The Fall Before the Fire

Korex Gold stood alone in his media suite.

The walls were lined with glowing monitors: live TikTok feeds, private Telegram groups, WhatsApp threads, press rooms, burner accounts.

All of them now whispered the same thing:

VDM has gone rogue.

He was supposed to be predictable. A viral hero.

Easy to mold, easy to market.

Instead?

"He's planning to expose me," Korex said aloud, his voice calm but eyes twitching.

Behind him, his assistant shifted nervously.

"Should we leak the deepfake now?"

Korex shook his head.

"Too early. He still has the people. If we drop it now, it'll look like an attack. And the last thing you want to give a rebel… is a cause."

🎯 Strategic Counterattack Begins

Korex walked over to the whiteboard in his office.

He erased the headline:

"VDM: Nigeria's Rising Light"

And replaced it with:

"The Messiah Scam"

Then he wrote three bullet points:

Question His Origins

"Release anonymous tip-off that VDM once trained abroad with foreign political agents."

"Push conspiracy that he was groomed by exiled billionaires to destabilize Nigeria."

Break His Inner Circle

"Target Halima. Leak story that she struck a secret deal during detention."

"Send edited footage of Tayo accepting money to key bloggers. Sow division."

Pre-Load the Fall

"Schedule primetime documentary: 'From Protest to Propaganda: Who is VDM?'"

"Use AI voice clone to release fake 'leaked voice note' one hour before the rally."

His assistant raised a hand.

"Sir… if this backfires, people could riot. Global media is watching. You could be seen as a political weapon."

Korex turned, smiling like a man who had already made peace with evil.

"They'll believe what I show them. Not what's true. That's how power works."

He picked up his phone.

"Call Babajide. Tell him the asset is burned. But I have a better plan."

🔍 Cut To: Korex's Darkest File

He opened his private folder, locked under biometric scan.

Inside:

Surveillance footage of VDM's sister being followed

A fake financial report linking VDM to crypto fraud

A real video clip of VDM in a private meeting with a now-missing activist

(One Korex had quietly made disappear)

He hovered over the last file.

Labeled: "The Trigger."

"Drop this if he speaks out of turn," he muttered. "Let him feel like a king… right before we crown him with shame."

🎭 Final Moment

As Korex walked out of his office, lights behind him dimmed.

But his voice echoed to his assistant:

"Heroes make headlines.

Villains make history."

The stadium was packed.

Tens of thousands filled the stands. Hundreds of thousands more gathered outside. Millions watched live from phones, YouTube streams, TVs in barbershops, and cracked screens in internet cafés.

The air was thick — not with hope, not with fear, but with something heavier.

Expectation.

Very Dark Man (VDM) stood backstage.

No bodyguards. No PR team.

Just Tayo, pacing beside him, and Halima, watching the crowd through a slit in the curtain.

"They're ready," she said.

"Are you?" Tayo asked.

VDM didn't answer. He adjusted the mic on his collar, then looked at the USB in Tayo's hand — the one holding the truth.

"If I say what's on that drive," VDM muttered, "I lose everything we've built."

"If you don't," Tayo replied, "you were never building it for us in the first place."

🎤 Stepping Into History

The lights dimmed. The crowd roared.

A single spotlight snapped on, illuminating the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer boomed,

"the voice of the people, the lion of the streets — Very Dark Man!"

VDM stepped forward.

The roar turned into thunder.

He didn't wave.

Didn't smile.

Didn't do his signature hand sign.

He just stared into the blinding lights… and raised the mic.

"Today, I was supposed to read a speech written by someone else."

Murmurs in the crowd.

"Today, I was supposed to thank sponsors, pretend the government is listening, and tell you change is coming."

He paused. Looked at Tayo in the wings.

Then back at the crowd.

"But if I do that… I become the lie we've been fighting."

🔥 He Drops the Bomb

"I've been used," he said.

"And they were going to destroy me when I outlived my purpose."

The crowd stilled. No chants. No cheers.

Only listening.

"There are files, fake voice notes, and scripts prepared to make me look like a traitor. They want to say I'm working with foreign governments. That I took bribes. That I want violence."

"But I'm telling you now — it's a lie. And I have the proof."

He nodded toward the screen.

Tayo hit play.

Behind VDM, giant LED displays lit up:

Korex's messages. Senator Babajide's name. A list of burner accounts.

Then the voice note — Korex's voice:

"The higher he rises, the better the fall. We'll break him when the world's watching."

The crowd exploded. Gasps. Screams. Rage.

🕶 Korex's Trap Springs

Just then—

Korex's counterattack went live.

On every major news channel, just as VDM's speech streamed:

A deepfake voice note appeared of VDM saying, "Burn it all down. If they don't listen, make them bleed."

Footage of a mysterious bank deposit hit the internet: ₦45 million into a fake crypto account in VDM's name.

A tweet thread accused Halima of secretly negotiating with police to betray VDM.

Two narratives clashed live.

Truth vs. illusion.

Revolution vs. scandal.

Hope vs. fear.

💥 Crowd Reaction Fractures

Some people started chanting louder:

"They're scared! They're scared! They're scared!"

Others fell into confusion.

Phones lit up with accusations.

Trolls flooded social media.

"VDM is fake."

"We've been played."

"The revolution was a lie."

🧠 Final Scene

VDM turned away from the mic.

Tayo and Halima rushed up.

"It's working," Tayo said. "Some people believe you. We can fight this."

But VDM didn't smile.

"This isn't a fight anymore," he whispered.

"It's a war."

And he walked back on stage… to finish the speech that would either ignite a nation—

Or bring it to its knees.