A - The Waking Hours - 18

25

Lukas' head came up slowly.

'I'm sorry?' he asked, not sure that he had heard correctly. Mentor watched him levelly, betraying nothing of her thoughts.

'You will not be alone.' She told him again. 'Even if you should prove to be a Nexus; still you would be unable to defeat the Al'urion unassisted. At the very least, you will require the assistance of an Empath.'

'An-,' Lukas stared. He struggled for a moment, to think.

'They deal with emotions, don't they?' He managed to dig up the reference from somewhere deep within his mind. 'What on earth, do I need an empath for?'

'An Empath,' Mentor explained, 'a true Empath, is able to do far more than sense another beings emotions. A true Empath can take those emotions, and magnify them; to an amplitude far beyond anything, that may be achieved by the being the emotions are sourced. The Empath can shape, and direct, the power generated by those emotions, in ways that are far to complex for you to understand at this time.' Dark eyes studied him speculatively, and Lukas had to remind himself, yet again, that the person before him was not MacKenzie Church.

'All you need to understand, Lukas is that, given a powerful enough source, such as a Nexus, the Empath can generate enough raw emotional force, to destroy entire planets. And,' Mentor added., 'the Empath is the control; the conscience - that a Nexus lost within his own power requires, if he is not to destroy himself, and those around him.'

'Destroy himself?' Lukas looked alarmed. 'Is it.., am I; that dangerous?' The idea, of accidentally destroying the earth, caused an arctic flash of nerves; a freezing shiver that sprinted up his spine, and his thoughts in frozen stasis.

Mentor appeared not to, or chose, not to notice.

'The force a Nexus is able to wield,' she told him, 'is power strong enough, to rip apart the very fabric of the dimensions; to create tears in reality itself. This power cannot be wielded lightly; lest the cosmos itself is shattered asunder.' Mentor looked at Lukas. 'You would not want the responsibility for ending the cosmos, to rest upon your shoulders alone, would you, Lukas?'

Lukas stared at the placid face; trying to decide if Mentor was being serious. Then he slumped slightly; his eyes downcast.

'I suppose not.' He managed faintly.

'That is why you will need an Empath.' Mentor smiled, and took pity on him; placing a finger under the mediums chin, and raising his gaze to meet her own.