The First Challenge: Crossing the Seven Rivers
The road to the Forbidden Abyss was treacherous.
After traveling for two days, they reached the first obstacle the Seven Rivers of Igbo Nnukwu.
The rivers were not normal.
They moved, shifted, and changed their course.
One moment, a river was shallow; the next, it roared like an ocean.
Tunde frowned. "How do we cross?"
Adanna pointed at the water. "Look there are boats on the shore."
They hurried toward them only to stop abruptly.
A figure stood in their way.
A tall, cloaked man with glowing red eyes.
"You may not cross," the man intoned. "Not without a price."
Tunde stepped forward. "What price?"
The man's eyes flickered. "One of you must answer a question. If you fail, the rivers will take you."
Adanna shivered. "And if we refuse?"
The man's lips curled into a smile. "Then you will never leave this shore."
Tunde exchanged a look with Adanna.
He had no choice.
"Ask your question."
The River Guardian's Riddle
The cloaked figure lifted his hand.
The river behind him rumbled.
"Listen well," he said.
"I can be cracked, I can be played, I can be told, and I can be made. What am I?"
Tunde's mind raced.
Adanna whispered, "Think, Tunde. If we fail"
He held up a hand. "Let me think."
Cracked. Played. Told. Made.
Something that could fit all four…
Tunde's eyes widened.
"A joke," he said.
The cloaked man stared at him.
Then he grinned.
The river calmed.
"You may pass."
Tunde exhaled in relief.
Adanna nudged him. "How did you know?"
Tunde smiled. "Because I grew up in Ibadan. We love riddles."
They climbed into the boat.
One river down. Six to go.
And the real danger was still ahead.
The Second River – The Water That Speaks
Tunde and Adanna rowed toward the second river, the moonlight reflecting off its eerily still surface.
Adanna wiped sweat from her brow. "We should rest before we cross the next one."
Tunde hesitated. The first river had tested their minds. What if the next one tested their strength?
But before he could agree, a voice echoed from the water.
"You cannot rest."
Adanna and Tunde froze.
The river was… speaking?
"Those who hesitate will be swallowed."
The water churned violently, forming a massive wave that surged toward them.
Tunde grabbed the oars. "Hold on!"
The wave crashed over their boat, flipping it instantly.
Darkness swallowed them.
Lost Beneath the Surface
Tunde sank into the river's depths.
His lungs burned. The water was endless. Silent. Empty.
But then a whisper.
"What do you seek?"
Tunde's eyes widened.
The water itself was speaking to him.
He struggled to respond, but his voice was lost in the currents.
Then a shape emerged from the darkness.
A figure, a woman with silver eyes, her hair flowing like waves.
The Spirit of the River.
She stared at him. "Speak, or be lost forever."
Tunde forced the words out. "I seek to hide the mask."
The Spirit's gaze darkened. "Lies."
Tunde's heart pounded. "I swear! It's dangerous!"
The Spirit tilted her head. "And yet… you hesitate. You fear its power."
Tunde opened his mouth to deny it but… was she right?
A seed of doubt lurked in his heart.
What if he wasn't strong enough to resist the mask's influence?
What if the fallen brother in the vision he became its prisoner?
The Spirit's voice softened. "You cannot fight power with fear. Only with purpose."
Tunde's vision blurred.
His lungs were burning.
Was this it? Was he going to drown?
No.
He clenched his fists. He wasn't done yet.
With all his strength, he reached for the surface.
The Breath of Life
Tunde gasped as he broke through the water.
Adanna was there, pulling him into the overturned boat.
She was coughing, soaked, but alive.
"Tunde," she breathed. "What happened down there?"
Tunde wiped water from his eyes. "The river… it spoke to me. It tested me."
Adanna shuddered. "Did you pass?"
Tunde exhaled, staring at the dark water.
The river had given him no answer.
But it had left him with a question:
Was he truly strong enough to resist the mask's power?
He didn't know.
And that terrified him.
But for now they had survived.
Two rivers down. Five to go.
And the journey was far from over.
The Third River – The Silent Crossing
Tunde and Adanna dragged themselves onto the overturned boat, shivering from the cold water.
The river behind them grew still again, as if nothing had happened.
Adanna hugged herself. "We need a plan before we face the next river."
Tunde nodded. The first river had tested his mind. The second had tested his fears.
What would the third do?
A shadow passed over the moon.
They turned and saw the next river ahead.
Wide. Dark. Motionless.
But something was wrong.
There was no sound.
No rippling water. No chirping insects. Even the wind had disappeared.
It was too quiet.
Adanna gripped his arm. "Tunde... something is watching us."
Tunde's skin prickled. He felt it too.
They had to move.
The Unseen Eyes
They paddled toward the third river cautiously.
A small wooden bridge stretched across it, half-hidden in mist.
"Should we take the boat or cross the bridge?" Adanna whispered.
Tunde hesitated. Neither option felt safe.
Then a soft whisper brushed against his ear.
"Step carefully… or be lost forever."
Tunde's heart hammered.
Who said that?
Adanna froze. "Did you hear that?"
Tunde nodded slowly.
Something was here.
Watching.
Waiting.
The Silent Trial
They stepped onto the bridge.
The mist closed around them, thick and heavy.
Their footsteps made no sound.
Then the world shifted.
The bridge beneath them vanished.
They were standing on nothing.
Adanna gasped. "Where are we?"
Tunde turned in all directions. "I don't know."
The mist swirled, forming shapes.
Then the whisper returned.
"Speak, and you will fall."
Tunde stiffened.
This was the test.
They could not make a sound.
Adanna's eyes widened in realization.
She pointed forward. Move.
Tunde nodded. Step by step, they walked.
Their movements were slow, careful.
The mist pressed against them, trying to trick them into gasping, coughing, screaming.
But they remained silent.
Then the mist shifted again.
A figure appeared.
Tunde froze.
It was his father.
A Test of the Heart
Baba Adeyemi stood before him, his face kind but unreadable.
"Tunde," the man whispered. "My son. It has been so long."
Tunde's throat tightened.
This wasn't real. It couldn't be.
His father had died years ago.
But… what if it was real?
What if this was a chance to speak to him one last time?
His father opened his arms. "Come, my son."
Tunde hesitated.
One word, one sound and he would fail the trial.
His heart ached.
But he forced himself to step forward.
Not into his father's arms but past him.
The image wavered.
Then it shattered.
The bridge reappeared beneath them.
The mist vanished.
Tunde exhaled.
They had passed.
The third river was behind them.
But the hardest trials were still ahead.
The Fourth River – The Shadow of the Past
Tunde and Adanna stood at the edge of the third river, their bodies still trembling from the silent crossing.
The mist had lifted, but the silence lingered in the air like an unfinished sentence.
Adanna turned to Tunde, her voice hushed. "That was your father, wasn't it?"
Tunde nodded, swallowing hard. "It wasn't real. Just another test."
Adanna studied him. "But you wanted it to be real."
Tunde exhaled. He couldn't deny it. For a brief moment, he had wished he could embrace his father one last time.
But the journey wasn't over.
They had no time for ghosts.
The fourth river awaited.
The River of Shadows
The next river was different from the others.
It was narrower, but darker, its surface black as ink, swallowing all light.
No reflection, no movement.
Just an abyss stretching into the unknown.
Adanna frowned. "How do we cross this one?"
Tunde scanned the area. No boats. No bridges.
Then a rustling in the trees.
They spun around.
A woman in white robes stepped out of the shadows.
Her face was hidden beneath a hood.
She raised a hand. "The fourth river is not crossed with strength or silence."
Tunde and Adanna exchanged a look.
Adanna took a cautious step forward. "Then how do we cross?"
The woman tilted her head. "With truth."
Tunde frowned. "What does that mean?"
She gestured to the water. "The river will only allow those who are not burdened by their past."
Tunde's stomach twisted.
His past?
Did that mean…
The river would test him with his own secrets?
Confessions in the Dark
The woman in white stepped aside, revealing two stone platforms leading to the river.
"Step forward," she instructed. "Speak your truths. Only then will the path reveal itself."
Tunde hesitated.
Adanna's gaze hardened. "We have no choice."
She stepped onto her platform first.
The river stirred.
Adanna inhaled sharply. "I… I never wanted to be a leader. Everyone says I am strong, but I am afraid."
The river hummed.
The first stone glowed faintly.
Adanna turned to Tunde. "Your turn."
Tunde clenched his fists.
What truth could he speak?
He had many secrets.
But only one burned inside him the most.
He stepped onto his platform and closed his eyes.
Then he whispered the words he had never spoken aloud.
"I am afraid of who I might become."
The river shook.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the darkness parted.
A narrow stone path rose from the depths, leading across the water.
They had passed the test.
But as they crossed, Tunde couldn't shake the feeling that the river had not just heard his truth also had understood it.
And that meant something dangerous was waiting for him ahead.