The lagoon trembled, as though Tark Island itself sensed the coming war.
Mist thickened across the water, curling like living smoke. Along the cavern walls, the ancient serpent murals glowed faintly, cracks spreading across their twin stone heads as if the past was straining to hold the future together. The Resistance stood ready—weapons drawn, muscles taut, hearts pounding. Adaeze's warning echoed in every mind.
Koroba dey gather shadow beasts. Ritual don near.
Then the sound came.
Drums.
Low. Thunderous. Relentless.
They rolled across the night like the heartbeat of war. Torches flared within the mist, jagged lines of fire advancing toward the shore. Siege engines creaked forward, wheels grinding against stone. With each step of Koroba's army, the ground shook.
Imade raised her iron rod, voice sharp and commanding.
"Hold the line! Tonight, shadow dey test us again. Nobody scatter!"
Around her, power stirred. Kafé's waves shimmered faintly around his wrist. Taye's flames flickered across his skin, restless and hungry. Zoba's pendant pulsed violently, a silent warning. Nearby, Seyi's hands trembled around his blade.
"O boy… I fear die," he whispered.
Kafé stepped beside him, steady as the tide.
"Fear dey," he said. "But courage mean say you still stand. Stand, Seyi."
The mist parted.
Koroba emerged at the front of the army, his cursed blade pulsing with shadow. His eyes gleamed with obsession, his smile fevered.
"Dusk child," he called out. "Tonight, I go break you. Una prophecy go bend to me."
Behind him marched Captain Duro, face grim. Adaeze's absence was noticeable—but no one spoke of it. Around them moved the shadow beasts: creatures born of mist and malice, eyes glowing red, bodies twisted and unnatural.
The Resistance braced.
Olumide notched an arrow. Ngozi whispered hurried prayers. Imade lifted her rod high.
"For dawn of choice!" she cried. "For balance!"
The clash erupted.
Steel met steel. Fire roared. Waves crashed.
Koroba moved like a force of nature, his blade singing as shadows coiled around him. His laughter rang across the battlefield—wild and cruel.
"Shadow don bless me! Prophecy no be destiny—strength be destiny! Na me be the strongest!"
Imade staggered beneath the weight of his strikes. Sparks exploded as iron clashed against cursed steel. She gritted her teeth, refusing to fall.
"You dey blind, Koroba!" she shouted. "Shadow dey use you!"
From the flank, Adaeze struck.
She moved fast, blade flashing. For a heartbeat, hesitation caught her—memories of betrayal, blood, obedience. Then her resolve hardened. She drove forward, forcing Koroba to turn.
"I no be your pawn again!" she cried.
Nearby, Nkem staggered through the chaos, bloodied and weary. When Koroba's blade swung toward a wounded fighter, Nkem threw himself in the way. The cursed steel tore into his side.
He did not fall.
"I burn villages for you before," he said through clenched teeth. "But tonight… I dey ready die for these people."
His stand sent a ripple through the Resistance.
Seyi saw him fall moments later, fear clawing at his chest. For a heartbeat, he froze. Then something shifted.
He surged forward, dragging the wounded warrior out of the shadows, blade shaking but raised.
"I dey afraid, yes!" he shouted. "But I still dey fight!"
The serpent murals trembled violently. Cracks split their twin heads, light spilling erratically across the cavern in fractured brilliance. The lagoon churned, waters darkening, waves pulling inward as if swallowed by an unseen abyss.
Zoba's pendant flared brighter than ever, flooding the battlefield with harsh, blinding light.
"The Shadow Pathway dey open!" she cried. "Orunmare dey close!"
A howl tore through the mist—beastly, ancient, unnatural—rising from the depths of the lagoon.
This was no longer just a siege.
Prophecy itself was beginning to break.
Above it all, Orunmare's laughter drifted on the wind, cold and triumphant. The Resistance shivered as one, knowing the true war had only just begun.