Jayden stood before the ancient mirror hidden beneath the Ochieng estate. It wasn't a mirror that showed reflection—it showed memory.
As he whispered his full name—"Jayden Ochieng"—the glass rippled like water. An image of his younger self emerged. A name tag flashed across a burned-down school hallway:
> Student Name: Ochieng Jayden Otieno.
"I used to be just Ochieng," he muttered.
A voice echoed from the mirror, deep and familiar—his father's:
> "I gave you 'Jayden' to protect you. The enemies feared Ochieng. But they wouldn't suspect a boy named Jayden. Now that you've reclaimed the throne… it's time they fear both names."
A chill spread through the room. Jayden wasn't just carrying a name.
He was becoming a legacy.
---
Meanwhile, Maggy sat under the old tamarind tree where they used to study together—before the chaos. She gripped a worn notebook, full of unsent letters.
When Jayden found her, she didn't turn.
"I knew your name," she said quietly.
He froze.
"Back then, before all of this. I knew you were Ochieng. That's why I always stayed close. I thought if I could protect you… maybe I'd be protecting what I lost."
Jayden slowly sat beside her.
"What did you lose?" he asked.
She opened the notebook and pointed to a page. It was a photo, burned at the edges—of a younger Jayden, holding her brother's hand.
"You were the last person seen with my brother… before the Crystal Fire."
---
Far from Emerald City, in a temple guarded by the assassins of the Veil, a new enemy rose.
Elira, once thought banished, now stood before a council of cloaked women. Her eyes glowed silver.
"I found the boy. He's unlocked the name," she declared.
"And?" a voice hissed.
"He's remembering everything. Soon he'll know the truth about what Maggy is hiding. About the war his father fought… and the betrayal that started it all."
Elira stepped into the moonlight, revealing a scar that ran from her temple to her jaw.
"I'll make sure he chooses me… or no one at all."
---
That night, Jayden awoke to searing pain on his chest. Pulling off his shirt, he saw a mark glowing—an ancestral pattern, shaped like a lion intertwined with a crown.
It had appeared before only once: the night his father died.
Tielen burst into the room, breathless.
"They know," he said. "The hidden families. The ones who ruled before time. They know the true Ochieng heir is alive."
Jayden stared at the mark and clenched his fists.
"Let them come," he whispered.
---