The next day the buzz in the dining hall was a hundred times more than the previous day. Word had travelled all round the base, of a new kid who'd defeated two cadets on his first bout. Though they were both juniors, what Dioha had achieved was still considered impressive. To crown it all off, news of the Watcher of the goddess of beauty paying him a visit made the rounds. Now everyone who wasn't available the previous day waited eagerly to attend today's training session so they could catch a glimpse of the wonder kid, possibly spar with him and be the one to put him down. These ran in the minds of both junior and senior cadets. Dioha breezed into the dining hall and the din tailed off considerably as he approached the queue. He looked around and caught so many people staring at him openly, while some looked away whenever he looked their way. He paid no attention to them switching his attention immediately to his conversation with Orsun the previous day. Orsun, goddess of beauty, from time immemorial, had always had a thing for Amadioha, his Maker. It was no surprise then that the Watchers of both entities constantly found themselves intertwined on earth. But just like their Makers in the God Realms, they were always falling out with each other for several reasons. But in almost all cases the goddess of beauty was always going after the god of war even if he rejected her over and over again. For this reason, Dioha was fairly certain Orsun had nothing to do with his murder. Eliminating her from the plot, that left him with Aganju and Eshu. Osoose was a friend, who couldn't be part of any plot against him. Besides, the nature god never ever fancied sending someone to do his personal business. But Dioha knew he had to keep his mind open, it could've been anyone.
Dioha got his tray of food and located the same corner he sat in the previous day. He was barely seated when the boy who had sat with him the previous day joined him. He was all praise and admiration for Dioha, telling Dioha what some of the other cadets were saying about him. So far there was no mention of him being a Watcher, which was a plus for him. A gang of five approached his table, surrounding him and the other boy.
"HEY! TOUGH GUY! BET YOU'RE FEELING YOURSELF. ENJOY IT NOW, WHEN YOU COME TO THE SPARRING ROOM, WE'LL BE SPARRING WITH YOU, ALL OF US," the boy who looked like he was the leader of this group of bullies said.
Dioha looked at the five boys. They were bigger than he was but these only made Dioha smile, the bigger the better. Dioha felt he needed stiffer and better opposition to really push him to the limit. He really didn't know what to expect in the test and he didn't have his full strength with him so he needed to be prepared for any scenario. The gang of five left him to finish his meal. Dioha's chaperon, the talkative, asks Dioha if he should go help Dioha report to the instructors that people were picking on him. Dioha just shook his head and left the dining hall with the boy following closely.
Out on the training ground, the instructors isolated Dioha to the gym where Dioha worked for several hours. While Dioha worked alone it was pretty obvious some section of the cadets were getting restless. They kept glancing at the young boy across the divide who had been phenomenal, wanting a piece of him. Dioha observed that the complexes surrounding the training ground was more crowded than it had been the day before. Dioha got up, deciding he had had enough exercises. It was time to entertain his fans. He crossed the tape into the training ground. An instructor saw him cross and moved towards him. Dioha explained to him that he wanted to spar with someone. The instructor got approval from a senior colleague who was resting on a railing in one of the complexes nearby.
Immediately approval was given, a boy from the gang who'd earlier accosted Dioha at the dining hall ran towards Dioha with a scream. Dioha threw a punch directly aiming for his head. The boy didn't make any attempt to block or dodge the strike. Instead he head butted Dioha's hand. The resulting pain from the impact caused Dioha to pull his hand back. Dioha looked at the instructor expecting the whistle to go off declaring him winner, but that wasn't happening. Dioha had little time to react as the boy closed in for another head butt. Dioha hastily put his arms up in a block as the boy's forehead struck his arms. Dioha was pushed back several feet from the force. He could feel agonizing pains in his arms and knuckles. Dioha looked at the instructor again perplexed, demanding an explanation. The instructor quickly explained to Dioha that his opponent attacked with his head, meaning strikes to the head wouldn't count against him. Dioha was about to ask where would count but the boy was already upon him again.
He dived at Dioha's midsection, throwing himself like a spear at Dioha. His head struck Dioha in the abdomen sending Dioha to the ground clutching his belly. Dioha didn't even have the chance to writhe in pain as the boy immediately sat on him and swung his head down at Dioha's head. Dioha, seeing the boy's head descending with such force and reckless abandon, moved his head slightly away depending on the room his position on the floor gave him. The boy's forehead smacked the hard rocky floor so hard everyone could hear the resounding crack. The boy sat up stunned, as blood spilled out of his forehead from a cut. Dioha grabbed the boy's neck hoping to throw him off but the moment his hands closed round the boy's neck, the instructor blew his whistle. The boy fell off Dioha unconscious. Dioha got up, a bit disheveled, he was not sure he understood how he just won that fight when it was obvious he was going to lose.
A young man in his early twenties stepped in front of him. He had every athlete's dream body. A broad chest, strong biceps, numerous demarcations on his hard flat tummy thinned down into a slimmer and thin waist. Muscles bulged and fought with veins from his laps down his legs. He towered about a foot and a half above Dioha causing him to think he'd have to jump if he had to strike this guy's face.
"IN AS MUCH AS I'D LOVE TO SEE WHO'D WIN THIS BOUT, WE HAVE TO POSTPONE THIS MATCHUP. NEW KID, YOU HAVE A GUEST. WAITING ROOM, NOW!" Grandmaster bellowed across the yard.
And just like the previous day, the Grandmaster interrupted the fun on the training ground. Dioha moved off with a swagger knowing his reputation was still intact. Like the previous day, Dioha followed the Grandmaster to the waiting room wondering what he would do to make Orsun leave him alone. He got into the waiting room, as the Grandmaster went on ahead into some other room. In the room, instead of Orsun, who he saw was Eshu who was idly reading a newspaper, his glasses sitting precariously on the bridge of his nose. Eshu looked up as Dioha entered the room and continued reading the paper. Dioha sat down and waited for some minutes as the god of wisdom flipped through the pages of the dailies. Satisfied and ready to discuss, Eshu folded the paper neatly on the glass table, took off his glasses and stared at Dioha without any form of emotion.
"WHY DID YOU COME BACK NOW, AND IN THIS MANNER?" Eshu asked.
Dioha frowned. Was the god of wisdom implying he believed Dioha didn't reincarnate like all Watchers do?
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY "IN THIS MANNER"?" Dioha asked.
"THE OTHERS MAY NOT KNOW BUT I SEE WHAT YOU DID. YOU DIED AND CAME BACK IMMEDIATELY WHEN YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED DEAD FOR AT LEAST 2 YEARS OR MORE. AND SINCE REINCARNATION PERMITTED YOU NOT TO RETURN QUICKLY ENOUGH, YOU USED ANOTHER TRICK TO ENTER THE WORLD. WHAT WAS IT? NECROMANCY? POSSESSION?"
Dioha froze. Could Eshu really have known he'd been alive all these while?
"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. BUT SUPPOSING IT'S ONE OF WHAT YOU SAID, HOW CAN YOU TELL?" Dioha asked. He needed to be careful so as not to reveal too much through his questions and choice of words. The god of wisdom was a keen listener and observer.
"I KNEW THE MOMENT YOU WALKED IN. I AM THE GOD OF WISDOM." Eshu answered casually. He visibly relaxed on the chair but his eyes retained that deep searching scrutiny as he watched Dioha.
This was the power of the god of wisdom, knowing. He had known right from the moment Dioha walked in, yet he had feigned ignorance. Dioha wondered to what extent he knew. If Eshu knew of the Seer then she wasn't safe anymore. Dioha decided to probe a little just to know what Eshu knew.
"YOU KNEW, YET YOU PLACED ME IN A DIFFICULT POSITION. YOU COULD EASILY HAVE STOPPED THIS TEST FROM HAPPENING. YOU KNOW THERE'S NO NEED FOR IT." Dioha said calmly.
"OH! THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE WRONG, DIOHA. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW, SEE WHERE YOU'VE BEEN TO. I NEED TO KNOW WHERE YOU'VE BEEN THESE PAST 18 YEARS, WHY YOU DECIDED TO SHOW UP NOW." Eshu sat up again and folded his hands together on the table.
"YOU'RE THE GOD OF WISDOM. SURELY YOU DON'T NEED A SILLY TEST TO GET YOUR ANSWERS. YOU KNOW ALREADY, DON'T YOU?" Dioha teased.
"WELL, I MIGHT HAVE A FEW THEORIES. I JUST WANT TO CROSS THE Ts AND DOT THE Is. BESIDES, IT'S BEEN A WHILE WE HAD SOME SPORT AROUND HERE. WHAT I REALLY WANT TO KNOW, IS HOW YOU GOT BACK INTO THE WORLD SO SOON AFTER LEAVING?" Eshu answered.
"LIKE YOU SAID, YOU'RE THE GOD OF WISDOM. SHOULDN'T YOU KNOW THIS ALREADY?" Dioha replied.
Eshu got up apparently bored with the conversation already. He looked down on Dioha, disdain burning in his eyes but his face revealed no such emotion. Eshu decided it's time for him to go, but not before firing a parting shot.
"WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T DIE DURING THE TEST. EVEN IN YOUR MEMORIES." Eshu warned.
Eshu left immediately after that. Dioha went to his room to think on what Eshu had said.