But now he appeared transformed.
His eyes glowed like embers,
and a cold wind curled around him.
"You’ve come," he said,
his voice both tender and commanding.
Eve stopped, her heart tightening.
"I don’t know why I’m here," she admitted.
The stranger smiled.
"You do. You always have.
You feel something inside you—
a force you cannot name.
You sense you were made for more.
And you are right."
Eve took a step closer.
"What do you want from me?"
"I want to help you, Eve," he said.
"I want to show you who you can become.
You think God has turned from you—
but He hasn’t.
He gave you a gift.
The gift of freedom.
The gift of choice.
You can become One with Him—
but only if you accept yourself.
All of yourself."
"Accept myself?" Eve echoed.
"Yes," the stranger said.
"You fear your darkness—
but it is part of you.
It is the part of God
He placed within you.
Embrace it,
and you will become more than human.
You will become what you were destined to be."
Eve looked at him,
feeling a fire ignite within her soul.
She knew his words were true—
and yet, they frightened her.
She thought of Adam—
his love, his struggle to hold on to her.
"And what about Adam?" she asked.
The stranger smirked.
"Adam is the past.
He is weak.
He cannot understand you—
because he cannot see what you see.
His place is behind you,
not beside you."
Eve closed her eyes.
Inside her, two forces clashed:
light and shadow,
love and the hunger for power.
She knew—
a choice had to be made.
Chapter Eight
Separation
When Eve returned, Adam was no longer asleep.
He sat by the fire, eyes heavy with worry.
"Where were you?" he asked, his voice taut with strain.
Eve lowered her gaze.
"I… I was just thinking."
Adam rose and came to her.
"You heard him again, didn’t you?
You can’t let him control you, Eve.
He wants to destroy us."
Eve looked up.
"Adam, you don’t understand.
It’s not him.
It’s me.
It’s who I am.
I feel it—
I’m more than just human.
And I can’t turn away from that."
Adam took her hands.
"You are human, Eve.
You are my wife.
We lost paradise,
but we can build a new one—
together.
Isn’t that enough?"
Eve pulled her hands free.
"You don’t understand!
I can’t stop.
I can’t just live,
knowing I could become something more.
I love you, Adam,
but my love for God…
It’s greater.
It’s stronger."
Adam stepped back,
as though her words had struck him.
"You say you love God,