The sky over Ulumiri, a once-sacred valley buried in myth, roared with thunder—though no clouds stirred above. Beneath the cracked earth, something ancient twisted in uneasy slumber.
In a quiet village miles away, seventeen-year-old Ayo Falade jolted upright from his sleep, sweat pouring down his brow. His chest burned with the same dream again: a battlefield lit by lightning, gods clashing like titans, and a masked figure whispering one name over and over—"Ekwensu".
He sat up, heart pounding, staring at his hands. Sparks of electricity danced between his fingers, flickering like fireflies.
"No," he whispered. "Not again."
Downstairs, his grandmother stirred cassava over a fire. The moment she saw his face, her eyes narrowed. "The dream again?"
Ayo nodded.
"Shango's blood burns in you," she said quietly. "The gods are stirring."
Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of *Aye Odan*, deep within an obsidian tower, a young girl hovered above water without touching it. *Ngozi*—descendant of the River Goddess—was training again. Her instructor, an ancient priestess with glowing blue eyes, watched her struggle to keep her balance.
"You are the current of the river," the priestess whispered. "Flow. Do not fight it."
Ngozi exhaled. The pool beneath her rippled—and suddenly froze. Not with ice, but with magic. In the mirror-like water, she saw it: a burning sigil in the sky, the same one from her dreams.
"Ekwensu," she said aloud.
The priestess paled. "You've seen the Trickster too."
***
Across the sea of stars, in a forest where trees grew upside-down, a blade embedded in obsidian trembled. One of the *Seven Soul Weapons* of Ekwensu pulsed with faint red light.
And in a library buried beneath the earth, a boy named *Temitope*, child of Baba Aye, read from a scroll only sorcerers of old dared to open. His fingers trembled as he traced the ancient symbols:
"When the gods fall and the Trickster dies, the world forgets—but the weapons remember."
A torch behind him flickered as an unseen force stirred. He stood, whispering to himself, "So he was never the villain... He saved them."
Suddenly, a thunderclap echoed—not from outside—but inside his mind. He wasn't the only one hearing it.
Somewhere in *Ogun's Mountain*, a hammer shattered a boulder without touching it. *Ifedayo*, heir to the god of war and iron, wiped sweat from her brow. The rocks spoke to her lately, humming with warnings.
They all were dreaming now.
Dreams of fire. Water. Sky. Blood.
Dreams of a trickster god cast as a villain.
Dreams of a return.
***
Back in Ulumiri, Ayo stood at the edge of a sacred ruin. His grandmother had led him there in silence.
"This place..." he whispered.
"Where Chi gave up the throne," she said. "Where the war of gods began."
He stepped forward, feeling the air shift. A gust of wind blew past, carrying whispers—names, screams, promises.
Then, the earth split.
A blade, rusted and glowing faintly, rose from the ground. Carved into its side: "*Soul Fragment I – Judgment*."
Before Ayo could react, the wind stilled, the sky cleared, and a deep, resonant voice filled his mind.
*"He returns. You are the first key."*