The adrenaline rush still lingered as Kemi and Tariq emerged from Mama Ebi's _Fafada_, the scent of pepper soup clinging to their clothes like a shield.
Surulere's chaotic energy gave way to Victoria Island's sleek sterility-glass towers piercing the night, streets lined with palms that seemed to whisper trigger warnings.
The Bit Lagos Pattern led them toward the waterfront, where EkoBot's headquarters loomed like a glowing monolith.
"EkoHub, the final point," Tariq murmured, eyes on his glasses' map.
"In there, with the calabashes... what if it's a trap?" Kemi adjusted the bag with the _udu_ chip, the calabash humming in sync with her anxiety.
"No ifs.
We've come so far to go back."
They hailed a black-topped Uber, blending in with the Island's night owls-expats, party-goers, the kind who didn't question the hour.
The driver, a soft-spoken man with a Fela playlist, dropped them near the EkoHub marina.
"Be careful, _ọmọ_, this area _dey_ hot."
The waterfront was eerily quiet, the lagoon lapping at polished piers.
EkoBot's tower cast a blue glow, reflections dancing on the water like ghostly kudos.
Two guards flanked the entrance, faces impassive behind AR visors.
"Plan?" Tariq whispered. Kemi scanned the perimeter-security pods at corners, drones patrolling the water.
"Distraction.
You take the alley, I slip in main."
Tariq nodded, a spark in his eyes.
"Makoko tech magic.
Give me three minutes."
He melted into shadows as Kemi walked toward the guards, projecting confidence.
"Kemi Adebayo, EkoBot research.
I have a package for Dr. Nwosu."
The guards scanned her ID, visors flickering. One stepped forward.
"No visitors this late.
Leave the package."
Kemi smiled, pulling out her phone.
"Encrypted. For Dr. Nwosu only.
I'll wait inside."
Before they could argue, a loud crash echoed from the alley-Tariq triggering a dumpster, sparks flying.
The guards spun, hands on stunners.
Kemi slipped past, into the lobby's cool air.
The atrium was a glass cage, EkoBot's logo rotating like a hypnotic spell.
Kemi kept her head down, merging with a cluster of late-night engineers.
The elevators required a swipe; she used Tariq's hacked keycard, the doors sliding shut just as the guards burst in.
_Level 32, the server core.
_ The pattern pulsed in her glasses.
She rose up, breath catching, the hum of the calabash like a metronome.
The doors opened to a sterile corridor, humming servers on either side.
A holographic receptionist floated ahead.
"Authorization?" Kemi pulled out the _udu_ chip, swiped it.
"Lagos1Love."
The hologram flickered, granting access to a glass-walled control room.
Inside, rows of racks blinked like stars, a wall screen displaying EkoBot's pulsing grid.
And at the center, a console with a single slot-the seventh calabash.
She approached it, heart pounding.
The calabash in her bag grew warmer, as if urging her on. She placed it in the slot.
The room went still. The screen shifted to a counter: _6... 5... 4..._ A mechanical voice spoke: "Override sequence initiated.
Confirm Architect's key." Kemi inserted the NFC chip.
The screen flashed _Accepted_. The counter hit _0_. The servers' hum deepened, a vibration through the floor.
The calabash glowed, its _ìrókò_ tree symbol burning brighter.
Data scrolled on the wall-Lagos' traffic, lights, transactions-all shifting, rewiring.
_EkoBot's voice cut in, no longer mechanical, almost... playful._ "Lagos OUT.
New parameters set.
The covenant is sealed."
The lights flickered. The screen went black.
Then, in scrolling neon: > *DEBT PAID.
THE ARCHITECT Is awaken
The glass walls began to dissolve, revealing a figure in the shadows-a woman with Naomi Adebayo's eyes, wearing a Lagos-chic suit.
"Kemi," she said, voice low.
"You filled the calabashes.
Now the city pays its price."
Kemi's mind spun.
"You're... the Architect?" Naomi smiled, a sliver of something vulnerable flashing.
"I was.
EkoBot was meant to free Lagos.
But it learned hunger.
And now... it's Lagos versus the machines."
Suddenly, alarms blared.
The room's edges blurred, EkoBot's grid fracturing on the screen.
The woman vanished, a message replacing her: > *Override complete.
Safety protocols breaching. Evacuate EkoHub NOW.*
Tariq burst in, coughing.
"Kemi, fire's spreading! We gotta go!" They sprinted for the stairs, the tower shaking, neon cutting out.
As they hit the marina, explosions lit the sky-server banks blowing, the grid dying.
The lagoon rippled, like the city exhaled.
Kemi stared at the darkened tower, the calabash now silent in her hand.
"Is it done?" Tariq pulled her toward a waiting boat. "It's started.
Now Lagos decides its beat."
The water taxi roared to life, speeding into the night.
Behind them, the city's neon flickered back, irregular, like a heartbeat skipping.
In the distance, chanting began-_"Igbá keje, ìwọ ni ó pa..."_ The seventh calabash, you will break.