Stella leaned on the wall being lost in thought. Silas glanced toward her every few seconds. For the first time in a long time, he was fully oblivious to what she thought. Even after being seperated from her for a year and meeting her again, he knew what she was thinking about at least slightly... but now...
Silas shook his head. 'Anyway. Do I really need to do that?' Silas was a little nervous, for what was about to come.
Orren looked from Stella toward Silas and smiled viciously.
'Argh. This old geezer. I was just about to like him.'
"Please lay down now, Silas, it's getting late and you don't want to stay the night, do you?" Orren said with a hint of amusement.
A shiver ran down Silas' back, thinking about having to sleep in the same room as this creepy old guy. 'Yeah... No thanks. I'm sorry Stella but you're alone with this.'
So Silas did as he was told. After a few tremors running through his body while thinking about what his sister had to go through, he told Orren to start.
Drip...
Drip...
"Open your mouth please."
Silas opened his mouth slowly, wary of the pain.
Drip.
'Umm, what? It tastes... sweet.' Silas waited a few seconds. Then a few more. The liguid on his eyes still forming a small lake.
"Hmm, that's new. Maybe your eyes are sealed shut. Ussually, a little of the fluid enters them, even while being closed. Try opening them." Orren philosophized.
Silas' fear got bigger and bigger, the inevitable being pushed further back.
He opened his eyes. The world was fully blurred for a second before his eyes absorbed the fluid. Having already drunken it, he was prepared to feel a pain, even more excrutiating than the time he was in the dungeon. But the pain never came.
"Hmm, interesting." Genuine curiosity filled Orren's voice.
Silas' muscles were suddenly very tired. Already, laying, he closed his eyes for a few moments. Then, something unexpected happened. He felt a warmth, already well known to him. It was the warmth he felt the first time in his dream, seeing the black monster and the second time after the illusion. The heat was nearly unbearable in the eyes, so he tried to spread it. And so, it spread throughout his body, making him feel less tired. 'No, not less tired. Not tired at all.'
Silas opened his eyes...
And closed them again. A small smile started to form on his face. "Yes..." he whispered.
"How do you feel?" He heard his sister ask. Genuine concern with a touch of emotionlessness filling her voice. It wasn't something to worry about though. It was probably just because of her new powers and the recent pain.
Silas didn't respond though, standing up slowly. His eyes sealed shut. He turned toward the voice of his sister. Took a step toward her. Then another one. "Umm, Silas?" Stella asked, about to back away.
Then, he raised a hand in front of his mouth, indicating for her to be quiet. He opened his eyes again. The same green glow as Stella's being emanated.
His smile widened slightly. Looking through his eyes, one could see the world, fully drenched into a green color scheme. The sad, black and grey world, fully exterminated. There were only light and dark shades of green. His sister's face, before made of grey, white and black, now had some kind of color. Her eyes though, were of the most vibrant green of all. Dark and light green stripes converged in them, giving them a strong contrast even though there was only one color. Every other human would have said that it looked weird to see everything only in different shades of one color. But Silas... Silas adored it. In his eyes, his precious sister, the first person he saw in a kind of color, made his heart as light as feather.
'...It's beautiful...'
He hugged his sister. Joy written all over his face. Tears would have streamed down his cheeks if he could cry.
Neither of them moved for a few moments, embracing the moment.
***
"Extraodinary." Orren nodded, sitting at the table on the opposite side of the siblings.
"Truly extraordinary."
Silas was suddenly curious. His eyes still not used to seeing color in the world glanced around.
"Why was the awakening of Silas' spirit vision different from mine?" Stella tilted her head.
"Well, it's either very easy to explain or the hardest possible thing to do at all." Orren started to explain without his usual smile. He looked rarely calculating.
"You see, you could either be a prodigy or blessed. Maybe both. But the most probable thing would be, that you have already unlocked the first part of spirit vision unconsciously. You aren't that susceptible to the influnce of the spheres it seems. Maybe you have built some kind of defensive system protecting you from the illusions."
Stella, now fully recovered, looked at Silas apprehensively.
"As you came to me in the dungeon, you looked exactly like Orren described me during the awakening."
The old man nodded approvingly. Clearly impressed by the smartness of his students.
"That could have been a premature awakening. You see, the fluid I gave you was just there in order to give your essence a starting push, but if your body believed it necessary to protect you, the awakening can happen prematurely."
"Anyway, look at the time. It seems that Our Silas will have to head home soon." Orren seemed to regain some of his composure, smiling vibrantly once again.
"Make sure to meditate a little bit before going to bed tonight. You need to learn how to circulate your essence."
***
Silas looked around. The trees. The moss. Even the pine needles looked green now. Sadly, he had to let his essence calm down again, because he felt very drained. As soon as he let the essence rest, not flowing anymore but staying still, the colors of the world vanished again, leaving the world, drenched in sadness once more.
While heading home, Silas thought about the day's events in detail again, coming to a conclusion. "Who cares about sleep, I need to find that eyeball as soon as possible." His expressionless demenour turned into a smile.
"What a pleasant thing I can pick locks. Thanks a lot for teaching this to me Sorelle!"
'Still, I should probably head to the town hall, that isn't even a hall, first. Maybe, just maybe I am even strong enough to break an illusion or two, now. Why is it even called that. It should be called town tower.' Silas nodded pleasantly, having made the decision to call it town tower from now on, when a thought took place in his head.
"Can't I teach my family this spirit vision thing? Then they would maybe remember Stella again..."
'But I promised to stay silent about it...'
"The old geezer, as annoying and unsettling as he is, might still be trustworthy. There is probably no reason not to trust him. I will just do as he said for now"
***
Silas decided to go home first. He didn't want to make his family worry about him.