Whispers in the Veins

The battlefield had gone silent.

But war—true war—never ends with fire.

It shifts.

It waits.

It infects.

Ayola's Concern

Ayola stood at the edge of Nouvo Lakay's outer ridge, where the jungle mist met the new farmlands of the tribes. Her visions had returned—no longer full of flame and thunder, but of skin peeled like fruit and people smiling with dead eyes.

Papa Legba no longer warned in shouts. He whispered now. One word repeated again and again:

"Rot."

She knew something had crossed. Something intelligent.

Something that didn't seek destruction—it sought subtlety.

So Ayola acted.

The Intelligence Wing

Ayola called upon a small unit—trained during the wars, used rarely, trusted deeply.

Her Gens.

Named after the Gateways they once guarded. Now turned into quiet watchers, they were her shadow eyes across Bassoun.

They wore no priestess robes.

They carried no Lwa sigils on their skin.

They walked as commoners. Listeners. Traders. Travelers.

And they spread across the land with a single mission:

"Find what hides in silence."

Luruzh's Growing Web

Unbeknownst to Ayola, her Gens walked into a world already touched.

In one village, a woman claimed her husband had returned from the dead—but his laugh was hollow, and his sleep was always in the cellar.

In a distant valley, the crops grew too well, the land unnaturally rich—but no birds sang, and the children there never cried.

In a fishing hamlet by the sea, a man preached peace and unity under a god "older than the sky"—his followers never blinked.

In each place, the Gens left markings invisible to most, signs of infection.

And in each, they found the same sigil carved in hidden places:

✦ A spiral inside a cracked skull—Luruzh's mark.

Ayola's Realization

In the Temple of Echoes, Ayola pieced together the symbols late into the night.

This was no ordinary Beast God.

"He's not building an army," she whispered.

"He's building a mirror—of us. Of life. Of peace. And when it's strong enough…"

She closed her eyes, the whisper of Papa Legba heavy in her ears.

"He'll replace us."

Ending Scene

Far from the city, deep beneath the forest, a shape emerged from the shadows. A tall man. Skin perfect. Smile kind.

Behind him, dozens stood in silence.

Their hearts beat… but not their own.

"The gods are loud," the figure said softly, "but mortals—mortals can be rewritten."

And one by one, the Skinless Children bowed.