Ghost stood outside a single-story building with a sign hung above its entrance that read Binti's Aid in the Occult: B.A.O. He looked at the business card with similar words in his hand and then back at the sign. This is it, he thought.

He pushed the door open and entered the reception area, which smelled of lavender. Grey paint covered the walls of the small room, which had three desks and plastic chairs on one side and a door on the other. The AC's coolness gave him a cold embrace, chasing away the sun's excessive heat.

A dark-skinned man with a wide-tooth comb in his afro sat behind a desk with a nameplate on top. Juma Hamisi, it read. The other two desks had nameplates on them, but he was the only one there. Ghost cleared his throat, startling him as he was busy scrolling through his phone.

Juma turned toward Ghost. "You're finally here." He stood and went to the soul reaper, shaking his hand. "I'm Juma Hamisi, the resident traveler. Welcome to BAO."

B.A.O looked like a struggling business without sufficient staff to help it reach its full potential. The occult was a terrific profession to be in, with supernatural creatures popping up every minute and causing havoc in society. But it needed heavy investment to travel all over the region and deal with the monsters before others did.

"If you ever need to go to the past or future, my partner and I will gladly help you. For a high price, of course. Inflation is whooping my ass." Juma cackled while patting Ghost's shoulder.

Ghost grabbed the traveler's hand and moved it away from him. There weren't many travelers in the country. A few of them spent most of their time scamming people by taking them to the wrong destination and asking for more money before they corrected their "mistake".

"I'm good," Ghost said.

"That's what they always say."

"Who's they?"

"Everyone."

"Have you met everyone?"

"I'm trying to. But if you change your mind, you know where to find me."

He's weird, Ghost thought. "I do."

They stared at each other for a few seconds, neither noticing the awkward silence between them.

Juma's phone rang. He answered. "Yes, he's here. Alright." He looked at Ghost. "You can go in." He nodded toward the side door with the nameplate that read Binti's Office.

Ghost entered the room, and a nutty, smoky aroma of coffee filled his nose. Binti Nasra sat behind her desk with her legs on top, surrounded by four gray walls. She looked like the images online; white tattoos covered her body from head to toe.

"Jermaine Preston, aka the infamous Ghost," Binti said before moving her legs from the desk and standing up. She pointed at the empty chair in front of her. "Please, sit."

Ghost sat. "Why did you call me here?"

"Straight to the point. I like it." She sat upright. "Your mother wants to speak to you."

He clenched his jaw while his heartbeat slowed down. "My mother's—"

"She's in Limbo. I know. You know. Everyone knows. But people fail to understand she's not dead."

"How do you know?"

Binti took a sip from the coffee cup on her desk. "She's a former moon magic user. So, whether I like it or not, I'm connected to her through it—through Mawu."

My mother had moon magic? I didn't know that, he thought. "The deity?"

"Yes."

"How's that possible? I thought Meretseger was my mother's deity?"

"When you get moon magic, you also get Mawu. And since she was a soul reaper, she ended up with two deities. And when she got banished—"

"I got Meretseger."

"She lost Meretseger, but she still had Mawu."

She asked Meretseger to protect me. "How's that possible? You have moon magic now. Shouldn't she be disconnected from Mawu?"

"People think they know what moon magic's all about, but they're morons. The moment you get moon magic, you're connected to Mawu until death. And when you lose it, it's her choice whether or not the relationship continues."

"What would Mawu want from my mother?"

Binti sighed. "What do you know about Elysium?"

"It's the home of the divine—angels and gods."

"And do you know what's going on there?"

"Right now?"

Binti nodded.

"Meretseger said there was a war brewing among the divinities without telling me why."

"No one knows why because the divine hopes to prevent it. But everyone is preparing just in case it happens. With that knowledge, do you see why Mawu would keep her connection to your mother?"

Ghost processed what Binti said while she stared at him keenly. "You two are the last two transmuters in the world. If you achieve omega-level status, your magic power rivals that of the divine." He raised his brow. "Have you?"

Binti gulped the rest of her coffee. "Have I what?"

"Achieved omega-level status."

Before she answered, Binti glanced to the side. Her white eyes and tattoos glowed, forcing Ghost to cover his eyes with his hands. "Alright, I'll tell him." She turned to the soul reaper. "It's time."

A bright light burst out of her tattoos, covering the room and blinding Ghost. When his vision returned, he found himself on the moon, staring at Earth.

"How's this possible?" He looked at his hands.

"Mawu brought your essence here," someone said behind him.

Ghost turned around, and tears welled in his eyes. It was his mother. His heart stopped, and he stepped backward. She looked like the day she left; the sunken eyes, the dark circles under them, and the fake smile showed a woman who hadn't known happiness in a long time. Ever since his father died, she hadn't been the same. Bitterness and longing consumed her, leading to her neglecting him when he needed her love and support during a crucial time. His father was everything to them; his death led to the destruction of the Preston Family—a family of three that had magic abilities with the potential to destabilize the elites among the soul reapers.

Ghost hugged her. For so long, he hadn't known what he'd do when he saw her again. He thought he'd hate her and curse her for leaving him alone. But upon seeing her, all he wanted to do was tell her how much he loved her.

"My beautiful boy," she said, tears running down her face. "You've been through so much because of me. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything I put you through. I didn't mean to. I tried contacting you over the years through revenants, but they always died before they could. If I knew I could speak to you through Mawu, I would have done it a long time ago. Mawu only told me now because she needed something from me."

"Did you give it to her?"

"Yes."

"What was it?"

"Loyalty."

Ghost looked at her. "How long do we have?"

"A few minutes. I don't want the others to know I've contacted you. It's our little secret." She winked at him.

Ghost smiled, feeling like a little boy again. "Was there something specific you wanted to tell me?"

"Yes. I want you to be ready."

"For what?"

"War?"

"The one in Elysium?"

"No, not that. Wait, how do you know about that?"

"Binti."

Medusa sighed. "Mawu warned me about her." She pointed at him. "Stay away from her. She's a bad influence."

Ghost smiled. "I will."

"I didn't want you involved with the chaos in Elysium. Mawu said Meretseger had promised to keep you out of it. But I should've known you'd eventually find out."

"I'm not a child anymore. I can protect myself."

She smiled. "I know."

"If it's not about Elysium, what did you want to say?"

"I will escape Limbo soon and declare war on The Court of Reapers. Once I kill them, I will restore order, fairness, and equality among soul reapers and fight for a better world where we would be judged not for our power but for our ability to protect the innocent from harm, no matter the cost. And I want you by my side. A mother and son team, ushering in a new age of soul reapers."

"I—I—I." Words failed to leave his mouth. His mind tried to grasp what she had said. It was a big ask for him. All the years he spent ostracized from the soul reaper community made him hate them. He wanted nothing more than to reach the top of the food chain and prove them wrong. If someone like him could do it, so could anyone of similar social standing. But he didn't want The Court of Reapers dead. He wanted them to admit they were wrong for looking down on him and treating him like shit because of what his mother had done. Killing them would only prove everyone right about him and her.

"Think about it. You'll give me an answer when we meet in person next time."

"When?"

"Soon." She touched his face and smiled, her eyes glinting with affection. "I promise I'll never leave you again. I swear on my life."

Before he replied, she disappeared. The world around him faded, and Ghost found himself back in Binti's office. She told him the truth because he couldn't warn the others. If he did, they'd know he had spoken to her, and he'd be jailed, banished, or executed for conspiring with her since that's what they had been thinking since Medusa's sentencing. He was caught between a rock and a hard place.

Ghost and Binti Nasra stared at each other, their faces full of shock and amusement, respectively, after his mother's revelation. The soul reapers already had their hands full with the revenants. Adding one of the most powerful sorcerers in existence as an enemy was the worst thing that could've happened to them.

"Best of luck," Binti said before laughing.