Akachi opened his eyes. He closed his eyelids several times until he got used to the light. In the sky, a solitary yellowish light shone. He had a strange feeling of weightlessness, as if he were incorporeal. He rose from the sandy ground. He was in a vast desert. There was nothing but dunes and more reddish dunes.

A cold wind swept the dust from one side to the other. He began to walk unsteadily, the desert soil was very soft. It was very different from the landscape of Judgement Stone, which was arid but not deserted. He thought he had been sent far away with a blow, or even that he had fainted and been taken somewhere far away.

He stopped walking. He didn't know where he had to go. There was no point of reference. He decided to walk in the opposite direction of the sun to avoid the excess heat.

“Hi! Is anyone there? Where am I?”

No answer was heard. Adisa's son was alone. The boy walked in bewilderment. He felt melancholy, a heaviness in his chest as if he had a ton of lead in place of his heart.

“Fenyang! Spin Bomb! Can someone help me?”

Suddenly, Akachi saw something flutter in the air behind a dune right in front of him. He stumbled over to it. His grandfather and Spin Bomb were there, smiling and with open arms.

“Gee, I'm glad you're here... no, wait, don't leave!”

As much as he asked them to stay, the images faded as if they had been sucked up by a whirlwind. In the opposite direction, he saw the figure of Fadala. Akachi held out hope and went towards him, but the figure met the same fate as the others.

On the other side, Akachi saw Yasini. In desperation, he went towards her. Tears welled up in his eyes. A second time, the image disappeared right before his eyes. The young medium nibbled his lips and spoke between his teeth.

“Master, don't leave me alone.”

He stumbled down the dune. Falling, he hugged his knees and curled up like a cocoon. For the first time in a long time, Azekel's grandson once again felt the thing that had tortured him most in life: loneliness. He had spent his entire youth in hospital beds. He never went to school, he had no siblings, and his relationship with his father Adisa was cold and distant. He closed his eyes and began to sob.

“It's been a long time since we've been like this, hasn't it?”

Akachi wiped the tears from his eyes. To his surprise, a child about seven years old was squatting next to him. He looked frail and his eyes were dull. The medium stood up in confusion. He was wearing hospital clothes. There was a bandage on his right elbow. The two looked at each other.

“Us? But who are you? Do you know where we are?”

“Are you sure you don't recognize yourself anymore? Look around, we've been here before. No memories were born here, it's sad.”

“Memories... a desert of memories. I think I understand. I'm dead...”

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“You're not, not the way you think.”

Akachi walked in a circle around the child. He was surprised, it was his child self. The medium knelt on the floor and put a hand on the shoulder of his other self. Azekel's grandson felt sorry for him, or rather for himself. He didn't remember that he was so small, so sick, so sad. A lifeless child.

“How do I get out of here?”

“We're not trapped, you've taken refuge here.”

“No, I want to leave.”

“Do you?”

Akachi didn't know what to say. The child pointed to the sky with his thin little arm.

“Look! Do you want to go back there?”

In the sky, a fight between Akachi and Jabir was reflected. The medium had a strange sensation. His mouth dropped open.

“No need to be scared, it's not you.”

“I see. Do you want me to stay here?”

“We'll go where you go.”

“A desert is a boring place for us. You can't talk to mirages.”

The boy held out his hand to Akachi. Azekel's grandson also extended his hand. The two shook hands. The desert disappeared and the two became particles of light that rose into the azure sky.

“Let's create our memories from now on.”

⸎

Fenyang had changed his fighting strategy. He decided to use stocks on the enemy's joints and electrocute them. It was a way of immobilizing the enemy. Jabir's attacks were fulminating, and the maculelê master wasn't sure he could take a blow in those conditions. Nor was his own body.

The repeated electrocutions irritated Jabir. His limbs went numb, making it difficult for Axé to spread. He had narrowly escaped the attack on the Throne of Force region. He couldn't have been more careless. A simple Ori Guardian was giving him a lot of trouble.

Jabir snorted. His Ofó had a simple goal: to defeat as many enemies as possible with as few blows as possible. For this reason, they depended on large Axé charges. A long fight would quickly deplete his Axé reserve. Even so, he still wanted to win.

He also decided to change his strategy. He concentrated his Axé on the front of his forehead and head-butted his enemy. Fenyang tried to defend himself and put the X-shaped sticks in front of his body. The sticks were shattered. He defended the attack and flew away in the other direction.

“What did you think of that, kid?”

Jabir redid his posture and began to emit more Axé. The Inner Force Portal began to vibrate more intensely, increasing the flow of vital energy available.

“Don't tell me you've given up, I haven't finished with you yet.”

Akachi stood up slowly. His contorted body conveyed a strange sensation to anyone watching the scene. His eyes opened, but they were rolled back. His joints cracked.

Jabir took a step back. He no longer knew what to expect from that boy.

“Sorry it took so long.”

At last, welcome, brou.

To the sage's surprise, the boy had come out of his trance and regained control of his body.

“This will be the final round. I'll get my sticks and... Damn it, Fenyang! Where are my tungsten rods?”

Sorry, I broke it.

And you say that so normally! I only know how to fight maculelê, damn it!

If you could model your Axé like the others, it would help a lot.

Yeah, I know, wait, memories...

I don't understand anything, brou. You're out of your mind.

No, the Spiritual Key of Faith is a repository of memories of my ancestors, of the ancient Sages of Faith. I can access these memories.

Akachi raised both hands towards Jabir. He opened his hands and concentrated a large mass of Axé in his palms. Axé modeling consisted of the ability to use Axé to materialize something, to transform pure energy into mass. This mass, through electromagnetism, acquires a state of matter.

The composition of electrons, protons and neutrons gave atomic consistency. The number and mass, together with the last valence layer, gave the mass for the formation of chemical substances. From there, it was possible to model the mass for any type of material.

Akachi slowly modeled two tungsten rods, with the same weight and consistency as the previous one.

Jabir was surprised. He laughed loudly. He walked slowly towards his opponent, who didn't flinch an inch and didn't leave his defensive posture.

“Isn't that wonderful? The Spiritual Key is the manifestation of Fante Obatayie's Divine Power. They enhance our Mediumistic Profile, leveling our four Functions one hundred percent. What makes the wise dismiss the Ori Guardian? You shame mediums by depending on this insignificant spirit to fight. I'll say it one last time: hand over that key.”

“Come and get it!”