Naaro sat back and sighed, arms around Rynn. They were now in the atmosphere of the dark planet Cocytus. Below them was a massive body of red water, visible through their window, and beside them were black clouds, also visible. Rynn was frightened, but tried not to show it, asking Naaro, "Baby, what are they going to do to us?" Naaro shook his head, replying, "In all honesty Rynn, I don't know." Naaro looked out the window anxiously, also curious as to what was going to happen. Suddenly, the terrain below changed from that of red water to sickly yellow dried ground. A strange breathing sound flashed through Naaro's head for a few seconds, then faded as quickly as it had come, causing him pain, strangely. "Argh..." Rynn looked over at him worriedly, noticing his obvious clenched eyelids and teeth at the biting pain.

"Naaro, what's wrong?" Naaro looked over at Rynn as the pain left, and answered, "I don't know...I felt some strange pain, and heard a breathing sound in my head..." Vector looked down at Naaro from his standing viewpoint and chuckled. "Probably just nerves...knowing somebody's probably going to kill you tends to do that." Rynn uttered, "They're gonna kill us? Baby, is that true?" Naaro did not respond, feeling the pain once more, only much stronger. When he clenched his eyes shut this time, he heard his own heartbeat at a deafening level, and saw an orange-pupiled eye staring at him, opened fully. He tried to open his eyes, but he couldn't. His deafening heartbeat got louder and louder...all sound around him was blocked out, which was mostly Rynn screaming from her love's apparent serious problem and Vector yelling at him to stop freaking out. The pupil of the eye began to change...it turned black, and transformed itself into the shape of a yoshi. The eye suddenly turned into a very familiar maroon-skinned, slick dreadlock-haired yoshi...himself. Once this yoshi opened his eyes, however, there was something different...his eyes were red instead of aquamarine. The strange and terrifying vision then disappeared, and his eyes opened once more, complimented by a loud yell. Rynn shouted, "Naaro! Thank God you're alright!" and hugged her love. Vector grumbled at how bad of a joke that was, and Ian remained silent. They all suddenly felt a jolt, and looked around. "What was that?" Naaro asked, his question directed at no one in general. Vector responded, "We're landing," as the ship descended toward a pyramid Naaro would have easily recognized...

Back in the cargo bay, Jaded felt the ship land. He looked toward the bay door, waiting for it to open, but no such thing happened. Meanwhile, above, Rexxor walked back to the group in the cell, removing a white wand-like object with red gems imbedded along its surface from his robes and touching it to the bars of the cell. Responding to the wand, the bars bent and removed themselves from their locations. The wrists of all four were suddenly stuck together, and the bars wrapped around them like handcuffs. A wave of white energy then passed over their bodies, and they found any voluntary movement impossible. It was now all involuntary, and that involuntary movement demanded them to follow Rexxor down a ramp and onto the steps of the pyramid. Rexxor turned to them, and chuckled, "Don't step on the dirt, friends, it's cursed...heh heh heh." He then started walking up the pyramid, the 4 unwillingly following him up the pyramid's many steps. When they reached the top, Moloch was waiting for them.

"Ah, you have brought us the Karukylis boy," he said with a vicious grin. He then noticed the others, and added, "And some subjects to test him on as well!" Naaro gave Moloch a glare. Vector was the first to speak. "What do you test? You're gonna test Naaro on us? What purpose does that have?" Moloch chuckled, and began to reply, but was interrupted by a voice from seemingly out of nowhere.

"Let me handle the rest of this, Moloch." Moloch nodded obediently, seeming to bow before the group. Before anyone could react, a serpentine figure materialized before Naaro and the others. He was dressed in the robes of a Druid, with his hood thrown back, and had glowing, full-yellow eyes. Two flaps of scaly black skin stuck out from the side of his head like that of a cobra, and demonic wings were folded on his back. A large scorpion's tail stood at attention behind him, and razor-sharp, metallic claws stuck out from the ends of his fingers and toes. "Welcome to planet Cocytus, Karukylis and company. I am Belial, the Black Priest this world is so well-known for." Naaro blinked. "You're the Black Priest? The one I've been wondering about all this time?" Belial nodded. "It is interesting to know that you have been wondering about me, Karukylis," Belial hissed, not a sign of happiness in his voice, "because I've been wondering about you, too. Wondering about my master's wish to bring you here. Now, I finally know why." Naaro snarled, and yelled, "Then tell me, because I've been interested myself!" Belial then began. "Young Karukylis, you have been brought here because you contain a part of my master within you." Naaro blinked in disbelief. "A part of him? What the hell are you talking about?! Just who is your master anyway?!" Belial continued. "My master, Karukylis, is the Essence of Evil. The power behind lust, behind corruption, desire, murder, conquest. He was born at the beginning of Time, and has existed ever since with a sole mission: to devour everything. Unfortunately, it has been trapped in Anti-Reality for its hunger...that will all soon change." "What do you mean?" Rynn asked, curious about how her love was involved. Belial continued to unravel the mysteries involving himself and Naaro's involvement in this grand scheme. "What I mean is that the Essence of Evil is slowly, slowly seeping back into the fabric of reality. This process is why you have been brought here, Karukylis. 19 years ago, when you were sent to Nabur in that capsule, you passed through a rip in reality. This rip was allowing the Essence of Evil to send some of its power through from Anti-Reality. You were unfortunate enough to pass through at the exact moment that his power escaped. Instead of teleporting to the nearest planet, it grabbed onto you, and became a part of your soul." Naaro was shocked. It suddenly all came back to him. He was screaming and crying in the cold of the capsule when suddenly a wave of energy passed over him and he blacked out. The last thing he saw was a blob of black energy floating in front of him. It was the Essence of Evil. It was powerful. And just as it was part of him, he was part of it.

Naaro dropped to his knees in light of it all. It was indeed quite overwhelming...the force behind evil that had existed since the beginning of time was basically his half-brother. The air behind Belial made an obvious ripple, surprising the group a bit. Belial turned, saying, "It is time," and raising his hands. Belial began to chant, and black lightning began to crackle over Naaro's body. Naaro grimaced and dropped completely onto the ground. Rynn then screamed at Belial, asking, "What are you doing to him?!" Belial then uttered coldly, "Introducing him to his brother." Naaro suddenly disappeared. His eyes, which he had closed during the 'electrocution', opened, and he saw before him a black, eye-shaped void. Deep within it was a white circle with an orange pupil in the middle of it. Purple waves of energy rushed toward it, and the walls of what appeared to be a large chamber glowed an eerie, dark blue.
Naaro began to hear a voice in his head that was not his own. It said to him: "Young mortal, I welcome you to Anti-Reality. I am the Essence of Evil, the Great Devourer, whatever you wish to call me, I see no purpose in names. Within you a piece of me exists. It has bonded with your soul, gestating and waiting for the time when it would awaken and consume your righteous soul to create the darkest of Unsouls, my physical embodiment. That time has come, mortal." Naaro was now stupified, mindlessly staring at the orange 'eye'. More words now flowed into his head. "Mortal...Naaro...my brother...come to me, and fulfill your destiny. When I return to the fabric of reality very soon, you will be my physical host. Come...walk toward the eye..." Naaro dumbly nodded, and stepped off the platform, sinking into the void and flying straight into the orange pupil of the 'eye'. Nothing could have prepared him for what came.

His body felt as if it were twisting and morphing, yet nothing was happening to it. It was his soul that was twisting. The piece of the Essence of Evil had awakened and closed around his soul, and now it was consolidating its hold over him. He was unbelievably cold as his soul's righteous flame was slowly smothered by the Essence's dark power. It was all leaving him now...all his righteousness and morality was being converted into coldheartedness and villainy. His eyes were then forced open, and the painful grimace on his face turned to an evil smirk as his eyes turned from red to aquamarine. The physical incarnation of the Essence of Evil was born. This new Naaro's cold and disturbing cackle then echoed through the halls of the Essence's palace as he was returned to Reality and the pyramid on Cocytus. He lie there, just now regaining consciousness as he heard Rynn's screams. His eyes opened, their red pupils glowing eerily as a smirk crossed his face. He rose, back to Rynn, and greeted Belial, saying, "I am here, my servant Belial. You have done well. Your master will soon return, and all will be devoured by the darkness."

Belial smiled for the first time, and cackled. "Excellent, master...thank you. I shall tutor your new body in the ways of killing and darkness...starting with his friends." Rynn was in shock, and quite confused. Vector and Ian were in a similar condition. Jaded chose that moment to intervene. He leaped from his hiding place and landed between Belial, Naaro, and the group, facing the Black Priest and the embodiment of the Essence. "Alright boys, party's over. Let these fellows go, hand over the Creation's Weapon, and no one gets hurt." Naaro chuckled, and replied, "I'm afraid none of you can leave. Rynn, Vector, Ian, and whoever you might be...you're going to be my first victims." As Naaro prepared to fight, Belial intervened. "Hold, master...you must not always be so hasty to enter battle." Naaro growled, asking, "Why not, Belial? I can handle these mortals easily." Belial answered, "I do not doubt your ability, master, but they seek the Creation's Weapon...it is fun to play games with mortals." Naaro smirked and nodded, realizing what Belial was getting at. Belial then made a proposition to the group...it was actually more of an order. He demanded, "Now, I'll make you a deal. Either my master can kill you all right here and you can never know the location of the Creation's Weapon, or you can play a little game with us and have a chance of getting the weapon. Which do you choose?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued. "Alright then, the game it is. I will place these pendants around all your necks and teleport you to a random part of this planet. If you can return here within 3 days, you will be given the Creation's Weapon and possibly escape this planet alive. If you don't make it, the pendants will lose their power to deter the curse placed on all parts of this planet but this pyramid, and you will join the undead for all eternity. You don't really have a choice in the matter, unfortunately...so here's your pendants." Belial snapped his fingers, and a pendant appeared around the necks of Jaded, Vector, Ian, and Rynn. Vector chuckled. "This doesn't sound too hard...I can make it back here in no time." Belial smirked, and said, "Also...you all have to make it back at the same time, and any magical or extraordinary power as far as movement goes will be disabled. No flying or far-jumping either...if you go higher than 10 feet above the ground, your pendant's power will be null, and the curse will instantly take hold of you, even if you don't land back on the ground. With that, I wish you good luck...you will definitely need it." Belial cackled as he snapped his fingers and the four disappeared. They re-appeared completely on the other side of the planet. Vector tried running, and discovered that his usual running speed had been reduced to a mere above-average Yoshi speed. He groaned, and mumbled, "Well, let's get going," as he started running in the general direction he figured the temple was. The others soon joined him. Back at the pyramid, Belial smirked. This was going to be quite fun. He then said to Naaro, "Master, why don't you have some fun too? Hunt them. Make their chances even smaller than they are now." Naaro cackled and nodded, replying, "That sounds like an excellent idea. You are doing very well, Belial...I will see you later." With that, Naaro took off, uninhibited by any of the limits set upon the others or even the curse put upon the planet, for he had created it in the first place, being the Essence of Evil and all. He smirked, and flew in the direction he sensed his prey, holding no inhibitions about killing them all.

Things looked grim. The Essence of Evil had created its physical host, and it was getting closer and closer to time for it to return to the fabric of reality. It knew it was the only one that could remove the Essence of Evil's deadly power from Naaro's soul, for it was the Prime Dimensional Essence, antithesis of the Essence of Evil. Thus it began to send a telepathic message to the one who could undo the Essence of Evil's work, Naaro's beloved Rynn, telling her this: "Bring Naaro to the planet of Zion, where I shall remove the evil from him." It cast the message out across space, hoping it would reach Rynn's mind...