TRAILING SHADOWS

"Like hell I'd let her." The spiky one yelled out, furious as he ran forward, his fingers on the right hand curled slightly like claws.

"Trust your blade, your reflexes and your environment." Mayowa's voice came filtering into her head, forcing her to stay awake and shake off the sensation.

Immediately, she drops to her knees and forces her body to roll over just as the spiky haired Irunmole slammed his claw-like fingers into the tree, shattering the entire tree into bits of skewered wood.

Forcing herself to stay awake, she rolled even further, trusting the richness of vegetation and trees that are more the farther she rolls.

"What? The heir is retreating?" Elisa yelled, her hands tightened against her voluptuous waists. "You are a big Coward, Ibiyemi. Cowaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarddddddddd...!!!" She yelled in disgust.

"I-i am... no..." Ibiyemi grunted, angered at the words she hears. She forces herself to rise up but just as she does, the flat of boots slam into her c.h.e.s.t sending her flying back.

And then, a combo punch follows at her head, the force bending her head down to her c.h.e.s.t as she fell down to the grassy ground, on her face.

"Serves you right, Coward. Look at where your cowardice has placed you. Putting you in between trees with less mobility for you but giving the opponents even more obstacles to slam you into. Disgusting." Elisa sneered.

"She's down. Let's get that fate expert." Ibiyemi hears one of her attacker says.

She knows she cannot allow that because if she does, whatever advantage she had here would be lost. And not only that, Elisa referred to her as disgusting.

Anger spasmed through her frame as thoughts of revenge filled her. 

'I...I just h-have to g-get up.' She coughed out essence.

"You need to let go of all that resentment, Ibiyemi. It seems like you are holding grudge and that alone can impair you from touching any Aspectual Law." Mayowa's voice filters from her memory again.

'I.. I feel h-humiliated.' Ibiyemi's eyes water down, her teeth grit tightly in her attempt to stop her whimpering out.

"Remember, Ibiyemi, everything is made of energy, Even rocks are made of energy. The trick to using Agbara is being able to manipulate the stream of universal energy that revolves around everything. As your body is made of energy, think of it like your body is the master energy here." Olukoni's voice replies her.

"The master energy controlling the bigger universal energy stream around you.

The universe is you, Ibiyemi. It's inside you!!" As Ibiyemi heard her mentor's voice resonate in her head, she could picture her that day as she gesticulated all along.

And... That's when it hits her.

If the universe was energy and she was the master energy, then she had to control that energy around her.

She just had to...

No matter the cost.

"Wait... Elisa, let's not interfere." She hears Elias voice. "I don't think all of it is done, this sensation..." 

'Done?' Ibiyemi asked herself, opening one eye to observe, her right eye, that is,

And the moment she does, a sharp force rams into that eye, the blackening and ache accompanying, forcing out screams from her as she tried to shut her eye but to no avail.

"Aaaaaaaaarrggghhhhh..." Ibiyemi's voice rent through the sundown airs like hot knife to butter. Her voice contains with angonizing pain as her back is arched, fingers curled like claws, held tightly, her body mass depending on her quivering knees.

"What?" The slim Irunmole muttered, taking steps backwards in fear.

The partner follows suit, both of them marching back while their elbows are bent but the fingers are not engaging in anything whatsoever as they retreat, a step at a time.

The air shifts about, air currents spiralling like as if being s.u.c.k.e.d into a vacuum, the vacuum being none other than the kneeling yelling girl by the trees. On her knees, Ibiyemi's face begins to get banged up, bruises and cuts popping up here and there while large amounts of essence flowed out of them, spilling on to the ground and to the rest of her body.

And yet, her eye remains open, the center of the spiralling energetic wind currents - the eye of the storm.

"Impossible! She's doing it." Elias chanted, flinging his arms up to his side in shock. Just then, the sheath of energy that makes up the pyramid in which they are all contained in begins to flicker here and there. And like a magnet, the energy sheaths start getting pulled over, right to the kneeling, agonized Ibiyemi, bits by bits.

"To think the heir has this kind of power. I can't believe it." Elisa yelled out.

"what is happening? what is she doing?" The rogue Irunmoles both chant at her, their eyes seeking desperately some kind of answer.

"Isn't it obvious? Her 'Lend Strength' ability is refusing to be overlooked. It's not working the way it's meant to work because she is forcing it to it's limits.

However, that ability is meant to transfer a portion of her strength and power to others. It's not helpful in terms of damage dealing singularly. So..." Elisa paused, crossing her arms on her c.h.e.s.t.

"So what?" The spiky haired mercenary fired out again.

"So..." Elisa continued once more, her delightful smile hidden by the plain faced mask. "It is answering the desperate call of it's owner and instead of it's normal function, it is borrowing strength.

You probably would have noticed or not but as I speak right now, Ibiyemi is forcefully claiming power from each of us. That's why the pyramid hierarchy technique is becoming destabilized too. However, because of that same Pyramid Hierarchy, Ibiyemi cannot retain the stolen power in her soul, so, her power is doing something else..."

"what is that?" The Slim Irunmole queried, his voice barely audible in the Maelstrom of chaotic energy that is filtering to Ibiyemi.

"That's why instead of diverting the claimed energy into her soul, it's diverting it into her body." Elias analysed this time. "The pyramid hierarchy technique would deal with anything that smells energy but the energy of an Irunmole is stored in their soul. That's why the Pyramid Hierarchy can half the soul class of anyone to be less than the level of it's caster. But with the energy stored elsewhere... I get it now. So this is our Eyes are acquired." Elias gasped, his body tensed up as he clenched his fists to his face.

Just as Elias finished his analysis, everything stops except for the crumbling Pyramid Hierarchy that is slowly shattering about, highly destabilized. 

And then, Ibiyemi's eyes flip open, her pupils dilating. However the pupil of her right is visibly different from the others, having the symbol of the God of Chance imprinted where the pupil ought to be, and with it, a purple hue shone, highlighting her entirely white ball.

Slowly, Ibiyemi rises up, her teeth clenched.

"I am Ibiyemi, daughter of General Folarin. I am not a cowarddddddddd..." She yelled out, spitting out essence from her bleeding mouth.

And about that, she did not care because right now, the real battle was about to start. After all, she had the awakened an eye, what more did she have to fear?