22/05/2026
The knocking continued.
GBAM! GBAM! GBAM!
Under the ground…
Tunde was still alive.
Inside the coffin, his fingernails tore against the wood as rainwater leaked through the soil above him.
“Father! PLEASE!”
But above the grave…
Nobody answered.
The villagers had already started running home in fear.
Because the storm had suddenly changed.
The rain was now black.
Chief Adigun staggered backward in horror.
“What have we done…” he whispered.
Then—
The earth beneath the grave moved.
Slowly.
Violently.
Mama Dara screamed.
The coffin began rising from the ground by
itself.
The masquerades stepped back for the first time.
Afraid.
One of them shouted:
“Seal the grave before midnight!”
But it was too late.
KRAAAK!
The coffin exploded open.
Tunde sat upright inside the mud.
Breathing heavily.
Alive.
Lightning flashed across his face—
And his eyes were no longer normal.
One eye had turned completely white.
The villagers watching from afar fell to their knees.
An old woman cried:
“The spirit has entered him…”
Tunde looked around slowly.
Confused.
Weak.
Then he saw his father.
“Why did you bury me?” he asked quietly.
Chief Adigun broke down instantly.
Tears mixed with rain on his face.
Before he could speak—
One masquerade threw a burning powder into the air.
WHOOSH!
A circle of fire surrounded Tunde.
The tallest masquerade pointed his staff at him.
“The boy d!ed the moment the mark appeared.”
“What stands before us now… is not human.”
Mama Dara jumped into the fire without fear.
She grabbed her son tightly.
“He is MY CHILD!”
Suddenly—
The ghostly grandmother appeared again behind Tunde.
Only this time…
Everybody saw her.
Villagers screamed and scattered.
The de@d woman slowly pointed toward the palace.
Then she spoke with a cracked terrifying voice:
“The king knows the truth.”
Thunder exploded across the sky.
And at that exact moment—
The palace gong rang by itself.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The sign of death.
Inside the palace…
The king opened a hidden room beneath his throne.
And chained inside it…
was a creature breathing heavily in darkness.
Then two glowing eyes opened.
And the creature smiled.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Follow Oracle Media for episode 3