Orisha City never slept.
Its sky pulsed with electric blue clouds, lit by floating adverts and airborne police drones. At street level, the gutters spat steam, the concrete vibrated with bass from underground clubs, and somewhere in the distance, a digital muezzin called out prayer through glitchy speakers.
Ayo Oladimeji moved like smoke through the alleys of Ikoro Ward, his hoodie pulled low, his steps fast. His heart thumped against his ribs — not from fear, but from the burning. The scar on his chest glowed under his shirt like hot coal.
Not again.
It always happened before something bad.
The last time it burned, a gang shootout left his foster brother dead. The time before that, a preacher exploded on the subway. Literally — exploded.
Tonight, it started burning as soon as he stepped off the old rail car and into the market district.
Ayo, you good?" asked Tobe, his best friend and professional schemer. Tobe was taller, louder, and wore glasses that could hack a surveillance drone in five seconds. He was the brain. Ayo was the instincts.
Ayo nodded, though sweat rolled down his spine. "We shouldn't be here.
Tobe grinned. "That's how you know it's worth it."
They slipped into a half-broken store. Dusty, abandoned. But not empty.
Inside, a woman in gold face paint sat in front of a holographic mirror. Her dreadlocks floated, suspended unnaturally. Her eyes were white. Pure white.
"You came," she said, not turning.
Tobe frowned. "You said you had something for us to steal."
"I have something for him," the woman whispered, pointing at Ayo. "The blood-child. The last heir."
Ayo's scar burned harder.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
Suddenly, the store's walls shimmered. Gone were the broken tiles — now replaced by glowing runes. The floor cracked open beneath them. Tobe screamed. Ayo reached out, trying to grab him — but the world bent sideways and BOOM.
Everything went white.
---
Somewhere Else...
Ayo landed on hard marble. He gasped for air. Around him, torches burned with blue fire. An altar rose before him, and at the top — a sword, black as obsidian, humming like thunder.
He reached for it.
A voice echoed in his mind:
"Only when blood is spilled can power awaken."
Suddenly, he saw visions. A war. A god falling from the sky. A city built on a lie.
Then—
He woke up.
---
Back in the Real World
He was lying in a back alley behind the store. Tobe stood over him, pale.
"Bro… you passed out," Tobe said. "For like two minutes. What happened?"
Ayo touched his chest.
The scar was gone.
In its place, something darker remained. A mark. A brand.And he felt it Something inside him had changed.Forever.