Chapter 6 Projection.

Act 1 Problem.

Drawing energy from a source unknown, am I reckless? trusting an alien i've only met once, am I naive? am I a stellar planet eating alien whale thing? it was all a yes. so I continued my practice drawing an unknown energy from my opened gates into my inner self.

But unlike how it's supposed to be, as I circulate the energy within my developing flesh. . . it wasn't strengthening my flesh or gathering in what the Elder had described as a core but became fuel for my inner flame.

I have always thought my inner flame, was just a controllable part of an organ, like a nose or mouth. but unlike being able to talk or smell with it I can control my gravity and movement with it, like extension of my fins.

But could it be something more? or is the psionic energy I am drawing in simply strengthening my ability to move? I need the Elder. that was my last thought, as I asked my body to rest and fell into sleep, after sending pulses of my intentions, hopefully she'll understand.

Act 2 Next Lesson.

"Hmm? had he succeeded already?" I sent a pulse towards the large egg, and saw he had opened all the three gates. and then I sent a pulse towards the timekeeper I'm protecting. she told me it's been 20 cycles since I taught the youngling, in his race's time keeping its been 8 years.

I saw that Visitor is still exploring the neighboring star systems. she wouldn't be back for awhile, I felt a vibration coming from the egg, I sent my senses into the translator friend visitor had made for me. "Tell Elder I need help, and that will meet in my dreams." I felt thoughtful.

Is he having problems in consolidating his cultivation? well he did go for the trinity path even the most talented of my races youth, had died of age, because of that ridiculously complicated cultivation path.

I took back my senses from the translator and then focused, concentrating on one point and the shot a beam of my consciousness into my new disciples egg.

I still can't believe I need to use a war class projection just to penetrate his egg. that was my thoughts as my perspective changed from a shaded forest to that of a white room in the body of my youth.

I look forward and saw the human reading through an object with leaves made out of wood pulp bounded by leather. . . I felt his dream stir and then learned that he was reading a book, his dreams manifestation of showing his memories as he remembers it.

Then as I moved closer, he looked up with rounded eyes. "Elder." He gave me a bow as he greeted me. an odd gesture, that his people used, to show respect to there teachers. should we adopt it? it does make feel proud of myself as a master. and I do have few other disciples back home.

"What problem have you come upon my disciple?" I asked, as he manifested the same set of chairs, tables, boiled leaves and crushed, weted, baked seeds. I'm still amazed at the culinary attainment of his people, when it comes to agricultural goods. . . not so much with there meat dishes.

Those were my thoughts as I saw, "meat crackers" an abomination of delicious processed grain, tainted by grilled belly meat of a fatty mammalian omnivorous animal. "It's because of this master." he opened his hands in front of me manifesting a model of his egg, but the insides are visible.

It showed me an embryonic soup of pure timekeeper energy, and a young blue one at that. but what surprised me more than the three gates that had yet to stabilize, was some kind of bonfire of unknown energy consuming the trickle of psionic energy coming from his path gates. 

"Curious. . . This is the first time I've seen this Abyss." I have ideas on how to fix his gates so they could be stabilized and stop them from constantly feeding all of his psionic energy in that. . . wait, is that a timekeeper Core? I dug through my memories of communing with the stars seeking there wisdom, and then remember as one showed the beautiful death of her sister.

That supernova, it's the same thing, except my disciples much, much lesser than the one I had the fortune to glimpse upon. so this small flame is the heart of all timekeepers, then why would one be inside of a void beast? the question lingered as I have slayed and dissected them before and most of them where all nothing more than old, psionically powered animals.

Completely subsumed by their instinctual cultivation paths, I actually feel sorry for some of them for if my race had not controlled ourselves and become even more dependant on solely that path, we would have become another void beast tribe in this vast cosmos.

"Not inside of a dying timekeeper. . . I have a guess on how we can stabilize your gates, and lead your cultivation paths into a location where you can form a Psionic gathering core. or do you plan to use that timekeeper Inner flame as your psionic core?" The choice is his, would he use an unorthodox method of walking a well trodden path or would he thread through a grassy field?

Act 3 Choice.

It is my choice then? I really want to learn space magic! from what I learned from sister Vibranty and Elder this psionics is a true technological path! it has everything and more of what our science had achieve! but. . . I also want to learn what I've turned into and this "Inner Flame" could be the key to this question, and that of that kind woman I've talked too in that dark place.

"Can you still teach me your "projections" master, if I choose to cultivate this flame?" I looked at my turtle master, it was hard to gauge his expressions as I'm the farthest from a social science specialist or Diplomat elite nor took more than 50 hours in theoretical xeno biology.

But I felt he was unsure, yet hopeful as he answered me. "I cannot promise you that you would be able to learn all the "Spells" as your knowledge of them has been telling me, that I have cultivated in my 20 thousand years of life." His words was honest.

"But I can tell you now, your inner flame, unlike your developing body is changing from pure Timekeeper plasmatic energy into, a mix of the energy of the Immaterial sea. I'm confident that I'll be able to guide you through this new path." He was I can feel it even though this was a dream we have spent much time with each other enough that I can feel his intent as clear as that of sister Vibranty.

I gave my answer as my model continued its circulation. this was the moment I've seen how the race of my master smiles, they flick their tongue out. after that with the help of the model I made my master showed me how to stabilize my gates and control there flow so that I wouldn't become addicted or overdose on psionic energy. 

Which is something that commonly happens to those that starts cultivating as there body is unused to the new power source unlike to the one taken from their breath or food.

Act 4 Mortal form.

"Huh?" I was in a forest the bright green tinted light of the unfamiliar star, the trees where of darken earth and there leaves where deep blues. I took in the a breath as my new naked form felt the energy within the air flow through me. . . I'm not even sure if this moon was oxygenated or the things here use something else to breathe, maybe methane? that could explain the blues.

I said as I looked around the forest seeing blue bushes, ferns and grasses. . . with darken stems or wood bits. I then sat down and leaned back on my egg, I was only a little smaller than my egg. as I want to keep the illusion that Sister had thought humanity was a titan race much like hers.

I pick up a rock and then tried crushing it, and it shattered gently into flint blades. "Atleast I know this moon, has flint on it's mountains. now let's try." I cut myself but instead of red blood, and a small cut, what actually appeared was a glowing censor of my suppose to be wound.

"Already "experimenting" I see? well a. . . but I must warn you to try limiting your experiments on limits. as I do not want to regrow my clothes." I looked up and saw the head of a dragon like turtle, but I did not panic as I recognize his voice.

"I'll do my best master." I said giving him a bow he smiled and then gone out of my view. as I thought he had left me I heard his voice again without seeing him.

"Oh, disciple, before you explore a friendly reminder. I may be the gatekeeper of this small realm, but my realm the greenskied mountains is connected to my home world of Ancestria. and my home world is connected to dozens of others. remember my lessons and have fun. I'll be hibernating." After that I no longer feel my master's attention.

I gave out a tired breath, as I stood up and looked back at the shell of my egg it's mirror like surface showed me my reflection, I was a naked, sexless, masculine, peak gene-human titan, with long dark blue hand brushed wavy hair, and white reflective silver eyes.

My looks was reaching beyond the superstars of old earth, my physic dense yet muscled for combat and survival. . . why did I look like Pickle from that old fighting anime? but more handsome? and less bulky? I took away those thoughts as I turned around and moved.

First looking for a long stick and more flint. "hopely there's animals here, I really want some pants before meeting anyone." that was my goal to make a spear, hunt something with a good hide, and then make and wear pants.

Act 5 Vibranty.

Within the star painted darkness, a ship voyaged. "And done, that's the last barren celestial body in this star system." I was going through my memories of the celestial bodies I have recorded and given an Identification, as I felt a thought not my own.

"His awake friend visitor." This message made me smile but I did crack my fingers as I realized I need to do more work as I looked towards the 3 to 4 more star systems I need to explore before going back. well I can visit them when I'm done.

With a thought my whole ship vibrated and then moved forward circling the star achieving more and more momentum with each pass, and then the rough plate like ship, disappeared. phazing through reality living behind a slowly closing red blotch in the starry darkness.