"Now… open the rest."
The voice crawled out of the earth like it had been waiting for this moment.
The villagers stumbled back in terror.
Some fell to their knees.Some ran.
But Nneka—
She couldn't move.
Those eyes.
They were no longer just shadows or visions.
They were real.
Watching her.
Waiting.
"Close it!" someone screamed."Seal it again!"
But the ground didn't listen.
The crack widened.
More soil broke apart.
And slowly—
The buried one pulled himself higher.
His face was no longer hidden.
And what they saw—
The elder was forced to drop his staff in response.
"No…" he whispered.
Because he recognized him.
"Impossible…"
Nneka's voice trembled.
"You know him…"
The elder didn't answer.
Because the buried one did.
"Of course he does."
His lips stretched into something that wasn't quite a smile.
"He was there."
The air shifted instantly.
All eyes turned to the elder.
"You…" a villager whispered."You knew about this?"
The elder's hands shook.
"I… I didn't have a choice…"
The buried one laughed.
A dry, hollow sound.
"You always had a choice."
Nneka stepped forward slightly.
"What happened here?" she asked, her voice steady despite the fear rising inside her.
The elder closed his eyes.
For a moment…
He looked exhausted.
Old.
Broken.
Then slowly—
He spoke.
"His name was Obasi."
The buried one's expression darkened.
"Do not speak my name like you remember me."
But the elder continued.
"He was like her," he said, nodding toward Nneka."He could hear them. Speak to them. See beyond this world."
Nneka's breath caught.
"Like me…"
The elder nodded.
"But stronger."
A pause.
"And we feared him."
The villagers listened now.
Silent.
"He knew things he shouldn't know. He spoke to spirits that should not be heard. And then…"
The elder's voice faltered.
"He changed."
Obasi's smile returned.
"I evolved."
The elder shook his head.
"No. You became dangerous."
The wind rose sharply.
"He stopped guiding spirits…" the elder continued."He started using them."
Nneka's chest tightened.
"For what?" she asked.
The elder looked at her.
"For power."
Obasi stepped forward slightly.
"Power they denied me."
The ground trembled beneath him.
"They tried to stop me," he continued."They tried to silence me."
His eyes darkened.
"So I showed them what I could become."
A cold chill spread through the clearing.
Nneka could feel it.
The same energy.
The same presence.
"You opened the door too…" she whispered.
Obasi's gaze snapped to her.
"Yes."
A pause.
"But I went further than you ever have."
The elder's voice rose.
"And that is why we had to stop you!"
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Nneka turned slowly.
"How… did you stop him?"
The elder's hands trembled.
"We couldn't kill him."
Her breath caught.
"What…?"
"He wouldn't die," the elder whispered.
Obasi chuckled softly.
"I had already crossed too far."
The elder continued.
"So we sealed him."
A pause.
"We buried him."
The words hit like a blow.
Nneka's chest tightened painfully.
"You buried him… alive?"
No one answered.
Because they didn't need to.
Obasi did.
"I screamed."
The wind died.
"I begged."
The ground cracked wider.
"I clawed at the earth while it filled my lungs."
Nneka's eyes filled with tears.
"They left me in the dark," he whispered.
The villagers stepped back.
Ashamed.
Afraid.
"And now…" Obasi said slowly,"I have returned the favor."
The shadows behind Nneka stirred.
Stronger now.
More present.
Because the truth had been spoken.
And the seal…
Was breaking.
Nneka shook her head.
"This is wrong," she said."What they did to you was wrong… but this—this isn't the answer!"
Obasi's eyes burned.
"It is the only answer."
The ground split further.
His body rose higher.
Almost free now.
"And you…" he said, stepping closer to the edge of the opening.
"You will finish what I started."
Nneka's heart pounded.
"No."
A pause.
"I won't become like you."
Obasi smiled slowly.
"You already are."
The elder stepped forward suddenly.
"We can still stop this!"
All eyes turned to him.
"How?" someone asked.
The elder's gaze fell on Nneka.
And for the first time—
There was no fear in his eyes.
Only decision.
"She must be sealed."
The words dropped like thunder.
Nneka froze.
"What…?"
The villagers murmured.
"What do you mean?"
The elder's voice hardened.
"She is the door."
A pause.
"And the only way to close it…"
He looked directly at her.
"…is to bury it."
Nneka's breath stopped.
"No…"
Her mother stepped forward.
"No! You can't do that!"
But the elder didn't move.
"This is how we stopped him before," he said.
Nneka shook her head violently.
"You want to bury me alive?"
Silence.
Because the answer…
It was yes.
Behind her—
The shadows surged violently.
And Obasi laughed.
"Do it."
A pause.
"And watch what happens this time."