POV: Zainab "Golden Tongue" Sule
The pandora dynamics institution and medical lab floated above Lagos Bay.
100 floors of gold glass, anti-gravity pads, and lies.
Tonight it hosted the "Future of Faith" gala.
Tonight I was going to steal a god.
My name is Zainab Sule. 22. Corp spy. Diplomat. Liar.
Official title: Senior Relations Officer,pandora Dynamics.
Real title: Ọ̀ṣun's knife.
I walked through the doors in a dress the color of river gold. It clung, it shimmered, and it had nano-fiber channels woven through the hem. My God-Tech. _Bio-Nano Rivers_.
"Ms. Sule," the scanner purred. "Welcome. Your charm rating is exceptional tonight."
"Thank you," I smiled. "I do try."
The ballroom was a shark tank. CEOs, generals, and 3 Demi-Gods wearing human skin as a suit. All of them drinking wine laced with obedience particles.
My target: Director Femi Kolawole. Ogbene's cousin. Head of "Project: False God".
He stood by the window, holding champagne, watching the city like he owned it. He did.
"Director," I said, sliding up beside him. My voice did half the work. Ọ̀ṣun's Path was all about resonance. Making people,feel,what you wanted them to feel. "You look lonely."
He turned. Eyes like a shark. "Zainab. The Golden Tongue. I heard you cracked the Kano cell without firing a shot."
"I just listen," I said And touched his wrist,just for a second.
Warmth. Trust. A little desire. I fed it back to him.
His shoulders dropped. "Walk with me."
We walked. Past servers, past guards, past cameras that somehow "glitched" when I looked at them.
His office was on floor 88. Private elevator. Retina scan.
He didn't notice my reflection didn't match me.
Inside: black walls, one desk, one safe. And on a screen: _PROJECT FALSE GOD - PHASE 2_
Files. Schematics. A 300m statue with Pandora's logo on the chest.
And a list.
`TEST SUBJECTS - ÀṢẸ SIGNATURE MATCH`
`1. KUNLE ADEYEMI - Ọ̀GÚN`
`2. IYANU BALOGUN - ỌYA`
`3. DELE OYEWO - ṢÀNGÓ`
`4. ZAINAB SULE - Ọ̀ṢUN`
My blood went cold.
Alarms went off in my head,maybe i wasn't as inconspicuous as i thought.
"Looking for something?" Femi asked behind me.
I turned. He had a gun. Corp issue. Aimed at my head.
"You've been very helpful, Zainab," he said. "Pity. Ogbene said you'd be perfect for the harvest."
Harvest.
The word hit like ice.
I could've fought. But Ọ̀ṣun doesn't fight fair. Ọ̀ṣun makes the world fight for her.
I cried. Not fake. Real. One tear. Gold in the light.
"Please," I whispered. "I didn't know. I thought you liked me."
The gun wavered. His heartbeat sped up. Guilt. Desire. Confusion.
I pulled. Hard.
Two guards burst in. "Director?"
"She's a spy," Femi said. But his voice was unsure.
I looked at them. And smiled.
"Are you sure?" I asked. Soft. "Did he tell you he's been selling Pandora's secrets to the Iron Path?"
Lie,beautiful lie.
The guards looked at each other. Then at Femi.
"Drop the weapon, sir."
Chaos.
I moved. River-light poured from my sleeves. The nano-fibers became whips of liquid gold. One wrapped the gun. One wrapped Femi's throat.
I kissed him. Fast. To steal the retina data from his eyes.
Then I ran.
Alarms screamed.
I hit the elevator. Slammed the emergency override. Dropped 80 floors in 10 seconds.
When the doors opened, 12 guards were waiting.
"Yield, Ms. Sule."
I sighed. "You guys never listen."
The Bio-Nano Rivers left my dress and became 6 golden serpents. They hit the guards like a flood. Not killing. Drowning. Healing fields flipped to concussive force.
I was at Conduit Realm now. Pain will do that.
I made it to the ground floor. To the bay.
And there, on the dock, waiting in a stolen Wosam boat: Emeka. The janitor from Peacehaven.
"You're late," he said.
"You're alive," I said. "Good."
Gunfire from above. Drones.
I turned, and the river behind me rose. A wall of water and light that caught the bullets.
"We need to move," Emeka said. "Iyanu's in trouble. She sent a signal."
Iyanu. The Storm Warden.
So it was starting. All 4 of us.
As the boat pulled away, I looked back at the Pandora's institution At Femi, watching from the window.
I mouthed two words: Thank you.
For the data. For the proof.
For showing me the treacherous man's heart.
Ogbene Kolawole wasn't just building a god.
He was farming something dangerous that could utterly change the world.
My phone buzzed. One message. Unknown number.
`THE CROSSROADS ARE OPEN. COME.
Èṣù.
I smiled. Blood on my lip. Gold in my eyes.
"Floor it," I told Emeka. "We have a war to start."