Sade had been awake for three days, but nothing felt normal.
The doctors said she was lucky.
Her family said it was a miracle.
But Sade… she knew the truth.
A part of the spirit realm had followed her home.
At night, she heard whispers—soft, cold, familiar.
Sometimes she saw flickers of movement in the corner of her eye.
Shadows that vanished when she turned her head.
And worst of all…
She felt a presence watching her.
Not Tunde.
Something darker.
Something angry.
The same shadow she thought she destroyed.
On the fourth night, Sade stood before her mirror.
Her reflection blinked—
but she didn't.
Sade froze.
Her reflection slowly smiled,
a twisted, unnatural shape stretching across her face.
And then…
a dark hand reached out from inside the mirror.
Sade stumbled back, heart racing.
The reflection whispered:
"You didn't finish me."
The mirror shattered into a thousand pieces.
Every shard glowed with a faint black smoke.
That night, as Sade lay awake,
the room began to shimmer.
The same soft glow she had seen in the spirit world filled the air.
A figure formed—
but not Tunde.
It was Olúkọ́ Ẹmí, the spirit guide woman.
Her voice echoed like distant wind:
"Sade… your return tore a bridge open.
The shadow slipped through with you.
And now… it seeks to finish what it started."
Sade trembled.
"How do I stop it?"
The spirit guide stepped closer, her glow bright.
"You cannot escape your destiny.
To defeat the shadow,
you must return to where your journey began."
"The spirit realm?" Sade asked.
The guide shook her head slowly.
"No…
something deeper.
Something older."
The next morning, Sade found something on her skin—
a faint glowing mark
on her wrist.
Blue and swirling like a tiny flame.
She touched it—
and a surge of power shot through her.
Visions flashed.
Tunde.
The shadow.
A gate made of ancient stone.
A place she had never seen before.
The mark pulsed.
A warning.
A message.
And a key.
Sade realized:
She wasn't done with the spirit world.
And the spirit world wasn't done with her.
That evening, just as the sun set,
the lights in her room flickered.
The air turned cold.
Sade looked around slowly—
heart hammering.
A dark shape crawled up the wall behind her.
A massive shadow…
with burning eyes.
It hissed:
"You belong to me."
Sade's mark glowed bright blue,
lighting up the entire room.
The shadow recoiled, shrieking.
Sade stood her ground.
"This time," she whispered,
"I'm not running."
The shadow vanished into smoke—
but its presence lingered.
Watching.
Waiting.
That night, as fear kept Sade awake,
the room suddenly filled with soft white light.
A warm glow surrounded her—
one she knew too well.
She turned.
Tunde stood before her.
Glowing.
Strong.
And more real than ever.
"Sade…" he said softly,
"I'm here.
The shadow followed you because it fears what you're becoming."
Sade's heart raced.
"What… am I becoming?"
Tunde stepped closer.
Touched her glowing wrist.
"A bridge," he whispered.
"Between both worlds."
Sade breathed sharply.
"I don't understand."
"You don't have to," Tunde said.
"Just trust me.
We will face this together… again."