A searing pain tore through Ochieng's skull. The golden light swallowed everything, consuming his senses, pulling him into a maelstrom of forgotten memories.
Flashes.
—A throne, shrouded in shadow, its edges glistening with an eerie glow.
—A name, whispered in the void. His name. But different. Not Ochieng. Something older. Something powerful.
—A woman's voice, distant but achingly familiar. "Find the truth before it finds you."
Then, silence.
Ochieng collapsed onto the cold stone floor, gasping. His body trembled, drenched in sweat. His vision swam, the world tilting as if reality itself was slipping through his fingers.
And Jared stood over him. Watching. Waiting.
"Now you see, don't you?" Jared's voice was low, almost gentle. "You were never just a player in this game. You were the board itself."
Ochieng gritted his teeth. "What did you do to me?"
Jared kneeled, his fingers grazing the floor as if tracing invisible patterns. "I didn't do anything. I simply… opened the door."
A door.
Ochieng's pulse pounded in his ears. He struggled to push himself up, every muscle screaming in protest.
He had spent years surviving, fighting, chasing ghosts—but now, for the first time, it felt like he was the ghost. A man whose past was a puzzle he hadn't even realized was missing pieces.
His chest ached with a strange, unfamiliar weight.
Jared tilted his head. "Tell me… what did you see?"
Ochieng's jaw tightened. He wouldn't give Jared the satisfaction.
Instead, he staggered to his feet, his legs unsteady but his resolve unshaken. "You think this changes anything?" His voice was cold now, steady. "You think I'll just believe you?"
Jared's expression remained unreadable. Then, he took a step back.
"I don't need you to believe me," he said simply. "I just need you to start asking the right questions."
The air thickened, the weight of those words settling over Ochieng like a curse.
Jared turned, walking toward the door. But just before stepping out, he paused.
"You have three days," he murmured. "Before the past comes looking for you."
And with that, he was gone.
Ochieng stood alone in the dim chamber, the echoes of his past now a storm raging in his mind.
Three days.
And then?
The truth would come for him.