In the cosmic realms, far into the realms of the zodiac gods, the Great King Leo, the first to wield the sentient cosmic weapon sits on his throne watching the unfolding of everything. He knows Fate, he visits her once in thousand years, but, even so, he seems not to ever understand her workings, her weavings of happenings. "She is always mysterious" He thought, "I didn't see this coming." Beside the Great King, his closest minister listens to him thinking. She could hear him think because she is an extremely powerful extension of him, some sort of a female version of himself. She watches him in amazement, wondering why the great king got lost in thoughts, she said to him, "Being unpredictable is what makes Fate powerful isn't it.?" "Yes I know Leona" He agreed, "An incarnation of me is on that planet, born to guide and protect the young girl Kiya but look at what he turned out to be." "Do you think he is a disappointment?" Leona asked. "Well, perhaps Fate has something more beautiful in mind for him." King Leo replied.
It 11:58pm in Lagos City, Nigeria. Inside one of the houses of the city, Leon holds in his hand a picture of his late father. Tears gently dropping from his eyes. For even though he killed his father, he didn't intend it to so. Left for him, no one needed to die on that day, few days ago when his father almost killed him and the girl he involuntarily fell in love with. He sighs, "My father turned me into a monster but now he is no more" he said, "I must correct the past by making my future a better one." He closed his eyes and threw himself on his bed, just as he was about to be taken by sleep, he felt his body getting colder. He quickly got up from the bed to check himself but his eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he saw right in front of him a Large white lion with powerful wings looking right at him.
The Lion was truly a wonder, it has a beautiful Crown on its head, a crown crafted out of a material unknown to earthlings. It body dazzles like diamond, it mane seems to be alive and behaves like gold dust pouring infinitely on its own. It eyes blazes with fire but what was really even more strange about that Lion was it menacing and extremely suppressing powerful Aura, it presence alone was terrifying.
Leon felt his knees weaken, he caught his legs shaking terribly. His mind and body couldn't withstand the menacing presence of the Lion in front of him, he saw himself kneeling and bowing to the god whose figure looks like a heavenly Lion.
"What are you doing boy?" The Lion asked in a very relaxed yet heavy voice.
"Bowing to you my Lord" Leon replied.
"In that case then that is enough, get up" the Lion commanded.
"I cannot help it, my body and soul cannot stand your presence, I can't face you." Leon explained with a shaky voice.
When the Lion saw that his presence was too strong for Leon, it began to morph into a figure less suppressing. The Lion shapeshifted into human form, it became Leon himself. "No stronger aura now boy" the Lion said, "You can now get up."
(Leon gets up) "Ah! You look just like me" he blurted.
"Yes I do" the Lion replied in Leon's voice.
"Wow… This is amazing. But who are you?" Leon asked.
The Lion in Leon form moved closer to Leon and explained, "I am the representation of the Great Zodiac god Leo, the ruler of the Leo Zodiac realm. Just like you, I am an extension of him."
"What do you mean just like me?" Leon enquired astonished.
"You are an incarnation of the Great Leo. Born with the godlike power of life and death, but, most importantly, to protect the girl chosen to be the powerful warrior, the new Melimandu."
Leon's eyes wanted to fall down in amazement. This new discovery makes his heart race like a powerful race horse. He looks at the Lion in the eyes and said, "I always knew I was born for something greater than just taking people's life-force. Perhaps I went the wrong path, I blame myself for allowing my father use me the way he did."
"There are no rooms for regret Leon" the Lion comforted, "Everything happened accordingly, Fate, she is unpredictable. She allows things to happen in ways that even we gods hardly understands."
"Why are you talking about fate as if she is human." Leon cracked.
"Not human" The Lion interjected, "She is a person, perhaps the greatest of us all. Right before The Source Energy or the Living Life-Force created everything, He weaved Fate first, so that all may dwell within her. Including us gods."
"By the Source Energy, you mean God?" Leon asked.
"That is what humans like to call it. But it is greater than that, Humans cannot comprehend it, yet, they worship it blindly as if a human figure" The Lion explained.
"Thank you for letting me know all these things" Leon said firmly.
"You needed to know them" The Lion replied, "I have set you on a path, you have to walk on it to fulfill your purpose. Don't lose yourself to grieve and regret. This realm of humans is full of evil, even so, more evil is coming and already on their way to seek and take what was given to Earth, that which resides in the young maiden. Protect her with your life."
Leon paused for a short while, all of these is puzzling him, he asked the Lion, "I need to know why you gods would send a dangerous weapon as such to a deranged civilization like earth, into a young innocent girl who had probably never killed before and may never have the heart to do so and still assigned other stronger humans to protect her. Why?"
The Lion laughed at Leon's question even though he knew the question was a smart one, he calmly replied with an explanation, he said, "The Earth has not always been a weak civilization Leon. It is only weak now because a lot has happened to her inhabitant, they have lost their way. The modern earthling used his own hands to kill himself by inventing deadly traps called money, politics and religion, these three rules them. Now they are born, live and die for these three prisons. That is a huge loss to this realm. And as for the girl, we didn't choose her, the sentient weapon did and we have always respected it choice. The Great Cosmic Weapon is sentient and only seek for a host that is true and pure, not strong and brutal. The young maiden need your protection because of the innocence she possesses, it will take her a whole lot of time to learn to become the greatest on earth. It has always been the culture that every chosen one need a ring to protect him or her… In the case of the Christ Man called 'Yeshuwa Amashiya' he had his twelve disciples as his ring of protection."
"Thank you for these eye opening revelation Sir… I know what I must do now." Leon confirmed.
"Good then my job here is done" The Lion said, "Represent us well here Leon, Earth depends on it."
Leon bows to him but this time deliberate and out of deep gratitude. The Lion bows back, waved goodbye to Leon and then with a SWOOSH sound vanished into thin air.
IN JOS CITY, NIGERIA,
Sitting on the dining table, lost in her thoughts, Kiya didn't realize that her Mother has been staring at her for minutes. Few days ago, Kiya faced just one among the many foes that will come her way. Foes that will come with the single intention to take her life for the sentient weapon living inside of her. Perhaps even stronger and more menacing entities. Kiya didn't like it that Leon stayed behind, she wanted him to follow them, to leave his old life behind. She didn't mind giving him an accommodation in her father's home, for in there, two visitors room are available.
Wondering why her daughter is refusing to eat her breakfast or even talk to her, Zahra needed to talk to her daughter. Raising a girl has never been easy, especially a girl as mysterious as Kiya. If her husband was home, he would have been of great help. She called out, "Kiya!" Kiya immediately snapped out of her deep thoughts, "Yes Ma" She answered.
In a deep emotional voice Zahra said to her daughter, "You disappeared for two days, we looked for you everywhere, we had to involve the Nigerian Police, we were terribly worried and feared for you. You then reappeared from thin air, and for three whole days now, you refuse to talk to me or your father about anything. What is wrong with you Kiya?"
Kiya sighs, she looked at her mother in the face and replied calmly, she said, "You wouldn't have believed me if I had told what really happened."
"Praise God, at least you finally opened your mouth" Zahra excitedly said, "Now I am all ears and my mind is as opened as the sky, tell me everything my love."
"Fate has set me on a hard path" Kiya started, "but I will tell you everything and hope you will understand. An hour later, Kiya finished tell her mother the entire story. She tried her best to tell everything in details. Hot tears roll out of her eyes, she couldn't contain her emotions, she couldn't help but cry not only for the things that happened days ago, but also for the fact that her life and those of her parents may never remain the same. She got up from the dinning chair to her bedroom, she picked a book she kept on her computer table. She flipped through it pages to see if she could find something interesting to read. All she wanted was to find a way to distract herself from her own thoughts. Those days with Leon and his father and the draining off of her life-force but more especially the truth that the weapon reveled to her during her struggle with Leon's father, all almost turned her into a psycho. Her heart kept tripping, her mind couldn't stop thinking of the fact that her life will never remain the same. Now she will have to confront her father about the so many things he had been hiding from her and perhaps her mother. A day ago Zibeh her father had to travel to a remote village in the city of Lagos, the place he claims was his birthplace and root. Kiya walked to a picture of her father fixed in a frame hanging on her wall. She looked at it with a smile and said, "An accountant huh… You hide pretty well Dad, but now I know who you are and I know where you are right now. Come home and meet me, we have a lot to talk about."
Meanwhile, In the center of Africa, in the Land of Ayrahkyu the invisible land, Zibeh walks in a small garden surrounding his house. The house being his true birthplace, became his inheritance after his parents passed away from a pretty long life. His feet were bare, he needed a strong connection with his soil. He missed his homeland so much, for it been years since he left his people to a place he now calls home. Somehow he felt it was his fault that his parent died, for had he not left the way he did, they perhaps would still be alive, such were his thoughts and regrets. The last time he was in Ayrahku, he only visited the great Shrine of the land to talk to the great Shaman Chohu about his daughter chosen by the weapon as the new Melimandu, and the shrine is not located inside of Ayrahku instead inside the Gyu Hills forest, the very forest that stands as the fortress protecting the entire land. More like the great walls of Antarctica, the Gyu Hills forest serve as the wall surrounding Ayrahku and keeping it a secret away from other Africans and the outside world entirely.
He kept on walking in the garden until he reached a huge tree. The tree which has a name. Stories has it that his father's father planted the tree from a seed given to him by their ancestors as a gift. He took care of it till it became the largest in the land, handed it over to his own Father until his father handed over to Zibeh himself. The tree has more significance to his lineage more than the eyes can see. When he reached closer to the tree, he placed his right palm on it to have a connection. He closed his eyes and said to the tree, "You have seen it all, you know it all… Now I need you to show me my fate."