The tension between the desperate hope in Captain's eyes, the fearful loathing in Gus's, and the quiet determination in Elara's, formed the new landscape of Kael's life in the sanctuary. The observation chamber was the epicenter of this tension, a place of cautious exploration and ever-present risk.
Captain's tests became more specific. He wanted to know if Kael could sense the type of Void manifestation approaching. Using salvaged recordings of sounds associated with different creatures – the heavy thrumming of Husks, the eerie resonance of Echo Stalkers, the silent pulse of the new horrors – he would expose Kael to the frequencies and observe.
"Listen through Vispera," Elara would prompt Kael, drawing crude pictures of the creatures in the dust. "Does it feel like... this one?"
Kael would focus, finding Vispera's presence, listening to her reaction to the replicated sounds. It was like trying to read a language written in feeling and subtle warmth.
He could differentiate. The Husk sound felt like a dull, heavy pressure through Vispera – "Slow. Strong." The Echo Stalker sound felt like a cold, searching emptiness – "Empty. Find." And the silent pulse of the new manifestations evoked a feeling of sharp, focused intent – "Take. Fast. Silent."
Translating these sensations was agonizing. The Bedel had stolen words, concepts, and memory. He relied on the simplest terms Elara taught him, on gestures, on the raw feeling Vispera projected.
One observation session was interrupted by a scout rushing in, face pale. "Captain! Patrol F is overdue! They were in Sector 7! We've lost contact!"
Sector 7 was a dangerous area, richer in salvage but closer to the unpredictable edges of The Void. A lost patrol meant likely death or capture by manifestations.
Captain's face tightened. A rescue mission was almost certainly suicide, but leaving them was a grim choice. He looked at Kael, then at Elara, a desperate thought forming in his eyes.
"Can you... can you sense them?" Captain asked Kael, his voice low, urgent. "The patrol? Or... whatever took them? In Sector 7?"
It was a leap of faith. Could Kael's sensing ability extend beyond the ambient thrumming within the walls? Could he pinpoint specific events or locations?
Elara looked at Kael, then back at Captain, her expression mirroring his desperate hope and fear. "Kael," she said softly, her voice unwavering. "Focus on Vispera. Think of the patrol. Think of Sector 7. What do you feel?"
Kael closed his eyes, reaching out with Vispera. He pushed past the familiar thrumming of the sanctuary walls, trying to extend his awareness into the wider grey. It was like pushing through thick, cold water.
He felt The Void's presence, vast and overwhelming. But within it, guided by Vispera's focused warmth, he felt... echoes. Fragmented feelings. He felt the lingering sense of "Take. Fast." – the signature of the new manifestations. He felt a weaker, fading sense of "Fear. Stop." – from the patrol.
And then, Vispera's warmth pulsed with a different feeling, tied to a direction, a vague location. "Still. Waiting. Here."
Kael gasped, opening his eyes, disoriented. He pointed, weakly, towards one of the diagrams Elara used, a map of the nearby sectors. "Waiting... here..." he rasped, tapping a location near the edge of Sector 7.
Captain and Elara exchanged a look. It wasn't precise. It wasn't certain. But it was something. A potential location. An indication that whatever took the patrol might still be in the area, perhaps waiting.
Gus, overhearing from the doorway, scoffed loudly. "Waiting?! A child's guess?! And you'd risk more lives on that?!"
Captain ignored him, his gaze fixed on the spot Kael indicated. A slim chance, but perhaps their only chance. Kael's ability wasn't just sensing intent; it might involve location.
The chapter ends with Kael demonstrating a potential ability to sense events or locations within The Void, based on the lingering 'intent' of the manifestations, offering a desperate, risky potential for locating the lost patrol, setting up the next chapter for a decision or action based on this information.