A heavy silence fell between them. The ancient door stood ajar, a gaping mouth leading into an unknown abyss. The air grew colder, thick with an unseen presence.
Ochieng exchanged a glance with Lin Feng. Neither spoke, but they both understood—whatever lay beyond was not to be taken lightly.
Lin Feng exhaled, gripping his sword. "We move together. No unnecessary risks."
Ochieng nodded. He felt something stirring within him, an unspoken instinct, urging him forward.
They stepped into the darkness.
The moment their feet crossed the threshold, the door behind them slammed shut.
---
The corridor stretched endlessly, torches lining the walls, their flames blue instead of orange. Their glow flickered, casting elongated shadows that moved unnaturally.
Footsteps echoed, yet Ochieng felt as if something else walked beside them.
Then, the whispers began.
Low, hissing voices slithered through the air, speaking in a tongue he did not recognize—yet somehow, he understood.
"Welcome back, Forgotten One."
His spine stiffened. The words weren't meant for Lin Feng. They were meant for him.
Lin Feng must have sensed the shift because he stopped, eyes narrowing. "Do you hear that?"
Ochieng swallowed. "Yes."
Lin Feng turned, about to say something else, but then—
A figure materialized before them.
She was ethereal, draped in flowing silver, her feet hovering inches above the ground. Her face was veiled, but her eyes burned through the darkness.
"Who are you?" Ochieng demanded.
The woman tilted her head. "You ask as if you do not already know."
The whispers intensified.
Ochieng's pulse quickened. Something ancient stirred in his soul.
Then, the woman raised her hand, and the corridor shifted.
The walls crumbled away, revealing a vast, star-filled void. The ground beneath them felt unsteady, as if the abyss itself threatened to swallow them whole.
"You have forgotten your purpose," she whispered. "But your blood remembers."
Ochieng clenched his fists. "Enough with the riddles. What do you want from me?"
The woman laughed—soft, haunting, almost sorrowful.
Then, she reached out—
And touched his forehead.
A searing pain exploded in his skull.
Memories—hidden truths—surged through him like a tidal wave.
Visions of another life.
A war lost to time.
A name…
His true name.
Ochieng fell to his knees, gasping. His veins burned, his body shaking.
Lin Feng stepped forward. "Ochieng!"
But before he could react, the woman's voice echoed through the abyss—
"Awaken, Forgotten One."
And the world collapsed.