Morning crept over Lagos slowly, like the city wasn't sure it was allowed to breathe yet. The red tint had gone from the rain, but puddles still shimmered faint gold where the light had touched them. Taye stood by the water's edge, coat damp, eyes hollow from the night. Beside him, Nnena leaned on the car, sipping coffee that had gone cold long ago.
"You didn't sleep," she said quietly.
"Did you?" he asked.
She shook her head. "After everything we saw? Not a chance."
The river looked calm now, too calm. No ripples, no sound, just a wide mirror that reflected the weak sun. It should've been beautiful, but it felt wrong.
"The city's power came back an hour ago," Nnena said. "Phones, lights, everything. They think it was a storm surge."
Taye gave a small, tired smile. "Let them think that."
He turned the pendant over in his hand. The glow was gone, leaving only dull metal, but it still felt warm. "It's quiet now," he murmured. "Maybe it's finally over."
Nnena looked at him, unsure. "You don't sound convinced."
He stared at the river again. "Because silence doesn't always mean peace."
A faint ripple broke the surface. Just one. Then nothing.
The ripple faded, but Taye kept staring at that spot as if waiting for it to move again. Nnena followed his gaze, frowning.
"What is it?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Maybe nothing."
But his voice didn't sound sure.
They got into the car and drove toward the mainland. The roads were wet, scattered with branches and broken signs. The city looked tired.... like it had fought a war no one remembered.
People were back on the streets, cleaning up, fixing, pretending the night had been normal.
"Lagos always finds a way to act fine," Nnena said softly. "Even when it's bleeding."
Taye nodded. "It forgets fast. Maybe that's its strength."
When they reached the station, officers were already gathered, talking in low voices. Nnena went in first, but before Taye could follow, a small boy ran past him and dropped a folded paper. Taye picked it up without thinking.
The paper was damp and old, edges torn.
He opened it slowly.
Inside was a drawing....a circle with the same spiral pattern that marked the River Gate. And under it, in shaky handwriting..
> "He is not gone."
Taye's heart skipped. He looked around, but the boy had vanished into the crowd.
Nnena came back out. "You okay?"
He crumpled the paper in his fist. "Yeah… just a weird feeling."
They spent the morning filing reports and giving statements no one would believe. The commissioner kept asking about the blackout, about strange witnesses, about the river glowing red. They lied through every question.... called it a chemical leak, a lightning surge, anything that sounded normal.
By noon, Nnena found Taye outside the building, leaning against the wall, staring at the pendant again.
"You're thinking about the message," she said.
He looked up, surprised. "You saw it?"
"I saw your face when you read it. Who sent it?"
He hesitated. "A kid. Disappeared before I could ask."
"You think it means something?"
He sighed. "Everything means something lately."
That afternoon, the air over Lagos grew heavy again. The sun dimmed behind thick gray clouds. By three o'clock, thunder rolled far off, too early for another storm.
Taye's phone buzzed. Unknown number.
He answered.
A woman's voice came through....soft, calm.
> "Eran."
He froze. "Who is this?"
> "The river remembers. You closed one gate, but not the other."
Static crackled, and the line went dead.
Nnena looked over. "Who was it?"
He didn't answer right away.
"The other gate," he said under his breath. "What if there's more than one?"
Before she could reply, a scream echoed from inside the station. Both of them ran in.
In the evidence room, two officers stood frozen near a body on the floor, one of the forensics men, pale, eyes wide open, lips moving without sound.
Taye knelt beside him. "What happened?"
The man's voice was barely a whisper.
"The shadows… they came from the walls…"
Then his body went still.
The lights flickered. The air turned cold. On the wall behind them, black marks began to spread like veins.
Nnena pulled her gun. "Not again…"
Taye held up the pendant. It flickered once, faintly, then went dark.
"The seal's breaking again," he said quietly. "But this time, not from the river."
"Then from where?"
He looked at the wall, at the spreading darkness. "From beneath the city."
The ground trembled. Dust rained down from the cracked ceiling as the black marks crawled deeper into the walls, pulsing like veins filled with shadow. Nnena stepped back, eyes darting between Taye and the spreading darkness.
"What's happening?" she asked, her voice tight.
Taye's eyes glowed faint gold for a moment before dimming again. "The Shadow Lord is trying to rise… not through the river this time, but through the city's roots. The old tunnels."
"Tunnels?"
He nodded. "There are veins beneath Lagos...paths of energy, old ground from before the city was built. The guardians sealed them, but if he's using them now…" He trailed off, his expression grim. "It means he's not just awakening. He's already inside the city."
A sudden sound, metal groaning deep below them cut through the air. Then came a faint whisper, like hundreds of voices murmuring from underground. Nnena gripped her gun tighter.
"Taye, tell me we can stop this."
He didn't answer. Instead, he walked toward the wall, placing his palm against the black veins. The moment his skin touched it, the mark on his wrist flared brightly. The veins recoiled, but they didn't vanish.
"It's spreading from under Third Mainland," he said. "He's building a core beneath the old foundation. That's why the seal failed."
Nnena frowned. "So we go there and stop him."
Taye turned to her, eyes serious. "It's not that simple. The tunnels aren't normal. They shift when darkness controls them. We could walk in and never find the exit."
"Then we take light with us," she said firmly. "We've come too far to turn back now."
For a moment, he just stared at her, then nodded slowly. "Alright. But once we go down there, there's no turning back."
They packed quickly...candles, salt, the last of the charms from the chapel. Outside, the city was quiet in a way that didn't feel natural. Streetlights flickered, cars were abandoned, and the red rain still fell in slow, glowing drops.
As they moved toward the car, Nnena glanced at the sky. The spiral cloud above the city had grown larger, stretching far beyond the mainland. "It's like the whole sky's bleeding," she murmured.
Taye looked up too. "That's the mark of the breach. If it keeps spreading, the Shadow Lord will cross over fully."
"Then we better move fast."
They reached the car and drove in silence. The roads were empty, the radio dead. Every now and then, they'd see strange figures standing on the sidewalks...shadows shaped like people, but hollow, their eyes faintly red.
"Don't look at them," Taye said quietly. "They're the echoes. The city's fear made flesh."
Nnena forced her eyes forward. "Remind me again why I didn't stay home tonight?"
He almost smiled. "Because you're stubborn."
"And you're cursed," she shot back.
The car turned off the bridge and onto an old service road that led to a fenced-off construction site. The sign read Government Property,No Entry. Beyond it lay a broken path and a half-collapsed tunnel entrance.
"This is it," Taye said, stepping out. "The old drain system. It was built over the guardian channels."
Nnena followed, flashlight in hand. "So we're walking into a hole that leads straight to evil itself?"
He gave a small shrug. "Basically."
"Perfect."
They ducked under the fence and entered the tunnel. The air inside was cold, heavy with moisture and something else....something alive. Their footsteps echoed, and every sound felt louder than it should.
After a few minutes, Nnena whispered, "You hear that?"
Taye paused. A faint humming sound rose from deep below, rhythmic, almost like a heartbeat. "That's him," he said quietly. "He's drawing power from the city."
They pressed on. The deeper they went, the warmer the air became, and faint red light began to glow along the tunnel walls.
"Is it just me," Nnena muttered, "or does it feel like the tunnel's breathing?"
"It's not your imagination," Taye said. "The darkness here is alive. It's reshaping the space to trap intruders."
"So how do we not get trapped?"
"We stay close. And we keep moving."
They walked for what felt like hours until they reached a wide chamber filled with old pipes and broken stone. In the center was a pool of black water glowing faintly red. Taye knelt beside it
"This was once part of the guardian stream," he said. "It used to carry light from the temple to the river. Now it carries shadow."
As he spoke, the surface of the pool rippled. Faces formed and faded in the water...men, women, children....each one whispering something too faint to understand.
Nnena shivered. "Don't tell me those are real."
"They're memories," Taye said softly. "People the darkness has consumed."
Suddenly, one of the faces opened its mouth and screamed. The sound was sharp, echoing through the chamber. Nnena fired a shot instinctively, the bullet hitting the wall.
"Don't waste it," Taye said quickly. "It feeds on violence."
He raised his pendant, and light spilled out, pushing the darkness back a little. But then, from behind them, came a low growl.
"Taye," Nnena whispered.
He turned. In the tunnel's shadow stood three figures.... tall, twisted, their limbs bending in wrong directions. Their eyes glowed red, and their bodies pulsed with faint smoke.
"The Shadowborn," Taye said. "He's using them as guards."
Nnena aimed her gun. "And how do we kill them?"
"With light."
He thrust the pendant forward, and a beam of gold burst out. The nearest Shadowborn hissed, melting back into smoke, but the other two lunged forward. One grabbed Nnena, slamming her against the wall. She kicked hard, freeing herself, and fired a round of blessed bullets Taye had given her. The creature screamed as its chest burned.
Taye fought the third one hand-to-hand, the light in his palm blazing with each strike. The tunnel shook with every blow. Finally, he drove his hand through the creature's chest, light erupting from within. It disintegrated in seconds.
When the last one fell, silence returned. Both of them stood breathing heavily.
Nnena wiped blood from her lip. "You could've told me they were that strong."
Taye gave a small, tired grin. "Would you have come if I did?"
She rolled her eyes. "Fair point."
The black pool began to bubble again, this time violently. A deep voice echoed through the chamber, low and cold.
"Eran…"
Taye froze.
Nnena looked around. "That voice again. The Shadow Lord?"
"Yes," Taye said quietly. "He knows we're here."
The water rose, forming a tall figure made entirely of shadow. No face, just eyes.... burning crimson.
"Still chasing light that no longer wants you," it said.
Taye stepped forward. "You don't belong here."
"This city was built on my grave," the voice boomed. "And now, it will become my throne."
The walls cracked, red light spilling through like lava. The air grew hot, pressing against their skin. Nnena stumbled back, coughing.
"Taye!"
He lifted the pendant again, but it flickered weakly. "The light's fading too fast."
"Then what now?"
He looked around desperately. Then his eyes fell on the markings on the floor..old guardian symbols half-buried in dust. "We use the seal," he said. "The old pattern."
Nnena helped him clear the debris as he began tracing the symbols with the little light left from the pendant. The shadow laughed.
"You can't bind what was never meant to die," it said.
Taye ignored it, whispering ancient words under his breath. The light grew, spreading through the marks. The ground vibrated, cracks forming into a circle of fire and gold.
"Now!" he shouted.
Nnena fired a shot into the center of the pool. The sound echoed like thunder. The light burst outward, hitting the shadow figure. It screamed, shaking the whole chamber.
For a moment, everything went white.
When the light faded, the pool was gone. The floor smoked. Taye collapsed, weak.
Nnena rushed to him. "Hey, stay with me."
He opened his eyes slowly. "It's not over," he said. "That wasn't the real one. Only his echo."
"Then where's the real one?"
He pointed downward. "Deeper."
Nnena groaned. "Of course it's deeper. Why wouldn't it be?"
They helped each other up and followed a narrow passage that opened behind the chamber. The walls were covered with strange carvings....light symbols fighting dark ones, over and over.
"What is this place?" Nnena asked.
"The first city," Taye said quietly. "Before Lagos. Before everything."
They walked until the tunnel opened into a vast underground cavern. In the center stood a massive stone gate, cracked and glowing faint red.
Taye stopped. "That's the Heart Gate. The center of all the seals."
"And I'm guessing that's where he's trapped?"
He nodded. "For now."
As they approached, the gate pulsed. The markings glowed brighter, and the air grew heavier. A shape began to form behind the crack, a human outline, tall and still.
Then, slowly, the gate began to move.
"Taye," Nnena said, stepping back. "Tell me that's not what I think it is."
He clenched his fists. "He's breaking free."
A massive hand of shadow pushed through the crack. The ground split, stones falling from the ceiling.
"Run!" Taye shouted.
They ran back through the tunnel as the roar echoed behind them, the sound of something ancient waking up. Dust and debris rained from above.
When they reached the main tunnel, the red glow followed them like fire chasing air. They burst through the entrance, falling onto the wet ground outside.
The moment Taye looked up, his heart sank.
The sky had turned completely red. The spiral had opened into a full ring, and in the middle of it, something moved.
A shadowy figure, massive and winged, hovering above the city.
Nnena stared in horror. "Please tell me that's not him."
Taye stood slowly, eyes glowing gold again. "It's him."
The Shadow Lord had risen.