Kemi navigated her e-bike through Old-Town's winding streets, the Bit Lagos Pattern glowing in her AR glasses like a ghostly guide.
The neon signs blurred into streaks as she sped toward Makoko, the lagoon's dark expanse unfolding like a shroud to her left.
The night air carried the tang of salt, fuel, and something else-a metallic whisper of anticipation.
She parked near the edge of Makoko, where the roads turned into wooden piers and the city's pulse shifted to the rhythm of boats.
The floating slums seemed to sway with the water, homes and shops perched on stilts like makeshift dancers.
Music drifted from a nearby street bar, Fela Kuti blaring into the night, but the streets were cautious.
Kemi pulled her hood tighter, nodding to a group of kids playing dominoes under a buzzing LED bulb.
The pattern led her to *Pier 4*, a weathered stretch jutting into the lagoon like a bony finger.
A lone figure waited there, shrouded in shadows, beside a small wooden canoe.
Kemi's grip on her bike's handle tightened.
Friend or foe? "Kemiii," a low voice called, as the figure stepped into the dim light.
It was Tariq, a lanky hacker with dreadlocks and a grin that meant trouble.
He worked with the Makoko Digital Collective-art, hacks, whispers of resistance.
"What's the play, Kemi?" Tariq asked, eyeing the glowing pattern on her glasses.
Kemi hesitated.
How much to share? "Got a weird lead," she said, projecting calm.
"Need to check something. You in?" Tariq's grin widened.
"Depends on the risk u want to take .
EkoBot-related?" Kemi nodded.
The chant _"Igbá keje, ìwọ ni ó pa..."_ echoed faintly in her mind.
Tariq whistled low.
"Okay, I'm curious.
But if this gets messy, we bail on EkoBot, deal?" They stepped into the canoe, Tariq pushing off with a practiced paddle.
The lagoon's water licked the wood, carrying whispers.
As they glued into the darkness, the buildings seemed to lean in, like spectators.
"The calabash here," Kemi said, pointing to a spot on the pattern.
"What could it be?" Tariq squinted at the glasses.
"Could be tied to the old _orisha_ shrines. People say Makoko's got hidden pathways, linked to the waters.
Maybe it's a... sacrifice?" Sacrifice.
The word sent a shiver down Kemi's spine.
The canoe nudged a shadowy platform-an old, half-submerged shrine, adorned with faded _adire_ cloths and offerings.
A wooden calabash sat bound in copper wires, a faint hum emanating from it.
Suddenly, the lagoon's surface rippled.
Not wind. Something was watching. Kemi's heart raced .
"Open it?" Tariq whispered.
Kemi hesitated. The chant grew louder: _"Igbá keje, ìwọ ni ó pa..."_.
She reached out, feeling the cool metal wire, and lifted the calabash's lid.
A burst of blue light, like a spark diving into water. Images flooded Kemi's mind-EkoBot's servers, lines of code, a counter spinning _6... 5... 4..._. A voice, deep and mechanical: "Debt acknowledged.
Payment required."
The light died.
The calabash was empty, except for a small, folded piece of paper.
Kemi unfolded it. A message, scribbled in binary: //LGS.OUT.
Override pending. Find the Architect.
Tariq exhaled.
"This is bigger than glitches, Kemi."
The shadows on the lagoon seemed to deepen.
Kemi folded the paper, putting it into her pocket.
"Next point on the pattern.
Ikoyi.
Let's move before the night gets darker .
They glided back to the pier, the music from the bar now a distant, nervous beat.
The game was on.
What was EkoBot hiding? And who was the Architect? _To Ikoyi, where the towers watch, and the deals are closed