The digital world was screaming. On the screens of millions of smartphones across Nigeria and the diaspora, the "Shout-Out" livestream had become a window into a nightmare.
[ SHOUT-OUT COMMENT STREAM ]
@LagosQueen: DID THE BOY JUST THROW A BOTTLE AT A GOD?? đđ
@OgaBoss: That boy is either the bravest person in Lagos or the stupidest. RIP to a real one. đïž
@NaijaTech: Look at the ground! It's literal liquefaction. No one survives that.
@PastorChris77: The end is here! Repent! Berger has fallen!
Ile, the Earth-Shaker, didn't move a muscle. He didn't need the frantic, wasted energy of a mortal. He simply tilted his head, his eyes like pits of grinding tectonic plates, and looked at the cracked asphalt beneath Tade's trembling feet.
The earth didn't just shake; it groaned, a deep, bass-heavy sound that vibrated through Tade's very marrow. A low-frequency hum began to pulse, making Tade's vision blur and his teeth ache. The asphalt began to crack like a fragile eggshell, and from the black gaps, the sharp, pungent smell of ancient sulfur roseâthe breath of a world long buried.
I'm going to be buried alive, Tade thought. A sob rose in his throat, hot and bitter. He thought of his late parents, his unfinished degree, and the sheer unfairness of dying for a history he didn't even belong to. As the ground gave way, pulling his sneakers into the hungry dark, he closed his eyes.
But just as the cold darkness of the pit rose to swallow his waist, a new scent hit the air. It wasn't the dry rot of the earth. It wasn't the exhaust of the idling Hiluxes.
It was the sharp, ozone-heavy smell of a forest fire during a thunderstorm.
[ SHOUT-OUT COMMENT STREAM ]
@TruthSeeker: Look at the dust... something else is coming. The light is changing!
@GidiVibes: WHATS THAT GLOW?? đ„đ„đ„
WHAM!
A heavy, whistling object tore through the air with the kinetic scream of a railgun slug. It was a rusted engine blockâfive hundred pounds of solid iron salvaged from a nearby mechanic's shopâ, and it struck Ile squarely in the chest.
The sound of the impact was like a sledgehammer hitting an anvil, a sonic boom that shattered the remaining windows of the nearby shops. Ile stumbled back, his concentration snapped. The pit beneath Tade stopped growing, the earth hardening just enough for the boy to scramble out, gasping for air.
Tade looked up, wiping the grit from his glasses. Ina had returned. But the Fire-Starter wasn't alone.
Standing beside the flame-wielder was a figure that defied every law of biology Tade knew. He was a giant, standing nearly seven feet tall, his skin not flesh, but a deep, polished chrome that caught the orange Lagos sun and turned it into a blinding halo. He moved with a rhythmic, heavy clankâthe sound of a well-oiled machineâand his eyes glowed with a steady, mercury-like light.
"Who is this?" Tade whispered, his awe momentarily silencing his terror.
Omi, dragging herself from the mud, let out a cry that was half-sob and half-cheer. The newcomer's presence seemed to wash the exhaustion from her face.
Ile's voice came out as a low, venomous snarl, the sound of grinding stones. "Irin! So... the forge still burns. I thought you were dust, Iron-One."
"The forge never dies, Ile," the newcomer responded. His voice was a deep, metallic baritone that sounded like a bass guitar plugged into a storm. "It only waits for the hammer. And I am ready to continue where we left off."
Tade realised the truth in a flash of divine clarity. Ina hadn't fled to save his own skin; he had sensed a frequency, a metallic resonance buried under the rubble of the excavation site. He had used his fragment of the Source Stone to jumpstart the "shattered" Irin, pulling him back from the brink of stasis with a jolt of solar heat.
Irin raised his hands. A massive, jagged battle-axeâetched with glowing blue runesâwas strapped to his back. It didn't stay there. It hummed with electromagnetic power, levitating and spinning through the air with the terrifying grace of a propeller before snapping firmly into Irin's chrome palm.
"No matter," Ile roared, the ground beneath him rising to form protective, jagged shields of rock. "I defeated the three of you in the halls of Ominira, and I will bury you in the streets of this new world today!"
Ile lunged, and the intersection of Berger became a theatre of elemental war.
It was a 3-on-1 battle that the world would never forget. Omi, her strength renewed by the presence of her brothers, pulled water from every car radiator, every abandoned "Pure Water" sachet, and every overhead tank in the nearby buildings. She lashed out with whips of high-pressure liquid that could cut through reinforced steel. Ina was a blur of orange heat, his fists turning the very dust into molten glass as he shot fireball after fireball, keeping Ile's earthen shields brittle and glowing.
But Irin was the conductor of the metal. He didn't just fight; he manipulated the urban environment like a god of the forge. Car doors flew from their hinges, forming a rotating, metallic shield around the trio. Rusted rebar from the wrecked sections of the bridge twisted into spears that sought the gaps in Ile's stone armour. He was a breathing, supercharged electromagnet, turning the city's own steel against its usurper.
Ile was a mountain that refused to crumble. He turned the highway into a churning ocean of rock, pulling the pedestrian bridge down to use as a massive, concrete shield. The heroes fought in perfect, ancient synchronisationâa dance of fire, water, and ironâbut Ile was drawing power from the very ground they walked upon.
Suddenly, the air was split by a high-pitched, agonising whine.
SCREECH!
High-decibel sonic and smoke grenades exploded across the battlefield. The combatants, their senses far more sensitive than humans, clutched their heads and stumbled as the white phosphorus smoke obscured their vision and pierced their eardrums.
Blacked-out, armoured SUVs roared onto the scene, bearing the sharp mountain sigil of the Sons of the Earth.
"The terrorists are back!" Tade shouted, pointing through the haze. Masked men in tactical gear poured out of the vehicles, firing randomly at the police and civilians, forming a protective guard around Ile.
At the same time, the rumble of heavy engines grew louder from the south. The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) was approaching with armoured personnel carriers and heavy-calibre weapons. While those bullets would bounce off Ile, they were a death sentence for the humans caught in the crossfireâand a massive problem for the terrorists.
"What is this?" Ile roared in anger at Commander Bashir, who stepped out of the lead SUV. "You dare to interfere in a clash of gods?"
"Apologies, my lord," Bashir said, bowing his head, but his eyes remained sharp. "But it is wise for you to leave now. The government is bringing in the heavy artillery. We must regroup. Let these three face the human's lead rain. We will strike when the city is even more divided!"
Ile grudgingly followed the gunmen, his stone armour shedding like dry skin as he boarded a modified vehicle. The terrorist convoy sped off, weaving through the chaos.
As the smoke of the grenades cleared, the three warriors regrouped, their chests heaving, wondering how their foe had vanished into the smog. But they didn't have time to ponder.
Seconds later, a hail of gunfire erupted from the ATS line. The government forces had arrived, and they were not asking for IDs. To the operatives, anything that glowed or stood seven feet tall was a target. Irin quickly raised his arms, and a dozen abandoned cars slid together, forming a makeshift barricade to deflect the bullets.
"NO, STOP! THEY ARE ON OUR SIDE!" Tade screamed from his hiding place, but his voice was drowned out by the thunder of the ATS's heavy machine guns.
In the chaos, a massive, silver-grey Jeep Grand Wagoneerâreinforced with steel plating and caked in the dust of a dozen archaeological digsâscreeched to a halt in front of Tade and his friends. The door flew open with a violent swing, and Uncle Tunde leaned out, his face a mask of sweating, wide-eyed panic.
"GET IN! UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE TARGET PRACTICE!" Tunde screamed over the gunfire.
Tade, Amina, Ngozi, and Edet didn't need a second invitation. They scrambled into the plush leather interior.
"Come with us!" Tunde gestured frantically to the three Alagbara.
Tade didn't need to interpret. Realising the window for a clean victory had closed and staying would only lead to a massacre of the very people they were meant to protect, the ancient warriors squeezed into the vehicle. The Jeep's heavy-duty suspension groaned and sagged under the incredible weight of Irin's metallic form.
Tunde slammed the vehicle into gear, the heavy tyres screaming as he pulled a tight U-turn. He wove through the maze of abandoned cars and disappeared into the narrow side streets of Ojodu just as the first ATS shells began to fall on the spot where the gods had stood.
The Aftermath: A City in Ruins
Lagos did not sleep that night.
By sunset, the footage of the "Berger Battle" was playing on a loop on every news station from CNN to NTA. The city was a powder keg. In the bustling markets of Mushin and Agege, riots broke out as people looted stores in a frantic bid to stock up for what looked like the end of days. In the leafy suburbs of Ikoyi, the streets were deathly silent, the gates of every mansion locked, barred, and guarded by private security.
On the news, military leaders spoke of "unidentified terrorist technology" and "biological anomalies," while on social media, the hashtag #Alagbara trended globally. The demand was universal:
Who are they? Are they our protectors, or are they the heralds of our extinction?
As the sun set over the smoking, metallic ruins of Berger, one thing was clear: The age of men was over. The age of the Alagbara had begun, and the city of Lagos would never be the same again.
[ LORE CARD: THE IRON ONE ]
Name: Irin
Element: Metal / Magnetism
Origin: The Master of the Forge in Ile-Ominira. He was the one who fashioned the weapons of the Ayanfe.
Current Status: Re-awakened (Energy: 65%). His physical form is made of an unknown, high-density alloy that is virtually indestructible by modern ballistic weapons.
Note: Irin is the "Shield" of the group. Without him, the fire and water are too destructive. With him, they are a defensive fortress.