Afonja - Episode 5

 

Oya didn’t even know how she was going to explain what she had done. She hadn’t meant to do it but sometimes her true nature was stronger than what Iku had made her to be. He often said her true self would be her downfall but she had been confident that she was loyal to death and sold to the rules of darkness.

“Did you…?” Olokun raised her perfectly carved left brow

She turned to the curious goddess and frowned “Well, something of that nature,”

Crystal eyes widened, a blend of shock and dread coating the glistening pupils “?ya…what have you done?! Why?!”

She rolled her eyes “Well if I knew the answer to that, I wouldn’t be here, now would I?”

Olokun sighed in understanding, “That soul is very precious to Iku and out of every soul you taken, why in hell did you save that soul!”

“You did what?!”

A thundering voice sliced through the deadly silence, resounding bass causing the corners of the cavern to tremble. Eyes flew upward, hearts skipped a thousand beat and limbs trembled, the sound of thunder trapping every soul that lurked within.

?ya froze in her seat, it was beyond the deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression, this time her entire being was trapped in a reality--no a nightmare . She was grinded to a halt at the ferocity behind the words and the growing anger burning in his eyes

“Are you deaf!” he growled, the whites in his eyes turning a pure black, pitch darkness that glowered fury and lethal wrath

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/afonja

. “What did you do?!” his stare was painful and piercing, tearing her heart with the burning ice in his glare.

The words wouldn’t come out and neither did her voice. They clogged in her throat, choking her and refusing to leap unto confession. Iku was a very impatient man but her mind wouldn’t listen, it clamped up and left her vulnerable to the burning rage that oozed like deathly poison off his rigid stance.

“She didn’t do anything,” Came Olokun’s voice, soothing but filled with fear and trembling.

If Iku heard her, he didn’t give it away because his glare remained on Oya, volcanic heat erupting from his solid gaze. “I wasn’t talking to you!” He tightened his fist, a delirium of impatience and fury blinding his senses. “I am going to ask for the last time…what did you do?!”

It was then she broke down and fell to her knees, crumbling at the ferocious waves of the venom in his words. He knew what she had done but he wanted to hear her say it, he didn’t want to believe that she had betrayed hell…that she had destroyed the boundaries of loyalty and betrayed him. 

“I am sorry,” her voice went soft as curled by his knees “I have sinned!”

He closed his eyes, swallowed hard and looked down on her “Tell me your sin ?ya, tell me what you have done and it better not be what images lie behind my lids,”

“I broke moralities,” she cried “The soul pleaded and touched my weakness…” she stuttered, pushing through the lump in her throat “I did the unforgiveable,”

He stomped his feet “Spare me the fables, ?ya…W H A T D I D Y O U D O?!”

Damn the consequences, she let it out “I saved a soul, Iku…I saved Afonja!”

As the words left her lips, he exploded in anger and without control, he reached into the depths of dark magic, breaking gravity as his primeval instincts took over. Gone was Iku, the King of darkness and born was a demon, the demon of the darkest part of Hell. Objects levitated and broke to dangerous pieces, onlookers floating and dropping to the floor at the strength of the power he was wielding. He pulled on the soul of Oya, wrenching her limbs to paralysis as he dragged her up to eye level.

She cried and writhed but her pain only fuelled his wrath, turning up the hot choler pulsing through his veins. “Pl-e-e-a—e-ase,” she begged, “Forgive me,” she cried but he was deaf to his rage, completely blinded by the pain of betrayal and disappointment.

“How could you?” he growled, his voice as of thunder and lightning, striking down on the souls of those who dared to defy. The anger in his system was as hot as lava and she felt it, the pressure of his raging sea of anger burning her without remorse. She cried out in pain, a cry of terror and mercy, pleading to whosoever cared to listen to save her from her misery but no one could dare not even Olokun- one of the most respected deities- who was still trembling by his side.

His powers suffocated her, choking her until the power in her soul began to dwindle, dark storms rushing in and out of her and taking a piece of her existence. She was dying, she could feel herself seeping out of her being but she fought still- struggling to survive against his dark art. She wanted him to realise what he was doing, to draw out the pieces of humanity and warmth that laid somewhere beneath. She wanted to prove that he was devoted to her so she battled to stay alive until he realised that his soul cared enough to forgive her.

“Do you know who he is?” he screamed above the commotion he had caused “Do you know the powers that Afonja possesses!” The anger within him churned, hungry for destruction, thirsty for death. His hold on her tightened regardless of the tiny bits of remorse that begged him to let her go. He was never in control when he was angry, his demons always took over, the pressure of his anger forcing him to do beyond his limits and take beyond retribution.

“He is…” she sputtered and coughed

“Say it!” he shouted

“He is the...the,” she could barely speak, her body weak and her soul only a thin line away from eternal death.

“Since you have chosen to save the one whose powers knows no limits. I will take your soul in exchange for his and sacrifice you for his death. Your life will be the sacrifice to end Afonja!” the finality in his voice shook her nerves and scared her to her soul. When Iku said it, he did it so every shred of hope for forgiveness she had, shattered to smithereens.

She could see death calling, its icy hands welcoming her existence. She closed her eyes in defeat- it hurt to know that it was only in her illusions that he cared enough to save her. She welcomed the dark forces of Hell with arms wide open and took her punishment with a defeated soul.

“Take him…” she whispered “Take me to hell,”

Then, in a matter of seconds when it was going to be all over, a loud screech cut through the atmosphere, bringing everyone to a standstill even Iku.

It was Olokun…a true goddess of the ocean.