Unforeseen¹

Chapter 39- The main ingredient

"Does it talk to you?" Jayden questioned as she sat in her hospital bed, studying the chessboard.

"I'm afraid it never has." Vision said, moving his pawn.

"Then how did you know I chose to let you come to life?"

"It's your turn," he nodded to the board; she chewed her lip before moving a knight. "It was more instinctual than anything else."

"Do you have any other of these instincts?" She questioned, watching him move another chess piece.

"A substantial amount," he nodded. "Are you sure you want to move that?"

Her fingers went still on the rook, and hesitating, she stared down at the board, but not seeing what Vision was implying, she moved it anyway. She quickly regretted the decision when he immediately placed his queen next to her king.

"Checkmate."

She groaned, rolling her head back against her headboard. Theo chuckled beside her, causing her to glare half-heartedly ,and nudge him aside. "This game is impossible."

"I think you played rather well for a beginner."

"You're making it easy for me."

"Well, of course, you wouldn't have the chance to learn if I didn't."

She rolled her eyes, bringing her head back up. "It's still impossible. So what do these... instincts tell you?"

"Unfortunately, very little. Any I have is either irrelevant or which you already know."

"Not even a little?"

"Nothing," he confirmed. "At present, the stone only allows me to possess a minuscule of its power to stay functioning and defend myself against any outside forces."

"Do you feel it?"

"Only when I focus. What about you?"

"Like before, it's... just buzzing in the background. When it wants to talk to me, it's this sort of pressure. I can't pull away, or even think about anything else. When I tried, it hurt a lot."

Vision nodded and began rearranging the chess pieces back to their starting positions. "That doesn't surprise me. The stones do not seem the type you can merely ignore."

"If only they weren't so cryptic," she sighed. "I keep thinking about the vision it gave me, but the more I do, the less it makes sense."

"Can you recount them for me?"

"Well, first were the stones themselves and the girl reaching out for them. Then was the sky, men in black armour, a woman in jewels, a boy in chains, a-a flash of a light and then a baby Theo, two figures I could hardly see, Terries, silver eyes, and-and..." her brows furrowed.

"And what?"

"Words. In my own language: 'the cycle must be completed'. It-it said something else, something about the mind having a smarter outlook," she shook her head. "I don't understand what any of it means."

Vision leaned back, his hand on his chin, rubbing it thoughtfully. "How intriguing. This was the Mind Stone, correct? I cannot say for the statements, but the images are likely memories from early childhood."

She thought back to her recent vision. "Yeah, I figured that, but I... I don't understand why they're giving them to me."

"I cannot explain it either, but as Thor told us, the Stones do not do anything without reason. Their information, while ever cryptic, is information all the same."

Huffing and relaxing with a defeated sigh, she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Taulo, Taluo, Taulo. If Thor is right and it isn't the name of my species, then what-"