INSIDE THE VEIL
Ayanda was still inside their house, in the sitting room, seated on the sofa, humming with quiet pleasure as she played a video game of checkers on the tablet in front of her.
That was how most of her days unfolded.
After going for a run and completing the physical exercises meant to strengthen her body, she would begin another shift of training—one that sharpened the mind.
Thus, she played drafts against an AI that adapted to any style she devised, a substitute for Kairo, who usually sat across from her instead.
Even though she kicked his ass Eighty percent of the time, the easy conversations and laughter they shared over the board made up for the losses.
And Kairo never complained about being her punching bag. He loved the experience just as much. After all, she was the only family he had left.
In a brutal world she was living in, anything that made you stronger was a priority worth pursuing.
"Checkmate."
She muttered it with a small smile, moving the final piece on the electronic board.
Ding. Ding.
[You win again, Ayanda]
A flashy dialogue box shimmered across half the screen, embedded in inviting colors.
"You're becoming weak. This is your third time losing in a row."
She said it so seriously you would think she was speaking to a person instead of a checkers program. With swift precision, she checked the game's difficulty settings once more to confirm it was on the highest level she preferred, then restarted without hesitation.
Unaware of her step-parents standing silently on the other side of the room, their eyes fixed on her like relatives watching a patient on a hospital bed, waiting for death to make its claim.
"Don't chicken out. Go ahead and tell her."
Her mother slapped her husband lightly on the shoulder, whispering as she nudged him forward.
He resisted,just like a child refusing to go to school while his parents force him out the door. The only difference was that this was less demeaning—and it was a grown man doing it.
"But she's a woman. It's your place to talk to her."
He shot back, grasping for any excuse to avoid confronting Ayanda.
"Don't feel any guilt. We're not the ones who killed him—something out there did. And besides, we already made a deal. You talk to Ayanda, and in return we'll have sex for a month. Anytime you want. Anywhere you want."
She reminded him, deliberately painting images of the pleasure awaiting him if he simply followed through. A trick she knew worked perfectly—a glitch in the supposedly impenetrable fortress of many men.
After a few seconds of shameless daydreaming and consideration, he gathered the courage to approach Ayanda.
"How's the game going?"
He interjected, smiling brightly to mask the tension coiled inside him as he sat on the sofa opposite her, positioning himself so they faced each other directly.
"Lame. I'm just winning every single game… I wish Kairo were here. Playing against him is fun."
She whined, quitting the game he had just watched her start.
Her stepfather lowered his head slightly, doubt flickering across his face as his eyes met his wife's from across the room. For a brief second, weakness threatened to swallow him, but her sharp, warning stare restored the confidence he was losing.
"Ahm… on the same subject about Kairo…"
He began, rubbing his hands together nervously as Ayanda's attention sharpened at the mention of her brother's name.
"A report from HQ just came in about their squad."
Ayanda's eyes lit with interest, a subtle smile forming.
"What did it say?"
"Ahm… that all of their squad has been wiped out."
"So… what—what does that mean?"
Her voice trembled. Her body followed. The curiosity that had peaked seconds earlier now twisted into something brittle and sharp.
"That, ahm…"
His gaze darted repeatedly toward his wife, who had begun to shed quiet tears on the other side of the room, unable to meet Ayanda's wide, gullible blue eyes.
"Kairo is… he is, ahm… dead."
The words fell like a detonation. Clear. Unavoidable. Final.
Silence followed.
Ayanda froze. Completely still. Her eyes stopped blinking.
The loud, curious heartbeat that had echoed from the start of the conversation vanished, swallowed by a silence thick as night.
Her stepfather froze too. He didn't know how she would react, so he remained motionless. His wife did the same. In that moment, the house drowned in a suffocating quiet no one would ever wish to endure.
Until—
"Hahahahah."
Ayanda began to laugh.
Not maniacally. No. It was something else entirely.
The laughter continued as tears streamed down her face like the first scattered drops before a cyclone descends. Mucus mixed in, dripping from her nose and falling to the floor, shaken loose by the violent tremors of her body.
Her stepfather sat stiffly, narrowing his eyes in confusion. It wasn't a reaction anyone prepares for. You tell someone their brother has died, and they laugh. You don't know whether to laugh with them, cry, or question your own sanity.
But her stepmother understood.
The laughter sounded like a scream for help—a desperate cry from someone realizing she was now the only one left of her family in this world.
Slowly, she stepped forward, tears sliding down her own face, and wrapped Ayanda in an overwhelming embrace—
The kind only a mother can give.
It took a few seconds.
But gradually, Ayanda surrendered.
The laughter fractured, broke apart—
And finally dissolved into sobs.
...
Outside the Veil
Vroom.
The duo drove along the tarred road, alone, with no cars or traffic to disturb them. The vehicle was filled with complete silence.
Contrary to what you might expect from two boys who had just survived a hellish fight, but that was the reality.
Ever since climbing into Magnum's car, it had taken only seconds for Kairo to fall asleep. An inevitable result after creating the giant chubby monster at the beach. This time, however, he sat in the front passenger seat.
"Mom…"
He murmured in his sleep, drawing Magnum's bored attention.
"I'll get back, Ayanda… don't worry."
He jolted awake instantly—but unlike most times, he didn't rise as though being chased.
This time he was calm. Too calm. Like a teenager returning from a successful date with their crush.
"Are you okay?"
Magnum initiated the conversation.
"Yeah… sorry for the startle."
"Don't worry. I'm good. You just do you."
He replied with a faint smile, one hand on the steering wheel, the other resting against the closed window.
"So, back there…"
Kairo rubbed the sleep from his eyes before turning to him.
"Why didn't you mention me?"
He hit the nail directly on the head.
Magnum knew that question was coming. He took a subtle breath, preparing to break the silence properly.
"There are twelve empires in our new Africa. In the old world, they used to call them countries. But all of them are united as one—not under a single ruler, but under the laws we set out. You might think of it as the United States of Africa, just without a president or those political figures."
He explained, the engine humming steadily beneath his words as the journey continued.
"Those women we saw back there are one of those empires. They're called the Sisters of Sea. They have their own culture and beliefs—"
"That's why they were all bald."
Kairo interjected, intrigued.
"Right on the money. They're combat-based warriors—strong on land, even stronger in water. Everything about them is impressive… until you get to the religious side."
"Religious side?"
"They have their own prophecies. And one of them involves your Oxide ability. Now that they've seen it in action, you're definitely going to become their target."
"A target? Like assassins and stuff?"
"Yep. I have no doubt."
"Then why did you lie if you knew they wouldn't believe you in the first place?"
"Because I openly denied it was you. Any action they take to capture you now would mean they broke the law. And if they break the law, they'll be in deep trouble."
The words struck Kairo hard. Laws—under these conditions. It proved how civilized Africa had become, even in chaos.
"Whoa… so what do they want with me?"
Kairo asked.
Magnum turned his head toward him dramatically, as if weighing whether to reveal the truth, then faced the road again.
"It's simple, really. You'll become the Queen's husband—"
He paused just long enough for it to sink in.
"—and be forced to mate with every woman in their empire."