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Trance finds herself at the centre of a ball of flame, as images force their way into her mind. Each vivid perception seems to open a bigger hole in her being, and knowledge begins to pour in.
Inside herself, Trance tries to cringe away from the overload of information. It piles over her, unfathomable in its sheer volume. Images speed by too quickly to grasp. More and more knowledge assaults her presence, battering away her weak defenses. It whirls around her in an incomprehensible scramble, and Trance can only watch helplessly and try and ignore the millions of voices instructing in her mind. By the time her body tires and succumbs to exhaustion, she is no longer aware of it.
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Trance opens her eyes to discover herself lying on the mattress. The blanket-wrapped light sits on the chair, burning low. Trance pushes herself into a sitting position. She is thankful for the semi-darkness as a sharp pain throbs through her temples. The room wavers before her for a moment, and she takes a quick breath. "Focus." She murmurs to herself, and when she opens her eyes again the room has stopped moving. Carefully, she swings her legs over the edge of the bed. As soon as her feet touch the floor, the whispered voice once again rises about her.
"We shall see how much you have retained."
Too fast for Trance to completely register, a loud crash echoes around the small room and the light on the chair blinks out. Deep, smothering blackness falls immediately. Heart pounding, Trance leaps to her feet and extends her left arm. A small ball of light, completely identical to the one that had been before, forms above her palm. It floats gently down to the blanket where the original had sat.
As her breathing slows, Trance stares at the ball of light that she had created. She is aware of her arm, still stretched outwards, and she lowers it. "I didn't know I could do that." She says, a note of awe in her hesitant tone.
"You have not begun to harness the power that is available to you, Trance Gemini. What you thought you could do before is merely the beginning." The voice answers her. "Now, the knowledge is inside you. You need only to apply it."
"And you will teach me?" Trance lowers herself back into a seat on the bed. She folds her arms, glancing around the room. There is no answer, so Trance presses on. "Please, will you show yourself? I've been alone in this room since I got here. I don't feel right just talking to a voice."
"Very well." The whisper fades away and a form blinks into existance in front of the bookshelf. Trance stands, to get a better look. The figure is a fraction taller than Trance, but only because of the boots she is wearing. The rest of her apparel is covered by a thick brown cloak. The figure steps forward and Trance gasps as the light falls on her face.
"You're the future me! Well, you look like her... uh, me." Trance's brow wrinkles slightly, in confusion. "Are you?" She asks the figure, stepping closer.
A parental smile spreads across the figure's face. "No, sister. I am not you, past or future. We are merely of the same origin. I, too, am an avatar. I am here to help you reach the full extent of your power, so that you may take your place with your kin, in the fight against the Abyss."
Trance seems to think about this for a moment. "But when I left the Andromeda, my future self took my place. When I stepped through the portal, shouldn't I have stepped into the future? Where is the Andromeda now?"
"Past and future are relative terms, sister." The figure replies, her smile growing a little patronizing. "You shall see the Andromeda again. Dylan needs you to guide him to his place in the universe. But first, you must develop the skills you will need to get you there."
A grave expression settles on Trance's face as she watches her counterpart. "What should I call you?" She asks the figure, a trace of hesitation still creasing her features.
"You shall call me Mentor."