The Botanical Island, Aswan, Egypt.
Peace and quietness overcome the sounds of the moving branches of the palm trees avenue. A middle age man was standing at the beginning of the long avenue. Brown hair and beard, board shoulders, and remarkable muscles. He was wearing a black Oxford shirt and dark gray jeans.
Quiet despite the nervousness washed over his face. He looked at his watch before putting both hands in his pockets.
A few seconds passed; a small black circle appeared in midair couple of steps away from him. The circle expanded into an enormous one filled with cold dark wind and strong energy wisps. The man smiled when the circle halted and revealed the standing bodies behind it.
Rayan walked, followed by Camellia and Liam, who was still carrying Nadine. The black circle vanished through the air when the three of them stepped out. The man's smile disappeared when he saw Nadine and said, "What happened?!"
"Don't worry, Nabil, she's okay, sleeping actually," Rayan said and looked back at her. "They imprinted lunacy on a mundane, and he tried to kill her."
"They're losing their identities, killing people, and draining their souls and powers," Liam said. Nabil walked along with them until they reached the end of the avenue. They stood before a gigantic gate with two papyri form capitals on each side of a silver door.
Between each capital were large cartouches with hieroglyphics written in pure gold. The door had an inscription in hieroglyphics and Tamazight.
Nabil placed his right hand in the middle of the door. It opened slowly, letting them in. They walked inside to a riad courtyard and two small buildings on both sides. Nabil told Liam to leave Nadine inside the house on the right, while he informed the rest of their arrival. Camellia looked at her watch and sighed. "Another one?" Rayan said, looking at her.
"Yeah, just a couple of minutes to end them all. I hope this works and we can end this nightmare," Camellia said.
"You don't sound bragging. What is it?"
"This one is different... I just don't feel it would be as easy as the rest."
"Have you ever thought about what will happen after the binding?"
Camellia looked at Rayan thoughtfully and said, "I don't know." Camellia said, looking again at her watch. "I hope she can survive... she must survive, or it will be the end of the entire universe."
Liam carried Nadine gently in his arms, her breathing soft and steady against him. Following Nabil's directions, he made his way to the right house—a large, quiet building with several closed doors lining the hallway. One door, positioned at the center of the left side, stood slightly open.
He stepped inside, still holding her close, and found a couch nestled in the corner. Carefully, he laid her down, brushing a strand of hair from her face as she shifted in her sleep. He squatted beside her, his gaze lingering on her features and memories flooding back. "I love you."
He pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, his chest tightening with everything he couldn't say, then stood and silently left the room, heading back outside.
Nadine lay motionless on the couch, left in a peaceful slumber that wasn't entirely her own. For a while, she drifted in that hazy in-between, her body heavy and her mind detached. Slowly, the veil of sleep began to lift—but her limbs still refused to move, her eyelids too stubborn to part. It felt as though a weight pressed down on her chest, anchoring her in that strange half-dream.
The room was bright at first, lit by the soft afternoon sun spilling in through the wide window on the opposite wall. But as the minutes passed, the light began to fade unnaturally fast. A creeping chill rolled in, brushing her skin like cold breath. The once warm space shifted—silent, but no longer still. Something had changed.
A shadow.
The air grew dense, heavy with something ancient and harsh, as though a storm of darkness had slipped through the walls. Then, a sound; the echo of slow, powerful footsteps reverberated through the house. Each step commanding attention and demanding fear.
The force of it snapped the last threads of sleep from her mind. Her eyes fluttered open—barely. Just enough to glimpse the doorway across from her. The wooden frame yawned open, empty, but charged with something waiting. The footsteps grew louder. Closer.
She blinked, her vision blurry and unstable, but when her eyes opened again, someone was there.
A tall figure cloaked in darkness now stood just in front of her. She couldn't see a face, only a silhouette cut from shadow—its presence massive and absolute. Her breath hitched. Her body still refused to move.
"Hello, darling," the figure said in a low, cruel voice that slithered under her skin. "Are you ready?"
Before she could think, before she could scream, a cold, strong hand closed around her neck. In one motion, her body was lifted from the couch as though she weighed nothing. She gasped—but no sound came. Her feet dangled in the air, her fingers twitching, clawing at the invisible grip. Panic thundered through her chest, but it was too late.
The shadows swirled around them like a storm unleashed. Then, with a final pulse of darkness, the figure and Nadine vanished into thin air—leaving the room empty, silent, and still once more.