Chapter 10: Baba Ayelala's Warning 🧙🏽♂️☠️📜
The sun had not risen in Orisha City.
Not because it was night… but because the sky refused to. 🌒⚠️
Nimi and Yagazie stood before a rusted iron gate covered in charms, bones, and feathers. 🦴🪶🔒 It hummed low, like it knew they were there.
"This is it," Nimi whispered. "Baba Ayelala's temple." 🏚️✨
Yagazie held her breath. "You sure he's still alive?"
Nimi nodded. "If death touched him, it left quietly."
With a creak, the gate opened by itself. 🧳🚪
Inside, the walls dripped with melted candles and dried blood. 🕯️🩸 Shadows moved without source. And in the center of the shrine, seated on a stone throne with cowries in place of eyes, was Baba Ayelala. 👁️🌀
He didn't speak. He vibrated—his voice crawling into their heads like insects.
> "The seals have broken. You carry the seventh."
"And behind it lies Adagbenu… the city before the city." 🏙️🕳️🗺️
Nimi stepped forward, unsure if he was sweating or bleeding. "How do I stop it?"
Ayelala laughed—or maybe it was the walls laughing. 🧱😵💫
Stop? No. You don't stop Ogun's mask. You survive it.🛡️🔥
And you're already running out of time. ⏳🚨
Suddenly, the floor cracked. 🕳️ From it rose a hand not human. Long, black claws wrapped in prayer beads. ✋🏽🧿
DOWN! Yagazie yelled, pulling Nimi aside just as the hand slammed into the throne. Baba Ayelala vanished—just dust now. 🌪️⚰️
In his place stood a Mouthless Priest, robed in salt-white, skin stitched with iron. ⚙️🩻 He pointed at Nimi without eyes. 👆🏽👁️
You wear what should never breathe again.
You are the Heir of the War-Torn Flame. 🔥🛡️⚔️
Then the room burst into chaos—masks fell from the ceiling, whispering spells, clawing at Nimi's mind. 🌀😖🎭
Yagazie screamed, "They're trying to possess him!"
Nimi gritted his teeth. "No… they're trying to remember me."
Suddenly, all the voices stopped.
From the darkness above, a voice unlike the rest echoed:
"Then remember this—Orisha City was built on forgotten gods. And forgotten gods do not forgive."
The roof shattered. 💥🌌
Light—real light—broke through. The sun finally rose. ☀️ But what it revealed wasn't peace…
It was a scar across the entire city skyline. A massive glowing crack, pulsing like a heartbeat. 💔
The final seal had begun to break.