Chapter Two: The First Encounter
The streets of Ondo State seemed smaller to Stephen now. The rains had receded, leaving the earth damp and the air heavy with the scent of wet leaves and dust. Yet even in the brightness of the morning sun, Stephen felt the shadows of his father's world clinging to him. The charm around his neck never ceased its subtle pull, a quiet reminder of the destiny his father had claimed.
University was different. It was freedom, but it was also a battlefield. Stephen walked through the campus gates for the first time, his bag heavy with books, his heart heavy with anticipation. Among the hundreds of students bustling past him, he felt the familiar unease—the sense that unseen eyes were watching, evaluating, testing him.
He tried to focus on the mundane: lectures, classrooms, assignments. But the spiritual tension he had felt since birth could not be silenced. Every corner, every alley, every idle conversation carried an unseen weight.
It was in the first week that he met Favour. She was unlike anyone he had ever known: bright, unafraid, her faith radiating in a way that drew people close without demanding attention. She smiled at him one afternoon in the library, a gesture so simple yet powerful that it made him momentarily forget the shadows pressing at his edges.
"You're new here, right?" she asked, her voice soft but firm.
Stephen nodded, awkward. "Yes… Stephen. I mean, Ogundare." He corrected himself immediately, realizing he had spoken the name his father had forced upon him. Favour's eyes flickered, not with judgment, but with understanding.
"Stephen is fine," she said, a small, reassuring smile curling her lips. "Names don't define us. What we do with our lives does."
Her words were simple, yet they struck deep. For the first time, Stephen felt a thread of hope, a hint that the life his mother had prayed for might be possible.
The Church Beckons Again
It wasn't long before Favour invited him to the campus fellowship. At first, Stephen resisted. He had been to church all his life, yes, but the battle within him—the tug-of-war between the charm and his mother's prayers—was relentless. Every step toward God felt as though he were walking through fire.
But Favour persisted. "Just come. Sit, listen. No one expects you to do anything yet."
That Sunday, Stephen found himself in a crowded hall, filled with students laughing, singing, and praying. The pastor, a visiting man from Ibadan, had a presence that seemed almost otherworldly. As he spoke, the words touched something Stephen had long ignored: the power of God to save, protect, and transform even the darkest lives.
And then, as if the universe itself had aligned, the pastor's eyes met his. "You," the man said, pointing directly at him, "are not here by chance. God has plans for you. You will rise, but the road will be full of trials. Choose Him, and you will be delivered."
Stephen felt a chill that had nothing to do with air conditioning. The words sank into him, deeper than any sermon he had ever heard. He wanted to run, to flee, but the pull of destiny was undeniable.
That night, alone in his dormitory, he knelt beside his bed. "Lord," he whispered, voice trembling, "I don't understand all of this, but I want to follow You. Help me. Protect me from the darkness that wants to claim me."
KOA Watches
In the shadows of the spiritual realm, the forces aligned by his father were stirring. The evil agency, known as KOA, had sensed the growing light within Stephen. Baba Dagunduro had long nurtured ambition through blood and ritual, but now the boy was slipping beyond his immediate reach.
The elders of KOA met that night in a hidden place, unseen by mortal eyes. Their eyes were cold, their voices like the rustle of dry leaves.
"The child is awakening," said one, its form flickering in and out of visibility. "His spirit grows stronger each day. Soon, he may escape the grasp of Ogundare—his father's chosen name."
Another, taller and darker, hissed, "He is vulnerable. Still young. Still learning. We can turn him. If we strike carefully, the boy will fall, and our plans will flourish."
The whispers of evil spread through the hidden network of KOA, touching those in the mortal realm. They began watching the boy's movements: the church, the university, every prayer he whispered.
Friendship, Faith, and Fear
Favour became Stephen's anchor. She shared with him stories of miracles, of battles fought in the spirit, of saints and prophets who had triumphed over darkness. Stephen listened, sometimes skeptical, sometimes overwhelmed, but always aware that what she spoke of was alive.
It was during a quiet evening in the campus gardens that Stephen finally admitted his fear. "Favour, I… I want to believe. But there's something in me that resists. My father… he calls me Ogundare. The world he brought me into… it's dark, stronger than anything I've ever faced."
Favour took his hand. "The darkness is real. But light—God's light—is stronger. Every prayer, every act of faith, every moment you choose Him, you push back the shadows. You are not alone in this battle."
Her words gave him courage, but the tension did not fade. At night, in the silence of his dormitory, he would hear the whisper of the charm against his chest, the hum of something alive, calling him to paths he did not want to take.
The First Temptation
Weeks passed. Stephen began to attend the campus fellowship regularly. Yet KOA's influence was never far. It whispered through rumors, through subtle accidents, through the charm his father had crafted.
One evening, a group of students invited him to a party. The music was loud, the lights hypnotic, and the energy intoxicating. As he hesitated, the charm around his neck pulsed, and a cold voice seemed to hiss into his mind:
"Ogundare… come. Let go. Taste freedom in your own way. Power lies with me."
Stephen felt the pull. For a moment, he almost gave in, almost walked away from the light he had chosen. But then he felt Favour's presence in his memory, her calm insistence that God's way was stronger. He turned, fled the party, and spent the night in prayer, trembling but unbroken.
It was the first real victory of his faith—and the first real strike from KOA. The spiritual war had begun in earnest.
A Glimpse of the Spiritual Battlefield
One night, as Stephen slept, the world around him shifted. He awoke to darkness thicker than any night he had known. Shadows moved with purpose, their forms twisting and shifting as if alive. At the center of the room, a figure appeared: tall, dark, crowned with iron-like spikes, eyes burning with malicious intent.
"You are mine," it said, voice echoing with ages of malevolence. "Ogundare… the name you bear will bring ruin unless you submit. Join us, or be destroyed."
Stephen's heart raced. His prayers came out as desperate cries, raw and unpolished. He pleaded for protection, calling on the name of Jesus. Light—pure, searing, holy—exploded from his chest, burning the shadows. The figure recoiled, hissing in fury.
The charm around his neck fell silent for the first time in years. The battle had been won, for now. But Stephen knew the war had only begun. KOA would not forget, and his father's ambition would not rest until Stephen fell.
The Path Forward
By the end of his first semester, Stephen had grown stronger in faith. Favour continued to guide him, teaching him the power of prayer, fellowship, and discernment. He realized that KOA was not a distant threat—it was real, pervasive, and relentless.
He also understood, painfully, that his father's influence reached far and wide. Baba Dagunduro was not just a man obsessed with power; he was a strategist, a master of dark forces, and a father determined to reclaim his son no matter the cost.
Stephen's journey was no longer simply about surviving university or pleasing his mother. It was a battle for his soul, for his destiny, and for the light that sought to shine through the darkness that had claimed his earliest days.
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." — James 4:7