Location: Undisclosed. A warehouse with shattered windows and flickering lights.
A crowd of twenty sits in a loose circle, hushed. Some are former protest leaders. Others are livestreamers, whistleblowers, singers, skit-makers. All burned by Korex's regime. All waiting for a sign.
The projector flares to life.
A figure steps into the frame — dressed in black, face obscured by a traditional agbada, but with a smooth black mask that covers everything but the eyes.
The room stills.
"Is that…?"
"It can't be."
"He's alive?"
Then, the voice.
Raw. Deep. Undeniably VDM.
🎙 VDM Speaks
"They told you I ran. They told you I betrayed you. They said the revolution had no leader."
"They lied."
He paces slowly across the screen, behind him a map of Nigeria — burning in digital flames.
"They made Halima disappear. They turned Dele into a puppet. They painted your voices as violence. Your art as propaganda."
"But the people are not blind anymore."
"And I am not coming back to beg."
He leans in.
"I'm coming back to break them."
🔥 Operation Black Echo
VDM announces the launch of Operation Black Echo — a full-scale digital and physical campaign:
Simultaneous content drops from influencers in 10 states, all using untraceable VPN paths.
Underground broadcasts from secret locations playing whistleblower confessions, doctored Korex memos, and civilian testimonies.
Street-level resurgence: flash protests coordinated through encrypted messaging apps, designed to be everywhere and nowhere.
His final words:
"We are not rebels. We are reminders. You work for us. You govern because of us. And if you forget…"
He pulls off the mask.
"We remind you. Very Dark Man style."
The screen cuts.
💻 Nationwide Reaction
Phones light up across the country.
"#VDMReturns" explodes on X.
TikTokers react with goosebumps and praise.
A burned-out reporter in Abuja whispers to her editor:
"It's happening again."
In a cafe, an old woman weeps softly.
"My son died for this movement. He would have wanted to see this day."
🧊 Korex Responds
Inside Korex's war room, panic spreads.
"How the hell did he survive?"
"Why didn't the last trace work?"
"He's hijacking the narrative!"
Korex watches the clip again. Pauses on VDM's unmasked face.
"He wants to be a symbol?"
He turns to his aide.
"Then we destroy the symbol. Cut out every tongue that speaks his name."
"Even the influencers?"
"Especially the influencers."
Location: Abandoned Cinema – Kano
Inside a ruined cinema hall lit only by portable lanterns, three figures step through the dust-choked aisles.
Halima, eyes wary but determined
Dele, carrying a satchel of files
Jamilah, hand close to her concealed weapon
A flicker of movement.
A shadow steps out from behind the old screen.
VDM.
Still in black. Still imposing. But now… colder.
His smile doesn't reach his eyes. His voice is calm, calculated.
"You made it," he says. "Good. I wasn't sure who'd still come."
🧊 The Tension Beneath the Words
They don't hug. No reunion tears.
This is war now. And war changes people.
Jamilah goes straight in:
"What the hell happened to you?"
VDM doesn't flinch.
"They buried me. But I clawed my way back. And while you were hiding, I was listening. Watching."
He gestures to the screen behind him — it sparks to life. Surveillance footage. Street protests. Secret meetings. Even clips of Korex's lieutenants in private.
Dele, unnerved:
"You've been spying on us too?"
VDM: "Everyone. I couldn't afford not to."
🔥 A Plan — and a Line Crossed
VDM lays out the next phase:
They will leak a doctored video of Korex ordering civilian executions — one real audio, one fake visual.
"It will push the country over the edge," VDM says. "Even his allies will abandon him."
Halima's jaw tightens.
"You're suggesting fake footage?"
"I'm suggesting we fight fire with hell."
"That's not what we stood for," Dele snaps. "You said truth was our weapon."
VDM steps in close.
"Truth got us killed."
He looks at Halima.
"You think they care that your confession was forced? They only care that it was broadcast."
"So now we broadcast our version."
⚖️ Breaking Point
Jamilah speaks up:
"If we become like them, what's the point?"
VDM replies, ice in his voice:
"The point is winning."
He looks each of them in the eye.
"This is no longer about convincing them. It's about cornering them. Make them choose: run, or burn."
Halima, quiet:
"And what if people get hurt?"
"Then we build a country worth their sacrifice."
Silence.
🚪 After the Meeting
Later, outside the cinema…
Dele: "That wasn't VDM. Not the man I followed."
Halima: "No. That was someone who died and came back… hungrier."
Jamilah: "The question isn't if he's changed. It's whether we can still trust him."
Halima looks at the dusty skyline.
"Or whether we'll have to stop him… before it's too late."
Location: Abandoned church in Kaduna, 2:17 a.m.
Rain pounds the roof like war drums.
Halima waits alone, burner phone clutched in her palm.
A ping.
The signal finally connects.
An anonymous icon flashes: ☠G₥⁴☠
GHOSTMODE: You sure you want to know what we found?
HALIMA: Yes. I need the truth.
Even if it breaks me.
GHOSTMODE:
Then brace yourself.
Because the VDM you knew?
He died. And something else came back.
📂 Digital Resurrection
GhostMode transmits a heavily encrypted folder titled:
"Project Obsidian – VDM: The Rebirth Files"
Inside:
Audio clips of VDM being interrogated by Korex's private black ops unit.
Footage of VDM drugged, strapped to a gurney, whispered lies pumped through headphones.
A contract: signed under duress, stating "Subject agrees to silence and reintegration."
But here's the twist…
VDM didn't break.
He faked his own submission.
🧠 Psychological Chess
GhostMode confirms:
VDM played the long game.
Pretended to turn. Fed Korex disinformation.
Infiltrated their networks from the inside.
But…
GHOSTMODE: To pull it off, he had to become something else.
Cold. Surgical. Detached.
He's not lying to Korex anymore.
He's lying to everyone.
Halima stares at a final photo.
VDM, eyes empty, standing beside Babajide, Korex's puppet VP.
Caption: "Rehearsal footage. He knew the camera was on. And smiled anyway."
🕳 The Hole Inside
Halima disconnects.
She doesn't speak. Doesn't move. Just stares out the cracked stained-glass window.
"Did we bring back a hero… or build a weapon that can't be controlled?"
In the corner of the church, a voice:
"Some truths," Tayo says softly, stepping out from the shadows,
"are too dangerous to stay buried."
Halima doesn't ask how he found her.
"So," he says. "What now?"
"Now?" she replies, voice breaking…
"Now we watch him closer than Korex ever did."