POV: Kunle
We couldn't hide in a city.
Cities have cameras. Cities have Pandora's dynamics influence,Cities have people we'd have to explain why the sky cracked.
So we hid where no one looks.
The Sahara.
48 hours after Accra, the van died.
"Out of juice," Dele said, kicking the tire. "Red core's at 2%."
"Good," I said. I set my gauntlet down. "Means we're here."
Here was nothing. Sand. Rocks. Heat that made the air swim.
Perfect.
"Everyone back," I said. "This is gonna be loud.
I put my hand in the sand.
_Ọ̀gún_, I thought. "Teach me to build".
The sand remembered it was once glass. Once stone. Once metal.
I pulled.
The ground split. A trench 200 meters long, 30 meters deep.
I shaped the walls with my bare hands. Iron from old Pandora's dynamics mech scraps, we dragged Glass from melted sand.
Kwesi ran around me, directing drones. "Left 3 degrees! No, your other left! Make the door bigger, we need space for snacks!"
By nightfall we had a skeleton. Underground. 5 levels.
Iyanu built wind turbines on the surface. "Power," she said. "And air."
Dele ran lightning cables through the walls. "Grid's live. Don't touch anything shiny."
Zainab wove illusions over the entrance. "To satellites, this is just a dune."
Amina made an oasis with Oṣun's water. "For drinking. And baths. Please take baths."
Chike purified the air. "No sand in the vents. You're welcome."
Fatima called a small underground river. "For me. And the fish."
Kwesi built a spider-web security system. "If Wosam steps here, they get stuck. And embarrassed."
On the 4th day, at the entrance, we carved it in stone:
*THE TOME OF ASCENDANT*
"Cheesy," Dele said.
"Effective," Zainab said.
"I picked the name," Kwesi said proudly. "You're welcome."
7 demigods. 1 base. 1 prisoner.
Ogbene sat in a cell we made of iron and gold. No windows. Just a chair.
He hadn't spoken since Accra.
Now lets reverse a little and introduce "THE NEW ONES*
We have been collecting the remaining inheritors and demigods through our journey
To the sahara
*Pod 03: Amina Suleiman. 19. Oṣun's Inheritor.*
Water that heals and cuts. She came out laughing and immediately healed a cut on Chike's hand.
"About time," she said. "The pod kept playing lullabies. I was gonna drown it."
*Pod 09: Chike Okoro. 22. Ọbalúayé's Inheritor.*
Plague and purification. Quiet. Covered in herb pouches.
"The air was wrong in there," he said. "It smelled like lies."
*Pod 12: Fatima Diallo. 16. Yemoja's Inheritor.*
Ocean caller. Small. Barefoot. She looked so excited when she saw a river water.
A large shark can be seen swimming across the river
"Can I keep the fish?" she asked.
"No," we all said.
"Can I name the fish?"
"...yes."
We sat in the common room that night. 7 chairs. 1 table.
Kwesi immediately claimed 2 chairs. "One for me, one for my ego."
"So," I said. "We're the Tome of Ascendant now. Goal: Find the other 5 pods. Free them. Stop Pandora,Stop the Gate."
"Simple," Dele said. "I like it."
Zainab pulled up a map. "Last signals: Nairobi, Addis, Dakar, Cairo, and... here." She pointed to the Atlantic.
"Pod 01," she said. "No data. Just static."
"That's the leader pod," Ogbene said. First words in days.
Everyone turned.
He was smiling. "You think you're building heroes? You're building kindling. The Gate is 73% open. And what's on the other side isn't some childs play
"What is it?" Iyanu asked.
Ogbene looked at Old Taju, who was asleep in the corner.
"Ask the old man. He knows."
Old Taju snored louder.
The next day early in the morning
We were training.
Kwesi vs Dele. Trickster vs Storm.
Kwesi made Dele's axe turn into a rubber chicken.
Dele responded by turning the floor into a lightning puddle.
Kwesi danced on it. "Tickles."
Then the lights flickered.
Not from us. From above.
The ceiling hummed.
Zainab ran to the console. "Something's pushing against the earth"s surface Something big."
On the surface monitor showed the blue skies
And in the sky: a tear.
Not lightning. A cut.
And through it: red flags. Gold trim. Men in robes. Standing on swords.
Flying.
"Uh," Kwesi said. "Is that normal?"
Iyanu shook her head. Wind picked up in the room even though we were underground.
"No. That's a portal."
One of the figures looked down. Straight at our hidden entrance.
He raised a hand.
And spoke. The words came through the rock like he was next to us.
"Well well well,i can sense natural resources and heavenly treasures on this planet"yield
Or face destruction",and if you bow your head fast enough i may consider letting you earthlings die with a complete corpse
Silence.
Then Kwesi whispered: "Do we have to yield? Because I have snacks."
Dele cracked his knuckles. "I vote no."
I stood. Gauntlet hot. "Everyone to positions. This is our first test."
Zainab looked at me. "They're cultivators. Chinese. Qi users. Wosam was drilling into their world."
"Great," I said. "So we're fighting space wizards now."
Old Taju opened one eye. "Not space wizards, boy. Cultivators. And they're not the worst thing coming through that hole."
But they are usually the most arrogant and looks at disdain on any kind that are not of their world
He stood. Stretched.
"Let me handle the talking."
He walked to the door.
Before he left he turned to me.
"When they ask who leads this place, you say the Tome. Not me. Not yet."
Then he walked out into the desert.
Alone.
To meet an army.
The tear in the sky widened.
*THE END OF PEACE*
Alarms.
"Surface breach in 60 seconds!"
"Shields at 40%!"
"Kwesi, stop making the drones do backflips!"
I looked at the 6 others.
Amina: water in her hands.
Chike: herbs burning.
Fatima: small waves circling her feet.
Dele: lightning in his teeth.
Iyanu: hair floating.
Zainab: gold over her eyes.
Kwesi: grinning.
"So," Kwesi said. "First day in the new base. Already fighting flying Chinese guys. I love this job."
The ground shook.
The portal screamed.
And Old Taju's voice came over the comms. Calm. Amused.
"Hello boys. Let's talk about respect."
Outside, the first cultivator stepped through.
And the first step for contact began.