The Wanderer - 241 (Patreon)

Chapter 241 – Prison

[2009 – October]

Opening the eyes of the incarnation that I created with pure Darkforce, which was an ability that any self-respecting Realm Lord should possess as it wasn't hard to figure out how to do so for a higher being in charge of a whole dimension, I stepped into a layer of space that could only be reached by me as I was the ruler of this lightless realm.

And what I saw, not just with my eyes but with my very soul, was a prison of abyss-black stone condensed from pure Darkforce, without even the faintest trace of light.

The cells were too small for the humans inside to even lie down comfortably while the ambient fog of Darkforce invaded their minds and souls, pushing them to the brink of insanity.

Most of them had ripped away their lab coats and other clothing during their time here, the looks in their eyes haunted, their expression beyond even despair.

The only reason that they were still alive, that their minds weren't broken and their souls weren't corrupted yet, was the fact that I didn't allow it. An ethereal shield of mine covered the whole prison, forcing them to stay alive and sane, which was torture in itself.

The fact that they could neither see, hear, or even smell each other, not to mention touch each other, just added to their torment as they found themselves alone in endless darkness.

These men and women were the survivors of my attack on the underground base of the Facility.

There had also been some mutants and humans that had been imprisoned by them as test subjects, though I had freed them after purging them of any memories pertaining to the Facility, as well as taking away the powers that the Facility had 'gifted' these people along with the various disfigurements.

I had done as I did not because I did not have a heart of vengeance because I most certainly did, but because I had not been resolved to act with indiscriminate violence since such was not who I wanted to be.

I was in control of my actions, even the most malevolent ones that might originate from a place of truly dark wrath. Demon or Saint, I chose who I wanted to be, not my impulses.

This was an important belief for me to have and liveby since I knew that being the Realm Lord of the Darkforce Dimension made me susceptible to falling into the abyss, true self-control and restraint my only salvation.

It wasn't that I hadto control or restrain myself but that I had to be ableto do so. The moment that wasn't capable of that anymore, was the moment that my downfall was only a matter of time, my freedom gone as my darkest instincts would take over my heart and mind.

Now, on the topic of my captives, there was naturally a reason for my acts of capturing them.

The nearly one hundred people that I had imprisoned in the Darkforce Dimension were to serve another purpose, which ultimately wouldn't exempt them from the fate that their colleagues had met.

My mental strength rippled outward as I sat down in front of the first cell and looked at the haggard middle-aged man that tried to hide in the corner of the small confined space, his frame trembling with undeniable fear and mind-breaking despair.

I wasn't sure why he did this but the unbreakable walls of his cells might give him solace and a feeling of dependability. He couldn't see me as I studied him for a few moments, trying to imagine what he might be thinking before I moved on mentally.

Transformed and elevated through the Energy Vessel after I had broken its natural shackles by myself, my mind had turned into a force that could affect reality itself, especially so after my soul had fused with the nexus core of the Darkforce Dimension.

I didn't even know of half the things that I was now capable of but that was in part why I had taken these men and women prisoner.

Focusing, I gathered the strength of mind into something almost tangible as I reached out with my senses to feel and experience the all-encompassing Darkforce, as well as the quiet psionic energy that flowed quietly through this dimension as it did through every existing space that held even just the potential for sentient life.

And with my mind alone, I tried to take control of this invisible flow while adjusting my Extrasensory Perception to become more in tune with the ambient psionic energy.

I didn't use an ethereal shield to take control of this rather elusive energy force, which would have been comparatively easy since nothing could escape my shields if I did not wish for it. Instead, I was resolved to learn for myself how to manipulate and control psionic energy as was the right for every being with a mind that had broken away from their natural shackles.

I was ready to learn the most widely spread forms of telepathy and telekinesis through the direct manipulation of psionic energy.

And I already had a few dozen guinea pigs to help me learn the former, who also wouldn't be missed if my fine control over the psionic energy should fail me unexpectedly.

It wasn't likely to happen but telepathy was a complex and difficult discipline to learn and excel in if one didn't have any room for mistakes, especially for a being whose mental strength could crush stars and planets.

I had only very little experience in controlling psionic energy and while my enhanced mental capabilities would make it easier for me to learn to do exactly that, I could never risk hurting Jean or Emma during the learning period even though their advice might be immensely helpful during this process.

While Jean as the Phoenix' avatar and successor might be less 'fragile' than Emma, I couldn't spar with them as a Realm Lord since even their minds would not be able to withstand it if I lost control. It didn't matter that I could undo all the damage that I might cause since I didn't want to see them hurt at my hands in the first place.

As such, I had chosen to learn by myself, not in the least because I was also ambitious and wanted to see for myself how quickly and how far I could walk on this path by myself.

Splitting off only a faint trace of my mental strength, nothing but a fine thread of light of what was a metaphorical dark sun, I 'fused' this thread into the psionic energy that I could sense with my perception.

I could inspect the result of this action with my Extrasensory Perception and it 'looked' like the 'purple fog' of psionic energy was slowly dyed in a dark light like a drop of black ink spreading through the fog, suffusing into it.

To be honest, this was a strange and not completely accurate way to describe what I sensed with my Extraordinary Perception, which, strictly speaking, could be considered as the sensory organ of the mind itself.

This kind of perception was similar yet entirely different from my physical senses. I could use it to perceive my surroundings as accurately as my eyes could for example but at the same time, I could sense things with it that did not really exist or left almost no trace in the material world.

Psionic energy, for example, was invisible to the naked eye and did not have a 'purple' colour or any colour for that matter. Only in a condensed state and mixed with the metal strength of the one who used and manipulated it could it take shape and 'have' a colour.

The 'purple fog' that I saw was just an interpretation of my perception – a way to explain something inexplicable.

It was a concept that was hard, impossible even, for a normal human to understand. Only those that could perceive reality with more than just their five senses could hope to understand this.

Still, nomenclature and inexplicable aside, I placed my entire focus on the silver of psionic energy that I had 'tainted' with my mental strength, feeling it turn from an ambient and intangible energy force into something graspable as I exerted direct control on it.

I tested out the degree of ease with which I could move the silver of psionic energy around, as well as carefully studying the feedback on my perception and mind.

The small amount of psionic energy reacted very sensitively to my thoughts, moving erratically with just the slightest mental prodding.

Recalling what I had seen Marie-Ange do with her psionic energy constructs or what Emma could do with her incredible control over this rather elusive type of energy, I knew that it was a very versatile kind of energy that relied on the guidance of a sentient being to have any visible effects.

Turning it into a tangible construct, using it in a purely destructive fashion like energy bolts, or using it for telepathy, the end result was dependent on the mind that controlled it.

And while I wished to try out every possible way to manipulate psionic energy eventually, I came here with a specific purpose in mind.