Ancestral Land of Wakanda

Sitting cross-legged, Oaks spread his senses over T’Challa’s corpse. Empowered by boundless Nature Force, he used the lingering traces within the body to search for his soul.

A blue pillar of light enveloped Oaks and T’Challa. Its overwhelming spiritual pressure made the guards pale and retreat!

After a long while, Oaks suddenly opened his eyes, a bright blue gleam flashing through them.

"Found him!"

This was a dim grassland, where hazy, aurora-like purple light seemed to blur the boundary between souls and reality.

Huge black panthers lounged upon the branches of towering Acacia Trees, their golden eyes seemingly surveying the edges of the world.

The Ancestral Land—the resting place of Wakanda’s successive kings and Black Panthers—was a special soul realm created by the power of Bast, the Black Panther Goddess.

Since the first Black Panther, this place had remained peaceful for countless centuries.

But today, the arrival of a Soul Pillar that did not belong here shattered that peace.

"Boom—"

A cerulean Soul Pillar wreathed in emerald Nature Force descended from the sky, precisely enveloping a Black Panther napping on a tree branch. It happened so fast that he did not even have time to react.

"???"

The Black Panther jolted awake. Although the pillar did not seem to harm him, his sharp senses immediately detected something about it…

It was filled with power from the real world!

"Whoosh!"

The Black Panther leaped down from the tree and reverted to T’Challa’s form, staring at the light on his body in confusion.

The other Black Panthers on the trees also leaped down, but they did not revert to human form—

They sensed no hostility. This young descendant, who had died before his time and sacrificed himself before becoming king, apparently was not so simple.

Somehow, they seemed to sense the descent of a sacred will. That will… belonged to the master of this realm.

And another, unfamiliar will was slowly descending into this world along the pillar of light.

So they merely watched the pillar warily—

After all, they were only lingering souls sheltered by Bast’s divine power. Apart from offering newly appointed Black Panthers some guidance and inherited wisdom, there was little else they could do.

"What’s happening…"

T’Challa, dressed in white ceremonial robes, sensed it as well. The sacred will was undoubtedly Bast, the Black Panther Goddess, but the other one…

It seemed somewhat familiar.

It seemed to be someone he had met before.

"Rumble…"

The "invasion" of an outside will naturally provoked a reaction from this soul realm. Bast’s will, which had not appeared again for centuries, turned its gaze upon this place once more because of it.

"Outsider… no, so it is you…"

T’Challa and the other Black Panthers faintly sensed such a vague thought. Then the disturbance in this realm subsided—

Bast’s will seemed to show goodwill toward that unfamiliar will, then ceased paying attention to what was happening here.

"Thank you for your understanding, Bast… This soul has not yet completed his mission."

A majestic voice came from the Soul Pillar. Then T’Challa watched in shock as a figure appeared before him—

"President Oaks?!"

T’Challa watched Oaks’ figure gradually solidify from an illusion, then stepped forward in disbelief and grabbed his arms.

"How are you here? And Lady Bast…"

The moment he mentioned Bast, T’Challa realized something, and delight appeared on his face.

"Could it be that your faith truly has something to do with Lady Bast…"

"Mm… The situation may be a little different, but you can understand it that way."

Oaks’ faith was no longer merely connected to Bast.

In terms of soul rank alone, he and Bast stood on equal footing—Bast was indeed one of the Nature Demigods formed from animal spirits.

But unlike ordinary Nature Demigods, she possessed not only the power of nature, but could also receive the empowerment of faith.

With that empowerment, Bast surpassed even many true gods in raw power and supernatural abilities!

Even the animal deities worshipped by Wakanda’s major tribes—the Crocodile God, White Ape God, Lion God, and the like—were the same, though they were much weaker than Bast.

Yet above them, there seemed to be an even more powerful deity.

That left Oaks deeply moved—

On the surface, Black Panther was a technology-based hero, but in truth, all his trump cards lay on the mystical side!

"Death is not the end. It is more like the beginning of a journey into an unfamiliar realm… What a tranquil and profound culture of death."

Oaks admired the grassland’s scenery and patted T’Challa on the shoulder.

"But Your Highness, you are still far from the time when you can rest peacefully…

Your country is now facing a crisis. A crisis… caused by your unnatural death.

That is why the Queen and Princess Shuri sent Nakia to seek my help in the name of ‘the true friendship of Wakanda.’"

"A crisis…"

T’Challa’s expression turned grave. When he was near death, a soul blessed by the Panther God could sense things it normally could not.

So he knew very well that the one who had caused that building to collapse back then—Klaue’s accomplice…

He carried Wakanda’s aura, yet he was not any tribesman T’Challa had ever seen!

More importantly, that accomplice wore a Vibranium ring—

His uncle N’Jobu’s Vibranium ring!

But before he could leave behind any information, he lost consciousness. When he awoke, he was already in this Ancestral Land.

"You gained the power of the Black Panther through the Heart-Shaped Herb, but the Heart-Shaped Herb should have been able to heal you as well… Unfortunately, you did not hold on until then."

The moment Oaks entered this grassland, there was little about the matter that could remain hidden from him.

"It is a miraculous plant… You know my abilities make me especially sensitive to plants, so even here, I can still sense that strange, vigorous power capable of communicating with souls.

But now is not the time to discuss that. If you are ready, come with me."

"Outsider…"

Before T’Challa could speak, the Black Panthers that had been resting beneath the trees and watching them warily all transformed into human form—

They were Wakanda’s previous Black Panthers. Their aged appearances were the final forms they had worn at death.

"T’Challa should remain here with us… Matters of the world of the living should be decided by the living."

The speaker was a lean old man, one of T’Challa’s ancestors from an unknown number of generations ago.

"Your appearance here has already violated the laws of nature. Must you continue down this wrong path?"

"Bast herself did not object. What right do you have to question what I am doing?"

Oaks did not show the slightest courtesy to these lingering souls, who could only argue with words.

"The only one who can decide this is T’Challa himself.

If he does not wish to leave with me, I naturally will not force him.

But if he is willing, none of you can stop me from taking him away!"

"You…"

"Grandfather, is my uncle N’Jobu’s soul also here?"

T’Challa suddenly spoke, catching the old man off guard.

"T’Challa, your father back then…"

"My uncle was not buried in Wakanda."

T’Challa interrupted his grandfather. He swept his gaze over the souls of his ancestors and slowly shook his head.

"He was not a Black Panther either. His soul… was abandoned by the ancestors, so he is not here…"

"No, he is."

Oaks’ words made T’Challa abruptly turn toward him, while his grandfather looked utterly incredulous.

"What did you say?! How could N’Jobu possibly be here…"

"Every royal family member’s soul comes to this Ancestral Land… Bast’s will revealed this to me. It is only that they do not exist on the same grassland as you."

After Oaks invoked Bast, the Black Panthers fell silent.

"T’Challa, your guess was correct. The one causing Wakanda’s current crisis is your uncle’s son, N’Jadaka."

He knew that if T’Challa’s emotional knot remained unresolved, there could still be complications with his resurrection.

"He killed Klaue and used his corpse to enter Wakanda, intending to replace you in showing filial devotion to your father…

Of course, he was also the one who killed you. He even slaughtered countless people on the battlefield in Afghanistan. He is an extremely dangerous man…

But that does not change the fact that he has now nearly replaced you in your father’s heart and become the heir to the throne!"

"…"

T’Challa opened his mouth. A sense of absurdity had only just arisen before understanding interrupted it.

"Oaks, can you take me to find my uncle’s soul? There are things I want to ask him face-to-face!"

Oaks smiled faintly, reached out to seize T’Challa by the shoulder, and pushed him backward.

"Of course, but I will not take part in the process. Once you have spoken, remember to return quickly. There are still things to do."

"Whoosh!"

T’Challa’s soul vanished from where he stood!

"What did you do?!"

The lean old man flew into a furious rage. Oaks shrugged.

"Bast’s power and the inheritance of my own power share certain origins, so she allowed me to enter and take T’Challa away.

Now, I have sent him to Prince N’Jobu… He is at the edge of this realm. He will return before long."

Time in the soul world was always difficult to notice. After an unknown amount of time, T’Challa’s soul appeared once more before Oaks and the Black Panthers, accompanied by the Soul Pillar.

"I’m ready."

His eyes shone brightly. He had clearly made his decision.

"What should I do?"

"T’Challa!"

Old Black Panther stepped forward and studied his eyes.

"Your father chose his people back then. He chose Wakanda…"

"He should not have abandoned that child."

T’Challa calmly met his grandfather’s gaze.

"He was wrong. All of you were wrong… You stood by and watched the outside world—

We failed to do what was right because we feared being discovered. We cannot continue like this!"

Tears streamed from the corners of his eyes.

"I saw everything my uncle saw. We can no longer go on like this… I cannot let that child take the throne. He is a monster we created. I must correct this mistake!"

T’Challa drew a deep breath and declared resolutely.

"His mistakes, my father’s mistakes, and the mistakes of all of you!"