The first time Kade Adeyemi saw a god, it was eating a man.
He didn’t know it was a god then.
As far as Kade was concerned, gods belonged to old stories, religious books, dusty statues and arguments people had on Sunday afternoons.
They didn’t belong in Lagos.
Especially not at 2:13 in the morning.
Kade stopped walking.
The street ahead of him was empty.
Too empty.
Lagos was never silent.
Even at this hour, there was usually a generator somewhere coughing itself to death. A distant horn. A motorcycle. Music leaking through somebody’s window.
Tonight there was nothing.
Not even the insects.
Kade slowly lowered his phone.
The screen showed 2:13 AM.
Then it went black.
"Great."
He tapped the power button.
Nothing.
"Perfect."
He tried again.
Nothing.
Kade sighed and shoved the phone into his pocket.
He had made this walk hundreds of times.
Tonight was different.
He could feel it.
Something was watching him.
Kade turned around.
Nothing.
The road behind him was empty.
He turned forward again.
Still nothing.
Then he saw the man.
He was standing in the middle of the road.
Barefoot.
Motionless.
Kade frowned.
"Sir?"
The man didn’t answer.
Kade took one step backward.
Then another.
There was something wrong with the man’s shadow.
The streetlight was behind him.
His shadow should have stretched toward Kade.
Instead, it stretched sideways.
Kade stared.
The shadow moved.
The man didn’t.
Kade’s breathing stopped.
The shadow slowly lifted its head.
Kade ran.
He didn’t know what he was running from.
He didn’t care.
His shoes slapped against the pavement as he sprinted toward home.
Behind him came a sound.
A wet tearing noise.
Then a scream.
Kade didn’t look back.
He ran faster.
He reached the gate to his house and nearly fell trying to open it.
"Mum!"
No answer.
He pushed the door open.
The house was dark.
"Mum?"
Silence.
Kade switched on the light.
Nothing.
His mother’s slippers were beside the sofa.
Her handbag was on the table.
Her phone was charging.
Kade stared at it.
She never left her phone behind.
"Mum!"
He ran through the rooms.
Kitchen.
Empty.
Bathroom.
Empty.
Bedroom.
Empty.
He stopped.
Something was wrong.
The window was open.
Curtains moved gently in the night breeze.
Kade approached the bed.
Then he saw the wall.
Blood.
Three words had been written across the white paint.
DON’T LET IT FIND YOU.
Kade couldn’t breathe.
"Mum..."
A sound came from behind him.
A whisper.
"Kade."
He spun around.
Nobody.
His heart hammered.
"Mum?"
The bedroom door slowly closed.
Kade stepped backward.
The light flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then went out.
Something breathed behind him.
Kade froze.
Every instinct screamed at him to run.
But his legs wouldn’t move.
A voice whispered directly beside his ear.
"Found you."
Kade screamed and swung his fist.
His hand hit something.
Not human.
The creature shrieked.
A burst of cold air slammed into his face.
Kade fell against the wall.
For a moment, there was only darkness.
Then two pale eyes opened in front of him.
Kade’s body went numb.
The thing crawled out of the darkness.
It had the shape of a man.
But it was far too thin.
Its arms were too long.
Its fingers dragged against the floor.
And its mouth...
Its mouth opened far beyond what a human jaw should allow.
Kade crawled backward.
"No."
The creature smiled.
Then lunged.
Kade raised his arms.
Something exploded inside his head.
A bell rang.
DING!
Everything stopped.
The creature froze inches from his face.
A translucent blue window appeared in the darkness.
Kade stared.
He blinked.
The window remained.
«[UNAUTHORIZED SPIRITUAL ENTITY DETECTED.]»
Another line appeared.
«[HOST COMPATIBILITY: 0.00%]»
Kade stared.
"What..."
The creature moved again.
«[HOST SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 0.003%.]»
His heart pounded.
"Who are you?"
The window changed.
«[DIVINE DEVOURER SYSTEM INITIALIZING.]»
Kade felt something tear through his chest.
He screamed.
Pain exploded through every bone in his body.
The creature suddenly stopped.
For the first time, it looked afraid.
Kade looked at it.
Then at the strange blue window.
Another message appeared.
«[WARNING.]»
«[THE HOST POSSESSES NO ASE CORE.]»
«[STANDARD CULTIVATION PROTOCOLS ARE IMPOSSIBLE.]»
Kade laughed nervously.
"That’s... that’s good, right?"
The System didn’t answer.
Instead, a final message appeared.
«[ADAPTATION PROTOCOL INITIATED.]»
The creature lunged.
Kade instinctively reached out.
The world turned black.
Then he heard a voice.
Not from the System.
Not from the creature.
His mother’s voice.
Terrified.
"KADE!"
His eyes opened.
The creature was standing directly in front of him.
Its mouth was inches from his face.
And somehow...
Kade wasn’t afraid anymore.
He could see something inside it.
A tiny burning light.
The System displayed another message.
«[SPIRITUAL CORE DETECTED.]»
«[TARGET: HOLLOW WRAITH.]»
«[POWER LEVEL: 3.]»
«[RECOMMENDED ACTION: DEVOUR.]»
Kade stared at the creature.
Then at the word.
DEVOUR.
He swallowed.
"What happens if I do?"
For the first time, the System answered.
«[YOU FIND OUT.]»
Kade smiled.
It wasn’t a brave smile.
It wasn’t even a sane one.
It was the smile of a man who had just realized that the rules of his entire life had been a lie.
He reached toward the creature.
And selected:
YES.
The monster screamed.
Kade screamed louder.
Something ancient woke inside his soul.
And somewhere beneath Lagos...
Something opened its eyes.