Within the darkness, Aiyana waited with thoughts and memories as her only companions. Sadly, due to the lifetime of horrors she had endured, her thoughts often betrayed her, taking her to grim pces filled with countless fears and uncertainties. Seeking refuge from the creeping madness born from her isotion, Aiyana’s sanity retreated into her memories. Yet she found little soce in her past, as her life had been nothing but an endless series of battles, losses, and regrets.

  Is this all I have ever been? Am I destined to be another forgotten soldier? How could I have not found love at least once in my life? Although I knew the love of my family, I barely remember my father or brother. They died when I was so young. But I have no doubt they loved me deeply. So many memories I have of my mother are from mere words written in her letters. Her eloquent expressions of love and care were made all too impersonal by distance. Please, Divine Light, grant me one more chance. I don’t want to die as the person I am now.

  Despite Aiyana’s heartfelt pleas, she continued to lie bound as time passed uncounted. For time moves differently in blind solitude as one devotes their entirety to maintaining a coherent mind.

  Sleep offered no reprieve within this lightless prison as Aiyana’s waking thoughts intertwined with her nightmares. Only an intense thirst and gnawing hunger allowed her to realize her consciousness was inhabiting the waking darkness of the cavernous tomb instead of the bck void encompassing her seemingly endless nightmares.

  Over time, her body withered, yet through some malevolent force, death never came. Aiyana had hoped that as she starved, her wrists would thin, and she could slip free of the restraints. To her despair, as her wrists shrank, so did the shackles, continuously contouring to whatever state her body was in. She always knew her captors would make her beg for death, but within this artificial oblivion, there was no one to plead to, no one who could end her life once her suffering had fully satiated their sadism.

  Aiyana’s mind began to fracture as she struggled to fend off the madness lurking just beyond the confines of her thoughts. In her desperation, she strove to lose what remained of her sanity. She came to believe that by becoming nothing, her consciousness would merge with the darkness surrounding her. Only then would she be free from this nightmare and from herself.

  She was torn from such thoughts by streaks of colors crisscrossing her vision. Mesmerizing patterns and spirals came to life, swirling and melting in an intricate dance. Faint sounds of ughter filled her ears as the colors morphed into simplistic images of her childhood. It was as if she were gazing into a shifting watercolor painting where Aiyana saw herself grow into a woman blessed with a family who knew only peace.

  Is this real? she wondered as utter bliss enveloped her. Or is madness pulling me into something else? Something beyond who I once was and into who I could have been? If my mind is to be lost, please let me be lost here.

  As her st sense of self slipped away in terrifying ecstasy, a light appeared from around the tunnel’s bend. Despite its distance, the light flooded her vision, repcing the beauty of what could have been with a blinding radiance. The darkness was pushed away, revealing a small hunched figure. Gradually, the sounds of raspy breathing and slow shuffling steps followed.

  An elderly woman hobbled into the chamber wearing a frayed loose-fitting robe. She carried a rusty ntern housing a single candle, which gently swayed with each step. The mysterious woman walked to the cauldron and filled one of the empty jars with a red liquid. She then approached the captive padin and raised her ntern.

  Aiyana looked into the woman’s illuminated eyes. They were small and gssy, bck as pitch, and partially hidden behind drooping eyelids and strands of thinning gray hair. Aiyana noticed two stubs protruding from the woman’s forehead. They were horns. The fact they were so worn down was a testament to the crone’s age, which undoubtedly spanned the rise and fall of empires. The stranger fshed a toothless grin and gave a subtle bow.

  This is no woman! It is a hag! A demon made to look like a crone. What bck magic is this witch pnning for me?

  Mysterious and aloof, hags rarely left the Infernal Realm, making them a rgely unknown variable to Enochian schors. Rumors cimed hags could see into one’s mind, but if such tales were true, then this demon showed no interest in answering silent questions—or speech of any kind.

  The hag pressed the bottle’s rim against its captive’s mouth. Aiyana turned her head and pursed her lips, determined to resist the demon’s pns, but the hag pinched her nose shut. Aiyana held her breath until her lungs ached, but time was not on her side, and she eventually gasped for air. The demon poured all it could before csping its gnarled hand over her nose and mouth, forcing Aiyana to swallow.

  Whatever the concoction was, it tasted bittersweet yet burned like fire. She began to feel nourished, becoming stronger and imbued with energy as the sensation of life flowed through her. The hag’s lips twisted into a crooked smile. It produced a small gss vial from a hidden pocket within its robe. The vial emitted a beautiful glow, but within, a battle raged as two distinct liquids warred with one another. They swirled and separated, each attempting to overpower the other.

  Aiyana was mesmerized, and the world blurred as she became lost in their endless loop. Before she could react, the hag forced the vial’s contents down her throat. Their conflict continued down her esophagus until the liquids reached her stomach, where they calmed before disseminating throughout her body.

  Satisfied, the hag departed, hobbling out of the chamber and leaving Aiyana in darkness once again. The strange elixirs coursed through her with every rapid heartbeat. She started to feel different—her mind sharpened as a cool tingling covered her skin, and her muscles radiated a gentle warmth.

  Yet the effects went beyond the physical; her Divine powers were enhanced, unlocking something profound within her. Aiyana experienced the rare blessing of divination, and her consciousness fully awakened. It was like a third eye had opened, allowing her to see in ways she could have never imagined. An unseen will gently tugged at her thoughts. It beckoned her, and in her desperation, she surrendered. Her consciousness left her body, drifting from the cavern and into the sky.

  Aiyana watched the world shrink beneath her, and her mind’s eye peered through the ground as if it were merely a mist she needed to pass through. What she saw made her sick. Underneath the surface, horrific monstrosities slumbered. Disgusting and terrible, they were creatures that would make the vilest demon recoil, their endless tendrils and mouths coalescing in a nightmarish sea of living hunger. Aiyana’s consciousness fled into the Abyssal expanse.

  As her mind traveled through the void, Aiyana flew past rogue worlds and nebulous clouds of colorful gas with hundreds of pnets shrouded within. Although she marveled at these spectacur sights, she feared venturing too far and tried to slow herself, but to no avail. A mysterious force held her firmly, and her velocity increased as she soared past a vast array of celestial bodies.

  She slowed to a steady drift, and her wonder mixed with terror. She gazed in awe upon a gargantuan bzing sphere millions of times greater than the rgest pnet. Bursts of fire, capable of consuming entire worlds, erupted across its surface, sending fmes streaming into the Abyss.

  Aiyana tried to turn back, to return to her physical form, but the power drawing her in was absolute. The force pulled her into the barrier, engulfing her in fire; yet, to her surprise, she felt no pain. The swirling inferno filled her vision, creating an apocalyptic dispy of raging intensity. Faces of fming energy emerged, circling her, crying out in woe. She pitied these forsaken beings but could do as little for them as they could for her.

  Finally, Aiyana was pulled through and found herself floating toward thousands of broken pieces of nd covered in fissures and scorched craters. They drifted together, held by an unseen force at the center of their orbit. She drew closer, discerning that each section was unique. Whether fming, forested, frozen, or of some other terrain, they were fragments of many different worlds, destroyed by a great cataclysm.

  Did these pnets explode from within? By the Divine, these worlds were torn apart. Shattered by an unimaginable war. This is the Infernal Realm! How can I possibly be here?

  She glided between ruined ndscapes once teeming with countless demons and devils, each bathed in the light emanating from the all-encompassing barrier of fire. Aiyana was being pulled toward the broken remnant of a continent made of gleaming red stone. Hundreds of volcanoes erupted sporadically, and the outlines of vast demonic cities were carved into its surface.

  The center of the ndmass split open, revealing a chasm the size of a small country. Within its depths, two bulbous white eyes filled with swirling bck clouds stared out. As Aiyana was pulled in, its enormous mouth opened, revealing long needle-like fangs that gleamed in the fiery light. She panicked, frantically fighting against this thing’s power with everything she had.

  Its mouth widened, and Aiyana knew she was about to be swallowed by this wretched abomination. She feared it pnned to separate her mind and body, leaving her consciousness trapped without the possibility of death to release her.

  In the moment of her deepest despair, a blinding beam of light pierced the Infernal barrier and barreled into the monster. It roared as it recoiled, and the surrounding continent trembled with its pain and fury. The horrifying being retreated into the darkness, and the chasm sealed behind it.

  With her freedom restored, Aiyana’s astral form flew like a meteor through the hole created in the fiery barrier, and she soared into the Abyss. She could feel the intense pull of her physical self, drawing her mind back into her captive body.

  Aiyana slowly opened her eyes, vowing to remain in her body as innumerable questions raced through her mind. A sudden dread crept along her spine—she sensed a life growing inside her. With intense concentration, she focused her mind’s eye inward until she saw a child.

  It was a boy, small and fragile. Tiny horns sprouted from his forehead, and Aiyana realized he was a Nephalem. Her vision traveled through his flesh, and she beheld his soul. It existed in two halves, precisely as the stories told—the embodiment of good and evil. However, a portion of the dark smoke was also within him. It had joined with the evil half of the child’s spirit, strengthening it. Shadowy tendrils reached out, attempting to desecrate what was pure.

  Nephalem were tormented beings due to their spiritual duality, cursed with eternal conflict by the division within them. Yet the darkness worked to corrupt the child in his entirety.

  My mind was drawn away so my consciousness would have been trapped in the Infernal Realm. I would’ve been unable to stop or even realize what was happening within my body.

  Aiyana had only one recourse that she could use in the fight to protect his future. She concentrated on channeling her soul’s essence to her child, much like she had done with her weapons on the battlefield. She successfully sent a portion of her spirit to the uncorrupted half of her son, and to her surprise, the two energies united and strengthened one another. Together, they formed a shell of spiritual energy that encapsuted the dark half of his soul.

  She gazed upon the beautiful sphere of light that embodied their union. Yet, Aiyana felt the raging darkness within battling to break free. It was a malevolent force she feared could someday grow to bcken skies and bring civilizations to ruin.

  As time passed, Aiyana remained determined to cim her child as her own. Whenever she sensed the malignant corruption beginning to escape, she infused more of her essence into him. This was how the boy developed, caught in an inner conflict between the darkness and the light, until the time came when he was ready to enter the world.

  Aiyana experienced a popping sensation, followed by a gush of warm fluid flowing from her. Somehow knowing the time had come, the hag appeared alongside another of its kind dragging a stone basin. This new hag was slightly taller and thinner than the first. It smiled widely, revealing a mouth full of sharp yellow teeth sporadically positioned in its gums, leaving gaps that allowed its tongue to wiggle through.

  The hags pulled the shackles off Aiyana’s ankles with little effort. They tossed the restraints over their shoulders, and the steel turned to puffs of smoke as they hit the cavern floor.

  The pain increased dramatically as spasms rippled across Aiyana’s abdomen. The pressure was so intense she felt like something was crushing her from within. Periodically, the child’s horns scraped against her womb, cerating and puncturing through. She bled immensely, and a dark red pool expanded beneath her.

  Aiyana bled far more than any Enochian could hope to survive. As her heartbeat slowed and vision blurred, she slipped into darkness. But the bck smoke inside her body kept her alive, and the potions the hags forced upon her renewed her strength.

  Hour after hour, the pain built until it was blinding. Aiyana wondered if the potions enhanced her suffering, for she could not imagine anything natural causing this much agony. Delirium took her, and she screamed as the room spun.

  Finally, they tore the child from her, and the chamber was filled with the echoing cries of a healthy baby boy. The fanged hag pced the umbilical cord in its mouth and bit down, severing it. They carried the child to the basin and began cleaning him. Aiyana y her head back as the entirety of her body shuddered and convulsed. She tried focusing on slow deep breaths as the dark force within mended her shredded flesh and reassembled her broken pelvis.

  The hags removed the shackles from her wrists, and with hideously twisted grins, they presented Aiyana with her son. Her heart swelled as she carefully took him in her arms. He was the rgest baby she had ever seen, and she briefly struggled to hold him in her weakened state. The child gazed up at his mother, and although he had aspects of the Infernal form, he also had the golden eyes of an Enochian. She looked upon him and instantly fell in love.

  His light chestnut skin was a departure from the gray tinge Nephalems had in the depictions. Little bck horns, almost the length of her finger, grew from his forehead. She smiled, thinking they were cute but every bit as painful as they appeared.

  Aiyana surveyed the chamber, but the hags were gone. They had taken everything except a jar of the mysterious red potion and a lone candle flickering at the tunnel’s entrance.

  She had no desire to venture into the dark, deciding to hold her son in the candle’s dim light. With each passing moment, Aiyana found herself unable to look away from him. She drank the remaining potion, hating it and distrustful, but she knew he would need her strength.

  Inevitably, the candle dwindled, forcing her to leave. She struggled to her feet and limped down the tunnel in her shredded, blood-stained tunic. As she neared the mouth of the cave, she noticed her sword and shield propped against the wall.

  Aiyana came to a sudden stop, her heart racing upon seeing a massive figure blocking the tunnel’s entrance. It was the archdevil, standing menacingly with a giant broadsword in hand. The fear of losing her child was overwhelming, and she moved cautiously toward her weapons, preparing herself for a fight to the death. She vowed that no matter what happened, he would not have her son.

  But the archdevil simply stood there, observing them. He raised the greatsword and pointed it at Aiyana before plunging the bde into the stone floor.

  “For the child,” he said.

  Aiyana held her son tightly and gred.

  “He will never be yours, and I will raise him to hate you,” she said with a venom crafted from a lifetime of violence and pain.

  “I welcome his hatred, and yours,” he sneered.

  The archdevil beckoned to something unseen. Aiyana dropped to one knee as the remaining dark essence forced its way out of her body and flowed smoothly into his, repcing his devilish yellow eyes with billowing smoke.

  “That was quite the trick—giving a portion of your soul to protect the boy,” the monster said with a fiendish smile. “It is surprising that until now, no Enochian had tried this.”

  His voice was different. It shook the cavern walls, becoming more menacing and hate-filled than a moment ago. He watched his hands open and close, as if he had forgotten his own body. He then returned his bckened stare to the padin.

  “We had hoped to create a Nephalem who wouldn’t fall into madness, a servant drawn to one side over the other. Ironically, we got our wish. If you want this child so badly, take him. Then we shall see what becomes of our boy as you raise him amongst the feral creatures of the Abyss. Just remember, I will always be with him.”

  The Archdevil grinned as he turned his back on them. He punctured reality with his cws, and his muscles bulged as he boriously forced open a portal and stepped through. The tear sealed, leaving them stranded in this cruel world. Yet a profound sense of relief overcame her; the fear of her child being stolen had departed with that devil.

  Aiyana held her son close and kissed his forehead. She had chosen his name, inspired by an Enochian word not used for generations.

  “Courage born from hope. Your name is Vandaris.”