"Some truths are not passed down by word, but by blood, fire, and dreams." — Priest of Nri, circa 1774, recovered scroll
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Night — Enugu Forest Shrine
Obinna didn't speak for a long time.
The sacred grove was still, save for the occasional crackle of flame drifting from Azụmiri's wings. Crickets, for once, dared not sing. Even the wind kept silent.
Azụmiri circled the boy once, then lowered itself beside him, wings folding like curtains of fire.
> "The Path of Realms is not just a journey of strength," the eagle spirit said. "It is a return. A reclamation. A rising."
Obinna shifted his weight, eyes never leaving the beast. His heart beat slowly now, the panic having settled into a deep, disbelieving quiet.
> "Why me?" he asked finally, his voice hoarse. "Why not someone older? Stronger? Someone who understands what's going on?"
Azụmiri cocked its head, amused.
> "You are all those things. You just don't know it yet."
Obinna frowned. "That's not an answer."
> "No," the eagle admitted. "But it is the truth."
> "I didn't ask for this," Obinna muttered.
> "And neither did your ancestors. Yet they bore the chains so you could shatter them."
The boy clenched his fists, looking at the scars on his hands from the graves he had dug.
> "I just wanted my family," he whispered.
Azụmiri bowed its head.
> "And now, they walk with you."
Obinna said nothing for a long while.
Then he looked up at the creature.
> "So what is the Path of Realms? Really."
Azụmiri's eyes glowed brighter.
> "In the old world, before colonizers drew false borders and chained gods in churches, our people walked the Nine Rings. It was not magic. It was law. It was order. It was power drawn from harmony with land, spirit, and self."
> "Each Realm—each Ring—awakens something deeper in you. Strength, memory, spirit, bond, truth… all nine are thresholds."
> "But when the treaties were signed, when the drums were silenced, and our language was replaced by theirs… the Nine Rings were broken. Suppressed."
> "Until now."
Obinna stared into the flames dancing along the eagle's wings. They didn't burn, yet their heat was truth.
> "So what happens now?"
> "Now," Azụmiri said, "we begin. You've already awakened the First Ring—the Ring of Flame. Emotion. Pain. That is the ring that wakes most champions."
> "And the others?"
Azụmiri's voice lowered.
> "The Ring of Echoes. The Ring of Bones. The Ring of Blood. The Ring of Dust. The Ring of Sky. The Ring of Mirrors. The Ring of Stars. The Ring of Silence."
> "Nine stages. Nine burdens."
> "When you master them all, you will stand at the edge of the world and call down gods."
Obinna blinked. "That sounds insane."
> "Only to those still asleep."
---
Elsewhere — Nsukka, Biafran High Tower
General Nwachukwu poured palm wine into a brass cup, then placed it on a stone altar shaped like a hand.
The room darkened as smoke from incense curled upward. The air grew cold.
> "We have seen it," came a voice from the shadows. "He has awakened."
Three figures emerged—cloaked elders bearing charms made of teeth, bones, and ancient brass. The Circle of Ofo. Keepers of Igbo metaphysical power.
> "Then it begins," Nwachukwu muttered.
> "He must not be captured by the enemy," one elder said. "His path belongs to Biafra."
> "Does he even know what he is?" the general asked.
> "He will. Soon."
> "And the others?" Nwachukwu questioned.
> "Scattered. Hidden. But not lost."
A slow breath filled the room. The leader of the Circle leaned forward.
> "He must reach us before the Third Ring. After that… no one can stop him. Not even us."
---
Forest Shrine – Just Before Dawn
Obinna sat in meditation now, his back to the totem pole. Azụmiri watched silently, its great head resting on its wings.
The boy's breathing slowed.
In his mind's eye, he stood at the center of a burning ring. Memories—his mother's lullaby, his sister's laughter, his father's lessons—spun around him like ash.
The pain sharpened. His chest ached.
Then it broke.
Like glass shattering, something within him opened.
He saw the second ring—echoes of time, echoes of power, echoes of others.
> "He is ready," Azụmiri said softly.
The boy's body lifted slightly off the ground, light spiraling around him in patterns written before time began. Trees bent inward, not from wind—but reverence.
> "Ring Two: Echoes," Obinna whispered as his eyes snapped open, glowing with layered gold.
Then he collapsed—breathing heavily, drenched in sweat, but conscious.
> "Is it always that painful?" he asked.
Azụmiri laughed, thunder rumbling behind it.
> "Only the first few. After that, you begin to crave the pain."
> "I doubt that," he muttered.
> "You'll see."
Obinna sat up, bones aching.
> "So where to now?"
> "To those who remember. To those who can teach you the Rings before your enemies chain them again."
> "And who are they?"
Azụmiri turned its massive head toward the east.
> "The Sons of Nri. Hidden in the shadows of forgotten kingdoms. Keepers of what the world tried to erase."
> "We move by night. And we don't have much time."
Obinna nodded once. Then again.
The war wasn't over.
It was just beginning.
---
🛡️ End of Chapter Two
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📘 Mini-Dictionary (New Lore Terms Introduced)
Nine Rings – The Nine Realms of power and spiritual development. Each ring unlocks a deeper layer of a champion's strength.
Ring of Flame – First realm of awakening. Tied to emotion, trauma, and rebirth.
Ring of Echoes – Second realm. Memory, soul connection, and ancestral whispers.
Circle of Ofo – A secret society within Biafra preserving sacred Igbo power through spiritual and ritual knowledge.
Sons of Nri – Ancient lineage of hidden masters. Keepers of the true ways of the Nine Rings and African metaphysics.