Ade froze, not daring to move. The ground under his feet felt nothing like earth or stone—it shifted, alive somehow, crawling like shadow. Overhead, the sky stretched out into pitch-black forever, broken by jagged red cracks—lightning frozen in place.
He whispered, "This place… what is it?"
A cold wind passed right through him, straight through his body. He shivered deep down, like someone poured ice water into his bones.
Then the voice came again.
"You already know."
He spun around. The red-eyed figure was right there now, finally out in the open. No cloak, nothing to hide behind. It was tall, not quite human, its whole body made from living darkness, veins burning fiery red beneath the skin.
Ade's chest went tight.
"This is where you come from," it said.
He shook his head. "No. I'm human."
It started to smile, slow and terrible. "Half."
Ade's hands curled into fists. "Where is my mother?!"
The figure didn't answer. Just lifted a hand. The darkness rippled, then coiled and shifted, forming images in the air—clearer than before, so clear they looked solid.
He saw his village. The forest. He saw Baba Ikuomola helping his mother to her feet. Relief swept through him. They were okay.
"They're alive…"
"For now," the figure replied, its voice calm, almost bored.
The relief flipped to anger so fast it felt like whiplash. "You promised!"
The thing tilted its head. "I promised to leave them. I never promised they'd stay safe forever."
Ade stepped forward, fists trembling. "You tricked me!"
The red eyes brightened, a spark like molten metal inside them. "No. You chose this."
The words hit him harder than a punch. He did choose. Ade stared at the ground, then looked up and found his strength again. "Then I'll choose again."
The figure laughed, a low, bitter sound. "You think you still have that freedom?"
Chains of shadow exploded out of the ground. Before Ade could even react, they wrapped around his arms and legs, cold and tight. He fought, but they only squeezed.
"You're here now," the figure said. "And here… you're ours."
Ade grit his teeth. "No, I'm not."
The figure moved in, almost close enough to touch. "Still fighting. Good. That will make the ritual even stronger."
"What ritual?" Ade spat.
It spread its arms wide. "The final awakening."
Suddenly, the red cracks in the sky blazed even brighter, as if the realm itself woke up. "This world is torn—caught between here and your world. But with your power, we can finish crossing over."
Ade's heart hammered. "And destroy everything?"
The creature tilted its head, amused. "Change it."
He stared it down. "That's not change. That's just ruin."
Its voice dropped low, a rumble. "Humanity is fragile, afraid—small. We'll make it better."
He squared his shoulders. "I'm not going to help you."
The figure leaned in, nearly nose to nose. "But you already are."
It slammed a hand against his chest. Dark energy shot through him—it burned. His scream tore out of his throat, raw and helpless. Vision after vision flickered through his mind: the village on fire, people fleeing, the Night People walking in daylight as if they belonged there.
"No! Stop!"
The power inside him grew so strong he thought he'd tear apart. "You feel it?" the figure murmured. "Your power. Your darkness."
Ade shook under the force. The power that had saved him so many times before was now tearing him down, dragging him closer.
"Accept it," the figure said, cool as stone. "Join us."
His breath broke fast and ragged. Light and darkness pulsed in his eyes, flickering. "I won't."
As the chains pulled tighter, pain ripped through him. Ade screamed again, but this time everything shifted. A different voice whispered in his mind—soft, familiar. "Ade." He froze, eyes wide. "Mama?" Out in the dark, a small light sparked to life. Steady. The chains around him trembled. The thing with red eyes took a step back. "What is this?"
The light grew, brightening the dark. Ade locked onto it. His mother's voice, clearer now: "Fight it, my son." He closed his fists. "No." The darkness inside tried to smother him, but he shoved back. "I am not yours." And then it happened—a burst of light shot from his body, cracking the shadow chains apart. The force slammed into the red-eyed creature, pushing it back for the first time. Its face twisted in shock.
Ade dropped to one knee, breath ragged. The light around him flickered but held on. He looked up, voice stronger. "I told you—I will never join you." The figure straightened, its surprise fading fast into something worse. Anger. Dark and dangerous. "You think you have won?"
Ade stayed quiet. The creature lifted its hand. The whole world shuddered, like it was about to break apart. "You haven't stopped anything. You've only delayed it." All around, red cracks tore through the sky, snaking out, widening faster by the second. "We don't need your cooperation anymore."
Ade's heart kicked in his chest. "What do you mean?" The figure just smiled—a cold, empty grin. "We have taken enough." Out of nowhere, pain ripped through Ade. He felt something huge pull away, a piece of his energy torn out. He cried out. "What did you do?!"
Thunder rolled through the creature's words. "We have begun the opening." The cracks exploded, spilling red and black energy through a new portal, straight to the human world. Ade stared in horror. "No." In the distance, he could see it through the portal—Ajeji Village, his home, the sky splitting open above it and darkness pouring down. "No, stop!"
The figure watched him, voice calm but final. "You cannot stop this alone."
Ade clenched his fists, jaw tight. He grounded himself in the fading light, every muscle tensed. "I won't be alone." The light flared, brighter, steadier—he wouldn't let go. "I'll find a way."
The figure just smiled, fading into the darkness. "We will be waiting."