The Souleater didn't walk — it glided, dragging wind and whispers behind it.
Its eyes glowed green beneath its mask. Runes floated around its head like a halo of curses. The Oracle dimmed in its presence, her crystals retreating like frightened children.
Zina pushed Ayo behind her.
"This isn't your fight," he whispered.
Yes," she replied. "But I promised your father I'd protect you.
Ayo froze. "You knew him?"
She didn't answer.
The Souleater raised its hand.
Instantly, the air thickened. Tobe dropped to his knees, clutching his head. Voices — dead voices — began screaming from the walls.
"You were marked at birth," the Souleater said, voice like cracked stone. "You carry a soul too heavy for your body. Let me relieve you of it."
The runes around its head shot forward.
Ayo's mark burned bright.
He stepped in front of Zina, arms out.
And his flame exploded.
A wall of fire met the runes mid-air. Screams echoed from the heat. For a moment, the Souleater staggered, its mask cracking.
Zina raised her sonic pistol and fired.
BOOM.
The Souleater's shoulder shattered into smoke and splinters.
NOW!" she yelled.
They ran — through tunnels, across old sewers, back to the surface.
When they emerged, it was dusk. Orisha City's lights were just waking.
They collapsed near an old scrapyard, panting.
Tobe held his head. "What the hell was that thing?"
Zina spat blood. "A spirit that eats memory. Once the gods' pet. Now loose in the world.
Ayo looked at his hand — still flickering with fire. "Why does it want me?
Because," Zina said, "You're not just blood-marked. You're chosen. And your power doesn't just burn. It remembers.