Opening your Eyes

Amara glanced around, confused. She was sure she’d been asleep. But now she found herself in a surreal dreamscape that seemed as whimsical and chaotic as it was real. Reality warped and twisted around her as she took a few experimental steps. This can’t be real?

“That’s because it is and it isn’t.”

She spun, hands up aether and aura channeled, ready to fight.

“Your mind and soul are being projected into the realm of minds. A dreamscape if you will. But I would advise caution. Should you suffer any injuries here, they would follow you back to your body when you wake. So, please. Be at ease. I would hate for any accidents to happen.”

She narrowed her eyes. He’d used the words she’d just been thinking. Did that mean he was able to read her mind?

“Only your surface thoughts. In time and with sufficient power and training, I’m sure you could shield them from me. But as you are now? They are easy to sift through.”

“Then tell me why I’m here. Who are you? What do you want with me?”

“Two things.” The Remover said, holding to two large digits. His hands alone large enough to crush men’s heads. “To have a brief chat. And then to give you a gift.”

“A chat about what?”

The grey skinned man smiled, his large tusks making the gesture look more garish than normal. “Fascinating that you overlooked the gift for the discussion. I’d always assumed you to be an intellectual. It’s just refreshing to finally experience it.”

Amara blinked. “I’m not following. What do you mean, finally experience it?”

“I’ve scryed this moment countless times in the past. But now I’m finally living it. And after meeting your friend Akamori, you’re a breath of fresh air.”

Amara bit back the chuckle. That tracked. Akamori had a bad habit of pissing off the wrong people, and this guy was definitely the wrong people. “Ok. That says you have power. Lots of it. You also have skill. And you’re after something.” She said ticking off fingers with each fact. She turned to the large male. He was wearing black armor that almost hurt her eyes to look at.

“Which means you could kill me, but haven’t. So you either need me, or need my friends for something. But you’ve already met Akamori, so that rules out my friends.”

“I could be using you to leverage the Captain. She’s a powerful mage with a divine power.”

“That you have as well. No…you’re here for me. The question is why?”

The Remover clapped his hands together; he seemed to enjoy the conversation. “It has been quite some time since I’ve truly enjoyed uplifting anyone. I can tell you’re going to be the exception to the rule.”

“Uplift?”

He smiled, halting himself. He’d clearly gotten ahead of himself, and her question reminded him to pump the brakes. She almost mentally admonished herself. She should have let him keep talking.

“Perhaps you should have. Perhaps not. I’m here because I have a transaction for you. One you won’t refuse.”

“What kind?”

“I’m going to gift you power. And then you’ll use that power for me at a later time.”

“Too vague. You’ll need to do better than that.”

“No. I don’t. Because if you decline my offer, I’ll go room to room and systematically murder everyone on this ship.”

She folded her arms in protest. She was powerless to stop him if he wanted to make good on the threat. They both knew it. She knew he felt like he was in control, but that he also liked to talk and wasn’t against the occasional slip up. Maybe she could use that against him.

“I think we both know that won’t be necessary if you’ve been studying this moment for so long, then you’ve obviously seen how it ends correct?”

“Partially correct. You there are always branching possibilities and paths. For example, you could choose to decline my offer steadfastly. Be a person of true principle. And then watch as I paint this ship’s interior red with your friend’s blood. They would try to resist. The young godling with the red hair is the only one who would truly trouble me, but I’ve prepared for that eventuality.”

“What have you done to Akamori?”

“Nothing negative. I’ve just placed him in a divine sleep spell and left a mental shade to distract him.”

“So you really are here just for me. Why though? Like you said, he’s already more powerful than I am. What makes me the better pick?”

The Remover smirked. “Your friend is strong and has skill. I’ll grant him that. But I need someone with a more deft touch than he possesses. And for events to unfold as I need them to, you’ll need the gift I’m offering.”

“So if I’m understanding your logic, you think investing power in me now is most beneficial to getting an outcome you want later on? So it’s a this for that exchange?”

“In a less direct manner, perhaps. I’m not doing this with the expectation of a favor returned. I just need you to be capable enough to do something at a time and place that would align events for the best outcome for me.”

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“Don’t suppose I can get any hints on what it is I’m meant to do or become?”

The Remover pondered this for a long moment. His gaze went glassy as he stared off into the distance. Amara waved her hands in front of his vacant gaze for a moment, curious if she’d somehow lost him. Like a bad connected to the Brotherhood’s Extranet. Finally, the Remover’s eyes refocused, and he glanced up. Apparently either having decided on his answer or seeing the consequences of it.

“You’re meant to open your eyes. Divinity and prophecy swirls violently in your friends. Akamori is not the only one destined for divine ascension.”

“So I’m going to become powerful like Akamori?”

The Remover nodded silently. That interested her. She leaned against her dresser, tilting her head to study the large man in his black armor. His biology was truly alien to her. The long trunk, tusks, and large ears set him apart from any other humanoid race. She’d never encountered one like him yet.

“And you most likely won’t again until you traverse the stars far beyond this sector. My people are pale shadows of their past glory. The last specs of dust of a failed empire, crumbled to dust by both time and titans.” The Remover said again, in that all too annoying way of reading minds.

“I’ll bet that annoyed the hell out of Akamori.”

The Remover nodded. “Quite so. But his is a soul chained to fate that desperately struggles against its bindings. He will always feel trapped by it. Unable to escape. As we all are.” The Remover said, with a more introspective tone and look at his hands than Amara had expected.

“You sound like you’re talking from experience.”

“Perhaps. Or perhaps I’m just good at manipulating people.”

Amara shrugged. She didn’t care too much whether she was right or not. Though she suspected she was, and he was just trying to throw her. “Or maybe it’s both and you’re just not used to people calling out your bullshit.”

The Remover sucked in a long breath, his trunk curling around his waist to the right. “It has been quite some time since I’ve walked among mortals again, regardless of how close to the ledge of divinity they stand. I am rusty, as you mortals would say.”

“Well, you know what they say. You never really forget after your first time. Just have to blow the dust off. Now, I guess I’ve wasted enough of your time. So this gift? I guess we should get to that now?”

“Indeed. Our allotted time is almost at an end.”

The Remover held his massive palm up to her and a beam of radiant crimson and orange magic punched into her chest, swirling and pooling where all her other magic lived. It grew and grew so much that it outpaced all the other magic she’d collected. She could feel the heat radiating off of her in waves. Her flesh felt like fire, and her bones felt like molten rock. She tried to suck in a breath, but the magic continued to flow in paralyzing her.

Something flashed in front of her eyes, and she realized her Maetrayopts power was now permanently active. Something triggered by the divine raw influx of magic. She wanted to scream out, but couldn’t. And just like that, it was gone. “I have given you a divine infusion of fire magic. Your Maetrayopts are now active permanently. You will no longer need to trigger or channel them. As well, your other divination spells and abilities will be enhanced. You will have the strength you need for the days to come. But more importantly, the foresight to see what you need to win.”

She’d collapsed to the bed, the power still pulsing throughout her body. When she looked at the Remover she saw a negative black cutout in reality. A dark silhouette of himself. All she saw was pure void. But she suspected that was just what he wanted her to see.

“Very astute. Already your power serves you. My task is done, so I’ll leave you at peace. I look forward to seeing future events unfold in real time.”

Amara grunted in response. It was about the best she could manage as her body assimilated the vast reservoir of magic it’d just been fed. Her head was pounding as her eyes now took in so much information that her mind was struggling to process it all. It wasn’t just dimensional information she was processing, but also time and probability now as well. She’d developed an alternative to the Captain’s divine sight ability. But more than that, she also had the increased intellect to process the data.

With a casual wave of his hand, the Remover of Obstacles had created one of the most intelligent beings to walk creation in millions of cycles. This was a thing she knew. She also didn’t just know there possibilities she’d denied the gift, but she could see the outcome. The convergent realities were too much information, and she had to close her eyes and focus her mind on what she wanted to see. To allow the excess raw information to spill away like water poured into an open hand.

Slowly the mental strain bled away, and when she opened her eyes, she saw only what she wanted to, though the focus it took to maintain that was a different strain. It would take practice, like working a new muscle she’d only just discovered. It would take repeated rest cycles. Rising back to her feet, she drew in several slow breaths. Now that she had her equilibrium, she allowed the rest of her body to relax.

At least until her door flew open with a wild-eyed Akamori brandishing his black blade. He looked ready for a fight. The pieces clicked together for her with alarming alacrity. He was hunting for the Remover. Immediately she schooled her features into a surprised expression and rubbed her eyes. The exhaustion of her body processing so much raw magic was making a need for sleep a very real issue.

“Is everything ok?” she asked.

“Yeah.” Akamori said. “Had a nightmare.” He added, following a pause. He glanced around like a wildcat sniffing the air to track prey. He could sense the Removers’ presence, likely by the magic pressure he’d left on the area. Like a footprint.

“You ok in here?” Akamori asked.

“Yeah!” Amara responded quickly. She nodded, rising to slowly push him out of her room. “I’m good. Except for you. Get some rest. You look like a mess.” She needed to terminate this encounter before he figured something out concrete and got himself into trouble. That was the last thing anyone needed right now. For all his good qualities, he definitely didn’t know when to leave a situation be.

When the door shut, cutting them off, she heaved a sigh and leaned against it sliding down. Her eyelids were heavy, her mind felt like they stuffed it with cotton and her limbs moved like she was stuck in thick mud. Even though her mind was addled by fatigue, she still had the mental alertness to wonder where exactly the strange being had gone after their meeting. Had he left the ship? Or was he still there, lurking somewhere waiting in the dark?

She could feel something changing inside her. The nature of her magic, and the nature of her being. It was all being rewritten into something grander. Her skin tingled and through her Maetrayopts she could see something she’d only seen a rare few times. Divinity blooming within her. Panic set in. She needed to leave. Soon.

Fear of what exactly she was changing into overrode all logic. She needed to protect her friends, and the best way to do that was to create distance. Quarantine herself from the others until she understood what was happening. For all she knew the Remover had turned her into a giant magic bomb. On queue of that thought, a vision settled over her.

A station in the deep void. It overlooked a human world. Surrounded by satellites. Weapons platforms? But they weren’t facing out, they were facing in. Questions bubbled up in her mind as the vision continued, dragging her along with it. She and felt things within the vision that struck a chord of familiarity with her even though she had no waking memory of them. A sword and shield of blinding light. A scale to balance…something? And a location. That, above all, seared itself into her mind.

She had to get to that station. She needed answers. A plan formed in her mind. One that made her sick to contemplate, but in her heart she knew was necessary. She only prayed the others would understand.

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