Soft sunlight creeps through Sade's curtains. She wakes with a jolt, drenched in sweat, heart beating hard like she just ran a marathon.
She sits up…
And feels a burning heat spreading across her wrist.
Slowly, she lifts her hand to the light.
Her breath catches.
A glowing symbol has appeared — shaped like a spiraling sun, with tiny branching lines like roots.
She touches it.
It burns like fire and ice combined.
Sade (whispers):
"What… what is this?"
Then the air changes.
The temperature drops sharply.
Her breath turns white.
Whispers swirl around her:
"Chosen… chosen… chosen…"
Sade freezes.
Her eyes widen.
She recognizes those whispers.
The spirit world.
Before she can react, her bedroom light flickers violently…
and suddenly—
Tunde materializes in the corner of her room.
But this time, he looks different.
He isn't transparent.
He isn't flickering.
He isn't ghost-like.
He looks almost real — like a human with a faint glow under his skin.
Sade gasps and stumbles back.
Sade:
"TUNDE?! What are you doing here? I… I thought—"
Tunde (softly):
"Sade… don't be afraid."
Sade:
"You're in my room! At 6am! In the real world! I think I have the right to panic!"
Tunde steps closer, moving with a mix of confidence and sadness.
Tunde:
"That mark… I came because of it."
He gently lifts her wrist.
Sade lets him — confused, scared, but drawn to him.
The symbol glows brighter when he touches her.
Sade:
"What is happening to me?"
Tunde sighs deeply.
Tunde:
"You closed your gate to the spirit world… but doing so forced another one open."
Sade:
"Another one?"
Tunde nods.
Tunde:
"…In me."
Sade stares.
Sade:
"Tunde… what are you saying?"
He looks up at her.
His eyes hurt.
Haunted.
Tunde:
"I'm stuck here, Sade. Trapped between the worlds. And something followed me."
Sade takes a step back.
Sade:
"Followed you? What followed you?"
Tunde hesitates.
He seems scared — truly scared — for the first time since she met him.
Tunde:
"The Spirit Hunter."
The room goes silent.
Sade blinks rapidly.
Sade:
"What is the Spirit Hunter?"
Tunde moves to the window and pulls back the curtains slightly, scanning the outside like he's expecting something to appear.
His voice lowers.
Tunde:
"It's older than the ancestors. Older than death. A creature that feeds on lost souls — especially souls like mine."
He looks back at her.
Tunde:
"When I followed you back to the living world to save you…
…it followed me."
Before Sade can ask more, the temperature drops sharply.
Her lightbulb explodes.
Glass scatters.
Sade screams.
A long, distorted shadow slithers across her wall… stretching… twisting… forming a monstrous silhouette with hollow eyes.
Sade:
"What is THAT?!"
Tunde steps in front of her, shielding her with his body.
Tunde:
"Sade, listen carefully. No matter what happens, DO NOT move."
The shadow rises, stretching until it towers over them.
A low, guttural growl fills the room.
The walls shake.
The air turns thick.
Sade can't breathe.
Then—
The Spirit Hunter lunges.
Tunde pushes Sade aside and meets it head-on.
But the creature passes through him like smoke.
It goes straight for Sade — because she is alive.
She has blood.
She has heat.
She is a feast.
Tunde:
"SADE, RUN!"
She bolts from the room, lungs burning, feet pounding down the stairs.
Behind her, she hears a horrible screech and Tunde shouting in pain.
Sade doesn't stop running.
The streets are quiet.
The morning sun seems weaker than usual, like the world knows something is wrong.
Sade races through alleys, barefoot, shaking, trying not to cry.
Tunde appears beside her — flickering and unstable.
Tunde:
"To the shrine. Mama Fowora. She's the only one who can help."
Sade nods, breathless.
They reach the shrine.
But instead of safety…
They see destruction.
The ground is blackened.
Herbs and cowries scattered.
The charm bags burnt.
The ancestral masks shattered.
Someone intentionally wrecked it.
Sade covers her mouth.
Sade:
"No… who did this?"
Tunde kneels, touching the ashes.
His expression darkens.
Tunde:
"It was the Spirit Hunter. It wants to remove anyone who can protect you."
Suddenly—
A groan.
They turn.
From behind a collapsed shelf…
Mama Fowora crawls out.
Her clothes torn.
Face bruised.
Blood on her arm.
Sade screams and runs to her.
Sade:
"Mama! Mama! What happened?!"
Mama Fowora coughs.
Mama Fowora:
"Death… came to my doorstep. And it wasn't looking for me."
Her eyes drift to Tunde.
Fear fills them.
Mama Fowora:
"You brought a spirit into the world of the living. A powerful one. And now the balance of the spirit realm has been broken."
Tunde lowers his head.
Tunde:
"I didn't want this."
Mama Fowora gently takes Sade's wrist.
The mark burns brighter under her fingers.
Mama Fowora:
"You have been chosen by the Ancestors."
Sade:
"Chosen to do WHAT?!"
Mama Fowora's voice breaks.
Mama Fowora:
"To defeat the Spirit Hunter…
or become its next HOST."
Sade's blood runs cold.
Night falls.
Sade and Tunde hide in her grandmother's old house — abandoned, dusty, but safe enough for the moment.
Tunde sits in the corner, hugging his knees, looking more human than ever.
Sade:
"Tunde… talk to me. Please."
He lifts his eyes.
Red and tired.
Tunde:
"I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be dragging you into this."
Sade moves closer.
Sade:
"You didn't drag me into anything. I went into the spirit world first. I brought you into my life."
This affects him deeply.
He stands and walks toward her slowly.
Their faces inches apart.
Tunde:
"Sade… I've never felt this connection with anyone. Living or dead."
Her heart races.
Sade (softly):
"Tunde…"
He reaches out and cups her face.
Their lips almost touch—
Suddenly—
Tunde gasps and collapses, body jerking.
Sade screams.
A dark claw mark burns itself onto his chest… from the INSIDE.
Tunde writhes in agony.
Tunde:
"It's claiming me… Sade…. please… don't—"
Sade holds him tightly.
Tears fall down her face.
Sade:
"I'm not losing you. Not again. Not to anything."
Mama Fowora drinks a bowl of herbs, wincing from her injuries.
She watches Tunde in pain.
Then she speaks:
Mama Fowora:
"Tunde is not like other spirits. He is a Spirit Tear — a soul born from deep trauma, heartbreak, or a destiny cut short."
Sade frowns.
Sade:
"What does that mean?"
Mama Fowora touches Tunde's forehead.
Mama Fowora:
"Spirit Tears bond to humans they feel connected to. You are the one anchoring him to this world."
Sade's voice cracks.
Sade:
"Me?"
Mama Fowora:
"Yes. Your souls chose each other long before your bodies met."
This hits Sade like a punch to the chest.
She whispers:
Sade:
"So… we're soulbound?"
Mama Fowora nods gravely.
Mama Fowora:
"And the Spirit Hunter wants to devour that bond — because it would make it unstoppable."
Silence.
Sade exhales shakily.
Then her eyes harden.
Sade:
"Then teach me how to fight."
Mama Fowora studies her.
Proud.
Worried.
Afraid.
Mama Fowora:
"You are about to enter a war older than the world itself."
Sade looks at Tunde's trembling body.
Her voice steady.
Sade:
"Then let the war begin."