Preservation

Hyperjump

Why I am able to contact you.

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Spensa was surrounded by darkness. She floated in the Nowhere, immersed in its eternal emptiness.

She waited for the Delvers to appear, but, like her last few hyperjumps, they never did. As she reached out with her Cytonic senses, she could feel the Delvers, hovering just out of sight. With her new abilities, she could feel their fear, weather they wanted her to or not.

To people on the outside, she appeared to spend no time in the Nowhere. As it was, she was barely there. But time ment nothing in this place.

The darkness suddenly retreated as she appeared behind Vin. The woman, apparently sensing something, whipped around, slashing with her dagger, and forcing Spensa to jump again.

After another trip through the Nowhere, she appeared in front of the group again, careful to stay out of striking distance from Vin this time.

The others jumped to their feet, shocked at her sudden disappearance and reappearance.

"What- ?" Kaladin sputtered, "How- ?"

"I Hyperjumped," Spensa explained. "I use my Cytonic abilities to transport myself into the Nowhere, and then back out wherever I choose."

Wit sank to the ground evidently troubled. "This shouldn't be possible," he numbly stated. "This cannot be an application of Investiture, it would have been noticed a long time ago. And this dimension, this, Nowhere, it shouldn't be able to exist without my knowledge."

Spensa shrugged, "I don't know what to tell you, but it does." She turned to the others, who were both staring at her. Kaladin's initial incredulity seemed to have vanished, but she could tell that he was still shocked. Vin, on the other hand, stared at Spensa with calculating eyes.

"That was you, wasn't it?" she asked. "You're the one who spoke to me when I arrived."

That confused Spensa for a moment, before she remembered. When she'd first arrived here after her Hyperjump had gone awry, she had reached out with her mind in an attempt to contact one of her friends. But she hadn't found any of them. All she'd found was a strange, blocked off mind that seemed, for the lack of a better word, protected. Now, she realized that had been Vin.

"Yes," she replied, "that was me."

"Wait, back up," Kaladin interrupted, holding his hands in front of himself in a halting gesture. "What do you mean she 'spoke to you'?"

Vin set her daggers down, still studying Spensa. "When I first arrived, I felt a voice speaking to my mind. I thought it was a Shard at first, but apparently it was Spensa."

Wit's eyes widened, "You can communicate telepathically?"

"Yes, but I can't contact just anyone," Spensa clarified. "I can usually only contact other Cytonics, but I was somehow able to connect with Vin. That's not one of my specialties, so it shouldn't be possible."

Kaladin frowned, "Specialties? What does that mean?"

"Each Cytonic specializes in only a few abilities," Spensa explained. "You could theoretically learn to use all of them, but each Cytonic is able to access different abilities easily, aside from mental contact, which everyone can do. For example, my specialties are Hyperjumps and Listening, meaning I can be quiet or soft with my Cytonic touch. My, friend Jorgen specializes in Mindblades and Universal Contact."

Vin frowned, "Why are you telling us all this? You're giving up a lot of information to people that could be your enemies."

Spensa smiled, "How do you know I'm not lying though?"