A few days later, Kinson showed up at the BPI for the advanced study period as normal. Strangely enough, everyone was gathered in a circle, talking. They looked up as he walked in, and Andres greeted him.
"Come on over. It seems we've made a few breakthroughs."
Excited by the sudden news, Kinson quickly joined them, finding an extra swivel chair to sit on.
"So what's going on?" he asked after getting settled.
"Hmph, probably nothing you would understand," Luthier grumbled. "but I'll repeat myself, anyways."
He cleared his throat, then said, "Basically, we finally completed a way to link together in a deathdream. Obviously, Andres is the core, but we can include the others."
Multiple people in a deathdream at once? The very thought made Kinson excited. "So how does it work?"
Luthier rolled his eyes, prompting Andres to take over.
"We've only experimented with Luthier and Kael, but it's actually pretty straightforward. One of my abilities is to link psionic souls together. Typically, this ability is very rare, and is used in the military to open a voice chat, of sorts, during stealth missions.For this purpose, however, the lead deathdreamer enters the deathdream, and I link the others to them, which automatically pulls their souls into the deathdream."
Kael nodded as he finished explaining, adding, "We'll need you for some experiments, though."
"Really? How can I help? I'm still a class 1, I think," Kinson added.
"Exactly. We need to test it with people who are unable to control their ability, so that we can see their effect. You happen to be bad enough," Luthier sneered.
'My goodness, can you lay off him for like one sentence? " Kael frowned.
"Why?" he laughed, but quickly regained his condescending look as she glared at him. "Fine, but only because I'm tired of thinking of ways to insult him."
"Let's get back on topic," Andres said.
"Right. For this first experiment, we are mostly going to see the impact psionists have on each other in the deathdream. Perhaps a, uh, more skilled deathdreamer will be able to stabilize a weaker one," Luthier said, giving a challenging look to Kael.
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's pretty much it."
"Great, so when do we start?" Kinson asked.
"How about now?" Andres said, checking the time. "You just got here, so there should be enough time for a quick session."
"Alright, let's do it," Kinson exclaimed, standing up.
"Slow down there. Do you even know how to enter a deathdream on your own?" Kael wondered aloud.
"Not yet, but that doesn't mean I can't learn."
Luthier stood then and started to walk to the Isolation chamber. "Alright then, I'll take the lead on this one. We can try it the other way around later," he said dismissively.
"Works for me," Kinson nodded, following him.
"And there they go, impatient as always," Andres chuckled.
"..." Kael followed beside him, wordless.
Not much had changed in the isolation room during the past few weeks. Now, however, several more chairs occupied its center, prepared for today's test. In addition, a solid metal box sat between the chairs. It looked like a coffin.
"Okay, you three sit on that side," Andres instructed, taking the single chair opposite them.
Kinson did as he was told. "Does your ability get limited by direction, or area of effect?" he asked curiously.
Andres smiled. "No, it's just easier to see you all this way."
"Are we going to have to walk in the deathdream? Is it dangerous?"
"Of course not. You're far from ready for that. I think it's best if everyone avoid that. Too much risk," Kael admonished.
"Yeah, just a simple visit for now," Luthier smirked. 'Easy sauce, even for someone like you."
"Okay, just relax," Andres said, "I'm going to link you three together."
They went quiet, with only their rhythmic breathing floating around the room. Kinson closed his eyes, waiting for something to happen.
Abruptly, he gasped in surprise as a mental shock shook his mind. No, it wasn't quite his mind, but perhaps… his soul? He still didn't have a good bearing on it, so it was hard to tell, but that should be it. Despite his eyes being closed, he could distinctly feel the presence of two others. While both dwarfed his own soul, one towered like a mountain above a hill.
"Alright, I've linked you three together. Right now, as it's Kinsons' first time, I've limited it to sensing each other's existence only." Andres turned to Luthier and said, "Let's proceed."
"Right," Luthier nodded, then closed his eyes.
After a moment, Kinson felt the man's presence flare up, almost overwhelming his innate senses. Then, he felt a strange dragging sensation. It gripped him in a very particular way, isolating a part of himself. That must be his soul! He memorized the feeling, wanting to search for it later that day.
Suddenly, as soon as it began, the force pulling him disappeared. Confused, he opened his eyes, looking around. Both Kael and Luthier sat slumped over in their chairs, obviously in the deathdream. So why wasn't he?
"What happened?" he asked Andres.
Andres scratched his head, looking just as confused. "I'm not sure. But it seems you got left behind. Did you feel anything?"
"I felt something grab hold of my soul, then begin dragging it away. But after only a second or two, it let go," Kinson explained.
"Huh. It seemed it pulled you about as long as it took them to enter the deathdream," Andres said. "Did you fight it at all?"
Kinson shook his head. "No, I just let it happen."
"Strange. That's just what Kael said, too. But it worked for both her and Luthier, individually." Andres shrugged. "We'll wait for them to come out, and see what they think."
Shortly afterward, both Luthier and Kael opened their eyes and sat up.
"What happened to you?" Luthier asked.
Kinson shrugged. "Not sure. I felt you pulling me in, but then I got released, and ended up outside the deathdream," he explained.
"Interesting. I was pulled right in," Kael rested her chin on her hand.
Kinson then explained what he had told Andres, not leaving anything out.
"Perhaps it's because you're too weak," Luthier said. He glanced at Kael, then added, "I mean, it sounds like it takes you way longer to enter the deathdream than us, so the line us cut before you make it all the way."
"That does make sense. I wonder what would happen if you were to pull us in, instead," Kael stretched her arms above her head.
"You'll have to work extra hard then, so we can continue the testing," Luthier said, standing.
"Okay, I'll do that. But I heard there was danger in meditating for too long, is that a problem?" Kinson asked.
This time, it was Andres who answered. "Don't worry too much about that. It's pretty rare, and I've never heard of it happening to class 1s.".
He released a relieved sigh. "Okay, I'll do my best then."
"Next week, when you come in, we'll run you through an evaluation program and see if you've increased in power at all. I expect that you'll break through in the next few days. The learning curve is pretty steep for Psionics," Andres said, opening the door and leaving.
" Alright, I'll get back to my practice then, " Kinson said as he prepared to meditate. He still had over an hour left before class started, so he didn' want to waste it.
"We'll get out of your hair then," Kael quickly left, followed by Luthier. Kinson was soon left alone.