POV: Kunle
Space is cold.
And loud.
And it smells like ozone and old metal.
We didn't take a rocket.
We took a road.
Old Taju stepped onto the starlight path and the rest of us followed.
One step: Sahara.
Next step: clouds.
Next step: black.
Next step: the hull of the pandora dynamics satellite `ECLIPSE`.
11 of us.
Me. Dele. Iyanu. Zainab. Amina. Chike. Fatima. Kwesi. Juma. Tsehay. Ọmọ. Nala.
No air. Didn't matter. Iyanu gave us wind. Fatima gave us water. Chike made it breathable.
Above us: Earth. Blue. With 4 scars in the sky.
Below us: the satellite. 2km long. Covered in pandora logos and Qi arrays.
And in the center a dome Glowing.
"Pod 01 is in there," Juma said. "And he's not alone."
"Who's with him?" Zainab asked.
Juma's eyes went wider. "The man on the throne. The one from the dreams.
The doors opened before we knocked.
Inside: air. Gravity. Warmth.
And a throne room.
White marble. Gold trim.
And at the end: a throne made of bone and starlight.
Sitting on it: a man.
30s. Gold armor. Black mask. No eyes. Just a void.
In his hand: a stick. Just like Old Taju's.
And behind him: Pod 01.
Not coral. Not metal.
Light. A sphere of pure gold light.
And inside: a boy. 12. Bald. Smiling.
"Welcome," the man said. Voice like 1000 voices. "Ascendants."
Old Taju stepped forward. "Shango."
The man tilted his head. "Èṣù. Still playing ferryman?"
"You still sitting on a stolen throne?" Old Taju said.
Shango laughed. "Borrowed. From the ones who came before."
He stood. The room shook.
"The Gate is 77%. You've been busy."
*POD 01*
The boy in the light opened his eyes.
They were gold. Like mine. Like Zainab's.
But older. Tired.
"Brothers," he said. "Sisters."
He looked at each of us. "You're late."
He stepped out of the light. Barefoot.
"I'm Sango Jr," he said. "Inheritor of Ṣàngó. Path of Thunder and Kingship."
Dele stared. "You're named after"
"My father," Sango Jr said. "The real one. Not this guy."
He pointed at Shango on the throne.
Shango sighed. "Children. Always dramatic."
"Why are you here?" I asked. Gauntlet hot. "Why the Gate? Why Pandora dynamic
"
Shango spread his arms. "Because the world is broken. Because gods are dead. Because someone has to rule."
He walked down the steps.
"I found the Yorùbá Gate 20 years ago. I found the 12 pods. I found you.
I put you in boxes so you wouldn't die before you were strong enough."
"Liar," Tsehay said.
"Am I?" Shango said. "Pandora would have killed you. I saved you.
I fed you to the Gate slowly so you could grow.
Now you're strong. Now you can help me finish it."
"Finish what?" Zainab asked.
Shango looked at the ceiling. At the stars.
"Open the Gate. 100%. Let the Other through.
Let them cleanse this world. Then we build a new one.
With gods. With kings. With me on the throne."
"And us?" Juma asked.
"My generals," Shango said. "My 12. The Tome of Ascendant.
Join me. Rule with me."
Silence.
Then Kwesi raised his hand. "Question. Do we get dental?
Shango stopped smiling.
"So. You choose war."
"Yes," I said.
The throne room exploded.
Shango moved first. His stick hit the floor and lightning answered.
Not Dele's lightning. Older. Divine.
He hit Tsehay. She flew through 3 walls.
He hit Ọmọ. The hunter went down.
He hit me. My gauntlet cracked.
"YOU ARE NOT READY," he said.
We were.
Dele and I hit him together. Storm and metal.
Iyanu took the air from him.
Zainab put illusions in his head: his own mask cracking.
Amina and Chike kept us alive.
Fatima and Nala made the water in the air into blades.
Juma cut his fate threads.
Kwesi... Kwesi stole his throne.
"Nice chair," Kwesi said, sitting. "10/10. Bad lumbar support."
Shango roared.
And hit him.
*SANGO JR*
The boy moved.
Fast.
Lightning in his hands. But not like Dele's.
Like the sky itself.
He met Shango in the air.
Thunder vs Thunder.
"Father," Sango Jr said. "You're not my father."
"I made you," Shango said.
"You put me in a box," Sango Jr said. "My real father died for me."
They clashed.
The satellite shook.
Earth shook.a baleful aura descending,thunder flickering on both of their bodies,they keep exchanging blows in close combat
And Sango Jr won.
Not by strength. By choice.
He let Shango hit him.
Then he grabbed the mask.
And pulled.
Under the mask: not a face.
A hole. A portal which seems to connect to another dimension
And through it: the Other.
Thousands of them. Black armor. Watching.
Shango screamed. "YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!"
The Gate jumped.
78%. 79%. 80%.
Shango was dying. The mask was eating him.
"Finish it," he gasped. "Open it. Be kings."
Sango Jr looked at us. Bleeding.
"What do we do?"
Juma stepped forward. "We close it."
"How?" I asked.
"With all 12 of us," Juma said. "With the tokens. With a sacrifice."
He looked at Old Taju.
"Ferryman. Can you close a road?"
Old Taju nodded. "I can. But someone has to stay. To hold the door."
Silence.
Then 11 hands went up.
"Me," we all said.
Sango Jr laughed. Blood on his teeth. "Guess we're all staying."
Then old taju Burst out in a loud creepy laughter it was obvious this old man was
Messing with us,the sight of his smug face made me want to beat him up so bad.
We stood in a circle.
12 demigods. 12 tokens.
Old Taju in the center with his stick.
"On 3," he said. "We push."
"1."
"2."
"3."
Light.
Thunder.
Ocean.
Wind.
Gold.
Blood.
The Gate slammed shut.
85%. Then 50%. Then 10%. Then 0%.
The satellite cracked.
The throne shattered.
Shango's body fell. Empty.
And the road home opened.
We woke up in the Sahara.
All of us. Alive.
Sango Jr was breathing. Barely.
"The Gate is closed," he whispered. "For now."
Old Taju sat beside him. "Good job, kid."
Pandora dynamic was gone. Crimson Sky sent a message: "We will not return."
The world called us terrorists. Then heroes. Then gods.
We called ourselves: The Tome.
12 demigods.
1 base.
0 thrones.
That night, we sat around the table. 12 tokens.
Kwesi tried to eat his.
"Don't," everyone said.
Old Taju poured tea. "So. What now?"
Sango Jr smiled. "Now we rest. Then we rebuild."
He looked at me. "And we watch the sky. Just in case."
Outside, the stars were normal again.
No scars.
No masks.
Just stars.
For now.