Chapter 5 Shadows in Sanctuary SIS

In thoughts thunder cracked across the sky as Efe stood alone at the edge of the abandoned church compound. Vines had overtaken the walls, and shattered glass glinted in the moonlight like watching eyes. The coordinates from the scroll had led him here-right back to where his childhood nightmares had been born.

The gate creaked open on its own.

With hesitant steps, he entered the church. Each footstep stirred decades of dust and memories. The pulpit stood blackened but intact, like a relic of a war long lost. As he stepped further in, the air changed-thicker, humming, almost sentient.

Suddenly, the church doors slammed shut behind him.

From the shadows, voices rose-not loud, but layered whispers in ancient tongues. A cold wind brushed past his ear and formed words.

"You've returned, Sandra Efe... blood for blood, soul for soul."

He spun around. Nothing. Yet something was watching.

Unseen hands lit the old chandeliers one by one, casting eerie flickers across the broken pews. A symbol burned into the altar-a snake swallowing its tail.

He remembered it now. It had been carved into his great-grandfather's Bible, the one nobody was allowed to touch. A strange warmth flowed through his chest. He looked down-his Bible glowed faintly in his arms, pages fluttering open to verses he didn't know were there.

Then came the sound: a heartbeat. Not his own.

It echoed through the walls, as if the very building were alive again.

The covenant had not forgotten him.

Nor forgiven.

And somewhere beneath the floorboards, something ancient stirred. The darkness was rising... but the light had not abandoned him yet.