Chapter 46: Drawn In
Yes, yes… well done, Nial. That's it. That's where it begins. Now look at it. Understand it. Touch it. Take it in your hands…
So, Nial did. Even though he was inside his body, and even though he had no body, he reached for that light, that heat. And it drew him nearer.
Closer, closer, his whole self moving through nothing.
Then it was there, glimmering and teasing at the edges of sight.
…Feel the shape, understand the form. Feel the power there—but remember, it listens to you…
If he'd been in a normal place, Nial would have been panting a little bit with the excitement of it. Because suddenly he knew exactly what Dorian was talking about. A sphere of light and heat that lay hidden, deep inside him—a motor to the vehicle of his body. The sculpture to his flesh. This was the power that moved him, that kept him alive. The spark of life.
The longer he stared at it, the more he began to see into it—and it always pulled him closer. Nearer. An impossible drive to inhabit it and—
Take care, Nial. You must bridle it—be the master of it. You cannot let it consume you—
But, Nial argued in his mind, it would take him. It would take him anywhere… His entire body thrummed with the thrill as Nial became aware, not only of what was deep inside himself, but what was deep in the world—in Dorian, in Scar, in the couch under his now limp body… everything!
Life. It was life. And it was power. And it called to him—ached to be used. Ached to be spent. It wanted him to travel.
Nial… NIAL—
All he had to do was grasp it. It would never die. Never run out. Never stop moving him until the day he died.
NIAL, YOU HAVE TO STOP—
Laughing with sheer joy, Nial reached for it, pulled it closer, deeper, found the space it held in his chest and reminded it that he was home and—
The world shook. His body jerked, reflex making his limbs throw wide to try and brace himself.
"NIAL, OPEN YOUR EYES"
Adrenalin flooded the body that he didn't need. And that body began to lift, to drift up, as if it was weightless, as if it would dissolve. Just like it felt when he entered the void with Dorian. As if he didn't really possess a body at all. As if it just faded—
"NIAL!"
—but not really, because there was real power here. Holy shit, if he could harness this—
He'd just plunged his hand into it—felt it jolt through his intangible arm, felt his teeth begin to vibrate so quickly it seemed like they'd fall out—when everything turned upside down and sideways and he lost his grip on it.
There was a huge thud, screaming voices, a sharp pain in his side and at his temple, then Nial, panting, blinking, sweating, opened his eyes to find himself on the floor of Dorian's lair, staring at Dorian's boots, and Scar's worried face as both of them stood over him, but she leaned down, stroking his hair back from his face.
"Are you back? Can you hear me?"
There was a high pitched hum in his ears that wanted to drown out her voice, but Nial nodded, then swallowed. Then sat up and scrambled aside because he was about to throw up—
"Oh fucking lovely," Dorian panted.
When Nial was finished emptying his stomach on the rug, he pushed his hair back and sat up to find Dorian, dropping to sit on the couch, hands gripping his knees, his chest heaving and face sheened in sweat.
He blinked. "What… what happened?" His voice was hoarse, like he'd been screaming.
"You almost killed yourself—almost lost yourself to the void you fucking idiot," Dorian snarled. "I told you we were looking for the power, not using it!"
Nial blinked, and blinked again. His eyes were stinging, and his skin felt hot.
"What happened?" he asked again.
Dorian cursed and pushed out of the seat, but his steps were wobbly and uncertain.
Scar took Nial's hand and helped him to his feet—slowly—then urged him to take a seat in the nearby chair.
Nial let his weight drop into the thick seat, then gripped the arms, feeling the slick leather under his sweaty palms, feeling his ass sit heavy into the seat, feeling the sticky heat of it at his back…
He was real. He was here. He had a body again.
His heart was thrumming, racing, trying to run away, as if it knew what he'd done.
"What did I do?"
Scar patted his arm and knelt in front of him. She leaned in, lifting each of his eyelids, then examined his fingernails, asked him how many fingers she was holding up—which was three, he thought—then she sat back on her heels and sighed with relief.
"He's okay. You did it, Dorian. You did well. He's okay. He's really here."
Nial frowned. "What do you mean?"
Scar sighed again, her lips pressed thin. "Nial… the power that you use to travel… it's capable of overwhelming you. You have to control it. You cannot let it master you. If you do… it will suck you into the void, and outside time. And as far as we know… there's no way back when that happens."
Nial jolted in shock. "I… I was really fading? Not just like when I'm in the void? It felt the same."
Scar nodded. "It is the same, but… You were really fading. You weren't navigating the Nexus. You were… leaving."
"How did I get—"
"Dorian went after you."
Nial lifted his head to look at Dorian who stood several chairs away, glaring at him, his arms folded across his chest.
His chest that was still rising and falling far too fast. Like he'd been sprinting and was still recovering.
"You—"
"It's done. We're back. It's all good. Move on," Dorian said abruptly.
Nial opened his mouth, but Scar interrupted.
"No, Dorian. He needs to know—"
"No, he doesn't. It's done. We learned our lesson. No more impromptu training without the tools. We'll.. we'll figure it out."
"Dorian!" Scar said sharply, pushing to her feet. "He's touched the power. He doesn't just need training, he needs to understand!"
Dorian scowled, but Nial jumped in before he could speak.
"What?! What do I need to understand?"
Scar whirled back to Nial, gesturing wildly, her eyes pinched with fear. "That wasn't a little thing, Nial. He risked losing himself to save you. You were going. If he hadn't won the fight, if you had sucked him outside time… both of you would have been gone."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone