"Do it."
Obasi's voice echoed through the clearing, calm… almost amused.
"Bury her," he repeated softly."Just like you buried me."
The villagers froze.
The elder's grip tightened around his staff.
"No," he said firmly. "This time… it will work."
Obasi laughed.
A slow, hollow sound.
"You still believe that?"
The ground beneath him trembled.
The crack widened again.
More of his body emerged—
Not fully human.
Not fully spirited.
Something in between.
Something worse.
Nneka shook her head, backing away.
"I'm not like you," she whispered.
Obasi's gaze snapped to her.
"You are exactly like me."
Her chest tightened.
"No… I didn't choose this!"
A flicker of something crossed his face.
Not anger.
Recognition.
"Neither did I."
Silence fell.
And then—
The world shifted.
The air thickened.
The shadows stretched.
And suddenly—
Nneka wasn't in the clearing anymore.
She was somewhere else.
Dark.
Cold.
Tight.
She couldn't move.
Her chest felt heavy.
Hard to breathe.
"What… is this?" she whispered.
And then—
She heard it.
Scratching.
Desperate.
Panicked.
Her heart raced.
"Hello?" she called.
No answer.
Only the scratching.
Closer now.
Right beside her.
And then—
A voice.
Hoarse.
Broken.
"Please…"
Nneka's breath caught.
"I'm here!" she said quickly. "Where are you?!"
Silence.
Then—
A weak laugh.
"Too late…"
The ground shifted slightly.
Nneka realized something.
She wasn't standing.
She was lying down.
And there was something above her.
Pressing.
Heavy.
Earth.
Her chest tightened.
"No…"
And then she saw him.
Obasi.
Not as he was now.
As he had been.
Alive.
His skin was covered in dirt.
His fingers are bleeding.
His nails are broken.
He was clawing at the wooden boards above him.
"Let me out!" he screamed."PLEASE—LET ME OUT!"
Nneka's eyes filled with tears.
"They can't hear you…" she whispered.
"I know!" he cried, his voice cracking.
He kept scratching.
Scraping.
Fighting.
"I hear them!" he said suddenly."They're here—they're all here—"
His eyes darted wildly.
"They won't leave me alone…"
Nneka froze.
Even then…
Even before…
He had heard them.
"They're calling me…" he whispered.
His breathing grew faster.
More uneven.
"They're telling me things…"
A pause.
"They're telling me how to survive."
Nneka's chest tightened.
"No… don't listen to them…"
But he already had.
His expression changed.
The fear didn't disappear.
It twisted.
Into something else.
Something darker.
"They say I don't have to die…"
The air grew colder.
"They say I can become more."
Nneka shook her head.
"No…"
But Obasi smiled.
Even as he suffocated.
Even as the earth closed in around him.
"They say I can return."
The ground trembled violently.
And suddenly—
The vision shattered.
Nneka gasped—
Back in the clearing.
Falling to her knees.
Her chest was rising and falling rapidly.
"I saw it…" she whispered.
The villagers stared at her.
"What did you see?" her mother asked, her voice shaking.
Nneka looked up.
At Obasi.
"You didn't die alone…"
Obasi's expression stilled.
"You listened to them," she continued."The spirits… they changed you."
A long silence.
Then—
He smiled.
"They saved me."
The wind howled violently.
"They made me stronger," he continued."They showed me what lies beyond death."
His eyes burned.
"And now… I will show all of you."
The ground split wider.
The shadows surged.
The villagers screamed.
The elder stepped forward desperately.
"He must be sealed again!"
But this time—
No one moved.
Because they understood now.
Sealing him didn't stop him.
It created him.
Nneka stood slowly.
Her fear is still there.
But something else is rising now.
Understanding.
"You're not just frustrated," she said softly.
Obasi tilted his head.
"You're broken."
Silence.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Then—
His expression changed.
And for the first time—
He looked truly furious.
"I am not broken."
The ground shook violently.
"I am reborn."
The shadows exploded outward.
The clearing darkened.
And Obasi rose higher—
Almost free now.
Almost fully returned.
The elder shouted—
"NOW! Before he fully rises!"
The villagers hesitated.
Caught between fear…
and guilt.
And then—
Nneka heard it.
Inside her.
That door.
It didn't just open this time.
It cracked wide.
And something new came through.
Something even darker.