Zeldras awoke in a crumbling house somewhere in Mbabane—alive, bleeding, breath shallow.
He should've died.
But something… intervened.
A red light flickered before him. A screen?
> [System Booting…]
[Bloodline Detected: Umnyama]
"What... is this?"
Then came the voice.
Ancient. Deep. Carved from war drums and bones.
> "Zeldras. Child of the flame. You were betrayed—but you have been chosen."
"Chosen for what?"
> "To awaken the Umnyama bloodline. But not here. You must give offering. Seek the sangoma. Bring a goat. The ancestors await."
The screen pulsed once, then faded.
Zeldras blinked, stunned—but something inside him burned. A second chance.
He stood, shaky, and vanished into the night.
---
A day later, far from the city's noise, he found her.
A reed-and-tin hut stood at Sandla's edge, hidden in thorny bush.
Bones hung from string. Smoke curled upward like spirits escaping.
The sangoma didn't look at him. Just spoke.
"They said you'd come."
She handed him a rusted knife.
"Go. Bring the goat."
---
Zeldras stole it. Quietly. Guiltily.
At sunset, the goat bled into the earth. The sangoma chanted in a tongue older than fire.
Zeldras sat cross-legged. The air warped. The sky cracked.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
---
> [Spiritual Trial Initiated]
[Entering Umnyama Realm]
He opened his eyes in a land of black grass and red stars.
A spear waited in his hand. Beasts made of shadow circled him, glowing eyes hungry.
> "This is your trial," said the voice. "Prove your blood. Survive."
The first beast struck. He moved by instinct.
Slash. Dodge. Roar. His heart beat like a drum of war.
He fell two of them. The third nearly ended him. But when the last one dropped…
The sky cracked again.
---
A figure descended—robed in mist, face hidden behind a burning mask.
"I am Maphanga, first of your line. Guardian of Umnyama. Your guide from now on."
Zeldras dropped to one knee.
"I want revenge."
"You will have more than that. You will have power."
---
> [Trial Complete]
[Ability Gained: Shadow Pulse]
[System: Fully Online]
Zeldras jolted awake in the hut, chest heaving.
The sangoma smiled faintly. "They like you."
He looked down at his hands.
Red tribal marks flickered beneath the skin.
Not just Zeldras anymore.
He was Muzi, heir to darkness, reborn in blood.