THE LEGEND OF KIWAKAAZI

“Safi” was short for Safiri. Safiri, you remember was the wife of Arangosango and Deila’s mother. When her daughter was slowly dying, she felt great pain. She was helpless. One day she too heard a voice – a feminine voice. The voice introduced herself as Nhutu (meaning the manipulator of the elements). Nhutu told Safiri that the human body was made up of four elements. Anyone who can manipulate these elements can create a body. Her daughter’s body was deteriorating but she can create or sustain her body if she possessed knowledge and control over the elements. Safiri whom was distraught was convinced and opened her heart to Nhutu.

“Daughter…?” questioned Kiwakaazi. Kiwakaazi knew that Arangosango was Deila’s father but he did not know her mother and most importantly he did not know that she too was in Nomposuro. Kiwakaazi moved his big head several times from Deila to Safihutu and back until he was satisfied. He could see the resemblance.

“Hello, mother!” answered Deila.

“So it is true. You have decided to side with the alien. You are helping him,” said Safihutu disappointedly. Deila did not answer. “Why, please tell me, why you have decided to side with the enemy?” inquired Safihutu. “Nothing that concerns you, mother,” answered Deila.

“Fine, it is not too late. Help us… help us defeat him and Nompotse (Lord of Nomposuro) and Ishfa (Time) will forgive you,” said Safihutu. Deila gave her mother the silent treatment again. Kiwakaazi suddenly stepped forward. “You don’t have to fight your mother. I can fight them all alone,” whispered Kiwakaazi to Deila. She still stood there quietly.

The earth begun to shake and where Kiwakaazi and Deila stood changed. It initially looked like they were standing in mud which quickly hardened and would have bound their feet if not for the disappearing and appearing act of Kiwakaazi. He changed quickly into a Rahasi (guardian of hell), grabbed Deila and disappeared with her.

They appeared fractions of seconds later only for Deila to fall into a long, cylindrical, narrow and dark pit. The ground just opened and swallowed her. Kiwakaazi followed and grabbed her but the entrance to the pit shut tight. Lava was waiting for them at the bottom of this tube-like pit. They were falling very fast. Kiwakaazi held on to Deila tightly. He used his five golden swords as steps to rise. The lava rose in hot pursuit of Kiwakaazi and Deila.

Deila seeing just how hard Kiwakaazi was trying to preserve her life understood something. In Nomposuro, kranjus have no feelings; it did not matter to them whether you are daughter or mother or friend. If you associate with the enemy, you will be cut down. She understood the situation she finds herself in; it is going to be difficult to fight her own mother. But here she was with Kiwakaazi inside a hot tube. The mother she probably still loved was trying to kill her. And she was holding back for what. In Nomposuro, she has only one friend and his name is Kiwakaazi. Only he tries to protect her and only he is worth dying for – time to show them the real Kaki.

Maybe she should not have betrayed them first. Think about that, Deila.

A loud explosion was heard. The surface of the tube-like hole was torn asunder and the couple emerged out of it. This shocked the nhutus and the look on their faces was enough. First, I need to explain something.

When Deila entered the mysterious world inside of her, she met Kaki and Kaki showed Deila her past to help her understand what she was really afraid of. Deila did not believe in love or maybe she wanted someone to help prove to her that love really exists. That person for her was Jenak. He made her safe and in love. She never wanted to leave his side. But she became sick and was dying. To stay by his side, she accepted the call of Kaki and changed into the beast, shinko.

However, shinko was not the true form of Kaki. It was the form all thirteen generals of death assumed when they entered the physical realm. The real Kaki was different. If you remember, the real Kaki is the creature that fought the first rahasi in Gbeleshi. Kaki after showing Deila her past promised to honor her lifelong promise; the promise of helping Deila live long enough to enjoy the pleasures of true love. It did not go well the first time but Deila cannot deny it – she was falling for Kiwakaazi. Kaki wanted to continue protecting him for her. Who knows what will happen between the two of them given time and opportunity.

Deila had the power to kick her out but none of them will survive. Deila’s body was being eaten away by disease before Kaki came into the picture. When she accepted Kaki as partner, Kaki suppressed the disease with her own powers allowing Deila to live all this while. Besides, her body is too old to survive anymore. Once she, Kaki leaves, Deila will turn to dust in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, Kaki is a spiritual being and cannot exist in the material world without a physical body. She too will disappear into nothingness.

But together, their powers will be so great; nothing and no one can stop them. Deila did not trust Kaki. The last time she did, she became a furry beast and had remained so for about five hundred years. Should she risk it?

A white furred creature with a pair of wings; blond hair and a long tail which ended into a cone appeared. It had green eyes and pointy long ears. Only its upper canines were long and it had a snake-like tongue. Kiwakaazi stared at her extensively not sure what to say. All should feast their eyes on the real Kaki (the white shadow of death). I guess she risked it.

She was the one who got them out of the tube-like trap. When the nhutus sealed the strange pair of allies underground, they fortified the opening using the strongest minerals in the soil; then they mixed it with water and hardened it rapidly by burning. It was hard, several times harder than the hardest brick wall. Deila closed her eyes and changed into Kaki – the real Kaki (the white shadow of death).

The real Kaki’s power was lalako (the sounds of death). There are three types of this sound. The highest of these three sounds affects only the spirit living within the body and is therefore inaudible to the external ears. It is believed that spirit too has ears. Hearing this sound hypnotizes the spirit and slowly separates it from its body. First, the hearer of this sound will be mesmerized; then, he or she will feel numb and will only die if the spirit continues to listen to this sound for too long. Her second sound ability is audible to the external ears. It can cause paralysis, hypnotism or madness to the listener and the lowest form of her lalako (sounds of death) is sound that affects the molecular structure of materials; living or non-living. Her green eyes can decipher the type of bonding between molecules, ions and atoms and her vocal chords can produce sound that breaks up these bonds by resonance.

So what happened was after changing from Deila to Kaki, she produced sound that shattered the entrance of the tube she and Kiwakaazi were trapped inside.  Amazing! Don’t you agree?

Safihutu could tell her daughter was ready to give up her life for the intruder. What did she really know about him? Very little she guessed. But Deila was that kind of special girl who is very determined. When she sets her mind on something, she always gets it done. It was just a shame Kiwakaazi will die soon and when that happens, nothing will ever be the same for Deila in Nomposuro.

“How do we defeat them?” asked Deila. Kiwakaazi was still getting used to her new look. He stammered while he answered saying, “Um…I still think defeating their leader is the easiest way. Can you produce that sound again? I need to confirm something.” Deila said, “Yes, but you will have to wait for a minute or two. The sound places great pressure on my physical body. It may give up if I stress it too much. Why don’t you tell me exactly what you want to confirm and maybe I can still help.”

Kiwakaazi explained saying, “I think the other four nhutus are also clones. Only your mother is the real nhutu. That is why the others did not survive during our first encounter after I killed her. They are just a part of her.” Deila noticed for the first time the resemblance. The other four nhutus are identical. The only feature different about them was their hair color and clothes. All four resembled Safiri when she was a teenager. Kiwakaazi might be onto something. She asked, “So why do you need the sound?”

Kiwakaazi replied, “I believe every spiritual entity in the universe requires a physical body to function effectively. The nhutus are probably spiritual entities occupying those bodies. By switching from human into a single element, they change from more matter to less matter. Less matter contains more spirit or energy and more matter contains less spirit or energy. Energy or spirit cannot be destroyed which means they cannot be killed when they change into ice sculptures, statues, etc. But it seems they can’t remain statues or sculptures forever. If that is the case, then we need to ascertain just how long they can exist as elements. With this information we can come up with the best strategy to win this battle.”

Deila smiled. She knew he was a genius. He may not always act like one. But when it really matters, he shows his prowess. She understood him. It had been almost two minutes. She was ready. It is time to test her mother’s limit.