...
In a black Toyota Camry 2021 edition, the road seemed to stretch endlessly ahead of us, I sat quietly in the passenger seat, my gaze fixed somewhere beyond the dusty windshield while the dry northern wind pushed faint trails of sand across the asphalt. The engine hummed steadily beneath us as the car moved along the long highway cutting across the plains.
JC drove without saying a word.
One hand rested loosely on the steering wheel while the other held a cigarette between two fingers, smoke curled lazily inside the car before slipping out through the slightly open window.
Occasionally, JC muttered something under his breath.
I could hear the sounds, but the words themselves never made sense. They were not any language I recognized. Sometimes they sounded like fragments of sentences, other times like quiet chanting meant for no one else to hear.
"Sigh"
I tried not to pay attention to it, instead I looked outside. Dry shrubs passed by in blurs of green and brown. The sky above us was wide and pale, the sun already tilting slowly westward.
Then the flashes returned; for a brief moment the road disappeared.
Blood,
The sharp metallic smell of it,
A scream that ended as soon it was heard.
"Ugh" I blinked placing my right hand on my head as soon as I felt a sharp pain in my head for a brief moment then suddenly the road returned.
My left fingers tightened slightly against my knee as I forced the images away before they could settle in my mind. They came like that sometimes now—quick, violent flashes that vanished before I could fully grasp them.
I turned my attention to the roadside signs as they passed.
The green board flashed by too quickly to read.
Another appeared farther ahead.
JC's cigarette burned shorter still, occasionally looking at me through the rear-view mirror.
I leaned forward slightly, reading the next sign before it disappeared behind us.
"Kebbi State." I muttered inwardly, frowning.
We were heading back toward Kebbi, for several minutes I said nothing, watching the road stretch forward as the thought slowly settled in my mind.
Finally I spoke.
"Where exactly are we going?"
JC didn't answer.
He took another drag from the cigarette and kept driving, it was as if my questions fell on deaf ears. I was annoyed by the lack of response but due to the situation between us I endured it, mostly due to the fact that I can't do anything in the first place.
I WAS WEAK!
.....
Elsewhere, inside a mysterious building, a flurry of hurried footsteps echoed along the hallway. The sound was sharp, impatient—a woman on black heels, with a very slender and seductive body figure; wore a short black skirt and a blue long sleeve shirt, her hair was dark and she was brown skinned with a beauty that complimented her figure. Ascending the stairs two at a time, she clutched a stack of papers tightly against her chest. Her brow was furrowed, lips pressed in a thin line. She was aware that these documents had to reach the man waiting in the office above. Each step rattled the polished floor as she reached the top to an office with a brown door and knocked briskly at the heavy wooden door.
Knock! Knock!
"May I come in sir?" she asked, her voice steady despite the tension in her shoulders.
"Enter," behind the wooden door came the calm, clipped reply.
She stepped inside, placing the papers on the desk with careful precision.
"They'll be arriving soon," she said to a man seating on an office chair before retreating back down the hall, leaving a faint echo of her hurried steps behind. The man who looked no more than 50, seated with his posture meticulous, adjusted his glasses and gave a small nod.
"Interesting, fascinating and intriguing" the man calmly said while reading the newly dropped papers on his desk..
"Chiroma" he muttered, "What an Interesting name".
....
Now only the sound of the tires against the road and the low rumble of the engine can be heard.
After a while the highway narrowed and the quiet emptiness of the road slowly gave way to movement.
Buildings began appearing on both sides.
Motorcycles wove through traffic like restless insects.
Small roadside stalls crowded the edges of the street. Traders shouted prices across wooden tables stacked with vegetables, fruits, and folded fabrics. The smell of roasted corn drifted through the air as buses honked impatiently behind slow-moving tricycles.
We had entered Jega.
The town pulsed with its usual noise and life. People moved through the streets with the casual rhythm of a place that had seen the same routines every day for years.
JC drove through the traffic without slowing much.
Eventually he turned off the main road and pulled toward a large building set slightly back from the street.
The structure looked like a typical government secretariat—wide concrete walls, fading paint, and tall rectangular windows reflecting the afternoon light.
JC parked the car.
The engine died.
For a moment neither of us moved.
Then JC stepped out.
Subtly I followed quietly.
Inside the building the air felt cooler. Our footsteps echoed faintly against the tiled floor as we crossed the lobby and headed toward the staircase.
We climbed the stairs without speaking.
First floor.
Then the second.
When we reached the hallway above, I immediately noticed something strange.
An elevator stood against the wall.
I stopped for half a second, staring at it.
"What the heck" I muttered inwardly
That made no sense.
There had been no elevator on the ground floor.
Why would one start from the second floor?
The question formed in my mind, but I didn't ask it, since I already knew that JC wasn't going to respond. I don't know, but I feel as if he's upset with me but I can't exactly pinpoint what I did wrong; rather I should be the one upset. Snapping back from my thoughts I looked ahead and saw that JC had already walked toward the elevator doors.
I hurriedly followed, Then the doors slid open with a quiet mechanical hum.
We stepped inside with the doors closing behind us.
I waited for the familiar feeling of the elevator moving upward.
Or downward.
Instead the floor beneath my feet shifted slightly.
Then the cabin began to move.
Forward.
I was shocked, "How?" I silently uttered.
There was no mistaking the sensation.
We weren't going up.
We weren't going down.
We were moving straight ahead.
The movement continued for several seconds, Then the elevator slowed.
The doors opened.
I stepped out—and immediately knew something was wrong.
Or perhaps something was very right "what am I even saying?".
The hallway beyond the elevator opened into a wide courtyard filled with sunlight, yet none of it resembled the government building we had just entered.
Students moved across open pathways.
But not in ways I understood.
A blue Fox with three fox tails walked past while speaking to a girl carrying a stack of glowing books. Not far away, two people sat cross-legged on a floating carpet drifting slowly through the air like a boat on calm water.
Symbols appeared briefly above someone's hand before dissolving into faint light.
Clothing styles varied wildly—robes, jackets, uniforms I had never seen before.
I tried to think of the right word for the place.
School didn't quite fit.
Neither did training ground.
It felt like something cut out of a fantasy novel.
JC walked forward like none of it was unusual, I followed, my eyes constantly moving as I tried to absorb everything around me.
Eventually a figure approached us.
A very beautiful brown skinned woman with dark fall back hair and blue eyes, she was dressed in a blue shirt which complimented her eyes and a black skirt. Though mesmerized by the beautiful figure before me, my expression was like a poker and stoic face.
She stopped in front of us with a polite smile.
"Follow me."
Her voice was calm indicating with her right hand for us to follow her. Eventually she led us through the courtyard and into a quieter corridor at the top of another building that ended at a large wooden door.
She knocked once.
A male voice from inside answered.
"Come in."
Slowly the door opened to a spacious office that had a waiting lounge, and as well as some ornaments around the room
The office felt strangely extraordinary compared to the world outside.
Bookshelves lined the walls. Papers sat neatly stacked across a wide desk where a man in his late forties sat reading several documents.
JC leaned casually against the wall near the window.
He lit another cigarette without asking.
He then indicated for the lady to leave,
"You may go"
"Yes sir" she said bowing halfway to the man.
"Sit boy" his voice echoed the office and unintentionally I found myself already sitting on a seat before the man's desk
The man looked up.
His eyes settled on me.
For a moment the room fell completely silent.
Then he spoke.
"Boy… what's your name?"
The moment the words reached my ears, the world disappeared.
Darkness swallowed everything.
The office vanished.
JC vanished.
The man vanished.
I sat alone in an endless black space.
A single spotlight shone down on me from somewhere above.
The voice echoed again.
"Boy… what's your name?"
The sound reverberated through the darkness.
Again.
And again.
Each repetition carried weight.
As if the question meant more than the words themselves.
I opened my mouth.
"Chi—"
But for some reason the rest of the word refused to come out.
My throat tightened.
My name suddenly felt enormous, like something far too heavy for my voice to carry.
The echo continued.
"What… is… your… name?"
Pressure built inside my chest.
Then—
"Crack!"
"Smash!"
The darkness shattered.
I was back in the office.
JC stood behind the older man now, one hand resting on his shoulder.
"Relax," JC said casually. "You didn't explain anything to him."
The man turned sharply.
"What do you mean I didn't—"
"You just asked the question like that."
"That's the proper procedure!"
"For people who know where they are."
The two stared at each other for a moment.
Then the argument began.
It wasn't like they were fighting, it was more like they were bickering like friends who've known each other for long, like two old friends complaining about each other's habits.
"You should have warned him first."
"And ruin the authenticity of the test?"
"Authenticity?"
"Yes."
"That's nonsense."
"This is why I said you should let me handle it."
"You handle nothing responsibly."
They continued like that for several minutes.
I watched them quietly.
It was strange.
The way JC spoke to the man carried no respect at all, yet the man didn't seem offended.
If anything, he sounded used to it.
Eventually I spoke.
"Um.... excuse me?" I interrupted their conversations with my right hand raised up.
"What exactly is happening?" I asked, and soon the both men stopped.
The older man cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Yes… well."
He adjusted his posture.
"There are many things you will need to understand. But for now, you should rest."
He snapped his fingers.
When suddenly a figure appeared beside JC, it was none other than the lady from earlier.
She inclined her head politely.
"My name is Keziah," she said. "I'm the director's secretary."
The man gestured toward the door.
"Please take him to his dormitory, I still have more things to discuss with JC."
Keziah nodded, indicating for me to follow her. I looked at JC to subtly ask if it was safe for me to follow her as she was still a stranger to me.
"You can go with her, we'll talk soon."
That was the longest conversation I've had with JC since arriving at Jega.
I then followed her out of the office without another word.
We walked along a long open hallway that overlooked the courtyard.
Keziah walked in front while I followed her behind not saying a word, I guess she felt awkward with the silence and tried to initiate a conversation.
"So… how was your journey?"
I didn't respond.
She glanced back briefly looking at my face,
My face remained completely unreadable and stagnant. She still kept on asking me things for almost the halfway through the hallway eventually she stopped trying since there was no reply.
I continued walking quietly behind her, observing everything around me.
Students practiced strange abilities in open spaces.
Objects floated gently through the air.
Symbols flickered like fireflies before fading away.
Then my eyes drifted toward the courtyard below.
Where I saw a giant and majestic tree situated at the midst of the courtyard.
It towered above everything around it.
The trunk was massive, pale like ancient ivory, its bark covered in faint lines that resembled worn writing.
Branches stretched outward in impossible directions—some climbing toward the sky, others reaching sideways across empty air.
A few curved downward without ever touching the ground.
But it was the leaves that held my attention.
They looked like thin glowing pages.
Symbols moved slowly across their surfaces.
Occasionally a leaf detached and drifted downward.
Students beneath the tree calmly caught them and read from them like scholars studying sacred texts.
Others simply sat there quietly.
I slowed down while watching the scenery,
Something about the tree stirred a feeling I couldn't explain.
Keziah walking in front of me noticed my sudden pause.
She followed my gaze.
"That's the Akashic Tree" She said.
I still kept looking, gently following behind her.
She continued walking as she spoke.
"It marks the entrance to the Akashic Records. Well… the front yard at least, no mortal can enter the Records themselves.
The archive existed beyond comprehension.
What the students accessed here were only fragments—knowledge drifting outward like falling leaves."
"Still even those fragments contained more knowledge than most minds could understand."
I listened quietly.
But when I looked at the tree again, the strange feeling remained.
Almost like the tree was aware of me.
Keziah called my attention back to the path and we continued walking.
.....
Back inside the office, the director leaned back in his chair.
"So," he said, looking at JC. "Tell me about the boy."
JC exhaled smoke slowly.
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything."
JC shrugged, while reluctantly saying
"That's a long story."
"And the incident?"
JC's expression shifted slightly.
This time he didn't dodge the question.
He explained everything exactly as it had happened.