A year passed. Believing the threat had ended, the people of Ayo celebrated a rare season of peace. The queen gave birth to a child—Adeola—and all of Ayo rejoiced.
But in the shadows, Adekunle returned.
He struck in the dead of night—not with soldiers, but with poison and fire. The royal palace was ambushed by assassins. King Abiola and the queen fought valiantly but were overwhelmed.
> The queen, bleeding but defiant, placed her infant son in the arms of her most trusted guard—a man named Aremu.
> "Run," she whispered. "Protect him. Let his name not die with us."
Aremu fled into the jungle with the baby, dodging blades and fire. As the palace burned behind him, he vanished into the forest—becoming Adeola's foster father, raising him in a hidden village far from the palace walls.
Meanwhile, Adekunle declared himself King of Ayo. To the people, he spun tales of rebellion, calling his brother's death "necessary." But rumors of a surviving heir haunted him, leading to years of secret purges and hidden hunts.
---
Back in the cave, Adeola is silent, his hands clenched.
> "Why now?" he asks. "Why reveal this?"
Morenike steps forward and reveals a scroll—etched with blood-bound royal symbols.
> "Because the crown still remembers you," she says. "And because the true war is just beginning."
Flashbacks ripple through Adeola's mind: his foster father's cryptic words, the dreams of fire and screaming, the scar on his chest from a blade meant to silence his truth.
> Moremi puts a hand on his shoulder. "If this is true… then everything changes."
The fire crackles. In the distance, war drums begin to echo once again.
> "He's not just the lost king," Morenike says.
"He is the storm that will bring the end of Adekunle's reign."
Fade to black.
---