"We meet again, Eve Night," said Madame Zintra. "Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" Eve asked the gypsy.

"To meet with Elsie..." Zintra replied, with a devilish smile on her face.

Immediately, the sheriff drew his gun and aimed it at the gypsy.

"Stop!" the sheriff exclaimed and put his finger on the trigger.

"Sheriff, no!" Eve cried out.

Zintra then appeared in front of the sheriff and in a horrific and swiftly move, she pierced the man's chest. Sheriff Barreda fell silent, his gun fell on the floor. The gypsy quickly withdrew her hand from the bloody hole; the man's heart turned to ash, and as he hit the ground, he too turned to ash upon impact.

"Damn it!" Faux exclaimed trying to lunge at the gypsy, but the woman slapped the boy, sending him crashing into the wall. Eve ran to Faux, placing her fingers on his neck, confirming he was still alive but unconscious.

"As I told you, Eve. Are you ready?" Zintra asked.

Eve didn't know what to think, she was astonished of what just happened. —the sheriff lay dead at her feet, and Faux was unconscious. What could she do against the gypsy? After all she was bullet proof.

Eve could only nod with caution.

"Excellent, Eve," Zintra responded. The young woman then approached the unconscious boy and effortlessly lifted him with one hand. "Let's go, then."

The two left the room, walking down the hallway toward the stairs. This time, they descended the same stairs they had used to reach Elsie's room. However, Eve realized that no matter how many steps they descended, the staircase seemed endless. She instantly suspected the gypsy's magic.

"We're almost there," Zintra said, her tranquil voice was even more terrifying, as Eve understood that she dominated the whole situation.

"Where are we going?" Eve asked Zintra, but the gypsy remained silent.

"You'll see," Zintra replied.

Finally, they reached the end of the stairs. When Eve stepped onto the last step, she confirmed she was no longer in Laras Croma's house but in a strange place with a stone floor covered in moss. In the middle stood an enormous rock engraved with the same symbol Eve had on the palm of her hand. A monolith...

"Where are we?" Eve asked Zintra once again.

"We're at the door."

"What door?" Eve asked again.

"The entrance to Purgis, the land of eternal winter," Zintra said, smiling. "Eleven years ago, Laras Croma, playing with alchemy, found one of the monoliths that serve as an entry between this world and Purgis."

"Enough games, Zintra. What do you want from me?" Eve asked the gypsy.

"I want you to open the door," Zintra replied. "The door to Purgis can only be opened by a human, so as a cardinal, I am forbidden from opening the door between worlds, only a sacrifice made by a human will finally open the door."

"Where's Elsie?" Eve asked. "You said she was here."

"She's here... and at the same time, she isn't," Zintra replied. Then, from her dress sleeves, she pulled out Eve's cellphone and threw it to the young woman. Eve held it in her hands, realizing the camera app was active. Through it, she saw snow falling in the same area where she stood. She looked at the monolith in the camera's view, where Elsie was chained to the stone, amid a blizzard.

"Elsie!" Eve exclaimed, lowering the smartphone, realizing there was no one on the monolith.

"She's in this same place but on the side of Purgis," Zintra replied.

"Bring her here!" Eve Shouted.

"You are not listening, Eve. I can't!" Zintra replied. "Only humans can cross between worlds. I gave you the mark because only you can open the door."

"Bullshit! If only humans can pass, how did you appear here?" Eve asked.

"I never wanted to be here. Laras Croma kidnapped me from my home and brought me here. He promised to free me and bring me back to my home after helping him with his experiments, but one day, he crossed into Purgis and never returned," Zintra said. "I'm a god damn cardinal! I can't be tied to one place. It's in my nature to be free, guided by the winds wherever they take me, constantly moving. Yet here I am, unable to move from this decaying human town for 11 years, without seeing my family... without seeing my sister Venta-Ronn, my niece Simma, my clan, my own kind."

"If you wanted to return home so much, why didn't you ask Faux or Elsie for help...?" Eve replied. "Why not..."

Then Zintra approached Faux, extending her long claws. She tried to reach Faux, but before she could touch the boy, a scarlet light covered his body, preventing her from touching him.

"Faux Brawler is protected by the promise I made to Laras Croma years ago," Zintra replied. "I foolishly promised him not to harm the child who lived in the mansion. At that time, I didn't know it was Faux. And as for your daughter... I couldn't do anything because Alexander Noelius took her away before I could act."

Then, Eve felt her hand tingling, and the mark on her palm began to glow with a black brilliance. "It wasn't a dream," Eve thought, covering the mark with her other hand avoiding to Zintra to see it, while Zintra continued speaking behind her.

"What do I have to do then...?" Eve asked.

Zintra threw a ritual knife at Eve's feet.

"The door to Purgis can only be opened with a sacrifice," Zintra replied.

Eve then picked up the knife from the floor, realizing quickly what it meant...

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Zintra asked Eve. "There's not much time left...midnight is coming"

Eve then approached Faux's unconscious body. Even though Faux Brawler was an orphan and the only person who cared for him was gone...he was still just a boy. He didn't deserve to die...but on the other hand, Elsie was on the other side, the logic, the values no longer matters, she was a mother and Eve was going to take her back home with her, no matter the cost.

"You know what, Zintra?" Eve asked.

"What?"

Eve then looked at Zintra with a calm expression.

"You should've let me die," Eve replied.

In an instant, the glow of her hand dazzled Zintra. Eve lunged at Zintra and stabbed her in the throat. Blood splattered on the monolith, and in the blink of an eye, both were engulfed by a snowstorm, leaving only Faux in the human world.

In a snowy clearing sourrounded by dead trees, the two women appeared. Eve was surprised to see the enormous scarlet moon shining brightly in the winter night. Eve was a bit dizzy from the journey, while Zintra desperately tried to cover her throat as blood continued to flow. Then the gypsy pulled out an iron rod that began to glow red-hot and pressed it against her throat, cauterizing the wound.

"Wretched!" Zintra shouted with a deep guttural voice. Then, horns grew once more; she was again that thing Eve had seen in her shop.

Zintra then lunged at Eve to finish her off, but the black flames emanating from Eve's hand protected her. Zintra recoiled and attempted another attack, but once again, the black flames saved her life...

"Why!" Zintra exclaimed. As she continuously hit Eve, traying to broke the protection magic.

"Eve..." a woman's voice echoed in her head.

"Who's there?" Eve asked quickly, turning her head.

"Eve, calm down. You don't know me, but I know you," the voice of the woman continued.

"My name is Ariadna..."

"Ariadna?" Eve said aloud.

"What did you say?" Zintra asked.

"Eve, focus. I'm going to help you, lending you of my power," the woman's echoing voice said inside her head. "But for me to help you, I need you to say you willingly accept my power."

"Power? what do you mean with that, how? what kind of power?" Eve asked again.

"There's no time!" the voice shouted. "If you do nothing, Elsie is going to perish over there in the monolith."

Eve turned her gaze quickly to the child, Elsie was chained to the stone and trembling because of the winter cold.

"I don't know what you're saying, but now I'm getting tired of you, time to go..." Zintra replied and then raised the red-hot iron rod. A series of rays shot out from the iron rod towards Eve.

"I do! I accept your power!" Eve exclaimed.

Immediately, Eve was engulfed in a dark blaze, a long scythe made of pure black fire appeared in her hands. Eve's eyes darkened, and a thick black liquid streamed from her tear ducts.

"What the hell...!" Zintra managed to say before Eve leaped toward her. Fear instantly gripped the woman. Her eyes shrunken, her blood froze; facing Eve was one thing, but facing that woman, that figure that terrified children before bed, that had terrifying paintings in churches...

"Ari...Ariadna..." Zintra said, her voice trembling.

Eve smiled diabolically...