Spin Bomb made a point of eating in front of Akachi. His aim was to provoke him. For the next twenty-four hours, he had to fast. He could only drink water in small quantities every hour. His stomach kept rumbling. Fenyang stared dumbfounded at all the evil.

Fadala was less interested in the young medium's plight. He asked the sage men to tell him the details of their dispute with Ojwang. Feruzi revealed that the group had gone into self-exile four years ago. They had accused the Minister of Science and Technology of the murder of Yerodin, the Sage of Knowledge, and the theft of his spiritual key.

"How did you come to that conclusion?"

"We did a private investigation. Nyatui, Mashal and I were the elders of the Circle of Sages, the other four didn't listen to us. Yerodin was my disciple and successor in office, shrewder and cleverer than his master. He was the first to investigate the situation around six or five years ago, I can't remember for sure. He paid the price."

"Did he leave any record of his investigations?"

"Yes, in a secret, encrypted place, so that only I could decipher it."

Feruzi said that, despite his suspicions about Minister Ojwang, he hadn't imagined that the danger he posed was so great. With the help of the scientist Adisa, son of the Sage of Faith, a specialist in the application of the Axé in cybernetic technologies, he developed soldiers who could use the Axé as well as mediums.

Their intentions were very clear to the trio. Despite their denunciations, they were branded alarmists. They were repudiated by their colleagues, by the monarch and by public opinion in Ilu Nla. They earned the nickname of conspiracists and technophobes. The investigations into Yerodin's murder and the theft of his spiritual key had fallen by the wayside.

"I know it seemed cowardly of us, but we were in a minority. Ojwang's influence has become almost omnipresent in the metropolis."

"I see. If Ojwang already had Adisa as an ally, no offense, Akachi, I don't understand why he would dare steal the Spiritual Key of Knowledge. It would attract attention to you."

Nyatui gritted his teeth, furious. When his companions discussed this subject, he got angry. He spat to his left.

"Yerodin started investigating you, he didn't count on it. He was preparing something bigger. He had to get ahead of himself and steal the spiritual key from someone who was getting too close to discovering the truth. We believe he wants to steal all the Seven Keys of the Spirit."

Akachi was listening to everything with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. Nyatui's last words chilled him to the bone. The world of mediums was something new to him. Everything fascinated him, even if he understood very little of what was being said. With reticence in his voice, he asked:

"If the seven keys are put together in one place, what happens?"

Fenyang came up behind Akachi, approached his ear, and in a deep voice, said:

A huge dragon will appear and fulfill your wishes… hahahahaha!

Wow, Fenyang, was that really a joke?

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

Oh, come on⁈ You're too tense, bro. It was that H2O diet.

Don't get full!

The trio of former sage men exchanged glances. They wouldn't say that in front of an outsider. Mashal, drumming his fingers on his knee, looked at Akachi and said:

"If the seven of them go together… something very bad could happen."

Fadala asked for more information about the relationship between Yerodin's clan and the Circle of Sages. He also asked them to clarify who had succeeded the three. Feruzi said that they had refused to choose the succession of the sages, and had left the keys under the supervision of their respective clans. They were to make the selection from among the most capable.

The clan responsible for the Spiritual Key of Knowledge did not lose its post. Even though the key was one of the prerequisites for remaining in the select group of mediums. On the eve of the coup d'état, the Feruzi clan was the first to be attacked because of the danger they posed to Ojwang. The three former sage men heard about it, but didn't act.

Akachi rose from his seat. He clenched his fists, the veins popping in his temples. With disappointment in his eyes, he cursed:

"You mean you knew all this and did nothing to stop it?"

Nyatui stood up with both hands on his waist and fixed his harsh gaze on the boy.

"Listen here, little boy, if it hadn't been for your father and grandfather, this wouldn't even have started…"

"Don't talk about my father like that!"

Feruzi and Mashal put their hands on Nyatui's shoulders. He turned his back on his interlocutors and walked away angrily. Mashal let out a sigh.

"Forgive him, he was the most affected among us. His clan considered him a traitor after his self-exile. They even tried to kill him. The only one who decided to follow him was his disciple Yasini. The young man believed that his master was leaving to plot revenge, but that's not what we wanted at all."

"That must have been Yasini's reason for joining the Central Command."

"It's likely."

Everyone was silent and crestfallen. Spin Bomb had felt how heavy the air had become with all the talk. To ease the tension a little and join in the conversation, she asked:

"If Azekel was the Sage of Faith, Feruzi the former Sage of Knowledge, then which divine aspect did you represent?"

Mashal came up to the girl and patted her on the shoulder. The young woman was disconcerted by that big hand squeezing her shoulder.

"Good question, Spin Bombb. Nyatui was the Sage of Force, and I was the Sage of Evolution."

Fadala made a mental note of everything he had heard so far. He asked Mashal if he had anything to do, he didn't want to stand around while the others worked. They decided to hunt for something to eat for lunch. Feruzi called Spin Bomb to satisfy his curiosity about Scratched Point Magic.

Akachi was left with a rumbling stomach and watery eyes. For the rest of the day, hunger gnawed at his stomach. He thought about eating in hiding several times. Every time he tried to eat something, no matter how small, someone would come along and thwart his plans.

In a moment of distraction, he entered Nyatui. He went straight to Fadala's backpack and pulled out a cereal bar. He took it with greedy eyes. Before he could take the first bite, his Ori Guardian appeared and said:

"Hands up, medium! Are you sure you're going to do this, Akachi?"

"Wow, Fenyang! What a fright you've given me. I can't stand it any longer, I want something to eat. My legs are shaking with hunger."

"Don't be dramatic, bro. I haven't eaten for years, and I don't even miss it."

"Boy, you're a spirit too, aren't you? You shouldn't be hungry or thirsty or sleepy or hot or cold. You're fine. But I'm not a spirit!"

"Listen, bro. Calm down, okay! Don't waver now. Your enemies are very powerful. If you don't do this unloading session, you'll never really control your Axé power. You'll stay in easy mode and you'll never beat the game. Better to do what these sage men say."

Akachi felt ashamed. He put the cereal bar in Fadala's backpack and zipped it up. He got up and left the hut. Outside, the group was eating a wild boar roast. The red, steaming meat scented the air. The aroma of the natural spice in the wild, succulent meat knocked Adisa's son to the ground.

Fenyang bent over him and, grimacing, said to his medium:

It would be better if you didn't watch this scene until you get inside the barrier.

Arh! You're right.