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Chapter 18 - Chapter 18: Shadows Beneath Dawn

The city had changed overnight. When Taye, Nnena, and Lira climbed out from the ruins, the air felt heavier, as if Lagos itself was holding its breath. The sunrise didn't shine the way it used to. The light bent strangely, spilling over cracked rooftops like liquid gold and shadow mixed together. The wind carried whispers, faint voices that disappeared before they could be understood.

They walked slowly through the empty streets. Cars were still abandoned where people had run, but now, faint symbols shimmered on some of their windows, circles crossed by crescents. The same mark found on the victims.

Nnena glanced around, her gun ready. "The whole place feels… wrong."

"It's shifting," Lira said quietly. "The seal changed the balance. The light and the shadow are blending again. The city's caught in between."

Taye said nothing. The shard in his hand pulsed faintly, in time with his heartbeat. Ever since the second gate, it had grown warmer, almost alive. He could hear faint hums from it, not voices exactly, but something close. He didn't tell the others. He didn't want to worry them.

They reached a junction near the market. The stalls were empty, but the air smelled like smoke and wet earth. A stray cat darted across the road, hissing at them before vanishing into an alley.

Nnena sighed. "We need food. And a plan. I'm tired of walking into death with no idea where we're going."

Lira nodded slowly. "There's an old safe house nearby, one of the places the first bearers used. We rest there. Then we talk about the next gate."

The safe house was a small compound hidden behind a half fallen wall near the old church. Ivy crawled up its side, and the door creaked when Lira pushed it open. Inside, dust floated in the sunlight, dancing like ghosts.

Nnena dropped her bag. "Looks like nobody's been here in years."

"That's the point," Lira replied.

They cleaned out the main room, lit a small fire, and sat together. For a while, nobody spoke. The silence was almost peaceful until the ground trembled slightly, just once.

Taye looked up. "Another tremor?"

Lira's face darkened. "Not a tremor. A heartbeat."

He frowned. "From what?"

"The city," she whispered. "It's waking faster now."

Nnena groaned. "Fantastic. The city's alive, the shadows are crawling, and we're sitting in a haunted house." She rubbed her face. "We should've stayed asleep under that bridge."

Taye almost smiled. "You'd miss the action."

She gave him a tired grin. "Maybe. But not the nightmares."

Lira stood and walked to the window. The city stretched out before her... buildings cracked, streets split, but faint lines of gold light ran through the roads, forming strange paths. "The next gate," she said softly, "won't be hidden like the others. It's already calling. The line of light, it's showing us the way."

Taye stood beside her. "Where does it lead?"

Lira pointed toward the far horizon, where the sun was just climbing. "To the edge of the city, the old forest line. Where Lagos began before the roads swallowed it."

Nnena raised a brow. "The forgotten woods? Nobody goes there anymore. They say spirits live there."

"Not spirits," Lira said. "Guardians."

They left again at dusk. The golden lines on the road pulsed faintly as they followed. Each pulse felt like a breath, a heartbeat, a whisper guiding them forward.

Taye walked ahead, his eyes scanning the horizon. The shard in his pocket hummed louder as they moved, almost like it knew where they were going. Every now and then, flashes crossed his vision....brief images of people he didn't know, places he'd never seen: a throne of light, a city made of glass, a woman standing in rain with golden eyes.

He blinked hard each time, forcing the images away. He couldn't lose focus now.

As they neared the forest's edge, the air grew colder. The smell of the sea faded, replaced by earth and damp leaves. Tall trees loomed like shadows against the fading light.

Nnena slowed down. "We're really going in there?"

Lira nodded. "Yes. The third gate is buried beneath these trees. It's the Gate of Echoes..... the one that remembers."

"Remembers what?" Taye asked.

"Everything," Lira said softly. "Every choice, every betrayal, every death tied to the throne."

They entered the woods.

The light disappeared quickly under the thick canopy. Only faint beams broke through, touching the ground like small blessings. The sound of insects was gone. Even the wind was quiet. The silence pressed against their ears until it almost hurt.

They walked for hours. The deeper they went, the more the forest changed. The trees were twisted, their roots forming strange patterns on the soil. In some places, stone faces were carved into trunks, eyes closed, mouths open, like they were trapped mid scream.

Nnena muttered, "I don't like this."

"Neither do I," Taye said.

Lira, walking ahead, slowed down suddenly. "Wait."

"What?" Taye asked.

She crouched beside a patch of dirt where faint markings glowed. "Runes," she said. "Old ones. These mark the path to the gate."

Taye bent down beside her. "What do they say?"

"They say… the one who remembers must forget."

He frowned. "What does that even mean?"

Before Lira could answer, the ground shifted. A deep sound rolled through the forest not thunder, but something alive, something moving below. The runes flared bright, then went dark again.

"Taye," Nnena whispered, "tell me that was the wind."

"It wasn't," he said.

They pushed forward until they reached a wide clearing. In the center stood a massive stone door half buried in roots, its surface covered with strange carvings. The air around it shimmered faintly, bending the light.

"The Gate of Echoes," Lira whispered.

Taye stepped closer. "How do we open it?"

Lira looked at him with a small, sad smile. "It opens itself but only to the one carrying the shadow and the light."

He knew what that meant. The shard in his hand pulsed hard, burning hot. The carvings on the door began to glow in response. The roots shook, sliding away from the stone like snakes retreating from fire. Then the door groaned and began to open.

Cold air spilled out, carrying faint whispers, voices overlapping, calling names. Some he recognized. His mother's voice. His father's. Others were strange, distant, but familiar in a way that made his heart ache.

Lira's voice was soft. "It's showing you your echoes."

Taye stepped inside.

The chamber beyond was wide and dark, filled with mirrors that weren't made of glass. They shimmered like water, each reflecting a different moment. In one, he saw himself as a boy, running through the rain. In another, he saw the night he joined the police. Then the night he met Lira, the same rain, the same golden eyes but deeper in the mirrors, he saw things that hadn't happened.

Him, standing on a throne of black stone.

Lagos burning behind him.

Nnena lying still beside his feet.

He stumbled back. "No… no, that's not real."

"It could be," a voice said.

He turned. The reflection stepped out of the mirror... his own face, but older, colder, eyes burning red.

The echo smiled. "You can't escape what's in your blood."

Taye raised the shard. "I'm not you."

"You keep saying that," the echo said. "But each time you open a gate, the darkness grows stronger. You think sealing them saves the world. It doesn't. It feeds the throne."

"Lies," Taye spat.

The echo stepped closer. "You've felt it, haven't you? The pull. The power. You could end all of this now if you just stopped fighting it."

The shard flickered in Taye's hand, red and white light twisting like fire and water. His chest felt tight. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, fast and heavy.

Then Lira's voice cut through. "Taye!"

He turned. The echo lunged.

Taye struck with the shard, light bursting through the chamber. The mirrors shattered, voices screaming as they broke. The echo vanished in a burst of red mist.

When the light faded, Taye fell to his knees, breathing hard. Lira ran to him. "You okay?"

He nodded weakly. "He's gone."

"No," she said quietly. "He's just waiting. Echoes don't die. They return when the gate closes."

Nnena glanced around nervously. "Then let's close it fast."

Together, they placed their hands on the last mirror, the only one unbroken. Lira began to chant again, her voice low and calm. The mirror pulsed with light, spreading through the floor like veins. The ground trembled, the roots tightening around the chamber as if trying to stop them.

Taye pushed harder, the shard glowing white again, stronger this time.

The whispers grew louder, cries, laughter, screams, all merging into one long sound. Then, in a flash of light, everything went silent.

The gate sealed.

They stood in the dark for a long time, breathing hard. Finally, Nnena whispered, "Please tell me that's the last one."

Lira shook her head. "Two more."

Nnena groaned. "Of course."

When they stepped back into the open, dawn was rising again. The forest was quiet, almost peaceful now. The golden lines on the road had faded, leaving only faint scars in the dirt.

Taye looked back at the woods. He could still hear faint echoes in the wind, his own voice, calling his name from far away.

Lira stood beside him. "The gates test more than strength. They test the heart. The next one will dig deeper."

He turned to her. "You said the Shadow Lord was once like us. What happened to him?"

She looked away. "He fell in love with the woman who carried the light. But love turned to envy. He wanted to protect her… and ended up destroying her."

Taye's throat tightened. "And now?"

"Now," Lira said softly, "history tries to repeat itself."

Their eyes met, hers glowing faintly gold, his flickering between red and white. Neither spoke.

Then Nnena broke the silence. "Can we please find food before the next world ending disaster?"

Taye almost laughed. "Yeah. Food first. Fate later."

As they walked back toward the broken city, the wind picked up again. The sun broke through the clouds, lighting the skyline. Lagos looked wounded but alive.

Beneath their feet, the city's heartbeat thumped once..... slow, deep, steady.

The veil was thinning.

The throne was waiting.

And somewhere in the shadow of dawn, a voice whispered softly..

"The storm is almost home."

To be continued.....

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