Life as the new Alpha was demanding, but Samuel found strength in Esther's unwavering support. They had relocated the Golden Leaf Casket to a secure, magically sealed chamber beneath the university's oldest administrative building, the original site of the Foundation Stone.
Their quiet vigilance was shattered one humid afternoon in Esther's botanical lab.
Esther was studying the Akwụkwọ Ọlaedo (Golden Leaf) when the Casket, usually a steady source of gold light, began to pulse erratically.
"Samuel, the energy signature is spiking!" Esther called out, checking the monitors. "It's not unstable; it's reacting to an external force."
Before Samuel could reach her, the air in the sealed room shimmered, and a low, resonant voice, older than time, echoed in their minds, not their ears.
"The thread is frayed. The Shadow seeks the loom."
A sphere of iridescent, shimmering light materialized above the Casket, reflecting the gold, silver, and the deep amber of Samuel's eyes. Inside the light, patterns shifted: celestial charts, ancient symbols, and fleeting images of Esther's grandmother, Madam Chinwe.
"Who are you?" Samuel demanded, instinctively shifting his stance, the pine scent of his readiness filling the room.
"I am Ọrúnmìlà," the voice replied, calm and profound, invoking the Orisha of Destiny and Wisdom. "I oversee the Àkàlà—the unfolding of Fate. The Stone and the Casket are mere knots in the larger fabric. Fortune, the creature of the Shadow, could not defeat you in the present, so he seeks to unravel your past."
Esther gasped, looking at the shifting images within the sphere. "Time travel? Fortune is trying to change the timeline?"
"He has found a shard of the Aiyé Shaker—an artifact capable of tearing holes in linear time," Ọrúnmìlà explained. "He is attempting to go back to the moment of the original pact—when the wolves' ancestors first agreed to guard the Stone—to corrupt the agreement at its inception. If he succeeds, the wolf pack will never exist as guardians, and the Shadow will inherit the energy, unbound."
"He wants to destroy the past to conquer the future," Samuel realized, his jaw tight.
"You must follow him," the deity commanded. "The Golden Leaf, born of stable energy, can tether you to the correct timeline. The silver bloom on your wrist, Samuel, is the key. It is attuned to the flow of the Àkàlà."
The sphere of light coalesced, sinking into the Golden Leaf Casket. The Casket flared, its golden light enveloping Esther and Samuel.
"It will send you, but you must find the Àṣẹ—the divine command—that can seal the temporal tear," Ọrúnmìlà's voice faded. "May your choice be your guide."