《Talents: Activate》
Prologue
It seems like the dawn of a new day as the light is at its minimum. The choking smell of smoke fills the atmosphere, running through the air. The once beautiful tall structures now lay in ruins even the great bridge, regarded as the longest in the city and second longest in the continent, it stretches as far as ten kilometres (10km) and is now in ruins, broken in two. What was once considered as the centre of excellence, now lay in waste.
In the midst of this chaos, stands two young men facing each other; they each stand at opposite sides of the broken bridge amidst the vast body of water.
"Why, Alan?!" one of the young men says. His eyes have a golden glow and on his young face, an expression of rage.
Fair in complexion, wearing a black long sleeve shirt folded up to arm level, unbuttoned, with his white inner vest being displayed, a pair of navy blue jeans and a pair of black footwear. His gaze is fixed on the other, waiting for his reply as his unbuttoned shirt flows with the wind.
"Why you ask?" the other young man, with a deep calm voice, responds.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"Old friend it is simple. The age of humans is over. From here on out is the age ofthe Advanced," he adds, with a plain expression on his face.
Wearing a long ash jacket, a grey shirt, a pair of black trousers and black boots, he raises his hand to his chest level; his palm directed towards the other man. Immediately, his eyes radiate with a very light grey glow followed by a white glow which runs through his afro hair and another from his shoulders to his ready open palm.
"What''s your final decision, ID?!!" he asks.
"Isn''t that obvious?" ID replies as he raises his right fist to his chest level and tightens it.
"Humans are going nowhere," he adds.
Instantly, the glow in his eyes becomes brighter and a circular ring with a golden glow, encircles the back of his fist. Five circles with different symbols in each of them appear at his back and are connected by a larger circle with the whole connection outlined with a golden glow.
"Talent: ACTIVATE!!!"they both say, moving to attack each other.
From some distance away, a lady watches with full attention.
"How did it all come to this?" she thinks to herself.
"How did we end up here?"
"How did I end up here?"
She looks tired and worn out, having her gaze fixed on the two.
"Yeah, I''m not so sure about the origin but tome it all started on that day, some years ago."
Chapter 1
¡°Everyone wants power but don¡¯t know what to do when they actually get it,¡± She thinks to herself, staring out to the open space where students usually gather to relax, read and do lots of stuff.
She sits near the space, together with a female friend of hers, waiting for her project supervisor to show up. The lady, her name being Chiamaka, a beautiful lady of average height and a nice slim body, has a mixture of frustration and fatigue, written all over her face as she stares into the open space. Her female friend, sitting beside her, has a pair of earphones on, relaxing her head on her chair, facing the ceiling. Her eyes are closed as she drowns in the song she is listening to. Her legs are crossed and her hands in the side pockets of her fully unbuttoned short sleeved shirt. She too has the same body build and fair skin like Chiamaka.
¡°Hey!¡± a male voice says, snapping Chiamaka out of her stare.
¡°Why the long face?¡± he asks. Chiamaka turns to him.
¡°Seems like he¡¯s not showing up today. Yeah?¡± he adds.
¡°We¡¯ve been here all day and he said he¡¯ll come. I¡¯m just tired and today is supposed to be my birthday,¡± Chiamaka replies.
¡°Well¡¡± The guy is about to speak when Chiamaka gets a phone call.
¡°One second,¡± she interrupts and answers the call.
¡°Yooo,¡± Chiamaka¡¯s female friend lightly says, greeting the guy that is standing while Chiamaka answers her call. She removes her earpiece and stands to give him a hug.
¡°ID, what¡¯s up?¡± she says, with a wide yawn and a stretch.
¡°Ify finest,¡± he replies, smiling as he pulls one of her cheeks.
¡°What¡¯s with you and my cheeks?¡± she asks, keeping her usual straight calm face.
¡°Not my fault you have puff puff[1] cheeks,¡± he replies and laughs.
Ifunanya (Ify) just sighs, shaking her head.
By now, Chiamaka is through with her phone call.
¡°Guys that was my supervisor, he said he can¡¯t make it today,¡± she says and sighs.
¡°Let¡¯s go. What a birthday,¡± she adds, feeling disappointed.
¡°Sorry babe. Let¡¯s go eat something. Might be late but we can still do one or twos,¡± Ifunanya says, preparing to leave.
¡°Like Sharwama abi[2]?¡± ID replies sarcastically, looking at Ifunanya.
¡°Completely read my mind,¡± Ifunanya responds.
¡°And you¡¯re the one getting them for all of us by the way,¡± she adds.
¡°You guys,¡± Chiamaka smiles, looking at both of them.
¡°Ugh!¡± ID softly exclaims.
¡°When you put it that way, I guess I have no choice,¡± he adds.
¡°By the way, Chiamaka about our discussion earlier today, so you still don¡¯t believe in supernatural forces?¡± Ifunanya asks, as they leave the building.
¡°Ugh!¡± she sighs.
¡°Ify, how can I believe in something I can¡¯t see? How can I be certain of its existence? How can you say that a storm was as the result of a supernatural occurrence?¡± she rants.
¡°But you go to church don¡¯t you?¡± Ifunanya asks, giving Chiamaka a sarcastic look.
¡°Ehn[3] that one is because I was raised like that nah,¡± Chiamaka replies.
¡°But really I didn¡¯t think you wouldn¡¯t believe in supernatural forces,¡± ID says, as they keep walking.
¡°But you know you don¡¯t have to see it for it to exist,¡± Ifunanya continues.
¡°My point was just in trying to get you to accept that there are supernatural forces,¡± she adds in her usual calm soft voice with a shrug still with her straight calm face.
¡°Whatever¡¡± before Chiamaka finishes her statement, Ifunanya and ID pause and look at each other.
Suddenly, the whole area becomes darker with less vibrancy and it is like time has stopped as every other person that can be seen afar off seem to have stopped moving.
¡°What is¡going¡on?¡± slowly Chiamaka stutters.
Ifunanya and ID are surprised that Chiamaka is still active, as they expect her to have stopped moving too.
¡°How is this possible?¡± Ifunanya asks.
¡°Seems my guess was a bit true then. She truly possesses an advanced talent and it seems it has just awakened for some strange reason,¡± ID responds, in a quick manner.
¡°Hoo¡Interesting,¡± Ifunanya comments.
¡°That explains how she can move when a phasic dome is activated,¡± she says.
¡°What are you guys talking abou¡¡± before Chiamaka finishes her question, they start feeling powerful foot stomps coursing through the ground.
A being of about seven feet with a well ripped muscular build approaches them from the front and each of this being¡¯s footsteps, violently, shakes the ground. The being stops some distance in front of the three. Strapped to the being¡¯s back is a very huge axe with a long handle and on both of the being¡¯s arms are abstract tattoo designs, having a blue glow. The being has a mask similar to a masquerade, with only the eyes showing. The eyes have a blue glow also, with little sparks of light in each of them while the color of his cornea is dark grey. He has an ankara[4] material tied round his waist which reaches down to his knee, having shredded edges. He is also wearing a pair of Ankara-made trousers underneath with huge boots which nearly reach his knee; his trousers are tucked into the boots.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
He stands, arms folded, looking down to the three. By now Chiamaka is frozen in shock and unable to utter a word. She finds it so hard to breathe as she cannot believe her eyes.
¡°After all these time and it seems they have finally come for me,¡± Ifunanya speaks up, glaring at the being, with her calm and unbothered face.
¡°You mean Ikeoku?¡± ID asks.
¡°So it seems,¡± she replies.
¡°You should take Chiamaka and make a run for it. I am more than enough to handle this big guy,¡± she says, with a calm but fierce look on her face.
But before he can make a run for it, the being speaks in a thundering voice.
¡°Hold it!!! Humans with such high abilities. Interesting,¡± the being says.
¡°However I am not here for you two, I am only here for that girl,¡± he adds, directing his gaze to the frozen-in-shock Chiamaka.
¡°What?¡± Ifunanaya is surprised.
¡°You¡¯re not from Ikeoku then?¡± she asks.
¡°Ikeoku? A familiar name however my business is with that girl,¡± he replies.
¡°Well we can¡¯t just let you take her now, can we?¡± ID responds, now glaring at the being.
¡°hmph!!!¡± he sighs.
¡°You think you can stop me?!¡± he adds, in his thundering loud voice.
Immediately, dark clouds begin to form above him, after some time it clears and instantly, appears about hundred beings looking exactly the same in appearance with the being standing in front of the three except for the difference in height and muscular appearance. They are also carrying axes, some with matchets, some with whips and some, swords.
¡°Hoo¡this should be fun,¡± Ifunanya says.
¡°The plan remains the same Kene, take her and leave. I¡¯ll deal with the small fries,¡± she adds, dashing to the being in the blink of an eye, with her right foot, instantly lands a kick on the huge being¡¯s face, sending him crashing into a building that was some distance away.
Quickly, she jumps into the air to attack the other beings who are in the air, dashing forward to launch an attack, she crosses her hands; swords immediately appear, with each of her hands holding one. She starts slashing the incoming beings, engaging them in battle.
Meanwhile, ID quickly grabs Chiamaka, who is still in shock, by the hand and begins to make a run for it. One of the mysterious beings appears to attack them but instantly Ifunanya appears, cuts the being in half and immediately both the upper and lower body burns away. She quickly returns to engage the others in battle while ID continues his run with Chiamaka. After running some distance, ID immediately pauses, seeing the first huge mysterious being already standing in his front.
¡°The other girl is good, I¡¯ll give her that but I don¡¯t sense any danger from you,¡± the being says and rushes to attack ID with his huge axe but before he lands a hit on ID, he is stopped.
¡°My my, is this how we greet each other now, ID?¡± the voice of the man who stopped the huge being¡¯s attack, asks. He is backing ID, as he blocks the being¡¯s attack with his huge blockhead hammer, preventing the being from moving any further.
¡°Tobi, my man!!!¡± ID exclaims.
¡°I travel for a bit and you go get yourself a girl who¡¯s being chased by a big guy, oh my,¡± Tobi replies.
¡°Hahaha,¡± ID laughs.
¡°It¡¯s not exactly like that per say. For a start, we¡¯re just friends,¡± but before ID finishes his sentence, the being begins to push back Tobi. Tobi struggles to push the being back but the being seems stronger.
¡°This guy¡seems¡a bit¡ strong,¡± Tobi says, struggling to stand his ground against the being.
¡°Ah. It¡¯s no use, I¡¯ll just use my talent then,¡± he adds, with a smirk.
¡°Talent, Activate,¡± he says. Immediately his eye color, originally black, turns light grey and begins to glow.
¡°Wave push,¡± he adds.
Instantly, translucent rings of different diameters form; some large, some small. A force is created, pushing the huge mysterious being a long distance away, crashing into another building, which is the school¡¯s library.
¡°Hmph!¡± Tobi sighs. He puts down his hammer, keeping one of his legs, on top of the hammer head which is touching the ground and rests his right arm on the hammer¡¯s long handle, facing ID and Chiamaka.
"Hmm," he hums, looking intensely but in a funny manner at ID and Chiamaka.
¡°Don¡¯t you think you are a little bit too distracted?¡± ID asks.
¡°Huh?¡± Tobi responds and immediately, turns to see the huge being standing, pointing his axe at him.
A huge ball of blue light emitting great heat, forms around his axe. The huge being, raising his hand, swings down, sending the ball against Tobi. Quickly, Tobi takes up his hammer, spinning it around himself and holding the hammer¡¯s long handle, he uses the head of the hammer to hit the incoming huge blue ball, like he was playing baseball, with a powerful force, creating a powerful vibration and a noise like that of a big church bell.
¡°Imperial Judgement: Cancel!!!¡± he shouts.
Immediately, a huge translucent ring with white glow on the edges, spreads across the entire area, accompanied by a powerful boom and the huge ball vanishes.
¡°What?!¡± The huge being is shocked for a moment and dashes forward to attack Tobi.
Some distance away, of about two hundred metres, on the top of a tall building, stands a lady with a bow in her left hand aimed at the location where Tobi and the huge being are about to engage each other.
¡°This is definitely within my range,¡± quietly and calmly she says, in her light voice.
Her eyes glow on the inside with white purplish glow. Drawing the string of the bow, an arrow forms, made of an energy substance radiating red. Swiftly but gently, she lets go of the bow¡¯s string, releasing the arrow with a powerful force. Speedily, it moves, such that before the huge being who is actually fast, can attack Tobi, the arrow hits him, creating a powerful explosion. It sends the being flying several metres away causing him to break out of the back of the library having crashed from the front (the library is quite large with thick walls).
¡°Whew!!¡± Tobi whistles after the dust created by the explosion clears.
¡°Tomisin the badass, she¡¯s one wicked chic on a low I tell ya,¡± he says.
¡°Hahaha!!!¡± ID laughs.
¡°You can say that again but she did save us you know. Her range has increased and her power too, interesting,¡± ID compliments.
¡°Yeah if not for the phasic Dome, the library will totally be wrecked,¡± Tobi says, shaking his head.
¡°Hmph!! A nice way to say thank you, Tobi,¡± a voice says sarcastically, as Tomisin instantly appears at ID¡¯s location.
¡°Your head will not fall off oo if you like shake it from east to west,¡± she adds.
¡°Ugh!! So because you can teleport, we won¡¯t hear word again,¡± Tobi replies, frowning at Tomisin in a funny way.
¡°Umm guys we need to get her out of here,¡± ID says, referring to Chiamaka.
¡°Tomisin you know what to do, we¡¯ll meet up with you as usual,¡± he adds, handing over Chiamaka, who is still in shock and denial of what is happening.
¡°It''s a dream, it''s a dream,¡± Chiamaka whispers to herself, closing eyes firmly.
¡°No it''s not a dream,¡± Tomisin interrupts.
¡°Better take a look at what constitutes part of what we call reality,¡± she adds.
¡°Do you seriously think the physical realm is all there is in this world?¡± she states.
¡°Don''t be ridiculous,¡± she continues.
Chiamaka does not want to accept this so she blocks her ears with her hands.
¡°I''ll soon wake up,¡± she whispers to herself again.
Tomisin sighs with pity, forcefully grabs Chiamaka by the hand and vanishes with her out of the area.
The mysterious being, now in a very bad shape, seeing that Chiamaka is no longer in the area, hits the ground in anger.
¡°Damn it!!!¡± he yells as he fades away from the area.
Ifunanya quickly meets up with Tobi and ID.
¡°I¡¯m sure you cleared those guys,¡± Tobi says.
¡°Hmph! Piece of cake,¡± Ifunanya boasts, putting her hands back into her top¡¯s pockets.
¡°I guess we¡¯re done here too,¡± ID says. Movement of the normal humans begin again and the whole area returns to its initial state as if no battle had occurred there.
¡°Time to go home then,¡± Tobi adds.
¡°Hmm? No Shawarma then I guess,¡± Ifunanya says, with a sigh of disappointment.
¡°Really I don¡¯t know how you¡¯re not fat,¡± Tobi replies. His hammer fades away.
¡°Hey, do you want to become a roasted shawarma?¡± Ifunanya says with an unamused expression on her face, looking at Tobi.
¡°What is wrong with you?¡± ID asks while pulling her right cheek.
¡°You are part of my problem. Leave my cheeks alone,¡± she replies.
¡°I¡¯m hungry,¡± she complains, in her usual calm voice.
¡°My my,¡± Tobi shakes his head.
¡°Anyway, we need to find out who was after your babe,¡± he adds.
¡°Dude, she¡¯s not my babe,¡± Kene sighs.
[1] Puff Puff - a type of food that appears round and puffed up but soft
[2] Sharwama - a type of nigerian snack
Abi - can be said to mean alright or right in this context
[3] Ehn - can be said to mean Yes or Yeah
[4] Ankara - a type of cloth material
Chapter 2
¡°Buzz! Buzz!!¡± The alarm rings. Chiamaka keeps turning left and right on her bed.
¡°Buzz! Buzz!!¡± it continues ringing until she forcefully wakes up panting, like she had a nightmare.
¡°Ohh you¡¯re finally awake,¡± Ifunanya says, holding a mug with steam flowing out of it.
It is already bright in the morning, the usual hot morning sun of the south western part of the country known as Nigeria.
¡°Ugh,¡± Chiamaka whines as the bright sun rays shining through the room¡¯s window, focuses on her face.
¡°Bad dream?¡± Ifunanya asks.
¡°Seems so,¡± Chiamaka replies.
¡°Really? Can you remember what it was about?¡± Ifunanya inquires.
¡°Well, for some strange reason, in this dream, it was my birthday,¡± she starts narrating the incident that recently occurred.
¡°And it was like you were some badass fighter,¡± she adds, concluding her narration.
¡°Ohh you don¡¯t say,¡± Ifunanya says, slowly sipping her tea, from her mug.
¡°I know right? Sounds like some anime or so,¡± Chiamaka says, shaking her head.
¡°My life,¡± she adds.
¡°Anyway, it was all just a dream, now what¡¯s for breakfast before I go back to my miserable life of dealing with an annoying supervisor,¡± she says, as she gets off the bed and walks out of the room down to the sitting room.
She is a bit shocked when she sees ID, Tobi and Tomisin engaging in a conversation in the sitting room.
¡°Hey, feeling better?¡± ID asks.
She stands at the passage staring for a while.
¡°Yeaaahhh, it wasn¡¯t a dream,¡± Ifunanya whispers, sipping her tea behind Chiamaka.
¡°No! No!! No!!!¡± Chiamaka quickly shuts her eyes, shakes her head and runs back into her room.
ID with a tired face, looks at Ifunanya who responds with a sigh. After an hour, Chiamaka rushes out of her room, freshened and dressed up.
¡°I¡¯ll see you guys in a bit,¡± she says to ID and Ifunanya, looking weirdly at Tobi and Tomisin, and exits.
¡°Hope say she dey alright sha[1],¡± Tobi comments after she leaves.
Ifunanya sighs.
¡°Fine!! I¡¯ll go with her,¡± she adds. She quickly packs her hair the usual way like a bun and leaves the house.
Chiamaka makes her way back to the school library, alights from the taxi she took, takes a deep breath, smiling and gives off a sigh of relief when she stands in front of the library.
¡°It¡¯s all intact. I knew it was a dream,¡± she says, smiling as her hair sways due to the cool breeze blowing around.
¡°Ha ha. Joke¡¯s on you Ify,¡± she adds.
¡°No way for you to explain this now.¡±
Ifunanya arrives, seeing Chiamaka smiling and gazing at the library. After hearing what Chiamaka says, she makes a slight hiss and sighs.
¡°Yeah the library is the normal however Amaka what you saw was not a dream,¡± she says after the sigh.
¡°What?!¡± Chiamaka quietly exclaims.
¡°Don¡¯t tell me you have some hocus pocus explanation for these now,¡± she adds.
¡°How do you want to explain the fact that the damaged library has been fixed immediately, Ify which zobo[2] do you want to give me now?¡± she asks.
¡°Chill first, Let¡¯s have a seat so that I can explain,¡± Ifunanya says dragging Chiamaka by the hand to a long chair in the park, beside the library.
When they both sit down, with no one near them, Ifunanya begins.
¡°Now just be calm and listen to all I have to say, you know me I won¡¯t say it twice,¡± she says.
¡°First of all, the reason for the library looking like no damage was effected is because of the phenomenon which comes into existence in our realm when there is distortion in normality. This phenomenon is called the phasic dome. It can be said to be a link between the physical and spiritual realm which is why when activated in the physical realm, physical elements are still active and in play, also, the reason why only certain beings can exist in the phasic dome if you noticed, most people became still like time had stopped. Mostly, when damages occur in the phasic dome, those damages are reversed once the phasic dome becomes inactive just like the case of the library.
To better explain this, let me first give you a brief history. Once the earth was invaded by certain beings with supernatural abilities unknown to man. Where these beings came from, what they wanted and who they were remained a mystery to man so they were called the Unknowns. These beings threatened the very existence of mankind however, some humans wielding abilities similar to what you call mythological deities like the Yoruba deities, Ogun, Sango and the rest, Igbo deities like Amadioha, Anyanwu and so on, rose up to oppose these Unknowns. These humans were called the Crests. These Crests also bare certain insignia which was what led to their name. However, humans being humans, some of the Crests began using their powers for their own greed and began enslaving the very people they were supposed to protect. Then what man called the Divine Light, flashed through the entire world and another set of beings among the humans came into play. They were called the ATs which is the Advanced Talents. This was because they bared no insignia and their abilities varied tremendously as some had abilities which would be considered concepts to the ordinary man. They were called advanced talents because these abilities occurred in a similar manner to that of the ordinary man¡¯s talents such as drawing, running or singing. Likewise, you could see someone with an advanced talent of superspeed, or sound manipulation or even creative imagination and the likes.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
So, with all these beings in existence, some of the top powerful talents and crests from all round the world gathered together, with all their power and life force, they were able to empower the already existing phasic dome and successfully stop the great battles that unraveled among the three sets of ability users, from having much damage to the physical realm of the humans. When this was done, the knowledge of the Unknowns, Crests and Advanced Talents was wiped off the memory of the ordinary humans. Therefore, whenever a battle among any of these beings starts or if a certain power level is released, the phasic dome is automatically activated. Only beings with phasic abilities, that is, abilities that transcend the physical into the spiritual (the Unknowns, Crests and Advanced talents) are aware of what happens and are able to freely move.¡±
¡°Hmmm!!!¡± Chiamaka softly exclaims looking at Ifunanya. She could see Ifunanya was serious and meant every word she said.
¡°So you mean I¡¯m now going to be fighting the rest of my life?¡± She asks.
¡°And why is this even happening to me just now?¡± She adds, looking up to the sky and sighs.
¡°Well, firstly, no you don¡¯t necessarily need to fight. You¡¯re most likely an advanced talent user and not all advanced talents are for fighting though. There are what we call the domestic advanced talents. These are probably just for everyday use in an extraordinary way. Yours can be like that,¡± Ifunanya replies.
¡°Also, being who you are, you can choose not to make use of the talent at all and just live as a normal human although I cannot fully guarantee that it will be hitch free,¡± she adds.
¡°As to why it is happening now, I don¡¯t know much about that yet. Maybe we will get to find out as time goes on,¡± she continues.
¡°One last thing though, one way of spotting advanced talents sometimes is that their eyes glow whenever a phasic dome is activated or their abilities are about to be used and only a phasic ability user can spot such, ordinary humans can¡¯t,¡± she concludes.
¡°All these information flowing into my head is really racking me up,¡± Chiamaka says and softly lets out air from her mouth.
There is silence for a brief moment then she takes a deep breath, picks up her bag and stands up.
¡°I¡¯m going to Tomiwa¡¯s,¡± she says.
¡°Huh? So you¡¯re stabbing [3]class?¡± Ifunanya replies, also standing up.
¡°Class? That one that Dr. Vincent will just come and dictate note? All I have to do is just read. That¡¯s not a problem,¡± Chiamaka replies.
¡°I¡¯ve already texted Osas to sign for me,¡± she adds.
¡°Hmm¡See pride, see your shoulders, Efiko[4],¡± Ifunanya sarcastically comments.
¡°Call me if anything comes up. I need to be somewhere at the moment,¡± she adds.
¡°Ohh and if you can¡¯t reach me then call ID.¡±
¡°Alright,¡± Chiamaka replies and walks away to enter the cab she called.
¡°With all I¡¯ve said, what will she do now?¡± Ifuanaya asks rhetorically, staring at the cab as it drives off.
Back at Ifunanya and Chiamaka¡¯s apartment.
¡°Are you sure she¡¯ll be alright?¡± Tobi asks, facing ID while holding a game pad.
¡°Probably however knowing Ifunanya I¡¯m sure she has told her everything bluntly,¡± ID replies.
¡°Well whatever,¡± Tobi sighs.
¡°By the way, who do you think was after her?¡± he asks.
¡°Can¡¯t get a good guess now but looks like whoever is after her wants her alive,¡± ID answers.
¡°Do you think they¡¯ll strike again?¡± Tobi asks.
¡°I¡¯m sure they will,¡± ID replies.
¡°Seems we¡¯ve stumbled upon something quite interesting,¡± Tobi says, smiling.
¡°Ehen[5]! Guy!! What of Aisha?¡± he asks.
¡°She¡¯s cool. She should home. Let¡¯s go see her,¡± ID replies.
¡°Nice one. Aisha the groovy lady. Let¡¯s see what she¡¯s up to,¡± Tobi says, with excitement as they exit the apartment.
At Tomiwa¡¯s apartment, Chiamaka arrives and knocks on the door. A young fine lady, slim, dark with a short relaxed afro and thin sleek eyes, wearing a cream colored round neckline, long sleeve knit top reaching up to her fingers, and a pair of dark blue jeans, answers and opens the door. The lady has a big headset round her neck with her mobile phone in her hands.
Chiamaka is surprised for a moment.
¡°Who are you?¡± she questions.
For a very brief moment, the lady looks sternly at Chiamaka then quickly switches her mood.
¡°Ohh you must be Chiamaka,¡± the lady answers with a wide smile and a light but strong voice.
¡°I¡¯m Ife, Tomi told me you¡¯d be coming,¡± she adds.
¡°Ooo¡kaayy, Tomi? hmmm!! You still haven¡¯t answered the question,¡± Chiamaka replies, frowning at the lady.
¡°Ohh my bad,¡± the lady replies.
¡°I¡¯m his cousin,¡± she adds.
¡°Ohh yeah, he did tell me his cousin would be coming today, ha ha,¡± Chiamaka says and begins smiling exceedingly, feeling embarrassed.
¡°My bad, sorry,¡± she adds.
¡°No problem, come in,¡± Ife says and Chiamaka steps in.
Tomiwa is a handsome young man. Tall, dark with beards nicely cut and shaped, muscular physique and a charming smile. He is already working at a young age and is earning the big bucks; most girls would love to have him as their man. Chiamaka is lying down on his laps, on the couch as they both talk while Ife steps out to answer a phone call.
¡°Hello,¡± she says.
¡°Am I on to Ife, the swordsmith?¡± a deep male voice speaks from the phone.
¡°Yes you are, how may I help you?¡± she asks.
¡°Trust you got the picture I sent via the chat, I heard you¡¯re a good bounty hunter as well,¡± the voice answers.
¡°Hoo¡so they say huh,¡± she replies.
¡°By all means necessary, I need you to bring me that person in the picture. I hear the package has some powerful friends. A location to meet will be sent to you once I receive confirmation that you have secured the package,¡± the voice says.
¡°I¡¯m sure you have seen the reward for the bounty, quite handsome isn¡¯t it?¡± the voice asks.
¡°Sure. Handsome indeed. Fine. I¡¯m in. Let me make some calls,¡± she replies with a soft smile.
When the call is over, she looks at the picture again, it is Chiamaka; she dials another number.
¡°Hello Tade, gather the team. We have a job,¡± she says.
¡°Quite the story you have there, babe,¡± Tomiwa says, stroking the long curly hair of Chiamaka.
¡°I know right? I¡¯m just tired and that¡¯s not the full one sef[6],¡± she replies.
¡°I¡¯m coming. I want to get something,¡± Tomiwa says, trying to stand up, waiting for Chiamaka to lift her head from his laps.
As she lifts her head, she could slightly see his eyes glow. Chiamaka is shocked for a moment as her heart starts racing faster. When Tomiwa gets up and is near the stairs leading up to his room, Chiamaka stands up.
¡°Tomi, I think there¡¯s something on your face,¡± she says, trying to get him to face her.
¡°Really, where?¡± he says and turns to face her.
Chiamaka freezes in fear, behold his eyes are glowing green.
¡°Ohh..,it¡¯s nothing,¡± she musters her strength to say.
¡°Alright,¡± he replies, still standing there.
Luckily, her phone is in her hand and her messenger app is open. She places the phone behind her and smartly but nervously, sends numerous pings to ID, following the message of her location she had earlier sent. She does this while looking at Tomiwa in the face and smiling.
¡°Oh cut the smile!!¡± Tomiwa yells with an evil grin. Chiamaka¡¯s eyes become wide open.
¡°You know, don¡¯t you?¡± he says, slowly removing his hand from his face.
[1] Hope say she dey alright ¨C hope she is alright
[2] Zobo here means lie
[3] Stabbing here means to avoid, be absent or not go
[4] Efiko is usually used for intelligent people
[5] Ehen means yes or yeah
[6] Sef here can mean too
Chapter 3
Elsewhere, ID and Tobi are standing with a beautiful young lady, outside of a very magnificent house; they enter the compound, after going in through the gate. The house is the size of a regular duplex but with a unique and beautiful architectural design.
¡°Always gets me anytime I see it. The design of Aisha¡¯s house sha[1],¡± Tobi says.
¡°It¡¯s Aisha naa[2], flexing lady, rich and influential coupled with entrepreneur of the year,¡± ID adds, with a laugh.
Aisha sighs and shakes her head.
¡°This your whining[3] never stops, abi[4],¡± she says, leaning on her big black power bike, folding her arms.
¡°So what¡¯s up? What brings you guys here?¡± she asks.
Aisha is a very beautiful lady, fair skinned, having hazel eyes, black colored hair with the hairstyle of braids and a slim body build. She is wearing an ash top with very short sleeves, a pair of black shorts with folded ends, having length that covers three-quarter of her thighs, a pair of thin long silver earrings, two wristbands and a pair of medium length black boots with some gold straps on them.
¡°Nothing much though, just checking up on you,¡± ID replies.
¡°We just thought we should come chill at your place, it¡¯s been a while you know,¡± Tobi adds.
¡°Hmmmnnn,¡± she hums and stands up from the bike.
¡°Well, you¡¯re in luck today because I just finished cooking,¡± she says, with a big smile.
¡°You what now?¡± Tobi sarcastically asks, shifting his head backwards.
¡°I think we¡¯ll be fine with ordering something online,¡± he adds.
¡°What do you mean?!¡± she replies in annoyance.
¡°You¡¯re saying my food ain¡¯t good huh?!¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t say so,¡± Tobi replies, shrugging.
¡°Yes you did,¡± she says.
¡°No I didn¡¯t,¡± he replies, shaking his head.
¡°You know someday, I¡¯m going to punch you in the face real hard,¡± Aisha says, holding her fist up at Tobi.
As this is going on, ID is busy with his phone reading through Chiamaka¡¯s message and finding her location.
¡°Ummm guys, that will have to wait,¡± he says.
¡°And why? You don¡¯t like my cooking too?¡± Aisha asks, tilting her head to the right with a slight frown.
¡°Huh? No that¡¯s not it, Chiamaka is likely in trouble,¡± he answers.
¡°She just pinged me like ten times and messaged me her location stating help,¡± he adds.
¡°Chiamaka? Ify¡¯s friend?¡± Aisha inquires.
¡°Yeah, Don¡¯t worry just come with me, I¡¯ll explain later,¡± he answers.
¡°We¡¯re going to need your bike Aisha, Tobi you might have to stay here just in case,¡± he adds.
¡°No problem, I¡¯ll call Tomisin just in case,¡± Tobi replies.
¡°Well as long as there¡¯ll be ass whooping, I¡¯m in,¡± Aisha says and hops on her massive power bike. ID sits behind her on the bike while Tobi opens the gate.
¡°Hold tight ID,¡± she says, revving the engine.
¡°What¡¯s the location?¡± she asks.
¡°It¡¯s on the Island, at Ajah,¡± he answers.
¡°All the way from here, Festival Town, that¡¯s quite the distance,¡± Aisha replies.
¡°Then-,¡± she says, firmly gripping both of the bike¡¯s steering.
¡°Talent: Activate: Lightning Fusion: Charge!!!¡± she adds.
Sparks of lightning emit from her hands, coursing through the bike, covering it in lightning sparks granting it a powerful velocity with which she zooms off. To the ordinary humans walking around, it is like a powerful gust of wind just breezed through the air however, it is Aisha and ID on a power bike, dashing off.
¡°We¡¯re going to need more speed ID in order for us to reach in time,¡± Aisha says at the top of her voice as they speed through the land in a zig zag manner, evading the other cars on the road.
¡°We¡¯ll be going through third mainland though, the map says that¡¯s the best route at this time of the day,¡± she adds.
¡°No problem, get ready,¡± ID replies at the top of his voice too.
¡°Talent: Activate,¡± he says and his eyes radiate with a gold glow.
¡°Boost!!¡± he adds and immediately a small glowing golden circular band appears behind the power bike and with a powerful boom, they completely zoom off like a ray of light.
Meanwhile,
¡°You know, don¡¯t you?¡±
¡°Answer me!!¡± Tomiwa shouts, with his eyes glowing green and what seems like green flames emanating from him.
¡°I¡I¡I don¡¯t...I don¡¯t,¡± Chiamaka stammers, shaking in fear of what is to come next.
For a while she stands still looking at him and trembling, then she quickly makes a run for the door. Immediately, out of Tomiwa, something like a spike, connected to his body, protrudes and stabs the wall, nearly hitting her. Tomiwa quickly dashes towards Chiamaka to grab her but suddenly, out of thin air, Tomisin appears, this time with a gun and shoots at Tomiwa. Her shot creates a blast, sending Tomiwa flying backwards and crashing out of the house. Tomisin quickly holds Chiamaka and teleports outside the house just some distance from Ife.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
¡°Hoo, there¡¯s company here, I guess that idiot couldn¡¯t handle the job then,¡± Ife says, looking at Tomisin and Chiamaka from the door of the house.
¡°First let me drop these,¡± she says, removing her large headphones from her neck and putting them on the outside component of the air condition unit for the sitting room.
¡°Yeah those are expensive and I love them,¡± she murmurs, stretching a little.
¡°Now let¡¯s get these going, Activate,¡± she says.
¡°Blade Coliseum: First Tier,¡± she adds.
Instantly, an array of different blades, surrounds the area of the house and that of its nearby environment. Tomisin grins, turning to Ife.
¡°Now this is trouble,¡± she says.
¡°It¡¯ll take me time to teleport a long distance, I¡¯ll have to hold off till ID and Aisha get here,¡± she thinks to herself.
Immediately, a sword, moving like a bullet, heads for Tomisin but she moves to her right, dodging the sword which stabs the ground. Swiftly, Ife appears at her front next to the sword, and another sword quickly moves to Ife¡¯s hand as she spins to slash Tomisin. Tomisin holding Chiamaka, quickly teleported backwards and once she reappears, releases two shots from her gun at Ife who, holding the sword that stabbed into the ground, tosses it at one of the shots causing a boom while she dodges the other by leaning backwards.
Before Tomisin can get a breather, Tomiwa appears behind her, releasing multiple spikes from his body at her. She quickly pushes Chiamaka aside and turns towards Tomiwa. Another gun appears on her hand and she releases a shot from each of her guns at Tomiwa, who is in mid-air. She quickly teleports to avoid Ife¡¯s attack as Ife dashes, swinging her blade horizontally at the air since Tomisin is no longer there. Tomisin appears, takes hold of Chiamaka and teleports again to keep some distance between them and their opponents.
¡°Two against one, this is going to be tough plus I have someone to protect, my my,¡± Tomisin whispers to herself.
¡°Why is this happening to me?¡± Chiamaka mutters, though she holds the tears in her eyes from falling off.
¡°Who did I offend? Why?¡± she cries within herself.
Tomisin takes a quick look of compassion at her and then, stands from her kneeling position to engage her two opponents in battle.
¡°Don¡¯t worry much, we won¡¯t let anything happen to you,¡± she says, aiming both her guns at Ife and Tomiwa who are standing close to each other with Tomiwa a little behind Ife though still in mid-air.
A brief moment of silence occur between the two parties, with the cool evening breeze sweeping by. Ife suddenly dashes towards Tomisin, in a zig-zag like manner, with a sword in each of her hands. When she is just moments from landing a hit on Tomisin, there is a screeching noise and a bike with two people on it, make a drift to park. Before the drift is completed, Aisha jumps off the bike, with two swords suddenly appearing, a sword in each hand. She quickly throws the sword from her left hand at Ife who halts in her movements to evade the sword. Without wasting time, Aisha lands on the hilt of the sword with her left hand; with her braids flowing with each movement, she spins around and launches a kick at Ife who leans back to dodge the kick and does a backflip to put some distance between her and Aisha.
¡°Yoo!!! Tomi bebe, the cavalry¡¯s here,¡± Aisha says aloud with excitement, using her left hand to draw out her sword which is stuck in the ground and places it on her shoulder while holding the other sword with her right hand.
ID now moves to the rider¡¯s seat of the bike and whistles at Tomisin as he says,
¡°Hey, Tomi, time to go.¡±
¡°Aisha, ID, what a relief,¡± Tomisin says, with a breath of relief.
¡°What nonsense!!!¡± Tomiwa screams and releases a blast of radiating green beam at Tomisin.
¡°Tomisin, teleport, head straight for Aisha¡¯s house!!!¡± ID shouts.
¡°I can¡¯t teleport long---,¡± she tries to explain but is interrupted by ID.
¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll support you, so just aim for Aisha¡¯s house,¡± ID says.
¡°Fine then,¡± she says.
¡°Talent: Activate,¡± she says, holding Chiamaka as the green blast approaches them.
¡°Boost!!!¡± ID shouts, directing his palm at them. Aisha quickly dashes towards Ife to engage her and also avoid the blast.
¡°BOOM!!!¡±
There is a loud explosion and all the parties pause to see what happened.
As the dust settles and the place becomes clearer, ID smiles because by now, Tomisin is long gone taking Chiamaka along with her.
¡°Bastard!!!¡± Tomiwa yells, heading straight for ID.
¡°I¡¯LL KILL YOU!!!¡± he shouts, releasing multiple spikes from his body at ID.
ID, using the bike, quickly evades the attacks and making a quick turn, he jumps off the bike towards Tomiwa, in mid-air.
¡°Activate: Impact,¡± ID says. Evading all the spikes springing from Tomiwa¡¯s body like branches from a tree, he appears in front of Tomiwa and throws a punch at Tomiwa with his right fist making direct contact with Tomiwa¡¯s chest.
¡°Enhanced Fist: Red Canon!!!¡±
Immediately a red circular band having red radiance with the symbol of alpha (¦Á) in the middle of the band (also in red radiance), appears behind ID and a powerful force is released from his fist, blowing Tomiwa away, a far distance that he even crashes out of the coliseum of Ife¡¯s swords.
At the same time, Ife and Aisha are battling each other as they talk.
¡°Long time no see, Ifelola,¡± Aisha says, evading a horizontal slash from Ife.
¡°Same here, Aisha,¡± Ife says, dodging a kick from Aisha.
Ife throws a sword at Aisha who steps to her right to dodge the attack but while the blade is just a bit away from her, still in motion, Ife appears right at that spot and turns with the sword to cut Aisha from behind. However, without turning Aisha used the sword in her right hand to block the attack. Ife does a front flip and catches one of her blades (this time, a glaive) coming from her array of blades. She plunges the blade to pierce Aisha but Aisha quickly steps backwards, evading the attack. While she is still in motion, several blades launch from Ife¡¯s array of blades, rushing to pierce her from behind but she quickly pierces the sword in her left hand to the ground, behind her and using it to support herself, she jumps into the air to evade the blades which are close to ground level, about to pierce her. In the air, the blade of the in right hand becomes covered with sparks of lightning.
¡°Walkiya Yajin!!![5]¡±
Aisha swings her sword diagonally from the top left to her bottom right, with her braids flowing along.
Instantly, a blast of lightning discharges from her blade, spanning over a large area, and heads for Ife. However, before it can make any impact on Ife, several blades from Ife¡¯s array of blades rush, forming a shield to protect her but the blades are blown to bits after a powerful explosion from the lightning attack, leaving only Ife standing.
¡°Impressive,¡± Ife smiles, as Aisha lands on the ground.
¡°Would love to continue this fight however since the package is gone, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be profitable for me at the moment,¡± she continues.
¡°By the way, you¡¯re not looking bad ID, it¡¯s been a while,¡± she adds.
¡°That¡¯s right,¡± ID replies.
¡°Long time no see and this is the way we greet each other now?¡± he adds.
Ife is silent as she smiles and shrugs.
¡°Well, unfortunately for you Ife, your ¡®package¡¯ this time, is a friend of ours, so¡¡± Aisha says tilting her head to the right.
¡°Well, that¡¯s too bad Aisha. You know how I run my business,¡± Ife replies.
¡°Can¡¯t be having my clients disappointed now, can I?¡± she adds.
¡°So, we can just stop you here now, right?¡± ID says, jamming his right fist to his left palm.
¡°Hmm, how cute,¡± Ife replies.
¡°However, we won¡¯t be fighting today, I have a proposition for you, one that you may like,¡± she adds.
¡°Really? You don¡¯t say,¡± Aisha says sarcastically, resting one of her swords on her shoulder and casually holding the other.
¡°How convenient,¡± she adds.
¡°Hmph,¡± Ife grins.
¡°Don¡¯t worry you¡¯ll like this,¡± she adds.
¡°Interesting. Fine, let¡¯s hear it,¡± ID says, folding his arms.
[1] Sha in this context means though
[2] Naa in this context means now
[3] Whining - flattery
[4] Abi in this context means right
[5] Walkiya yajin means lightning strike in Hausa
Chapter 4
Back at Aisha¡¯s house, Tomisin and Chiamaka have arrived safely and are sitting on a couch in the massive living room with Tobi, watching TV. Chiamaka put her hands on her head, face bent down; she is filled with fear and sorrow at the same time.
¡°Why is all this happening now that I¡¯m about to be done with my degree?¡± she mutters.
¡°Maybe they are following me from my village after all,¡± she adds.
¡°Well for once, I guess the saying might really apply,¡± Tomisin says, sipping a glass of juice.
Chiamaka sighs, relaxing her head at the top of the couch. Tomisin brinks out a pair of eyeglass from her trouser pockets and puts them on.
¡°Huh? Weren¡¯t you just shooting stuff now accurately without your glasses?¡± Chiamaka asks.
¡°Yeah,¡± Tomisin replies.
¡°I don¡¯t necessarily need the glasses, I¡¯m just attached to it because before I awakened my advanced talent abilities, I used to wear glasses, I guess it¡¯s a habit now,¡± she adds.
¡°Or your boyfriend said you look good in them right?¡± Tobi teases and laughs.
¡°Shut up joor!!!¡± Tomisin shouts back.
Chiamaka laughs a bit.
¡°Anyway, why would anyone from my village be after me? They don¡¯t even know I exist I believe,¡± she says.
¡°What do you mean?¡± Tomisin becomes interested.
¡°Well, my mom said when I was born, my father died and few of his family members knew of her pregnancy. The few that knew never found out if the delivery was safe or not because my dad relocated with my mom and cut away any communication with his family.
So since I was born I have never visited my father¡¯s village or even communicated with any of my father¡¯s people. My mom took care of me herself for a while and later remarried not too long after,¡± Chiamaka explains.
¡°That¡¯s why I want to do my best and graduate with the certificate she has been looking forward to,¡± she adds and sighs.
¡°And now this has happened and scattered your entire life abi?¡± Tobi comments.
¡°Could it be that when your birthday reached, one of them somehow found out and has decided to capture you?¡± Tomisin questions.
¡°The thing is they want to capture you, not kill you, that means you must be of value to whoever is involved,¡± Tobi suggests.
¡°Wait, what exactly is your ability?¡± Tomisin asks.
¡°Ability?¡± Chiamaka repeats.
¡°I don¡¯t even know. I have no idea about what¡¯s happening to me. Maybe I should just tell my mom. She will probably want to move me out of this country. Yes that¡¯s a good idea,¡± she says.
¡°You don¡¯t get it, do you?¡± Tomisin replies.
¡°This is not your everyday stuff, this is the supernatural. It doesn¡¯t matter where you run to, the fact they are using bounty hunters shows how serious they are, they will find a way to track you and if you cannot protect yourself, you will become bush meat to them,¡± she informs Chiamaka, with a stern look on her face.
Chiamaka sighs and is frustrated.
¡°I¡¯ll still tell my mom,¡± she says.
¡°Suite yourself. Sooner or later she¡¯ll find out anyway,¡± Tomisin replies.
¡°Assuming she doesn¡¯t know already,¡± Tobi adds.
Elsewhere, at an art gallery, a young man in his early twenties, wearing glasses and having a big afro, is standing in front of a large painting on display at the gallery.
¡°Catch your fancy?¡± an older man, dark in complexion and with a lot of beard, asks.
¡°Hmmm, I wouldn¡¯t say. I¡¯m just trying to figure out what the artist is trying to express,¡± the young man answers.
The older man chuckles.
¡°By the way, I have been seeing you a lot these days, around the gallery. Looking for anything specific?¡± he asks.
¡°Something like that,¡± the young man answers.
¡°I heard there are some old artworks in these gallery; some masks and face sculptures made by the old and famous artist, Benjamin Awili. Am I right?¡± he asks.
¡°Hmm, interesting you pay attention to the news on our site,¡± the old replies, rubbing his beard.
¡°Sure. The artworks are here however they cannot be on display at the moment as there is an ongoing exhibition now. Once the exhibition is over, the gallery will be free for a while and so the artworks will be on display,¡± he adds.
¡°I see,¡± the young man replies.
BUZZ!!! BUZZ!!! BUZZ!!!
The young man¡¯s phone vibrates indicating a call.
¡°Excuse me, I have to take this,¡± the young man says, seeing the name of the caller.
¡°Hey, Ify!!! This is a call I wouldn¡¯t normally expect. What¡¯s up?¡± he says, picking the call.
¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡± Ifunanya replies.
¡°Well, you guys hardly ever invite me to hangout except my help is needed,¡± the young man answers.
¡°Ha ha,¡± Ifunanya giggles lightly.
¡°My bad, Uche. Sorry about that,¡± she responds.
¡°By the way where are you now?¡± she asks.
¡°Ikoyi, at an art gallery,¡± Uche answers.
¡°By this time? Really?¡± Ifunanya replies with a sigh.
Uche pauses and checks his wristwatch.
¡°It¡¯s just past 9pm, not so bad I guess,¡± he says.
¡°I shake my head for you,¡± Ifunanya responds.
¡°Anyway, I kind of need you to help me with something,¡± she adds.
¡°I knew it!!¡± Uche softly exclaims.
¡°There just has to a needful reason,¡± he adds.
¡°I¡¯m sorry. Look we¡¯ll definitely have that chill someday yeah,¡± Ifunanya replies.
¡°It¡¯s alright I¡¯m used to it now. So what do you need?¡± he asks.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
¡°Can you come over to Aisha¡¯s place? I¡¯ll explain,¡± Ifunanya suggests.
¡°Sure. I¡¯ll head over there now,¡± Uche replies.
¡°Alright. See you then. Thank you,¡± Ifunanya responds and ends the call.
¡°Leaving already?¡± the older man asks.
¡°I was thinking you would buy some artworks. You know, they are good investments since most of them appreciate in value,¡± he adds.
¡°Ha ha,¡± Uche lightly laughs.
¡°I¡¯ll think about it when next I¡¯m here,¡± he says and leaves the gallery.
Back at Aisha¡¯s house¡
¡°YOU DID WHAT?!¡± Ifunanya screams, calmly at ID and Aisha.
ID just stands scratching his head and smiling a bit while Aisha whistles as she slides backwards to the stairs leading up to her room.
¡°Hey Hey, don¡¯t even think about it Aisha,¡± Ifunanya says in a calm but fierce manner.
¡°Or I¡¯ll burn both you and your precious house,¡± she adds.
¡°Hey hey, don¡¯t you dare lay a finger on my stuff!!!¡± Aisha yells back.
¡°If you want to have a go at it, I¡¯m ready when you are,¡± she adds and makes a stance as if to materialize her sword.
(Ifunanya and Aisha usually have this light friendly spark between them. They are occasionally at each other¡¯s neck. Maybe we will find out later in the series. J )
¡°Calm down, you two,¡± ID says, trying to calm the atmosphere.
¡°Calm down? I¡¯m calm, am I not?¡± Ifunanya responds.
¡°It¡¯s your fault!¡± she calmly yells again.
¡°Why would you even agree to such a deal from her?¡±
¡°Ife is a bounty hunter, she¡¯s definitely up to something. She can¡¯t be trusted,¡± Ifunanya adds in her calm soft voice.
¡°You guys are just the same!!!¡± Chiamaka shouts.
¡°Just when I thought I could trust you guys, you go and turn me to a trophy that the winner takes home?!¡± she adds.
¡°That¡¯s just evi---¡°
¡°Hey!¡± Instantly, Aisha appears in front of Chiamaka and interrupts her.
¡°Shut up!!!¡± she says in a calm manner. Her eyes have a fierce glare as she looks down at Chiamaka who is sitting on the couch.
Aisha stands there for some time and the whole house is quiet, watching for what will be the outcome. Chiamaka just sits, afraid and unable to utter a word as Aisha stares into her eyes.
¡°You¡¯ve been saved twice now and this is the thanks you have to say?!¡± Aisha asks.
¡°Not that we need it anyway but are you really that na?ve that you think it will all be smooth sailing from now on?¡±
¡°From the very first day ID saw you, mostly what he and Ify have been thinking about is your protection even when you did not know about any of these. During our chat with Ife, he already devised a plan that would benefit you in the long run and yet you call him evil? Now I don¡¯t care if you call me evil that¡¯s your opinion but him? That¡¯s just not fair.¡±
¡°If you think you have another option, then leave we won¡¯t stop you. See if you can survive on your own as you are now,¡± she says.
Chiamaka is silent, unable to even move an inch, as tears begin rolling down her eyes.
¡°Yes. That¡¯s right. Cry. That¡¯s the only thing you can do at the moment,¡± Aisha says.
¡°So watch and understand the pain of being weak, so that you¡¯ll never be comfortable with it,¡± she adds.
¡°Are you not going too far?¡± Tomisin speaks up.
¡°You¡¯ve always had your abilities, you learnt how to fight early enough plus you seem to be wealthy and all; your life has been smooth, you have no idea how I feel,¡± Chiamaka sobs.
¡°Ha ha ha,¡± Aisha laughs.
¡°You know nothing girl,¡± she says.
¡°Let¡¯s not go into details about our past, who we are, where we are from, what we went through or what some of us are trying to run away from. We¡¯ll save that for another day,¡± she adds.
Chiamaka sniffs and says, ¡° but¡but from what I heard from you people, ID will be the one doing the fighting and from what I know of him and have seen among you guys, he doesn¡¯t look like a fighter to me.¡±
¡°Huh?¡± Aisha says and laughs out loud.
¡°You really are na?ve. You¡¯re actually judging a book by its cover,¡± she says.
¡°Don¡¯t let his smiles and calm acts fool you. That same calm, innocent, unable-to-hurt-anything face, is far stronger than you can imagine,¡± she adds.
¡°Don¡¯t go giving incomplete info,¡± Ifunanaya says.
¡°You know there¡¯s a catch to it,¡± she adds with her arms folded.
¡°A catch?¡± Chiamaka asks, wiping her tears off.
¡°Oh yeah, the more he--,¡± Aisha goes on to explain.
¡°Hey, I think we¡¯ve had enough of that for today,¡± ID quickly interrupts.
¡°Don¡¯t worry Chiamaka, you¡¯ll be fine. Relax, there¡¯s still time before we have that duel with Ife and possibly her crew,¡± he adds.
¡°Well I¡¯ll just end with this Chiamaka,¡± Aisha quickly speaks up, walking back to the staircase.
¡°A wise man once said, ¡®the same sun that nourishes the plant is still a danger to it¡¯,¡± she says, walking slowly with her hands relaxed at the back of her head.
¡°Pfft!!! Ha ha ha,¡± Tobi bursts into laughter, trying to cover his mouth and placing his other hand on his stomach.
¡°Let me guess you¡¯re this supposed wise man right?¡± he mocks.
Aisha halts as if she just received a heavy knock.
¡°Hey!! Hey!! Can¡¯t I just have my moment?!¡± she yells at Tobi, putting her palm on her face.
¡°You¡¯ll soon leave here now,¡± she adds pointing at him.
¡°Leavers,¡± Tobi replies with a loud laugh.
¡°Abeg, can we now eat?!¡± he adds.
¡°Ohh what I cooked?¡± Aisha says, swiftly changing to a smile.
¡°Please, I beg you in God¡¯s name, let¡¯s eat what we ordered,¡± Tobi replies, kneeling down.
Everyone else bursts into laughter.
RING! RING!! RING!!!
Ifunanya¡¯s phone rings with the soundtrack of one of her favourite childhood cartoons.
¡°Great, Uche¡¯s here,¡± she says.
Ifunanya opens the door for Uche to come in.
¡°Where¡¯s my sharwama?¡± she asks, standing in front of the door.
¡°Lucky you called again to tell me when I was at the spot if not,¡± Uche answers and hands it over to Ifunanya.
¡°Hope you didn¡¯t forget my suya!!!¡± Aisha screams from behind.
¡°Of course not,¡± Uche replies, with a chuckle.
¡°So much requests,¡± he murmurs.
Ifunanya makes her way to Aisha¡¯s dining table as she eats her sharwama. This is one of the times her usual calm and plain expression has a smiling one with joy.
¡°Man, she sure does love her sharwama,¡± Tobi comments.
¡°Suya!!!¡± Aisha screams as she runs and grabs the suya pack from Uche¡¯s hand before he can even settle down.
¡°Aisha baby,¡± Tobi teases, drawing near to Aisha.
¡°Hey! Don¡¯t touch me! I don¡¯t know you,¡± Aisha replies, keeping the suya to herself.
Tomisin quickly teleports and snatches the suya from Aisha.
¡°It¡¯s mine!! All mine!!¡± she laughs, holding up the suya pack.
Aisha quickly moves to where Tomisin is, with lightning sparks, to snatch the suya pack however Tomisin teleports to another spot.
¡°Ha Ha, you know we can do this all night and you won¡¯t catch me,¡± Tomisin teases with her tongue out.
¡°We¡¯ll see about that,¡± Aisha replies and zooms towards her again.
¡°Now, now we can all share you know, it¡¯s quite much actually,¡± Uche suggests
¡°Except y¡¯all wanna battle this out,¡± Tobi says, bumping his fists.
¡°Wanna? Seriously? Pfft! You killed mood,¡± Aisha says, walking sluggishly to the dining table.
¡°As in ehnn, let¡¯s just share it,¡± Tomisin adds with a sigh and makes her way to the dining table with the suya pack.
ID stands there laughing and exchanging greetings with Uche. Chiamaka had gone upstairs when Uche stepped in however when ID and Uche are talking she steps back down to the living room.
¡°Alan?!¡± she exclaims.
¡°Hey Amaka,¡± Uche replies with a hand wave.
ID looks at both of them.
¡°You mean Uche, I know his other name is Alan but he rarely uses it, says he prefers Uche,¡± ID says.
¡°Yeah but he told me his name is Alan when he approached me,¡± Chiamaka replies.
¡°Approached, as in asked you out?¡± ID inquires.
¡°Yeah,¡± Chiamaka answers.
Aisha immediately gulps her glass of wine and laughs out loud.
¡°Ha Ha Ha!!! This just keeps getting interesting,¡± she says.
¡°Uche Uche or should I say Alan, smooth talker,¡± she adds, raising both her eyebrows at him, and follows with another loud laugh.
¡°From what I can see, seems she said no,¡± Tobi adds, with a loud laugh also.
¡°You guys,¡± ID says and begins laughing too.
After a while, they are done eating and chatting.
¡°Ahh!!! What a meal!!¡± Ifunanya yells calmly with excitement.
¡°Now back to business,¡± she adds, reverting to her plain expression.
¡°Uche, that¡¯s over to you then,¡± ID says.
¡°Alright Chiamaka so here¡¯s the thing, we are going to find out what your advance talent ability is or are depending on how many we can find. Also if possible find put who your father is and see who you got your powers from, your mom or dad,¡± ID explains.
¡°How do you intend to do that?¡± Chiamaka asks.
¡°Uche will do that,¡± ID answers.
¡°You see Uche or as you know him, Alan, has the ability to go into people¡¯s mind. He can enter into your subconscious and see what you don¡¯t even know about yourself. In other words, he can enter into your soul and find out your hidden abilities are and also through your memories, see if your mom or dad have advanced talent abilities,¡± he explains.
¡°In summary, he¡¯s telepathic,¡± Tomisin adds.
¡°So are you ready for a mind intrusion?¡± ID asks.
¡°Wait so he can see all my thoughts, the good, the bad, the ugly?¡± Chiamaka asks.
¡°Ha Ha, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll go straight to the point,¡± Uche replies.
¡°Everything I see, you¡¯ll be able to see. You¡¯ll be with me in your mind,¡± he adds.
¡°Fine. So I can push you out when you¡¯re crossing boundaries?¡± she asks again.
¡°Sure. I won¡¯t forcefully invade your mind,¡± Uche replies.
¡°Don¡¯t worry we¡¯ll be right here,¡± ID reassures her.
¡°Besides once Uche ¡®touches¡¯ your ability, it can have an adverse effect on the outside, so Tobi will be here to stop all that from happening,¡± he adds.
¡°However, ID, I may need to bring you along with me into her mind,¡± Uche says.
¡°Really, can you now take another mind with you into a different mind?¡± ID asks.
¡°Yeah but just one so far,¡± Uche answers.
¡°Fine then, let¡¯s go,¡± ID replies.
¡°Alright, let¡¯s find out what this ability is,¡± Ifunanya says.
Uche, ID and Chiamka are sitting together, facing each other. Uche places his left index finger on ID¡¯s forehead and his right one on Chiamaka¡¯s forehead and says, ¡°Activate.¡±
Inside Chiamaka¡¯s mind, the atmosphere has a light silvery feel to it with different doorways all around. These doorways are paths to different memories and thoughts of Chiamaka. The three however, come to a halt when they arrive at a large obstacle made of massive chains.
¡°What is that?¡± Chiamka inquires, trembling at the sight.
¡°Wait don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s--,¡± Uche says, stuttering a bit.
¡°Interesting,¡± ID says, gazing upon the mysterious item.
Chapter 5
At the new Lagos international airport, arrives a man having the look of a white Caucasian male in his mid-thirties, with big black afro hair putting on a pair of eyeglass. He is wearing a long white coat, white shirt, a pair of white trousers and shoes. As he steps out from the airport lobby, he pulls out a cigarette from his pocket, lights it and gives a puff. He has a calm but serious look on his face. The type of countenance that makes you to be cautious around him.
He is about to take a step forward when a lady bumps into him and steps on his shoe.
¡°Sorry,¡± the lady apologizes.
¡°Ma binu[1] I wasn¡¯t looking where I was going,¡± the lady adds.
The Caucasian male slowly removes the cigarette from his mouth and lets out a puff.
¡°Huh? Kid, do you want to die?¡± the Caucasian male asks with no emotion on his face.
¡°Kid? Emi[2] die,¡± the lady says out loud pointing to herself being surprised as she also is in her mid-thirties.
¡°EEHHH!! Is it because I just mistakenly stepped on you? Kilode[3] are we not agemates,¡± she adds, hisses and turns around to leave.
¡°Well I guess you want to die then,¡± the man says calmly as he puts his cigarette in his mouth with his hands in his pocket.
The lady stands on the pedestrian side, waiting for someone to come and pick her up from the airport. Suddenly, a car moving at high speed with the driver struggling to control the car, swerves and hits the lady instantly killing her. People rush to help the lady and finding out she is dead, they quickly grab the driver threatening to take him to the police. The lady¡¯s fianc¨¦ arrives only to find out his wife-to-be has passed on. He quickly grabs the driver along with the airport security officers and they leave the scene to settle the matter.
¡°That¡¯s too bad,¡± the Caucasian man says to himself.
¡°Now time for business,¡± he says.
¡°Professor Lenz! Professor Lenz!¡± A young buff man in a black suit runs shouting as he approaches the Caucasian man.
¡°Oh there you are. You are the one to pick me up?¡± Professor Lenz, the Caucasian man, asks.
¡°Yeah, it¡¯s me. Sorry I¡¯ve been looking around for you,¡± he apologizes.
¡°Ha ha,¡± Professor Lenz laughs.
¡°No problem at all,¡± he says.
¡°Thank you Sir. Shall we get going then?¡± the man in suit requests.
¡°Alright,¡± Professor Lenz says as he follows the man in suit.
¡°What a sad thing, right Professor Lenz? I heard she was about to get married,¡± the man in suit says referring to the lady that just had an accident and died.
¡°Yeah quite awful if you ask me, which is why one must be careful,¡± Professor Lenz replies and shakes his head.
¡°Yeah. Especially with the way some of these people drive here,¡± the man in suit says.
Meanwhile, back inside Chiamaka¡¯s mind.
¡°What is that?¡± Chiamka inquires trembling at the sight.
¡°Wait don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s--,¡± Uche says, stuttering a bit.
¡°Interesting,¡± ID says as he gazes upon the mysterious item.
¡°Is that her talent ability?¡± Uche inquires staring at the large obstacle made of massive chains.
¡°That¡¯s right,¡± ID replies with a smile.
¡°What? How? A ball of chains? What is that?¡± Chiamaka continuously asks.
¡°Hey hey, slow down girl,¡± ID replies.
¡°Let me find out more,¡± ID says as he stares at the massive chains with high intense with his eyes having a gold glow.
¡°What is he doing?¡± Chiamaka asks Uche.
¡°Well, ID¡¯s talent ability, Impact, has a function which allows ID to learn about the properties and basics of a talent ability by focusing on it for a while,¡± Uche explains.
¡°I see,¡± Chiamaka replies still seeming a bit confused and shocked.
¡°Yes!!!¡± ID shouts.
¡°I¡¯ve figured it out,¡± he adds.
¡°That¡¯s your talent ability and what I learnt is that it is linking ability and also has a repair ability too, meaning you also have healing ability,¡± ID says with excitement.
¡°That¡¯s awesome!¡± Uche exclaims.
¡°Linking ability?¡± Chiamaka asks.
¡°Yeah but I don¡¯t have the details yet,¡± ID replies.
¡°Now, time to see what your parents can show us too,¡± Uche says and they begin to wander off in Chiamaka¡¯s mind to find memories of hers where her mother and father are present.
¡°There¡¯s my mum,¡± Chiamaka says pointing to a memory of her mother.
¡°What of one with your father?¡± Uche asks.
¡°I don¡¯t really have any memory of him,¡± Chiamaka replies.
¡°However I should be able to even see your baby memories but I can¡¯t seem to find them,¡± Uche says pondering what could be the problem.
¡°It seems that a powerful force must have sealed them away or removed them,¡± ID suggests.
¡°Hmmm, this just gets more complex by the day,¡± Chiamaka whines.
¡°That¡¯s alright,¡± Uche reassures.
¡°We¡¯ll get to the bottom of it however I¡¯m not getting that much of a talent vibe from your memory. I guess the best solution is to meet your mother in person,¡± he adds.
¡°Meet my mum?¡± Chiamaka whispers to herself and lets out a loud sigh.
¡°She¡¯s quite busy plus she may not let you even enter her main office,¡± she adds.
¡°Hmmm,¡± ID ponders, holding his chin.
¡°Well you¡¯ll go as couples then. I¡¯m sure your mum would be glad to meet your boyfriend or fianc¨¦ whichever you prefer,¡± he suggests.
¡°ID!!!¡± Chiamaka screams.
¡°What?¡± ID innocently asks.
¡°It¡¯s not really a bad idea if you think of it,¡± Uche says.
¡°Of course you¡¯ll like it,¡± Chiamaka replies with a palm to her face.
¡°Well we¡¯ll figure that out later,¡± Uche says.
¡°Now let¡¯s see what your talent can do,¡± he says and proceeds to touch the massive chains.
Slowly he proceeds to touch the massive chains in Chiamaka¡¯s mind and once he touches it, there is sudden outburst of ethereal chains from Chiamaka spreading to the others that are outside Chiamaka¡¯s mind that is Tobi, Aisha, Ifunanya and Tomisin. Simultaneously, the chain makes contact with each of them and their minds are dragged into Chiamaka¡¯s mind however it causes a mixture of their minds and memories.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!
¡°What is going?¡± Ifunanya asks looking around.
¡°Where are we?¡± Tomisin also asks.
¡°What? How did you all get into my mind?¡± Chiamaka asks being surprised.
¡°Uche it seems once you touched her talent it activated and since Chiamaka can¡¯t control it, it has dragged everyone¡¯s mind into hers,¡± ID explains.
¡°Hey why are your memories in my Ifunanya?¡± Aisha asks holding her head and lets out a scream.
¡°What?¡± Ifunanya asks being surprised.
¡°Hey¡now that¡you mention it¡I can¡see your memories¡in my head Tomisin,¡± Tobi begins to stutter.
¡°Oh no. The uncontrolled linking is causing a collision of memories. This could lead to serious brain damage if not handled properly,¡± Uche says to ID.
¡°Quick Tobi, use your ability before we end up having a serious mind collision,¡± Uche quickly suggests to Tobi.
¡°Right,¡± Tobi stutters.
Struggling to keep his mind together, Tobi quickly uses his talents.
¡°Talent Activate: Imperial Judgement: Shutdown!!!¡±
Immediately, Tobi emits a powerful shockwave among all that are present and after that, they are all brought back to normal consciousness, out of Chiamaka¡¯s mind including Uche and ID, all with their minds fully restored.
They are all panting as those standing quickly take a seat to relax their heads.
¡°What in the world was that?¡± Ifunanya asks looking and breathing normal.
¡°That was the effect of Chiamaka¡¯s advanced talent ability,¡± ID replies, taking a gulp from a bottle of water.
¡°Basically, it¡¯s a linking ability. It seems she can link talents, sharing the effect between different people,¡± he explains.
¡°Remember Uche saying the max he can take for a mind invasion is two but you all were able to come into Chiamaka¡¯s mind. However, since she cannot control her abilities yet, it led to a mixture of minds and memories,¡± he adds.
¡°Which goes to say, whatever you saw in memory, please forget it!!!¡± Aisha yells and folds her arms.
¡°Don¡¯t worry I saw your memories,¡± Ifunanya replies.
¡°Huh? And you¡¯re not fazed at all?¡± Aisha asks looking suspiciously at Ifunanya.
¡°Do you want me to share with the house how you lay in bed at night dreaming about the one you admire?¡± Ifunanya asks with a light smirk.
¡°Hey hey, Ify love,¡± Aisha replies with a smile.
¡°Bribe me,¡± Ifunanya says.
¡°What if you¡¯re bluffing?¡± Aisha hesitates.
¡°Alright, everyone Aisha¡¯s secret crush is---,¡± Ifunanya goes on to expose Aisha however Aisha interrupts.
¡°I¡¯ll buy you Shawarma!!!¡± Aisha shouts.
¡°Girl, somebody cannot play with you again?¡± Aisha says holding her chest.
¡°Hehe, spot on,¡± Ifunanya giggles.
¡°Anyway people, so the plan now is Uche will go with Chiamaka as her boyfriend to her mother¡¯s office. I and any other volunteer will follow just in case although we won¡¯t go into her mum¡¯s office,¡± ID says.
¡°This is to see if Uche can see if the mum has an advanced talent ability and also from the mum¡¯s memory find out the identity of Chiamaka¡¯s father,¡± he adds.
Aisha, Tobi and Tomisin bursts into laughter.
¡°ID I¡¯m sure you came up with this?¡± Ifunanya asks looking at ID in a funny way.
¡°Well,¡± ID replies with a shrug.
¡°Uche I mean Alan, must be really happy,¡± Aisha says aloud laughing hard.
¡°Like his dream has come true,¡± Tomisin adds.
¡°You guys,¡± Uche says with a palm to his face.
¡°Well, would it work though?¡± Ifunanya inquires.
¡°Sadly yes. My mum is that type of mother that likes to friend her daughter and roll with them. She¡¯s interested in everything about me that includes my dating life. I just have to tell her I broke up with Tomiwa,¡± Chiamaka answers.
¡°Seems like an interesting mother,¡± Tobi compliments.
¡°Alright so it¡¯s settled then. We move tomorrow. Let¡¯s go get some rest,¡± ID suggests.
¡°Before you leave, Chiamaka, I never really asked but what¡¯s your original surname?¡± Uche asks.
¡°Huh? It¡¯s Ezeogu, why?¡± Chiamaka answers.
¡°Nothing. Just wanted to know,¡± Uche replies.
The moment she mentions the name, Ifunanya¡¯s eyes flinch a bit and Aisha is quick to notice the tiny flinch.
Elsewhere, at the sea port of Lagos where international ships come, the customs and navy officials are keeping watch to catch smugglers. A lady comes out from a ship and jumps down to the ground.
¡°What a journey. To think I had to use a ship and still didn¡¯t find anything,¡± she says to herself.
The lady has medium bob hairstyle covering her forehead, blue glowing eyes, fair ebony skinned, having a slim and nice physique. She is wearing a black sleeveless waist coat, white sleeveless top, pair of skinny black trousers and long leather boots; also a bluetooth wireless earpiece. She is carrying a small backpack with one of its hands and a thin long duffle bag strapped to her waist.
She begins to catwalk to find the exit after jumping down.
¡°Hey you there!!! STOP!!!¡± one of the naval officers, shouts.
¡°If you move I shoot!!!¡± another shouts.
¡°Who are you?!¡± he questions.
¡°Huh?¡± the lady is surprised a bit.
¡°Gentlemen, officers, you can call me Oge. I am quite in a hurry, you see,¡± she answers in a seductive voice.
¡°Don¡¯t even try it. Your feminine whiles won¡¯t work here. What are you doing here?! What is in your bag?!¡± the captain of the parole asks.
¡°Well you see,¡± Oge, the lady says as she drops the backpack to the ground.
¡°I¡¯m not in a good mood at the moment and I¡¯m in a hurry,¡± she says calmly and softly.
¡°What?!¡± one of the naval officers shouts pointing his gun at her.
Oge slowly and gently pulls out a sword from her duffle bag and in a flash cuts off the head of the officer pointing a gun at her. The others are shocked and rush to attack save for the captain of the parole who pulls out two swords, observing the lady.
Four of the officers immediately surround Oge however she lands a kick on one of the officers¡¯ face which tears off his head from his body making blood gush off from his neck. Without delay, she does a quick spin and cuts into half the other three surrounding her.
Three other officers watching from a distance are shocked and frozen with fear. With their hands shaking, they struggle to pull the trigger of their guns but are finally able to after some time, letting out continuous shots at Oge. She easily uses her sword to slice the incoming bullets without moving an inch. Quickly, she cuts into the air by swing her sword diagonally, sending the shockwave of the slash against the three officers. This attack of hers cuts deep into the three officers, slicing their hearts in two resulting in their death. After this, she whisks her sword and turns to the captain.
¡°Hmph!!! I see. So you think you are a big shot by taking down mere humans,¡± the captain says.
¡°Ha ha. I¡¯ll show you what it means to be a navy captain,¡± he adds, holding a sword in each hand.
¡°Talent Activate: water body.¡±
Immediately the body of the captain became like water and started producing bubbles.
¡°That¡¯s right, in this mode I am in a liquid state and you cannot cut me,¡± he says, laughing loud.
Oge pauses and stares at him in silence.
¡°Amazing right? You must be frozen by the awesomeness of the ability. It¡¯s a shame I¡¯m going to have to kill you. You¡¯re quite the fine---,¡± the captain says but before he can complete his sentence, he sees Oge appear suddenly in his front and then realizes he has been cut in half.
¡°What?!¡± he exclaims.
¡°How is this¡.poss..i..ble,¡± he stutters and dies.
¡°First of all, you talk too much old man. Secondly you were too foolish to realize that your body isn¡¯t in a constant liquid state. There is a five seconds interval after two minutes when it becomes normal. What a fool trying to take on an assassin class,¡± Oge says with a grin.
¡°How boring and here I was thinking I could stretch a little,¡± Oge complains, making a pout.
RING! RING!!
Oge¡¯s phone is ringing, she uses her bluetooth earpiece to pick the call.
¡°Yo!! Old man. What¡¯s up?¡± she answers.
¡°Oge Oge, it seems you¡¯ve accepted my offer,¡± a deep male voice responds from the phone.
¡°Hmph! If I didn¡¯t we wouldn¡¯t be having this conversation now, would we?¡± Oge replies.
The man from the phone lets out a loud laugh.
¡°Sure thing,¡± he answers.
¡°So I should be expecting good news then,¡± he says.
¡°Of course. I never fail my mission and I always hold up my end of the bargain. I hope you will hold up yours too,¡± she responds.
¡°That is not a problem. I and Queen may not have been the best of friends but I still owe her one or two so I will definitely find a way to bring her back,¡± the man replies.
¡°Good. Now then let me enjoy the city of Lagos a bit before I begin my hunt,¡± Oge says.
¡°Alright. I¡¯ll leave it to you then. Goodnight then Miss Oge,¡± the man says.
¡°See ya and goodnight, Dr. Ezeogu,¡± she replies and ends the call.
¡°Now then,¡± she says, catwalks to her backpack which is on the ground, uses her leg to throw it up, catches and wears it on one hand.
After this, she squats and makes a powerful leap at high speed to the top of a nearby building.
Meanwhile back at Aisha¡¯s house.
¡°Feel free to stay over!¡± Aisha shouts though everyone has already made themselves comfortable in the house and are about to sleep.
¡°I have so many rooms after all,¡± she lightly murmurs.
¡°Thank you so much Aisha, it¡¯s already late,¡± Tomisin says holding a pillow before she enters a room.
¡°Yeah yeah. You could have teleported right away you know,¡± Aisha lets a quiet grumble.
¡°I know right,¡± Tomisin smiles sarcastically.
Aisha sights Ifunanya before she enters into another of the rooms and walks to quickly meet her.
¡°Hey, when Chiamaka mentioned the name Ezeogu, I saw you flinch a little. Why¡¯s that?¡± Aisha inquires.
Ifunanya pauses and stares a while at Aisha, then lets out a light sigh.
¡°Well, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just a coincidence. During the battle against Ikeoku where my father lost his life, there was a man working with Ikeoku known to his members and friends as Dibiaukwu[4], the Grand Jazz-lord or Grand wizard as some even say and his name was Ezeogu,¡± Ifunanya replies.
¡°What? That¡¯s the same name with Chiamaka¡¯s dad,¡± Aisha says, shocked a bit.
¡°Yeah but it could be a coincidence. What if someone else has that same name?¡± Ifunanya responds with a shrug.
¡°I hope so though if not then maybe it¡¯s not just Chiamaka¡¯s life that¡¯s in danger and also from what you¡¯re saying, this man must know some pretty powerful people,¡± Aisha says as she turns to leave.
¡°Have a goodnight Ifunanya and forget my memories!!!¡± she yells.
¡°Ohh you want me to forget how you lay on your bed, holding your pillows tight, rolling on your large bed---,¡± Ifunanya says, teasing Aisha.
¡°Hey!!! Keep it down,¡± she whispers as she rushes to close Ifunanya¡¯s mouth.
¡°Haha, goodnight Aisha,¡± Ifunanya says in her calm, expressionless manner.
¡°Shish!!!¡± Aisha exclaims, leaving to her room.
[1] Ma binu ¨C Yoruba phrase that means don¡¯t be angry
[2] Emi ¨C me
[3] Kilode ¨C what
[4] Dibiaukwu ¨C Great doctor
Chapter 6
It is a bright morning filled with a lot of sunshine and warm breeze.
¡°It is quite hot,¡± Uche complains, speaking to Chiamaka who is standing beside him.
They are standing in front of a high-rise glass building having flat windows. At the top of the building, you can clearly see, written in bold, the word ¡®MICROEDGE¡¯ beside the company logo.
¡°So this is where your mother works, wow,¡± Uche says, looking at the top of the building.
¡°One of the leading tech companies here in Nigeria,¡± he adds.
¡°Yeah,¡± Chiamaka and takes a deep breath.
¡°And she is the¡umm¡,¡± Chiamaka stutters.
¡°Let¡¯s just say not much gets done without her,¡± she says and clears her throat.
¡°Say what?¡± Uche reacts, surprised.
¡°Alright, Alan¡Uche, whatever, let¡¯s go do this,¡± Chiamaka says.
¡°Umm, ID, you¡¯re coming into the building too?¡± she asks.
¡°Yeah I probably have to. If I¡¯m close enough to your mom¡¯s office, I should be able to discern if there are any advanced talent abilities within that area and try to pin it to your mom if she¡¯s the one,¡± ID answers, stepping out of the car.
¡°Alright. So you don¡¯t need to enter her main office then, cause I think she won¡¯t like it to be so crowded,¡± Chiamaka replies and they all walk into the building.
The receptionist at the entrance tries to stop them from entering but Chiamaka just says her name using her mom¡¯s new surname.
¡°Chiamaka Davidson. You can confirm with my mom,¡± she says.
¡°Already did. Sorry for the inconvenience,¡± the receptionist says and hands Chiamaka a special card customized for her to enable her pass through the doors without interruption of key card or security codes.
¡°No problem, thanks,¡± Chiamaka replies and walks with the guys into the elevator.
¡°Floor twenty? Wow,¡± Uche says as the lift takes off.
While in the lift, Chiamaka throws a question.
¡°Say, how did you guys easily accept all these power stuff and how exactly does it feel, being treated like normal humans?¡± she inquires.
¡°Well, some of us discovered our abilities at an early stage in life, some were lucky to meet other advanced talents who helped them train and control their abilities. While some of us grew up in a home full of advanced talents,¡± Uche answers.
¡°About the being treated like normal humans, sometimes it can be very frustrating. Sometimes, you just feel like bursting forth and blowing away all these puny humans and their little toys. Taking charge like the superior beings we are,¡± he adds.
¡°Huh?¡± Chiamaka says, shocked.
ID stands there just looking at Uche. There is a brief moment of silence.
¡°Hahaha,¡± Uche laughs to break the silence.
¡°It¡¯s a joke, you know. An A.T. joke?¡± he says.
Chiamaka takes a deep breath and sighs. ID smiles a little remaining silent.
¡°Besides, there¡¯s a body responsible for stuff like that, making sure the humans are safe from villainous threats of advanced talents, crests and unknowns alike,¡± he adds.
¡°A body?¡± Chiamaka questions.
¡°Yeah. Like a team. Pfft you didn¡¯t think we were working alone, did you?¡± Uche answers.
¡°Don¡¯t worry Chiamaka, once we get you sorted out, we¡¯ll fill you in on the details,¡± ID says as the lift stops and opens.
After going through some doors and offices, they finally arrive at the entrance to Chiamaka¡¯s mom¡¯s office. It has a mini reception and Chiamaka asks ID to wait there while she and Uche will go in to see her mom. ID agrees to the idea but pauses for a brief moment.
¡°I do sense a slight amount of phasic energy around like the person is trying to contain it,¡± he says,
¡°What? You have to be kidding me,¡± Chiamaka replies and sighs.
¡°Don¡¯t panic yet. It could be anyone around here. The secretary or any other personnel around,¡± Uche says to soften the situation.
¡°Or my mom,¡± Chiamaka adds, holding the handle of the door.
The secretary is about to react but notices Chiamaka and just sits back to continue her work. Before Chiamaka can pull the handle of the door to open it, the door opens and in front of her is a tall Caucasian male with big black afro hair putting on a pair of eyeglass, wearing a long white coat, white shirt, a pair of white trousers and shoes, Professor Lenz. He just stands there looking down at Chiamaka expecting her to make way. Chiamaka stares back at him, surprised though. ID immediately recognizes that the phasic energy he earlier felt was from him.
¡°This guy seems quite strange and very dangerous,¡± he says to himself.
¡°Move,¡± Professor Lenz says in his deep strong voice.
¡°Ohh, sorry,¡± Chiamaka startles and makes way.
Lenz walks past her with his hand in pocket and the other reaching for the cigar in his shirt¡¯s pocket. He pauses, however, when he reaches ID and turns to face him. They both stare at each other maintaining eye contact.
¡°Interesting,¡± Lenz says, smiles and walks away with the cigar in his hand.
¡°What was that?¡± Uche asks, surprised too.
¡°No idea,¡± ID responds and sits on a chair in the mini receptionist.
¡°Alright go ahead and don¡¯t waste time. We don¡¯t have all day,¡± he adds.
¡°Yes boss,¡± Uche replies, smiles a little and enters the office with Chiamaka.
¡°Chiamaka!!!¡± the mum yells, excited as she hugs her daughter.
¡°Hey mom,¡± Chiamaka responds.
Chiamaka¡¯s mum, Mrs Obianuju Davidson, though in her fifties, has the looks of a very beautiful young lady. From her dress style, you can tell she is either manager, lead consultant or lead associate, somewhere along that line.
¡°So nice to see you, quite surprising too,¡± Mrs Obianuju says.
¡°Yeah but I mean I can always come say hi to my mum right?¡± Chiamaka replies.
¡°Yeah yeah,¡±Mrs Obianuju nods, slightly.
¡°So who¡¯s this young gentleman you have brought into my office without any formal notice?¡± she inquires.
¡°Well¡mom. You know how you always say we should bond more and I should tell you stuff more, well¡this is my boy¡boyfriend,¡± Chiamaka answers and coughs a little to clear her throat.
¡°Ohh really, seriously?¡± Mrs Obianuju asks, looking strangely at Uche.
¡°Well, young man, Mr Boyfriend, what is your name?¡± she asks.
¡°Well, first name is Uche, middle is Alan and last is Akandu,¡± Uche answers and while he says this he is already reading her mind, using his mind invasion to find out about Chiamaka¡¯s father or anything related to who may have advanced talents in her family.
¡°Wow. A name that I do not know of, interesting,¡± Mrs Obianuju grumbles, taking her seat as do the Chiamaka and Uche.
¡°What of that other guy? Tomiwa was it?¡± she questions.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
¡°Tomiwa,¡± Chiamaka says with a deep breath.
¡°We¡had an unavoidable breakup,¡± she answers and exhales.
¡°Look mom, Uche is a great guy. He¡¯s even a first class graduate from that ICT driven university,¡± she adds.
This gets the mother¡¯s attention.
¡°Really? What course?¡± she inquires.
¡°Mechatronics,¡± Uche replies.
Chiamaka¡¯s mother is impressed and smiles, hearing this.
¡°So what do you do now?¡± she asks again.
¡°I work independently for now while trying to secure a place for my master¡¯s degree,¡± he answers.
Mrs Obianuju shakes her head a little and stares at Uche and Chiamaka for a while. Right there on her face, you can see that visage of pride and a bit of arrogance all mixed with smartness, elegance and fun.
¡°Well that¡¯s a start,¡± she says.
¡°You can always apply here if you ever feel the need to grow in challenging environment,¡± she adds.
¡°Thank you Ma. Though I already applied once but never got a response,¡± Uche replies.
¡°Wow, that¡¯s too bad. You can always try again. I¡¯m sure there was an error somewhere before,¡± she says.
¡°Alright, before you two start talking work and then enter into your programming stuff and all of that, mom, I also came to hear more about dad, my own father, from you,¡± Chiamaka insists.
¡°Your father? Why the sudden interest?¡± Mrs Obianuju ponders.
¡°Well, you know my birthday was just a couple of days ago. I just want to know, that¡¯s all,¡± she replies.
¡°I see,¡± Mrs Obianuju responds.
After a while, Uche and Chiamaka step out of the office, taking their leave. They tell ID and together, they exit the building.
¡°So how did it go?¡± ID asks.
¡°Well for some reason all I keep seeing is a shadowy figure of Chiamaka¡¯s dad in her mom¡¯s mind and I couldn¡¯t find any trace of advanced talent in her mom,¡± Uche says.
¡°Quite interesting,¡± ID replies touching his chin.
As they are about to enter their car, ID senses another feeble aura of phasic energy.
¡°I can feel a very faint amount of phasic energy around,¡± he says.
¡°It could be anywhere you know,¡± Uche replies.
ID turns and faces a car parked opposite the high-rise building where a lady having medium bob hairstyle covering her forehead, blue glowing eyes, fair ebony skinned, a slim and nice physique, wearing a black sleeveless waist coat, white sleeveless top, pair of skinny black trousers and long leather boots, is standing. It is Oge and she is also putting on a nice designer sun shades. She notices that ID has spotted her and so, lowers her shades, looking him straight in the eye from the long distance.
¡°Oh come on,¡± ID murmurs.
¡°What is it?¡± Chiamaka asks, concerned.
¡°Nothing,¡± ID replies.
¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he adds. They enter the car and drive off.
¡°This should be fun,¡± Oge says, locking her car and walking into the Microedge building.
Elsewhere, at a restaurant and lounge center, a beautiful large box like building, well-structured and built with some pieces and designs, Ifunanya is sitting on a very cozy chair, sipping a drink from an exquisite wine glass.
¡°Enjoying the chill?¡± a tall, dark muscular young man, asks.
¡°Bleh,¡± Ifunanya replies with her usual plain expression.
The muscular guy laughs.
¡°As expected, Ify,¡± he says, taking his seat opposite her. There is a small round table between them.
¡°Good to see you again, Sesan,¡± she replies.
Sesan is tall, dark, muscular and handsome. He has medium length neat dreads which he packs with a ribbon at the middle, a bit of moustache and beard at his chin. He is dressed in a black t-shirt, dark blue jeans and a pair of black casual shoes.
¡°Good to see you too, Ifunanya. What brings you here by this time? It¡¯s not exactly club time not that you¡¯re the type to regularly club anyway,¡± he asks.
¡°Well¡I mean, can¡¯t a girl keep in touch?¡± she replies.
¡°Yeah but you¡¯re usually doing your own stuff most of the time,¡± Sesan responds.
Ify just stares at Sesan for a moment with her plain expression, blinking at intervals while sipping her drink.
¡°Alright, to cut to the chase, you know everything has been calm so far but let¡¯s be straight with ourselves, it won¡¯t be so for long,¡± she says.
¡°Ikeoku is still alive, you still haven¡¯t heard or seen anything about Balogun, Bisoye and the others and have no idea what they are planning. Then there¡¯s also the unknowns that I, Charles, Ada and Nedu encountered some time ago plus the assassin group that is after Aisha, not to forget the recent case of Chiamaka,¡± she quietly rants.
¡°Wow that¡¯s a whole lot but you are right. For now all these parties have been silent except for this recent case of Chiamaka to now stir things up,¡± Sesan replies.
¡°However, for now, we just have to wait. As we are now, we can¡¯t really take the fight to them. Wemimo and Yetunde are comfortable, living like normal humans. Wale is on some expedition somewhere and I can¡¯t reach some others. I want to find Balogun, I have unfinished business with him and I won¡¯t rest till I do so,¡± Sesan replies, brimming with anger during his last sentence.
¡°Remember, protect not revenge,¡± Ifunanya advices.
¡°Yeah, sure. Whatever,¡± Sesan replies.
¡°How are you holding up anyway? After what happened to your dad?¡± he asks.
¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± she answers.
¡°And your mom, your brother?¡± he asks.
¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯s holding up fine and my brother, he should be alright,¡± she responds.
¡°You know, it¡¯s quite hard to tell what you¡¯re really feeling. You were born with this plain expression and strange personality where even when bad things happen to you, you show no particular emotional change or expression. Some would think it¡¯s a fa?ade but it¡¯s really who you are. I can¡¯t really understand but I¡¯ll take your word for it,¡± Sesan says.
¡°What if it some part of our personality has something to do with our crests? Like how you¡¯re the crest of Anyanwu, the sun deity and just like light brings warmness and calmness maybe that¡¯s why you¡¯re like that,¡± he adds.
¡°And how you¡¯re the crest of Sango and easily brim with rage?¡± Ifunanya responds with her plain expression, sipping her drink elegantly.
They both stare at themselves again and burst into laughter.
¡°That¡¯s just silly. I mean if you think I easily brim with rage, you should see Raji,¡± Sesan says.
¡°Ha ha ha. That one is just one violent guy,¡± ifunanya replies, laughing.
¡°Anyway, speaking of fathers, do you remember the great Ezeogu? Is there any way to find out about his past? If he had any wife or children, at any point in time?¡± Ifunanya requests.
¡°Hmmm, what relation does this have to with Chiamaka?¡± Sesan investigates, staring into Ifunanya¡¯s eyes.
¡°Not sure yet. Just a hunch,¡± Ifunanya replies without quailing at Sesan¡¯s stare.
¡°What about Charles, Ada, Nedu and Nelo? Why haven¡¯t you reached out to them yet?¡± Sesan inquires.
¡°It¡¯s not time yet. If we meet up, our crests will create a resonance causing Ikeoku to easily find me and we¡¯re not ready for that yet. It¡¯s the same reason why a limit has been placed on my powers for some time now,¡± she answers and gets up to take her leave.
¡°However, we might be in touch sooner than expected. I feel this Chiamaka¡¯s stuff will bring about a great turn of events,¡± she adds, dropping her glass cup on the small round table.
¡°And how¡¯s Mesoma holding up? After what happened and all,¡± Sesan asks.
¡°She¡¯s good¡I guess. The last time I saw her, she was. I hope she is,¡± Ifunanya replies, putting her hands into the pockets of her dark red jumpsuit.
¡°Thanks for the help, Sesan,¡± she says.
¡°My pleasure. You be careful. I know how powerful you are, well maybe not presently but still,¡± Sesan replies.
¡°It¡¯s alright. I haven¡¯t been playing these past years, you know. Can¡¯t wait to see my own full abilities too. Thanks for the concern though,¡± she responds.
¡°Now, time to see how this fight with Ife goes,¡± she whispers and exits.
Meanwhile, at a flamboyant and fascinating good looking hotel, a group of people sit at the lobby, discussing.
¡°So how¡¯s it going to be?¡± Tade asks. Tade has a slim but muscular physique, well-tanned, dark brown skin and a fierce face, wearing a face cap. He has slim legs, making his upper body seem bigger than his lower body. He is wearing a black shirt, folded at the arms, unbuttoned, with white inner wear, a pair of blue three-quarter jean pants, and brown boots.
¡°Well Tade, we¡¯ll go have a look at it. I was thinking each of the crew gets a chance to fight but I might just go ahead and fight it out with ID straight up,¡± Ife answers.
¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s certain victory then, right?¡± he responds.
¡°Definitely,¡± Ife replies with a grin. She is wearing a folded short sleeved black t-shirt, a pair of skinny brown trousers and a pair of medium length black heeled boots with some accessories on her.
¡°Let¡¯s move,¡± she says and stands up from her seat, exiting the hotel building. Tade walks right behind her.
There is a fat young man standing outside the hotel entrance door and with him, are two young ladies and another guy. One of the ladies, has a big stature, wearing some heavy metallic bangles and a violet turban to cover her hair while the other has quite a small stature, small hands, having a two puff hairstyle and cute puffy cheeks. The guy has short wavy hair, with an ear stud on his left ear, wearing a dark grey shirt, folded sleeves, buttoned all through, untucked, a pair of black jeans and a pair of black casual shoes.
Ife walks out of the hotel door in a cheeky, energetic and bossy style, hailing each of those standing.
¡°Dominic, my man, good to see you,¡± she says, greeting the guy with short wavy hair and hugging him.
¡°Still looking hot as always,¡± Dominic greets back with a smile and they bump their fists.
¡°Dan the man, glad you could come,¡± she moves to greet the fat guy.
¡°Anytime Ifelola,¡± Dan, the fat guy, responds and takes a drink from a bottle of beer he is holding.
¡°Ese, bigz girl, long time, this should be fun,¡± Ife greets the big lady with a hug.
¡°Good to see you, tiny hot lady,¡± Ese replies and laughs.
¡°Finally, Lil Bims in the building!!!¡± Ife calmly yells.
¡°Glad to see you again, Bimbo,¡± she says, greeting the small lady with a hug.
¡°Yoo Babe!!!¡± Bimbo hails back.
¡°Alright guys, let¡¯s do this. You guys will back up just in case they want to try anything funny,¡± Ife says as they all step out in style.
¡°Wait!!!¡± Tomiwa shouts, showing up suddenly.
¡°What do you think you are doing Ife?¡± he asks.
¡°This is not the plan. Let us go and just kill them all,¡± he says.
¡°Want me to take care of this?¡± Tade requests, looking at Ife.
¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll handle this. You guys go ahead to the car,¡± she answers and the others move out.
¡°Plans have changed Tomiwa. We¡¯re no longer working together. Deal with it,¡± she tells Tomiwa.
¡°What?! I¡¯ll kill you!!!¡± Tomiwa yells.
¡°I thought you¡¯d say that,¡± Ife replies, appearing at Tomiwa¡¯s back.
¡°Huh?!¡± He yells and turns to face her but instantly notices the sword in Ife¡¯s hand and that his body is already cut in half.
¡°Truthfully, I never really liked you,¡± Ife says as her sword dissipates and she starts walking to meet her crew.
¡°Damn it!!!¡± Tomiwa cries out and fades out of reality.
Ife and her crew arrive at the agreed location at the exact same time ID and his friends arrive there. The location is a big abandoned land with some abandoned buildings opposite each other. Ife and her crew are standing on one of the buildings while ID and his friends are on the other.
¡°This should do,¡± ID says as he jumps down from the top of the building to the large empty land between the buildings.
¡°Sure,¡± Ife responds, jumping down too.
¡°This match will be settled by one party giving up either by death or saying I quit,¡± Tade says aloud to all that are present.
¡°A special phasic dome is already in place so you can somehow fight to your heart¡¯s content in this little reality marble,¡± he adds.
¡°She packed quite the crew, huh?¡± Aisha says to Tomisin.
¡°Seems so,¡± Aisha replies.
Chiamaka watches having a mixture of fear and anticipation, standing beside her good friend Ifunanya.
¡°Don¡¯t worry, Chiamaka, this should be fine, hopefully,¡± Ifunanya says, encouraging her.
¡°What if he loses?¡± she asks in fear.
¡°He won¡¯t lose, you have believe that,¡± Ifunanya quickly responds.
¡°Fine then, ID, shall we begin?¡± Ife says, grinning.
ID calmly takes a deep breath and exhales, looking confident.
¡°Sure,¡± he replies.
Chapter 7
Standing at a distance of about eight metres from each other, Ife and ID stare at each other for a while probably taking one last moment to enjoy the cool air of the night, sweeping across the empty field of the battle location.
¡°Here I come,¡± Ife finally says, breaking the silence.
¡°Talent Activate: Blade Coliseum,¡± she says.
Instantly, her necklace shatters into tiny metal pieces and floats high up, forming an array of different blades surrounding the entire area.
¡°Always an interesting sight to see, your talent activation,¡± ID compliments, smiling as he tightens his fist.
¡°Come!!!¡± he calmly yells, taking his fighting stance.
Ife quickly rushes towards him. As she moves, two swords from the array of blades, move swiftly and appear at her right and left hand respectively. Ife grabs them, covers the distance between herself and ID and swings the sword in her left hand to slash ID. ID evades by stepping more to his own left, however Ife swings the sword in her right hand against him to cut him. ID uses his left leg to counter the attack and follows it with a spin, launching a kick at Ife¡¯s face with his right leg; Ife dodges by stepping backwards.
¡°Close call,¡± Ife says to herself.
¡°Seems you¡¯ve not forgotten your martial arts,¡± she says to ID.
¡°Seems you¡¯re not taking this seriously yet,¡± ID replies.
¡°Yet I¡¯m the one who has activated her talent?¡± Ife sarcastically responds with a shrug.
¡°Fine then. I¡¯ll be coming at you with full force,¡± she adds with an austere look on her face.
She then moves with a higher speed than before, appearing in seconds before ID and launching continuous slashes against him which he evades also. ID then tries to evade by randomly changing his positions, creating space between himself and Ife but swords begin raining down speedily at him. Now he has to dodge swords raining down and Ife¡¯s own attacks.
¡°This getting frustrating to deal with,¡± he complains as Ife persistently follows him around, attacking him.
¡°Talent Activate!!!¡± he says, stopping his movements and waiting for Ife¡¯s attack.
Ife is close to him now and swings her sword at him while some swords from the array of blades rush at him from behind.
¡°Launch! Drive!!¡± he says and vanishes, leaving Ife to swing through the air as the swords from the array pierce into the ground.
¡°The impact high speed movement,¡± Ife says, looking behind her to see ID standing some distance opposite her.
¡°Hmm? You still remember,¡± ID says as he brings out a golf ball from a small purse-like bag strapped to his belt.
The ball has a small hollow protrusion at top of it through which a thin thread-like material is connected to it and this thread-like material is connected to ID¡¯s right middle finger. ID makes the ball move like a yoyo with the thread-like material while talking to Ife.
¡°Huh? Is that the weapon you¡¯ve chosen for today?¡± she mockingly comments.
¡°Let¡¯s see how much you¡¯ll be smiling after this,¡± ID says and like a baseball, he tosses the ball with a powerful force at Ife.
¡°So what? A golf ball is heading towards me. I¡¯ll just cut it,¡± she says within herself, standing confidently as she summons one of the swords that pierced into the ground to come and do the cutting of the ball for her.
When the ball is halfway through,
¡°Impact: Boost!!!¡± ID says and a large ring with the symbol of alpha (¦Á) at the center, having outlines of red radiance, appears behind him.
The speed and acceleration of the ball increases exponentially, in so doing, increases the force of the ball. Before Ife can finish putting the summoned sword in the right position, the ball zooms, breaking the sword into the two. Ife is caught off guard but barely manages to dodge the ball by tilting to her left though it grazes her right shoulder causing her slight pain. The ball moves so fast and forcefully, breaking even the other swords that pierced into the ground behind Ife. ID quickly draws the ball back with the thread-like material. As the ball returns, Ife makes a fast bend downwards to avoid it and sends some swords from the array of blades against ID. ID moves away from his current position with high speed, appearing some distance above Ife and throws the ball against Ife again.
¡°Boost!!!¡± he says, launching the ball against Ife. Ife leaves a sword lying there and manages to roll away before the ball lands at her position. The ball crushes the sword at the middle, crashing deep into the ground. While he is still in the air, Ife sends some swords against him but ID is quick to get the ball back to him with the thread-like material.
¡°Boost,¡± he says, releasing the ball and spinning in the air, he shatters the swords sent at him and lands on the ground, standing afterwards. Ife stands up, looking very angry.
¡°That guy is quite good,¡± Dominic says, watching from the top of a building.
¡°That¡¯s right. A talent that can boost, one would think it can only be used for supporting others however the way he uses it shows he has mastered it up to the level of using it on himself too. His strain now would be how much he can boost the attack, for how long and versatility in its use maybe,¡± Bimbo says, trying to analyze ID¡¯s advanced talent.
¡°An interesting talent. Would love to fight someone who has mastered such to a very high level. Nevertheless, no matter how awesome that guy may seem to be, he¡¯s dead meat. He just pissed off the wrong person,¡± Tade says, folding his hands as he watches.
Also¡
¡°Wow. I see now. ID¡¯s talent is quite something,¡± Chiamaka says, watching.
¡°Right?¡± Ifunanya replies, as they watch from the building opposite Ife¡¯s team¡¯s own.
¡°Heh!! And you ain¡¯t seen nothing yet,¡± Aisha whispers, sitting on a chair, relaxed, with her hands at the back of the head, sipping a pack of juice, on the top of the building.
¡°And where did you even get that pack of juice from?¡± Ifunanya questions Aisha.
¡°I know right? Juice. Like it¡¯s so annoying. Didn¡¯t have time to get wine before we left,¡± Aisha answers.
¡°Missing the point. Never mind, you did that on purpose,¡± Ifunanya replies, letting off a sigh.
¡°Since force is mass multiplied by acceleration, is he escalating the force by increasing its acceleration?¡± Chiamaka ponders out loud.
¡°Ahn ahn, physics efiko (used for intelligent people), you caught onto real quick. It¡¯s something like that though,¡± Ifunanya responds.
¡°By the way Tobi, where did Alan go?¡± Aisha asks Tobi who is sitting next to her, at the edge of the top of the building.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!
¡°Hmm, that¡¯s true. Omo I no sabi sha (I don¡¯t know),¡± Tobi replies rubbing his chin beard.
¡°Tomi, any idea?¡± Aisha asks Tomisin through an earpiece since Tomisin is not close by.
¡°No idea,¡± Tomisin says, watching like a sniper from her distance with her gun ready.
¡°No need to worry, I¡¯m sure he has his reasons,¡± Ifunanya says, trying to assure everyone.
Back at the battle¡
¡°Seems you¡¯re no longer laughing, Ife,¡± ID says, teasing Ife.
¡°Tch!!! You grazed me. How nice,¡± Ife replies.
¡°Rain down,¡± she says and without delay, every single blade from the array of blades, starts pouring down on the entire field with immense speed.
¡°What?!¡± Chiamaka screams.
¡°This is bad,¡± Aisha says, looking a bit annoyed as she sits up.
¡°Tier 2,¡± she adds and a big axe with a long handle emitting lightning sparks around it, appears beside her right hand, floating in a vertical position.
ID, moving with high speed and random changing of position, evades the swords pouring down. He uses the ball to break some, twirling it around him. As the blades rain down into the ground, the entire field is covered in large dust. After the blades finish piercing into the ground and the dust settles, ID is standing further away opposite Ife, not unscathed, but having few scratches on him as he pants a bit. The entire field is now littered with blades. Ife is standing, still with a pissed off face.
She flicks her right shoulder and it makes a small crack sound.
¡°Ah! Back in order,¡± she says and breathes out.
¡°Quite the show you put up there,¡± ID says.
¡°Ha ha, the show is just beginning,¡± she replies, grabs the long handle of the axe and dashes off with speed, in a zig-zag manner at ID. She soon arrives at his position and swings the axe emitting lightning, diagonally at ID.
¡°Hah!!¡± she shouts as she swings the axe. ID jumps backwards to evade the attack but the axe also discharges a lightning blast at ID to which he exhales and appears some distance behind Ife, evading the blast.
¡°Not this time,¡± Ife whispers and instantaneously appears at a blade close to ID. She tosses the axe up and uses that blade to launch a horizontal slash at ID. ID is a bit surprised.
¡°Damn!! I forgot about this technique,¡± he says as he barely manages to dodge the attack which cuts his shirt in the middle as he steps back.
Ife is persistent and rushes towards leaving him no chance. She appears at a blade behind him while spinning in the air as she grabs the blade to attack ID. ID is about to move forward to evade the attack but notices the lightning axe heading for him and so he moves to his right. Before he can make another move, a blade close by, sprouts from the ground and slightly cuts his hand as he uses to block while stepping back a bit. Ife grabs the lightning axe and swings it against him, sending a lightning blast.
¡°You¡¯re open,¡± she says as she does this.
ID¡¯s eyes pop a bit as he sees the blast heading for him.
¡°Damn it,¡± he murmurs as the blast connects and explodes, sending him flying some distance and rolling on the ground.
¡°Hmph!!!¡± Tade scoffs.
¡°Interesting, he he,¡± Ese giggles.
¡°Oh no!!! No no no,¡± Chiamaka whispers, panicking.
¡°She¡¯s truly troublesome to deal with if you don¡¯t have explosive attacks, plus there¡¯s that her annoying technique of being able to instantly appear wherever her blade is,¡± Ifunanya says to herself with her face still looking calm and unfazed.
¡°Are you sure ID can handle this, Aisha?¡± Tobi asks, looking concerned.
¡°Calm down, don¡¯t act like you don¡¯t know ID. This is where the fun begins,¡± Aisha replies, grinning.
ID lurches to get up and dusts himself.
¡°This is where they usually say shi¡¯ just got real. He he,¡± he says, chuckles and wipes off the blood spewing from his mouth.
He tightens his fist, with the ball in one of them and a powerful yellow aura exudes from him with generating immense pressure that is felt throughout the entire location.
¡°What power,¡± Tade comments.
¡°I can barely breathe,¡± Chiamaka whispers to herself.
¡°Try and hang on, it¡¯ll calm down soon,¡± Ifunanya encourages Chiamaka.
¡°Activate: First mode: Enhanced fists,¡± he says and his gold colored eyes start glowing. Suddenly, huge ethereal fists appear above ID¡¯s shoulders, left and right, respectively. The fists each have an arm bracer and are outlined with yellow radiance. They are connected behind ID at his shoulders through huge ethereal chains also giving off yellow radiance. He then takes a stance like a pro boxer.
¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Chiamaka asks, surprised and astonished.
¡°Yeah. This is your first time seeing it. Some people can awaken more than one advanced talent just the way in the ordinary world, some people are good at singing and playing instruments or you see someone naturally gifted in mathematics but yet also a genius in basketball. It happens also like that with advanced talents and ID is one of the unique ones capable of using two unique advanced talents. The first being the highly rare one, Impact and the second which you¡¯re seeing is called Creative Imagination,¡± Ifunanya explains.
¡°Amazing isn¡¯t it?¡± Aisha adds.
¡°Well, let¡¯s see how this turns out, now. Shall we?¡± Tobi says within himself, smiling.
¡°How amusing,¡± Ife comments.
¡°Good to see your creative imagination, what was it called again? Ah! The divine guardian, is still active. Nevertheless, that won¡¯t change anything,¡± Ife says as a spear, shrouded in fire instantly appears, floating next to her left hand.
ID sighs, while in his boxing stance, takes a deep breath and slowly exhales. With immense speed, he moves for Ife, creating a powerful wave with his speed which blows away every blade in his path and in seconds, covers the distance between himself and Ife. He reaches to grab Ife by the neck. Ife is a bit surprised but vanishes instantly, appearing behind ID at a distance far from his reach. She takes hold of the fiery spear and projects it against him with full strength, letting out a grunt. ID, using his ethereal fists, catches the spear, spins and sends it back to Ife. Ife quickly moves to a sword close to ID and swings it horizontally at him to cut but ID bends, dodging the attack. He throws an uppercut to which Ife evades by stepping back but he follows up with a straight jab with his right fist. Ife, using the lightning axe, tries to sever his arm but has to resort to blocking with it when she sees the gigantic ethereal fist heading for her. The fist lands a punch, sending her flying some distance, though she lands on her feet, screeching back a bit. She immediately swipes the axe horizontally, creating a lightning blast and sending it against ID; at the same time, sending some blades scattered around against him also. ID uses one of his ethereal fists to shield himself from the lightning blast and using the other fist, he gives a backhand slap against the incoming blades, dispersing them.
¡°I think I¡¯ve had enough of this,¡± ID says.
¡°Impact: Red Canon!!!¡± he yells, using his normal fist to hit the ground, and the ethereal fist doing same in that direction, simultaneously.
BOOM!!!
In an instance, the entire field cracks up, releasing a powerful shockwave which displaces all the blades stuck in the ground and changes the entire landscape as a large crater is formed. The buildings shake violently, like a powerful earthquake occurred luckily they did not collapse.
¡°What¡¯s that? He changed the entire field area with just one punch,¡± Tade says, smiling.
¡°Hmph!!! Aren¡¯t you worried about Ife? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re excited because you¡¯ve seen someone you can possibly trade blows with?¡± Dominic questions.
¡°Of course. If he survives this, that is,¡± Tade replies.
After the dust created from the attack settles, Ife is standing covering her mouth with one hand and is panting while ID dramatically stands up like a hero does.
¡°Now now, enough of that your sword teleportation stuff,¡± ID says, cracking his knuckles.
¡°You!! Bastard!!!¡± Ife calmly yells and coughs. She takes a deep breath and gathers herself together once more.
¡°Fine then. Full power it is,¡± she says.
¡°I am a swordsmith, steel is my bone, fire, my blood, the blade is my body, the talent is my soul, and the force is my spirit. With this forging power, I call you forth, open up,¡± she chants.
¡°The Swordsmith¡¯s workshop,¡± she says, dashing for ID at full speed.
ID swiftly moves to counter her by throwing a punch with one of the ethereal fists, stretching its distance coverage with the chains attached to it. Ife escapes the attack by moving in a zig-zag manner and gets close to ID. ID uses the other fist to throw another mighty punch but¡
¡°Activate!!!¡± Ife says, before the punch can connect and immediately, a bangle on her left hand shatters and floats in the air creating a small circle filled with a very bright light. Simultaneously, a transparent globe appears, enclosing both her and ID. The light from the small circle fills the entire globe; it shrinks and disappears without a trace.
¡°I haven¡¯t seen that before!¡± Aisha exclaims, getting up from her chair, looking serious.
¡°Hey!!! What did she do?!¡± Tobi shouts, talking to Ife¡¯s team on the opposite.
¡°Beats me,¡± Tade replies with a shrug.
Before he can complete his sentence, Ifunanya immediately appears at his front, glaring at him with her glowing yellow eyes.
¡°What?! When did she?¡± Dominic is surprised, turning to look at her.
¡°Answer now before I decide what to do,¡± she warns.
¡°I can still feel their advanced talent force a bit, which means they¡¯re still alive somewhere, but I can¡¯t seem to find them anywhere at all,¡± Tobi says within himself.
At the location of Ife and ID¡
¡°How do you like it? Surprised? This should be your first time seeing this right? Of course I recently developed this. Hardly does anyone know of this technique,¡± Ife says spreading her arms as she stands in front of a wide workshop building, facing ID who is some distance away.
¡°What is this?¡± ID inquires, looking around the vast empty land filled with nothing but broken swords and metal scraps littered around.
¡°Welcome to my reality marble, my very own pocket universe which stretches as far as my focus and talent force can go. Welcome to my Workshop,¡± Ife says, with a grin, spreading her arms wide open.
Chapter 8
Inside Ife¡¯s pocket universe, ID stands surprised, as he stares at Ife.
¡°Well the place is still in development but it¡¯s a good spot for fighting. Obviously, I will be the victor here,¡± Ife says as a huge door on the long building behind her opens up.
¡°That said, however this technique zaps an ample amount of energy. That means I have very little time to spend in this space. If I don¡¯t end this quickly, I¡¯ll be at a loss,¡± she says to herself.
¡°Quite impressive Ife, as expected of the likes of you. However, I can take a good guess that this technique requires quite a good deal of energy and so cannot be sustained for a long period of time. In summary, you have a very short limited time to finish me off, isn¡¯t that right?¡± ID speaks, giving off a little smile.
¡°Tch!!! He guessed right,¡± Ife hisses, thinking within herself.
¡°Whatever, it doesn¡¯t matter, because I will win this,¡± she says aloud to ID.
¡°Another reason for coming here is because, it¡¯s way easier to summon my tier three weapons here,¡± she adds.
¡°Though still incomplete, come, Ogun ti ina (Yoruba ¨C Sword of flame essence),¡± she says and out of the building behind her, comes, spinning out, a huge sword of about six feet in length and fifteen inches in width.
Immediately the sword gets to Ife¡¯s hand and she takes hold of the hilt, the blade of the sword instantly fragments and transmutes to flames of fire, still maintaining the shape of the blade. Ife quickly takes off, sprinting towards ID, holding the sword with her two hands.
¡°This powerful sword is still in the making, nonetheless I¡¯m sure it should do the damage. This sword is one of unique creations in that it was crafted from a peculiar fire which I came across, hidden in the state of Osun and so can only be beckoned by me by reciting those words in Yoruba,¡± she says to herself and takes a huge leap, some distance from ID.
From high up in the air, she swings her blade at ID, letting out a scream as a great ball of fire is released from the swinging of the blade against ID.
¡°It¡¯s fast,¡± ID says and succeeds in evading the attack by moving to his left at high speed. The attack creates a powerful blast as it hits the ground.
Ife swiftly appears at ID¡¯s back, intending to slash him from behind. ID realizes this and does a quick turn, using his ethereal enhanced fists to grab the blade of fire. To his surprise, the fire burns the hands which also affects his own physical hands. He quickly lets go of the blade of fire and moves back at high speed creating a good amount of distance between himself and Ife.
¡°How do see that?! Even your ethereal arms cannot escape this flames. Plus it also burns your physical form at the same time,¡± Ife gloats, looking at ID.
¡°What?! Not good,¡± ID remarks, looking at his palm.
¡°Now,¡± Ife says as she begins to levitate, holding her sword of fire in a horizontal manner and directing it at ID. At once, a circle of blistering light starts forming at the blade of the sword through the gathering of light rays from around the environment. The whole place begins to shine brightly and heat up immensely, with tremendous pressure filling the area.
¡°What now?! This heat, this is going to be really bad. I think I¡¯m way in over my head with this battle,¡± ID notes, struggling to step back slowly as he feels a slight chill down his spine.
¡°Farasin (Yoruba ¨C Disappear),¡± Ife utters, swiping her sword horizontally, unleashing a monstrous beam of light at ID. With an efficacious force, the beam moves at a mighty speed and blasts everything at ID¡¯s position, creating a very large and colossal explosion.
BOOM!!!
¡°Humph!! Still incomplete but should be enough to wipe off an entire local government in the state of Lagos instantly. Luckily the workshop building won¡¯t be affected,¡± Ife boasts and begins to slowly descend as the dust created by the attack begins to settle.
Suddenly, there is a massive outburst of power from ID¡¯s location.
¡°Beta!¡± ID calmly says and immediately the whole dust is dispersed by a mighty wind. ID appears, kneeling at the center of a big crater, shielded by gigantic ethereal wings made of golden radiance. The symbol behind ID¡¯s back appears, switches from ¦Á to ¦Â and begins to glow with blue luster. A robust and intimidating blue aura is released, breaking many of the blades scattered across. The gigantic ethereal wings spread and ID stands with the ¦Â symbol appearing on his right hand, encircled by a glistening blue ring and yellow ring outside the blue ring.
¡°Impossible!!!¡± Ife yells and shoots three balls of fire from her sword but ID fends them with one of his wings, redirecting them to the sky and they let out a big explosion.
¡°Trying to kill me, are you?¡± ID says and launches a punch with one of his enhanced fists against Ife. She blocks using her sword as a shield but the force of the punch pushes her back with the ethereal fist stretching the distance, thanks to the chains connected to ID which keeps on increasing.
¡°In that case then,¡± Ife says when the attack stops and there is a considerable amount of space between herself and ID.
¡°Ogun ti ewu nla (Yoruba ¨C Sword of great peril),¡± she says and quickly, whirling out of the long building at a very fast speed, comes a sword, same length with the sword of fire essence but with a width of about five inches. Ife grips the hilt of the sword.
¡°Ugh!!!¡± she calmly screams, catching the sword and spitting out blood, with some dripping from her nose.
¡°Tch!!! that last attack, took a lot of power from me. I¡¯m nearing my limit now, I must end this now,¡± she mutters and plunges the normal sized sword into the ground. This causes a large crack which moves rapidly at ID¡¯s location, creating large and violent eruptions like an earthquake along its path and eventually a massive one on getting to ID¡¯s side.
The attack is inches away and ID taps the tip of his right foot, twice on the ground. In a flash, he appears at Ife¡¯s front and grabs her by the neck, lifting her from the ground. Ife however, quickly throws her swords into the sky before she is grabbed. The swords join together and merge into one.
¡°I can¡¯t do much for now so I¡¯ll end it with an even more powerful attack,¡± she says.
¡°Before you do that, I¡¯ll end this first,¡± ID replies.
¡°Humph!!! Too late,¡± Ife says, grinning as the merged sword spins and points at ID from the sky.
¡°Yinb?n (Yoruba ¨C Shoot),¡± she adds and speedily, an enormous ball of fire forms at the tip of the blade, spiraling, emitting sparks of lightning, giving off a vast amount of atmospheric and bringing about great eruptions on the ground. The ball is so huge, it covers the blade and some parts of the sky.
¡°My, my, this is really bad but like I said I¡¯ll end this. I haven¡¯t fully grasped it yet but it should work. Here I go,¡± ID says, looking at the sky and back at Ife.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
¡°Zero Imapct: Abate,¡± he says, as he and Ife stare at each other with the enormous ball of fire about to hit him.
As this was happening, back at the Phasic dome in the normal world where Ifunanya and the others are¡
Ifunanya stares at Tade demanding that they tell them where Ife and ID have vanished to. Dominic was surprised at Ifunanya¡¯s speed but quickly snaps; two guns appear, one in each of his hands and he points them at Ifunaya.
¡°Get out!!!¡± he yells and shoots at Ifunanya. Ifunaya stands still and catches the bullets with her bare hands still looking at Tade.
¡°Humph!!! You shouldn¡¯t have caught it,¡± Dominic says, smiling.
¡°Activate,¡± he says and immediately, the bullets explode, sending Ifunanya flying some distance away.
Aisha, from her building, makes a big leap, heading towards Tade and the others, drawing out her sword from empty space.
¡°Activate,¡± she says, taking the leap and taking hold of her sword. Instantly, Tade, with a mighty jump, heads towards Aisha.
¡°Ten percent should be enough,¡± he says in his thoughts, while making the jump.
¡°Activate: Supernova fist,¡± he declares and with his right fist glimmering brightly with purple radiance and sparkles, he swings a strong punch at Aisha. Aisha however, blocks the attack with her sword but when contact is made with the fist and the sword, a powerful blast occurs which sends Aisha flying and crashing into the building she leaped from. The effect of the attack rips in half, the building Chiamaka is standing on causing it to collapse. Tomisin instantly shows up, takes hold of Chiamaka as she falls off the building, and appears at Tobi¡¯s front.
¡°Tried to hold back as much as I could,¡± Tade whispers as he lands on the ground, in the space between the two buildings.
Suddenly, the whole area is filled with a burning sensation as the temperature increases and there is an overwhelming amount of aura pressuring everywhere.
¡°This sensation,¡± Tade says and turns. He sees Ifunanya, some distance away, close to Tomisin and Tobi¡¯s location.
¡°Good grief, guess it¡¯s the hard way then,¡± Ifunanya says and exhales. The burning sensation and immense aura instantly ceases. She is standing on the same line as Tade but some distance from him. Her entire body surrounded by a yellow glow and also her two swords which she is holding.
While this takes place in the Phasic dome, the ordinary people in the normal world begin to suddenly feel hot.
¡°This Lagos weather sef, na wa oo!!! Everywhere is just hot,¡± some people complain.
Back at the Phasic dome, where Ifunanya and the others are¡
Ifunanya raises the sword in her left hand and swings it vertically, facing the space between the two buildings. Rapidly, a massive amount of fire, towering the height of one of the buildings, spanning the width of it and the space in between, is released, consuming and blowing up everything in its path.
As the dust clears, a gigantic figure, about three-quarter the size of the building, is seen standing in the space and holding a bottle of beer in his hand.
¡°Dan the man, at times like this, you come in handy,¡± Ese comments, standing on the shoulder of the giant figure, Dan.
¡°Hey, it¡¯s been a while I fought you know,¡± Dan says, grinning at Ifunanya. Ese immediately jumps and heads for Tobi. Tomisin, standing near Tobi, quickly brings out her guns and points them at Ese.
¡°Don¡¯t move,¡± a voice warns from behind Tomisin.
Tomisin turns to see who it is.
¡°What?! How did you?!¡± she yells, seeing Bimbo who has grabbed Chiamaka, pointing a gun to her head.
Tobi summons his big hammer with the long handle, intending to swing it at Ese but she uses her left leg to stop the swing on getting there, spins and lands a kick on Tobi, sending him flying.
¡°Humph!! A giant huh?¡± Ifunanya says and makes a powerful jump at Dan. The force created by jump is strong enough to push back everything behind Ifunanya including Tomisin and Bimbo, disrupting Bimbo¡¯s grip on Chiamaka. Seeing this, Tomisin seizes the opportunity, teleporting to Chiamaka and getting her out of Bimbo¡¯s grasp.
¡°Well let me be courteous and reply in the same percentage as your friend did,¡± Ifunanya says, reaching Dan and punches Dan¡¯s stomach with her left fist. The punch carries a great force which pushes away everything behind and around Dan. It also pushes Dan back, making him screech hard against the floor.
¡°Ugh!!¡± Dan yells as he is brought to his knees. Tade shows up from behind Dan¡¯s legs and rushes to attack Ifunanya but is stopped by a lightning bolt from the rubbles of the collapsed building. He dodges by moving backwards at high speed and without delay, Dominic jumps from behind Dan and fires shots at Ifunanya. She notices the bullets and slices them in half.
¡°Activate,¡± he says and the sliced bullets, still in motion, explode but Ifunanya is no longer there, she is now floating in the air above them.
¡°Quite the annoying ability you have there,¡± Ifunanya says.
¡°Sheesh!!! Man, you sure pack a punch,¡± Aisha says, emerging from the rubbles of the collapsed building, dusting herself.
¡°A strong kick from a big woman, heh,¡± Tobi says as he gets up and smiles, facing Ese.
The two opposing teams now stand staring at each other: Ifunanya at Dominic and Dan; Aisha at Tade; Tobi at Ese; Tomisin and Chiamaka at Bimbo.
Abruptly, a ray of light appears like a crack in the space between Ifunanya and Dan. It begins expanding until a massive beam of light forcibly breaks through as if the space shatters and once the light is out, ID and Ife materialize back to where Ifunanya and the others are, with ID still holding Ife by the neck. Everyone is taken aback by the sudden appearance.
¡°Heh, it¡¯s over,¡± ID says, letting go of Ife, as she drops to the ground, conscious but is much worn out and unable to move. Tade, Dominic, Dan, Ese and Bimbo are shocked by the outcome of the battle as this is not what they expected.
¡°What do you say? Do you concede or should we proceed?¡± ID inquires, looking down at Ife who is lying on the ground with her arms spread wide, staring back at ID.
¡°Unbelievable that I lost by this much. Well, it was my fault for using an incomplete and energy consuming technique, anyway that¡¯s my limit for now. Yes ID, this is your victory,¡± Ife answers, panting.
¡°Stand down you all,¡± she adds, signaling her teammates to stop fighting.
Chiamaka is so happy and relieved after hearing this as Tomisin teleports both of them to Ifunanya who is standing beside ID.
¡°See, I told you, he will not lose,¡± Ifunanya says, turning to Chiamaka who smiles back at her.
¡°Thank God. My heart was seriously beating fast,¡± Chiamaka replies.
ID stares at Ife for a brief moment and smiles, stretching his hand towards her to help her get up. She smiles back and takes hold of his hand as he helps her to stand.
¡°Don¡¯t forget our deal, Ife,¡± ID reminds Ife.
¡°Of course not, I am Ifeoluwa, I always keep my word,¡± Ife replies. ID hands her over to Tade who supports her in movement.
¡°Apparently not even I knew of that Ife¡¯s technique yet you still won. To think that you were this strong, you¡¯ve surprised me man,¡± Tade comments, holding Ife.
¡°Why are they smiling? They were trying to kill each other moments ago,¡± Chiamaka whispers.
¡°Well, one sure reason is they used to be real close years ago, they even had some trainings from the same teacher,¡± Ifunanya replies, folding her hands.
Chiamaka is surprised Ifunanya even heard her and also at her reply.
¡°This does not mean you¡¯re free. Others, maybe even more dangerous than I am, will surely come for you. The man that hired me is relentless and will not stop. He probably has already sought for other contractors and has sent your location to them, so be careful because I am pretty sure I¡¯m the only who¡¯ll make such a deal,¡± Ife warns.
Ife and her teammates, exit the area as the phasic dome dissipates, bringing everyone back to the normal world where everything is returned to its original state and is undamaged.
¡°Tch!!! Mood killer,¡± Aisha murmurs.
¡°My, my, what a night,¡± she says, walking towards ID.
¡°Could have been longer if Ife hadn¡¯t used that her pocket universe technique which depleted a lot of her phasic energy,¡± ID notes.
¡°Pocket what now?¡± Aisha asks.
¡°Yeah that technique where she and I vanished completely. We were translocated into a pocket universe she created,¡± ID explains.
¡°No wonder, I tried to trace you so I could teleport to you but I couldn¡¯t,¡± Tomisin states.
¡°So you were worried, eh?¡± ID says, smiling at Tomisin.
¡°Humph!!!¡± Tomisin sighs and turns her face away.
¡°I could actually detect a bit of talent force but could not pinpoint your exact location based on the tiny bit,¡± Tobi says, walking towards ID.
¡°She¡¯s already developed such technique eh?¡± Ifunanya comments.
¡°Wait, so how did you get out then?¡± Tomisin inquires.
¡°Well, I kinda nullified the technique,¡± ID replies.
¡°Basically, I reduced the impact of the technique itself and since she was already in a weak state, it was easy for me to reduce it to zero percent since she could not muster much from her focus or talent force anymore, thus bringing an end to the technique,¡± ID further explains.
¡°So your impact can also directly affect techniques either positively or negatively,¡± Chiamaka responds.
¡°Yeah, among other things,¡± ID replies.
¡°Either way, I¡¯ve expended quite the amount of energy. I need some rest,¡± he adds.
Meanwhile¡
¡°Thank you Mr. Uche for the purchase,¡± the bearded man from the gallery Uche had previously visited (chapter 4), comments.
¡°You¡¯re welcome Sir. It¡¯s a unique and rare artwork, any art enthusiast would really be interested in it,¡± Uche replies, holding a sculpted head piece with several markings.
¡°Yes, the artist Mr. Benjamin Awili did a fascinating work on this piece,¡± the man remarks, touching his beard.
¡°Let me package that for you so you can be off, it¡¯s quite late already,¡± he suggests and collects the sculpted artwork from Uche to put it in a box and pack it properly.
After the packaging and exchange of pleasantries, Uche carries the box to his car.
¡°Hehe, finally, step one is complete,¡± Uche says to himself and smirks, as he strolls to his car with the artwork in his hand.
Talents Activate: Chapter 9
Elsewhere, in the South Eastern part of the country known as Nigeria, a fierce battle rages on.
In a vast area of land filled with trees, shrubs and grasses, birds of the night humming, flapping their wings as they soar in the air. Creeping creatures crawl about while the leaves dance to the rhythm of the wind. Close to this captivating forest, is a small settlement, seemingly developed, having electricity and tarred roads yet a few houses can be seen made of mud and thatched roofs. In this little town, all movements of humans have stopped as if time itself has paused, indicating the activation of phasic dome. Back at the large forest, in an empty space deep within the forest, the reason for this is clear.
A tall dark muscular man with braids and circle goatee beards, clad in golden armor, arm guards and boots; wearing an earring and having a commanding countenance is floating in the air looking down at some people. Next to him, is a lady with long silky hair, glowing purple eyes, dressed in Ankara-made sleeveless jumpsuit, having patterns with the colors, wine red and black. She is putting on some accessories, one of which is a necklace with a glistering purple crystal as its pendant.
¡°My, my, you just won¡¯t give up, thinking you could escape from us by fleeing to this forest?¡± the muscular man, in his deep voice, says to the people below him.
¡°We won¡¯t go without a fight,¡± the two people below, reply.
¡°How courageous. It¡¯s so adorable,¡± the lady with radiant purple eyes says and begins to laugh out loud as the cool breeze blows making her hair to flow like a gentle stream.
¡°However, in the end, we are Crests and you are not. That makes you inferior,¡± she adds, grinning at them.
¡°That¡¯s right and inferior beings like you either bow or get blown away,¡± the muscular says, swaying his right hand to his right. Instantly, multiple circles filled with bright yellow light appear and from each of these circles, emerge weapons such as swords, spears, axes, all enveloped with yellow lightning and they all point at the two people below.
¡°Well I guess the tier one of my arsenal will suffice,¡± the tall dark muscular man, Balogun, says.
¡°What a joke. Even your advanced talents are inferior. You just possess what, the ability to manipulate paper? Sure as a trader that you are, I¡¯m sure it comes in handy for you. You can even create fake currency with such ability. However, among us, the chosen gods, that¡¯s just demeaning. Now, you eastern fools, I am the crest of Ogun, the god of war and iron. I come in search of a special something but before that, pledge your allegiance to me and spare yourself the folly of death. Kneel before me and swear by the name, Ogun,¡± Balogun commands, floating in the air, looking down at the people.
¡°I believe we have already made our stance clear,¡± the two reply, audaciously.
¡°Well, that¡¯s too bad. Die,¡± he responds and moves his right fingers a bit. Immediately, all the weapons spring from the multiple circles and swoop in to blast away the two people below. Suddenly, a huge bolt of lightning shoots from the sky and shields the two people from the attack, causing a loud explosion to occur when the weapons hit it.
BOOM!!!
¡°Sorry but this is the East and I believe, if by any chance they were to make any such swearing, they would rather go with Amadioha,¡± a voice says, as the lightning fades out and a man is seen standing in front of the two people with his arms folded.
¡°Ha ha, what a pleasure this is. Long time, Charles Amadi, crest of Amadioha, the Igbo deity of thunder and lightning,¡± Balogun says, with a smirk, folding his arms.
¡°Wouldn¡¯t say I¡¯m pleased to meet you,¡± Charles replies, looking at Balogun.
Charles is tall, fair, muscular and handsome. He is carrying an afro hairstyle, has a bit of moustache and beard at his chin. He is dressed in a white African native short sleeved shirt, a pair of white trousers and black shoes. He has some wristbands around his right wrist.
Bisoye, the purple eyed lady, descends back to ground and smiles at Charles saying, ¡°Oh my!! What a hottie. It¡¯s been a while, Ace.¡±
¡°Nice nice, you still remember my nickname too. You still look as hot as ever too, Bisoye,¡± Charles replies.
¡°Thank you!! However,¡± Bisoye continues.
¡°You know you can¡¯t take on both of us and expect to survive, right?¡± she adds, glaring into Charles¡¯ eyes.
¡°Huh? Who said I¡¯m alone?¡± Charles responds.
Without delay, in front of Bisoye, a petite lady pops out from the ground, reaching to grab Bisoye¡¯s neck.
¡°Got you, you hag!!!¡± the lady screams as she moves to take hold of Bisoye¡¯s neck. Bisoye is surprised by this sudden attack but quickly snaps back and dodges the lady when she is an inch away.
¡°Well of course, if Charles is here, it makes sense you¡¯d be here too or one of your other group friends. Right, Ada, crest of Ala?¡± Balogun says, descending to the ground, staring at the petite lady.
¡°Humph!!! You forgot the title ¡®Queen¡¯, besides who gave you the right to call my name, Balogun, you bastard traitor,¡± Ada replies, looking fiercely at Balogun.
Ada is petite, beautiful and fair ebony skinned. She has claret red hair, claret eyes and a nice physique. She is clothed in a long sleeve knee length dress, having a slit from the waist down on both sides, a pair of black leggings and a pair of brown medium heel ankle boots. The dress is red in color with darker shades of red flowery designs.
¡°Good to see you¡¯re in good shape, Bisoye. You¡¯re not the crest of Oya for nothing,¡± she says, turning to Bisoye.
¡°Humph!! Complimenting me now, are you? Seems you¡¯ve changed over the course of the years save for your height,¡± Bisoye responds.
That last part of the sentence talking about height gets Ada angry.
¡°You hag!!! I was only happy you¡¯re in good shape so that I can rip you apart without any regret,¡± Ada proclaims.
¡°Enough of this chit chat,¡± Bisoye says as a whip made solely of rapidly rotating visible air, forms at her palm.
¡°Ij¨® (Yoruba word meaning dance), twirling typhoon,¡± she adds, swings the whip around her and strikes it on the ground. Immediately, a great wind of monstrous atmospheric pressure, gathers in front of her, creating a large column of rapidly rotating violent air, like a tornado, which begins moving towards Ada, viciously.
As Ada sees the mighty tornado heading for her, she smiles a little and stomps her right foot on the ground, saying, ¡°Nnukwu mgbidi!!! (Igbo ¨C great wall).¡± At once, a huge and thick barricade made of earth, emerges from the ground to block the fierce spiraling column of air.
Simultaneously, Balogun launches an attack against Charles.
¡°For you, I shall start with the second tier. ¨¬m? (Yoruba ¨C open) Gates of Calamity: War god¡¯s arsenal,¡± Balogun says to Charles. Suddenly, glowing circles filled with light appear in vast numbers, like floodlights, behind Balogun and protruding out of this circles, are dangerous artilleries and warheads having yellow sparks around them.
¡°Shoot!!!¡± He commands and swiftly, the warheads and artilleries head for Charles.
¡°Interesting,¡± Charles says, seeing the incoming attack.
¡°Battle mode,¡± he adds and straightway, his black afro hair transmutes to lightning, still maintaining the shape of the hair; both his eyes turn white with blue luster around them and tiny sparks of lightning emitting from them. He sets his left arm like a hunter ready to shoot from an arrow and instantly, a bow made purely of lightning, develops in the left arm. Using his right hand, he draws a string of lightning from the bow, like an Olympic archer ready to hit the target. As he draws the string, three arrows of lightning appear along the line. Once he fully pulls the string, gently but swiftly, he lets go of it and with full force, unleashes the three arrows of lightning against the multitude of ballistic missiles heading for him.
¡°Arrows of Justice!!!¡± He says, releasing the arrows.
Each of the lightning arrows suddenly burst into multiple arrows of lightning and they all strike the horde of weapons causing a massive explosion.
BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOOOMMM!!!
The battle is far from over, as Charles jumps backwards, releasing accurate shots of lightning arrows against Balogun who dodges some and counters some with his warheads as he pursues Charles around.
Meanwhile, the clash of the huge earth wall and the violent tornado generates a powerful effect, shattering the wall and dissipating the wind. Quickly, Ada dashes forward to attack Bisoye head-on who notices and with haste, spits a large amount of fire from her mouth. Immediately, Bisoye uses the whip to create an enormous whirling horizontal column of fierce wind and mixes it with the fire, creating a sort of flaming tornado, facing Ada¡¯s direction.
¡°Fire dancing in the wind: Blazing typhoon!!!¡± She says, doing this.
Ada sees this and quickly stomps her right foot on the ground, creating boulders of earth which burst high into the air. Ada uses these boulders as platforms and begins moving high into the air in order to avoid Bisoye¡¯s flaming tornado attack. However, the attack follows Ada like a guided missile, blasting away the earth boulders in its path. The flaming tornado is close to Ada and is about to hit her when Ada utters, ¡°Umu ala: Bia!!! (Igbo ¨C Children of the earth: come!!!)¡±
Suddenly a huge being made of rocks, sprouts out of the ground with immense speed, takes flight and shields the flaming tornado from touching Ada. The collision brings about an explosion as the flaming tornado blows up, breaking the rocky being into earth boulders.
¡°Crush,¡± Ada says, sending the earth boulders from the air, at full speed, against Bisoye as she herself that is Ada, levitates in the air. Bisoye rapidly uses her whip to smash the boulders as she moves around, smiling, like one enjoying a dance.
Abruptly, a gigantic staff of about forty five feet (45ft), looking like a huge pillar, drops from the sky, halting Balogun in his pursuit for Charles. The landing of the staff on the ground compels the entire area to shake heavily. At the top of this mighty staff, stands a man, tall, muscular, with full beards and a fierce looking face and beside him is a lady, petite, just like Ada. This catches the attention of everyone on the battlefield: Charles, Ada, Balogun and Bisoye.
Balogun shifts back and ascends higher in the air to have a good look at the intruder.
¡°As I thought, my my, what a problem. Now they¡¯re four,¡± he says.
The man at the top of the staff turns and looks down at Charles.
¡°I was wondering what the whole ruckus was about,¡± he says, grabs the lady beside him and makes a jump.
¡°Rewind,¡± he utters and instantly the gigantic staff shrinks to a smaller size of about six feet (6ft) as he lands close to Charles on the ground, carrying the lady in one of his arms.
¡°Hey!!! At least give a warning before you do stuff like that!!!¡± the lady yells.
Balogun angrily releases more ballistic missiles against them but a layer of pink energy materializes and shields them causing the missiles to explode without harming them.
¡°Tch!!!¡± Balogun hisses.
¡°Humph! Interesting. Good to have you here, little giant, Nelo,¡± Charles says referring to the lady that just arrived with the muscular man.
¡°And you too, Nedu. It¡¯s been a bit of a while, hasn¡¯t it?¡± Charles utters, greeting the muscular that just arrived.
¡°That¡¯s right and this is how we all get to spend our first meeting after a long time,¡± Nedu replies.
¡°Big head, you forgot to add pretty,¡± Nelo says to Charles, smiling.
Nelo is petite, fair skinned, having short full black hair and brown eyes which glow pink when her abilities are in use. She is wearing a white short-sleeve shirt, a pair of brown three-quarter trousers and a pair of black medium heel sandals, along with some accessories on her. While Nedu is tall, muscular, fair skinned, having an afro fade haircut, dark brown eyes which turn red when his abilities are in use. He is dressed in a black polo shirt, a pair of grey trousers and a pair of brown ankle boots.
After the two make their appearance, Ada, who is levitating in the air, does a back flip and dives into the ground, like one diving into a swimming pool from a high platform. She plunges into the ground as if it is water and makes her way to Charles¡¯ side while in the ground, like a fish swimming in the ocean. Balogun retreats backwards more to Bisoye¡¯s position.
¡°Four against two, I think we should call it quits for now, seeing as they¡¯re all troublesome opponents,¡± Bisoye suggests to Balogun.
All of a sudden, there is a glimmer of light high up in the sky like a shining star. This startles everyone as they all feel a vast amount of overwhelming power and they all turn their attention to the light. In the blink of an eye, the light descends to their level and a mysterious man, looking like someone in his early fifties (50s) appears.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.
¡°Been a while, little brats,¡± the man says, in his deep raspy voice.
¡°Mba mba (Igbo ¨C no, no). This is bad,¡± Charles utters.
¡°Ikeoku!!!¡± Ada calmly screams.
The man, Ikeoku, is quite muscular, fair ebony skinned, having amber eyes, circle goatee beard style, and the look of a ferocious lion. He is wearing a maroon long sleeve knee length African shirt with golden embroideries and designs, a pair of maroon trousers made of the same linen material as the shirt, a pair of black shoes, a grey scarf around his neck and a black African Igbo style fila hat having the feather of a peacock on it.
¡°Tch!!! This is bad, however, don¡¯t think we¡¯ll run away. We outnumber you this time old man and we¡¯ve even gotten stronger,¡± Charles boldly speaks.
¡°Old man?! I see you really want me to obliterate you, Charles. It¡¯s a pity that Ifunanya is not here. She¡¯s the one I¡¯m interested in after all. Nevertheless, a friend has asked that I take care of you all for a particular purpose which will benefit myself and himself in the end,¡± Ikeoku replies.
Balogun, who is some distance behind Ikeoku, alongside Bisoye, smiles and says, ¡°Right timing Sir Ikeoku. With you here now, we can be rest assured this battle is ours.¡±
¡°Well Mr. Balogun, Miss Bisoye, you¡¯ll both need to step aside and let him handle this,¡± a deep voice says as a man with a young lady beside him, appears from thin air.
¡°Humph!!! So you had to come yourself, Doctor Ezeogu,¡± Balogun sighs and he with Bisoye, levitate further away from Ikeoku.
¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m merely here to witness the spectacle,¡± Ezeogu, the man that recently appeared, responds.
¡°Seems I won the race this time, Helen,¡± Ikeoku says.
¡°Humph!!! I wasn¡¯t in the mood. Look at how you both disturbed my beauty sleep, saying I should teleport Doctor Ezeogu, yen yen yen,¡± Helen, the young lady beside Dr. Ezeogu, grumbles with a grumpy face.
Ezeogu is of male average height (5 ft 11 in), fair ebony skinned, having short afro hair and hazel eyes with goatee beard, looking like the same age group with Ikeoku but a bit younger. He is dressed in the same style as Ikeoku except the color of his attire is black with ash embroidery and he has neither scarf nor hat on but is wearing a pair of eyeglasses. He standing with both his arms at his back. Helen, also of female average height (5 ft 6 in), dark ebony skinned, having brown eyes and her hair packed like a bun at the top with a braided strand at each side of her face. She is dressed in a short orange jumpsuit with navy blue star patterns and a pair of black medium heel ankle boots, also with some accessories on her.
¡°Nelo, shield!!!¡± Charles shouts as Ikeoku moves to attack.
A layer of pink vigor, looking like flames, swiftly covers the four of them, Ada, Charles, Nelo and Nedu, like a dome and Ikeoku¡¯s fist strikes the shield. The force of the punch causes the shield to vibrate immensely and this also affects Nelo, as her body vibrates along with the shield.
¡°Ugh!!!¡± she screams, trying to contain the pain.
¡°Hold on,¡± Charles says and readies his bow with a powerful lightning arrow, set for release.
¡°Now!!!¡± Charles instructs for Nelo to remove the shield but the instance the shield is removed, before Charles can take his shot, Ikeoku instantly appears in his front and throws a mighty blow which blasts Charles some distance away, smashing into some trees.
¡°Solar wave: Scorching Fist,¡± Ikeoku says, as he does this.
The rest are surprised, Ada tries to quickly attack but in an instance, Ikeoku is at her side and grabs her by the neck, slamming her into the ground with a great force such that the entire ground quivers mightily. Nedu rushes to fight, makes a huge leap from his position, heading for Ikeoku and when he is some distance away, swings his staff and says, ¡°Fast forward.¡±
At the once, the staff expands back to the thick and long forty five feet size as it goes for Ikeoku to land a hit on him and ram him away. However, Ikeoku uses his right hand to stop the movement of the staff.
¡°Nedu, crest of Ikenga, alusi of time, success and achievement. One can put it as the deity of time and strength. Also gifted with this divine staff whose material is not metallic in nature yet stronger than most metals if not all. Sadly, even with your staff and super strength, you cannot possibly think this will be enough. You do know the human skin when in contact with the sun, synthesizes vitamin D which is good for stronger bones and strength if I may say. I am an embodiment of the sun, the core of the sun, the eye of the sun, the indisputable crest of Anyanwu. Say, do you know how powerful the sun is?¡± Ikeoku boasts. He quickly draws the staff towards him the more until Nedu is close enough to him and pummels Nedu with a heavy blow, blasting him away like Charles. Nelo is left and Ikeoku moves to deal with her but before the assault is made, Charles appears before Ikeoku and launches a punch at him, with his fist wrapped in lightning. Ikeoku blocks the attack and is pushed back by the weight of the blow. Nedu immediately appears above him, about to land a vertical kick on him. Ikeoku tries to evade but is however, unable to move as his legs have been trapped in the ground by Ada whose hands are placed on the ground. Nedu¡¯s kick makes a crushing hit, causing a large crater, shattering a ground area of about 1018.008 square feet, six feet deep. The shockwave effected, demolishes nearby trees and consequently, making the entire area tremble vigorously. Once the dust settles, shockingly, Ikeoku is standing in the same position, unaffected and without damage, holding Nedu¡¯s foot. He increases his grip on the foot, spins and tosses Nedu towards Charles¡¯ location. They all stand gazing at Ikeoku who looks back at them. He then flicks his hand a bit, trying to stretch it.
¡°Does he have super strength also?¡± Balogun inquires.
¡°Being the crest of Anyanwu, the sun deity, he can manipulate the gravitational force of the sun and make himself dense to a good extent,¡± Helen explains.
¡°That¡¯s enough stretching for today,¡± he says and directs his left palm at their location since they are all gathered around the same side though with some distance between them.
Charles sharply jumps back, looks at Nelo, then at Ada and Nedu. They all respond with a nod and he creates another big lightning arrow on his bow with this one having sparks of red lightning fused with the already blue lightning. Nedu tightens his right fist and black aura shrouded in green radiance, starts flowing out of it while Ada materializes a red whip from her right hand.
¡°This is bad,¡± Helen says and taps Ezeogu on the shoulder, vanishing and appearing high up in the sky.
¡°Why the sudden movement?¡± Ezeogu inquires.
¡°What Ikeoku is about to release is powerful enough to affect the entire country,¡± Helen responds.
¡°Amazing. Such power,¡± Ezeogu says, looking with full concentration.
¡°It¡¯s a pity that this will be ending sooner than I expected,¡± Ikeoku says.
Out of the blue, a dark violet vortex spiraling in the air makes an appearance and out of it comes a lady, beautiful with long silky hair, fair skinned and a thick physique with an hourglass figure, having lustrous purple eyes. She is dressed in a sleeveless long black gown, with elbow length gloves, a pair of black high heel boots and some jewelries on herself, having a pink furry scarf around her neck.
¡°Just remember not to kill them Ikeoku,¡± the lady, with a strong voice, says.
¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me,¡± Ada says.
¡°It¡¯s not a joke and no, you¡¯re not imagining things. That is an Unknown and a powerful one at that, based on the phasic energy I¡¯m sensing from her,¡± Nedu responds.
¡°The unholy union of an advanced talent and dark arts practitioner, Ezeogu, an amplified crest, Ikeoku and an Unknown along with two other crests, Balogun and Bisoye. Now this is real bad news. Crap!!!¡± Charles utters.
¡°Humph!! You finally show yourself, Shade. No need to worry, this will just put them to sleep,¡± Ikeoku replies and the lady, Shade, replies.
¡°Violent Sun,¡± he adds. Instantly, particles of light gather, swirling at his palm and a blistering ball of fire radiating brilliantly is produced and quickly discharged against Ada, Charles, Nedu and Nelo.
Instantaneously, Ada taps her right foot on the ground which triggers the ground beneath Nelo to quickly absorb her and also Nedu¡¯s staff which has shrunk back to a length of about six (6) feet. Inside the ground, the staff moves with high speed, reaching Nelo and serves as a surf board inside the ground through which Nelo makes an escape.
BOOOOOMMMM!!!
Instantly, Ikeoku¡¯s attack creates a mighty explosion so vast, it spans over 923,768 square kilometer, which is the size of the country, Nigeria. Though this battle occurs in the phasic dome, the effect of Ikeoku¡¯s technique is so immense, it creates a strong heat wave in the ordinary human realm such that some bushes catch fire and some petrol tankers explode on their own.
Balogun spots Nelo escaping and attempts to stop her but he is brought to halt by Ezeogu.
¡°No need to go after her, Balogun,¡± Ezeogu says.
¡°And who made you the boss over me?¡± Balogun replies.
¡°It¡¯s alright Balogun, she has her role to play in passing the message,¡± Ikeoku says while the dust of the explosion clears up.
¡°Humph!! Suit yourselves,¡± he says and decides not to go after Nelo again.
Before the dust settles, Ikeoku transmutes into a ray of light and beams away. He suddenly appears at a far distance, about forty six (46) kilometers from the battle area and lands a powerful punch into the ground, breaking it apart, cracking it to a depth of about fifteen (15) feet. He stands inside the hole and surprisingly, another hole is formed in the ground depth in front of him as Nelo standing on top of Nedu¡¯s staff, comes riding out. Ikeoku immediately intercepts her and uses his left foot to stamp the front tip of the staff into the ground. The staff is actually very heavy so the stomp creates a strong impact and like a seesaw losing balance, Nelo is thrown forward towards Ikeoku. He reaches to take hold of her by the neck. Her now brown eyes glow pink and somehow she foresees it and dodges his hand by bending down and rolls behind him. Without hesitation, she rapidly makes a jump out of the hole and back to the ground surface.
¡°Interesting. Your precognitive ability is splendid as always, crest of Agwu Nsi, alusi of divination,¡± Ikeoku compliments while stepping on the inclined staff having one of its tips stuck into the ground.
¡°Shall we see then, your precognition and my light speed, which is faster?¡± Ikeoku taunts, turning to Nelo and instantly appearing in her front.
Nelo, unfazed responds, ¡°Humph!!! What do you want? What is your aim? If you want to kill us, just do it already.¡±
¡°Hahaha. I am in no way interested in you lot for the time being. My highest priority and interest is Ifunanya and of course since I¡¯m helping out my friend, Ezeogu, then a certain girl by the name Chiamaka, of which I heard is friends with Ifunanya, is also a person of interest. The rest of you are just collateral and insurance. Your role is that of the messenger that¡¯s why I¡¯m letting you off. Pass this message to Ifunanya; tell her to bring the girl that is Chiamaka. When she has made up her mind, she should meet with an acquaintance of mine whom she¡¯s a bit familiar with, Oge. She will bring both of them to us,¡± Ikeoku replies with a stern look on his face.
¡°What?!! Do you actually think----,¡± before Nelo completes her sentence, Ikeoku interrupts.
¡°Better hurry up, the lives of your friends are at stake. It¡¯s three lives for the price of one, Ifunanya, on my part at least. Think carefully about what decision to make. Should three die because of one? You¡¯re a smart first class young graduate, having graduated how many years ago, as the best in your department at the age of eighteen (18), I¡¯m sure you can figure it out,¡± he says and shrugs.
¡°What does this Ezeogu want with this Chiamaka?¡± Nelo questions.
¡°Hmmm? I guess a father just wants to meet his daughter,¡± Ikeoku answers.
¡°Why don¡¯t you just go yourself and get Ifunanya and her?¡± Nelo inquires.
¡°Well, there¡¯s that option but¡ where¡¯s the fun in that? Don¡¯t you just love the drama?¡± Ikeoku replies, proceeds back into the hole and easily picks up the staff.
¡°Huh?! He easily picked up that enormously heavy staff of Nedu. This man is truly a monster,¡± Nelo says within herself, staring at him.
¡°Now now, I¡¯ll be taking this. I¡¯m sure you can find your way. Bye now,¡± he says and converts into a ray of light, heading back to his previous spot, the battle area.
Back at the battle area, the now devastated forest.
The dust from the previous attack has settled, Charles is standing in front of Ada though he is battered and seemingly unconscious, having a gesture of one who is shielding something. Ada is lying down behind him, quite beat up and knocked out while Nedu is some distance away horizontally, cataleptic, injured and on his knees.
Suddenly, Charles¡¯ body begins emanating tremendous amount of lightning as coruscation start ensuing in the clouds above and multiple roars of thunder resound throughout the entire area. Ikeoku swiftly arrives and notices this occurrence.
¡°Astonishing, you still some strength left in you, I see,¡± he says, looking at Charles who is regaining consciousness and struggling to stand straight.
¡°Your love for Ada is quite heartwarming seeing as you made sure to protect you, however the possibility of this leading to your death one day should not be overlooked, as you¡¯re always ready to jump into danger forgetting you have yourself to worry about. Nevertheless, your strength is commendable,¡± he adds.
¡°You restrained your technique too much. You could have done much more damage had you not done so,¡± Helen says from her position, levitating in the air, speaking to Ikeoku.
¡°Maybe however, he also was able to create a lightning shield during the attack though it already had an effect before the shield was able to completely come up,¡± Ikeoku replies.
¡°Still¡the shield¡was¡was¡not¡.enough,¡± Charles says, swiping blood away from his mouth and turning his glare to Ikeoku. He then lets out a loud shout, ¡°Ahhhhhhh!!!¡±
After this, he deeply exhales and looks at Ikeoku one more time. Swiftly, he goes for Ikeoku and starts throwing powerful and fast punches at Ikeoku rapidly.
¡°Haha, the exuberance of the youth, interesting. Come!!! Little brat,¡± Ikeoku laughs while dodging and blocking the lightning infused attacks from Charles.
Meanwhile, black phasic energy having green radiance begin to develop from Nedu and all his wounds start repairing themselves, as if time is being reversed.
¡°Huh? Is that time regeneration? Quite astounding,¡± Shade, the Unknown present in the battlefield remarks.
¡°Ezeogu, use your binding ability to stop him and the sleeping queen over there,¡± she says to Ezeogu, referring to Nedu and Ada respectively.
¡°Alright then. Activate: Restraining order!!!¡± Ezeogu replies and directs his palms at Ada and Nedu.
Ada, still lying on the ground, has her eyes faintly opened. She can barely see what is going on.
¡°No¡Char...les. Don¡¯t¡use¡don¡¯t use that technique¡please,¡± she indistinctly mutters.
Unexpectedly, chains spring up out of the ground beneath Ada and Nedu, binding them on different parts of their body. The chains make them both unable to move and greatly reduces the speed of the regeneration going on with Nedu.
¡°Now, fall into slumber,¡± Shade says and blows into the air. A dark mist emerges and sips into the nostrils of Ada and Nedu putting them to sleep, as Nedu falls face flat to the ground.
In the meantime, Ikeoku and Charles are battling it out as they now both appear high up in the sky. Ikeoku swiftly dashes above Charles and launches a might scorching punch. With an immense and booming outburst of blistering shockwave, it sends Charles rapidly crashing into the ground creating a mighty crater of about twenty (20) feet deep and a very large diameter. The attack causes Charles¡¯ body to bounce after the crash and in a flash, Ikeoku lands at the spot and strikes another heavy blow on Charles, pounding him into the ground again.
¡°Argh!!!¡± Charles screams as Ikeoku jumps backwards leaving some space between him and Charles.
¡°I must say, you¡¯re quite the talented one, Charles. Your potential looks very vast and promising. Why don¡¯t you join me?¡± Ikeoku suggests.
Charles staggers to stand, spews out some blood and responds, shouting, ¡°And why on earth would I do such?!¡±
¡°I guess I have no choice but to use that,¡± he thinks to himself.
¡°Handsome and persistent, totally my type,¡± Shade says and instantly a projection of her appears in front of Charles.
The projection looks Charles in the eyes and immediately he is paralyzed.
¡°What?!¡± Charles says within himself.
The projection then proceeds to kiss him and as their lips intersect, all Charles¡¯ powers begin to fizzle off. His lightning hair fades away, returning his hair to the normal black afro hair. His eyes turn back to the normal brown eyes and the lightning sparks around his body cease so also the sparks in the clouds and the thunders. It also renders Charles completely drained as his eyes gradually close and he is forced into a deep sleep, helplessly falling to the ground.
¡°Sleep, young warrior,¡± Shade says as this happens while Ikeoku stares at her.
¡°What? If this had gone on, you may have just ended up killing him,¡± she proclaims and shrugs.
¡°May?¡± Ikeoku replies, turns and goes to pick up Nedu¡¯s staff.
¡°That¡¯s right. I sensed a strange power rising from him, who knows what the outcome may have been,¡± Shade responds.
¡°Hmmm, Shade, an Unknown with the ability of corruption, capable of using lust, anger, greed and the desires of one, to her advantage. At least that¡¯s what I know,¡± Balogun says within himself.
¡°One needs to be wary of her type. Her power level is nothing to sneeze at,¡± he adds.
¡°Alright Ezeogu, let¡¯s pack up. We have some work to do,¡± Shade instructs.
¡°As for us, we¡¯ll be taking a different path. There¡¯s something we have to search for,¡± Balogun speaks.
¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Bisoye concurs.
¡°Alright. Just remember our plans,¡± Shade replies.
A gigantic circle of light with brimming with yellow luminosity, appears above Balogun and out of it, comes a jet. The doors for the jet open, Balogun advances to enter and instantly his attire changes from the armor he was previously on to a black suit and blue tie outfit. Bisoye follows him into the jet and they make their exit from the battle area.
Meanwhile, back at Chiamaka and others, they are all resting and carrying out normal activities after the battle with Ife and her team, some several days back.
¡°Hmm¡a lot has happened. My entire life is rapidly changing. I still wish this was all a dream. Who am I kidding? That battle against Ife sure was intense but thankfully no one died. With all this, the existence of a higher power surely exists, right? That¡¯s true I never really knew what happened to Tomiwa in the end. Why am I even thinking of that when there are more things to worry about? Well, anyway, Aisha suggested we should go out later this night and chill to cool off. Not a bad idea, however the issue now is¡ how am I going to pass this paper when I haven¡¯t even had time to read?!¡± Chiamaka thinks to herself, sighing at intervals as she is sitting, having two small booklets and a pen in front of her on a desk, in a classroom where a test is about to be conducted.
Talents Activate: Chapter 9.5
Somewhere in the South Eastern region, one of the six regions of a federation known as Nigeria, in a small building with a cool atmosphere, Nnanna keeps pacing around the door of the labor room. He is quite anxious to see his new born baby, a girl just as he had wished.
"Waaa!!!" He hears the cry of the baby.
"Finally!!!" He says to himself. Quickly, he rushes into the room without any permission, not that he needed any, being the chief of one of the great communities of the eastern region.
"Congratulations Sir," the doctor in charge says as she turns towards the door knowing that it is Nnanna that just entered.
"It''s a baby girl as predicted," she adds.
"Truly she bears the crest, I can see it just by looking at her," Ozioma, the mother of the baby and the wife of Nnanna, says as she holds the baby.
"Indeed, she will be a strong force to be reckoned with. I guess Uzodinma''s predictions are accurate as expected," Nnanna says, poking the cheeks of his new baby girl.
While all the celebrations and rejoicing are going on, the air suddenly becomes quite warm, too warm for the usual.
Feeling the change in atmosphere, Nnanna''s countenance changes.
"Ugo!!! Onyema!!! Adindu!!! Guard the door and prepare for any battle!!!" He shouts.
Immediately, three muscular men in ash uniforms and heavy black boots, swiftly appear in front of the door, on guard. They each have rings on their smallest fingers and out of this rings come swords and shields which materialized to physical form. These swords can cut into half, even from a distance, a military grade tank and the shield can defend against missiles. These are not your average warriors but those blessed with the transphasic energy (the combination of spiritual and physical energy).
The three warriors stand focused and ready for any incoming attack. Suddenly, a figure appears a distance from them and begins walking as one with authority towards them.
Before they can get a good glimpse of the face of the mysterious figure, just by feeling his Phasic aura, they quickly rush at the figure to launch a combined attack. The figure, a man, pauses, raises his left palm towards them as they approach and what seems like three small balls of fire emerge from his palm. With great force, each ball of fire moves towards the targets, expanding on the way, makes contact and explodes before the warriors can react sending the three warriors flying in different directions.
The man starts walking towards the delivery room once more.
"Chinaka, take my wife and the baby along with your team and make a run for it. I''ll hold off our uninvited guest." Nnanna says, as he walks towards the door.
"In case of anything that happens, this child''s name is Ifunanya, as you have said earlier Ozioma," he adds.
"Please come back safely," Ozioma replies. Some team members of Chinaka, the doctor, help Ozioma up and support her as they make a run for it through another door. Chinaka has the baby Ifunanya, in her hands.
"Ikeoku Arinze!!! So you''ve come for my child just as you said when Ozioma was still pregnant with her," Nnanna yells as the two men meet at the door of the delivery room.
Ikeoku, the mysterious figure earlier, chuckles and replies,
"Nnanna Obidiegwu, I already gave you a heads up that your child possesses the crest of Anyanwu just like I do and you know very well what I have done to the other crests of Anyanwu. Why do you think I have existed for over two centuries now?! It is through the power of the crests and the dark arts that I am able to increase my life force, phasic energy and vitality. Your child shall not be an exception! Hand her over quietly except you wish to do battle against me."
"You bastard!!!" Nnanna shouts in anger.
"I will kill you!!!" He adds.
Instantly, the whole building begins to quiver violently as sparks of lightning emanate from Nnanna''s body.
"You dare defy me!!! Arrogant brat!!!" Ikeoku replies and immediately, the whole surrounding is swallowed up in flames as the walls and the floor start to crack.
Nnanna, with lightning sparks on his hands, clap them together. A powerful sonic boom is generated, pushing Ikeoku some distance away and also cracking to pieces all the glass objects around that area. The sound is so loud, it can be heard several miles away from the building making some people to think that a heavy rain was about to fall.
He then stretches his right hand towards Ikeoku''s direction about to launch an attack but Ikeoku vanishes and appears at Nnanna''s front just behind Nnanna''s stretched hand. He launches a powerful punch on Nnanna which sends him flying a mile away from the building, breaking through the walls.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"Now to find the child," Ikeoku says to himself. By using a ray of light, he searches the whole building and its surrounding neighborhood swiftly. He is able to locate the escaping team and by tracing the ray of light, is able to appear instantly at their location.
"Ozioma, I am disappointed. You know very well my abilities. Did you really think you could escape? That I wouldn''t find you?" He says in his deep raspy authoritative voice.
Ozioma, Chinaka and the others are shocked and scared by his appearance. Tears almost flow out from Ozioma''s eyes but she somehow holds strong.
"You will not have my baby!! Never!!!" She replies.
"The likes of you will be destroyed by the likes of her when she comes of age," she adds.
"Hahaha!!!" Ikeoku laughs out loud.
Meanwhile, Nnanna who is in the air a mile away, locates Ikeoku. He raises his right hand and immediately conjures a long spear in the form of lightning which he launches with a powerful force at Ikeoku. The spear is so fast and moves with so much force but Ikeoku senses it. Quickly he turns and blows into the air, creating a powerful yellow beam which clashed with Nnanna''s lightning spear attack causing a powerful boom with thunderous crackling sound in mid-air. The impact creates a powerful wind like that of a mighty storm. Chinaka holds the baby Ifunanya tightly, as they manage to survive.
Nnanna is quick to arrive at the location after the subsiding of the powerful impact.
Ikeoku chuckles and says,
"Do you really wish to fight me, Obidiegwu? You know after absorbing other crests of Anyanwu that have appeared after me, I am now far more powerful than you are. If I were to get serious this fight will surely end in your demise."
"Is that so?" A voice asks, as a sword spins in the air and drops at Ikeoku''s front instantly. Ikeoku immediately moves back upon seeing this.
"Then how about facing us all," the voice adds as a huge muscular man, wearing might arm guards and boots, dressed in black jeans, an ash sleeveless top and a gold neckchain which shone brightly in the night. He has beards, lots of it and a mini afro with fierce looking eyes.
"Akadike!!!" Ikeoku says facing him.
"He''s not alone. Seems your power is getting to your head," a woman, appearing out of the darkness of the night, with quite a chubby and thick build, average height with glowing red eyes and a beautiful face, says. She is putting a traditional attire of a big blouse and a wrapper. She also has a dark purple scarf on her neck.
"Old man, you''re getting rusty," another voice adds, referring to Nnanna. It is a young man. His hair has the shape of a scattered afro in the form of lightning and his body has lightning sparks all over it. He was wearing a soft long jacket, black in color, with a blue shirt on the inside, a pair of black trousers and boots.
"Hahaha!!!'' Ikeoku laughs.
"So the crest of Ikenga, Akadike, strongest man in strength, the crest of Ala, Adaora, strong-willed and powerful, the crest of Amadioha, Chisom, the genius even among the crests and Nnanna, one of the most powerful warrior in the Eastern region want to team up against me Ikeoku Arinze, crest of Anyanwu for over two centuries," he says.
"Interesting, very interesting."
"Let''s see if I cannot defeat all of you here and now. I will take you all on and that child''s crest shall be mine!!!" He adds in a loud voice. The whole area and the surrounding goes up in flames.
"Calm your nerves down, old man," a subtle voice says. On a roof of a small building nearby is a lady dressed in blue native Ankara gown with a big black scarf tied round her waist and Ankara designed flats on her feet. She has sparkling but fierce blue eyes, a fair skin and blonde hair mixed with brown strands. She has her arms folded looking from the top at Ikeoku.
"Queen!!!" Ikeoku says, with a now very serious look on his face.
"Crest of Idemili, Queen, you and I are alike. You are over how many years now? You also absorb the powers of other crests of Idemili and use it for your life force, phasic energy and vitality. So why are you here?" He inquires.
"Ikeoku, you''re certainly right. Indeed at some point you aided me, however Nnanna is somewhat of a friend and I am here to render my assistance to him today as he once did for me," Queen replies.
"Now what will you do? Certainly going up against three crests is much even for you amped with your dark arts not to talk of going against four crests and a powerful warrior," she adds.
"Confident aren''t you? Hahahaha!!!!" He laughs.
"Remember Queen, in this world only the strong survive. I will take my chances against you all," he replies.
"I see," she says. Water begins forming from thin air around her. The other crests and Nnanna are battle ready. They all gather in a circle round Ikeoku. Ozioma, Chinaka with the baby Ifunanya and the others are now a safe distance away but not too far from the battlefield.
"Then take no offence in my actions," she adds and is about to attack when they hear a voice.
"Wait!!!" A young girl appears beside Ikeoku.
"Helen what is it?" Ikeoku asks.
"Well, let''s end the battle for now. You can still collect the powers from the child even when she has grown up. Though it may result in a big battle like the others so far still it will be more effective as the powers would have matured and evolved well. So why not let the powers grow also with the child and battle it with her instead. Hmmm??" Helen replies, with a grin on her face.
"I see. I have thought about that however...never mind. I will go with what you have said Helen," Ikeoku says.
"Let''s go," He adds.
"Wait you think we''ll let you go easily!!!" Akadike shouts and instantly moves to attack Ikeoku.
He swings his big sword to cut Ikeoku but Ikeoku and Helen vanish immediately before the attack can make a hit.
"Hooo? Helen''s teleportation is fast as usual," Chisom comments.
"Well the battle is over, time to chill. All these racking and someone won''t have time to chill," he adds with a yawn.
"Now some good old palm wine won''t be bad for the night," Akadike says.
"Argh!! Men!!!" Adaora murmurs, lightly slamming her palm on her face.
"Can''t you even console the man?" she adds.
"It''s OK," Nnanna replies with a smile.
"Thank you all for coming," he adds.
"Well well. My part is finished," Queen speaks, from the roof top.
"We''re even now Nnanna. I owe you nothing. Do not forget my kindness today," she says, with a giggle.
"See you all when I see you," she adds and leaves.
"The journey ahead is long and tough. Be prepared Ifunanya," Nnanna says to himself.
After all the happenings, what surprises Chinaka, is that the baby, Ifunanya, remained calm and quiet during all the ruckus.
However, aside from the partakers of the battle and the doctors, none knew of the event that occurred as to ordinary people, it was like a heavy wind blowing.
Chapter 10
Previously on Talents Activate¡
Chiamaka, a lady who did not believe in the supernatural, has been opened into a new reality, a world of beings able to manipulate blades, wield flames, invade minds, and affect different forces. A mysterious man, Ezeogu, having the probability of being her father wants to take her for reasons best known to him but her friends resist. After a battle to save her life, ID comes out victorious, saving Chiamaka from the swordsmith, Ife. Meanwhile, a raging occurred in the Eastern region, Ikeoku and Ezeogu make their move, passing a message for Nelo to deliver.
Now¡
¡°Time Up!!!¡± the test administrator shouts.
With a deep sigh, Chiamaka packs all her papers together, sluggishly stands up and walks up front, submitting her test papers to the examiner. She proceeds to take her bag and exits the room.
¡°Wow, first time I¡¯m seeing you finish so late and having this bothersome look on your face,¡± Didi, a female friend, says. Didi has all-back braid hairstyle which is packed at the back like a bun, dark brown eyes, and smooth brown skin, having quite a slim physique. She is dressed in a casual grey V-neck bodycon dress having elbow length of sleeves and an overall knee length. Also a pair of medium heel black ankle boots having some neck accessories on her too.
¡°Huh? Guess the test was that tough then,¡± Chiamaka responds.
¡°Yeah. That¡¯s what you¡¯ll say then the results are out and boom!!! You aced it,¡± Didi replies.
Chiamaka laughs and shakes her head.
¡°I presume you¡¯re off to some fun place seeing as you¡¯re dressed ready for it,¡± Chiamaka states.
¡°Haha. Can¡¯t a girl just dress to look good again? Anyway, yeah I have nothing left for the day so I¡¯m off for some fun. I¡¯m heading out with Osi and some others, care to join?¡± Didi replies with an offer, throwing her hands up while she expressed about having fun.
¡°Tempting,¡± Chiamaka says but spots Tobi waiting for her at a corner.
¡°However, I¡¯ll have to decline today. Have some stuff to take care of,¡± she adds.
Didi follows Chiamaka¡¯s eyes and catches a glimpse of Tobi.
¡°Oh I see. Seems like a new catch, interesting. I can see why you¡¯re busy. He¡¯s cute though,¡± Didi says with a smile, raising her brows at Chiamaka in excitement.
Chiamaka laughs and says, ¡°It¡¯s not what you think babe. Go have fun, catch you later. My regards to Osi and the rest.¡±
Didi laughs back and responds, ¡°It¡¯s never what we think until it is. Thought you¡¯d end up with ID. I knew Tomiwa wasn¡¯t the one for you. He was sweet and all but after hearing of his sudden disappearance, just goes to show you how men are. Anyways tell ID, I said hi and that he¡¯s owing me.¡±
¡°Sudden disappearance?¡± Chiamaka thinks to herself.
¡°Oh yeah that¡¯s what has been circulating around in the ordinary world. This also supernatural stuff is still a bit confusing,¡± she says within herself.
¡°Sure thing. I¡¯ll tell him,¡± Chiamaka replies. Didi exits the building and Chiamaka walks to meet up with Tobi.
¡°Following me about now, are you?¡± Chiamaka says, getting to Tobi.
¡°Now that would make me a stalker,¡± Tobi replies. Both of them smile at each other.
¡°So what¡¯s up?¡± Chiamaka asks as they begin walking out of the building where the tests were held.
¡°Nothing much. Had a bit of work to clear up,¡± Tobi answers.
¡°Work? Yeah forgot you¡¯re already done with school. What exactly do you do?¡± Chiamaka inquires.
¡°Haha. Yeah I am. You¡¯re almost done anyway so we¡¯re not that far apart. I work as a developer or what you call a programmer. I develop apps on different OS platforms and sell them. I also develop sites and sometimes work as a consultant or troubleshooter for some clients,¡± he replies.
¡°Wow. That¡¯s awesome. You should really meet my mom. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll love to chat with you. She might even hire you on the spot,¡± Chiamaka responds. Tobi laughs.
¡°And you? How was your day?¡± Tobi asks.
¡°Well had a test, wasn¡¯t really prepared for it so I gave it the little I could. Definitely not my best at all. I feel so bad like I flunked it already,¡± Chiamaka answers.
¡°ID told me you¡¯re an efiko (Slang for intelligent person) and Ifunanya confirmed it. I¡¯m sure your average still surpasses most of your peers¡¯ best,¡± Tobi states.
¡°Does that matter? Do I lower my standards all because others have a lower standard? I was never in competition with anybody except myself. So when I don¡¯t give my best, I feel really bad about it knowing I could have done better,¡± Chiamaka replies.
¡°Wow that¡¯s¡actually a good answer. You¡¯re really smart you know. Smart and beautiful, that¡¯s interesting,¡± he says, looking surprised at Chiamaka.
¡°Careful now, so you don¡¯t fall in love with me,¡± she responds and laughs.
¡°Don¡¯t push your luck,¡± he replies, smiling back.
¡°Anyway, being smart alone is just for the natural. From what I¡¯ve seen in the supernatural, being smart is not enough. Power is needed,¡± Chiamaka states.
¡°Well, take it slow, is all I can say. A desperate drive for power is dangerous and being smart is power in its own way,¡± Tobi responds.
¡°Easy for you to say. You grew up having a concrete evidence of this phasic realm, phasic energy, advanced talents and all. It¡¯s so difficult finding out now, you know. Do you know how difficult it is to teach a grown man dy/dx without proper foundation? It¡¯s like me talking to you about quantum physics when you¡¯ve never delved into that field,¡± she replies.
¡°I totally understand. Your case is a rare case to be sincere however, don¡¯t think we¡¯ve had it easy. You got to live life a little, knowing what it means to be ordinary, most of us never had a ¡®normal¡¯ childhood. Some grew up knowing how to fight, kill and conquer. Some were born into danger and their very lives have been in that danger, just because they have certain supernatural properties. You at least know what a bit of peace is, some don¡¯t. So just because we¡¯ve had these powers since doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯ve been living in ¡®heaven¡¯,¡± Tobi explains.
There is a moment of silence between the two as they keep strolling down the departmental road.
¡°Awkward,¡± Tobi whispers, with his hands in his pocket.
¡°Huh? Sorry. I was just thinking. I guess I couldn¡¯t see it that way concerning you guys. So tell me about you guys, your lives, abilities, backgrounds and the rest. Why did ID and Ifunanya even choose to keep an eye on me even when I was ordinary and knew nothing of the phasic world? Why do they do it for others as well, protecting the ordinary humans and at the end, there is no recognition or gratitude given?¡± Chiamaka responds.
¡°Well about knowing us, I can mostly speak for myself. As for the protecting part, I guess it¡¯s just something we decided on our own. We have the power, ordinary humans don¡¯t, so why not? Different individuals come together and create agencies. Someone has to protect the weak right? ¡± he answers as they enter into one of the school¡¯s cafeteria and take a seat at a corner.
¡°As for recognition, the people would probably think it¡¯s magic or witchcraft and start conducting deliverance services everywhere,¡± he adds and laughs.
Chiamaka laughs back and says, ¡°But isn¡¯t it magic after all?¡±
¡°A good question. No it isn¡¯t. It¡¯s more of a divine gift. The same way we classify some supernatural things as miracles, there is a difference. Sure there¡¯s magic but it¡¯s totally different from phasic powers. The same way, sorcery and the dark arts are totally different from what we display. That does not mean that there aren¡¯t Advanced Talents who practice these dark arts, there are,¡± he answers.
¡°I see now. That¡¯s a good explanation. I was starting to think of how I¡¯ll tell my mother I have witchcraft powers now,¡± Chiamaka says and laughs.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
¡°So advanced talents all stay hidden and fight only in the phasic dome?¡± she asks.
¡°Apparently not. There are some advanced talents who use their abilities in everyday life. It¡¯s their gift, as long as it¡¯s not harmful or disruptive, the agency that has been established to protect the ordinary humans will not disturb. For example, I once had a friend, don¡¯t know where he is now, but he had the talent of a special drum. Whenever, he went for a wedding ceremony, he would say ¡®talent: activate¡¯ and start using his advance talent. The people would just laugh thinking it was part of his act and when he played, his abilities created a euphoric feeling to all the hearers such that they couldn¡¯t resist to meet his demands. More like an illusion thing but he never demanded anything out of the ordinary and so, the agency that usually deals with villainous advanced talents would just let him go. In the same way, some can use their advanced talents to their advantage, someone who has the ability of moving at high speeds, moving so fast in an exam hall and spying for all the answers, stuff like that,¡± Tobi answers.
¡°Oh Okay. I see now. Was your friend¡¯s name Akin?¡± Chiamaka asks and laughs.
¡°Huh? Akin? No. why?¡± Tobi replies.
¡°Cause you know, Akin the drummer boy?¡± Chiamaka responds and shrugs.
¡°Oh. You were trying to crack a joke, I see,¡± Tobi comments.
¡°Wow. What a subtle way of being sarcastic. Nice one Tobi,¡± Chiamaka states and claps softly, smiling.
¡°Ifunanya already explained to me about how most of this stuff began. She told me about the Unknowns, the Crests and Advanced Talents. So what else goes on in this whole supernatural ish?¡± Chiamaka asks.
¡°That¡¯s a good question. Well everyday life aside and also fighting against different villains, be it Unknowns, Crests or advanced talents, some engage in adventures. They venture into the Phasic Realm and see what can be found there. There are also tournaments held locally and globally. There is the World Tournament that a lot of people look forward to. We¡¯re hoping to participate in the next one and probably win,¡± Tobi answers and shrugs at the end of the last sentence.
¡°World Tournament? You mean there are advanced talents all over the world?¡± Chiamaka inquires.
Tobi chuckles and responds, ¡°Of course there are. Did you think we only existed in Nigeria? The entire world has Crests and Advanced Talents of various kinds. The thing is that we are very few in number when compared to the world¡¯s population. However, Unknowns that exist in the Phasic Realm are quite numerous and the Phasic realm is quite large; some say it¡¯s as large as the universe itself.¡±
¡°I see. So much information, wow. You haven¡¯t told me about yourself yet. Shoot, I¡¯m all ears,¡± Chiamaka says, crossing her legs with her arms folded and looking at Tobi.
¡°Yeah true. You know you can pretty much hold a good conversation without fiddling with your phone, that¡¯s really nice,¡± Tobi responds and Chiamaka smiles.
¡°So yeah about me. Feels like an interview. Well what can I say? I¡¯m Tobi as you know, I come from a family of four, that¡¯s my dad, mum, my elder sister and I. We¡¯ve always been aware of advanced talents as both my parents possess supernatural abilities. Umm, my sister kind of left the house when she was very young, probably around thirteen or so. She¡¯s quite the talented lady, though I haven¡¯t seen her since and so I¡¯ve been searching for her for some time now, hoping to find her one of these days. Our abilities differ. As for mine, my advanced talent is Shockwave or as I like to call it Great wave (Igbi nla ¨C Yoruba for great wave). When activated, the symbol lamda (¦Ë) shows up, especially on my talent tool, the Great Wave Hammer. The ability has to do with wavelength; by detecting the wavelengths of different phasic energies, it can affect those phasic energies. One of the attributes is that it acts like a power EMP by disrupting wavelengths, though having different levels of functionalities such as Cancel, Hibernate, and Shutdown. Another attribute is that it enables generation of kinetic waves for pushing of objects. I can confidently tell you these because even if one has such information about my powers, it doesn¡¯t really change much of the outcome, at least when fighting me. If you¡¯d like to know, my hobbies are playing games, basketball and probably relaxing,¡± Tobi says, describing a bit about himself and chuckling at the end of the speech.
¡°Wow. Intriguing. Your ability sounds so cool. I like to watch basketball sometimes and I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll beat you in any car race game. Yes I do play some car race games,¡± Chiamaka responds with a giggle.
¡°So what about your sister? Aren¡¯t your parents looking for her?¡± she asks.
¡°Well, who knows? Her leaving was like an agreement from both sides. My parents hardly ever use their abilities. They¡¯d prefer to live as ordinary humans and my sister strongly opposed that. After a while, being strong to a certain extent, she left. My dad however did send a lot of money to her which was could serve her for a long time. Yeah, my parents are a bit on the wealthy side though they don¡¯t stay in Nigeria anymore. I did stay with my parents but I kept honing my abilities though with their kind, it wasn¡¯t easy for me at all. But hey, here I am. I don¡¯t need them anymore but I still want to find my sister,¡± Tobi answers.
¡°Wow. Sorry. That¡¯s a bit sad. Hope you get to find her. What were her abilities?¡± Chiamaka inquires.
¡°Haha. Let¡¯s leave that for another day. We should be heading to meet up with ID,¡± Tobi replies.
¡°Hmm. Sure but before we go, can you tell me, what possible reason could ID and Ifunanya have had to watch over me even before I awakened to my advanced talents?¡± Chiamaka questions.
¡°Quite the curious one, aren¡¯t you? Well¡from what I know about ID, he probably was just protecting you as he did any other ordinary human and must have spotted even the slightest possibility of active phasic energy from you. Since he made contact and became friends with you, then something must really have gotten his interest. His ability, Impact, can detect even the tiniest bit of energy,¡± Tobi explains.
¡°As for the others, this I can say. Aisha is an Advanced Talent who has the ability of Storm allowing her to manipulate lightning and wind from what I¡¯ve seen. Tomisin is also an Advance Talent having the ability of teleportation, accurate aim and energy blasts in form of bullets and arrows. She also can sense and scan in a 360 degree style within a specified range. Uche, as you¡¯ve experienced, has the advanced talent of telepathy but I think he is also telekinetic and yeah he kind of has a genius intellect. Ifunanya is referred to as the Crest of the Igbo deity, Anywanu which means she can manipulate and use sun based abilities. ID is an Advanced Talent, having the ability of Impact, that is, he can influence the cause and effect of things by either boosting or reducing their impact. That¡¯s all for now,¡± Tobi states.
¡°I see. You¡¯re quite knowledgeable in this supernatural stuff. I didn¡¯t even know Ifunanya is a Crest. Aisha seems like someone I¡¯d flow with on a normal day but she¡¯s kinda scary, man. Is ID single by the way or he has a secret girlfriend?¡± Chiamaka asks and laughs.
¡°Hahaha,¡± Tobi laughs out loud and they both stand to leave but quickly towards a nearby big flatscreen television to view the entertainment news.
From the TV¡
¡°Beautiful afternoon to our wonderful viewers, I remain Edima Okon, this is GLN. On entertainment today, the crew from the movie ¡®Big Shot¡¯ return as they prepare for a great night at The Lofty Place in Victoria Island. Don¡¯t be told you missed, get your tickets, get your bae or not but head over to The Lofty Place at 6:00 PM and have a great time with the movie crew. Models like the beautiful Onyinye Egwu, the big and handsome Rume Davids and other awesome stars will be present. Comedian Victor E. popularly known as VE will be there live. Music performances from Davida, Tife, Laolu, Lola and other amazing voices. Hope to vibe with you there¡,¡± the news anchor announces.
¡°Oh my. This is quite the surprise,¡± Tobi says, quickly picks his mobile phone and dials ID¡¯s number.
At ID¡¯s place¡
RING! RIINNGGG!!
ID picks up his phone and answers, ¡°What¡¯s up man. I know why you called, I just saw the news.¡±
¡°Yeah. Your ¡®girlfriend¡¯ is back,¡± Tobi teases.
¡°She¡¯s not my girlfriend man. That aside, we could actually use her help and that of a new friend I also saw on the TV,¡± ID responds.
¡°Whatever. I¡¯m heading back now, with Chiamaka,¡± Tobi replies.
¡°Having fun now, are we? Alright no worries,¡± ID says. He and Tobi laugh. They end the call.
An hour later, there is a fierce knock on the door¡
KNOCK! KNOCK!! KNOCK!!!
¡°Why the furious knock Tobi?¡± ID grumbles as he walks to open the door.
Once he opens the door, he is a bit surprised at the person at the door.
¡°Nelo!!!¡± he gently exclaims and his voice slowly fades out.
¡°Wow. Just wow. We haven¡¯t seen for a while now and that¡¯s how we get to greet each other now,¡± Nelo rants, walking into the house like a boss, dropping a small bag at the entrance for ID to carry.
ID puts his palm on his face and rubs it a little, sighs and picks up the bag.
¡°You just like drama,¡± ID states, smiles and shuts the door.
¡°Good to see you too, Idaneye. You should be used to that by now. You know we¡¯re always Gs,¡± Nelo says and smiles as she sits on the couch. (Idaneye is the full name of ID)
¡°Before anything ID, there is fire on the mountain,¡± Nelo says.
¡°Run, run, run,¡± ID interrupts.
Nelo sighs and laughs a little. She puts on her serious face and goes on to say, ¡°I¡¯m serious here. Where is Ifunanya? Ikeoku has made a move. Charles, Ada, Nedu and I had a run in with him and some of associates. We lost terribly and I was lucky to escape. No, I would say, they let me get away. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re familiar with Balogun, Crest of Ogun and Bisoye, Crest of Oya but they were present there too.¡±
¡°What?!¡± ID is surprised, having a serious look on his face this time.
¡°Why did they let you go?¡± he inquires.
¡°To pass a message,¡± Nelo answers.
Tobi and Chiamaka arrive at the apartment and Tobi uses his key to open the door. They hear the conversation between Nelo and ID and this shocks Chiamaka.
¡°The message is this: Ikeoku wants Ifunanya to come and meet him, bringing with her a girl named Chiamaka who is apparently the daughter of his friend, a Doctor Ezeogu. He was also present at the battle. I heard he¡¯s a very powerful Jazz lord, a Dibiaukwu (Igbo ¨C Great Doctor), plus there was an Unknown, a very powerful one, that was with them; probably one of the Nine Unknown mysteries that I¡¯ve been researching on. They seem to have joined forces that is Balogun, Bisoye, Ikeoku, Ezeogu and this Unknown. Ikeoku instructed that Ifunanya should meet with an acquaintance of his whom she¡¯s a bit familiar with, Oge and she will bring both of them to him. He already has Charles, Ada and Nedu as hostages,¡± Nelo states to ID.
¡°This is a lot and it¡¯s bad. Really bad. A union between great forces of Crests, Advanced Talent and Unknown. What did you mean by Nine Unknown mysteries?¡± ID says and inquires.
Chiamaka quickly interrupts while standing at the door, screaming, ¡°What?!¡±
She bangs the door with her left fist and lets out a deep sigh of sadness.
¡°And you are?¡± Nelo says, as she and ID turn their attention towards the door.
¡°Chiamaka,¡± ID says, getting up to meet her.
Tobi looks at Nelo, wondering who it is.
¡°I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve met,¡± he says, walking up to Nelo.
¡°Obviously,¡± Nelo says with a smile.
¡°Yeah. Tobi meet my childhood friend and a day one, Nelo and Nelo, meet Tobi one of my best friends. Also Nelo, here is Chiamaka,¡± ID says, introducing everyone to one another.
¡°Oh, I get now,¡± Nelo utters.
Chapter 11
Previously on Talents Activate¡
Chiamaka, a lady who did not believe in the supernatural, has been opened into a new reality, a world of beings able to manipulate blades, wield flames, invade minds, and affect different forces. A mysterious man, Ezeogu, having the probability of being her father wants to take her for reasons best known to him but her friends resist. After a battle to save her life, ID comes out victorious, saving Chiamaka from the swordsmith, Ife. Nelo arrives at ID¡¯s house and finally gets to meet Chiamaka. What fate awaits them all?
Now¡
Chiamaka, Tobi, ID and Nelo are all seated together in the sitting room of the apartment. The television is on but is at the lowest volume and the atmosphere in the room is a bit tense.
¡°So that¡¯s the backstory, I see,¡± Nelo says, referring to the explanation ID just gave her concerning how he met Chiamaka, her strange awakening to Phasic Energy on her birthday and the battle with Ife.
¡°Wow. Life comes at you fast, right? I can only imagine what you¡¯re feeling right now, however it is what it is. The reality is that, you¡¯re in this now, you get? But one thing surprised me a bit among others,¡± she adds.
¡°Huh? What?¡± a sad Chiamaka inquires, looking at Nelo.
¡°The fact that you and ID didn¡¯t eventually go out, like date and all,¡± Nelo says and laughs as do the others including Chiamaka. They soon fall back to their serious mode after a brief moment.
¡°Well, that eased up the tension a bit. Anyway, to formally introduce myself, I am Chinelo Eze Jennifer, you can call me Nelo. Also referred to as the Crest of the Igbo deity, Agwu Nsi because I possess the abilities of clairvoyance, precognition and retrocognition which sometimes occur like psychometry and I also display the insignia of a stickman at the back of my neck whenever my power is fully released. That being said, I¡¯m also a lawyer, an artist and a sort of business consultant, just in case you have any clients for me,¡± Nelo declares, stretching her hand to shake Chiamaka.
¡°Wow! So you can like see the future? Shouldn¡¯t you be like the strongest or so?¡± Chiamaka asks in amazement of Nelo¡¯s abilities, as they both shake hands.
¡°Well, I like to answer that as seeing ¡®a future¡¯. Let me expound a bit, if, for example, I see the future and then I make an adjustment to alter what I¡¯ve seen then what I saw, can it still be called ¡®the future¡¯? You get? What I see are more like possibilities and more often than not, I see the most probable one to happen except an action is taken to change it. Seeing these possibilities is not a guarantee that you¡¯ll be the most powerful champion, in this world, there are other factors too,¡± Nelo explains.
¡°Wow such an amazing ability. But if you can see ahead, can¡¯t you plan ahead and always end up winning?¡± Chiamaka asks.
¡°Not exactly. At the end if someone is more powerful than you, all possibilities you see may end up showing your defeat. Some situations are inescapable when entered into no matter how much you see, so it¡¯s best to avoid such. For example, a technique that can blow up an entire city, even if I see ahead, what can I possibly do against that? I¡¯ll still need some other ability, you get? Besides it¡¯s not like I can always control how, when or what I see except in some cases,¡± Nelo answers.
¡°So it¡¯s not all that useful in the end,¡± Chiamaka utters.
¡°Did I say so? Actually it¡¯s very useful. Asides from seeing, it also offers precognitive instinct which is one of the most troublesome abilities to deal with in close combat when used well. And like I said in some cases, I can control my pschometry ability. For example,¡± Nelo says and tightens her grip on Chiamaka¡¯s hand.
Instantly, Nelo¡¯s eyes develop a pink radiance as Chiamaka stares right into them. She can also feel the air around herself and Nelo becoming a bit denser. The TV screen quickly blinks off and comes back on without restarting, as do all other electronic devices. At this moment, Nelo¡¯s short full hair gently flows as if in slow motion and the atmosphere becomes a bit more serene, Chiamaka remains in awe of this occurrence. After which, Nelo withdraws her grip, letting go of Chiamaka and the ambiance reverts back to normal.
¡°What was that?¡± Chiamaka asks, bewildered at the moment.
¡°I just saw some stuff about you. Without a doubt Chiamaka Stephanie Ezeogu, you are Doctor Ezeogu¡¯s daughter. Several years ago, just after your birth, your father discovered you had been born with advanced talents but for the reason of his experiment and research, he decided to move away. So he sealed your abilities and put a barrier on your mother¡¯s memory, not exactly wiping it but altering it, making her believe he was dead. Before this, he had convincingly faked his death for the whole world to see so everyone thought he really died. However, he has once again become fully active, knowing the exact date your powers would once again awaken since he was the one that sealed it off anyway. It seems he knows exactly what your abilities can do and intends to use them for a particular purpose,¡± Nelo reveals, taking her seat and sipping her glass of chilled ice tea.
Chiamaka takes a deep breath and lets out a sigh of frustration.
¡°I can¡¯t believe this. All this years, I thought my real dad was dead. I always wished that he wasn¡¯t and that someday I would get to see him miraculously because my mum often said how great of a person he was. And now, I get to hear this plus seeing how he has so far, sent dangerous people to get me, I¡¯m not sure what he wants or if I should even see him at all,¡± Chiamaka sadly utters.
You said he knows exactly what my abilities are, do you?¡± she asks.
¡°Based on what I saw, you possess the ability of links hence the chain. What this means is that you can link things together, probably people, powers or maybe even objects. You will have to train as to get clarity on what exactly you can link. Oh and also, seems like you have the ability of healing too just like him,¡± Nelo replies.
¡°So the guess work is over now. We have confirmation of your father and your advanced talent, thanks to Nelo. We should get the others and relay this new development plus Ikeoku¡¯s message so that we know where to go from here,¡± ID says, bringing out his phone from his pocket.
¡°I agree because from what I experienced, we need as much power as we can get,¡± Nelo says.
ID dials Ifunanya and has a conversation with her over the phone while Chiamaka sits there with her hands on her head as she tries to wrap her head around all that has been happening. She is almost about to let out tears, wishing everything could just go back to how they were before that night. Suddenly, she feels a light touch at the top of her head.
¡°Don¡¯t sweat it much. In the end, everything will be fine,¡± Tobi says, smiling at her.
This tiny boost of positivity is exactly what she needs as she turns to Tobi, smiles back and stands to her feet.
¡°Umm¡I want to go see my mum. I¡¯ll meet up with you all,¡± she says.
¡°You should, it¡¯s important that you do,¡± Nelo urges.
ID interrupts and says, ¡°Just finished speaking with Ify and time is 7:00pm, place will be at Aisha¡¯s. We¡¯ll meet up there and know what to do.¡±
¡°Alright,¡± they all respond.
¡°Wait Chiamaka. I should come along with you,¡± Tobi offers.
¡°No it¡¯s not necessary. I want to do this alone. I¡¯ll be safe,¡± Chiamaka replies.
¡°Hmm? Can you fight? I mean advanced talent kind of fight,¡± Nelo questions.
¡°Well¡ not yet,¡± Chiamaka replies.
¡°So what happens when danger comes looming?¡± Nelo asks, drinking from her glass of ice tea.
¡°Umm, I¡¯ll just message Tomisin. She can teleport right? Or maybe I¡¯ll be in luck and you¡¯ll see it before it happens plus I have that pen you gave me, Tobi,¡± Chiamaka responds and walks out.
¡°You won¡¯t stop her?¡± Tobi asks ID.
¡°Let her be. She needs space to cool off. She¡¯s going through a lot at the moment,¡± ID replies.
¡°Wait. Who¡¯s Tomisin? And Aisha?¡± Nelo inquires.
¡°You¡¯ll get to meet everyone later. You should rest,¡± ID suggests.
¡°I know right? I should be pampered but the situation at hand though,¡± Nelo says and walks towards one of the rooms in the three bedroom apartment.
¡°I¡¯m crashing in your room, ID. See you later, Tobi. Peace!!!¡± she utters, lifting her glass cup as she walks away.
¡°Childhood friend, huh? She seems interesting,¡± Tobi comments.
¡°She is,¡± ID replies and smiles.
Elsewhere¡
At a beautiful luxury hotel, in an exquisite and spacious rooms, surely a VIP standard room, a stunning young lady, dressed in a white bath robe, is sitting on a couch in the room, with her legs crossed as she answers a phone call.
¡°So Oge, I guess you know how to proceed, right?¡± a voice speaks from the phone.
¡°Sure, Doc. Get the two ladies and be on my way but first I should deal with those bounty hunters, yeah? That¡¯s Ife and her team, yeah? No problem on that. I have their location and will pay them a visit then while waiting for Ifunanya and Chiamaka to submit themselves,¡± Oge replies, in her usual seductive manner of speech.
¡°Very correct. This is why I like working with you. Very professional and you get things quickly,¡± Ezeogu says from the phone.
¡°Ha ha ha. My pleasure, Doc. I¡¯ll be on my way then. Let me just finish up from here,¡± she says and ends the call.
A man walks out of the shower of the room, also wearing a white bath robe.
¡°Who were you talking to?¡± the man inquires.
¡°Ah¡ none of your concern,¡± Oge answers, gets up from the couch and walks towards the wardrobe.
¡°Oh and I¡¯m leaving,¡± she adds as she opens the wardrobe and flings the bath robe on the bed, wearing only her underwear.
¡°What?!¡± the man exclaims.
¡°After all the money I¡¯ve spent so far, you think you can just leave? Do you know who I am?! I am Chief---¡° the man yells but is interrupted by Oge as she walks towards him, puts the index finger of her left hand on his lips and says, ¡°I don¡¯t care who you are and how much you think you¡¯ve spent or have. I said I¡¯m leaving. That¡¯s it.¡±
¡°You must be crazy if you think I¡¯ll let you just leave,¡± the man says and moves his hand to grab Oge but she immediately takes hold of his own hand and twists it, dislocating the arm. Following this, firmly, she grips his neck with just her left hand and lifts him off the ground.
¡°Argh!!!¡± the man screams.
¡°P¡l..e¡a..,¡± he stutters.
¡°What? I can¡¯t hear you,¡± Oge says sarcastically, smiling and lets go of the man.
The man falls on his knees, coughs and starts to plead with Oge. Oge reaches for her clothes, the usual black sleeveless waist coat, white sleeveless top, pair of skinny black trousers and long leather boots and puts them on.
¡°You humans all think you¡¯re in charge once you¡¯re just a bit wealthy. Feeling like a big fish in your own little world until you meet someone exceeding your imaginations. Bet you didn¡¯t know I could lift you that way, yeah? Must¡¯ve thought I¡¯m like the rest of the other ladies you¡¯ve been bullying with your physique and money, however, you pissed off the wrong person,¡± she says and reaches for her thin long duffle bag.
Slowly, she pulls out a short sword and turns towards the man saying, ¡°If only you had just let me be when I said I¡¯m leaving, it wouldn¡¯t have had to come to this. Now, you beg like the lowly wretched creature you are, nevertheless I¡¯m going to have to chop you in pieces, package your body and dispose of it.¡±
The man becomes scared and attempts to run out of the room but notices one of his limbs is missing and Oge standing behind him with his lower right leg in her hand.
¡°Arrggghhh!!!¡± he screams and falls to the ground, writhing in pain, as blood gushes out from the chopped-off leg.
¡°You see, the good thing is people will just think we¡¯re having something awesome here. You know what I mean?¡± Oge says, winks and smiles at the man who is now in agony and scared for his life.
¡°Please, anything. I¡¯ll give anything. I am a very wealthy man you see,¡± the man pleads, crying for his life.
¡°Ha ha!! What could that possibly be? Money? You think money is everything for me? Puny human, well, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t know how to get all your money even after killing you. I¡¯ll tell you this, I¡¯m an assassin, yeah? So money isn¡¯t exactly my problem,¡± she replies, lifts the man¡¯s face to hers and licks the blade of the short sword while she sits on the large bed.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
She whispers in his ear, ¡°What I hunger for, you cannot give me. This, nonetheless, was fun while it lasted. Too bad for you, you¡¯re cute though. You really shouldn¡¯t have pissed me off,¡± and cuts his head off with the short sword in her head.
Minutes later, Oge steps out of the hotel with a big travelling bag, pulling the handle and rolling it behind her.
¡°Hope you had a wonderful experience,¡± the security officer at the door says while holding the door open for Oge to exit.
¡°Sure, very wonderful. Such a delight,¡± she responds, winks at the officer, smiles, leaves a tip in his chest pocket and walks out.
She drives to a lonely land filled with grasses looking very bushy, alights from her car, brings out the big travelling bag, pours some chemicals on it and sets it on fire. She rests on the bonnet of her car and watches the bag burn to bits, with her dark glasses on.
Meanwhile¡
Chiamaka stands in front of a high-rise glass building having flat windows. At the top of the building, you can clearly see, written in bold, the word ¡®MICROEDGE¡¯ beside the company logo. Without delay, she steps into the building and heads straight for her mother¡¯s office.
¡°Hello Mummy, Good afternoon,¡± she greets.
¡°Chiamaka darling,¡± Mrs Obianuju, Chiamaka¡¯s mother, says, sitting comfortably on her office seat.
¡°To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? You need money? Project assistance?¡± she inquires.
¡°Mum, I¡¯ll be real quick. How much of dad, I mean my dad, did you really know?¡± Chiamaka questions.
¡°Wow. Where¡¯s this coming from?¡± Mrs Obianuju asks back.
¡°Umm¡ I can¡¯t really explain it but--,¡± Chiamaka answers but is interrupted by her mother.
¡°You have powers,¡± Mrs Obianuju completes the sentence.
¡°What? How did you? Wait, you knew all along?¡± Chiamaka asks, surprised at her mother¡¯s right answer.
Mrs Obianuju sighs and answers, ¡°Well¡ I can say that I¡¯m just beginning to remember some things about your real father. Frank Ezeogu wasn¡¯t an ordinary human and I got to find out late. It left me devastated and I hoped you wouldn¡¯t turn out the same but before I knew it, it was like it all just disappeared. Like a bad dream.¡±
¡°So how did you start to recall the truth?¡± Chiamaka inquires.
¡°It all started to come back after a certain visit from a lady. She told me Ezeogu was alive and gave me her phone to speak with him. I did and was so shocked that I almost fainted. After that, she left a card with me and once I stare at that card, it¡¯s like I start to remember things I had completely lost track of. When I spoke with Frank, your father, he told me a lot of things but I found it hard to believe until the lady showed me some things. One of the things he said was that he wanted to see you and I should tell you that it¡¯s not a harmful meetup as you might be thinking. Also that I should give you the lady¡¯s card,¡± Mrs Obianuju says and hands the card over to Chiamaka.
¡°Right now, I¡¯m still shaking. I¡¯ve been praying since but I have no idea what really is going on,¡± she adds.
Chiamaka holds the card and looks at it while letting out a deep sigh. On the card, the name ¡®Oge¡¯ is displayed along with a phone number.
¡°So, you think I should go see him?¡± Chiamaka asks.
¡°I¡¯m as confused as you are. The Frank I knew, was a really good man so I don¡¯t think you should be worried about that but I don¡¯t know. Let me come along with you,¡± Mrs Obianuju responds.
¡°No way mum!!! If I¡¯m going, let me handle this. He¡¯s my father right? Right now, you¡¯re married to Mr. Davidson. Attend to your husband and new family now,¡± Chiamaka says and gets up, about to leave.
¡°You are my daughter. My first child and I loved your father, you know. Things like that don¡¯t just vanish especially when you find out the person is still alive,¡± Mrs Obianuju states.
¡°Yes but you have a new family now. New husband, new children. Mum, I love you and you¡¯re my only family, I can¡¯t lose you, neither can your new family. So, allow me to figure out these ¡®supernatural power¡¯ thing and know who my father truly is. I¡¯m positive he doesn¡¯t want me dead anyway. So make a wise choice here. Don¡¯t chase one and forget the many you have,¡± Chiamaka replies.
¡°Yes but Chiamaka Stephanie Ezeogu Davidson, I will not allow you to go by yourself!!!¡± Mrs Obianuju yells as little tear drops appear in her eyes.
Chiamaka brings out a pen and says, ¡°I¡¯m sorry mum. I just can¡¯t allow you.¡± She clicks the pen¡¯s head and a Phasic Dome is enacted, freezing every ordinary human in the building and around that area, including her mum.
¡°Wow. Works just like Tobi said it would. An artificial phasic dome,¡± she says to herself.
She walks up to her mum, gives her a kiss on the cheek.
¡°Goodbye Mummy,¡± she says and exits the office. After some time, the phasic dome wears off and ordinary human movement begins again like nothing happened. Chiamaka¡¯s mum, Mrs Obianuju, is still in the process of talking and notices her daughter has suddenly vanished. She is perplexed and suddenly, out of too much shock, slowly falls to the ground and faints. The secretary enters the office to report something but sees Mrs Obianuju on the floor and rushes to get medical assistance.
Chiamaka is long gone and is now at a restaurant, getting some drinks and food.
¡°One of glass of long island,¡± she says, placing her order.
¡°Hmm? Seems like someone wants a long night?¡± a deep male voice says beside her.
Chiamaka turns to see who it is and sees somewhat of a familiar face. A man having the look of a white Caucasian male in his mid-thirties, with big black afro hair putting on a pair of eyeglass. It is Professor Lenz (From Chapter five) but this time, he is wearing a navy blue suit and a pair of white shoes. She does not answer him but turns and walks to an empty table by the corner and sits there. Professor Lenz follows suit and takes a seat opposite Chiamaka on the same table.
¡°Who are you? What do you want? If you don¡¯t leave, I¡¯ll call security,¡± Chiamaka says, frowning.
¡°Ah. You looked familiar that¡¯s why. Aren¡¯t you Mrs. Obianuju¡¯s daughter?¡± he replies.
¡°You know my mother and so?¡± Chiamaka responds.
¡°And your biological father is Frank Ezeogu, right?¡± he adds, in a deeper tone of voice.
¡°What?¡± Chiamaka is surprised.
¡°You knew my father?¡± she asks.
¡°So now you¡¯re interested. Thought you were calling security?¡± Professor Lenz replies.
¡°Ah. I¡¯m so sorry. You know, one can never be too safe in this city,¡± Chiamaka apologizes.
¡°It¡¯s alright, I understand,¡± Professor Lenz responds.
¡°To answer your question, yes I knew your father. Frank was a good man. Had so much knowledge and potential even as a PhD student. His ideas were vast and creative. He really wanted to make the world a better place but life happened. Too bad he died an early death,¡± he adds.
¡°He was? Wow. How did you know him?¡± she asks again.
¡°Oh yeah. I haven¡¯t introduced myself properly. Well, just call me Professor Lenz. Professor of Molecular genetics, University of Cambridge. Your father was a good student of mine,¡± the man says.
Chiamaka is amazed and short of words.
¡°Wow! And you look so young and so jovial,¡± she says.
¡°Well, what can I say?¡± the man responds.
¡°You look like something is bothering you. What exactly is it? I might be of help,¡± the man asks.
Chiamaka¡¯s mood turns sad for a moment, she drinks from her glass cup and she says, ¡°Nothing so much like that but let me ask. If you have to endanger yourself just so as to save others like say your family, would you do such or trust that you and your people will sort out the danger together?¡±
¡°Hmm¡ as long as they are safe, I won¡¯t really think of the consequences on myself. If it¡¯s for my friends or family, I¡¯d do the most I can to protect them. If that¡¯s the sacrifice I have to pay for them to be happy, then I don¡¯t mind,¡± Professor Lenz answers.
¡°I see. I guess that¡¯s what I¡¯ll do then, thank you,¡± Chiamaka replies.
¡°Is there a problem you¡¯re facing that you need help with?¡± he inquires.
¡°It¡¯s not something I can¡¯t handle,¡± she says, stands up in a hurry and leaves the restaurant while the Professor just sips his drink.
At Aisha¡¯s house¡
Everyone is present, Aisha, Tomisin, Tobi, Ifunanya, Uche, ID, Nelo and Chiamaka. Nelo just finished delivering the message to them and bringing them up to date on the current situation.
¡°Damn it!!! I know this is tough but let¡¯s not just head in straight, we should come up with a plan and tread carefully,¡± Aisha suggests.
¡°What kind of plan exactly? You heard her. The people in question here are very powerful. We may need more assistance. We should ask the agency,¡± Tobi replies.
¡°A good idea but the agency might just be busy around this time. A lot of personnel aren¡¯t around probably on missions,¡± Uche states.
¡°Aren¡¯t there others we can ask for help? I haven¡¯t been able to contact my brother for a while now,¡± Tomisin says, pondering aloud.
¡°There might be but I¡¯ll try and finalize that tonight,¡± ID responds.
¡°How exactly?¡± Aisha asks.
¡°Ife. I¡¯m meeting up with Ife and she¡¯ll be joining us hopefully with her team. It is part of the deal we made if I won, remember Aisha, you were there,¡± he answers.
¡°Oh yeah. That¡¯s right,¡± Aisha replies, nodding her head.
¡°Can she be trusted really?¡± Tobi asks.
¡°In a way, I can say yes. I¡¯ll do the meeting with her so I¡¯ll let us know,¡± ID responds.
¡°Hmm? Ify, you¡¯ve been strangely quiet,¡± Aisha states, looking at Ifunanya.
¡°Right. We¡¯re all just making suggestions but you guys have no clue how powerful Ikeoku is probably only Nelo and ID to some extent. You know just how powerful a Crest is and we¡¯re talking about a man who is about or over two hundred years, having used dark arts to absorb the power of roughly three Crests of Anyanwu over time. It¡¯s more than just planning, you know,¡± Ifunanya utters.
¡°About or over two hundred years? How has he been able to live without people noticing?¡± Tomisin is taken aback.
¡°Probably by using the dark arts he somehow manipulates the memory of the people,¡± Ifunanya answers.
¡°I know you have a clearer picture of his power, Ify but that doesn¡¯t mean we should just give up hope. If we believe, we can still win this right?¡± Aisha says.
¡°It¡¯s not that simple, Aisha,¡± Ifunanya replies.
¡°Come on people, let¡¯s all calm down and think,¡± Nelo says.
¡°I¡¯ve seen a bit of his power and at this point, I have no idea what to do or there may be one,¡± she adds.
¡°What is it?¡± Ifunanya and ID ask.
¡°Mr. Chisom,¡± Nelo replies.
¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Chiamaka inquires.
¡°Ifunanya¡¯s combat teacher. He also taught me some things. Oh and he was the previous generation¡¯s Crest of Amadioha,¡± Nelo answers.
¡°He wasn¡¯t just my teacher anyway, but you¡¯ll be disrupting his new life with his family,¡± Ifunanya states.
¡°It¡¯s our best shot for now,¡± Nelo says.
Aisha sighs and says, ¡°You know what let¡¯s just go and have fun at the Lofty Place. It¡¯s already 7:00pm and they started their party at 6:00pm. At least let¡¯s have drinks and cool off a bit. That way, we can make better decisions. I can¡¯t come and kill myself and die.¡±
Everyone is amazed at Aisha, just staring at her, confused having a look that says ¡®is this girl serious?¡¯
¡°I agree, I¡¯ll be meeting with Ife besides there are some people I think can help us there,¡± ID speaks up.
¡°Sesan might be there, so I guess I can talk to him,¡± Ifunanya says.
¡°Sesan? Crest of Sango? Interesting. Maybe he can help reach out to the other western Crests too,¡± Nelo utters.
¡°I think I need more than a few drinks,¡± Chiamaka says.
¡°A few drinks, some good music and some good dance won¡¯t hurt anyway,¡± Tobi says.
¡°Right? If it¡¯s our last, we might as well go down in a blast,¡± Tomisin adds.
¡°That¡¯s great guys but I won¡¯t be joining you guys, I have to get somewhere and have some things to finish up. I¡¯ll see if I can contact anyone else,¡± Uche announces.
¡°No problem. The rest of us, can we get going?¡± Aisha insists and they all get up to leave.
The Lofty Place, a nice exquisite building with great architectural design having a very luxurious and alluring inside filled with lights and fine texture. The place is filled up with people trooping in and out, having fun, dancing, drinking and enjoying the vibes by the DJ. Aisha and the rest of the group excluding Uche, arrive at the scene. Aisha shows the security a card and she is guided towards the VIP lounge. The group split with each going to have fun in their own way. ID walks up to a beautiful young lady, having glistening light skin, slim with an hourglass figure, long silky hair and dazzling grey eyes (most people think it is contact lens). She is adorned in a white and black stripe short bodycon dress and a pair of high heel black sandals along with some jewelries on her (necklaces and bracelets). She has the countenance of a classy elegant boss.
¡°Been a while, Onyinye,¡± ID says as the lady screams, smiles and jumps to hug him.
¡°ID!!! Long time!!!¡± she shrieks.
¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not all that excited,¡± ID states as Onyinye lets go of him.
¡°Way to kill all the fun,¡± Onyinye says in a smooth bossy way and takes her seat.
¡°So what brings you here?¡± she asks.
Suddenly, a tall dark muscular young man, walks to where they are seated. He is dressed in white t-shirt whose sleeves run down just below the elbow, a pair of black jean trousers and a pair of white ankle boots. Walking beside the young man is Ife.
¡°ID!!! My man,¡± the young man greets.
¡°Rume!!! Long time man,¡± ID responds, stands up and they both shake hands and jam shoulders together.
Ife stands, glares at Onyinye, looks at ID and says, ¡°To think I¡¯d find you here with another lady when we¡¯re supposed to meet up.¡±
¡°Wouldn¡¯t hurt to say some hellos, right?¡± ID replies.
¡°That¡¯s not a way to greet now, is it? I don¡¯t mind. You can all sit here. I might even have some information for you Ife,¡± Onyinye says, and sips from her glass of wine.
¡°I¡¯ll catch you guys later. I want to walk around and meet some others,¡± Rume says.
¡°Alright. I have something to discuss with you too. We¡¯ll catch up. Didn¡¯t know you knew Ife, by the way,¡± ID replies.
¡°Sure, we know each other in a way,¡± Rume says and takes his leave. Ife and ID sit at the table, joining Onyinye, as the music resounds in the background in the somewhat dark room with disco lights all around.
Meanwhile at the Karaoke section of the place, Aisha just finishes rapping to a song, while dancing on stage and making the people scream. She gets down from the stage and proceeds to meet Tomisin.
¡°Did you see me? I was a star right there. A freaking superstar!!! Babe, I should have gone into the music industry,¡± Aisha brags, blowing her trumpet.
¡°Ha ha!!! Yeah right. A onetime showoff doesn¡¯t guarantee success in the industry,¡± Tomisin replies, taking a bite from the plate of meat on the small round table in front of where she is seated.
¡°Pfft!!! Hater!!! By the way where¡¯s Ify?¡± Aisha asks.
¡°Not sure where she went. I haven¡¯t seen her in a while though,¡± Tomisin replies.
¡°Hmmm,¡± Aisha utters, looking serious and concerned.
¡°Tomi, I need you to do me a favor,¡± she says.
Elsewhere, at a serene estate in what was called the ¡®mainland¡¯ of the state known as Lagos, in a big house with a spacious surrounding, a lady jumps over the high fence, lands and starts to catwalk towards the door. A young man opens the door to go outside and sees the lady approaching. He is surprised.
¡°What the?!¡± the young man exclaims.
¡°Who are you?! And how did you get here?!¡± the man questions, shouting at the top of his voice. The others in the house notice and rush down. It is Dominic and the others are Tade, Ese, Bimbo and Dan, Ife¡¯s teammates.
¡°Who am I? Well, I¡¯m sure not your friend neither am I here for a friendly chat. You all have been very, very naughty,¡± the lady replies, in a smooth seductive manner of speech.
¡°Just for the fun of it, I¡¯ll tell you this. You can call me Oge and I¡¯m here to capture you all,¡± she adds and grins.
¡°Just you? Are you kidding? Do you know who we are?¡± Tade responds as he steps out of the house.
¡°Sure. Bounty hunters with advanced talents, right? I believe I¡¯m more than sufficient for the likes of you,¡± the lady, Oge, replies.
¡°You must be really mad, lady. Only I will do the honor,¡± Tade says and rushes in to attack.
¡°That¡¯s right. You all better not bore me. Bring it on,¡± Oge utters, in her smooth seductive manner of speech, smiling widely.
***
Meanwhile at Aisha¡¯s house, Ifunanya is with a backpack and about to leave the surrounding when suddenly, Aisha and Tomisin appear from nowhere.
¡°As I thought. I knew you weren¡¯t your usual self at that meeting. Tell me Ifunanya, is this how you plan to do this, by settling it on your own?¡± Aisha asks, standing some distance behind Ifunanya.
¡°I really hoped you¡¯d be too busy having fun to even notice. I¡¯m sorry Aisha but I can¡¯t think of anything better. Right now, I have to do what I can for my friends and I can¡¯t bear losing others because of me. Ikeoku won¡¯t spare any of you unless I accept his deal or I face him alone,¡± Ifunanya replies, backing Aisha and Tomisin.
¡°Alone? There you go. And to think that we all were in this together. Ikeoku is not the only person in question here, there¡¯s Ezeogu and an Unknown. I¡¯m not sure we can allow this,¡± Tomisin says.
¡°Allow? It¡¯s my decision to make. This is not your problem to solve. I love you guys but my best friend, my childhood friend and a close friend are already in danger because of me. Do you think I¡¯d want to lose you guys too?¡± Ifunanya responds.
¡°No one is losing anyone, babe. This is also not your problem to solve alone. We can still save your other friends if we all stick and work together. Ifunanya, if it means stopping you here, I¡¯m ready. Sometimes, we have to do what isn¡¯t palatable to prevent another from making a wrong decision,¡± Aisha expresses.
¡°A wise friend once told me, ¡®Friends also protect friends from their own selves¡¯,¡± Tomisin states, looking intensely at Ifunanya.
Ifunanya takes a deep breath, sighs, turns around to face Aisha and Tomisin and says, ¡°My father died because of me, I won¡¯t let that happen to others. I¡¯m sorry but I can¡¯t endanger you guys. You have no business at all with Ikeoku. You¡¯re right Aisha. Sometimes, we have to fight those we want to protect, in order to protect them. I¡¯m sorry Aisha, Tomisin but if it means me defeating you two for me to save you all then I¡¯ll gladly do it.¡±
She says this and drops her backpack. With her unexpressive face, she and Aisha, look each other in the eye, as the cool night wind sweeps across the area.
***
Oge is about to engage Ife¡¯s team in battle while an unexpected clash of Ifunanya against Aisha and Tomisin is about to begin.
What will be Chiamaka¡¯s decision at the end of this?
Will ID be able to stop any of them?
Read Talents Activate for more¡
Chapter 12
Previously on Talents Activate¡
Chiamaka, a lady who did not believe in the supernatural, has been opened into a new reality, a world of beings able to manipulate blades, wield flames, invade minds, and affect different forces. A mysterious man, Ezeogu, having the probability of being her father wants to take her for reasons best known to him but her friends resist. Oge is about to battle the Ife¡¯s crew meanwhile, Ifunanya is about to face off against Aisha and Tomisin¡
Now, inside a phasic dome (see chapter two for phasic dome explanation)
Tade rushes in with a right hook to land a punch on Oge.
¡°Activate: Supernova fist!!! Ten percent should be enough,¡± he says.
Swiftly, he appears at Oge¡¯s right and tries to land the hit but Oge easily dodges, parries his hand with hers, uses her left leg to sweep his feet off the ground and lands a heavy kick on his chest with her right leg which sends him crashing into the gate. Before Oge can fully turn to face the other teammates, she senses two bullets approaching her and quickly evades the bullets. She is about to move forward but Dominic smiles and says, ¡°You¡¯re done for, hag!!! Activate!!!¡±
Immediately, the bullets give off a huge explosion like a grenade.
BOOM!!!
They all wait for the smoke and dust to clear but before it fully clears, they hear a clap.
¡°That was quite the try. You¡¯ve got a good talent I must say,¡± Oge says, standing on the fence of the building. She has her long duffle bag beside and unzips it.
¡°Now then, time to wrap this up,¡± she says, smiling as she slowly draws out one of her swords from the bag.
¡°She managed to get out of the explosion unharmed. She¡¯s dangerous after all,¡± Ese says.
Dominic quickly rushes out and releases two shots at Oge who cuts the air with a horizontal slash creating an air wave that divides the incoming bullets in two.
¡°That won¡¯t stop it. Activate!!!¡± Dominic yells and the bullets all explode at once.
Oge, without hesitation, has already moved more to her right to avoid the explosion and now heads straight to attack the rest of the team, diving down from the fence. Ese quickly moves, throwing a fist at her but Oge sharply responds by tossing her sword at Ese who blocks the attack with the thick metal band covering her hand from her wrist to her elbow. The sword bounces off the metal band and spins upwards. Oge swiftly does a front flip while in the air and kicks the sword at the tip of the handle, sending it back to pierce Ese from the top. Ese shifts back and dodges the hit. At once, Dominic fires at Oge with his two guns while she is still in the air. Oge sees the attack, takes a deep breath, smoothly but quickly, uses her leg to control the bullets and return them to Dominic who has already activated his advanced talent.
¡°Activate,¡± he says but is shocked when he sees the bullets heading for him.
¡°What?!¡± he exclaims.
BOOM!!!
Oge lands as the dust settles but Ese rushes in with a series of fast punches which Oge easily dodges as she steps backwards. The two pause for a while and Ese unlocks the heavy bands on both her hands, removing them. Her speed suddenly improves as she appears instantly at Oge¡¯s front, continuing with her series of fast punches with its speed now thrice as fast as before however, Oge is still able to evade them.
¡°It¡¯s like she can easily read our attacks. That or she¡¯s faster than we can imagine,¡± Tade says to himself, analyzing the situation.
¡°Huff, huff,¡± Ese pants as she comes to a halt in her series of punches.
¡°How¡exactly are you able to keep up with such speed?¡± she asks Oge as she takes a deep breath.
¡°Hmm? Asking that in the middle of a battle like I¡¯m your friend? I¡¯m here to kill, nah, capture you baby,¡± Oge replies.
¡°But I suppose telling you won¡¯t change anything anyway,¡± she adds.
¡°You see, I was born with an exceptional reaction speed so if it would take a normal human one second to respond to an occurrence, it¡¯ll take me 0.5 seconds or less to react to same occurrence. In simple terms, my natural reaction time is faster than that of others,¡± she explains.
¡°I see, so that explains how you can still keep up even without activating your talent. However, I¡¯ll be ending you now,¡± Tade says as phasic energy begins bursting out of him.
¡°I¡¯ll just have to use more speed and power. Eighty percent should be enough,¡± he says and charges straight for Oge. He moves so fast that in the blink of an eye, he is already at Oge¡¯s side about to land a powerful blow on her.
¡°Well, I do have a client waiting for me,¡± Oge says.
¡°Let me end this for real baby,¡± she adds with a smirk.
¡°Activate,¡± she says.
Instantly, every member of Ife¡¯s crew is lying on the ground, incapacitated with heavy slashes and blood gushing out from them except for Dan. Oge rests her sword on her shoulder and begins catwalking towards the gate.
¡°Dan, was it? Clean them up, wrap their wounds to stop the bleeding and package them up. Put them in the car trunk and please hurry up so that we can leave this place as soon as possible,¡± she says, in her seductive smooth voice, instructing Dan who is just standing watching.
¡°Yes, Madam,¡± he replies.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
¡°Dan, you bastard!!!¡± Bimbo stutters, lying on the ground. She coughs out blood. Gradually, her vision begins to blur as her eyes close and she goes unconscious.
Meanwhile, at the same time¡
At the Lofty Place, in the somewhat dark room with the music resounding softly in the background
¡°So, Onyinye, what information do you have for me?¡± Ife inquires.
¡°Well, wouldn¡¯t that be one quick way of starting the conversation?¡± Onyinye responds and takes a sip from her glass.
¡°Absolut¡ you haven¡¯t changed ehn? I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re not drinking straight from the bottle itself,¡± ID comments, referring to Onyinye¡¯s liquor.
¡°Heh,¡± she giggles. ¡°The night is still young,¡± she says, smiling at ID.
¡°Tch! I¡¯m not here for this, if you don¡¯t have any info for me, I¡¯ll be taking my leave then,¡± Ife says and stands to leave.
¡°Well¡ I did hear something interesting about your crew being hunted by a certain proficient lady with the name, Oge,¡± Onyinye says, lowering her voice.
This gets the attention of Ife and ID.
¡°What did you say?¡± Ife questions, looking surprised. Just then, she receives a message from Bimbo, asking for help, telling her about the appearance of Oge. (This was before Oge had incapacitated the rest of the crew).
¡°What?!¡± Ife is shocked receiving the message.
¡°How did you get such information, Onyinye?! Are you part of this? You¡¯ll answer to me later,¡± Ife says and quickly runs off.
¡°Ife, wait!¡± ID yells and moves to chase after her.
¡°Wait, ID. I have something to tell you too,¡± Onyinye says, stopping ID from proceeding further.
¡°What is it?¡± he asks.
¡°The girl you¡¯re protecting at the moment, Chiamaka right?¡± Onyinye inquires.
¡°How did you know that?¡± ID responds.
¡°I have my ways but that¡¯s what you came to discuss to me about right? For me to assist you in helping her, isn¡¯t that so?¡± she questions.
¡°That¡¯s right. Plus the fact that Ikeoku is also after Ifunanya, we have some serious battles ahead of us,¡± ID replies.
¡°I see. Then it is as I suspected,¡± she says and takes a long gulp from her glass.
¡°ID, why don¡¯t you just forget about all these things and let¡¯s just run away? What you¡¯re about to embark on is too dangerous and there¡¯s no guarantee you can make it out alive. We may not be together but I still care about you,¡± she adds, looking at ID in the eye while reaching to hold his hand.
¡°Onyinye¡¡± ID utters and moves his hand away from hers as he stands.
¡°Whether I¡¯ll make it out alive or not has not been decided however for now, someone needs my help and I¡¯ll help in whatever way I can. I may not be the strongest yet but the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang the best, right? If it was you, you know I¡¯d do the same anyway,¡± he says and begins walking away.
¡°Now I better find Tobi and others,¡± he says within himself.
Onyinye hisses and bangs her left fist on the table.
Simultaneously, at Aisha¡¯s place, with the activation of a phasic dome, a fierce battle occurs¡
Aisha, covered in lightning sparks, instantly appears at Ifunanya¡¯s front and throws a fast blow at her but the punch goes right through Ifunanya as her image fades away. Ifunanya, quickly appears at Aisha¡¯s back as her leg moves to land a hit at the back of Aisha¡¯s head but Aisha blocks swiftly by turning and using her leg to stop the attack. Tomisin, hastily, teleports to the rooftop of the house and materializes two guns from empty space, pointing them at Ifunanya. She quickly releases two blasts at Ifunanya but Ifunanya suddenly appears above her, grabs her by the shoulder, spins and slams Tomisin into the rooftop floor.
¡°Ugh!!¡± Tomisin yells and teleports away. She teleports some distance away from Ifunanya on the roof and fires at Ifunanya again however, Ifunanya, in the blink of an eye, appears at her front and throws a punch at her but she quickly vanishes, materializing at the ground floor. But immediately she lands, Ifunanya appears there too, launching another punch. Aisha speedily rushes in, throwing two rapid blows at Ifunanya but she dodges both of them and steps back.
¡°Dazzling flash fist,¡± she says. Instantly, she moves immense speed with a very bright glow, passing Aisha in an instance and getting to Tomisin who is blinded by the bright light. Ifunanya lands a heavy hit on Tomisin¡¯s abdomen which sends her flying some distance, crashing out of the fence, however as the punch lands, Tomisin points one of her guns upwards and shoots from it. But from beneath Ifunanya¡¯s feet, the blast comes through and grazes her chin. Without delay, Aisha spins, drawing out one of her swords from thin air and releasing a huge bolt of lightning against Ifunanya.
Walkiya Yajin!!! (Hausa ¨C Lightning strike)
BOOM!!!
The attack connects, landing a hit on Ifunanya. Tomisin gets up and enters back into the house area, holding her stomach and smudging off the blood spill from her mouth. Both Aisha and Tomisin wait for the dust to settle. As the dust clears, Ifunanya is standing there unharmed, with her hair now glowing radiantly like the sun, her eyes too burn brilliantly with a magnificent luster of yellow and a burning aura is emanating from her entire body. She¡¯s holding a sword in each of her hands.
Crest Activation: Battle mode: Eze Nwany? Ukwu nke Anyanw? (Igbo ¨C Empress of the sun)
¡°Now then, in order to end this as soon as possible, I¡¯ll be using battle mode nevertheless, that¡¯s not all,¡± Ifunanya says.
¡°Huh?¡± Aisha utters, putting her guard up and fixing her gaze on Ifunanya.
¡°I¡¯ll be releasing the seal placed on myself a little so that before ID, Tobi and Nelo can get back here, this would¡¯ve been over with. Also just to show you a bit of what I¡¯m up against,¡± Ifunanya adds.
¡°Crest binding: Release!¡± she utters and suddenly there is huge atmospheric pressure such that it causes Tomisin to stagger a bit and creates mighty trembling on the ground.
¡°She has such kind of power?!¡± Tomisin is shocked.
Everywhere also begins to get increasingly hot even those at the Lofty Place which is quite far from Ifunanya¡¯s current location feel the intense heat.
¡°This is bad, the energy overflowing from her is quite overwhelming. So this is what she has been hiding all this while, Incredible,¡± Aisha says. ¡°I better get in shape too.¡±
Aisha causes her other sword to emerge and then she joins both her swords together and says, ¡°Talent Activate: Sarauniya na Hadari!!!¡± (Hausa ¨C Queen of the storm)
Suddenly, the air around her becomes very gusty, swirling around her like a mini tornado as heavy lightning sparks clad her entire body and a mighty thundering roar echoes across the city. Aisha¡¯s eyes become entirely white with blue glow surrounding it and lightning sparks discharge from it. Tomisin quickly vanishes, appearing back at the rooftop. After taking a deep breath, she says, ¡°I have to go all out too then.
Talent Activate: ?d¨²n ?d? (Yoruba ¨C hunters¡¯ festival).¡±
She takes a stance like one about to fire an arrow and a long bow with three long arrows set on it appear, already positioned rightly on her hands.
Back at the Lofty Place¡
ID is now with Tobi and is trying to locate the others.
¡°Do you have any idea where Ify, Aisha and others might be?¡± he asks.
¡°Hmm, maybe they¡¯re in the restroom taking selfies and all of that,¡± Tobi replies.
¡°I don¡¯t think so, because I can¡¯t seem to sense even a bit of their phasic aura anywhere,¡± ID responds, looking around him.
Soon, they begin to feel intense heat.
¡°This heat, isn¡¯t this Ifunanya¡¯s¡ª,¡± but before ID can complete his sentence, the loud crackle of a roaring thunder is heard.
¡°Aisha!!!¡± Tobi calmly yells. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he says to ID.
However, before they move, ID remembers and says, ¡°By the way, where¡¯s Chiamaka? I mean I can sense Nelo around a bit but I can¡¯t seem to find Chiamaka¡¯s phasic aura too.¡±
¡°Probably she¡¯s with Ifunanya and Aisha,¡± Tobi replies.
¡°Makes sense. In that case, Tobi, we¡¯ll split up. Trace Aisha and Ifunanya and help immobilize the threat,¡± ID says and sighs.
¡°I¡¯ll get Nelo and go after Ife, she might really need our help. Also, that Oge might be a good lead for us,¡± he continues.
Tobi pauses and ponders for a bit. ¡°Fine by me. Whatever the threat is that we encounter, let¡¯s make sure we contact ourselves,¡± he suggests.
¡°Alright then,¡± ID replies. They bump fists and part ways.
Chapter 13
Previously on Talents Activate¡
Chiamaka, a lady who did not believe in the supernatural, has been opened into a new reality, a world of beings able to manipulate blades, wield flames, invade minds, and affect different forces. A mysterious man, Ezeogu, having the probability of being her father wants to take her for reasons best known to him but her friends resist. Ife zooms off to quickly engage Oge in order to save her team while the fierce battle between Ifunanya, Aisha and Tomisin is about to be concluded¡
At the Lofty Place, Nelo dances beautifully, flowing along with the rhythm of the music beats and Rume follows her on the dance floor toe-to-toe. They soon move to the side to get some drinks and catch their breath.
¡°You move quite well, Mr¡¡± Nelo states, trying to guess his name.
¡°Rume. My name is Rume,¡± he responds with a light smile.
¡°Nice to meet you Rume, you can call me Nelo,¡± she replies, smiling back while taking a sip from her glass cup.
¡°So, Rume, what other interesting things are you good at?¡± Nelo asks.
¡°Hmm. Quite a lot but I¡¯d rather you experience them than I bore you with just tales,¡± Rume replies, looking into Nelo¡¯s eyes.
¡°Hmm? a bad boy I see,¡± Nelo lightly whispers.
ID soon finds Nelo and quickly approaches her.
¡°Sorry to interrupt your flirting but we have to go now; Trouble might be brewing somewhere,¡± he says.
Nelo frowns a bit and lets out sigh, ¡°he¡¯s the one flirting by the way, not me.¡±
¡°What kind of trouble are we looking at?¡± she inquires.
¡°It¡¯s Ife, she might be in danger as the assassin known as Oge went after her team and Ife has now zoomed off to fight her,¡± ID answers.
¡°Oge? That¡¯s very dangerous,¡± Nelo says and drops her glass cup at the counter of the bartender.
¡°Let¡¯s hurry then,¡± she adds and proceeds to move.
¡°Do you mind joining us?¡± ID asks Rume.
¡°Hmm¡ sounds like fun and I¡¯d still get to be with this my new found crush. Alright my man, I¡¯ll go with you guys,¡± Rume answers with a smile.
Nelo pauses looking at both of them, ¡°You two know each other?¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± ID replies. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he adds.
***
Meanwhile,
Ifunanya, who is glowing brilliantly like the sun, is standing looking at Aisha and Tomisin.
¡°This will be over in a minute,¡± she says, brings out a coin from her pocket and flips it vigorously that it spins high up into the sky.
¡°Before that coin lands, this battle will be over,¡± Ifunanya adds.
¡°Humph!!! That means we¡¯d have pinned you down,¡± Aisha replies and dashes off as lightning to attack Ifunanya.
Ifunanya uses her swords to block the attack from Aisha and a massive shockwave of lightning and fire is released. Immediately, multiple images of Tomisin appears at the battle area surrounding Ifunanya and Aisha.
¡°A new trick?¡± Ifunanya thinks to herself, looking around.
¡°Concentrate!!!¡± Aisha yells and swings her second sword, clad with whirling clouds, against Ifunanya but Ifunanya instantly dashes off to Tomisin¡¯s position, at the rooftop and launches a heavy kick against her with her right foot.
However, the kick phases through Tomisin and the image of Tomisin there fades off.
¡°Interesting,¡± Ifunanya says as she spins to block an incoming lightning bolt from Aisha who swiftly appears at Ifunanya¡¯s side and clashes swords with her once more. Soon, they both begin to move around so fast that only the shining yellow light ray from Ifunanya and the blue lightning streak from Aisha can be seen flashing around the battle area at high speed while some of the images of Tomisin fade off after being hit by the yellow ray.
Tomisin quickly shoots one of the arrows from her bow, releasing it with a mighty sonic boom. The speed of the arrow is so fast, Ifunanya is forced to block and Aisha quickly uses that opportunity to unleash a mighty attack at the Ifunanya from above.
¡°TSANANIN SAUTI TSAWAR WAL?IYA!!!¡± (Hausa - Furious bolt of lightning).
In a flash, a powerful huge bolt of lightning rapidly shoots from the sky against Ifunanya, as the coin quickly spins and is about to land on the ground. Ifunanya takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, saying, ¡°Let me show you the difference in our abilities. If you can survive this, then we can talk.¡±
A ball of fire, like a mini sun, forms at the palm of Ifunanya¡¯s hand as several rays of light move into the ball and just when the huge lightning bolt reaches her, she closes her palm, making a fist and opens her eyes.
¡°Violent Sun.¡±
BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!
Tobi who is riding on a power bike along the stretch of the ten kilometer bridge, the third mainland bridge popularly known as ¡®3mb¡¯, stops abruptly with a screech, covering his face from a mighty dusty wind with immense heat.
¡°What in the world?!¡± he says to himself.
¡°The heat is powerful that even in the normal realm, I can clearly feel it to this extent. How much more in the Phasic dome?¡± he adds.
The heat wave is so mighty even in the normal world that it causes some vehicles to overheat and stop immediately but luckily no buildings or tankers catch fire.
***
Elsewhere¡
Dan, one of Ife¡¯s team members who betrayed the team and sided with Oge, is putting the rest of the captured team members into a van. Oge is resting on one side of the can looking at her silver plated wristwatch.
¡°Are you done?¡± she asks.
¡°Yeah. Last one has been put in,¡± he answers and heads for the door of the van when he quickly halts as a sword appears and pierces the ground in front of him. He shivers, turns in fear and sees a furious Ife standing at the top of a building.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Dan quickly makes a move to run but Ife instantly appears at the location of the sword close to Dan and moves to slash him with the one in her hand. Oge who quickly notices, brings out a gun and releases a shot against Ife with the bullet passing through the wound down glasses of the van. Ife is quick to see the attack and steps back, evading the bullet. Oge quickly jumps over the van, landing on the other side, opposite Ife. She moves to attack Ife with a swing of her sword but Ife uses her leg to lift the sword previously stuck in the ground, blocking Oge¡¯s assault. She spins and tries to cut Oge but Oge is quick to switch and immediately defends against the attack with her sword. Ife steps back again and says, ¡°I¡¯m not even going to waste time on you. Activate: Blade Coliseum.¡±
Instantly, her necklace shatters and floats high up into the sky forming an array of multiple blades surrounding the entire area.
¡°Hoo, Ife the famous swordsmith,¡± Oge teases, resting the blade of her sword on her shoulder while looking up at the array of blades.
¡°You don¡¯t have the luxury of admiring such,¡± Ife states.
¡°Rain down,¡± she utters and immediately, several blades from the array point at Oge and begin moving towards her at an immense speed.
BUZZ!!!
The wristwatch on Oge¡¯s hand, makes a noise and Oge directs her gaze at the watch.
¡°My, my, seems my time¡¯s up here. I really have to go now, would¡¯ve loved to enjoy this battle. However,¡± she says and gives off a light smile of confidence at Ife.
Once the swords are an inch away from the top of Oge¡¯s hair, she says, ¡°Activate.¡± What is seen next is Oge standing behind Ife with her sword in her hand as Ife gradually falls to the ground with a heavy diagonal slash running across her body, from her left shoulder down to her right hip, spewing lots of blood. Ife¡¯s eyes and mouth are open wide, perplexed at the situation.
¡°What¡just¡ happened?¡± Ife stutters as she lands on the ground, with her facing touching it and blood gushing from her mouth. All her blades that were coming for Oge fade away. Even Dan who is at the driver¡¯s seat of the van is lost in thoughts as to what happened.
¡°I couldn¡¯t see a thing,¡± he says, filled with fear.
Oge turns, looks at Ife and says in her smooth seductive yet strong voice, ¡°I really don¡¯t like using my talent at times like this but you see I have a client to meet, an important one at that. So forgive my manners of not having to savor our battle.¡±
¡°Dan, come pick her up and get her into the van,¡± she adds.
¡°Yes Ma¡¯am,¡± Dan replies as he alights from the van to come and carry Ife.
When Dan reaches Ife, she hisses and yells, ¡°If you think I¡¯ll let you take me, you¡¯re a learner!!!¡±
Her bracelet swiftly fragments and materializes into a dagger with a unique hilt in her right hand. As Dan¡¯s hand reaches to grab her, Ife stabs herself in the thigh with the dagger and in the blink of an eye, vanishes from that site.
¡°To think she still had such tricks, what an interesting chic,¡± Oge states.
¡°Let¡¯s go Dan. Let¡¯s not keep our client waiting,¡± she adds, puts her sword into the duffle bag, tosses it into the back of the van and gets into the van.
***
After disappearing from the site, Ife appears at her room in the house she shared with the team and slams into floor still bleeding heavily. Her vision is blurred and her eyes slowly begin to close.
¡°I guess¡ this is¡ a good place to die,¡± she mutters as her breathing also slows down.
ID, Nelo and Rume just arrive and are parked outside the gate of the house.
¡°Hey, I can feel Ife¡¯s aura,¡± ID states.
¡°We should hurry because it seems to be slowly fading away,¡± he adds as the three rush out from the car and head into the house. They come to a halt at the front of the gate.
¡°The house is locked from the inside,¡± Nelo says, trying to push the gate open.
¡°Should we activate a Phasic Dome and just jump over it? That way, no one would see us,¡± she suggests with a shrug.
¡°Humph! We don¡¯t need a Phasic Dome for that,¡± Rume says and pushes the smaller part of the gate a little.
The padlock on the other side of the gate cracks and the gate opens up. The three quickly rush in with ID leading the way to Ife.
¡°Seems there was indeed a battle here. I can still feel the faint presence of Phasic aura that was exerted here,¡± Nelo says as the move from outside to inside of the house.
On getting to Ife¡¯s room, ID quickly opens the door and the three are surprised to see Ife lying on the ground in a pool of blood.
Ife, whose vision is fading away, sees the blurred image of ID and says to herself, ¡°You¡again? I guess¡ I¡¯m in luck¡ today.¡± Her eyes then close fully.
¡°Ife,¡± ID utters. Nelo quickly steps forward and spreads her hands over Ife.
¡°Activate: ?k? ?gw?gw? (Igbo ¨C healing light).¡±
Her palms begin to glow with light green luster with round particles of it hovering over the injured area of Ife.
¡°You can heal too?¡± Rume inquires.
¡°Yup. That¡¯s one of the attributes of the Crest of Agwu Nsi however, I never really learned it so for now I can stop the bleeding and keep her alive but if she¡¯s going to be fully restored then I have someone in mind that we should take her to,¡± Nelo replies.
ID sighs and says, ¡°At least she¡¯s alive. Let¡¯s go meet this your person, Nelo.¡±
Meanwhile at Aisha¡¯s house...
The battle is now over, Ifunanya walks to her bag and picks it up. Aisha and Tomisin are on the ground, lying down, completely beaten and exhausted. The entire area is filled with immense heat with steam rising from the ground a various points. A quarter of the coin that was tossed earlier can be seen near Aisha, with its edges melted.
¡°Sorry Aisha, Tomisin but as a friend this is what I must do. I cannot risk you all going into such danger. If you cannot win against me then you certainly cannot win against him,¡± Ifunanya says and sighs.
¡°Bye, it was nice knowing you all,¡± she says with a sad tone in her voice. A tear rolled down her face.
¡°Ha! No matter how ¡®emotionless¡¯ my personality seems, I still cry at these moments,¡± she adds and tries to force a smile. Ifunanya fades off into light ray, instantly zooming off.
Back at Ife¡¯s place, Rume puts Ife in the back seat of his SUV jeep and as ID is about entering the jeep, he receives a phone call from Tobi.
¡°Tobi, How far?¡± he says, answering the call.
¡°Not so good here,¡± Tobi replies.
¡°What do you mean?¡± ID asks.
¡°There seems to have been a huge battle here. Getting here, I let myself into the Phasic Dome which I met still active here and guess what? The whole place¡¯s a mess. I found Aisha and Tomisin lying down, looking real beat,¡± Tobi answers.
¡°What??!¡± ID exclaims.
¡°That¡¯s not all. The place seems to be filled with great heat and Aisha was able to stutter a bit. She said that Ifunanya has gone to sort things out by herself. She and Tomisin tried to stop Ify but were not successful in doing so,¡± Tobi states.
¡°So like Ifunanya to do so,¡± ID responds.
¡°What do you mean?¡± Tobi asks.
¡°Ify would never let others fight her battles. I guess also the trauma of having lost her dad as he tried to save her is stopping her from allowing others into her battles,¡± ID explains.
¡°Yeah and also, Chiamaka isn¡¯t here either and Aisha never mentioned anything about her being here,¡± Tobi adds.
ID looks up into the night sky, with some little stars shining and lets out a deep sigh.
¡°This is bad,¡± he utters.
Elsewhere¡
Ifunanya arrives at the border of the state known as Lagos. She walks down to a nearby filling station and stops at a black SUV parked at the exit of the station. Oge is leaning on the SUV, at the door of the front passenger¡¯s seat. Not far from her, is another lady and Ifunanya is shocked to see the lady as is the lady.
¡°What are you doing here, Chiamaka?¡± Ifunanya enquires about the lady¡¯s being there.
¡°I could ask you the same, Ify,¡± Chiamaka replies.
¡°I have a cause for which I¡¯m going. The lives of my friends are at stake,¡± Ifunanya responds with her expressionless glare.
¡°So you want to sacrifice yourself?¡± Chiamaka questions.
¡°Aren¡¯t you doing the same?¡± Ifunanya counters.
¡°I¡¯m going to see my father,¡± Chiamaka responds.
¡°Is that so? Or you just tell yourself that trying to play the hero,¡± Ifunanya retorts.
¡°Consoling yourself I see. Anyway, this is my decision and this is what I will do,¡± Chiamaka states.
¡°Chiamaka, go back home,¡± Ifunanya tells Chiamaka, looking at her in the eye.
Oge steps in and says, ¡°No she can¡¯t, sweet cheeks. Both of you are coming with me. That was the instruction.¡±
Ifunanya gives off a fierce glare at Oge who smiles and responds, ¡°Do you want to have a go at me? Take into cognizance, the fact that Chiamaka your dear friend will get caught up in our bout and that might result in some casualties. Surely, you wouldn¡¯t want that.¡±
¡°Quite the smooth talker, aren¡¯t you?¡± Ifunanya mentions.
¡°You flatter me,¡± Oge replies.
¡°Alright so that¡¯s settled. Let¡¯s go you two,¡± she adds and they all step into the car which departs from Lagos.
***
Some minutes later, ID receives a text from Chiamaka, reading, ¡°Hi ID, sorry for this impromptu notice however, I have decided to go see my father. Sorry for not telling you. I had so much fun with you and Ifunanya and I¡¯m sure I would¡¯ve had more with Tobi, Aisha and Tomisin. This message was scheduled so by now I¡¯m long gone. Goodbye ID, thanks for everything. You¡¯re such a good friend, who knows, maybe if you had made a move and also without all this, I may, may ohh, have agreed to you. Lol. Byeee *hugs*. PS, I¡¯m with Ifunanya¡¡±
ID lets out a deep sigh, gazing at the dark night sky with its dazzling stars.
Chapter 14
Previously...
Ifunanya, Aisha and Tomisin had a massive battle which Ifunanya was victorious and ended up leaving in order to battle Ikeoku. Chiamaka already made up her mind and met with Oge to leave. Oge and Ife had a short battle where Oge severely wounded Ife however ID later found Ife and with Nelo¡¯s help, is taking her to get her wounds healed.
In a world of supernaturally powered beings, what fate awaits humanity?
***
¡°Whew!! What a long night,¡± ID says looking up at the night sky as he, Nelo and Rume who is carrying Ife, arrive at the house of Nelo''s suggested healer. They stand at the gate of the apartment as Nelo rings the doorbell. The apartment is located at the top floor of a very tall building in the area known as Ikoyi, Lagos.
¡°Quite the affluent person I guess,¡± Rume comments.
The door opens and a slim ebony lady with full afro hairstyle, dressed in a Jade colored silky night dress, wearing a pair of glasses with red frames and having a stick of cigarette in her mouth, is seen standing, holding the door to one side. She has a mild frown on her face.
¡°Wow! Quite the hottie too,¡± Rume whispers, smiling at the lady, trying to look at her in a seductive manner.
The lady turns and looks at Rume, still frowning, she says, ¡°Huh? What¡¯s wrong with your eyes? Are you tired of living?¡±
Rume smiles and responds, ¡°And fierce too.¡±
¡°Ugh,¡± Yewande expresses and shakes her head.
Nelo proceeds to lightly slap Rume''s back and giggles.
¡°Shut up!!!¡± she yells, as the giggles ends abruptly. She turns and faces the lady and greets her, ¡°Hey Yewande. Been a while.¡±
The lady, Yewande, returns her gaze to Nelo. ¡°Chinelo, what¡¯s the big deal?¡± she asks.
¡°Well¡ long story short, we need your healing expertise in saving someone; I¡¯ve done the little I can with my healing ability. You know for me it¡¯s not so easy healing others,¡± Nelo replies gesturing her hand at Ife who is being carried by Rume.
Yewande blows a puff of smoke and let¡¯s out a sigh. ¡°I can see that. What I mean is why¡¯d you come to my man¡¯s house with a half dead lady and two¡ men. How did you even get this address?¡± she says.
Nelo giggles, placing her right hand at the back of her head. ¡°Well¡ sorry about that. Sesan gave me this address. Plus you¡¯re the only one I could really go to at the moment. I know Wemimo also has healing ability but you know how she can be.¡±
Yewande sighs again. ¡°No need arguing this with you, come in,¡± she says. ¡°Luckily, my man isn¡¯t around. Just curious though, how¡¯d you make it past security?¡±
Nelo smiles and responds, ¡°We have our ways.¡±
¡°Pfft!!!¡± Yewande exclaims. ¡°Probably Phasic Dome ish,¡± she says.
¡°By the way, this is ID, Rume and the half dead lady is Ife¡± Nelo says.
¡°ID seems familiar, I think we¡¯ve met before if I can remember. Rume I know, cause he¡¯s kinda like a celeb anyway. I¡¯m not sure I know this Ife lady,¡± Yewande replies.
¡°Anyway, let¡¯s get this over with,¡± she adds.
ID stays outside and says, ¡°Umm, I have to go and meet up with Tobi. Seems something happened with Aisha, Tomisin and Ifunanya.¡±
¡°I see. No wahala (No worries). I¡¯ll update you on how it goes,¡± Nelo replies.
¡°Rume, Nelo, thank you guys so much. Catch you later,¡± ID says and takes his leave.
***
At Aisha''s house¡
ID has arrived and is in the sitting room with Tobi and Aisha. Tomisin is in the bathroom taking a shower.
¡°I see, so that¡¯s what happened. Typical Ifunanya, never wanting to trouble others but always ready to give it her all for her loved ones,¡± ID says after Aisha narrates to him and Tobi about their encounter with Ifunanya.
¡°So what are we going to do now? Chiamaka and Ifunanya are both going into the lion¡¯s den,¡± Tobi asks.
¡°That¡¯s obvious,¡± ID answers. ¡°We¡¯ll go after them and provide our assistance,¡± he adds.
Aisha sighs and lays back more on the couch. ¡°You guys can do whatever you want, I¡¯m done. She made it clear she doesn¡¯t want our interference, I¡¯m not bothered.¡±
ID smiles a bit and replies, ¡°Is that really your thought or you¡¯re just sulking cause you lost against her?¡±
¡°Humph!!! If I wanted, I could have gone a step further but I chose not to. After seeing her determination in wanting to go alone, I gave up on her,¡± Aisha responds.
ID walks to Aisha¡¯s side, pulls her left cheek and says, ¡°And you know what could have happened if you went a step further that right? You can¡¯t use that mode except it¡¯s a life and death situation.¡±
¡°Yen yen yen, tch!!!¡± Aisha expresses with a frown while her left cheek is being pulled.
Tobi stands, yawns and says, ¡°Anyway, looks like most of us are beat, so we¡¯ll continue this tomorrow. Let¡¯s try and get some rest.¡±
¡°Good idea,¡± ID replies.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Elsewhere, still in Lagos City, Professor Lenz is in a vehicle, sitting at the back as a driver is taking him to a location. Just ahead of them are a set of police officers with guns. They flag down the car of the Professor and ask the driver to step down to answer some questions. it is very dark and late like around 2:00 AM, the Professor is just sitting at the back with a cigarette in his mouth, reading an article from his tablet device, seeming unconcerned. The windows of the car¡¯s doors have black tint making it difficult for the police officers to tell who is sitting inside the vehicle.
After some exchange of words between the driver and the police officers, the driver walks to the back seat of the car and knocks on the window, he tells the Professor that the officers have decided to move them to their office for further questioning.
The Professor, without looking at the driver, replies, ¡°They want to delay me? Call them, I have a question for them.¡±
The driver goes to relay the message to the police officers who start yelling at him that they do not have much time to waste. Hearing all the noise, Professor Lenz steps out of the car, the police are surprised to see he is a caucasian and not a usual nigerian. They all begin to salute him and apologize saying, ¡°Sir, Please we are very sorry for the inconvenience. We¡¯re just carrying out routine security checks. You can be on your way.¡±
Some even whisper, ¡°Omo, why this driver no tell us say na oyibo him carry?!¡± (English - ¡°Man why didn¡¯t this driver tell us he¡¯s carrying a Caucasian man?¡±).
Professor Lenz pays no attention to them. He takes out the cigarette stick in his mouth, blows a puff and calmly says, ¡°Do you¡ all want to die?¡±
¡°What?¡± The police officers reply, looking confused.
Suddenly, one of the police officers points a gun at another.
¡°What are you doing Officer Lekan?¡± one of the officers asks and points his gun back at him.
There are five police officers in total. Soon, they all point their guns at each other; they are now viewing each other dressed in the attire of an armed robber. They begin firing at themselves, killing each other. Abruptly, a big truck zooms from behind Professor Lenz¡¯s car, screeches, makes a drift and in the process, loses control, tumbles and sweeps off all the bodies of the police officers to the side of the road.
Professor Lenz, makes another puff from his cigarette and in his usual calm manner, says to his driver, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± He gets back into the car and shuts the door.
The driver is very perplexed as to what just occurred. Unable to utter a word, he just swallows his spit, rushes to the car and zooms off with the Professor. The driver of the truck comes out of the tumbled vehicle, bewildered, in a state of ¡®what just happened¡¯ and ¡®thank God I survived¡¯.
Somewhere else, at an apartment on the mainland of Lagos City, Uche steps in and closes the door as he enters. After resting a while, he moves closer to the artwork he purchased (Chapter 8). Staring at it for a while, he notices he can hear a faint strong voice like a male¡¯s voice. He reaches for the artwork and places his left palm on it. Instantly, he feels a zap like an electric shock and hears clearly, a deep male voice saying, ¡°Kid, you seem quite capable, get me out of here.¡±
Uche quickly activates his gift ¡°Activate: Mind Invasion¡± and enters into a different realm. In the new realm, the entire place is dark and empty, a tall muscular being, with lightning sparking from his eyes, levitating in front of him.
Uche is amazed. ¡°Interesting, you¡¯ve been in this artwork all this while?¡±
The being is a bit surprised that Uche is amazed rather than shocked in fear.
¡°Kid, you do not seem like you¡¯re afraid so you must have expected this somehow,¡± the being states.
¡°Indeed I did expect this but I¡¯m still in awe. I only heard a few things about how the great artist and advanced talent, Benjamin Awili sealed off some of the most powerful crests who rebelled against humanity, wanting to rule over the humans as their gods,¡± Uche replies.
¡°So I did a bit of research and decided I will find these artworks, undo the seal and with the ancient crests by my side, lead the advanced talents into a new age of dominion,¡± he adds.
The being descends, stands on the same level as Uche and smiles, bursting into laughter. ¡°Hahaha, Imagine the blessing. To think that I¡¯d be so lucky to meet you, an advanced talent with telepathic abilities who also has the same goals as us.¡±
He goes on to say, ¡°You see, young man, we with our abilities were made to rule. That fool Benjamin Awili did not understand this and that was why he could only seal us and not entirely defeat us. I have been watching from this seal, how humanity has advanced without knowledge of the other realm. They lift themselves up as if they have power whereas true power lies with us. Young man, release me from this seal and I shall grant you this entire world. My name is Kalu Ike-Ifufe Okafor and I have spoken.¡±
Uche looks into the eyes of the being, Kalu and smiles. ¡°I was going to unseal you anyway, however, I¡¯m not sure I have the capabilities of such at the moment, so you might have to wait a bit.¡±
Kalu laughs out loud. ¡°Hahaha!!! It seems you really do not know the full extent of your abilities. You must think you¡¯re only a telepathic but I can sense telekinetic abilities also.¡±
Uche is shocked. ¡°What do you mean telekinetic abilities? Do you also have the power to tell people¡¯s talents? I, however, only possess the advanced talent of a telepath.¡±
Kalu laughs out loud again while folding his arms. ¡°This is why you¡¯ll need me. Allow me to show you a glimpse. Luckily, Benjamin Awili did not predict that one with your abilities will locate this artifact and reach out to me. With your powers, I will now undo the seal.¡± He says this, moves closer to Uche and places his palms on each of Uche¡¯s shoulders.
¡°Activate: Supercharge!!!¡± he says and instantly, a powerful surge of lightning flows through him into Uche. Uche¡¯s eyes immediately shine brighter and a powerful burst of psychic force is released from Uche¡¯s body.
Suddenly, in the normal realm, Lagos city, there is a very loud roar of thunder which causes glasses on some buildings to shatter. While at Uche¡¯s house, the artwork defragments into pieces as Kalu materializes into the physical world.
¡°My my, it¡¯s been a very long time,¡± Kalu says, looking at his hand, flexing his fingers and feeling the warmth of a human body. Uche¡¯s mind invasion has already deactivated and he is back to normal reality, staring at Kalu, the tall muscular being.
Uche takes a deep breath and says, ¡°Well, if you could do that all the while, why did you have to wait for me?¡±
Kalu picks up a hoodie from Uche¡¯s wardrobe, checking it out as he replies, ¡°It¡¯s simple. All I did was supercharge your mind to tap into your massive telekinetic force. Since your mind is already linked to your body on the outside on the outside, I triggered a kinetic blast powerful enough to destroy the seal. This is all thanks to you having both telepathy and telekinesis. Also, because Benjamin Awili was in a hurry to seal me, my seal had more weak points compared to that of my comrades. Like I said kid, you have telekinetic ability, an enormous one at that.¡±
Uche smiles and says ¡°Interesting. So what next now? You do know the world has changed a lot since your sealing right?¡±
Kalu responds, ¡°I told you before, didn¡¯t I? I have been watching how humanity has advanced. I was sealed however I had access to view what was going on worldwide. My knowledge of the world is current. Now, as to what to do next, first, we have to shop. I need me some good clothes then, we¡¯ll locate each of the artworks that my comrades were sealed in and undo their seal. Adaaku, Jindu, Yemisi, Eloise and others, we shall free them all and conquer this earth once more.¡±
Uche seems pleased with what he heard from Kalu. ¡°Good, good. I too have some comrades and recruitments of my own. Though, it¡¯s quite late, so we¡¯ll do the shopping once the sun is up. We may have obstacles by the way, possibly some Crests and advanced talents.¡±
¡°Not a problem,¡± Kalu says as he sits on a chair close to Uche¡¯s bed and takes a relaxing position. ¡°We¡¯ll obliterate every opposition,¡± he adds.
***
At the Eastern part of Nigeria however, Oge, Ifunanya and Chiamaka make their arrival at the location of Ikeoku, Ezeogu and the Unknown going by Shade.
A tremendous battle is about to begin¡
To be continued...
Chapter 15
Ifunanya and Chiamaka finally arrive at a beautiful large estate with visually appealing structures. This estate is where Ikeoku, Ezeogu (Chiamaka¡¯s father) and the Unknown (Shade) are currently residing.
At the Eastern part of Nigeria however, Oge, Ifunanya and Chiamaka make their arrival at the location of Ikeoku, Ezeogu and the Unknown going by Shade. This is at about 4:00am. The large gates of the estate open and the car conveying Ifunanya, Chiamaka and Oge, drives in. After moving some distance, it stops. Ikeoku appears and stands in front of the car.
¡°No need to proceed further Ifunanya, we shall have our discussion here,¡± he says.
Ifunanya alights from the car, her eyes glowing with yellow lustre, and her face wearing a calm but fierce look.
¡°And you think I¡¯ll just let that happen, Ikeoku?!¡± She responds, holding the door of the car as steam emanates from her entire body.
Ikeoku smirks and replies, ¡°Do you think you can fight me while protecting her? That is why you¡¯re here, isn¡¯t it? To defeat me, right? If so, then it¡¯s best she goes ahead. Also, she is here to see her father, he is waiting for her. Let¡¯s not waste time on this, shall we?¡±
Ifunanya pauses, looks at Oge, then switches her gaze to Chiamaka. She thinks to herself, ¡°He¡¯s right. Even if I insist, there¡¯s no way I alone can take on him and Oge simultaneously.¡±
¡°Fine,¡± She says. ¡°Be careful Chiamaka. Once I¡¯m done here, I¡¯ll come for you.¡±
Ifunanya lets go of the car and slams the door. Oge giggles as the car drives off past Ikeoku.
¡°That¡¯s a bold claim, Ifunanya. You¡¯re under the impression that you¡¯ll defeat me and go for your friend,¡± Ikeoku states with both his arms behind his back.
Ifunanya stretches her right hand towards Ikeoku, a sword materializes; she grabs it, points it at Ikeoku and declares, ¡°I am hundred percent confident that I will.¡±
¡°Fine. Come th--,¡± Ikeoku was about completing his sentence, when Ifunanya promptly appears in front of him in a crouching position. Swiftly, she lands a powerful kick on his solar plexus (part of the body) that sends him flying four thousand feet in the air (4,000 ft). While in the air, she follows up with another kick that pushes Ikeoku further and she keeps at it, landing fifteen of these kicks. This brings them both to an altitude of about sixty thousand feet (60,000 feet).
Each of the kicks discharge powerful sonic booms like thunder roaring in a mighty storm. Ifunanya halts on the kicks and keeps her distance from Ikeoku as she catches her breath.
As Ifunanya¡¯s barrage stops, Ikeoku crouches in the air for a brief moment, exhales and stands. ¡°Not bad, I see you¡¯ve released your limiter,¡± he says standing in the air with his hands behind his back and his eyes glowing fiercely.
¡°I don¡¯t intend to drag this battle for long. Even if we¡¯re in the phasic realm, I don¡¯t know how much impact my attack can have in the real world. That¡¯s why at this altitude, I can let out as much as I want,¡± Ifunanya replies.
¡°Our people have a saying, Ihe ehi h?r? gbalaba oso ka okuku huru
na-at? onu (Fools rush in where angels fear to tread). It was foolish of you to rush in, Ifunanya¡± Ikeoku says. With great speed, he appears before Ifunanya and throws a mighty blow.
¡°Solar wave: Scorching Fist.¡±
However, Ifunanya quickly reacts.
¡°Solar wave: Scorching Jolt.¡±
Using her leg, glowing and enshrouded with fire, she stops Ikeoku¡¯s punch with a kick. A powerful shockwave is released from the collision of the hits. Ifunanya quickly utilizes Ikeoku¡¯s fist to throw herself higher in the air and with her sword, she projects an assault.
¡°Solar wave: Corona Pillar.¡±
Instantly, a huge beam with a diameter of about fifteen meters (15m), shoots out from her blade, consuming everything in its path at an altitude of sixty thousand feet (60,000ft). Ifunanya stands in air, watching carefully as the beam dissipates. After the attack clears out, Ikeoku remains there, unharmed while surrounded by a brilliantly glowing corona.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
¡°Tch! The corona is the aura of plasma that surrounds the sun and other stars. He used that to protect himself from my own corona attack. After years of living, I shouldn¡¯t be surprised with his solar manipulation proficiency,¡± Ifunanya ponders.
Ikeoku smirks and taunts, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Can you already feel your loss?¡±
Ifunanya maintains her calm expression though she is fuming with anger within her. She replies, ¡°Humph! I was just warming up.¡± Suddenly, there is an exponential increase in temperature to about two thousand degree celsius (2000 Celsius) around the area where the battle is ongoing.
¡°Oh? I see you¡¯re getting fully serious now,¡± Ikeoku says, looking at Ifunanya.
¡°Ikeoku, i tiela aka na tipa bu aja, (You have placed you hand on tipper with load of sand), you are in big trouble. For the sin of taking away the life of my father, I will see to it that this world never heard of you again,¡± Ifunanya replies.
¡°Crest Activation: Battle mode: Eze Nwany? Ukwu nke Anyanw? (Igbo ¨C Empress of the sun).¡±
An immense heat wave flows from Ifunanya, spreading across the entire Earth. Her hair changes to yellow in color, gleaming brightly as does her eyes and her sword; the glow also outlines her entire body. A big hollow circle with glistening outline appears behind her back, radiating mostrous heat with visible corona.
¡°Amazing,¡± Ikeoku compliments. ¡°To think that you¡¯d have achieved this level of power in such an amount of time. You truly have a unique potential, I was right to have waited.¡± Ikeoku stretches his right hand to his right, emitting fire from it. The flames form a battle axe with a long handle and materializes into a solid battle axe. ¡°Maybe it wasn¡¯t such a bad thing that your father, Nnanna, died after all.¡±
The last statement makes Ifunanya to fume within herself and immediately, she dashes to attack causing a clash of weapons between herself and Ikeoku. While still showing in front of Ikeoku, swiftly, she also appears behind him; her legs are now cloaked in sunlight with the form of a long combat boot emanating great heat. With this, she launches a powerful kick. Ikeoku looks over his shoulder to see her incoming assault while her image in front of Ikeoku vanishes.
¡°She moved so fast, she left an after-image that appeared like she was still in front of me clashing blades. Impressive,¡± Ikeoku appraises.
BOOM!!! The kick is so heavy, it sends Ikeoku flying another ten thousand feet upwards (10,000 ft). Ifunanya prepares another attack. A massive ball of fire of about one hundred square kilometres (100 sq km) in diameter, radiating with enormous heat, is generated from the tip of her blade.
¡°Ok¨¦ iwe nke Eze Nwany? Ukwu nke Anyanw? (full fury of the sun empress).¡±
Without delay, she swings her sword and unleashes the attack against Ikeoku with tremendous force. The attack moves with immense and when it close to Ikeoku, he strikes his battle axe vertically.
BOOOOMMMM!!!!
A colossal explosion occurs, blasting Ikeoku out of the Earth¡¯s atmosphere into outer space. Once the explosion subsides, Ikeoku stands in outer space, shining brilliantly, like a star. Ifunanya quickly zooms off, leaving Earth¡¯s atmosphere, into outer space.
¡°That was dangerous, had I not reacted with my battle axe, I would have been in trouble,¡± Ikeoku states, with a smirk, looking at Ifunanya.
¡°I see,¡± Ifunanya responds. ¡°However, that attack was just to push you here so that I can use an even greater attack that you won¡¯t be able to counter,¡± she says as she lifts her sword vertically.
She evaluates her approach, ¡°This technique should determine the outcome of this battle. I have used up almost all my phasic aura and if I should use Supernova, then I wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything for at least the next three days. Charles, Ada and Nedu along with Chiamaka, may still need my help so I have to be smart about it. Given the circumstances at hand, I¡¯ll use the other.¡±
Shortly, the radiance around her becomes so bright as she burns and shines like a mini sun. She proceeds to point the blade at Ikeoku and says, ¡°ike nd?li (gravity bind).¡± Suddenly, a great translucent wave is widely dispersed which passes through Ikeoku also.
¡°What?¡± Ikeoku wonders. He tries to move and discovers that he is unable to.
¡°Impossible. I can¡¯t move?¡± he adds.
In the blink of an eye, Ifunanya instantly emerges close to Ikeoku, about to stab him but forcefully, he manages to move his hand and grab the blade of Ifunanya¡¯s sword, stopping her from piercing his body.
Ikeoku is a bit amused, ¡°I couldn¡¯t sense her movements at all until she was close to me. Could it be that she moved even faster or...?¡±
Ifunanya looks Ikeoku in the eye and calmly says, ¡°Ura ga-eju onye nwuru anwu afo (A dead person shall have all the sleep necessary). Rest in peace.¡±
¡°Ok¨¦ iwe nke anyanw? na-enwu n¡¯abal? (dazzling fury of the night sun).¡±
A blazing huge ball full of intense heat grows and engulfs Ikeoku. The temperature within the ball keeps rising and soon the ball implodes. Instantly, there is a humongous explosion releasing a very bright light, shimmering so much that on Earth, in the normal realm, at some places where it is night, there is a flash of sunlight like daytime for just a brief moment.
At Aisha¡¯s house¡
ID is about to sleep but notices the sunlight. He rushes to the window and looks at the sky as the light fades away and the night returns. ¡°Ifunanya,¡± he thinks to himself. He gets a phone call and answers, ¡°Hey Nelo, I know already.¡±
¡°Yeah so don¡¯t try anything yet until we¡¯ve met and discussed a plan,¡± Nelo replies.
¡°Alright. No qualms then,¡± ID responds. ¡°How far with Ife?¡±
¡°She¡¯s getting better. Yewande is an expert healer so I expected nothing less. However, I left she and Ife. I¡¯m on my way to meet a teacher and friend, someone that is vital to us in stopping Ikeoku,¡± Nelo answers.
¡°Oh? Think you can convince him? I heard he left the whole advanced talent and crest thing a while ago,¡± ID states.
¡°That¡¯s right but he still has his abilities in tact and I¡¯m certain once he knows that Ifunanya is in danger, he will move. The previous Crest of Amadioha, the one who was known as a genius even among crests, having twice the phasic aura of a crest; Ifunanya¡¯s father¡¯s student and later, our teacher, for us crests that is, Chisom Ejiofor.