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Prologue: The Symphony of Collapse
The sky over Lagos bled. Neon billboards flickered between advertisements for soft drinks and visions of Aztec sacrificial altars. The Tzitzimimeh had gnawed through the veil, and now the city existed in two eras at once: the hum of cell towers harmonized with Yoruba drumbeats, and the ghosts of British colonizers clashed with spectral Dahomey warriors in the streets.
Ahanu Tennarse stood atop the abandoned **National Theatre**, his shadow stretching across the lagoon like a bridge between worlds. His gold eye, lost in the star-forge, had been replaced with a hollow socket lined with Mictlantecuhtli's bone dust. Xóchitl Mendoza crouched beside him, her skeletal prosthetic hand crackling with Amaru-scale code.
"Signal's coming from the lagoon," she said, her voice clipped. "The Circle's using the old slave port as a staging ground. They're resurrecting Malik."
Ahanu's remaining purple eye pulsed. "Let them. I'll bury him deeper this time."
Xóchitl gripped his wrist, her touch cold and electric. "This isn't just about you. The kid soldiers we freed—Thomas says they're *changing*. The star-forge messed with their DNA."
Ahanu's jaw tightened. "Then we end this before they become monsters."
"Too late," she whispered. "They're already here."
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Act I: The Children of Ash
The freed child soldiers emerged from the lagoon's mist, their bodies warped by residual star-forge radiation:
- **Adaora**: Her skin had hardened into iridescent scales, her voice a subsonic rumble.
- **Chidi**: His limbs elongated into boneless tendrils, dripping with venom.
- **Zainab**: Her eyes had become portals to the Astral Sea, pupils swirling with dying stars.
They surrounded the theatre, their mutations thrashing against Thomas Firekeeper's herbal wards. The Cherokee healer stood at the base of the building, his hands raised in a *adanvdo* healing chant.
"Ahanu!" Thomas shouted, veins bulging as the wards strained. "They're not attacking—they're *asking for help*!"
**Adaora** stepped forward, her voice shaking the ground. *"We see the cracks… in the sky… in you. The Circle promised to fix us. Liars. Liars!"*
Xóchitl's prosthetic flared. "They're hybrids now—part Tzitzimimeh, part human. If we don't stabilize them—"
"They'll explode," Ahanu finished. He leapt down, landing in a crouch. The children recoiled, their mutations hissing. "You want to be whole? Then fight *with* me, not against me."
**Chidi's** tendrils lashed out, wrapping Ahanu's throat. *"You left us broken!"*
Ahanu didn't resist. He **touched the venom**, absorbing its memory—the star-forge's fire, the Circle's lies, the children's terror. His purple eye flooded with their pain.
"I know," he rasped. "But I'm here now. Let me fix what I broke."
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Act II: The Bridge's Bargain
The coalition regrouped in a mangrove-fringed safehouse, the children's mutations temporarily sedated by Zahra's blood magic. Rafael Silva sketched battle plans on the walls with charred *Umbanda* ash, while Eshe tuned her *kora* to a frequency that soothed the Tzitzimimeh's screeches.
**Xóchitl:** (hacking into a Circle satellite feed) "Malik's not just alive—he's merged with the Tzitzimimeh. They're calling him *'Ọ̀gá-Ọ̀run'*—'Lord of the Sky.' He's building a throne from the bones of the Lagosian gods."
**Ahanu:** (sharpening his *macuahuitl* with a stone from Teotlacualli) "Then we tear it down. The kids stay here."
**Thomas:** (applying a poultice to Zainab's star-filled eyes) "No. They're the only ones who can navigate the Astral Sea now. You need them."
**Adaora:** (scales rattling) "We'll help… if you promise not to abandon us again."
Ahanu met her gaze. "I promise."
**Xóchitl:** (grabbing his arm) "You don't get to make vows you can't keep. Malik's throne isn't in Lagos—it's *between* worlds. We'll need to fracture ourselves to reach it."
**Rafael:** (lighting an ash-painted cigarette) "Sounds like a party. Let's paint the astral plane red."
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Act III: The Dance of Shattered Souls
The assault on Malik's throne began at the **Badagry Slave Port**, where the veil was thinnest. Zahra carved a portal into the Astral Sea with Moorish blood glyphs, the coalition stepping through into a realm where time coiled like a serpent.
Malik's throne was a grotesque fusion of stolen legacies:
- Yoruba *ibeji* twins grafted into Tzitzimimeh starfire.
- Aztec skulls orbiting like satellites.
- Cherokee burial canoes burning with green flame.
Malik himself floated above it all, his body a constellation of scars and starlight. *"Welcome to the end of history, Caiman. I've been… upgraded."*
The Battle Unfolds:
1. **Eshe** sang a **Mande war hymn**, her *kora* strings slicing through starfire. The *ibeji* twins screamed, their wooden limbs cracking.
2. **Rafael** hurled ash-ward spears, each impact tattooing anti-colonial curses into Malik's throne.
3. **Zahra** dueled Malik's spectral conquistadors, her blood magic clashing with their rusted swords.
4. **Thomas** and the **children** forged a healing bridge between worlds, their combined DNA stabilizing the collapsing Astral Sea.
Ahanu vs. Malik
Ahanu lunged, his *macuahuitl* carving arcs of obsidian and static. Malik parried with a blade of fused bone and code, each clash reverberating through eras.
**Malik:** (laughing) "You're still just a scared boy playing with his ancestors' toys!"
**Ahanu:** (spinning into a Cherokee *gatayûstî* throw) "And you're a parasite wearing dead gods' skin!"
Malik's blade shattered, but he retaliated by **summoning the Tzitzimimeh's hivemind**. The star demons poured into Ahanu's hollow eye socket, flooding him with visions:
- The Middle Passage's depths.
- The Trail of Tears' frozen corpses.
- Tenochtitlan burning.
**Ahanu:** (collapsing, clawing at his skull) "Get… *out*!"
**Xóchitl:** (grabbing his face) "Focus on me! You're Ahanu Tennarse—son of Amara, grandson of Citlali! You're the bridge, not the void!"
Her skeletal prosthetic surged with Incan-Amaura code, hacking the Tzitzimimeh's hive. The star demons shrieked, retreating.
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Act IV: The Price of Memory
**Malik:** (cornered, his starlight dimming) "You think you've won? The Circle's in every world, every era. You'll *always* be cleaning up their mess."
**Ahanu:** (pinning him with the *macuahuitl*) "Then I'll fight in every world. Starting with yours."
He **ate Malik's starlight core**, consuming the Tzitzimimeh's hive-mind. The throne exploded, the Astral Sea collapsing.
**Xóchitl:** (dragging him toward the portal) "We have to go—*now*!"
**Ahanu:** (gazing at the dying Malik) "Tell the ancestors… I'm coming."
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