The courtyard fountain still trickled, its water glowing faintly from David's earlier burst. The wolf-beast's golden chest sat sealed, humming low like a sleeping engine. David's palms were damp, not just from water, but from sweat. His heart hadn't slowed since the pounce.
Chika exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Sorry, my boy. It's already late. Let's enter inside, and sleep."
David glanced up. The sky above the mansion was pitch black, stars sharper than Lagos streetlights.
"Eh? Time don reach like this?"
Chika tapped his staff on the marble. A ripple of starlight spread across the ground like spilled milk.
"This mansion no dey follow outside time. One hour here fit be three for Lagos. But I go adjust am tomorrow. No worry."
David's eyes sparkled despite the fatigue.
"Your house dey hide plenty secret, Oga Wizard. I no go lie—I dey excited to crack all of them."
Chika chuckled, deep and warm.
"Mystery and Curiosity is a Scorpio trait. But no forget—training start tomorrow, 6 a.m. sharp."
David groaned, dragging his feet as they walked back into the mansion.
"Training tomorrow? I think say na after I master water, then IDC go train me!"
Chika's face grew serious.
"Change of plan. I go train you myself—full package. When you ready, you join the six warriors wey dey fight demons for North."
David stopped mid-step.
"Demons?"
Chika's eyes narrowed, voice dropping.
"Demons wey steal soul. They no dey play. They open mouth, person drop—empty body. We don lose villages."
David swallowed hard.
"My soul?!"
"Exactly why you no fit slack." Chika resumed walking. "Now, bed. Tomorrow no be child's play."
They climbed the grand spiral staircase. Floating orbs of soft blue light followed them like fireflies. Portraits of ancient warriors—some with glowing eyes, others with missing faces—watched in silence.
Chika pushed open a heavy wooden door.
"Your room."
David stepped in and gasped.
The bedroom was massive. A four-poster bed with silk indigo sheets and pillows that looked like clouds. A skylight above showed the real night sky, not the mansion's warped version. A wardrobe carved with scorpion motifs stood in the corner. A desk held a crystal lamp and a stack of blank scrolls. Even the air smelled like fresh rain and sandalwood.
David leaped onto the bed.
"AHHHH! So soft! Like sleeping on top water!"
Chika leaned against the doorframe.
"Don't get too comfy. 6 a.m. No snooze."
David waved lazily.
"Yeah, yeah, Wizard Man."
Chika smiled.
"Goodnight, David."
The door clicked shut.
David stared at the ceiling. The crystal lamp dimmed on its own. Silence wrapped around him like a blanket.
Then—a memory stirred.
He was tiny. Maybe one year old. Warm arms. Two faces leaning over him. A woman with kind eyes and a scar on her cheek—his mother. A man with a deep voice and a Scorpion tattoo on his wrist—his father.
"David, my heart," his mother whispered, kissing his forehead. "Be good. Don't pick fights on anyone. Don't be picky when you eat. Learn peace. Learn to Forgive others."
His father added, voice thick, "You will be strong. But strength is not for anger. It's for protection."
They were crying. David didn't understand then. But now—he did.
They knew they were about to die.
They carried him in a woven basket, wrapped in a blue shawl. Left him at the gates of Blessed Hope Orphanage. A note pinned to his chest: "His name is David. He is special. Protect him."
The memory faded like smoke.
David's eyes stung. He clutched the scorpion pendant.
"Mummy… Daddy… what did you fight?"
He whispered into the dark:
"If it's the demons that killed you… I go find them."
His fist clenched. Water trickled from his knuckles without him noticing—forming a tiny scorpion on the sheet before drying.
David didn't see it.
He was already asleep.
MEANWHILE – IDC ABUJA, 11:47 P.M.
A white flash.
Prince Awoyemi jolted awake.
He was on the bottom bunk of a metal bunk bed. The room was sterile—white walls, no windows. A toilet cubicle in the corner. A steel table with two chairs. A single blue light strip on the ceiling.
His apron was gone. He wore a grey jumpsuit with a lion emblem stitched over the heart.
"Where… where I dey?" His voice cracked.
The door slid open with a hiss.
A man stepped in.
Half his face was human—dark skin, calm eyes.
The other half was chrome and circuits—a glowing blue optic lens where his left eye should be. Tubes ran from his feet into a neural brain.
AGENT VISION
IQ: 1,000+
Clearance: Omega
Prince scrambled back against the wall.
"Who you be?! Did you kidnap me?!"
Agent Vision raised both hands—one flesh, one metal.
"Easy, Prince Awoyemi. You are safe. This is the Inter-Galactic Division Corp – Zodiac Wing. You are Leo. One of the Twelve."
Prince's chest heaved.
"Safe? You covered my head, inject me, and I fell asleep and now I am here! That one na safe?!"
Vision's human eye softened.
"Protocol. We don't recruit gently when denons are waking. Your power manifested tonight—extinguishing fire with a gesture. The streets saw. We couldn't risk exposure."
Prince remembered:
The flames. His hand. The sweep. The silence.
He looked down. The lion tattoo on his forearm glowed gold, pulsing like a heartbeat.
Vision continued:
"You're in Warrior Containment & Orientation. Tomorrow, you begin Element Sync Training. You'll later meet the other six already deployed in the North. Demons are breaching from the Underworld Rift. They don't kill—they harvest. We need your fire."
Prince's jaw tightened.
"And if I don't gree?"
Vision's robotic eye whirred, projecting a hologram:
A city in Kano. Empty streets. Bodies standing—eyes blank, mouths open. Souls ripped out like smoke, sucked into a black vortex in the sky.
Prince's breath hitched.
Vision:
"That's one hour ago. You want to walk away? Fine. But Kahos won't spare Agege because you dey cook jollof."
Silence.
Prince sat back on the bunk.
"…When training start?"
Vision allowed a small smile.
"0500 hours. Sleep. You'll need it."
He turned to leave.
Prince called out:
"Wait—david. My cousin is he here?"
Vision paused at the door.
"Chika is handling Scorpio. He's… unconventional. But effective."
The door hiss-closed.
Prince stared at the lion emblem on his chest.
"Leo, eh?
"And how did he know I have a cousin?"
At least I know everything about the Zodiac warriors.
He lay back. The blue light dimmed.
Outside, in the IDC corridor, Agent Vision tapped his temple. A holographic interface bloomed:
SUBJECT: PRINCE AWOYEMI (LEO)
STATUS: AWAKENED
ELEMENT: Fire
SYNC LEVEL: 90%
THREAT ASSESSMENT: Kahos Minions (Class-3) neutralized in field test
RECOMMENDATION: Accelerate to North Deployment
Vision muttered:
"Two down. Four to go."
He walked into the shadows.