12. Growing Power and Growing Distance
Frank stayed at home for two days without leaving . He picked out some of the smaller gold pieces, the least suspicious ones, and sold them off discreetly to different local merchants. He took care not to reveal his real identity. Heâd used different names, paid with cash, and operated under the radar, just the way heâd always done when he needed to be discrete.
When the money started hitting his accounts, he was stunned. He had never seen that many zeros in his lifeânot even on the balance sheets of the company he worked for.and wast even 1% of the gold he had at hand.
Carefully, he spread the money across several accounts. Over the years, he had opened accounts with different banksâpartially from habit, partially for this kind of flexibility. It helped avoid suspicion. No red flags. No frozen assets. No questions.
He stared at the total figure and smiled.
This was real., This was happening. The dream of financial independence was no longer a far-off fantasyâit was at his fingertips.
Later that evening, Philip called him.
Frank spoke first,I tried calling Athena
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âHowâd it go?â Philip asked.
Frank sighed. âHer line's is dead.â
There was a long pause before he added, âBut⦠I can feel myself changing, man. I donât know how to explain it. LikeâI feel stronger. Not just physically. Inside too. Somethingâs different.â
Philip exhaled. âYeah⦠me too. Itâs weird. Iâve been experimenting a bit. I can⦠move things. With my mind.â
âWhat?â Frank nearly dropped his phone. âYouâre serious?â Waitâwhat? Youâre telling me you can move things with your mind?â
Philip chuckled. âYeah. I thought I was crazy at first. Just little things, though. A spoon. A pen. Stuff like that.â
âDude, you gotta teach me!â Frank said, excitement building in his voice.
âIâm not coming near Abuja anytime soon,â Philip replied quickly. âIf weâre meeting, itâs gonna have to be Lagos.â
What Frank didnât know was that Philip wasnât even in Lagos. He was still in Enugu.
Philip gave Frank a quick rundown of what he did to move things with his mind. Frank tried it while still on the callâhe focused on a bottle on the table. It didnât budge.
âNothing. But Iâll keep trying,â Frank said, frustration creeping into his voice.
âNothing. But Iâll keep trying,â Frank said. Then his tone changed. âHey, do you think we can⦠you know⦠control elements? Like fire, lightning, or water? I saw people throwing blasts at that party. What if we could do that too?â
Philip blinked. That hadnât crossed his mind. Heâd been so focused on telekinesis, he hadnât thought of trying elemental control.
âHuh⦠Iâll try it,â he said. âMaybe if I imagine it right, I can tap into it.â
âSame here,â Frank said. âLetâs see what we can figure out.â
Then they ended the call.