Lagos 2080

Chapter 2: Whispers of the Orishas

The warehouse was eerily silent, save for the low hum of the dormant Sky-Mech. Ayo leaned against a rusted pillar, his mind still racing from the chase through Lagos' neon-lit skies. Across the room, Ejiro was busy inspecting the Mech, her cybernetic arm twitching as she hacked into its systems. Despite the calm that had settled around them, something inside Ayo felt off — like an itch he couldn't quite scratch.

He rubbed his temples, trying to shake the feeling. The whispers had started the moment he reactivated the Mech. At first, he thought it was just static interference — maybe a glitch in the system. But now, sitting in the quiet shadows of the warehouse, he realized the voices were still there, faint and distant, as if they were calling from somewhere deep within his mind.

"Ayo..." The whisper was barely audible, like wind brushing through leaves. It was a voice he didn't recognize, but it carried a weight, a pull that made his chest tighten. His grandmother used to talk about the Orishas — spirits that had once governed the earth, the sky, and the sea. She said their voices still lingered in the world, though few could hear them anymore. Ayo had always thought they were just stories, but now...

"Hey!" Ejiro's sharp voice snapped him back to reality. She waved him over, gesturing to the open panel on the Mech's side. "This thing's got some serious firepower, and its AI is... different. I've never seen tech like this, and I've been hacking Lagos systems since I could crawl."

Ayo approached slowly, the hum of the Mech sending a strange vibration through his bones. The whispers grew louder as he neared the machine. He knelt beside it, his eyes tracing the intricate circuitry and the strange glyphs etched along its surface. Those glyphs... they weren't part of the Mech's original design. They looked ancient, more like runes than anything technological. He reached out to touch one, and the second his fingers made contact, a shock ran through him.

His vision blurred, and suddenly, he was standing in a vast field of stars. The lights of Lagos, the walls of the warehouse, even Ejiro — all of it was gone. He could feel the ground beneath his feet, but when he looked down, there was nothing but darkness, stretching endlessly in every direction.

"Ayo..." The voice came again, clearer now, reverberating through the star-filled void. He spun around, searching for the source, but there was nothing. Nothing except the stars — and the faint silhouette of a figure standing just beyond the reach of his sight.

"Who's there?" Ayo called out, his voice echoing strangely in the void.

The figure didn't move, but the air around it shimmered, and suddenly, images flooded Ayo's mind — scenes from another time. He saw cities rising from the earth, built by hands both human and divine. He saw the Orishas, powerful spirits whose touch shaped the land, the sea, and the sky. And then he saw something darker: a creeping shadow, technology blending with the divine, twisting the natural order.

"You must listen, Ayo," the voice said, more forceful now. "The balance is breaking. The Tech-Lords seek to merge the worlds, to bind spirit and machine. You have awakened what they fear, but there is more... so much more."

The stars flared brightly, blinding him. Ayo stumbled back, gasping as the world snapped back into place. He was in the warehouse again, the cold metal of the Sky-Mech beneath his hands. Ejiro was staring at him, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"You okay?" she asked, her voice edged with concern. "You kind of spaced out there."

Ayo shook his head, trying to clear the lingering images from his mind. "I don't know what happened," he muttered. "It was like... I was somewhere else. I heard voices. They were talking about... the Orishas."

Ejiro's eyes narrowed. "The Orishas? You mean those old spirit stories your grandma used to tell you about?"

"It wasn't just stories," Ayo said, his voice unsteady. "I saw them. And they were warning me about the Tech-Lords. They said... they said I've awakened something."

Ejiro crossed her arms, glancing at the Mech. "Well, whatever you've awakened, it's big. I've been digging through its code, and this thing is more than just a weapon. It's... alive, in a way. Not fully, but it's got something — a consciousness maybe. And it's tied to those glyphs. They're not just decoration. They're part of its programming, but they look way older than anything the Tech-Lords could've made."

Ayo's heart raced. The Mech wasn't just advanced technology — it was connected to something far older, something that the Tech-Lords had tried to control but couldn't fully understand. He felt the whispers growing louder again, their voices layered and urgent.

"We have to dig deeper," he said. "Whatever this thing is, it's tied to the Orishas. Maybe that's why the Tech-Lords want it so badly. They're not just after power — they're after the Orishas' power. But if they can merge technology with spirit..."

Ejiro's eyes widened. "They could rewrite the rules of reality itself. No wonder they don't want anyone else getting their hands on this thing."

Suddenly, the lights in the warehouse flickered. A low rumble echoed through the walls, followed by the unmistakable sound of approaching hovercrafts. Ayo's blood ran cold. The Tech-Lords had found them.

"Time to go," Ejiro said, grabbing her gear and motioning for Ayo to follow. "We've poked the hornet's nest, and now the whole swarm is coming."

But Ayo couldn't move. The whispers had become deafening now, flooding his mind with images of ancient battles, spirits and machines locked in a struggle for control. His hand reached out to the Mech again, but this time, the machine responded. Its optics flared to life, and the glyphs along its body pulsed with a bright, golden light.

Ejiro stopped dead in her tracks. "What did you do?"

"I don't know," Ayo whispered, feeling a surge of energy pulse through him, linking him to the Mech in a way he couldn't explain. "But I think it's waking up."

The doors to the warehouse burst open, and a squad of heavily armed drones swarmed inside. They moved with precision, their red optics locking onto Ayo and Ejiro. But before they could fire, the Sky-Mech shot into action. It moved faster than anything Ayo had ever seen, its sleek form darting through the air like a phantom, dismantling the enemy drones with swift, brutal efficiency.

Ayo watched in awe as the Mech fought — but it wasn't just fighting. It was defending him, protecting him. He could feel its intent, its thoughts merging with his own. This was no ordinary machine. It was alive, and it was bound to him now.

"We need to get out of here!" Ejiro shouted, pulling Ayo out of his daze. "Before more of them show up!"

Ayo nodded, his heart pounding. The Mech hovered above them, awaiting his command. He didn't fully understand what was happening, but one thing was clear: the bond between him and the machine had been forged in something far deeper than technology.

As they raced into the night, the whispers of the Orishas faded into the background, but Ayo knew they were still there — watching, waiting. The city stretched out before them, vast and alive, pulsing with secrets and dangers. And somewhere in the depths of Lagos, the Tech-Lords were plotting, their eyes fixed on the power Ayo had only just begun to uncover.

This was only the beginning.