27/05/2026
BLOOD OF THE SHRINE
PART 4 — THE BETRAYAL
“Before the next moon rises… the boy must die.”
The words echoed through the house like a curse.
My mother’s grip tightened painfully around my wrist as silence swallowed the room whole.
Outside, my uncle stood behind the door.
Waiting.ife Ancestral tv
The rain had stopped, but the wind outside carried the distant sound of drums through the village.
Slow.
Patient.
Hungry.
GBOOM.
GBOOM.
GBOOM.
“Ife…” my mother whispered shakily. “You must leave now.” Ife Ancestral tv
Another heavy knock struck the door.
BAM.
BAM.
BAM.
The clay walls trembled softly.
“I know you can hear me,” my uncle called from outside.
His voice sounded calm now.ife Ancestral tv
Too calm.
“The elders are already gathering.”
My heart pounded violently.
The markings on my arms burned beneath my skin like living fire.
I could feel them reacting to his presence.
Reacting to my anger.
My mother hurried toward the back of the house and pulled aside an old woven mat hanging on the wall.
Behind it was a narrow hidden doorway.ife Ancestral tv
I stared at her in shock.
“There’s a path behind the farms,” she whispered quickly. “It leads into the sacred forest.”
Another knock thundered through the house.
This time stronger.
BAM! Ife Ancestral tv
Dust fell from the ceiling.
My mother grabbed my face with trembling hands.
“You must listen carefully,” she said desperately. “Do not follow the drums if they change rhythm.”
Cold fear crept into my stomach.
“What does that mean?”
Tears filled her eyes instantly. Ife Ancestral tv
“It means the spirits are no longer guiding you.”
My breathing became uneven.
Outside, more voices joined my uncle’s now.
Villagers.
Hunters.
“They cannot find you before moonrise!” my mother cried.
The door shook violently again.
CRACK.
The wood was beginning to split. Ife Ancestral tv
My mother pushed me toward the hidden doorway.
“Go!”
I hesitated.
“What about you?”
Pain crossed her face.
“They will not kill me,” she whispered softly. “You are the one they fear.”
The door burst open.
Men carrying torches flooded into the house instantly. Ife Ancestral tv
I saw my uncle standing behind them.
But the warmth that once lived in his eyes was gone completely.
Only hatred remained now.
“There he is!”
My mother shoved me through the hidden passage.
“RUN!”
I stumbled into darkness as shouting exploded behind me.
Branches whipped against my face while I sprinted across muddy farmland toward the distant forest ahead. Ife Ancestral tv
Behind me, torchlights burst from the house.
“They’re heading east!”
“Don’t let him escape!”
The drums inside my chest grew louder with every step.
GBOOM.
GBOOM.
GBOOM.
Then suddenly—
The forest swallowed me whole.
The air changed instantly the moment I crossed beneath the ancient trees.
Everything became colder.
Quieter.
Even the wind sounded different here.
The sacred forest.
Forbidden land.
No villager entered this place willingly. Ife Ancestral tv
The trees rose impossibly high into the darkness above, their twisted roots crawling across the earth like giant serpents.
Strange white symbols had been carved into many of the trunks.
The same symbols now glowing beneath my skin.
I slowed my breathing carefully.
The voices inside my head had changed again.
They no longer sounded angry.
Now they sounded watchful.
Listening.
Waiting.
Then I heard footsteps behind me.
Fast.
Hunters.
Panic surged through my body.
I ran deeper into the forest until suddenly—
A spear flew past my head.
THUNK!
It buried itself into a tree inches from my face.
“STOP HIM!”
Three masked hunters emerged between the trees carrying blades and torches.
Their faces were hidden behind red ritual masks.
The markings on my arms flared painfully.
One hunter lunged toward me.
Instinct took over.
I raised my hand blindly—
And the forest exploded.
The ground beneath the hunters cracked violently.
Roots burst upward from the earth like giant snakes, wrapping around their legs instantly. Ife Ancestral tv
The men screamed as they were dragged into the mud.
Their torches died immediately.
Silence crashed across the forest.
I stared at my own hands in horror.
Breathing heavily.
“I… I did that…”
The voices whispered together.
“The blood awakens.”
Fear crawled through me.
What was I becoming?
A soft sound suddenly came from behind me.
I spun around instantly.
An old woman stood beneath the trees.
Blind.
Wrapped in white cloth covered with ancient beads.
The same blind woman from the village.
Yet somehow…
She looked different here.
Stronger.
The forest itself seemed to move around her.
“You carry his eyes,” she said quietly.
My chest tightened.
“You knew my father?”
The old woman nodded slowly. Ife Ancestral tv
“He was the last true guardian.”
Lightning flashed above the trees.
“The elders feared him because he understood the throne.”
That word again.
“The throne,” I said carefully. “What is it?”
The old woman stepped closer.
“It is not a chair.”
The forest suddenly grew silent.
“It is a covenant.”
My heartbeat slowed.
“A bond between the living world and the ancestors.”
The drums inside me pulsed softly.
“When the shrine was abandoned,” she continued, “balance was broken.”
Her blind eyes lifted toward the distant village beyond the trees.
“That village has been dying ever since.”
Images flashed through my mind instantly. Ife Ancestral tv
Failed harvests.
Children falling sick.
Sudden deaths.
Fear spreading through the people for years.
The old woman whispered softly:
“The curse has already begun.”
Cold terror spread through me.
“What curse?”
Her voice became barely audible.
“Before the next blood moon… the ancestors will reclaim every soul tied to the betrayal.”
My stomach twisted painfully.
“How do I stop it?”
The old woman turned toward me fully now.
And for the first time…
Fear touched her face.
“Only the blood of the shrine can seal the covenant again.”
My blood.
The realization hit me like thunder.
“That’s why they want me dead.”
She nodded.
“The elders fear that if the rightful heir awakens fully… their lies will die with them.”
The voices inside me grew louder again.
Not angry.
Expectant. Ife Ancestral tv
Then suddenly—
A branch snapped nearby.
The old woman’s expression changed instantly.
“You were followed.”
Panic surged through me.
Torchlights appeared between the trees.
Dozens this time.
Hunters surrounded the forest slowly.
And standing at the front—
Was my best friend.
Ayo.
My heart stopped.
He stepped forward slowly, unable to meet my eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Pain hit harder than fear ever could.
“Ayo…”
The hunters grabbed my arms instantly.
The markings beneath my skin burned violently.
“You betrayed me?” Ife Ancestral tv
Tears filled his eyes.
“They threatened my family.”
Rage exploded inside me.
The trees began shaking violently around us.
The wind roared through the forest.
The drums inside my body became deafening now.
GBOOM!
GBOOM!!
GBOOM!!!
The hunters forced me to my knees.
My uncle emerged from the darkness holding a ritual blade.
His face looked almost relieved.
“At last,” he whispered.
The old blind woman lowered her head sadly.
“The moon has chosen.”
My uncle lifted the blade toward the sky.
“Prepare him for the sacrifice.”
Thunder exploded above the forest.
And somewhere deep inside the darkness—
Something ancient awakened.
END OF PART 4
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