Chapter 4 Alley Fire

Manny kept walking, his shoulders tight, trying to act normal. The streets of Ajegunle had grown darker as evening settled in. Generators hummed loudly from different compounds, and the smell of fried food mixed with sewage hung in the air. He could hear the three men behind him, their footsteps deliberate now, but no longer pretending.

He turned into a narrow side alley, hoping to lose them,but it was a bad mistake, because the alley was a dead end stinking with rotting garbage and stagnant water. Only one weak bulb flickered above a closed shop, casting long shadows.

They caught up fast.

“Manny the Lion!” one of them called out, voice full of mockery. “You think you can just walk away like that hmm?”

Manny stopped and turned slowly. He recognized all three of them. Old crew from his past life. Tunde, the tallest, still had the same ugly scar across his cheek from a fight years ago. Beside him was Dele, short and muscular, always smiling like a predator. The third was Kola, quiet but deadly, the one who used to do the dirty work without blinking.

“What do you want?” Manny asked, keeping his voice steady.

Tunde laughed and stepped closer. “What do we want? You, my brother. We heard you came out yesterday,the streets are still the same. The game hasn't stopped,we need you back,the old boss has big plans, and your name still carries weight.”

Manny shook his head. “I’m done with that life. I served my time. I just want to work and be left alone.”

Dele spat on the ground. “Left alone? After everything? You think prison changed you? You used to be the one giving orders. Burning houses. Making people disappear,and now you’re fixing buses like some common man?

The heat in Manny’s right arm was back, stronger this time, spreading across his chest like liquid fire,clenched his fists, fighting it down. Not now. Please, not now.

“I’m not that man anymore,” he said. “Go find someone else.”

Kola finally spoke, his voice low and cold. “The problem is, people don’t forget. Especially not the ones you stepped on to get to the top. Some of us lost money because of your arrest. Others lost respect. You owe us.”

Tunde pulled out a small knife, letting the blade catch the weak light. “Come back to the family, Manny. Or we’ll remind you why they used to fear your name.”

Manny’s back was against the dirty wall now. His heart hammered hard. The glowing cracks under his skin even burned hotter, pulsing like they had their own heartbeat and the Voice stirred in his head, louder than before.

They are rotten. Let me show you.

“No,” Manny whispered to himself. “I can talk my way out.”

But the men weren’t interested in talking anymore. Dele moved first, swinging a punch aimed at Manny’s face. Manny blocked it on instinct, prison reflexes still sharp. He shoved Dele back, but Tunde came in from the side, knife flashing.

That was when it happened.

The Godspark tore loose.

A searing heat exploded in Manny’s chest and rushed up his throat. His mouth opened, not by choice, and something unnatural came out not just words, but fire wrapped in voice. The air shimmered with heat.

“ENOUGH.”

The single word carried power. All three men froze mid-attack, their bodies jerking like they had been electrocuted,dropped to their knees in the filthy alley, eyes wide with sudden terror.

Tunde’s knife fell to the ground. “What... what is this?”

Then the confessions began.

Dele spoke first, tears streaming down his face as if the words were being dragged out of him. “I killed your cousin, Manny. Back in 2012. We said it was the rival gang, but it was us. I shot him because he owed me money and you were getting too powerful.”

Manny staggered back, shock hitting him harder than that punch. “What?”

Kola was next, vomiting words between sobs. “I raped that girl after the raid in Oshodi. The one we said ran away. She’s dead. We buried her in the swamp. I’ve done worse things... so many worse things.”

Tunde, the leader, was shaking violently. Black veins appeared under his skin, visible even in the poor light. “I stole from the crew. I told the police about your location that night. I betrayed you for money. I’ve killed children. I’ve taken mothers...”

The Voice in Manny’s head roared with satisfaction.

See their rot. Judge them.

Manny tried to stop it, but he couldn’t. The fire inside him wanted more. His mouth opened again, and flames, real flames spilled out in a controlled burst. They didn’t burn the alley. They burned the men from inside.

Dele screamed first. His body convulsed as orange fire glowed beneath his skin. He clawed at his chest, screaming every sin he had ever committed in a voice that didn’t sound human anymore. The smell of burning flesh filled the alley.

Tunde tried to run but only made it a few steps before collapsing. “Please... mercy...”

There was no mercy.

Manny stood frozen, horrified, as the Godspark did its work. Kola was the last. He looked up at Manny with pure fear in his eyes before the flames consumed him from within, leaving him twitching on the dirty ground.

The screams echoed between the compound walls.

Then, suddenly, it stopped.

The alley fell quiet except for the heavy smell of smoke. Manny looked down at his hands. New glowing scars had appeared deeper cracks running across both arms now, pulsing with angry light. His throat burned. His whole body felt raw, like he had been the one set on fire.

“What have I done?” he whispered, voice hoarse.

He stumbled backward, nearly tripping over the bodies. One of them, Dele , was still breathing faintly, but the damage was done. Manny turned and ran.

Ran through the narrow streets like a madman, heart pounding, new scars burning under his clothes. People stared as he passed, but he didn’t stop. By the time he reached his room in the face-me-I-face-you compound, his legs were shaking.

He slammed the door shut and collapsed against it, sliding down to the floor.

The glowing scars were brighter now, spreading toward his shoulders. The Voice spoke again, calm and terrible.

This is only the beginning, Forged One, more will come. And you will judge them all.*

Manny buried his face in his hands, breathing ragged, outside, he could already hear voices rising in the distance, people shouting, someone calling for help. The video would come soon. Phones in Ajegunle never slept.

He had wanted a quiet life.

Instead, something holy and monstrous had just awakened inside him.

And it was hungry.