"She is ours now."
The words hung in the air like a curse.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
The villagers stood frozen, eyes locked on the shadows behind Nneka.
For the first time…
They could see what she saw.
And it terrified them.
Nneka's hands trembled.
"I'm not yours…" she whispered.
The shadow didn't respond.
It simply stretched.
Taller.
Darker.
Its presence pressed into the air, like something that did not belong in the world of the living.
Her mother stepped in front of her.
Protective.
Desperate.
"Leave her alone!" she shouted.
The shadow tilted its head.
Then—
It laughed.
A low, hollow sound that made the ground beneath them tremble.
"She opened the path."
Another shadow stepped forward.
"She called to us."
A third voice joined.
"And now… we answer."
The villagers began to back away.
Some cried.
Some whispered prayers.
But one of the elders stepped forward.
Old.
Calm.
But pale.
"This must end," he said quietly.
All eyes turned to him.
"We warned you long ago," he continued, his voice heavy. "Some things should remain undisturbed," he said.
Nneka shook her head.
"I didn't disturb anything!"
The elder's eyes hardened.
"No…"
He pointed past her.
"You did not disturb it."
A pause.
"You awakened it."
The wind howled suddenly.
And the shadows behind her surged.
The villagers screamed.
"Take her away!" someone shouted. "She is the curse!"
Nneka's chest tightened painfully.
"I'm not—"
But her voice broke.
Because deep down…
A part of her feared they were right.
The elder raised his staff.
"We must take her to the forbidden ground."
The words hit like thunder.
Gasps spread through the crowd.
"No…" one woman whispered. "Not there…"
Nneka's breath caught.
"What is the forbidden ground?" she asked.
Silence.
Then—
Her mother's voice.
Shaking.
"It's where they buried him."
Her heart stopped.
"The one… from the visions?"
The elder nodded slowly.
"Yes."
The air grew heavier.
"That place was sealed," he said. "Locked away. Forgotten."
His gaze darkened.
"Until now."
The shadows behind Nneka shifted violently.
Like they were reacting.
Like they understood.
"No!" Nneka cried. "You can't take me there!"
The elder stepped closer.
"We don't have a choice."
The villagers moved.
Slowly.
Cautiously.
Surrounding her.
Not touching her.
But closing in.
Her mother reached for her hand.
"I'll be with you," she whispered.
Nneka held on tightly.
Because she knew…
This wasn't going to end well.
The journey to the forbidden ground was silent.
No one spoke.
No one looked back.
Even the wind seemed afraid to follow.
The deeper they went into the forest—
The colder it became.
The trees grew taller.
Thicker.
Blocking out the sky.
And then—
They saw it.
A clearing.
Wide.
Empty.
But wrong.
The ground there was dark.
Not soil.
Not sand.
Something else.
Something that had been disturbed.
"This is it," the elder said.
Nneka's chest tightened.
"I've seen this place…"
The ground beneath her feet felt familiar.
Like she had stood here before.
In her visions.
In her dreams.
"This is where he died," the elder continued.
A pause.
"No…"
His voice dropped.
"This is where we left him."
The air shifted instantly.
The shadows behind Nneka stilled.
Completely.
And for the first time—
They went silent.
Not gone.
Just…
Waiting.
Nneka felt it.
Something beneath the ground.
Something awake.
"Do you feel that?" she whispered.
The elder nodded.
"Yes."
The earth trembled slightly.
Once.
Then again.
Nneka stepped back.
"No… something is wrong…"
But it was already too late.
The ground cracked open.
A thin line at first.
Then wider.
Splitting the earth apart.
The villagers screamed.
"Move back!"
But Nneka couldn't.
She was frozen.
Because from that crack—
Something rose.
Not fully.
Not yet.
But enough.
A hand.
Dark.
Broken.
Clawing its way out of the earth.
And then—
A voice.
Deep.
Cold.
Familiar.
"You brought her to me."
The elder staggered back.
"No…"
The ground shook violently.
The crack widened.
And the voice echoed again—
Stronger this time.
"You finally remembered."
Nneka's breath stopped.
Because she knew that voice.
The buried one.
The hand tightened against the earth…
And slowly—
Another hand appeared.
Then a face—
Pushing through the soil.
And its eyes—
Locked onto Nneka.
"Now… open the rest."