The last song of the ancestors

Another exhausting day of training was over. Akachi was eager to incorporate Fenyang. It was a way of proving to himself that he was already a medium. Yasini thwarted his wish. The medium claimed that it was not yet time to firm up the spirit. The practice required Akachi to master his Axé completely.

Yasini gave no guarantees that he would succeed. He just insisted on the fact. If his theory was right, Akachi held one of the Seven Keys of the Spirit. Which one? He still didn't know. Zuber had encouraged him to manipulate the boy and steal the artifact in a moment of weakness.

The plans had changed somewhat. A war against the militiamen of the Burned Circuit Complex was looming. Guardian Ori had insisted on the attempt. They had to steal the key and escape before the clashes. Yasini remained resolute. Zuber made a mental calculation of his motives and devised his own plan to take possession of the key.

Yasini had sought to meet Akachi out of curiosity. Everything indicated that the stranger was a psychic. It could be an interesting challenge. He intended to kill him. Now he was his master in the mediumistic arts. He observed his disciple lying on his back on the ground, gasping for breath. He remembered his days as a student. He smiled.

"Come on, Akachi. Let's define your mediumistic profile."

"At last. It's been a week of training."

They returned to Chrome Hill. Akachi, Fenyang, Yasini and their Guardian Ori headed for Okafor's store. Spin Bomb was waiting for Akachi to arrive. Everyone was very curious. Yasini asked them to bring a large bowl or container and fill it with clean water.

Okafor took an aluminum basin. He placed it on a bench. He filled it with clear water. Then he asked them to scrape off some metal, preferably ferrous. Okafor diligently took out a copper wire. Yasini rejected it.

"Metals like copper, gold, silver, lead, aluminum, tin, titanium, zinc and bismuth are diamagnetic metals. They're no good."

"What do you mean? I didn't understand what you meant, Yasini."

"They're metals with no magnetic properties. It's better if it's something ferrous. It could even be steel or bronze."

"Will iron filings do?"

"Yes, Spin Bomb."

Spin Bomb took iron filings from a cloth bag. The dark powder was thrown into the basin. The water became cloudy and the iron powder remained at the bottom of the basin. Yasini explained that at room temperature, iron was magnetizable. It became paramagnetic above 770 °C or 1418 °F.

The mediumship profile test proposed by Yasini was one of many. He claimed that it was the most accessible. Its simplicity was deceptive. The would-be medium had to put into practice their ability to conduct and emit Axe to the outside of the body.

Their success depended on their knowledge of the magnetic and electrical properties of axe. Water was an excellent electrical conductor. Iron filings would fulfill the magnetic factor. The exercise was simple: apply Axé to the palms of your hands and make the force flow into the basin.

The profile would be defined based on the effect applied to the iron filings. Adding up the four properties with the four functions, there were eight possible mediumistic profiles. From there, the skills would be developed. There were basic techniques that most would learn and apply in a fight.

"Akachi, come here. Hold the basin with your palms open. Make your Axé flow from your body into the basin. Don't do anything more than that. It's intuitive."

"Shouldn't you have trained more for something like this?"

"If you were an ordinary person, yes. But you're not. Let's do a mentalization exercise. Imagine you're trying to hold back raindrops with your hands. You don't have to hold back all the rain, just a few drops. When you have enough water to fill your palms, pour it into the basin."

"I don't know if I can…"

"Do it, it won't take long. For the rest, keep quiet. Let him concentrate."

Akachi closed his eyes. He began to breathe rhythmically. Every second breathing in through his nose, four seconds containing the air in his lungs and another four seconds breathing out through his mouth. He placed both hands on the basin. He did as Yasini had taught him. At first, everything seemed confusing. He didn't know if he had succeeded.

He continued emitting Axé until he heard the sound of his own breathing. Something wet began to run down his body. He heard raindrops hitting the floor. His hand was gradually concentrating energy. After a few minutes, he felt tired and languidly dropped his hands from the basin. He was feeling more tired than in training. Akachi turned around and said:

"So, what's my mediumistic profile?"

"I couldn't identify it, Akachi. You were doing it wrong."

"No, I was doing it right. I saw the drops, gathered water in my hand and poured it into the basin."

"Don't get me wrong, kid. It wasn't the mentalization exercise that you did wrong, it was the emission of Axé into your hands. Your strength was being concentrated in a chaotic way. Even that requires logic. Your energy follows a main route, whether it's clockwise or counter-clockwise. Are you right-handed or left-handed?"

"Right-handed…"

"Make your Axé flow counter-clockwise, like spirals coming together towards the palm of your hand. Then form a straight line towards the basin."

Akachi did as Yasini suggested. The energy seemed to have less difficulty. He felt lines of Axé flowing from his body, from top to bottom, from bottom to top. From the right, it followed to the end of the limbs, then returned. When the energy completed its flow, she felt something on the top of her head.

"I feel a little warmth on my scalp. It's as if something warm is being poured in every few minutes. It feels good."

"Ah! You've accidentally discovered your Inner Portal. The Orientals call them Chakras. They are arranged vertically. The first one is at the top of the head, in the mole. The second is on the forehead. The third is in the throat. The fourth is the heart. The fifth is in the stomach, the sixth in the navel, and the seventh and last in the pubic region. The Inner Portals control and promote the flow of Axe through the body through positive and negative vibrations. These vibrations generate the compatibility of Firmness between the Ori Guardian and his medium. Now, open your eyes, Akachi. Get to know your mediumistic profile."

Akachi opened his eyes and saw the basin. The effect had been successfully applied. All he needed was for Yasini to interpret it. The boy felt anxious. His world was opening up to countless possibilities.