The fleeting connection hung in the air, a fragile thread, before I became acutely aware of them, other minds, some formidable, others faint echoes beside the one I had been probing. Reality itself began to distort as their collective presence gripped me, dragging my consciousness away from the physical realm and into the vast expanse of the mental plane.

I tried to resist, but something deep within me surrendered, drawn by an inexplicable sense of belonging. It was like the anticipation of returning home after a long and arduous journey, a longing for familiarity and comfort. I felt the realm shift and twist around me, its intangible currents wrapping tightly, pulling my awareness into its boundless depths.

My mind stretched so I could feel the chaotic flow of reality here it obeyed no laws but thought and will, it was a chaotic expanse of ever-shifting energy and abstract forms. The air shimmered with psychic echoes, fragmented whispers from those who had traversed it before.

Rivers of glowing current surged through the plane, flowing with raw potential, but navigating them was perilous, like swimming against a hurricane.

As I emerged, the plane shifted in response to my presence. The colours of the world bent and twisted around me, gradients of violet and green warping into ribbons of light. My field of influence expanded, carving out a small sanctuary of relative stability.

Large grey spheres of twisted bone and flesh manifested in the distance, each sprouted countless black eyes born from my attempts at focus and control. Yet, even as I anchored myself, the oppressive presence of others pressed against me. Seven minds, bright and sharp, blazed like suns on the horizon. They were already here, waiting.

Seven minds, honed and sharpened waiting like predators in the dark. Five burned brighter than the rest, the two Adepts, their disciplined minds radiating sharp precision. The other five Vanguards were hulking burning mental fortresses more refined but brutal and overwhelming in their sheer presence.

The first strike came from one of the Adepts. His mind, a construct of rigid discipline and honed precision, launched a Mind Drill that speared toward me with blinding speed. Instinct took over. My barriers rose, a hastily woven lattice of thought and energy, barely holding as the attack splintered against it. The recoil hit like a hammer, a sharp, jarring pain that echoed through my psyche.

Before I could retaliate, the second Adept joined in. His presence was colder and calculating, and the attack he unleashed twisted the etheric plane itself. Intrusive Hallucinations exploded around me, shifting the environment into a kaleidoscope of disorienting shapes and sounds. The once stable spheres of bone and flesh fractured into jagged pieces twisting into monstrous forms before collapsing. I staggered, my focus faltering, and their coordinated assault began to overwhelm me.

Rage surged, and I lashed out with a wave of unrefined energy. It tore through the hallucinations, disrupting the Adept’s hold on the plane, but it was a fleeting reprieve. The Vanguards had arrived.

The five Vanguards hit like a storm. Each one radiated raw, untamed power, their mental forms exuding aggression and unrelenting force. One of them launched a Psi Tracing, locking onto my presence with an eerie precision that felt like a noose tightening around my mind. Another layered the battlefield with Psi Barrages, relentless pulses of energy designed to wear down my defences.

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The remaining three closed in, their fields of influence crashing into mine like tidal waves. Within their presence, the etheric currents grew chaotic, swirling unpredictably and resisting my attempts to harness them. My sanctuary dissolved into fragments, leaving me exposed.

Their tactics were merciless. They wove Mind Drills and Psychic Disruptions into a seamless assault, each attack feeding into the next. Pain rippled through my consciousness, fractures forming in the fabric of my mental defences. I struck back desperately, sending out bursts of energy that illuminated the plane with violent flashes of colour. The Vanguards staggered but didn’t fall. Their augmented minds absorbed the blows, adapting faster than I could exploit their weaknesses.

As the battle raged, something within me shifted. My mind strained to the brink, dove deeper into the etheric plane. It was not a conscious choice but a reflex, an act of survival. The plane’s ever-shifting chaos became clearer, its abstract forms resolving into patterns I hadn’t noticed before.

Here, thought was reality, and my emotions bled into the environment. The colours around me darkened, the vibrant hues fading into oppressive greys and blacks. The energy currents slowed, thickening into viscous streams that resisted movement.

Yet, within this suffocating stillness, I found clarity. The whispers of the plane grew louder, harmonizing into a single resonant tone. My mind expanded, stretching into the void, and I began to see the battle for what it was not just a clash of power, but a war of influence over the plane itself.

Each attack from the Vanguards left ripples in the etheric currents, their power disrupting the natural flow. The Adepts, more precise, carved sharp lines of control through the chaos, their influence extending like roots into the plane. My presence was weaker, fragmented by inexperience and pain. But the etheric plane itself was a weapon, and I began to shape it.

Drawing on the plane’s energy, I unleashed a scream of pure psychic anger. It was a raw, unrefined burst of power that tore through the battlefield. The plane convulsed in response, colours exploding into blinding flashes as the scream reverberated through the etheric currents. The Vanguards reeled, their mental forms flickering like candle flames in a gale. One of them collapsed entirely, his presence dissolving into incoherent fragments that scattered into the void.

But the scream did more than disrupt them. It destabilized the plane itself. The once chaotic currents erupted into a full-blown storm, surges of energy tearing through the landscape. The storm moved to engulf anything directly in its path sowing more chaos wherever it moved. Constructs shattered, and the whispers of the plane became deafening roars.

The Adepts faltered. One of them, his focus fractured by the storm, lost control of his augmentation. It spiralled out of his grasp, turning him into a psychic bomb. The implosion that followed was catastrophic, obliterating three of the remaining Vanguards and leaving only echoes of their presence behind.

The storm subsided, leaving the etheric plane eerily silent. I stood alone, my field of influence reduced to a flickering, unstable core. The colours around me had dulled to lifeless greys, and the once-vibrant currents now trickled weakly through the plane.

My mind was a shattered landscape, fractures running deep through my consciousness. The Psychic Scream had saved me, but at a cost, I was only beginning to comprehend.

As I withdrew from the etheric plane, the physical world came back into focus. The damage was apparent. The enemy psionics had been neutralized, but the backlash had left its mark on those who reached out to attack.

Seven minds now lay broken, their bodies convulsing as their consciousness unravelled. Their comrades had no choice but to put them down, ending their suffering.

The etheric plane lingered in my mind, its echoes refusing to fade. I had seen its depths, felt its power, and tasted its danger. It was not a place to be taken lightly. The battle had shown me that survival in this realm demanded more than raw strength it required control, discipline, and a mind unyielding in the face of chaos.

But control was a fleeting thing. The cracks in my psyche were stable for now, but how long until they widened? How long until I became like those I had fought consumed by the very power I wielded?

For now, survival was enough.