Sade followed Tunde down a narrow path that didn't exist in the real world.
The trees were taller… darker… and shaped like shadows instead of leaves.
The moon hung low above them, huge and white, lighting their way.
"Where are we?" Sade asked.
Tunde didn't look back.
"This is the Àgbàlá Òkùnkùn… the boundary between your world and the spirit realm."
Sade shivered.
The air here felt cold, yet somehow familiar.
"Why can I see all this?" she whispered.
Tunde glanced at her.
"Because you're not bound to your body right now."
Sade swallowed hard.
"So… I'm really a spirit?"
"Half," he corrected. "Your body is still alive. But your soul is wandering."
They walked in silence for a moment until Sade finally asked the question burning inside her.
"How did you know where to find me?"
Tunde hesitated—just for a moment.
"I've been watching you for a long time."
Sade stopped walking.
"You've been what?"
Tunde turned to face her fully.
His expression wasn't threatening… just honest.
"I don't belong to one world," he said quietly. "I move between both. I see things people shouldn't see. Spirits. Shadows. Souls wandering too far."
He paused.
"And I've seen you—your aura—glowing for months. Something has been trying to pull you over. Tonight… it almost succeeded."
Sade's stomach tightened.
"That voice. The one calling my name… What is it?"
Tunde looked away, his jaw tightening.
"A powerful spirit," he said. "One that doesn't call people unless it wants something."
"What could it want with me?"
Tunde met her eyes again.
"That," he said softly, "is what I'm trying to help you figure out."
They reached a clearing—a vast open space filled with swirling white mist. Shapes moved inside the fog, whispering, but never fully forming.
"What is this place?" Sade asked.
Tunde stepped ahead of her.
"This is the Crossing. Spirits who are lost pass through here. Don't listen to them."
Sade frowned. "Listen to what—"
Before she could finish, the whispers grew louder.
"Sade…"
"Come…"
"We've been waiting…"
Voices layered over each other, tugging at her mind.
Sade covered her ears.
"Tunde, I hear them! They know my name!"
Tunde rushed to her side, placing his hand on her shoulder—
strangely, she could feel him this time.
"Look at me!" he ordered.
She forced her eyes up.
His face was calm, steady, grounding.
"They're not calling you," he said softly. "They're echoing the voice that IS."
"The one from the road?"
He nodded.
"That voice is tied to your destiny. And whatever it has planned is powerful enough to shake both worlds."
Sade's breath grew shallow.
"Tunde… I'm scared."
He held her gaze, his voice gentle.
"I know. But I won't let anything happen to you."
Suddenly, the mist parted.
Something tall and dark moved within it—slow, deliberate, watching.
"Tunde…" Sade whispered. "What is that?"
His entire body tensed.
"That is no lost spirit."
The figure stepped forward, its body made of smoke, its eyes glowing like burning coal.
It raised an arm—slowly—pointing directly at Sade.
The whispers stopped.
Everything went silent.
Tunde stepped in front of her, shielding her.
"Stay behind me," he said firmly. "This one has crossed too far."
The shadow stretched, growing larger, forming a face twisted in rage.
It released a low, rumbling growl—
Then it spoke.
"Sade…
Return."
Sade gasped.
"That voice… that's the same voice from my dreams!"
Tunde grabbed her hand—warm again, almost human.
"Run."
And the moment their feet moved, the shadow lunged.