SOMEWHERE IN LAGOS NIGERIA
text are written in local slangs ☺️✌️
iim the afternoon at school during break time
Ayo
malik u go play ball
malik
naa I no day play
Tayo
why na we need a striker ogbeni leave that book and come play jor
Malik
"this one na manga… e dey make sense pass your own life"
Ayo and Tayo (togethe
hohooooooooo( jesting)
Malik smile slightly
Tayo
leave am jare, na book him go marry
(Ayo and Tayo leave, still talking and laughing)
The noise fades.
The classroom slowly empties.
Chairs shift.
Footsteps fade.
Silence.
Malik opens the book again.
Flips a page.
Reads.
Then—
He pauses.
Something feels off.
He looks down.
A faint line.
On the floor.
He squints.
The line curves.
More lines appear.
Connecting.
Forming something.
A circle.
Malik stares at it.
Then glances at the book.
Back to the circle.
A small smile.
Malik
nah…
The light bursts out.
Everything disappears.
in the Kingdom of Arkhavel
Light.
Too bright.
Not white.
Gold.
Sound returns.
Voices.
Layered.
Distant.
Malik stands still.
The book still in his hand.
The ground feels wrong.
Not tiles.
Stone.
He looks down.
A circle.
Not drawn.
Carved.
Symbols he doesn't understand.
He exhales.
Slow.
Malik
"…okay."
No panic.
Just processing.
The voices sharpen.
"—it worked!"
"The ritual is complete!"
"The hero—!"
Footsteps.
Fast.
Controlled.
Malik lifts his head.
People surround him.
Robes.
Armor.
A throne behind them.
All eyes on him.
Silence falls.
One man steps forward.
Older.
Dressed like authority.
"Welcome, chosen hero."
Malik blinks.
Once.
Looks around.
Back at the man.
Malik
"…you're talking to me?"
Murmurs ripple.
"Yes. You have been summoned—"
Malik raises a hand.
Malik
"Wait."
The man stops.
Malik glances down again.
At the circle.
At the symbols.
Then back up.
Malik
"…so this is real."
Not fear.
Just confirmation.
The man straightens.
"You have been chosen to save our world from destruction—"
Malik turns slightly.
Checks behind him.
No one else.
Back to them.
Malik
"…I'm the only one here?"
A pause.
"…yes."
Silence.
Malik runs a hand through his hair.
Malik
"Right."
He looks at the book still in his hand.
Then at them again.
Malik
"…start from the beginning."
The room shifts.
Relief.
Hope.
Several kneel.
"Please… save us."
Malik watches them.
Quiet.
Thinking.