Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 4

Separating the Soul

"I have discovered the answer."

Overhead Anin Chal cast sunlight down through the opening of the mountain. It was mid bright season, similar to earth's summer solstice and Chal was high overhead, a perfect sphere of burning light cast down through their opening where it glittered off snow white moss, and the cool blue pool around which they all sat.

Sunny rested on her knees both sets of hands resting on her thighs. Adam sat in a similar manner though his legs ached with the extended effort of sitting. Both Ramirez and Maverick sat cross legged . All around the circle they sat in one large group: Adam, Maverick, Sunny, Ramirez, Conn, Krill Eris, and, for their new additions.

Kelly and Celex.

They sat on the opposite side of the circle from each other, and around them burned two spheres of near identical crackling energy, one just slightly more orange than the other. A beat of sweat trickled down Adam's neck as Chal burned down upon them, but he didn't dare move.

At the head of the circle sat Naktan with his hands held out to either side one set of arms held high, the other set of arms held low. He sat with his legs crossed, which seemed like an unusual pose for a Drev, and with his eyes closed and his face serene, he looked like one of those classical depictions of the Hindu god Shiva all be it a few universes and one species removed.

His hard Gold eyes flickered open as he turned to look through the group of them eyes eventually falling upon Conn, "Join me." The starborn didn't bother to say anything sarcastic but nodded once closing his eyes for better concentration. Eris did the same.

Naktan then turned towards Celex, "Keep your mind open. And your flow of power stable."

Together the group of them closed their eyes, "everyone take hold."

Adam took the hand of Sunny on his right and Ramirez on his left. He resisted the urge to make some sort of joke, and bit down on his tongue. The small clearing remained silent for some time, and just as he was thinking nothing would happen.

He heard soemthing.

Or perhaps that statement was inaccurate. Perhaps he wasn't feeling it so much as sensing the vibration.

The eardrum is the most sensitive part of the body to vibration as its job is literally to pick up sound vibration in the air, and the more Adam listened the more he began to hear the slow steady thrumming. The tone was deep, and before it had been too low for him to sense, but now he could feel it pulsing through his fingers and into his hands, flaring up in his chest as he sat and waited.

The deep thrum pulsed like a heartbeat.

Electricity crackled over his skin, and now the feeling and sound were not simply feelings and sound.

He could feel the vibration rolling through him.

Adam cracked an eye and was shocked to find the entire circle glowing with mixed gold and orange energy. His companions eyes were closed, and their skin glowed softly.

Next to him, Sunny was particularly spectacular light glowing up from through her carapace a highlighting its different layers in strata of turquoise, and deep electric blue.

"Focus." Naktan ordered.

Adam quickly shut his eyes.

He wasn't sure how the old mystic had known, for his eyes hadn't been open, but he wasn't exactly in the habit of questioning people who had secret magic powers.

"Clear your minds."

Easier said than done, but Adam did his best . At first he tried to think about nothing, but then star wars references and random thoughts about what he wanted for lunch kept popping into his head, his inner dialogue continually asking when they were going to be done. If emptying his mind wasn't going to work, than he was just going to have to think about soemthing that was empty.