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Chapter 8 - chapter 8: venom recall

Adjo crouched over the corpse of a Trinitario enforcer, his **gold-veined fingers** buried in the man's bullet wound. 

*"Show me,"* he hissed. 

The blood **boiled against his skin**, flooding his mind with: 

*The Trinitario's Last Memory**: A warehouse where Dante Rivera **sliced open a pregnant woman** to drain her *"innocent aura"* into a glass vial. 

*The Hidden Truth**: That vial now **contained 17 seconds of Adjo's true name**, stolen during the memory purge. 

**The Taste of Power**: Copper, gunpowder, and beneath it—**scorpion venom**. *His* venom. 

**Side Effect**: For **7 minutes**, Adjo's **cleft lip sealed itself**—the first physical proof his seals were cracking. 

Grandma Ama found him **chewing the dead man's thumb bone**. 

*"You're remembering through their blood now?"* She sighed. *"Child, even hyenas don't fall this low."* 

Adjo spat out a **blackened molar**. *"Hyenas don't win wars."* 

The Goddess of Reincarnation materialized as a **10-foot Ashanti widow**, her mourning cloth woven from: 

- **Stillborn umbilical cords** 

- **Pages of burned Bibles** 

- **Adjo's stolen memories** (flashing like broken film reels) 

*"The Eternal True God thinks he's clever,"* she sneered. *"But he forgot—you're *my* debtor."* 

She **unspooled her own hair**, revealing: 

- **First Strand**: Dante Rivera's **true identity** (General Kwame's soul in a patched-up corpse) 

- **Second Strand**: The Eternal True God's **weakness** (his power is borrowed from **future worshippers**) 

- **Third Strand**: A **vision of Adjo at 15**, standing over Dante's **still-beating heart** 

**Price for Intel**: 

- Adjo's **next kill** must be a *"sinless soul"* (she craves their purity) 

- **His voice** for 24 hours (she stuffs his larynx with **ghost peppers**) 

---

Dante had hidden the **last piece of Adjo's name** inside: 

- **A 6-year-old girl** (pastor's daughter) 

- **Her veins pumped full of holy water** 

- **Her eyes sewn shut with silver thread** (to block astral detection) 

**Adjo's Dilemma**: 

- Killing her **breaks the Goddess's sinless rule** 

- Leaving her alive lets Dante **keep his advantage** 

**Solution**: 

He **vomits concentrated venom** into her ear—**melting the holy water** but leaving her alive. 

The girl wakes up **speaking ancient Twi** (Adjo's subconscious memories leaking) 

Dante **screams in Queens** as 30% of his stolen power **dissipates** 

The Goddess **applauds from the shadows**: *"Clever scorpion."* 

---

The Second Seal Shatters** 

**Solar Plexus Unlocked – 65% Power Restored** 

During a street fight with Dante's **demon-possessed lieutenants**, Adjo: 

- **Takes a machete to the gut** (where the Solar Plexus seal glows) 

- **Laughs as the blade dissolves** in his golden blood 

- **Unleashes his first full venom blast**: 

**"Osebo's Breath"** 

- A **15-foot cone of liquid agony** 

- Melts concrete, **vaporizes 3 Latin Kings** 

- Leaves Dante's **left arm a skeletal claw** 

**Aftermath**: 

- Adjo collapses for **7 hours** (1 minute of godhood = 1 day lifespan lost) 

- The Eternal True God **temporarily severs Dante's soul-link** as punishment 

- Grandma Ama **burns sage over Adjo's body**, whispering: *"Two seals left, child. Then we storm heaven."* 

---

Adjo claws his way from unconsciousness to find: 

- The pastor's girl **drawing Adinkra symbols on his walls** 

- His **voice returned**, but deeper—**echoing with the Goddess's harmonics** 

- A **vision of his father** gasping as the overdose hits, whispering: *"The scorpion... always... strikes twice."* 

**Last Line**: 

Adjo licks his lips, **tasting the memory of his own name**. 

*"I am Adjo the Unbroken. And I'm coming for *all* my power

Memory Recovery Mechanics**: Blood, venom, and pain as recall triggers 

Goddess's True Role**: She *wants* Adjo to break the Eternal True God's rules 

Power Scaling**: Each unsealing has **cosmic consequences** 

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