The camp of the Ilu Nla National Liberation Movement came back to life. The sage Hakim alone escorted the inhabitants who had been taken to the Stone of Judgment. They were very anxious to get back, but understood the dangerous situation, and stayed there until Azekel e made contact.

  Fadala volunteered to infiltrate Ilu Nla's underworld. He would spread the seeds of betrayal that would bring down Ojwang. The mission was not difficult to carry out. The deaths of the crime bosses were covered up by a mysterious explosion, and the Head of State was more concerned with the losses and gains caused by the late General Gahiji.

  Spin Bomb continued to produce new explosives, and Feruzi decided to deal with the organization of the men and women in the camp.

  Akachi decided to strengthen himself for the final battle. He couldn't afford to falter. Many people depended on his strength. A better future had to be won with sweat, tears and… blood. He sought out Hakim. He thought he would be a good teacher because of his fighting ability.

  “Mr. Hakim, I'm, uh, sorry. I think I've evolved a bit, but it's not enough. I need to get stronger to protect my family and friends. But I can't do it alone. Please, I'd like you to train me.”

  Hakim was unprepared for such a proposal. He scratched his chin with the tip of his index finger and replied:

  “Look, kid, I don't know much about training others. You'd better talk to Ekundayo, he… knows his way around these things. I've got to go, bye!”

  Hakim walked quickly in the opposite direction and left a furious Akachi behind.

  Fenyang floated above the young medium and shook his head in disappointment.

  “Damn! He really doesn't like hard work, brou.”

  “What do you mean, hard work?”

  “Sorry, brou, that's just the way I put it.”

  Akachi walked over to Ekundayo. He was chatting amiably with his grandfather Azekel. The boy asked the elders to excuse him and said:

  “Mr. Ekundayo, I'd like to talk to you.”

  “You're already talking to me, go ahead.”

  Boy, is he direct.

  “I'd like you to train me. I feel I'm not strong enough to face the battle that's coming.”

  Azekel straightened his beret and smiled. Recognizing one's own limits was a way of maturing. It was from there that young men reached the level of men. Akachi was an incomplete medium. He was a long way from becoming a Sage.

  Ekundayo crossed his arms and stared at him as if analyzing an unprecedented phenomenon. He could feel the aura of Axé enveloping him, thick, almost like a protective cloak. He didn't need to get stronger, he needed to become more aware of his own power. The man gestured for him to lift up his shirt. Akachi obeyed, even though he didn't understand.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Ekundayo approached and knelt down. He noticed, what struck him was that the boy ignored the fact.

  “The Spiritual Key was connected to you, but you didn't connect to it.”

  “But I used its power until today.”

  “That's not enough. The Spiritual Key is not a thing. It is the embodiment of the divine aspects of Fante Obataiye, they are links of memories with his ancestors. You don't have it, it's not your fault.”

  “How can I get them?”

  “It's not like a collection, memories need to be lived to be fed.”

  “I don't quite understand.”

  “You grew up without developing any relationship with your father, distant from the rest of your clan. You never heard the ítan of Iyamesan and Babá Olofim. You need to know your ancestors. It is from them that we know the paths of our lives.”

  Ekundayo stood up and headed for the door. Before leaving, he turned and said:

  “Enjoy, you still have your father and grandfather with you.”

  Akachi watched him leave. His face showed confusion. It seemed very easy, and at the same time somewhat difficult. He felt that his father avoided him and always seemed to be busy.

  Azekel put a hand on his shoulder and said:

  “I see what he means, come on, let's go after your father.”

  Akachi accompanied the old man. The pair walked through the streets, and to their surprise, Adisa was with a shovel helping to clear the tables in the canteen. He was wearing a T-shirt and jeans and old sandals. He didn't look anything like the grim scientist.

  “Dad, what are you doing here?”

  “Well, I'm helping. If I stood still, I'd go mad. Come on, help me too, there's a lot of work.”

  “Okay.”

  “You got it, son.”

  Azekel and Akachi went over to him. The first picked up the mop and the other began to help clear the tables and take the plates and cutlery off the tables and into the kitchen.

  “Dad…”

  “Yes, son.”

  “What was my mother like?”

  Akachi received the plates and cutlery that his father had washed and wiped with a cloth, and put them in the drainer.

  “Arfh! She was an incredible woman. She was beautiful, intelligent and made me feel like the strongest man in the world. Let's say she turned my life upside down. She gave me the most precious things a man can have: a family. I'd like to apologize for…”

  “You don't have to apologize anymore, I've already forgiven you.”

  “Thank you, that's important to me.”

  Azekel watched them from the doorway. He asked permission to enter and put the mop aside. He walked over to the coffee bottle and picked up three cups.

  “Come on, these are the last portions, it's getting cold.”

  Adisa turned to her father and motioned for Akachi to sit down at the table. The boy sat down and sipped his coffee. It was one of the few bonds the three had in common apart from their kinship, their addiction to caffeine.

  “This is the first time the three of us have gotten together to talk, this is a special situation.”

  Azekel took off his beret and rubbed the strands of hair that stubbornly refused to leave the bald spot on his head. His son and grandson watched him, sensing that a great story was about to be told.

  “Well, I don't know if I've told you how Iyamesan and Baba Olofim became the ancestral mother and father of our clan, representatives of the Faith in the world. It all started when…”

  Azekel went back in history millennia, when Fante Obatiye's face was visible to those who worshipped him. But his sons and daughters had become rebellious and increasingly lax in fulfilling their duties. His precepts gave way to pettiness and vanity, until humanity turned its back on him.

  Sadness fell on the eyes of the divine. He decided to hide his face from humanity, and only the chosen would see his face in the next world. In his sadness, he decided to destroy the earthly world, but the dead wept and asked him to reconsider.

  He said that if the spirits found at least one righteous person who followed his precepts and loved him more than the world, he would forgive humanity and renew his covenant with his sons and daughters. Then the spirits of the dead called out two names: Iyamesan, the young warrior, and Babá Olofim, the old priest.

  The couple never bowed to iniquity and continued to keep the precepts of the Lord of Heaven and Earth under their roof. They paid their respects and honored their commitments to the Divine Force. Fante Obatiye honored them and raised them to the status of Entities. Their descendants were given the duty to protect the Faith. Finally, Azekel cried out:

  “Praise be to us from our Mother and our Father before what is under the Firmament of the world.”

  “Praise be to the children of inheritance.”

  Adisa and Akachi answered in unison. The boy was impressed, he knew how to respond to Ithan's call. It made him happy, he felt part of something bigger, a family.