chapter 13
CHAPTER TITLE: THE FALLEN LIGHT
It was a misty night, the air heavy with sorrow, and the riverbank silent except for the gentle flow of water under a crescent moon. A woman stood there — her clothes tattered, her face tear-streaked, her eyes hollow from pain and exhaustion. In her arms, she cradled a baby wrapped in an old, torn shawl. That baby was Caleb.
"I hate you," she whispered with venom trembling on her lips. "You ruined me."
The baby, too young to understand hatred, simply stared at her, eyes wide with innocent wonder. His tiny fingers reached out toward her face, not to blame, but to seek comfort.
"They said you'd be a blessing, but you destroyed everything. We wanted a girl. You came instead. My husband left me, my mother is dying, and they all say it's your curse."
Thunder cracked softly in the distance. The woman's knees buckled, but she steadied herself. With shaking hands, she knelt and placed the baby in a hand-woven basket lined with straw and old rags — much like the one Moses was placed in before drifting down the Nile. The basket was smeared with mud, its reeds tied by desperation and grief.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice cracking. "Your mother is going to a place without return."
She bent low, kissed the child one final time, and turned away, vanishing into the trees as her sobs echoed through the night.
---
THE NEXT MORNING
A drunken man staggered along the riverbank, cursing his luck and looking for scrap to sell. His bottle clanked against a tree root as he stumbled. Then he saw it — a strange basket bobbing at the river's edge. It looked… odd. Alive.
"What the hell…" he muttered, staggering closer.
When he opened it, he blinked hard. A baby stared back up at him, cooing softly.
He scowled. "A baby? Damn it! I thought it'd be gold… money… not this cursed thing!"
He dropped the basket on the ground with a thud. The baby wailed.
People walking by simply shook their heads. "That drunk again," they muttered. "Ignore him."
Enraged, the man raised his hand to strike the child — but before he could, a frail old hand caught his wrist.
"Stop!" cried the voice of Tina Joss, a woman whose body had aged from hardship but whose soul still burned with warmth. "He's just a child! For God's sake!"
The drunk spat on the ground and stormed off, muttering curses.
Tina picked up the child and held him close. "Oh, sweet thing," she murmured. "Who would leave you here in this cruel world?"
She took him home — a crumbling one-room house in the poorest edge of the city. She had nothing: no husband, no children, and debts that buried her hopes. Her landlord, Riffs, sent thugs daily to harass her, steal her food, and throw stones at her windows. But with Caleb in her life, she smiled again.
Caleb grew under her care — laughed with her, played by the river, sold goods at the market. The world outside bullied him, but he always returned home to love.
---
AGE SIX
By now, Caleb had become Tina's helper. Together they sold herbs, rags, and handmade soaps. One day, Tina proudly paid off her rent in full.
But that night… Riffs broke in.
"You old hag!" he screamed, slamming the door. "How dare you pay your debt?! Now I've got no one to torment!"
He was drunk with madness, laughing like a devil in heat. "You still owe me a balance. You think I'll let you go so easily?"
Tina fell to her knees, shielding Caleb. "Please… I'll give you anything. Just don't hurt my boy. He's just a child."
Riffs grinned, the devil incarnate. "Fine. I'll take him."
His thugs raised clubs. Tina screamed, "NO!"
Caleb stepped forward, eyes fiery with a six-year-old's righteous fury.
"You bastards!" he shouted. "Do you even know what life means?! How can you beat an old woman like she's nothing?! She's someone's mother! Would you do this to yours?! THIS IS OPPRESSION!"
Silence.
Then Riffs walked over, slow and sinister.
"You've got fire, boy. Fire brings profit."
He yanked Caleb from Tina's arms. "Take the woman. Beat her until she breathes no more."
Caleb screamed, but it was too late. Tina's cries faded behind him as Riffs dragged him into the darkness.
---
SOLD INTO SLAVERY
For 2.2 million naira, Caleb was sold to a child labor syndicate. There, at six, he experienced the darkest pits of humanity: starvation, beatings, cold floors, sleepless nights.
He remembered Tina's stories — Alice in Wonderland, tales of magical lands, worlds better than this one. Her voice echoed in his dreams.
One day, while cleaning a rich man's house, he saw it: a dusty book titled Alice in Wonderland. He stole it, hid it, and read it in the moonlight like scripture.
Then… something strange happened.
The words in the book began to shimmer. A glowing portal opened before him, swirling with darkness and light.
He didn't think. He leapt.
---
THE DEMON WORLD
It was cold. Desolate. Dead.
A land where only ash and bones danced on the wind. Caleb ran. Screams followed. Creatures with flaming mouths and twisted bodies chased him.
Then came Fire — a small demon boy with lava for veins and kindness in his eyes. He burned the monsters to ash.
"You're safe now," Fire said. "I'm Fire. What's your name?"
"...Caleb."
It was the first time someone asked.
Fire led him to the outer parts of the underworld, where exiled demons lived not in war, but in poverty. Caleb became one of them — their helper, their son, their dreamer.
He began building. A device that could connect both worlds. A bridge for peace.
But Fire fell ill — a rare disease with no cure in the demon world.
Caleb was 26 now. The pain was unbearable. He had lost Tina. He couldn't lose Fire.
The town rallied behind him. Together, they journeyed to the Demon Gate — a path long thought forbidden.
Many perished on the way. They buried them with demon songs, their ashes scattered into the soul winds.
Finally… Fire collapsed in Caleb's arms.
"I give you my power… brother," he whispered. "Guard them… for me."
Caleb cried like he hadn't since the night Tina died.
---
RETURN TO EARTH
At the gate, Caleb's machine activated. A portal opened. They stepped through.
On Earth, the Slayers — elite defenders of humanity — were already waiting. Weapons drawn.
Lucien, young and composed, stepped forward. "What is your purpose here?"
Caleb, masked, hesitated.
Lucien frowned. "You speak not. That worries me."
Caleb removed the mask.
Gasps.
"A human… among demons?"
Lucien stepped closer. "Why are you with them?"
"We need help," Caleb begged. "They're not what you think. They suffer too."
Then came Frost — brutal, furious. "He's one of them. All demons must die."
Shots fired.
Demons fell.
"No!" Caleb screamed. "They're innocent!"
Lucien hesitated… but then struck Caleb down. "I'm sorry."
And there it was. That word.
"Sorry," said his mother.
"Sorry," said Tina.
"Sorry," said Fire.
Now Lucien.
---
DEATH AND REBIRTH
But Caleb survived. He crawled, bleeding, and built again.
A machine that kept him alive. Fueled by demon energy and rage.
He returned to the underworld, changed. A warrior. A prophet of vengeance.
He gathered the demons once more.
"We are done begging. The world will learn our pain."
---
PRESENT DAY
Metro sat, eyes wide, as Caleb finished his story.
"I trusted humans," Caleb said. "I loved them. I forgave again and again."
Metro whispered, "I'm… sorry."
Caleb smiled, broken. "Don't be. That word means nothing now."
He stood.
"I need you to execute my plan."
"What plan?"
A hard blow to Metro's head.
Darkness.
Caleb stood over him.
"Let's rewrite the world."