The Serpent in the Garden

I. Whispers in the Smoke

Nouvo Lakay slept uneasily.

The stars above were dimmed,

the moon veiled in ash that hadn't fallen from the sky.

In the shadows of the outer forest,

a small group gathered—faces hidden, torches low.

At the center stood Ejimo,

once healer, once friend, now something… else.

He whispered words not heard in this world in ages.

Not prayers.

But permissions.

Behind him, the scar on the earth widened—

a rift pulsing, like a wound that refused to close.

From within, faint snarls echoed.

Not loud.

Not yet.

But hungry.

II. The First Fractures

Inside the village, Thalia stood in the central temple,

flanked by the priestesses. She felt it.

Something wrong.

Something cold and distant had breathed across her soul,

but not from her gods.

"He's doing something," she whispered to herself.

"Something old. Something buried."

But with Zion gone and Ogou silent,

her words felt weightless.

And some in the council were already questioning her grip on power.

Ajima stood beneath the meeting tree,

gathering whispers of her own.

"The gods returned. But where are they now?"

"Why did Erzulie show such wrath? And what about the rift Kalonji opened?"

Rumors spread like dry grassfire.

And Ejimo fed them all.

III. The Rift Grows

Deep in the outer woods, unseen by the village watch—

Ejimo knelt before the rift.

From its swirling center, a voice whispered.

Not words. Cravings. Promises. Names.

"You will open the way," it hissed.

"And the feast shall begin with the heart of the storm… and end with the bones of gods."

Ejimo's fingers, once used to mix healing poultices,

now drew bloody runes into the soil.

And around him, the plants withered.

Behind him, four others watched in silence—

doubters turned followers, swayed by his quiet certainty.

The rift pulsed again.

And something… stepped forward.

IV. The First to Die

In the dead of night, a lone hunter outside Nouvo Lakay

heard the whispers.

Saw the flame.

Came too close.

He screamed—once.

And when the guard finally found him,

his body had no wounds…

but his face was twisted in terror,

his eyes burned black from within.

They brought the body to the priestesses.

Thalia felt it the moment she laid eyes on him:

"This is not from our world."

V. The Garden Wilts

By dawn, crops near the edge of the village began to rot.

The animals refused to go near the eastern border.

And deep in the woods, the rift pulsed… wider.

Ejimo watched, eyes glowing faintly now.

And behind him, more had joined.

He smiled.

"Soon, Nouvo Lakay will be reborn. And the gods will fall."