The last song of the ancestors

Crossing the Axé Dome was like falling into a pool full of ice cubes. The trio seemed to have entered another dimension. Their senses were disturbed. Disorientation took control of their bodies. Spin Bomb was the most affected and tripped over her own legs.

Akachi supported her; he himself was being affected by the place. It was as if his strength had been sucked out of him.

“Spin Bomb, are you all right?”

“I feel sick.”

He hugged his abdomen and knelt on the floor. She bent forward and bit her lips. The atmosphere was too intense for her.

Fadala looked around and saw the pair of ex-sages lying on the stone floor. He pointed at the old mediums and said:

“Akachi, look.”

Azekel's grandson ran towards the men lying on the ground. He knelt down next to Feruzi, carefully raised his head and removed his hood. The old man, his eyes dull, rolled his pupils. He grabbed the boy's shirt collar and, between coughs, spoke:

“Take… cof-cof… your father, and, cof… run away from this place, kid.”

“I can't let you… wait! My father?”

Akachi gently let go of Feruzi's hand. He got up from the ground and looked at what was behind the altar. The figure of the man in chains with his head down made his heart pound. A mixture of emotions crashed over her body like a tsunami.

His eyes filled with tears. Her hands shook. Her wrists clenched to the point where her nails dug into her flesh. The scream stuck in her throat could no longer be contained. Akachi opened his mouth.

Everything happened with lightning speed. Ekundayo appeared in front of him, mystical sword in hand, and struck a blow at Akachi. However, Fadala appeared with two pistols drawn in the shape of an X to parry the blow. The Sword of Life and Death made a cross-cut from top to bottom on the undertaker.

The hitman's eyes roamed over his body. Not a single cut was visible, not a drop of blood had escaped from his body. He lay motionless, as if his soul had been stripped bare.

The Sage of Justice was amazed at Fadala's speed. Even for a man from the Ilê Apanyan, such agility in the Hall of Expiation was inconceivable.

“FATHER!”

The word echoed in the air as if it had been uttered in a choir.

The man hanging by his chains slowly raised his head. That ever-dark spot on his father's face in Akachi's memories took on an outline, a clear image. It was the face of Adisa, his father.

“My father, is that you?”

His head swiveled from side to side as if he were delirious. His eyes were nowhere to be seen.

“Uoh…”

“Dad, it's me, Akachi!”

The boy began to walk, slowly, but he didn't tighten his shirt around his chest. Confused emotions materialized in crystal-clear tears.

Azekel's son couldn't understand where he was. He babbled nonsense.

“Where am I?”

“Dad, listen to me, I'm going to get you out of there!”

“You won't!”

Ekundayo evolved his blade, slash!, and made a horizontal slash at Akachi. The boy let out a cry of pain. It was as if the whole weight of the world had collapsed on his spirit.

“It hurts, doesn't it? Imagine all the pain it caused hitting you full on. Could you take it, Akachi?”

“UARGH! Dad, don't give up…”

“Don't give up? You're all already dead.”

Akachi gritted his teeth, swallowed the pain like a bitter pill, and continued walking. A second blow struck him in the side. A second time, the pain consumed him from the inside out.

“No one can resist the pain they have caused. There is justice in that truth.”

The young medium continued to pray for his father. At the same time, he was struck by several sword blows from Ekundayo. Gradually, Akachi's body began to bend, to walk more and more slowly. But he never stopped walking towards his father.

The sage struck with other blows. He hit him so many times that his arms began to ache. He grabbed Akachi by the neck and looked into his eyes. But the son's eyes only stared at his father.

“Arf-arf… you bastard, why don't you give up?”

He pushed him hard towards the altar. The boy hit the basin, tumbled over it and fell on the other side, at his father's feet. Akachi raised his bloodied hands. He wanted to touch his father, but Ekundayo teleported to where the boy was and kicked him several times in the head.

“Dad…”

The voice came out pasty. The sage squatted down beside him. His face was full of contempt. Bewildered, Akachi's hands tried to climb the wall.

“I don't know who's worse, you or your father? It doesn't matter, the wages of traitors is death.”

Ekundayo fashioned an iron thorn with his Axé, and pointed the weapon at his opponent's head. Before he could fire, tlunc was hit in the back of the head by a blow from Fadala.

“Not so fast.”

“Argh! How are you still standing after being cut by my sword?”

“At first I thought it was strange, you didn't cut my body, but my soul.”

Fadala put a knee on the neck and arm of the sage who was clutching the Sword of Life and Death. Ekundayo was immobilized. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

“You should be dead now. A hitman like you should be dead from feeling all the pain of his victims.”

“Maybe it only works with those who feel guilt for the pain they've caused. I don't feel any.”

“Yes, yes, you undertakers are 'God's emissaries on earth'. Don't make me laugh. Even if I don't die by my blade, the Hall of Expiation will do it for me."

“Only over my dead body!”

Fadala smashed the cheek of the foul-mouthed medium with the barrel of his pistol. Ekundayo felt a mixture of humiliation and anger.

“Akachi, save your father.”

Azekel's grandson got up from the floor. Foot by foot, he reached the wall. Stumbling, he raised his head. It throbbed and his vision seemed to fail. He raised his hands. He grabbed his father's legs. The man looked at him with confused eyes. Akachi said sweetly:

“My father… forgive me. I never thanked you for the sacrifice you made for me. I acted as if you were to blame for my illness. I… I've been an idiot all this time. I don't want to die without saying… I LOVE YOU!”

Adisa's eyes brightened. Gradually, her consciousness made the whole situation clearer. A warm feeling welled up in her heart. It was like being born a second time. Her eyes searched until they met the eyes of her only son.

“Akachi… is that you, my son? Thanks to Fante Obataye. Don't apologize, it was all my fault. I felt guilty about your mother's death, I never communicated well with you…”

“Don't talk, save your strength.”

Akachi emanated his Axé through his father's body, and the patterned chains were extinguished. His father's body levitated to the ground. They both stood facing each other. All words seemed to escape. They laughed together. Shyly, Akachi held out his hand to Adisa.

“Your blessing, father.”