The woman looked human.
That was the first unsettling thing.
No glowing eyes.
No monstrous aura.
No dramatic storm clouds gathering overhead.
Just—
a woman standing quietly beneath the trees in a dark coat, silver streaks running through her braided hair.
And yet—
the moment Nancy saw her—
Nyra recoiled so violently it felt like a knife through her ribs.
Pain exploded across Nancy's chest.
She staggered.
Kai caught her instantly.
"Nancy."
The woman's expression changed.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
"…Nyra," she whispered softly.
Inside—
terror.
Do not trust her.
Nancy gritted her teeth against the sudden wave of emotions crashing through her.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
The woman looked at her carefully.
Not at Nancy.
At what lived inside her.
And somehow—
that felt worse.
Finally—
the woman answered.
"My name is Seraphine."
The name hit Nyra like lightning.
Hatred surged through Nancy so fast it nearly stole her breath.
Old hatred.
Ancient hatred.
Kai immediately stepped slightly in front of Nancy.
Protective instinct: permanently active.
"You know the entity."
Seraphine's gaze flicked to him.
"She was never an entity."
A pause.
Then quietly—
"She was a person."
Silence.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
Nancy felt her heartbeat stumble.
Because hearing it out loud—
hearing someone confirm it—
made everything suddenly real in a completely different way.
Nyra had not simply appeared.
She had existed.
Lived.
Loved.
Lost.
Leo crossed his arms tightly.
"That doesn't explain why she looks ready to crawl out of Nancy's spine and kill you."
Honestly?
Valid question.
Seraphine's eyes darkened slightly.
"Because Nyra believes I betrayed her."
Inside—
Nyra's voice turned sharp as broken glass.
You did.
The force of those words made Nancy physically flinch.
Seraphine saw it.
Pain flickered across her face.
Not defensive.
Not angry.
Regretful.
Which somehow made it worse.
Evan's grip tightened on his weapon.
"Start talking."
Seraphine nodded once.
Fair.
Then her eyes returned to Nancy.
"To understand what Nyra became," she said softly, "you first need to understand what the world did to her."
The forest around them dimmed.
Not literally—
but emotionally.
Like the night itself was bracing for the story.
Seraphine took a slow breath.
"Thousands of years ago, there were people born connected to the Veil."
Nancy frowned slightly.
"The Veil?"
"The place between worlds. Between life and thought. Power and consciousness."
Oh good.
More horrifying magical lore.
Exactly what she needed.
"Nyra was the strongest among us," Seraphine continued. "Not because she wanted power… but because she could survive it."
Inside—
silence.
Heavy silence.
"She protected people," Seraphine said quietly. "Healed entire cities. Stopped wars before they began."
Nancy blinked.
That… did not sound like the terrifying voice currently living in her head.
Then Seraphine's expression hardened with grief.
"And humanity feared her for it."
Ah.
There it was.
The predictable part.
"They worshipped her one year," Seraphine whispered. "Then hunted her the next."
Nyra's pain pulsed through Nancy so suddenly her knees weakened again.
Kai steadied her immediately.
Always there.
Seraphine looked directly at Nancy now.
"They called her dangerous because they could not control her."
A pause.
"And eventually… they decided the only way to survive her power was to break her mind."
Silence.
Horrified silence.
Nancy's stomach twisted.
"No…"
But deep down—
she already knew it was true.
Because pain like Nyra's didn't appear from nowhere.
Something had made it.
Inside—
Nyra finally spoke.
Quietly.
I trusted them.
That hurt more than the rest somehow.
Not rage.
Not violence.
Trust.
Broken.
Seraphine's voice nearly cracked.
"I tried to stop them."
Nyra's response came instantly.
Too late.
Nancy shut her eyes briefly.
God.
Then—
the question finally surfaced.
The one clawing at her chest since this began.
"What are you here for?" Nancy asked carefully.
Seraphine looked at her for a very long time.
Then—
"You're dying."
Everything stopped.
Kai went deadly still.
"What?"
Seraphine's eyes stayed locked on Nancy.
"The bond between them was never meant to exist this long." Her voice lowered. "And if Nyra fully awakens inside her…"
Fear twisted through Nancy's chest.
"…what happens?"
Seraphine answered softly.
"You disappear."