"Ugh, fuck me my head's killing me. Wait…the sun's out?"
Gripping his head, Will slowly stands up, immediately looking through his backpack to make sure nothing is missing. Unfortunately, his gun is missing, though thankfully, his most precious item is still in there. Just as he's about to examine his surroundings he hears a familiar voice. Right behind him sits Pamela, cold faced as she spins his revolver on her pointer finger.
"Good job Vania. We're one step closer to bringing her back."
"You know I threw that name away a long time ago…now where am I?"
He's clearly no longer in Lindbourough. There's no sign of the strands or even a hint of city ruins in sight. He's clearly still in Abbey considering the grassy plain he's seemingly trapped in. "Your halfway to Luden, the stomach just escaped and is currently outside the ruins of Lindbourough." She responds, Will nodding at her after. "So why place me so far from him? I believe he still needs a guide doesn't he?" Pamela stands up, walking to Will and passing him his gun.
Suddenly, her face goes from pure cold to dead serious. "Now is a crucial time, we need to get him on our side, so, you will befriend him in earnest. No more acting or being an outside observer." As will raises his brow Pamela pulls a pocket watch out from her robe and hands it to Will. "There's an army stationed at Luden, do not attempt to sneak past unless it is either six in the morning or night as well as exactly mid day. If you come across a soldier within a half hour after these times inside the temporary for say the phrase, cut off the head of a snake to warn the foxes." Will nods in response. "Now fall asleep, when the stomach is out those eyes should be able to see you immediately." Before Will can even respond, she walks up to him and decks him square in the jaw, shaking his brain and knocking him out instantly.
Meanwhile, off in the distance, Crim stands completely still, tears still pouring down his eyes. He can't accept it, he just can't. He's been listening to Harry as long as he can remember. He was a consistent source of happiness in this cold world, and now, he's dead. Clear as day he remembers that thumbs up and smile. "I…I will kill that knight…" despite the tears falling down his glimmering eyes a burning rage floods out from them.
Before he can do anything, he starts to see everything. Suddenly, reality starts to warp as the foundation of existence becomes visible to him. Just like the sights beyond the crack he saw all those years ago, it's beyond words or any language understandable to man. It's chaotic, stable, colorful, dull, clear, blurry, it's beyond insanity. Before his mind can shatter at the outpouring of the sights beyond the veil he closes his eyes. From what he barely managed to comprehend he could say he saw the world normally yet abnormally at the same time. As if every concept was suddenly visible.
Gravity.
Distance.
Time.
Light.
Nothing could escape his new eyes.
Even the source of these concepts…
Crouching on the ground Crim grips his hair, the mind numbing pain threatening to overwhelm him. For a few minutes he's in hell, eventually though the pain fades away. Now laying on his back Crim can only say one thing, "What in tha ever loving hell was that." Standing up, he keeps his eyes closed, scared of what he'll see if he opens them again. Will I just never be open my eyes again? He thinks to himself.
After some time, he decides to take a risk and open them, he can't run if he can't tell where he's going after all. Slowly, they open, dread filling his mind as he repeats the phrase. "Please be normal" again and again. Thankfully, this time, as if obeying his thoughts, he can see everything normally. Initially, he lets out a sigh of relief, thankful he doesn't have to see hell again. Unfortunately, the second he remembers that hell, his eyes start to see "everything" again.
"Fuck ta the hell no!"
Eyes go shut.
Diving into his thoughts, Crim tries to examine what's happening. The second I remembered those…sights? I started to see them again, maybe if I don't think about them or reject them everything will be okay? Fuck…here goes nothing!
Opening his eyes again, Crim sees…the world perfectly normally!
Letting out an especially heavy sigh of relief Crim stands up, immediately starting his travel to Luden. Right now, he has no idea where to go, but, he knows Harry planned to go there so clearly there has to be something worth it there. Step by step he moves, enjoying the now out sun. A few minutes in he starts to wonder what happened to Will. At that moment his eyes shine a weak silver and suddenly he can see Will.
Like holding a screen directly in front of him he sees Will clear as day knocked out on the ground with Pamela next to him sitting on a rock. "...what in tha ever lovin hell happened ta mah eyes?" Experimenting a bit, he thinks he'd like to see how to get to Will. Slowly, a glowing silver illusionary path only visible to him appears in response to his thoughts. For a moment, Crim stops moving, wondering what else he can do.
He thinks to himself he'd like to see how far away Will is, unfortunately, it's too early to ask that kind of question. Near instantly the concept of distance, space, and movement takes on a tangible form. Three dimensional grids explode into existence, growing and shrinking at a pace barely understandable to the human mind on every part of existence. A grid for the land, a grid for the sky, and a grid for the space between. Overwhelmed, Crim closes his eyes, pushing away with hands in a panic. Taking a moment to calm down and opens his eyes, finding that…he's moved?
"What?"
He can't comprehend what happened, just, he's suddenly moved so far the Lindbourough ruins are no longer visible. Considering the grassy field he's in he's clearly still in Abbey. For a few seconds, Crim thinks, deciding to experiment again. He thinks to himself, he wants to see how far away exactly he is from a rock a few steps away. Instantly, that same grid explodes out, this time much smaller and more localized, forming a straight line between Crim and the rock. Looking towards the rock, Crim focuses on the grid around the rock and tries to grab it.
Nothing happens?
Thinking, this time he decides to try it while manipulating his energy. The second he does, his eyes glow a faint silver. Suddenly, he can see the energy all shifters use. A silver stream moves from his eyes and forms a line between him and the rock. Instinctively, he takes the distance between him and the rock, and manipulates it. In a split second, he's swapped places with the rock, unfortunately he didn't exactly think it through. Buried in the ground with only his head exposed he looks in front of him to find a dirt mound shaped exactly like him clothes and all where he was.
Instead of panicking, a wild excitement starts to fill Crim. I…I can see anything I want? He thinks to himself. He's completely broken past the limits of a normal shifter. He no longer has to take time to understand, visualize, and imagine his energy moving through whatever his target is. Hell, unlike all other shifters he no longer has to make physical contact with the target. All he has to do is look at his energy and guide it to wherever he wants.
He can just think about it and his eyes will make anything visible.
Heat.
Entropy.
Age.
Distance.
Energy.
The only issue is whether his mind can handle what he's demanding to see. Excited, Crim swaps places with the rock and looks for Will, this time though, he uses his eyes to see the distance between him and the spot he'd arrive in ten steps and swaps places with the air in that spot. One step becomes ten as he approaches Will, a glowing path of silver guiding him.
No matter the jumps, no matter how long he takes he never runs out of energy, as if his eyes will never tire. Within half a day he's within Pamela's sight, even so, he ignores her, knowing with his new abilities there's countless ways to disable her. Seeing him, she speaks. "Want to kill that knight?"
Silence.
Crim stares at her, a brilliant light starting to pour out from his eyes as if to intimidate her. In response, she smiles, looks to the side and takes a deep breath with her mouth. Instantly, the wind is taken out of Crim's sails as he sees something he's not sure he'll ever understand. In a cone as wide as a mountain in front of her, "everything" rushes into her mouth as she breaths. The ground, light, air, space. In a matter of seconds there's nothing left. Before Crim can even try to understand anything she breathes out.
Absolute destruction!
A torrent of air explodes out, strong enough to leave a dent in a mountain and faster than light it does even more damage to the area she inhaled. Looking at him she smiles, "Don't think you're unbeatable just because you can manipulate anything you want. Now come, let's talk." Confidence fills her eyes as she sits on the ground next to Will. Every single one of her breaths carries a deep weight, a wordless pressure to obey pouring out from every part of her body.
Cautious, Crim takes a seat and tries to examine her with his new eyes. "Don't even think about it." The second she sees his eyes start to glow Pamela breaths out heavily, sending Crim flying as a wave of air hits him hard. "I said we'll talk, and only talk. Try anything funny and I won't guarantee you or Will's safety"
He can only use one word to describe her in this moment.
Domineering.