"If they want to dance with fire, then let the whole sky burn."
---
Sirens blared as a sea of civilians fled the southern districts. Smoke twisted upward like ink in water. The first wave of Ash Protocol had begun—Otieno's forces released a black mist that silenced all electronics, turning the capital into a dead zone.
Tielen, riding atop a government interceptor, fought her way through the chaos with a single goal: extract President Wambua before Otieno's assassins reached him.
Shots rang out. The president's convoy exploded behind her.
She didn't flinch.
"He's here," Tielen muttered, eyes narrowing as she spotted a tall man in obsidian armor walking calmly through the flames.
Otieno's new right hand. A mystery.
They called him Nyoka.
Half-human. Half myth.
--
Jayden Ochieng stared at a hologram displaying red zones across East and Central Africa. Otieno's network had spread like a virus.
Jeff stepped forward.
"The entire Copperbelt is gone. Power's been seized. Oil fields are next."
Linet nodded grimly. "He's hitting us where it hurts. If we don't retaliate today, we might lose control of half the continent."
Jayden remained silent.
Then he placed the Crimson Folder on the table and opened it.
"Operation Phoenix is now active. Tielen leads the front. Linet secures Europe. Jeff cuts power to Otieno's smelters. Wendy—initiate 'Whisper Storm' in Lagos."
Everyone looked at him.
"You're not coming?" Wendy asked.
Jayden's eyes burned. "No. I'm going straight for Otieno's core."
---
Wendy, dressed in black leather with neon trims, walked into the Lagos Night Market.
She passed under streetlights flickering from interference. Her eyes scanned every face.
She reached a vendor stall selling coded memory chips disguised as art pieces.
The vendor looked up. "You're late."
Wendy dropped a coin etched with the Ochieng family crest.
"I'm never late," she whispered.
Behind her, an explosion tore through the skyline.
Phase one of Whisper Storm had begun.
--
Deep beneath a disguised cobalt mine, Otieno sat in a circle of fire-lit skulls. His generals stood in silence as he poured blood from a goblet onto an ancient map.
"This is where he'll come. The boy who thinks he is king."
Otieno snarled. "He's not fire. He's just a flicker."
But one skull cracked open—and smoke rose from it, forming Jayden's image.
Otieno froze.
The projection spoke: "You think you've trapped me. But I've already lit the match beneath your throne."
Then it vanished.
Otieno rose, eyes wide.
"He's coming."
---
Jayden stood at the border of the Ruined Valley—once a forbidden land, now the path to Otieno's lair.
Behind him stood 12 shadow guards in phoenix masks.
He whispered to himself, the wind carrying his voice:
"Let them remember who I am."
As he stepped forward, his voice echoed through the valley:
"I am Jayden Ochieng—the flame they buried, and the fire that returns."
---