Azekel stared at his son from inside the house. His hand was shaking on the doorknob. Outside, Adisa turned her face downwards and to the side. She was biting her lip. Never had a door been so divisive between two people.

“Son!”

The old man began to sob. His son and grandson had returned home safe and sound. What more could he ask for?

Adisa was confused. A mixture of longing and shame assailed his heart. He could barely put his thoughts together. It was like being caught up in a whirlwind of memories. He rehearsed what he could say, but nothing came to mind. The words just ran away.

“What were you doing standing there? Hug that old man again.”

Was it an order? No, it was an invitation. Adisa turned her face towards her father. She gave him a silent hug, a tight one that made the old man sigh with the force applied to his bones. He wrapped Adisa in his arms as if he were nursing a child. The big man bent his knees so that they were level with his father's chest.

For a few seconds, they stood like that, saying nothing. There was no need to say anything.

After that, they both stared at each other. Snot dripped from her nose and tears flowed from Adisa's swollen eyes. Azekel patted his son on the cheek and opened the door to let him in.

⸎

In one of the rooms, Feruzi and Spin Bomb were carrying out the Discharge Session to eliminate Akachi's physical and spiritual damage. The vibration of his Inner Portal of Faith was out of control due to his possession by the Entity.

In the living room, Azekel was serving coffee to those present. Mashal was sitting with his legs folded on a rug. Hakim sat lazily with his legs stretched out, taking up a lot of space in the room. Ekundayo drank coffee with an elegance that made the others worry about their own manners.

Azekel sat down next to his son, offered him a mug of the hot, bitter drink and sat down next to him. The ex-sage of the Faith noticed the absence of Jabir, Durojaiye and Nkechi and feared for the worst.

“Where are the others? They didn't want to come?”

Hakim became serious, narrowed his eyes and said in a harsh tone:

“They had no choice.”

“I understand.”

“I'm glad you've joined us. I'm glad we've put our differences aside for the common good. This will make it easier to defeat Ojwang.”

Mashal snorted ironically. Adisa watched the scene in silence, he had always known that this alliance was temporary. Hakim shook his head, but it was the Sage of Justice who replied objectively:

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“For now, we have the same enemy. But when we defenestrate Ojwang from Ilu Nla, there will be a power vacuum, and the Circle of Sages will make its own moves.”

Hakim nodded. The fact that they were there with Azekel and the remaining masters of suspicion didn't mean joining their party. It was more of an armistice than an alliance.

Mashal sipped his coffee noisily and retorted teasingly:

“You haven't let go of the bone yet.”

“Ilu Nla needs to go back to a time when mediums led the nation. We don't need a sham king who doesn't represent the nation he rules.”

“So, for you, everything that happened in Ilu Nla was the monarchy's fault? Where were we mediums when that snake snaked its way across the ground to the throne?”

“I'm very surprised to hear that coming out of your mouth, Mr. Mashal. I never imagined that the most 'revolutionary' of the Masters of Suspicion would say something like that!”

“Don't confuse things, boy. I've never been a fan of the monarchy. But I don't want to trade one oppression for another. Mediums should serve their community, not be served by it.”

“You don't know what you're talking about!”

Tap! Azekel slammed his palms on the floor. The others turned to him.

“Enough! This is all politics. I don't care about idealizations now. We need to focus on what we're going to do from now on, otherwise there will be no Ilu Nla.”

Hakim let out a mischievous smile and threw himself backwards onto the floor. He put both hands behind his head as if he were going to sleep.

The veins popped in Ekundayo's temples. He had never accepted his best friend's slack ways. He gave up his cup so that Azekel could pour more coffee into it. The drink became more and more bitter with each sip.

Adisa didn't like the way things were going. Even though he was free, he was still tied to his past. He no longer felt that Ilu Nla was his nation or his responsibility. He just wanted to get away from there with his father and son, to rebuild his life far away. With his knowledge, he could easily get a job in another country.

He could give his son a better life, get closer to him. Live out the time he had lost, and give Azekel a happy retirement… he smiled to the point of choking on his coffee. In the mind, everything is easy. Challenges, mistakes and unforeseen events never happen.

Azekel patted his son on the shoulder and smiled too:

“What? You never knew things were so hot around here, did you?”

“No, it's not that. We're creating expectations in the shadow of security.”

“You used to be more optimistic, my son.”

“I'm not Yerodin, my father.”

Hearing that name, Hakim tensed every muscle in his body. He raised his head from the ground and said with anger in his voice:

“Nor could I, he was a real man…”

“Hakim!”

Ekundayo tried in vain to calm his friend. Hakim approached Adisa with his finger raised:

“Yerodin has made a huge sacrifice. He will be marked throughout our history as the man who betrayed Ilu Nla, a double agent used by you to obtain information. It was their cowardice that put Yerodin's life at risk. You, Adisa, betrayed Ilu Nla out of selfishness. Don't you dare talk about my friend like that!”

The accusatory finger moved from Mashal to Azekel. The old men lowered their heads in shame. They had a hand in Ilu Nla's decadence.

Adisa raised her hands, accepting the accusations. They were true. She had betrayed the nation to get a cure for her son's illness. It was true, while the ex-sage of knowledge Yerodin would go down in the annals of Ilu Nla history as a notorious traitor, he would be the great scientist who created the greatest technological revolution on the African continent. Life wasn't fair at all.

“I'm sorry. I can't make up for any harm I've done to my land. Nor do I intend to escape blame.”

“You, unlike Yerodin, have someone to go back to, Adisa. Think about it.”

Adisa swallowed dry at the accusation. Hakim didn't stay to hear the scientist retort. He left and slammed the door behind him.

Adisa chewed on the words of the Sage of the Law. It was true, he had somewhere to go, a family waiting for him. Yerodin didn't, even if he were alive. In one of his first actions, Ojwang exterminated the Knowledge Clan on the suspicion that, like Yerodin, they were traitors to the nation.

His crusade against the mediums continued until he seized power within a few months. Adisa was oblivious to everything, until a necklace bomb was installed around his neck against his will, and he was forced to work to create weapons to kill his compatriots. It was true, life was as bitter and cold as that coffee. He drank it anyway.