The Lost king

EXT. VALLEY OF AYO – CURSED FOREST DEFENSE – LATE EVENING

The valley narrows into a suffocating corridor of dying trees, their branches jagged like claws. Thick mist crawls over the earth, seeping into every crevice. Ancient barricades of thorned wood and rusted spears remain from forgotten wars.

Yemi marches ahead, blade drawn, eyes sharp. The warriors behind him are quiet—tension hanging like smoke in the air.

The silence is unnatural.

Suddenly, a faint sound—crunch.

The ground behind them shifts. From the fog ahead and behind, they emerge — hunched, skeletal beasts cloaked in fur and rot. Their eyes glow red. Runes pulse from beneath their skin like something alive under their flesh.

Yemi raises his hand — halt.

Then, chaos.

The beasts lunge.

Steel clashes with teeth. The cursed creatures move too fast, too coordinated. Every strike that lands seems to be absorbed or reformed. One warrior is snatched into the trees. Another is crushed beneath snarling jaws.

Yemi fights precisely, driving his sword into the runes on one beast's skull. It shrieks and bursts into smoke.

But for every fallen beast, two more appear.

Flames light parts of the forest, but the creatures circle them like hunters toying with prey.

Yemi breathes hard, blood on his arm. He surveys the chaos — his men dwindling.

YEMI

(under his breath)

This forest is alive… and it wants us dead.

---

INTERCUT TO:

EXT. IBADI FOREST – SHADOW TRAIL – NIGHT

A darker, thicker wood. Vines hang like nooses. The air is hot, wet, choking with insect buzz.

Bayo pushes forward, torch in hand, his team behind him moving through thick underbrush.

Then — all sound stops. Not a bird, not a branch. Nothing.

A screech cuts through the stillness.

The trees burst open — and the same cursed beasts from Ayo pour out. Fangs bared, limbs twisted unnaturally, their runes glowing in the dark.

Ambush.

One beast grabs a man by the throat. Another slams into the formation, sending bodies flying.

Bayo charges, slicing clean through a creature's body — but it reforms mid-air, eyes blazing.

BAYO

(grim)

They're bound to something darker...

Fire is their only salvation. One warrior throws a torch — a beast ignites, writhing in agony. But still, they come.

The beasts don't just attack. They herd, driving the team into traps, cliffs, and thick vines. The forest feels alive — hostile, cursed.

Bayo stabs a beast through its glowing rune. It explodes into black dust.

Still, the trees shake with howls. They're being hunted.

---

SPLIT SCENE – AYO & IBADI FORESTS – PARALLEL STRUGGLE

Yemi slashes, blood dripping, panting as the beasts regroup around him. He glances at the wounded, grits his teeth.

YEMI

(retreating)

Fall back! This isn't a fight we can win head-on!

In the Ibadi woods, Bayo limps toward higher ground, rallying those still breathing.

BAYO

(yelling)

Pull back! Toward the ridge! Burn everything behind us!

The forests burn behind both groups, light flickering through twisted trees.

The cursed beasts retreat into the shadows—but the growling never stops.

---

Bankode stands alone before Morenike who is trapped by bankode magic cages around her hands drenched in ritual blood, eyes closed in ecstasy. Before him, a mirror of obsidian water shows both battles simultaneously.

He smiles faintly.

BANKODE

(low, almost to himself)

They bleed. They run. But soon… they will kneel.

---

TO BE CONTINUED...