Darkness Perception

I took the Ape to the territory of the Grand Moths, and quickly hunted a few of them for it. The Moths were not very happy, but I couldn't just exterminate all of them. They were a vital part of this place, and Avians wouldn't be happy with that. Because I didn't want to make more enemies, than humans already had, I ran away.

With 7 Grand Moths still in my bag, I took them out and gave them to the Ape. I said "Here is the food, I promised you. Enjoy, I shall leave now". The Ape seemed very happy with the amount, it produced some flame and roasted the moths in it.

I left in order to take care of the last thing on my list. 'I need to go down and explore that pond. Those Water Stones are quite useful. If I can get them, I will be able to increase the freezing abilities of my right hand' I thought. When I arrived at the pond, it was all quiet. I check the water and saw no movements either. 'The creatures should return to the depths. First I will dive down, to the point I can't see anything. There, I will have to test out that new vision, and if I can use it in reality as well' I thought, and raised the sleeve of my coat.

"Come out, we have a job to do" I said. The tattoo started to move and the Water Lizard appeared in front of me. When it saw the pond, it panicked and wanted to change back into the tattoo. I caught it and said "You yourself wanted to follow me. I require your help, so you have to stay in this form". The Lizard didn't seem happy but it fessed up and stayed.

I said "Don't worry, we are going down a bit, at first. I need to test something out. When I'm ready, we will dive deeper. You already know where those Water Stones are. It will be faster for me to retrieve them, if you show me the way". The Lizard nodded and waited for further instructions.

I said "Let's go down quietly, When I give you this sign, we are coming back to the surface" and showed it a gesture with my hand. I simply used my thumb and motioned my hand up and down. I was sure that the Lizard wouldn't be confused. This wasn't a sign, anyone would do by mistake.

With those rules set, I didn't take off my clothes this time, and went straight inside the pond. I did it quietly from a sitting position, instead of jumping and making loads of noise. The Lizard followed me into the pond as well. It was panicky the lower we dived, but no creatures arrived. I dived deep enough to be surrounded by darkness. 'It's time to test it out' I thought, and tried to feel the darkness, just like in my dream.

Seconds passed quickly, then turned slowly into minutes. In complete silence and stillness, I opened my eyes. 'I can see now' was the first thought in my mind. The bottom of the pond was now visible to me. We were at about half point to the bottom of that pond, but that was bottom and not the end of the pond. The creatures with those tentacles, were nowhere to be found either. 'They must be behind that corner, or even further down there' I thought. There was a bottom, but there was a further tunnel, where water travelled to the left of the bottom.

With my theory confirmed, I gave the sign to the Lizard and we returned to the surface. While outside the pond, I said "I'm able to hold my breath for about 4 minutes. My preparation alone will take me some time. Maybe you can retrieve the stones by yourself, and I will support you from the middle?". The Lizard protested and motioned that it will not go there alone. I said "It was worth a try. Alright, I will go down a few more times alone and try to get adjusted faster. We can then give it a try".

The Lizard didn't seem to mind it and jumped onto my shoulder, then changed into a tattoo. I went inside the pond and practiced like that. I needed to shorten the time, for me to awaken my new vision. This wasn't that easy. Although, I could achieve that vision, I wasn't able to do so instantly. I needed to focus and feel the darkness, with all my senses. It's easier to explain than do.

I spent quite some time there, training like that. I managed to get the time to around 1 minute, but it was still nowhere near changing my vision instantly or in matter of few seconds. 'I don't know for how long I stayed here already. Looking at how much food I ate, it could be in the region of two weeks. I will try to decrease the amount of time to awaken that vision, for another two weeks and we will see' I thought. I was getting more used to it and better at it, but I already knew that, the more you want something to be improved, the more time you need to spend.

The Water Lizard stayed on my hand as a tattoo, throughout the whole process of me improving my new vision. I decided to call it Darkness Perception. The only difference from my dream, was that there were no floating orbs around me. None were coming out from my body and none were creating the world I could see. I wondered why it was like this, but ultimately, it didn't matter to me that much.

After approximately two weeks, I managed to get the time down to around 40 seconds. 'If I want any better improvements, I will need to stay here much more time. 40 seconds is already very good. I just hope, we can get those Water Stones and leave' I thought and called out the Lizard, to join me.

I looked down at the lizard and remembered something. "You need a name. I can't call you lizard or something generic like that. A name…." I said. The lizard looked at me with some hope in its eyes. I asked "How about Scaly?". The Lizard shook its head and made some noises. 'It probably doesn't like it' I thought. After a while of thinking, I asked "How about Wavey?". The Lizard shook its head, again.

I tried couple more, but all were rejected. The Lizard seemed to be less hopeful, the more names were suggested by me. It yawned and some frost formed on the ground below. I looked at the blue lizard that laid there on the ground and said "You are going to be called Frosty. It suits you very well".

The lizard looked at me and thought for a while. It then nodded its head, and seemed quite happy with its new name. "Alright then Frosty. We will dive down, retrieve the Water Stones, then we are leaving for the Northern Wilderness". Frosty nodded its head with excitement. I said "When I show you this sign" and I pointed my finger downwards while moving my hand up and down, "Then take the lead. When I show you the previous sign. We are going back to the surface. Alright?". Frosty nodded its head and we entered the pond together.