Beyond the world of the living, past the veil of death, lies Nyankosor—the great ancestral realm. A place untouched by time, where the spirits of the righteous dwell, wrapped in wisdom and eternal strength. The sky above is an ever-shifting hue of gold and deep blue, glowing with the light of a hidden sun. Its warmth never fades.
Nyankosor is vast. Divided into great cities and regions, each ruled by ancient spirits of powerful lineages. Forests stretch endlessly, home to nature-bound souls and great healers. Towering mountains echo with the roars of warrior ancestors, still training. In grand halls, the greatest minds of history debate timeless truths, inscribing glowing manuscripts that float through the air like drifting leaves. And everywhere—rivers of luminous water run like silver veins, whispering memories of the past.
At the center of it all are the ancestral cities. Living monuments of existence and legacy.
But David didn't arrive in the cities.
He didn't step into the high courts or sacred palaces where ancestors gathered in council.
No.
He landed in Ahinase—the Sacred Grounds.
Ahinase was overwhelming in its beauty. Structures carved from gold and ivory towered into the shifting sky. The streets, black stone etched with Adinkra symbols, pulsed with power. The very air was thick, heavy with ancient energy.
It wasn't a place of welcome.
It was a place of judgment.
Here, the greatest ancestors gathered—not just to reflect, but to rule. Philosophers walked in robes of living light. Warriors soared, some without touching the ground. Spirits hovered in quiet meditation, their forms glowing faintly, vibrating with strength and serenity.
Ahinase was the first step for new spirits… and often the last for the unworthy.
And David—he wasn't welcome.
A great horn blasted through the air.
Everything stopped.
The ancestors turned as one. Dozens of glowing eyes locked on him.
And then, like wind before a storm, they moved.
In an instant, he was surrounded.
Blades gleamed. Spears thrummed with ancestral power. Their robes danced with each movement. Some ancestors were transparent, others fully formed—yet all of them deadly.
A woman stepped forward.
Her presence quieted the rest.
Angela Amponsah. One of the fiercest warriors in all of Nyankosor. She held a golden spear, its tip pointed at David's chest.
"State your purpose, intruder," she said, her voice sharp and echoing.
David tried to speak, but before a word left his lips, a nearby ancestor whispered something into Angela's ear.
Her eyes narrowed. The crowd murmured.
"He's the one," someone hissed.
"The defiler."
"He has no place here."
"Judgment awaits."
They didn't wait for his answer.
They seized him.
David resisted—but it didn't matter. They were stronger. Far stronger.
They dragged him down the sacred streets, past glowing halls, past giant statues carved in honor of legends. Spirits stared with cold eyes, their faces full of judgment and disgust.
Then the beatings began.
A punch drove deep into his ribs. He gasped.
A foot slammed into his side. He tumbled, coughing blood.
Fists. Kicks. Elbows. One after another.
They weren't trying to kill him.
They were making a statement.
A boot crushed him into the black stone. Another hand grabbed him by the collar and hurled him across the courtyard. He hit the ground hard, the pain exploding in his spine.
Then—another strike to the jaw. A sharp crack. Blood filled his mouth.
But through it all…
David smiled.
Even through the pain, through the swelling and the blood—he smiled.
Everything is going according to plan.
A final blow to the back of the head knocked the world from him.
Darkness swallowed everything.
---
When he awoke, the air was cold. Wet. The smell of damp stone filled his lungs.
His body throbbed.
Every joint, every rib, every inch of flesh screamed in pain.
He tried to move. Failed.
He opened his eyes—barely. Darkness.
The ancestors had thrown him in a prison cell. And left him.
He lay still for a long time, caught between pain and something else.
Then… he felt it.
A presence.
Someone was nearby.
He tensed—just enough to notice how broken he felt.
A shadow moved closer. A warm energy filled the air.
Then—a hand on his chest.
A strange light began to seep into his skin. Not hot, not cold. Just… calming.
He could feel it. Wounds closing. The sharp edge of pain dulling.
His breathing slowed. His eyes opened fully.
And then he saw him.
A man. Standing over him.
David's heart skipped.
No…
It couldn't be.
His voice cracked before he realized he was speaking.
"…Saponu Sebastian."
The name echoed in the silence of the cell like a curse.
His old friend. The one he'd just seen in the world of the living.
Standing here—in Nyankosor?
His mind couldn't process it.
The cell seemed smaller now, as if the weight of what he was seeing was pressing in from all sides.
Sebastian took a deep breath. His voice was calm. Grounded.
"It's nice to meet you again, David."
David's breath caught in his throat.
He stared at the man before him, unable to understand how he could be here—in this place. In Ahinase. In the ancestral realm, it meant the virtuous.
"You—" his voice was hoarse. "You shouldn't be here." "How are you here?"
Sebastian didn't flinch.
"It's a long story and I will explain it later," he said quietly. "But fate… it doesn't always follow the path we expect."
David shook his head slowly, confusion mounting. "No. No, no, no. This place—this realm—it's for people who lived right. You… you shouldn't even be close to here. What did you do? What happened?"
Sebastian's eyes shifted, his expression darkening.
"I made a choice," he said. "One to bring you here." But it wasn't as simple as I thought. You don't know the full story."
David's mind reeled.
This couldn't be real. This was the ancestral realm. It was sacred. It was… just.
And Sebastian?
Sebastian was many things, but righteous?
No.
He stared at his old friend. The silence between them stretched long and heavy. Years of shared history, broken trust, and hidden truths hung in the air like chains.
David knew this wasn't just a coincidence.
Sebastian was here for a reason.
And somehow, that reason had everything to do with him.