“Anyway, tell me why our infallible leaders were unsuccessful,” Emok said.
“Their approach was wrong. I have a better approach for you, old friend,” Lunok replied and took another step closer. “All I ask is that you don’t give up on me, because I am not giving up on you. Can you try that?”
“I can,” Emok replied with little enthusiasm. “No guarantees, though.”
“And that is all I am asking,” Lunok said.
Lunok then stepped back and nodded at his four comrades. They nodded back at him and then turned to face Emok. It was time to go. Lunok summoned a glyph of light of a seven-faceted crystalline structure on his left palm. He then held out his left palm and the four Shemsu guards each projected a beam of golden light from their forehead, in between their eyes, unto the glyph. Lunok then turned his left palm towards his face and projected a beam of golden light from his forehead, in between his eyes, unto the seven-faceted crystalline glyph. The glyph glowed brightly and Lunok closed his fist. This would be the key to Emok’s future incarceration.
“Let’s go!” Lunok said and made to teleport away.
“Wait!” Emok cried.
Lunok gestured to the other four Shemsus to wait.
“May I please see the team before I am taken away?” Emok pleaded. “I just want to say goodbye, given that I may never see them again.”
Lunok understood his request. He summoned the team via telepathy and within a blink, the team appeared on sight. They stared at their former leader, knowing neither what to say nor do at first. Their former leader was like a distorted image of his former self. They stepped closer towards the energy field. Emok looked at each of them in the eye until, finally, he managed a weak smile.
“I’m happy for this opportunity to bid you all farewell, my dear friends,” he said weakly.
“You speak as if we will never see you again,” Hikok countered. “We have not lost our spirits and neither should you, Emok.”
“There are still many realms and dimensions out there calling our name,” Obok chimed in. “They’re not going to populate themselves, you know.”
For the next few moments, they spoke words of encouragement and hope to their former leader. Emok was grateful and expressed his deep appreciation for everything they were trying to do for him. He assured them that he will do everything in his power to not give up. He had found renewed hope.
“We must go now, Emok,” Lunok said.
“I understand,” Emok said and then turned his attention towards the rest of the team. “Thank you all so much. I will see you all soon. Good bye now!”
Emok then turned around and gave Lunok a nod.
The six Shemsus teleported away to an extremely dense realm in dimension of extremely low vibrational frequency. Lunok and the four Shemsu guards reduced their vibrational frequencies to resonate with that of this unpopulated realm. They were on the dark side of the realm. Emok wanted to resonate with the realm as well but failed. He was unsure why and for some reason, he began to panic. The four Shemsu guards immediately took up formation, ready to do more than just contain Emok, if it came to that.
“Be calm, old friend,” Lunok said. “The energy protection field resonates with the Shemsu frequency. Everything within the field will be maintained at the Shemsu frequency, and that includes you. Only one of ours or a creature from a higher realm than ours will be able to perceive this energy field, and you. But I alone will have the key. And by ‘I’, I mean my me essence. So, you’re safe and will remain undisturbed until I find a cure for you, brother!”
Lunok summoned the seven-faceted, crystalline glyph on his left palm and placed it on the energy protection field. The energy field glowed, pulsated seven times and then lost its glow. The four guards then detached themselves from the energy field but the field stayed in place. Lunok closed his fist.
“Your containment is now your Shemsu home on this realm,” Lunok said. “I have the key and because the five of us imparted a part of our essences unto this key, we are now connected to your energy protection field, also your containment. We’ll be promptly updated of everything happening within this field.”
Lunok then stepped closer.
“I will not rest until I find a solution, brother,” he said.
Lunok smiled and waited for Emok to say something. Emok closed his eyes and when he opened them, the words that spewed forth from his mouth were not the words Lunok wanted to hear.
“I’d suggest you never return,” something that looked like Emok said. “I’d suggest that you forget about me, because you are already too late.”
And Emok glowed in a bright blackness that neither Lunok nor the other Shemsus had ever seen before.
“Emok! Just hang in there, old friend!” Lunok pleaded.
“The one you call ‘Emok’ is no longer here, creature!” said the entity that had taken over Emok.
Its voice was deep and infused with Shemsu energy laced with something so dark it made Lunok and the other four Shemsus take an involuntary step back. But Lunok steeled himself. He was not going to back down so easily. He glared, and his eyes glowed in a bright violet-gold hue as he stepped forward towards the energy protection field.
“Who are you and what have you done with my friend?” Lunok demanded.
“Patience, creature! Patience!” said the entity that had taken over Emok. “You will know me soon enough! This is my promise to you!”
Lunok screamed and thrust his fist towards the sky. He was too late. A bolt of energy surged from the skies, struck the energy protection field, and started sinking the containment chamber deeper into the ground. As Emok, or the entity that had taken over his essence, sank deeper into the ground, Lunok and the four Shemsus could hear the entity screaming all the way.
“I swear by the entity I am and the essence I have taken over,” the creature said via telepathy. “I will be free again and then, I will destroy you all; from the Core of Creation, to your dimension and beyond!”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
KUMBA BREAD
“HIT ME!” SHI’MON commanded.
Patrick threw a haymaker followed by a roundhouse kick. Shi’mon adjusted his distance and Patrick missed both attacks. They were in the basement of Shi’mon’s residence in Rome, which contained a dojo. Eight years had gone by since Patrick swore his allegiance to Shi’mon and the O.R. and eight years later, despite all the training he personally received from Shi’mon, Patrick was still to land a single punch on his mentor. Patrick was beyond frustration and giving up was not an option.
“You’re trying too hard,” Shi’mon said as he evaded Patrick’s attacks.
“What else am I supposed to do, boss?” Patrick was exhausted from the cardio of constantly attacking someone he could never hit.
“You could start by listening,” Shi’mon replied.
Shi’mon stepped into the space between him and Patrick. In three rapid moves, Shi’mon ruptured Patrick’s right pectoralis major, shattered Patrick’s jaw and kicked Patrick’s right hip out of its socket. Patrick was unsure how he screamed so loud as he collapsed to the floor in a helpless, painful heap. Maybe the screams were in his mind. For God’s sake, his jaw was gone, shattered to smithereens! The pain was real and so was his training. Patrick closed his eyes and infused his body with chi energy. Within seconds, his jaw, pectoralis major and hip were back to normal. He leaped to his feet and lunged at Shi’mon.
But Shi’mon teleported both himself and Patrick to the Niagara Falls. He let Patrick freefall into the waterfall, but Patrick teleported away. Patrick appeared behind Shi’mon and went for a rear naked chokehold, but his arms went right through Shi’mon. Patrick let out an expletive and Shi’mon slapped him hard across the face, peeling off half of Patrick’s face with his slap.
“You know the rules!” Shi’mon glared at Patrick.
“Sorry, boss,” Patrick apologized as he healed himself. “Didn’t mean to-”
Shi’mon attacked. Mentor and mentee danced in a free
style of martial arts and teleportation across the globe. Patrick matched his mentor, knowing fully well that his mentor was only toying with him. Shi’mon increased the intensity of his attacks and Patrick adapted in kind, much to Shi’mon’s pleasant surprise. At last, Shi’mon teleported himself and Patrick to the peak of Mt. Everest.
“You’ve come a long way, Patrick,” Shi’mon said flatly, which was his version of a compliment.
“Thanks, boss,” Patrick replied, desperately trying to contain the size of his growing head. “I’m doing my best to not disappoint you.”
“Your best if good, but not good enough,” Shi’mon said dismissively. “You still have to learn to listen.”
“You keep saying that,” Patrick interjected rudely, forgetting for a second that Shi’mon was his boss, not his peer. “I’ve always done as you have asked.”
“Except when it comes to listening,” Shi’mon said calmly.
Patrick opened his mouth to say something and thought better. He observed Shi’mon for a few seconds as Shi’mon sat on the ground. Shi’mon sat unmoving and staring blankly ahead. Or so Patrick assumed. Patrick followed Shi’mon’s gaze but could not see anything past the whiteout at 28,000ft above sea level. He enhanced his gaze. He could see past the whiteout at the peak of Mt. Everest and there was nothing of interest to see.
What did Father Supreme mean by him not listening? Patrick was sure he paid attention to and followed Father Supreme’s instructions to the letter. Yet, Father Supreme kept telling him he had to learn how to listen. Eight years of training and this was the biggest thing Father Supreme kept reminding him of.
“You remind me of me,” Shi’mon said. “Certain aspects of you, that is.”
Patrick eyed his boss in surprise. Was that a compliment or a reprimand?
“Master used to tell me the same thing, sometimes,” Shi’mon continued and turned around to face Patrick. “It took me decades to finally understand what Master was trying to teach me. But it doesn’t have to be the same for you.”
Patrick met his boss’ gaze. There were so many emotions displayed over Shi’mon’s gaze that Patrick was unable to keep track of. He wanted to say something but kept his mouth shut. He had to listen and pay attention to what his mentor was trying to tell him, even if it was going to be solely out of respect.
“I’ve trained you in using the four elements and you almost have a mastery over them,” Shi’mon said. “However, the fifth element eludes you still and you have yourself to blame.”
What the hell was this man trying to say? That he, Patrick was not good enough to learn something so simple. Yes, learning the four elements was easy. He had come to the realization that he embodied the four elements; his physical form was akin to the earth, he breathed air in and out all the time (duh!), his body was 80% water and the biological processes of creating energy for the body was akin to fire. Ether, the fifth element, still eluded him. He had done everything in his power, studied every text he could find, meditated and did all the yoga in the world and still, ether was beyond his comprehension. Despite all his efforts, Father Supreme had the guts to tell him that ether eluding him was his fault???
Shi’mon sparked the ethers and a very beautiful, platinum dagger formed in his left palm. He examined the dagger as he changed the design by sparking the ethers. Patrick observed Shi’mon play with the ethers. He was so caught up with observing Shi’mon that he forgot to maintain the protective field around him. The brutal cold of the highest point on the planet shocked him back to reality and Patrick brought up the protective shield again, using his chi.
“The ethers constitute the most fundamental aspect of Creation,” Shi’mon said as he transformed the dagger into an elephant moth with violet wings. “There are many speculations regarding what the ethers are. Dark matter, waveform, energy, spirit, even God. The truth is, we can only talk around it but we can never really know it or use it.”
Patrick wanted to explode in vindication. All this time, Father Supreme had been making him feel so stupid when it really was not his fault that he could not summon the ethers, or whatever the hell they did with it.
“Unless you become receptive to it,” Shi’mon added.
Patrick froze and stared at Shi’mon. He must have read my thoughts! he thought. Always violating my privacy. Something about the way Shi’mon said it caused a shift within Patrick. Shi’mon dismissed the elephant moth. The moth vanished, but not into nothingness.
“Once it allows you to know and use it, whatever you do with it is up to you,” Shi’mon continued. “It will not be subject to your will. But you can align your will with that of the ethers. They are devoid of judgement and perception. They are the primordial aspects of Creation, the fundamental element of Creation. So, even though we call the ethers the fifth element, in reality, the ethers are the first element because they are the quintessence of Creation.”
Patrick nodded. His intellectual mind was doing everything in its power to make sense of what Shi’mon had just told him. It was a delight to his psyche and his ego especially. However, this time, the delight felt different. Something about what his boss had just told him had indicated that he, Patrick, had been going about this whole ether thing the wrong way. He could try from now till the end of his days to ‘master’ the ethers and he would fail. Therefore, he had to use a new approach. He had to forgo using his intellect, but how? How else could he learn without using his intellect? How else could he understand things-
Listen!
Patrick’s head snapped upwards and he looked around, searching for the source of the voice that just spoke to him. He turned to face Shi’mon, but Shi’mon was sitting in a Buddha pose, eyes closed and in deep meditation. Patrick could have sworn someone, or something, just spoke to him-
Listen!
There it was again! He heard it. He was not losing his mind. Good! But why-
Listen!
Patrick heard the voice a third time and this time, he became still. He ceased the noise in his head. He ceased everything. He was unsure how he did it, but in order for him to listen, he would have to shut his big mouth. And that included the big mouth in his head. As such, Patrick sat in a Buddha pose, closed his eyes and, for the first time in his current existence, he became still by his own nature. Patrick lost track of time, of space, of everything. In that moment, he was present in every sense of the word and beyond.
Heads up!
Patrick smiled and offered a silent thanks to the voice, whatever that voice was. He caught Shi’mon’s punch with his left fist and opened his eyes. The look of surprise on Shi’mon’s face was priceless. Patrick’s smile turned into a grin. Shi’mon attacked Patrick with everything he had and Patrick either parried, blocked, evaded or deflected Shi’mon’s attacks. Shi’mon stepped back and gave Patrick a scan of the esoteric kind. His eyes bulged in pleasant surprise and he nodded. For the first time in a long time, Patrick saw Shi’mon smile and Patrick assumed the smile was of the congratulatory kind. He was wrong.
Shi’mon was pleased to notice Patrick’s inner transformation. His protégé’s training was complete at last; well, most of the training. Patrick could access the fifth element and that meant he, Shi’mon, would hold nothing back now. As such, Shi’mon decided to put Patrick to the test. He summoned a katana and attacked. He moved at the speed of zip and held nothing back. Patrick evaded every attack until he stripped Shi’mon of the katana. Shi’mon made to teleport but could not. Patrick had activated the ethers around the two of them to neutralize any dematerialization of their physical forms.
And then, it was Patrick’s turn to attack. Mentor and mentee gave their all. They moved at the speed of zip and struck at each other as if they were mortal enemies. This was no longer a training session. This was more than a regular test. This was a baptism of strength, wit and dominance. This was an initiation into a way of life that was new to Patrick. This was passage through a doorway into an unknown that eluded both Shi’mon and Patrick. During the entire due
l, Patrick was yet to hit Shi’mon but that changed in the end. Patrick struck Shi’mon in the pectoralis major, shattered his jaw and dislocated Shi’mon’s hip. But Shi’mon healed himself with each strike and backed away from the duel.
“Bravo, Patrick!” Shi’mon said, clapping at Patrick. “Congratulations! The fifth element is all yours now.”
“Thank you, boss,” Patrick replied joyfully and without his head growing. “Thank you for everything.”
Shi’mon regarded Patrick in a way he had never done before, as a proud father would regard a son.
“Come!” Shi’mon commanded. “Take a knee.”
Patrick hurried towards his boss and dropped to a knee.
“Do you swear your allegiance to the Organization of the Rock, to serve and protect Earth Realm and the innocent against all threats from within and without the realm?” Shi’mon asked.
“I swear, Father Supreme,” Patrick replied.
“I now declare you an agent of the Organization of the Rock!” Shi’mon spoke with authority. “You will answer to no one but me. Understood?”
“Yes, Father Supreme!” Patrick replied.
Shi’mon extended his right hand and Patrick kissed his ring.
“Rise, Agent Patrick Ngolle!” Shi’mon commanded.
Patrick remained kneeling for a moment. The implications of the situation were yet to register in his mind. Ever since that final day of high school, when he realized his life was never going to be the same again, he had felt a deep stirring within him. Maybe this was the start of greater things to come. Maybe this was just phase one of his dream coming true; the dream of becoming an agent for the O.R. And then, it hit him. He really was an agent. Patrick covered his mouth as if to stifle a scream of excitement. The scream came out anyway.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Patrick yelled as he leaped into the air and jumped up and down the mountain top. “I’m an agent! A freaking agent!”
Granted, Patrick’s training was very different from that of the other agents of the O.R. He was Shi’mon’s protégé and his training would set him apart from the other agents of the organization. Patrick was excited and full of joy beyond words. He dropped to his knees and buried his face in his hands. This was the second happiest day of his life.
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