7 Down in the central basin, the massive bonfire was still roaring, casting a hellish, dancing orange glow over a scene of absolute, unmitigated slaughter. A proper, full-scale civil war had erupted in the dark. A distinct group of veteran warriors, the ones who had been whispering in the corners for days, had drawn...
The Way of Iron – 6
6 They walked in tandem until the camp was a distant, glowing ember. Aremu could feel the weight of the old man’s presence, an aura of ancient iron and suffocating history. “You speak to me of secrets, yet you keep the most dangerous one buried in the capital,” Aremu started, his tone sharpening. “Your...
The Way of Iron – 5
5 The morning on the volcanic island arrived with a blinding, humid glare. The stormy grey clouds from the night before had parted, leaving the basalt clearing slick with sea spray. Aremu stood among the ranks of the three hundred, his muscles burning as he ran through the rapid, aggressive forms of the Falcon’s...
The Way of Iron – 4
4 The sun climbed to its zenith, beating down on the lowlands with an unmerciful, humid heat, but the truest fire was burning inside Aremu’s chest. All through the day, the sickle in his hand moved with a mechanical, mindless rhythm. He hacked at the dry wheat stalks, his body slick with sweat, while...
The Way of Iron – 3
3 Adetoun let out a long, shuddering breath, her shoulders sagging as Aremu’s logic seemed to temporarily dismantle her theories. “Perhaps you are right,” she sighed, looking down at the red clay. “Perhaps I am just chasing ghosts because the truth is too terrifying to face.” Aremu placed a final jar into her basket...
The Way of Iron – 2
2 The morning sun rose like a weeping eye, casting a sickly orange glare over the canopy of the outer forest. For fourteen-year-old Aremu, crouching beneath the rotting roots of a fallen mahogany tree, the daylight brought no comfort, only the cold, crushing reality of his isolation. The distant, rhythmic thud of the executioner’s...
The Way of Iron – 1
The Way of Iron by Azeez Aregbesola Synopsis Exiled to his late father’s abandoned farmland on the outskirts of ancient Ile‑Ife, Aremu has spent years hiding from the world—and from the shame of Ogundele, the once‑legendary Ologun battle leader whose fall paved the way for Okan’s brutal reign. Under the tyrant’s serpent throne, silence...
Replay – 15
15 The immediate aftermath of the Safe-Haven’s impact was not a moment of cinematic triumph; it was a period of profound, deafening shock. When the “Perfect Handshake” servers died in the Hudson mud, it wasn’t just a signal that vanished—it was a collective phantom limb that billions of people suddenly felt ripped from their...
Replay – 14
14 The first Ghoul, a creature that had once been a prominent spokesperson for Meridian’s “Health-Sync,” stood up from the wreckage. Its jaw was missing, replaced by a circular, mechanical maw of rotating bone-drills. It didn’t breathe; it vented a high-pressure mist of synthetic blue coolant that sizzled on the floor. “Jax! Cover the...
Replay – 13
13 Inside the Brooklyn bunker, the air was screaming. The Yoruba drums had stopped being a rhythm and had become a warning. Richard’s terminal flared a violent crimson as his IQ detected a massive energy spike from the upper atmosphere. “He’s not sending more men,” Richard gasped, his fingers blurring across the keys as...