Projection
TRIVIA
If Trivia measured her days by how often she rested, she and Midas worked for five days on clearing her mind and strengthening her shields. Five days of mental strain. Five days of throbbing headaches.
On the sixth day, Trivia was so tired that she was tempted to give up—to take Midas up on his offer and just… stop.
But when he greeted her for their next training session, what he said surprised her.
“I want you to try to project your construct into my mind.”
Trivia blinked at Midas, intrigued by this.
The two of them no longer floated in the infinite void; they stood alongside one another, with Pandora’s construct floating in and out of focus.
If Trivia concentrated enough, the veranda overlooking the beach would become crystal clear.
But Trivia wanted to save her energy for whatever task Midas asked of her.
“Project a construct to you?” she repeated. “I’ve already done that.”
Midas shook his head. “No, not this.” He waved his arms at their blurry surroundings. “I want you to send an image into my mind—and my mind alone. Make me see it, even if it’s not there.”
Trivia frowned. “I can’t do that.”
“Yes, you can. Your powers have grown since we began. You have managed to shield while simultaneously maintaining your own mental construct. Now, I want you to shield and project that construct into my mind. Make me feel like I am there.”
“I can’t do that,” Trivia gritted out. “You haven’t even been able to project anything into my mind. What makes you think I can do it?”
Midas leaned closer, his eyes intense. “Because you are linked to Pandora’s soul.”
Trivia could only stare at him, her thoughts too muddled for her to keep up.
“Your personas may have split when her box absorbed you,” Midas went on.
“But your souls are still connected. I can sense the tether between you two. She wants to get out because that will sever your bond completely. It will lock you in while giving her freedom. As long as you two reside in the same atmosphere, you are connected.”
Trivia shook her head. “You’re wrong. She has the power here. It’s her box! She can control what I see. She can use the darkness against Gaia and Sol. I can’t do any of that.”
“Because you haven’t practiced. She is centuries old. She has far more experience than you do. And this box is made from her own magic. Of course she’s better at it than you. But I promise you, the potential to access her powers is still there. You just have to reach it.”
Trivia’s mouth twisted as she stared at Midas, full of doubt. He couldn’t possibly be serious. If Trivia held as much power as Pandora, why did she feel so helpless? Why was she a prisoner here?
It didn’t make any sense.
“Go ahead and try,” Midas urged. “See what happens. You’ve already made great improvements over just a few days.”
She couldn’t argue with that. Though each day wore on her brain, drilling into her skull with relentless fury, she had far more freedom than those early days of floating in the dark void.
With a sigh, Trivia closed her eyes, picturing that same beach. A grassy hill overlooked the sparkling sand and the cerulean waves. The rushing water was a soothing rhythm to her ears.
If she concentrated enough, she could hear Sol’s laughter as he splashed water at her face.
Her throat tightened with emotion, and she suddenly found she couldn’t breathe.
Something prickled along her defenses, and Trivia instantly shielded her mind.
Brick by brick, her wall slid into place, and she fortified it with another.
Midas’s magic slammed into her. Bricks crumbled, but she rebuilt them over and over.
A wall of stone appeared on top of it. Then steel.
Then marble. She envisioned every hard surface she could think of and threw it up before Midas could intrude on her private thoughts.
These are mine, she thought. Sol is mine. No one else’s. You don’t get to see this. It’s only for me.
Fire burned in her chest, melting away the hopelessness that had dragged her down for so long.
“Excellent,” Midas said softly. “Now, project your construct to me. Spread your awareness.”
Trivia faltered. She had been so focused on closing off her thoughts, and now Midas wanted her to open up to him?
She strained against her instinct, which was to keep fortifying. Keep shielding.
“Don’t let me in,” Midas said quickly as if reading her thoughts. “Project. You are still in control. You choose what I see. That’s the difference here.”
Trivia licked her lips, her mind struggling to keep up her defenses and figure out how to project. Shielding and clearing her mind had become second nature. She knew exactly how to do those things, like stretching a familiar muscle.
But this was foreign to her. She wasn’t sure what to do first.
She recalled how it had felt when she’d first spread her awareness—when she had pictured the tide coming in, inch by inch.
It had been the first time she’d accessed Pandora’s construct.
So, how could Trivia make it her own? How could she show Midas what was in her mind?
I can do this, she thought. I am powerful. I have strength.
Her brow furrowed, and her breathing turned sharp. She pictured her mind stretching and spearing toward Midas. The ocean stayed with her, floating in her thoughts as she reached for him.
Trivia envisioned grasping Midas’s wrist, her fingernails digging into his skin. And with that grip, she channeled her mental construct into his mind. She urged her magic forward, probing into his thoughts.
Midas sucked in a sharp breath, but Trivia kept pushing.
She flooded images of the sea, the current, the beach, the field…
She poured it all into his mind, holding nothing back.
With a cry, she felt herself buckle, collapsing to the floor, but she couldn’t stop. She heard his low groan, felt his pain.
But she couldn’t shut it off. She didn’t know how.
Agony split through her head as if her skull were being cleaved in two. Images flashed across her mind. Water. Sol. Sunshine. Leaves. Sand. Sol. Seaweed. Grass. Sol.
Sol, Sol, Sol…
Trivia screamed, throwing her head back as she slammed the door on her mental construct. Her shields, her thoughts, her vision all vanished, leaving nothing but quivering pain in their wake. She hunched on all fours, nausea coursing through her until she felt she might retch.
With a hoarse cough, she looked up, then let out a yelp of alarm, scrambling away.
Midas was unconscious, floating in the air in front of her. His golden hair fanned out before him, his arms outstretched as he lay there, suspended.
He… was in the dark void.
And she had put him there.
“Midas?” Trivia asked hesitantly.
He didn’t respond.
“Shit,” she hissed, inching toward him. She shook him by the shoulder. “Midas!”
Still no response.
What had she done to him? How could she reverse it?
Thinking fast, Trivia closed her eyes and mentally reached for Midas once more, this time with no construct or shields in place.
An onyx wall slammed into her, sending her reeling. She staggered back, barely catching herself before she landed on her ass.
Panting, she sat up, gaping at Midas’s form. How had he done that? How were his walls so strong, even when he was in the void?
Then, a low laugh echoed around her, and her blood ran cold.
No, no, no…
Footsteps echoed, and before she turned, Trivia knew it was Pandora.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?” the goddess crooned.
Trivia’s stomach hollowed, and she closed her eyes, willing Pandora to leave. This was just a nightmare. It wasn’t real. Perhaps Midas was projecting this very image into Trivia’s mind. Any moment now, he would withdraw and laugh at her for falling for his trick.
“I know everything that goes on here,” Pandora said, her voice growing closer.
Trivia finally whirled to face her, not wanting the goddess to come any closer. Feigning a confidence she did not feel, Trivia lifted her chin. “If that’s true, then why let us carry on for so long? Why not stop it right away?”
“Because I enjoy toying with my prey before striking.” Pandora’s mouth stretched into a wide smile.
Trivia’s eyes narrowed. There was something… off about Pandora. The darkness in her eyes wasn’t as potent or lethal. There was something hidden in their depths. Something she did not want Trivia to see.
“That was you?” Trivia asked, gesturing to Midas’s floating form.
“Yes.” Pandora sniffed. “I grew bored.”
“So, are you here to punish me then?” Trivia asked. “If so, what are you waiting for? Do it.”
Pandora’s nostrils flared. “You do not command me, child. Watch your tongue.”
But as Trivia stared at the goddess, she did not feel fear. A strange curiosity overtook her. Pandora was hiding something. And Trivia intended to find out what it was.
“Have you found a way to free me?” Pandora asked, clasping her hands in front of her as if she were some demure princess. “If not, I’m afraid my darkness will have to play with that charming sun god again…”
Cold horror spread through Trivia’s chest, but she shoved it down. Something told her Pandora was bluffing.
Have you found a way to free me? The words clanged in Trivia’s mind, echoing over and over.
Pandora needed her. She needed Trivia to free her.
Because she couldn’t do it herself.
Midas had been right. Trivia did hold power. More power than Pandora.
Trivia cast a glance at Midas’s unconscious figure floating in the darkness. Pandora hadn’t done that to him. Trivia had. Midas was strong enough to ward against Pandora’s attacks.
But he hadn’t expected Trivia’s to be so powerful.
“You try my patience, child,” Pandora hissed. “Answer, or I will unleash my shadows on your precious sun god.”
Trivia said nothing, her sluggish mind working frantically to keep up with what she had discovered.
Pandora had sensed Trivia’s power when she’d projected to Midas. It had drawn the goddess here. And when Pandora had appeared, she’d claimed it was her doing.
She wanted Trivia to think herself weak.
“No,” Trivia said softly.
Pandora stiffened. “What?” she bit out.
Trivia thought of the vision Pandora had forced on her, of the tendrils of darkness creeping toward Sol and Gaia. Gaia’s earth magic had managed to dissolve one of Pandora’s shadows.
Damn this earth magic, Pandora had said.
That same earth magic flowed through Trivia’s veins.
And Pandora needed it to escape.
“I said no,” Trivia snarled, squaring her shoulders and glaring at Pandora. “I will not free you. And I will not let you threaten Sol any longer.”
Pandora’s face paled, and Trivia’s chest swelled with triumph. She’d won. She’d caught Pandora in her farce.
The goddess had control over her no longer.
Then, to her surprise, Pandora began to laugh. She threw her head back and cackled, the sound resonating and echoing around them.
Trivia went still, her skin prickling with unease. Why was Pandora laughing?
Pandora clapped her hands together with glee, her laughter subsiding as she gave Trivia a wide grin.
“Oh, this is just delightful, isn’t it? You’ve discovered your powers.
Ah, what a relief it is to finally have a worthy opponent.
” She spread her arms, and darkness descended, swallowing up Trivia completely.
Midas vanished, and Pandora melted into the shadows.
Trivia could see nothing. Not even her own hand in front of her face.
Then Pandora’s voice was at her ear. “This is going to be fun.”