OLAMILEKAN:
Blood in my mouth. Pain in every limb. Joshua beside me, barely breathing. Martin walking toward the hostages like a king claiming his prize.
We had lost.
No.
Not yet.
Something inside me stirred. The light in my veins flickered. And beneath it... the shadow. That familiar, dreaded presence. The one I tried to bury after New Dakar.
It clawed its way up.
I could hear Joshua groaning behind me. "Ola... don't... you don't have to..."
But I did.
I reached into myself—and let it out.
The darkness exploded.
A tidal wave of shadow burst from my back, spiraling like a storm. The ground cracked under me. My vision darkened, my thoughts twisted. I wasn't Ola anymore. I was something more.
Something less.
Martin turned. His smirk faltered.
"Interesting," he said.
I didn't answer. I roared.
The shadows lunged toward him like beasts unleashed. They clawed at him, dragged his legs, boxed him in. I moved within the darkness like a phantom. One slash. Two. Three.
Martin parried the first two, but the third tore across his arm.
He tried to speak. I punched him in the face. Hard.
He stumbled back, growling. "You're not in control. That power will consume you."
Maybe he was right. But in that moment, I didn't care.
I charged. Our blades clashed. Sparks flew. Time warped.
He activated it.
Time: Stop.
But I was already moving. The shadows—my shadows—disobeyed time itself. One wrapped around Martin mid-stop. Another curled behind his neck, ready to strike.
He gasped. "What...?"
Time resumed.
He barely dodged. My fist caught his ribs. He coughed blood. I grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the wall.
"WHY?!" I screamed. "Why the hostages?! Why the innocent?!"
He grinned through the pain. "Because they're unawakened. Wasted potential. Cattle who live in fear while the rest of us carry the weight of the world."
I stared.
He kept going, eyes wild. "The awakened should rule. Not hide. Not beg. We are evolution. They are dead weight. I will wipe them out and build a new world. One without fear. Without weakness."
My heart twisted. "You're doing this... because you're scared."
He snarled.
We fought again.
Faster.
Harder.
Blades singing through the air. My light returned, mingling with the darkness. Every strike shook the ruins. The very sky seemed to darken.
I lost control again. The shadows roared.
I almost struck Joshua.
But then—his voice cut through.
"Ola. Focus."
I stopped. Breathing hard. Eyes wide.
He was right.
I pulled it back. Just a little. Enough to direct it, to own it.
Light and darkness swirled around me. Two halves of the same storm. And with both—I attacked.
Martin's movements slowed. His time jumps became desperate.
Time: Forward.
I read it. Met him mid-jump. Slammed him down.
Time: Stop.
He tried to stab me.
My shadows moved during the freeze.
He gasped.
Time: Reverse.
He vanished—rewinding the battle.
But not all of it. Not me.
I had grown past that.
When he reappeared, bleeding and shaking—I was there.
And I hit him with everything.
Light.
Shadow.
He flew backward, smashing into the remains of a port crane. Steel buckled. Debris rained.
Silence.
He coughed. Staggered up.
Then smiled.
"You're stronger than I thought," he said, blood dripping from his lips. "But you're not ready to kill me. Not yet."
A portal opened behind him.
"Until next time, Olamilekan. And when that time comes... I'll finish what I started."
He vanished.
I collapsed.
Joshua stumbled over, dragging himself forward. "Dude... are you alive?"
"Barely."
He helped me up. We limped toward the hostages.
They were chained. Afraid. But alive.
We freed them. One by one. Some cried. Some whispered prayers.
We said nothing. There was nothing to say.
We failed to stop Martin.
But we saved them.
For now.
Later, as we sat on the broken steps of the port's control tower, I looked at Joshua.
"We can't let him run free."
He nodded. "No. Next time... we finish this."
I clenched my fists, shadows flickering at my fingertips.
"For the dead. For the scared. For us."
We stood.
And walked into the dark, toward the next storm.
----
I could still taste blood, metal and dust in the back of my throat. The ground pulsed beneath my feet like it remembered the violence, like it knew more was coming.
Joshua stood beside me, panting, his shirt soaked with blood and sweat. We had freed the hostages, but Martin still echoed in my mind like a ghost that wouldn't leave. His words haunted the air.
"We are evolution."
"They are dead weight."
He meant every word.
And that terrified me.
The hostages were quiet now—too quiet. Their eyes kept darting around the ruined port, expecting him to reappear, like a devil summoned by fear alone. Joshua wrapped a loose bandage around his arm, then tossed me a glance.
"You alright?"
I nodded, but it was a lie. My skin still hummed with darkness. My light was flickering, like a candle caught in the wind. And inside—beneath the fear and exhaustion—was something deeper.
Rage.
We started moving again. Slowly. Methodically. We needed to be sure Martin hadn't left traps. We needed to make sure the people were really safe.
But then it happened.
The air shimmered.
Reality bent.
A soft chime echoed, unnatural and chilling.
Martin stepped out of a ripple in time—wounded, yes, limping, blood running down his side—but alive.
He grinned at us, arms spread like he expected applause.
"Did you really think I'd leave without finishing my speech?"
Joshua growled, stepping forward, blades drawn. "You're insane."
"I'm inevitable," Martin replied.
He pointed his blade at the hostages. I saw it—the flicker in his eye. He was going to kill them. All of them. Just to prove a point.
I didn't even think.
The shadows responded.
They erupted from me in waves, slamming into Martin before he could raise a finger. He went flying back, skidding across the ruined concrete.
Joshua rushed forward.
The fight started again—fast, chaotic, messy. Joshua's shadows lashed out with wild speed, stabbing and slashing, trying to pin Martin down.
I joined in, light and shadow pouring from me. The storm inside me had found rhythm. Control was slipping again, but I held on.
Just barely.
Martin activated his magic.
Time: Stop.
We expected it. My shadows coiled and struck even while frozen.
He staggered, bleeding from the mouth. "What are you?" he snarled.
I didn't answer.
We fought again. Blow after blow. He used Time: Forward, but we read him. He used Time: Reverse, but it was weaker. Slower. His body was breaking under the pressure.
But so was mine.
My vision blurred. The light in my chest began to sputter. The darkness whispered louder.
Let go, it said. You can end him if you let me take over.
I almost did.
I almost let the void consume me.
But then I saw Joshua—bruised, limping, still fighting—and I remembered.
Who I was.
Why we were here.
Who we were trying to protect.
I roared and summoned everything I had—light and shadow, in perfect harmony. I dashed forward, blades of both elements drawn.
Martin blocked.
I shattered his guard.
He screamed as the light burned through his shoulder. The shadow coiled around his legs and lifted him, then slammed him down like a god's judgment.
He didn't get up.
I stood over him, heart pounding, blade shaking.
"Do it," he said, spitting blood. "Be the monster you're meant to be."
I didn't move.
"Kill me!" he roared.
But I didn't.
Instead, I stepped back.
"You don't get to choose how this ends," I said.
He laughed—low and bitter. "Then you're a coward."
"No," Joshua said, limping to my side. "He's something you'll never be."
A man.
Martin growled and slammed his fist into the ground.
A portal opened.
"No—!" I lunged, shadows flying—but it was too late.
He vanished again.
Gone.
Joshua cursed, kicking a broken piece of concrete. "Damn it. DAMN it."
I fell to my knees, the fight draining from my body.
We were too late again.
But we were alive.
And so were the hostages.
Later, as the NSDA recovery team arrived and began loading the injured into transports, I sat on the steps of the shattered port, watching the smoke rise.
Joshua dropped beside me, groaning as he sat. "So... we let the big bad get away. Again."
I didn't speak for a while.
Then I looked at my hands—burned, bruised, and flickering with both light and dark.
"No," I said. "We're not done."
Joshua tilted his head. "You sure you're ready for that?"
"I'm not," I admitted. "But we can't wait for him to strike again. We go after him."
Joshua nodded slowly. "Yeah. We hunt him. Together."
I stood.
The wind picked up, brushing ash and smoke across the ruined dock.
Somewhere out there, Martin was planning his next move.
And this time… we'd be ready.