Fayth and her companion stood facing the entrance of a tunnel shrouded in darkness as it was hidden underneath a bridge. Water dripped from above as rain had started to fall in Novum Aurora and each droplet entered the flowing river underneath the bridge, which made loud echoing sounds. The stone surfaces underneath the bridge were heavily covered in artist graffiti, some of which were more stylist than others. Despite the invisibility offered by the shadows, the entrance to the tunnel was usually blocked by iron bars. Someone, or something, had effectively bent the bars to create an opening that was larger than the averaged sized person to slip through.
The trail of ants that Fayth and the blind man had found and followed was moving as a single line into the dark tunnel. It was evident that wherever the ants had taken them, they were leading the two to their destination.
“I don’t like this. How on earth can I see?!”, Fayth growled as she glared into the darkness of the tunnel. Her rhetorical question was met by the usual silence of her companion, who was facing her as she turned to look at him. “Oh…yeah. I forgot that you couldn’t see…”
In response, her blind friend took her hand and started heading into the abyss of the tunnel. However, Fayth grounded herself, which made the blind man turn back to her with a questioning expression.
“Wait…give me a second”, Fayth said as she closed her eyes. If they were going into the lair of whatever took Reina, they would need to prepare themselves. Although she was not combat-oriented, her time with Reina had developed her skills at using her powers to communicate and direct her friend, who was much better suited to the field than she was. Similarly, she suspected that the blind man was not as disadvantaged as she had first believed.
As she had found from playing around with her powers, connecting to a mind depended upon the interpersonal bond between her and the person she was linking to. Fayth remembered how easy it was when she connected to Reina due to their established friendship, as well as how difficult it was when she tried linking with strangers. Although she may not know the blind man well, Fayth felt a connection with him may already be forming; a blossoming bond forged from their current situation and recent events.
She found the superficial thoughts of the blind man, and followed them back to his mind. Her own mind brushed lightly across his and she could feel his response, his surprise at her mental presence outside the borders of his own. As a result of this, his mental barriers fortified themselves, as the brief surprise reinforced the will of his mind.
“Just relax and…breathe.”
As deep breaths of air were inhaled and exhaled by the blind man, Fayth felt his mental barriers begin to part ways, and as she willed herself through, she became acutely aware of the tangible force of sounds surrounding her. As she moved through and navigated his mind, Fayth realised that the sounds belonged to the blind man’s perceptions. Loud and powerful waves echoed through his mental domain and it was enough to disorient Fayth, but she strengthened her will and carried on.
Once she was within the eye of his consciousness, Fayth laid a psychic link as she retreated back to her own mind. She slowly opened her eyes and sensed his presence within her mind, just as he was sensing her presence in his mind.
“There. We can communicate this way without needing to speak."
“How…?”
“You may have your talents, but I have my own as well.”
The blind man hesitated for a moment, but seemingly accepted this as he turned and headed into the darkness that awaited them.
“Hey. I never got your name. I’m Fayth.”
“…Travis.”
-
It was like a whole other world as Fayth and Travis walked in complete darkness through the tunnel and deeper into the underground maze where Reina was kept. The air was damp and the walls moist as a large stream of water flowed through the middle of the floor, separating the path into two. An unpleasant odour lingered in the air, which assaulted Fayth’s nose and almost made her throw up when she first encountered it. But what truly disconnected the tunnel from the city was the eerie emptiness and lack of life underground. Fayth’s psychic senses, which were so used to the diverse vitality of people in the city, were acutely aware of the sparse energies around her.
Fayth was fascinated by the psychic realm of Travis’ mind as she was finely attuned to it through their link. She could hear all sorts of things with much more clarity and intensity through the way his mind perceived and processed auditory stimuli. And despite his blindness, a mental representation of their surroundings was constructed by the sounds that he could hear. With each step he took, the sounds bounced back and were received by his ears to shift the mental representation reflecting their movement through the tunnel. As Fayth realised, it similar to the echolocation of bats and how they use sounds to navigate at night.
She was also aware that this may make them alike in a way.
Suddenly, according to Travis’ ears, something was audible straight ahead of them. He stopped and concentrated on it, which Fayth could sense through their connection. They waited in anticipation, and although Fayth heard nothing through her own ears, she was aware that something had appeared on Travis’ sonar radar.
It hit her through her psychic senses, just as recognition of the sounds hit Travis. A swarm of insect, accompanied by that same evil cheeriness that she sensed earlier that day, was rushing towards them. Fayth panicked and began to turn and pull Travis back the way they came, but his strong hand gripped hers tightly to prevent her from escaping. Fayth turned back and found that Travis had not been moved by the oncoming bugs; he stood firm and strong as he mentally readied himself. As she took a quick panicked breath, Fayth fought the instinct to scream as the insects descended all around them and upon them, unleashing their hellish bites by the millions.
