And now that abyss lived within her, whispering, calling her.

One day, as they rested at the foot of a hill, Adam spoke.

“You’re thinking of Him.”

His voice was soft, yet tinged with sorrow.

Eve turned toward him. Her eyes were filled with longing.

“I cannot forget, Adam. His light… His love… It was more than I could bear. I feel like a part of me is still there, with Him.”

Adam looked away. He knew he could not compete with God. He was but a man, formed from dust. But he also knew he could not let Eve go.

“I have lost a part of myself too, Eve. But we can find each other. We can create our own paradise.”

Eve looked at him, and in her gaze flickered a shadow of doubt.

“Adam, don’t you understand? We are no longer who we were. I feel it within me… The darkness. It grows. It calls to me.”

Adam stepped closer and took her hands in his.

“I feel it too. But I won’t let it win. We are together, Eve. We always will be.”

Eve wanted to believe him. But deep within, she knew their journey was only beginning. And ahead of them lay trials that might separate them forever.

Chapter Five

Temptation

On the third day of their journey, they encountered a mysterious figure who blocked their path. He was a man, yet not quite ordinary. His eyes glowed with an otherworldly light, and his smile was as cold as the winter wind.

"Who are you?" Adam asked, stepping in front of Eve, as if to protect her.

The figure laughed softly.

"I am the one who knows what you seek. I am the one who can give you the answers."

Eve stepped forward, ignoring Adam’s warning gaze.

"Answers? What answers?"

"You seek God, don’t you?" the stranger spoke, his voice smooth, yet powerful.

"You wish to understand why He left you. Why He divided Himself. Why you can no longer be with Him."

Eve froze, the words struck her like a blow.

"Yes… I want to know."

The stranger took a step closer.

"You can know. But to do so, you must accept what you deny. You must embrace your darkness, Eve. You must become what you are destined to be."

Adam grabbed Eve’s hand, pulling her back.

"Don’t listen to him! This is a lie. God cast us out, but He didn’t abandon us. We must find our way back to Him ourselves."

The stranger turned his mocking gaze toward Adam.

"You, as always, are weak, Adam. You cling to what has already been lost. But Eve… she knows. She knows that true strength lies in acceptance. Tell me, Eve, don’t you feel that you were made for something greater?"

Eve hesitated. His words seeped into her soul like poison. She did feel that she was made for something more.

But at what cost?

"What do you want from me?" she asked.

"Nothing that you don’t already want yourself," the stranger replied.

"Simply allow yourself to become what you have always been. Let your darkness become your light."

Adam tugged at her hand.

"Eve, no! We must keep moving. Don’t listen to him!"

Eve looked at Adam, then at the stranger. A storm raged within her. She knew that the choice she made now would alter their fate forever.

Chapter Six

The Sundering

Eve turned away from the stranger and followed Adam.

Yet the words the stranger had spoken clung to her.

They were like a seed buried deep within her soul—

and she knew it would grow.

When they were alone again,

Eve asked the question that had long haunted her:

"Why do you always try to protect me?"

Adam replied,

"Because I love you."

Eve stopped and looked at him.

"But you don't understand me," she said.

"You don’t see what I feel.

You want to reclaim what we lost—

but I long for more.

I want to understand who I am."

Adam sighed.