Beyond the veil of the night

As morning sunlight peeked through her window, Nnenna's eyes snapped open, her heart racing with the realization she was running perilously late.

She rushed through her morning routine, her fingers flying as she braided her hair and grabbed her backpack.

With a deep breath, she burst through the gate, only to collide with a familiar figure - Agaba.

Their eyes met, and Nnenna's face froze in shock and admiration. It was as if the universe had conspired to bring them together.

She had secretly prayed for this coincidence, but never thought it will actually happen.

The sound of Agaba's warm, melodious voice brought her back to reality,

"Hey, good morning! Late for school today?" he teased, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

Agaba's own morning had been a chaotic whirlwind.

A late-night training session had left him drained, and he'd overslept, waking up at 7am.

Despite his superhuman speed, he'd barely managed to get ready by 7:18 am. But then, his mom's irresistible cooking had waylaid him.

The heavenly aroma of Akara and pap had chained him to the dinner table, and before he knew it, he'd downed three cups of pap and devoured two plates of Akara.

Time had slipped away, and by 7:43 am, he was running seriously behind.

Nnenna's eyebrow arched in playful curiosity,"why are you late?", she asked, her voice tinged with amusement.

Agaba rubbed the back of his head, a wry grin spreading across his face. "I overslept, and then my mom's cooking held me hostage", he confessed, his eyes sparkling with mirth.

Nnenna's laughter was music to Agaba's ears - a melodious sound he'd never heard before, her smile, radiant as a sunrise.

As they strolled together to school, Nnenna's curiosity got the better of her.

"tell me about your mom's cuisine", she asked, her eyes sparkling with interest.

Agaba's heart skipped a beat. He'd been hoping to ask her to walk with him, but Nnenna had beaten him to it.

He grinned, feeling carefree."it's a culinary masterpiece", he began, launching into a vivid description of his mom's cooking.

As they walked, the morning sun casting a warm glow over the scene, Nnenna listened with rapt attention.

She marveled at Agaba's efficiency, wondering how he'd managed to get ready in record time.

"I woke up 35 minutes before you", she admitted, "but I still had to rush out the door without breakfast".

Agaba chuckled. "My mom's cooking is worth rushing for", he teased.

They arrived at school just in time, slipping in at 8:02 am.

School proceeded with its usual routine, but with a notable exception: Agaba's tardiness was met with silence, rather than snickers.

The teacher's scolding was nothing new, but Agaba took it in stride, his eyes fixed on the lesson ahead.

When the class activity rooled around, Agaba's focus paid off.

He aced the class work, earning a perfect 10|10 and propelling himself and Ahmed to the top of the class rankings.

As the lunch bell rang, Agaba and Ahmed made their way to the cafeteria.

They settled into their usual spot, only to be surprised by Nnenna's sudden arrival.

She plopped down beside them, her face a picture of shy awkwardness.

Ahmed raised an eyebrow, "Nnenna, what's going on? You look like you've lost your marble".

Nnenna's words tumbled out in a rush, "I-I just wanted to find someone to sit with…and I saw you guys…I'll just leave if you'd rather be alone…" her voice trailed off barely above a whisper.

Ahmed's expression softened, "hey, hey, no need to be like that! We're friends here, right? We don't bite…unless Agaba here is hungry",he grinned, stretching out a hand in welcome.

Agaba nodded in agreement, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Hmm",Nnenna's face flushed with embarrassment as she misinterpreted Agaba's subtle nod.

In her mind, she convinced herself that Agaba was only tolerating her presence because of Ahmed's friendly intervention.

A pang of insecurity struck her, making her wonder if she was worthy of Agaba's attention.

Ahmed, on the other hand, was a different story. Despite being a certified brainbox, he turned into a nervous wreck around pretty girls.

Nnenna's presence sent his adrenaline into overdrive, and he desperately tried to play it cool.

Adopting a suave, mature persona, Ahmed attempted to impress Nnenna, but she barely noticed his efforts.

Instead, Nnenna found herself fixated on Agaba, trying to decipher his sudden change in behaviour.

The warm, friendly Agaba from that morning had given way to a more reserved, distant version.

Nnenna couldn't help but blame herself, wondering if her appearance was the problem.

Was her hair too rough? Her clothes too rumpled? Or was it her awkward approach that had put Agaba off?

As the conversation unfolded, Agaba remained noticeably detached, his initial warmth and enthusiasm nowhere to be found.

Ahmed, on the other hand, was in his element, regaling Nnenna with academically related conversations.

Nnenna participated sparingly, her mind still reeling from the awkward lunch encounter.

As the school day drew to a close, Ahmed and Agaba fell into step together, walking home in comfortable silence.

Nnenna watched them from afar, her thoughts still tangled in the events of lunch.

She hesitated, then deliberately hung back, unsure if she was ready to face Agaba again.

"Hey, did you see her?" Agaba asked Ahmed, his eyes scanning the crowd.

Ahmed shrugged, his tone dismissive.

"Nah, let's just head home. Maybe she's waiting for her sister or something".

Agaba nodded, his expression neutral, "Okay, if you say so".

As night descended upon the city, casting long shadows across the streets, a local church stood as a beacon of tranquility.

Within its hallowed walls, the pastor knelt in fervent prayer, the soft glow of the alter bulbs illuminating his devoted face.

Suddenly, the serenity was shattered. Three figures, clad in black and shrouded in hooded shadows, burst into the church.

Adejor, Akan, and Fumi, their faces obscured, their intentions sinister.

Outside, a phalanx of ten figures, equally attired in black, stood guard, their faces hidden, their presence menacing.

Adejor's mocking voice cut through the silence, "What do we have here? A pastor, how quaint".

The pastor, his eyes wide with fear, turned to face the intruders, "who are you? What do you want? Don't you know you're in the presence of God?" His voice trembled, his words laced with a desperate plea.

Adejor sneered, his response dripping with malice, "quit blabbing, pastor. What presence of God? This is nothing but an empty building with one man praying to nothing. Your god have departed you, sinner".

Fumi's voice dripped with sadistic pleasure as she observe the pastor's body movement, "Don't dare take another step!"

"leave now, or I'll call the authorities…" the priest's eyes widened in terror

"call the authorities? Are we not in the house of God?, your god can't save you now?, leader, let me finish him, before we begin the ritual", Fumi mocked.

Akan's voice was laced with an otherworldly calm, "no need for bloodshed… yet. He's standing on the path, and every path leads to a gate. We'll use him as a sacrifice to herald the return of our god"

The pastor's face turned ashen, "what are you talking about? What sacrifice? Who is this being you're referring to? Leave this sacred place at once!"

Adejor's eyes flashed with malevolence, "you ignorant fool, who do you think we're summoning?"

Akan's voice dripped with contempt. "if this priest truly served the christian God, he would be a formidable foe. But his heart is far from divine. A single sin can sever the bond between mortal and deity. This man's faith is a sham, a mere facade to garner worldly gains".

Akan's eyes blazed with malevolence, "He sinned against his God by robbing money out of the hands of his members, looting funds meant for orphans and widows, selling fake miracle products that were never authorized and even staging his deliverance and healing session, he had never for once visited an orphanage home, some of his members are drowning in poverty, while he owns excess wealth, your god have departed you because of all this chase for material things, you have no spiritual armor, you're vulnerable backslider"

The pastor's face contorted in a mix of confusion, shock and terror, "No, you're lying! My God is always with me, day and night. He knows I…" his words trailed off, consumed by guilt and fear.

Akan's smile twisted into a grotesque grin, "then let your god protect you from this…"

He began to chant in a low, hypnotic tone, his words weaving a dark spell.

The pastor's eyes widened as he felt an unseen force lift him off the ground, suspending him in mid-air.

As Akan continued to chant, the priest's stomach began to churn and rumble.

A dark, viscous energy started to take form, manifesting as a twisted , ethereal mass.

The pastor's screams of agony echoed through the church as the cult members outside joined the trio's chant, their voices rising in a frenzied crescendo:

"OH, SUPREME REFORMER, WELCOME! ACCEPT OUR OFFERING AS YOU BEGIN YOUR REFORMATION!"

As the pastor's screams reached a deafening crescendo, the chanting grew louder, more frenzied.

The air was electric with malevolent energy.

Suddenly, the pastor's belly tore open, a ghastly wound that seemed to rip apart the very fabric of reality.

A dark, pulsating light burst forth, as if the very gates of hell had been flung open.

A colossal, dark figure emerged from the priest's ravaged body, its presence seeming to fill the entire church.

The beast's eyes blazed with an otherworldly fury as it forced its way through the opening, ripping the priest's body asunder.

More twisted creatures, similar in form and malevolence, poured forth from the opening, filling the church with an unholy presence.

The master of these dark creatures, a towering figure of unspeakable evil, emerged from the church.

Its aura was so potent, so corrupting, that it created a thick, black pillar of darkness that stretched from the church to the heavens.

This ominous spectacle, however, went unnoticed by the sleeping city, shrouded as it was in the darkness of night.

But Agaba and his father sensed it. They felt an inexplicable, creeping dread that seemed to seep into their very souls.

The atmosphere in their home, once warm and convivial, grew heavy with foreboding.

Agaba's mother, attuned to the subtle shifts in her family's emotions, noticed the change and felt a shiver run down her spine.

The presence of this ancient evil cast a dark, palpable shadow over the city, though only a select few were aware of it.

Agaba and his father, gifted with a deeper understanding of the spiritual realm, knew exactly what it was - a harbinger of doom, a creature of unadulterated malevolence.