Project Prometheus Ch. 87 - Teaser (Patreon)

Later that evening, Matthias stood with Gloria in one of the quieter observation chambers aboard the Perseus. His eyes were closed as he tried to focus on something he still did not entirely know how to describe. Indigo light shimmered faintly around his fingers as he focused on channeling his energy.

For years, using the Aether had been comparatively straightforward. He reached for it, shaped it, and used whatever power he could draw through himself. There had always been instinct involved, but as a surface user, the Aether had largely been something outside him that he touched when necessary. That had changed when the Indigo Knight answered him.

“Stop reaching,” Gloria said.

Matthias opened one eye. “I thought reaching was the point.”

“It was when you were a surface user.”

“You’re going to have to explain that one,” he replied, letting the indigo light fade.

Gloria smiled and leaned against the observation rail. “A surface user stands beside a river and fills a cup. A deep user is standing in the river. You don’t have to keep reaching into it to know the water is there.”

Matthias considered the analogy, then closed his eyes again.

“That does not mean every sensation you receive is important,” she continued. “That is one of the first mistakes new deep users make. You feel something you could never feel before, so you assume it must mean something.”

Matthias concentrated, as somewhere beneath his conscious thoughts was that strange new awareness that had accompanied his connection to the Indigo Knight. It was difficult to define. Pressure without physical weight, direction without distance, and occasionally an emotion that seemed to originate somewhere outside himself.

“Like now,” he said. “There’s pressure.”

“Where?” Gloria asked.

“That’s the problem,” he said hesitantly. “I don’t know.”

“Good.”

Matthias opened his eyes. “Good?”

“You admitted you don’t know instead of inventing an answer,” Gloria told him as she stepped closer and gestured for him to try again. “Deep users sense disturbances. Changes in the Aether can feel like pressure, warmth, cold, movement, emotion, or sometimes simply the certainty that something has changed. Your guide may also communicate in ways that initially resemble intuition.”

“The Indigo Knight isn’t particularly talkative,” Matthias commented.

“Neither are most worthwhile teachers,” Gloria chuckled.

Matthias smirked before becoming serious again. “How do you know when it’s actually the Aether and when it’s just your own mind?”

“You don’t… at least, not immediately.”

That answer wiped the amusement from his face, but Gloria continued before he could object.

“You learn through experience and compare what you feel against what you know. Also, look for corroboration. If you sense danger, check the sensors. Ask another Aether user what they feel. Look around you. Never allow one sense to become your entire reality.”

“What if something is deliberately feeding you false information?” Matthias frowned.

“Then all of that becomes even more important,” Gloria said, her gaze sharpening. She lifted one hand and allowed cerulean light to gather around her fingers, calm and controlled after decades of familiarity.

“Something capable of manipulating the Aether may be able to make you feel pressure that is not there. It may try to show you something through one aspect of your perception, or encourage you toward a conclusion. That does not mean it controls everything you perceive.”

“So I check it against something else,” Matthias surmised.

“Always. Aether against sight, sight against instruments, and instruments against another person. If three things agree and one does not, question the one. If all four disagree, stop moving until you understand why,” Gloria explained.

Matthias glanced at the indigo light beginning to gather around his own hand again.

“As a surface user, I worried about whether I could draw enough power. Now I have to worry about whether what I’m sensing is even real.”

“Welcome to being a deep user,” Gloria giggled.