"When gods cry, mortals drown." — Ancient Odanjo Proverb
The air in Odanjo was thick with the scent of firewood, royal perfume, and something far more ancient—betrayal.
Drums echoed through the palace courtyard as dancers in red and gold moved like flames around a great bonfire. Tonight was no ordinary festival. Tonight, Prince Aremo, first son of King Arubọ, would be crowned the next Ọba of Odanjo.
But while the people celebrated outside, inside the inner palace, Aremo stood alone in front of the sacred bronze mirror. Dressed in white agbada embroidered with lion motifs and a crown of ivory beads resting on his head, he should have looked like a king.
Instead, he looked... haunted.
Something felt wrong.
He couldn't shake the dream he had the night before—a river of blood, a woman with one eye, and a black hawk perched atop a shattered throne. It was the same dream that had haunted him since childhood. And always, it came before death visited someone close to him.
There was a knock at the door.
His half-brother, Adégún, entered with a smile carved from stone.
"Brother," Adégún said smoothly, "the elders await. Drink this. It will calm your nerves."
Aremo hesitated. The wine was dark, thicker than usual.
But pride would not let him refuse.
He drank.
And everything shattered.
He didn't feel the dagger until it kissed his back.
He didn't see the other men in black until they surrounded him.
He didn't hear his own scream—only the voice of Adégún, whispering:
"Forgive me, brother. This kingdom needs a new story... without you in it."
As his blood stained the sacred floor, a strange wind blew through the room. The bronze mirror cracked.
Aremo's last vision was of a shadowy figure standing above him, her skin glowing like burning charcoal, her eyes two moons.
She spoke in a voice that sounded like thunder and sorrow.
"Son of crown and curse… You shall not die. You shall sleep. And you shall awaken… forgotten, but not forsaken."
Twenty Seasons Later...
A boy jolted awake beneath a palm tree in the small village of Iremoje.
He was sweating. Heart pounding. A dream still clinging to his soul—a throne, a crown, and a betrayal he could not understand.
"Yomi!" his mother called from the hut. "Come fetch water before the sun rises!"
He stood up, confused.
Who is Yomi?Why do I feel like I've lived… before?