The Sawafin's seal

When his feet touched the homeland after a seven-year absence, Maher was not the same young man his family had bid farewell to one day at the airport gate. He was not just a graduate returning with a university degree in Neomandra, but a returnee burdened with questions that time had not ceased to plant deep within him... and legends that no longer seemed like mere fantasies.

Since his early childhood, Maher was not like the other children in the family. He was the only one who sat with genuine attention in front of his uncle Saber, that man who withdrew from human circles to join another world unseen by the naked eye. The world of spirits, hidden energies, and the delicate boundaries between sanity and madness.

Saber, the scientist obsessed with the science of Nuimythika, found his talk about parallel worlds, lost epochs, and hidden gates met only with ridicule. As soon as he started speaking at one of the family gatherings, faces scattered and the crowd dispersed around him, refusing to listen to his usual nonsense.

Maher was different. He listened to his uncle with shining eyes, whispering for him to continue the conversation.

“Go on, uncle... Tell me more.”

In the boy's eyes, Saber was not crazy... but a valuable treasure of information. For this reason, Maher became his only companion, his small repository of secrets, and the student he chose over the other family members.

Amidst tattered notebooks and mysterious maps, his uncle handed him the key to the questions... the key that later led him to a specialization that was not on the family's dream list: Neomandra Science.

When he finished high school, his ambition was neither wealth nor a prestigious position. His curiosity was what drove him, that hidden hunger to understand those phenomena that had captivated him one day as a child, loitering in the shadow of his uncle's stories that everyone else avoided.

Laughter filled the house as if estrangement had never escaped it, and hugs followed one after another between him and his three sisters, one of whom was about to finish her first year of university, while the others were scattered between the chaos of motherhood and talks of marriage. As for his mother, she followed him with insatiable eyes, touching him whenever he passed by, as if she feared that what she saw before her was merely a mirage created by nostalgia.

Despite all this warmth, Maher missed his dear uncle. He was considerate of his mother's feelings regarding her reluctance for him to meet Saber too often, so as not to negatively affect him...

He waited until the conversations quieted down and approached his father, who was sitting, contemplating his phone and receiving congratulatory messages and well-wishes for the return of his only son from travel. Then he asked him in a calm voice, charged with unspoken words:

“And what about my uncle Saber...? How is he?”

The father sighed sadly while the mother looked on with sorrow, waiting for her husband's answer.

“He is very sick... Not with his body, but with his mind only... All my attempts to get him out of that cursed lab have failed.”

The mother silently watched, thinking about how to dissuade Maher from chasing after his uncle's famous nonsense without hurting him.

“As he is, as I have known him... And it will never change. He warned of a dark world with ferocious monsters and demons that would prey on all humans... Unfortunately, he is lost in illusions.”

Then she turned to him, placing her hand on his arm, her gaze carrying genuine fear:

“Listen to me carefully, my son... I don't want you to get involved in his crazy world. I don't want you to suffer what he suffered.”

Maher sighed deeply and turned his face away for a moment, hiding the ember of anger that had ignited within him.

“Mom... I have asked you thousands of times not to call him crazy. There is something mysterious surrounding this world... I will discover it soon, and then you will understand.”

The mother was taken aback. Her eyes widened in astonishment and bitterness, then she shook her head and broke down, saying, tears preceding her words:

“Isn't what he did to you enough? He made you give up studying medicine... You were going to become a great doctor, and now what? Are you heading toward the same fate? To the crazy world of the supernatural? What are you waiting for? To lock yourself in there and start talking to ghosts?”

Maher approached her, sat in front of her, then extended his hands to her tear-streaked face, gently embracing it, saying in a calm, reassuring voice:

“Mom... Don’t worry. I won’t go crazy.”

Then he smiled, despite the sharpness of the conversation, and added jokingly to break the heavy silence between them:

“Then, for God’s sake... What are you saying about 'the crazy science of the supernatural'? They will think I'm a sorcerer reading fortunes in coffee cups! Please don’t waste seven years of study just because you refuse to accept my field... Your son is a scientist in Neomandra.”

She laughed despite her tears, then pulled him into her embrace tenderly, whispering:

“You are my only son, Maher... and the support of your sisters after us. I don't want to lose you. Not to madness... nor to the unknown.”

He gently patted her back to reassure her.

“You won’t lose me... I promise.”

He kissed her forehead, then stood and turned toward the door. At the moment he picked up his keys from the table, he turned around, smiling:

“Now... it’s time to visit the lab.”

The evening had begun to creep over the town, the streets draped in a dull gray hue, as if the sun were whispering farewell to the world. Maher stopped in front of the iron gate he had known as a child, which he had always dreamed of opening again.

The only corner in the world where the invisible was believed... It might be real.

He opened the door

An old scent, a mix of burnt paper, faded perfume, and untouched dust, rushed in as if whispering: “You have returned...”

He entered with hesitant steps. Shadows danced on the walls. Books were scattered on the tables, and manuscripts were piled in the corners, as if time itself had stopped moving within this place.

Everything was as it was.

Even that dry plant on the window still stood in its place like a soldier forgotten by time.

“Maher...”

The sound was behind him. Slow, fragile, but steady, like an old heartbeat.

He turned slowly.

There, in the corner of the lab, among the rubble and shelves, stood his uncle Saber. As thin as ever, his hair more disheveled than before, and his face etched with lines of solitude, but his eyes... his eyes were radiant like Maher had never seen them before.

Maher didn’t wait. He rushed toward him, embraced him as if all those years had been condensed into a moment.

Saber remained standing, motionless. But he didn’t push him away... He placed his hand on Maher’s head, just as he used to do when he was a child.

“I was confident of your return.”

“I missed you, Uncle...”

“Me too. But the time now... doesn’t allow for emotion. Everything has begun, Maher.”

Maher took a step back, staring at his face in astonishment.

“Started what?”

Saber looked at him, then pointed to the opposite wall.

There was a strange inscription that hadn’t been there before... Intertwined circles, incomprehensible symbols, glowing with a faint blue light as if pulsating with life.

“The first seals have started to break...”

“Which seals? What’s happening?”

Saber turned his eyes towards him, his voice trembling as if uttering a prophecy from a thousand years ago:

“The Swafin, Maher... The first one has woken up.”

Suddenly, the light began to writhe as if fire itself were afraid, and the air grew heavy, not with heat, but with forgetfulness.

Maher felt a sharp headache.

Images from his childhood began to fade.

His mother’s face evaporated from his memory.

> What? Who was she? My mother...?

And suddenly…

The shadow appeared from the ceiling of the room, oozing like black ink.

No features, no body, just a presence that seeped into their senses mercilessly.

The Safin spoke, not with a voice, but with erasure.

It erased every event, every face etched in Maher’s memory.

The more the specter moved, the more Maher lost his way, drifting away from existence, as if life was gradually being taken from him.

The beloved faces were erased from his heart.

He forgot his name, his graduation day, and even the taste of the coffee he loved.

His heart ached at the thought of forgetting people he didn’t know, people being erased one by one.

> He is the seventh of Oblivion... one out of seven, whispered Saber with certainty.

> “It’s time, Maher… We don’t have time.”

He turned toward him, staring into his frightened eyes.

> “You must not lose your memory now, Maher...

You have to fight the rest...

The future of this world is in your hands.”

If the deep sleep of forgetfulness infiltrates humans, they become empty inside.

Their senses gradually cease to function.

With each passing day, their soul withers little by little, until the seventh day, when their soul ascends to the heavens, and they become a memory... lost to oblivion.

Saber knew this truth.

He had prepared for this day.

But his strength was not enough to fight the Seven Swafins alone.

He had to save Maher so he could take over this daunting task.

Fortunately, Saber had prepared everything for this terrifying day.

Maher was looking with empty eyes, eyes that held no knowledge of himself or those around him...

Forgetfulness had seeped into him, stripping him of strength, of memories, of spirit, consuming him gradually.

Saber hurried to his manuscripts and clippings, ones he had dedicated his life to.

Among them, he took out a seal the size of a palm, radiating light like the moon.

He directed it toward the shadow of the terrifying Safin of Oblivion, and in a loud voice began to recite magical incantations, strange, surreal letters and sounds beyond comprehension.

With each letter, Saber raised his voice.

And with each rising intensity, the Safin thrashed and roared with terrifying sounds that shook the ceiling and cracked the walls.

It was in pain.

And the more it suffered, the greater the chance of trapping it inside the blue-silver seal.

Suddenly, the mystery surrounding the entity vanished.

Its true form revealed before Saber, who trembled at the horror of what he saw.

Its face was a terrifying gray, interspersed with deep, repulsive cracks, each telling of ancient battles fought across the ages.

Its sunken eyes radiated a yellow flame that pierced the soul before the body.

Saber stood frozen.

He had read of them... but never imagined the horror of their appearance.

His fingers clung tightly to the glowing seal, whose light began to fade as he stumbled over the incantation…

His eyes widened in terror when the Great Devourer of Forgetting opened its massive mouth and released a scream so deafening, it hurled Saber against the wall.

He fell to the ground, pained, exhausted.

The voice of the river of Oblivion roared with malice born of centuries:

> “This is just the beginning, old human...

We will return... and crush you all.”

And just as it had appeared, the Safin began to fade, dissolving between the cracks of the wall and folds of nowhere, fleeing like a coward.

Saber, barely breathing, crawled to Maher’s limp body.

He embraced him in his arms, gazing at his pale face and vacant eyes.

The effect of the Safin was still strong.

Maher wasn’t prepared.

The sword had preceded justice.

Saber whispered, wiping Maher’s face with trembling fingers and hope in his voice:

> “The bastard managed to escape...

But you are the only one capable of saving the world...

You must stay strong and never lose your memory.”

Saber spent his last hour behind his desk, organizing his manuscripts and years of research, holding the secrets of past worlds and the map to rid the universe of the seven evil seals before they engulf it in terrifying shadow.

It would not be easy for Maher.

Saber never wanted to expose his favorite nephew to such danger.

But Maher had been chosen.

Prepared since childhood.

Saber hadn’t held back any knowledge.

He had shared everything with him.

> If Maher succeeds in his first mission, only then can Saber return to his world and family.

But if he fails...

He will remain imprisoned in the world of oblivion, and all of humanity will be erased, as if they never existed.

Saber held the seal over Maher’s body and began passing it directly over his heart, reciting his strange, surreal incantations in a sharp, booming voice.

With each word, the seal grew more fiery and radiant.

Outside the lab, the sounds of bats, crows, and wolves intensified.

The wind howled, shaking the curtains, scattering the papers, and instilling terror in the hearts of intruders and strangers.

Suddenly, Maher’s body jolted violently.

He was thrown off the couch, waking up in shock, his body drenched in sweat, his eyes wide in terror.

It was as if he had escaped a fierce battle that nearly took his life.

With his awakening, all the terrifying sounds and phenomena vanished.

Silence and darkness settled in the lab.

Maher scanned the room for Saber...

But he wasn’t there

What happened...? Was this a nightmare? Was it real...?

His memory was foggy.

But he was certain of one thing, he had just returned from the edge of death.

He rushed to the desk, searching through his uncle’s manuscripts.

Nothing.

No trace.

Suddenly, a blinding light pierced the darkness.

Maher approached it...

A blue silver seal lay upon an old, tattered, closed book.

Beneath it was a sealed letter addressed:

> "To my son, the conqueror of the Swafin Seals , Maher."

Maher felt a burning pain in his chest.

He hurried to uncover the source and found a mark, resembling a brand, the same size and shape as the seal on the book.

But it was empty inside.

A memory flashed in his mind.

He didn’t know if it was real or a vision:

Saber, reciting incantations over his heart...

Now it made sense.

The seal emitted a strange sound.

From it, a luminous white tablet emerged, inscribed with golden letters.

Maher read it with astonishment and reverence:

You are now a member of the War of the Swafin team.

Your first mission will be to conquer the Safin of Forgetfulness,

which will gradually lead you to rescue Saber from his prison in the Realm of Darkness.

Only then will the Gate of the Great Memory open before you,

allowing you to advance to the second stage and earn the title of The Conqueror.

If you wish to join the team, click “Accept