Among all the creatures of the field, only the serpent was more cunning than the Lord God.
The serpent said to the woman, "Did God really say that you must not eat from any tree in the garden?"
The woman replied to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God has said that we must not eat or touch the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, lest we die."
The serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die, but you will gain wisdom and eternal life."
The woman listened to him.
My heart...
Long, long ago, there was a small wish...
"I... I want to see my father."
Niditara remained silent. She already knew what Ivina would say, so she let the innocent girl continue.
"Is it ridiculous that I want to see a dead person, knowing there is no chance, unless I also die and go to heaven?"
"Poor little girl, you no longer need to regret it. I can help you. Because you have sworn your loyalty to me, Niditera the witch."
"If I complete the task you assign me, will I truly be able to meet my father?" Ivina desperately wanted to know the answer. She longed so much to see her father, who had passed away when she was only two years old.
"It's not just about meeting him. I don't think you'll be satisfied with just seeing him." Niditera recited some strange incantations again, just as before.
The murky water turned into a blurry wall of water.
"Dad… Dad, Dad! I'm Nana, I'm Ivina! Please, look at me!"
Ivina shouted impatiently, her voice trembling with disbelief and joy.
She saw him—her father, the handsome man in the old photograph, the person she admired most.
She reached out to touch him, but the image vanished the moment her fingers made contact.
Don't go, Dad. Don't leave me again. Even if it's a奢望, she wanted to go to heaven to reunite with him. God, please.
"Listen, Ivina. Stop crying. You won't accomplish anything this way." Niditera clearly felt annoyed. Stupid humans—it was precisely because of their emotions that they had lagged behind in evolution.
"What you need to do is simple." Niditera gave a cold smile.
"Find the man who can take you away from here, and make him fall in love with you."
"It's impossible… I can't do it." Ivina's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
"Hmph, I thought you'd gladly accept it, even if it's for your father. Don't you want to reunite with him sooner?" Niditera narrowed her wrinkled eyes and stepped closer to the dazed Ivina.
"You have no right to hesitate, and you have no way out!" Niditera stood before her, her gaunt old face slowly approaching the frightened girl.
Seeing that Ivina didn't respond, Niditera angrily threatened her.
"Even if you're so cowardly and weak, and know nothing about love between men and women, wake up! If you don't approach him, seduce him, and obtain his permission to leave, you'll never escape from here! If that's the case, say goodbye to the sun now, because you'll never see the light again..."
"No, I absolutely cannot do that." She couldn't even lift her head in front of a stranger, let alone… seduce him?!
"If I drive you out of here now, I guarantee that vampires will appear soon. The scent of humans is what tempts them most, especially a young woman like you."
"I… I will hide away until I die. Let time wash away my sins, so I can go to heaven after death." Ivina knew her words were naive, but she would never obey Niditla. Temptation—how base a thing! Her pride said "no" first.
"Unfortunately, your beautiful face won't live to see old age." The withered hand, covered in prominent veins, gently stroked Ivina's cheek.
"Here, there is no time, no era, no sunlight—only hearts that have fallen into corruption."
The immortality the vampire obtained was a torment of immortality, the harshest punishment from God.
For the rebellious and the wicked shall perish together; those who forsake the Lord shall be destroyed.