“May God bless you.”

Adisa raised her arms towards her son. Tears welled up in Akachi's eyes. Father and son approached each other for a hug, but they grew further and further apart. It was as if the space between them was filled with a vast emptiness.

“Gravitational Constitution.”

The young medium felt the atmosphere around him become concave. He could have sworn he was only a few steps away from his father. But now, it was as if a universe of distance had separated the two of them.

“Argh! What is that?”

“How beautiful! Father and son reunited. This is the time for personal redemption.”

Right in front of Akachi stood the figure of Hakim, the Sage of the Law. He was drenched in sweat, as if he had worked hard to get there.

With an effort, Ekundayo raised his head. He looked at his companion and laughed:

“It took too long, Hakim. I thought you wouldn't come. I was worried you wouldn't make it up the stairs.”

“If you weren't already as humiliated as you are now, I'd kick your skinny ass. Where has a sage ever been dominated by a mortician, what a shame!”

Akachi didn't know whether to face the opponent in front of him, or try to protect his father. Before he could react, Hakim used one of his Ofó.

“Electromagnetic Decree.”

The sage opened his arms in the shape of a cross, and an electromagnetic current exploded around him. Akachi was thrown a distance. Adisa was smashed against the wall. Fadala and the Sage of Justice were also hit, and fell far away. Spin Bomb remained unconscious on the floor.

Azekel's grandson realized that Hakim's Ofó had the same effect as old Jabir's Ofó. It was like being repelled by a huge magnet. Despite his aching body, the teenager got up from the ground. He raised both hands around his body and tried to shape two sticks of Axé energy. The dome absorbed the Axé before he could succeed.

“But what?”

“The Hall of Expiation absorbs the Axé of all those trapped inside it.”

“Yours too, even.”

“Yeah, but my Axé reserves are greater than yours. Electromagnetic Decree.”

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Akachi soon realized what his opponent was doing. He concentrated as much Axé as possible in his legs so that the excess weight would create the anchor effect.

“The medium doesn't come to the mountain, the mountain goes to the medium. Gravitational constitution.”

Adisa's son heard the sound of breaking glass. Time-space bowed before him. The space between him and Hakim became as small as the thread of a needle. The sage prepared a punch and aimed it at Akachi's chest. The boy thought quickly. He reversed the Axé accumulated in his legs and spread them out in front of his body like a shield.

“Statute of Minor Force.”

Hakim's fist was reversed with massive Axé energy. It turned into a radiation glove capable of melting the purest reinforced steel.

Scrinch! The sound was similar to a diamond scratching a glass tumbler. Akachi pulled back just enough to catch his breath.

“You escaped, what do you know!”

Akachi hadn't dodged the blow, only deflected it by a few centimeters. The effects of the proximity of the radiation could not be avoided. The skin on his chest became dry; he had suffered acute dehydration. The young man's blood pressure changed and he began to suffer nosebleeds.

The boy felt nauseous and dizzy. Blood flowed through his veins like overheated mercury. He had a severe headache. He didn't give up. He raised his arms as if he were going to fight. His eyesight was the hardest hit by Ofó. He saw everything around him bend.

“How are you feeling, buddy? Do you still intend to carry on?”

Akachi tried to throw a punch, but nothing hit. Hakim was too far away to be hit by the young medium's limp arms.

“Amazing what radiation can do, isn't it? You squeeze the nucleus of the atom and force it to emit waves and particles, and booom! Chemistry and physics do the rest.”

“Ughs… I'm not going to… hand over the spiritual key to someone like you…”

“I'm not asking, I'm taking it for myself. Resolution of the Force Majeure.”

Hakim raised his right hand and held his forearm with the other. His Axé began to converge on a single point on his hand until it became a sphere of Axé energy. It was as if a small sun was shining in his hand.

“Ekundayo said that the Spiritual Key of Faith is fused with your body and spirit. But with this strong nuclear interaction in my hand, I'm going to use energy trillions and trillions and trillions of times greater than the force of the planet's gravity.”

Akachi raised his face and concentrated as much Axé as he could muster on himself. It was a desperate attempt to survive. One hand held the key to his chest and whispered:

“I know, I'm not worthy to carry the Spiritual Key of Faith. But there must be a reason why I'm here. I want to save my father, my friends. I'm going to honor the mission you've given me…”

The key in Akachi's chest turned clockwise once. His body bent. A strange reddish light was emitted from his eyes and mouth. A dense spiritual aura overtook his body. The frail posture changed to someone preparing to strike a sword blow.

The medium put his right foot forward, his left foot further back. Both hands were joined at the waist, as if they were holding the blade. Gradually, a blade like a machete began to materialize. The handle was white and the blade black with a red glow. Electric sparks snaked across the blade. He sheathed it and prepared for a counterattack.

Hakim watched the phenomenon in awe. His opponent should no longer have the energy to stand, let alone model Axé or embody a spirit.

“You're hastening your death, Akachi. You'd better give up, if you hand over the key…”

“Why would we hand over what has always been ours?”

The voice came out with two tones, Akachi's voice and that of a mature woman.

“Who or what are you?”

“Younger people don't recognize older people anymore. Do you know who I am? I'm the one who was born on a stormy night. Who speaks like thunder, who emits lightning from her eyes and rides the lightning. I am Iyamesan, the one who splits enemies into nine pieces.”

Hakim felt his whole body tremble. But he could go no further. It was all or nothing.

“Even if I am one of the fourteen Entities of Ilu Nla, I can't let a brat like that ruin everything we've built.”

“I have faith in him. If I can't believe in this boy, I won't believe in anything anymore. Come Sage of the Law, don't let me wait any longer.”

Hakim advanced against Akachi, the medium who had incorporated an Entity within himself. Iyamesan waited until the last moment to strike his opponent.