POV: Zainab
The road of bone didn't have an end,it stretched to eternity,like a road that leads to the deepest parts of hell,but suddenly we started moving at a fast pace
One step: desert.
Next step:clouds
Next step:stars
Next step: countless planets flashed past us,up in the distance we could make out structure like buildings,but it wasn't building everywhere was filled with bones
It came into view a city,THE CITY OF MASKS,the name seems to echo in our mind
It wasn't built.
It was grown.
Towers of bone. Streets of glass.
And everywhere: masks.
On walls. On doors. On people.
Thousands of people.
All wearing masks.
No faces. No names. Just masks.
And above it all: The Throne.
A mountain of skulls.
With a chair on top.
Empty.
But not for long.
"Welcome," a voice said. "To the Court."
The 12 shadows were waiting for us at the gate.
But they weren't shadows anymore.
*THE 13*
They looked like us.
Same height. Same builds.
But wrong.
Like someone tried to copy us and got the details wrong.
1: Had Tsehay's spears. But they were made of teeth.
2: Had Dele's lightning. But it was black.
3: Had Iyanu's wind. But it smelled like rot.
4: Had Zainab's gold. But it was bleeding.
5: Had Amina's hands. But they were dripping.
6: Had Chike's plague mask. But it was smiling.
7: Had Fatima's water. But it was boiling.
8: Had Nala's shells. But they were screaming.
9: Had Ọmọ's bow. But the string was a vein.
10: Had Juma's eyes. But they were all seeing different things.
11: Had Kunle's gauntlet. But it was eating his arm.
12: Had Sango Jr's lightning. But it was red like a beast swallowing the the sky.
And 13.
In the middle.
Wearing Old Taju's mask.
"Hello, children," it said. With Old Taju's voice.
"Did you miss me?"
Old Taju stepped forward. "That's not me."
"I know," 13 said. "I'm what's left of him.
The part he cut off 1000 years ago.
The part that liked wearing masks."
It tilted its head. "You call me the 13th Shadow.
The Throne calls me Regent.
It gestured to the city. "This is my home.
We collect masks here. We collect worlds.
And we were missing 12."
It looked at us. "You brought them."well not really brought them persay,but once i got my hands on you guys i will refine you into new mask.so are you here to give up and give your life to mr
Sango Jr raised the Spear. "We didn't come to give you anything."
"Really"13 said "so you came all the way from earth just to Court death"it had a sinister grin on its face.
It laughed. "Good. I'm bored,well let get it started you won't be able to leave alive."unless"
"Unless what?" I asked.
"Unless you win," 13 said. "12 vs 12.
Here. In the arena.
Winner takes the throne.
Loser becomes a mask."
It pointed.
An arena. In the center of the city. Made of bone. Filled with people wearing mask,those people seem more like puppets than living things
"If you win," 13 said, "the Throne is yours.
You can close the Gate forever.
You can go home."
"If we lose," Kunle said.
"You become part of the collection," 13 said. "Forever."
Dele cracked his neck. "When do we start?"
"Now," 13 said. "Unless you want to see the city first."
We didn't.
The arena was full. Thousands of people in masks All turned looking creepily at us.
Tsehay walked in first.
Her opponent,the exact replica of her,the only difference was the puppet like feeling it was giving off
8 spears vs 8 spears made of bone.
They didn't talk,well not like They had something to say to each other tho ,they fought.
Tsehay moved first.
The shadow moved faster.
It knew her moves.
Because it was her.
"You're not me," Tsehay said.
"I'm better," the shadow said. "I don't feel pain."
They clashed.
Bone vs metal.
For 10 minutes.
The crowd didn't make a sound.
Then Tsehay did something stupid.
She dropped a spear on the floor
The shadow went for the kill
Tsehay hit it with 7 spears at once but the shadow dodged all of them ,at the last minute tsehay used her leg to flip up the last spear she dropped and drove it into the shadows heart,the shadow shattered into dust but it left a mask behind.
Tsehay picked it up.
"One down," she said.
The crowd clapped. Once.
Dele went next.
Black Lightning was waiting.
"YOUR LIGHT IS WEAK," it said.
"MY LIGHT IS MINE," Dele said.
They fought in the sky.
Lightning vs lightning.
Black vs gold.
Dele was losing.
Black Lightning hit him. Broke his arm.
Dele didn't stop.
"You think you can stop me"dele shouted
He grabbed Black Lightning's mask.
And poured everything he had into it.
Light.
So much light.
Black Lightning screamed.
And burned.
Dele fell.
Amina caught him.
"Two down," Dele whispered.
We kept going.
Iyanu drowned Rot-Wind in his own air.
I broke Bleeding-Gold with illusions of her own death.
Amina cut off Dripping-Hands with a scalpel of light.
Chike gave Smiling-Plague his own disease back.
Fatima and Nala boiled Boiling-Water and Screaming-Shells together.
Ọmọ shot Vein-Bow through the eye.
Juma looked at All-Seeing and made him see only one thing: defeat.
Kunle broke Eating-Arm with the Spear.
Sango Jr and Sky-Eater fought for 1 hour.
Lightning vs lightning.
And Sango Jr won.
By choosing not to kill.
By letting the Spear take the kill instead.
12 down. 1 left.
13 stood in the center of the arena.
Wearing a hideous mask.
"Impressive," it said. "11 of 12.
But you forgot the most important rule."
"What rule?" Sango Jr asked.
"Rule 0," 13 said. "The Regent doesn't fight.
The Regent chooses."
It clapped.
The arena changed.
The masks on the walls opened their eyes.
All of them.
"Choose," 13 said. "One of you.
To take the throne.
Or I take 12 from your world."
Silence.
Then Old Taju stepped forward.
"Me," he said. "I'll take it."
"No," we all said.
"Yes," Old Taju said. "It was always me.
I made the masks.
I made the Court.
I ran because I was scared.
Time to go home."
He walked to the throne.
Sat.
The city screamed.
And the masks... changed.
They fell off.
Thousands of faces.
People.
Free.
13 took off the mask.
Under it: nothing. Just wind.
"Thank you, brother," it said. And blew away.
Old Taju sat on the Throne of Skulls.
He looked tired.
He looked old.
"The Gate is closed," he said. "Forever.
The City of Masks is empty.
You can go home."
He looked at us. "But someone has to stay.
To make sure no one sits here again."
12 hands went up.
"Me," we all said.
Old Taju laughed. "Greedy kids."i have a. Method for sealing this place up,but i am going to need all of you guys help
He stood. "Then we all stay.
For a while.
Then we go home."
Then he started making different signs with his hand they all seem so mysterious,we all could feel our power been siphoned and gather on the through, mysterious symbols filling the wall of the city,He stepped down.
The throne crumbled.
Into sand.
We walked out of the City of Masks.
Behind us: it fell, Bone to dust.
Glass to sand,In front of us the road.
Home.The Spear was quiet now.
No whispers,We stepped onto the road.
12 demigods.
1 old man.
And behind us nothing