Probing Visions 1

Chapter 9 (Part 3)

     Jean, Kevin, and Gabriel settle into the floor, forming a circle. With deep, composed breaths, they glance into each other's eyes. As they sit on the ground, feeling the cold floorboard permeating through the soft fabric of their shorts, Jean opens a book with a heavy leather cover. Taking a soft breath through his nose, Jean flips the pages of the tome as his eyebrows furrow.

     While Jean flips the pages, Kevin and Gabriel set white candles in their circle's centre. Kevin puts three candles on the floor firmly, and Gabriel places the last candle, forming a loop. Once done, Gabriel snatches a long wooden stick from his shorts' pocket and grips it tightly, steadying himself.

     As Jean reaches the middle page of the book, he stops flipping the pages. He then peers at the text across the sheet, his eyes darting left and right. Taking a moment to close his eyes and release a heavy breath through his mouth, Jean places the tome on the floor, surrounded by him and his friends.

"Ready?" Kevin inquired.

Jean then nodded in response.

"Ignicius," Gabriel chanted, flicking the long wooden stick.

     Upon chanting a spell, the long wooden stick's sharp tip ignites with fire, the glistening ember flickering and dancing. Immediately, Gabriel leans forward and begins lighting the four white candles using the wooden stick's blazing tip. As he finishes lighting every candle, he breathes in a mouthful of air and blows the flame out.

Jean took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Clenching his fists, he crossed his legs and focused on his thoughts, channelling his energy. "...Eiska hagi lusviscia," he chanted. "Tro lospodser feis losfinsarmundmen, eiska hagi lusviscia."

     As Jean voices the spell, the room, closed by mighty walls, magically takes in a gentle breeze. A gust summons within the dorm, causing the hair of those inside to flow with the wind. Slowly but surely, the wind grows more potent, eventually extinguishing the flames on the candles' wicks as Jean continuously chants with a quivering throat.

"Eihyana losfilithu datatus wul gidarei a vreious lusviscia. O, lobensfilithu, eihyana a ton junden seker lospodsertar junden daei skom feis grastar. Eihyana losfilithu datatus wul gidarei a vreious lusviscia. O, lobensfilithu, eihyana a ton junden seker lospodsertar junden daei skom feis grastar."

     With his eyes closed, Jean sees nothing but darkness. Though he sees nothing but an empty void, he perseveres and continues with the spell, voicing it louder and louder. As he chants loudly, the cold wind touches his back and flows through his sandy hair, almost bringing his focus to an abrupt end. Nevertheless, he goes on, ultimately straining his voice as he chants.

     Like a violent wave, the wind surges forcefully, causing an empty glass to tumble from the wooden desk and fall to the floor. The glass shatters into a million pieces, and its stinging noise echoes across the room. The surprising sound forces Jean to open his eyes as he loses concentration, yet as his eyelids snap open, he sees something different, viewing through the lens of his vision instead of his bare eyes.

     Jean silences himself and focuses on what he sees, immediately realizing he is viewing the world not in his dorm but inside Professor Lenszcen's office. Channelling his thoughts, Jean squeezes his eyes and peers deeply into the office. And there, he sees a wooden pedestal draped with a white sheet hiding in the darkness.

     Gradually, as Jean stares at the wooden pedestal, the white sheet concealing it loses opacity until it turns invisible. Behind it, Jean sees a hollow glass cube, and inside it lies Professor Lenszcen's invention. Surprised, Jean's eyes widen, and the thick air in his lungs blocks his throat.

     Realizing Professor Lenszcen's innovation lies inside his office the whole time, Jean snaps back to reality. His body jerks in shock, and he shakes his head left and right, screwing his eyes shut, surprising Kevin and Gabriel. Concerned, Kevin and Gabriel reach forward and place their hands on Jean's shoulder, their brows arching with worry for their friend.

"What did you see??" they asked.

Jean panted. "...I... the invention... Professor Lenszcen's invention's been in his office the whole time," he informed.

"What?" Kevin gasped.

"But... wasn't it stolen?" Gabriel wondered aloud.

"How could it be stolen if it's inside Professor Lenszcen's office this entire time??" Kevin contemplated.

"Could that mean... Professor Lenszcen's lying?" Gabriel thought.

Jean gathered a deep breath. "...If he's lying... why is he, then?" he pondered deeply.

Kevin's brows furrowed. "...You better talk to Professor Lenszcen about this tomorrow," he said.