauma within it, giving birth to its own darkness within itself, waiting to be unleashed..."

Just as Saa'ir finished talking, the light he was walking towards—the girls's soul—abruptly disappeared, swallowed by the darkness.

This did not surprise Saa'ir though. He simply stopped in his tracks, clutched his hands, and his gaze sharpened. "However, the girl isn’t the true source of this darkness," he muttered, realization dawning on him, "she’s just the vessel."

A low scoff escaped him as he sensed the malevolent presence coalescing behind him. Saa'ir turned his head, eyes locking onto the shifting mass of darkness that writhed and twisted in the void.

The dark substance swirled like a storm, grotesque and formless at first, but then it began to morph—stretching and contorting until it resembled the girl from the bed.

But this was no innocent child. Her features were twisted, her face eerily unnatural. The eyes and mouth were hollow voids of white light, as if nothing but empty space filled them. And then, she smiled—a wide, grotesque grin that stretched far too wide, the corners of her mouth curling up in a way that no human's should. Her head tilted unnervingly to the side, the movement sharp and disjointed.

Saa'ir stood his ground, his own aura pulsing as he turned to confront the eerie doppelganger. "So, it’s you." he said, his voice steady despite the unsettling sight before him. "You’re the source of all this darkness. What are you, exactly?"

The shadow-girl began to move its mouth, the sound it emitted could only be described like sludge sliding over rocks, a wet and guttural gurgling that reverberated through the void. After, it chuckled.

Catching fragments of words, Saa'ir's eyes narrowed, knowing the thing was trying to communicate. "What did you just say." he demanded it to repeat it, only in his language, as he knew it had the power to.

Yet, figure didn’t speak. It simply continued its dark, bubbling laughter,but its presence radiated malice and mockery. It took a step closer, the darkness around it intensifying, as if challenging Saa'ir.

Saa'ir hardened both his body and gaze, the aura around him flaring up. "Answer me!" The thing's smile seemed to grow even larger in response, almost as if mocking Saa'ir.

But before Saa'ir could yell again out of irritation, a chilling voice slithered into his mind. It was an unwelcome intrusion. “Quite perceptive, are you now?” its voice came out distorted and echoing, like a thousand whispers converging into one

The demonic presence seemed to press in from every direction, as if the shadows themselves were speaking to him. The creature’s mocking words resonated within his very being, filling Saa'ir with dread and fear. The reason why is because it felt so familiar, like something that once helped coming back to hurt.

Saa'ir's form faltered for just a moment, his grip tightening on his chains. He stared at the apparition, his resolve as steely as ever. "What the hell are you?"

The thing's face tilted unnaturally to a position where a human's neck would break. "Don't recognize me, Saa'ir? You should have more respect for someone who helped you in the past!" the voice in Saa'ir's head said, undertoned by a demonic echo. The echo made Saa'ir dizzy and nauseous.

Saa'ir planted his feet further into whatever he stood upon to keep composure. He could feel the weight of the malevolence and potential this being carried. This wasn’t just about hatred—it was about something deeper, something ancient that had latched onto the girl's soul.

"You’ve fed on her trauma, her pain, her fear" he observed, watching the twisted figure, "but you're not just some mindless entity, nor some wild animal trying to survive, are you? You have intent—plans. Whatever you want to do with this girl, I won't let you!" Saa'ir shouted as he pushed through his own unease and his aura flared like fire. Launching himself toward the thing, he raised his fist to attack.

The creature's unnatural smile grew even more, to the point it escaped the confines of its own face. Just as Saa'ir reached it, a waterfall of shadows would rise in between it and Saa'ir.

Raising his guard, Saa'ir braced for a retaliation, but opened his eyes to a puzzling sight. He was transported to another place—a place surrounded by weathered gray stone and torches.

Confused, he looked around, gathering his senses. Saa'ir then heard the thing again, though not in his head this time, but all around him, its voice echoing off the walls.

"I would love to chat and catch up, boy. Unfortunately, and as you said, I do have plans—plans I cannot let you interfere with. You have already doomed yourself by entering this girl's mind without caution, as her hatred fills every dark corner of this place, simply waiting for a reason to curse someone to the depths of hell. Love and Hatred are the most powerful curses of them all, after all."

Saa'ir looked up at the ceiling, yelling for answer. "Curses? Love and Hatred? What do you mean!? Face me!"

Alas, the thing only chuckled at Saa'ir's desperation that was etched into his voice, and left the man with two haunting words. "Have fun..."

-

Next: (Chapter 58) Giona's Nightmare: Part 3