Opundi City did not wake gently.
It woke to absence.
The Morning After,
No collectors at the gates,
No dockmasters shouting orders,
No quiet enforcers slipping through alleys with lists of debts and threats,
Just… space.
And confusion.
Merchants stood at checkpoints that no longer demanded payment.
Boatmen drifted through channels without being stopped.
Names once whispered with fear gone from ledgers, gone from memory, gone from power.
For a moment.....
A fragile, impossible moment....
The city felt… free.
Then came the shouting.
At first, scattered.
Then rising.
Then spreading like fire through dry wood.
"You think this is freedom?!"
"You've destroyed order!"
"Who's going to protect us now?!"
Hope turned quickly.
Into fear.
Because power removed…
Left a vacuum.
And vacuums never stayed empty.
"The Base – Midday"
Timi burst through the door.
Breathing hard.
Eyes wide.
"Okay—good news and bad news."
Preye didn't look up from the map.
"Start with the bad."
Timi pointed behind him.
"The city is panicking."
Nimi sighed, expected.
Boma leaned against the wall.
"They don't trust sudden change."
Sotonye added quietly, they never do.
Timi raised a finger.
"And the good news...."
Everyone looked at him.
He hesitated.
"…I'm still alive."
Nimi rolled her eyes.
"That's not helpful."
Kuro stepped forward.
His voice low, movement has started.
Preye looked up.
"What kind?"
Kuro's gaze hardened.
"Retaliation."
Madam Ado Moves
Her influence had not disappeared,
It had shifted.
Condensed.
Focused.
Where she once controlled the city broadly, now she struck precisely.
Dockside – Chaos Unleashed
Fires broke out,
Ships sabotaged,
Crews turned on each other,
Rumors spread like poison—
"The Current is stealing everything."
"They'll collapse the city."
"They're worse than the old system."
Boma clenched his jaw.
"They're turning the people against us."
Sotonye nodded.
"Classic control strategy."
Nimi crossed her arms.
"She's not trying to stop us."
A pause.
"She's isolating us."
Her eyes sharpened.
"She wants us to stand alone."
Timi blinked, Aren't we already alone?
Preye shook her head.
"No."
She gestured toward the city.
"We had something."
"Momentum."
"Belief."
Her voice dropped slightly.
"She's breaking that."
The wind shifted.
Suddenly.
Violently.
The windows rattled.
The air grew heavy.
Charged.
Preye froze.
Her fingers twitched.
Lightning sparked—
Uncontrolled.
Kuro's voice cut low,
"This isn't normal."
Denyefa stepped forward.
Eyes wide.
"…The river—"
She swallowed.
"It's not responding."
The storm wasn't coming from the sky.
It was coming from everywhere.
Clouds gathered unnaturally fast.
Dark.
Dense.
Heavy.
Thunder rolled,
But not like before,
Not hers.
Timi rides his hand
"…So, quick question—"
Preye didn't look at him.
"Not now."
"—if this isn't your storm—"
"It's not."
"—then whose is it?"
Silence.
Because everyone knew the answer.
He's Back
The man from the dock.
The City Reacts....
People ran,
Shouted,
Panicked,
Because this storm, was not natural.
Lightning struck without pattern.
Wind tore through structures.
Water surged unpredictably.
It wasn't destruction, It was control.
The Base Trembles,
The building groaned under the pressure.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Wood creaked.
Timi grabbed a beam.
"I liked this place!"
Nimi snapped, "Focus!"
Preye Steps Outside,
She didn't hesitate.
Didn't wait.
She stepped into the storm.
Rain slammed against her.
Wind pulled at her.
Lightning cracked across the sky,
Not hers.
Her eyes narrowed.
"…You're forcing it," she muttered.
The Sky Answers;
is A voice carried through the storm.
Not loud.
But everywhere,
"Adapt."
Preye's breath caught.
The Confrontation Without Presence
"You want control?"
The voice again.
Calm.
Cold.
"Then take it."
Lightning struck,
Right in front of her.
The ground split.
Water surged upward.
Timi peeked out,
"…Is she arguing with the sky?"
Sotonye didn't look away,
"…Yes."
Timi nodded slowly, of course she is.
Preye vs The unknown Storm
She stepped forward.
Into it.
Not against it,
Her hand lifted,
Lightning flickered.
Small.
Controlled.
The storm above responded,
Violently.
Not physical,
Not direct,
But absolute.
Her control,
Against something greater,
Older,
Stronger.
Denyefa Joins.....
Denyefa stepped out beside her.
Rain soaking her instantly.
"The river won't follow him."
Her voice steadied, It's resisting.
Preye glanced at her, then we make it listen to us.
They moved together,
Storm.
And river.
Lightning surged.
Water rose ,
For a moment....
They aligned.
And the storm,
Stuttered.
Inside the Storm....
The voice returned,
Quieter now,
Interested,
"…Good."
But Not Enough.
The sky split,
Wider,
Deeper.
A massive bolt of lightning tore through the clouds,
Not downward, but across,
Like something was opening.
Kuro stepped out.
His voice sharp, this is not a storm.
Preye's eyes widened slightly.
"…It's a gate."
For one second,
Everything paused,
Then,
The storm intensified,
Climax Peak,
Buildings cracked,
Water surged through streets.
Wind howled like something alive.
And in the sky,
The tear widened.
Something was coming through.
Preye made a Decision almost immediately, she clenched her fist.
Lightning surged wildly.
"No."
Her voice cut through the chaos.
"Not here."
She stepped forward, into the center of it.
For a moment,
Just a moment,
The lightning bent,
Toward her
Inside the tear,
A shape moved.
Not fully visible,
Not fully real,
But watching,
Waiting.
The voice spoke one last time,
"You're almost ready."
Silence followed.
Then....
The storm collapsed,
Instantly,
Gone.
Leaving behind,
A broken city,
A shaken Current,
And a truth no one could ignore,
This was no longer about power in Opundi City, something bigger had noticed them.
And it had just knocked. 🌟