032 Clairvoyance

Clayne gazed upon the viscous deep blue liquid, unsure whether it resembled a cup or a lump, and swallowed hard:

"Is this how it's supposed to be consumed?"

"Do I need to make any other preparations? Such as rituals, incantations, or prayers?" queried Clayne with a dry mouth.

Old Neil let out a hesitant sound, "Preparations? Well, first, you could have a glass of the finest Aldmeri wine, followed by a Deeksie cigar, then hum a melodious tune, perhaps dance a lively courtly dance, or if you prefer, a tap dance. Finally, a round of Gwent..."

Observing Clayne's increasingly dumbfounded expression, Old Neil chuckled and summarized his earlier jest, "If you're feeling nervous..."

...Quite the humorist, aren't you... Clayne's lips twitched twice, resisting the urge to draw his gun.

He set aside his cane, extended his right hand, and lifted the opaque vessel as if it held something weighty. The potion's taste was faint and ephemeral, almost ethereal.

"Young man, do not hesitate. The more you hesitate, the more anxious and fearful you become, affecting absorption later," Old Neil remarked casually with his back to Clayne.

At some point, he had moved to the nearby sink, turning on the tap and rinsing his hands with a gushing stream of water.

Clayne nodded silently, took a deep breath, and, like a child reluctantly taking medicine, brought the opaque vessel to his lips, tilting it back and gulping it down.

The cool, slippery sensation swiftly filled his mouth, then slid down his throat and into his stomach.

The thick, deep blue liquid seemed to sprout long, slender tendrils, cold and stimulating, penetrating every cell of Clayne's body.

He involuntarily convulsed, his vision quickly blurring, intensifying all colors—reds redder, blues bluer, blacks blacker—in a rich, chaotic tapestry, akin to an Impressionist masterpiece.

Such scenes, Clayne had experienced before, during Darry's inquiries as a "clairvoyant."

At this moment, his vision blurred, his thoughts hazy yet clear, like a castaway adrift at sea.

Gradually, he discerned the surroundings—the indescribable forms, even transparent to the point of nonexistence. In the depths, streams of different-colored clear radiance, seemingly alive or holding boundless knowledge.

This seemed somewhat reminiscent of the "Transference Ritual"... Clayne instinctively looked down and saw "himself" still standing in place, body twitching.

Suddenly, he had an epiphany; his consciousness plunged, merging with his body.

Boom!

The mist dissipated rapidly, colors normalized, and the clear radiance and nonexistent objects vanished in an instant.

The scene in the alchemy chamber returned to normal, but Clayne felt his head swelling, a sensation of impending rupture. Everything he looked at had countless replicas, while faint whispers, seemingly from unknown entities, echoed in his ears:

"Honakus... Vreigla... Honakus... Vreigla... Honakus... Vreigla..."

Clayne's forehead throbbed with pain, his mind filled with a sudden urge to vent, to destroy.

He furrowed his brow, shaking his head repeatedly.

"Is your vision abnormal? And have you heard sounds that you couldn't hear before?" Old Neil beside him asked with a smile.

"Yes, Mr. Neil, what should I do?" Clayne asked, restraining his intense mania.

Old Neil chuckled, "This is because the power of the potion has overflowed, and you lack a method of control. Well then, do as I say. In your mind, imagine an item, something common, simple, and easy."

Clayne focused his attention, sketching out his own half-high black silk top hat in his mind, imagining the feel of it, its specific shape.

"Concentrate all your attention on it, keep repeating, keep delineating. Do you feel better?" Old Neil's voice penetrated, like a soothing lullaby.

Clayne gradually shifted his attention to the imagined top hat, feeling the whispers in his ears fade until they disappeared, and the shadows in his eyes gradually overlapped, no longer blurry.

"Much better," Clayne sighed, calming the chaos in his heart.

He looked down at his body, finding no abnormal conditions.

Then, he moved his hands and feet, half expecting and half doubting as he asked, "Have I succeeded? Am I a 'clairvoyant' now?"

Old Neil pulled out a mercury-plated mirror from the side, holding it up to Clayne's face, saying, "Look into your eyes."

Clayne stared into the mirror, seeing his reflection wearing a black hat, with deeper contours and ordinary features, except for the sweat dripping down his face, there seemed to be little difference from before.

Following Old Neil's prompt, he looked carefully at his eyes and realized that his originally brown pupils had darkened considerably, so deep they seemed to absorb any light, resembling a soul-eater.

—Normally, deep brown pupils are easily mistaken for black; without careful discernment, even Clayne himself would find it difficult to notice.

"This is the outward manifestation of the potion's power. Once you learn to meditate and control it, your eyes will return to normal," Old Neil smiled, extending his right hand. "Congratulations, new extraordinary one, our clairvoyant."

"Thank you," Clayne shook hands with him, "Mr. Neil, when can I learn meditation?"

"Now, you can. Basic meditation is quite simple, especially for extraordinary individuals like yourself," Old Neil chuckled, "What you just did, transferring attention by visualizing objects, containing the overflow of power, is actually the first step of meditation. Repeat it."

Clayne closed his eyes, once again picturing his half-high black silk top hat in his mind.

His focus seemed easier to gather than before. Soon, stray thoughts emerged, then fell away one by one, leaving only the outlined hat.

"Let your mind slightly empty, then replace the delineated item with something that doesn't exist in this world, something imagined out of thin air."

"You must adhere to this rule. Only then can you enter meditation, gradually merging with the transcendent self, the infinite self, the cosmic self, gaining insight and revelations into the truth, acquiring knowledge that can only be comprehended by oneself. In the field of mysticism, this is called 'gnostic experience'," Old Neil said soothingly, "For now, just listen to the following instructions. The most important thing at the moment is to enter meditation."

Something that doesn't exist in this world, imagined out of thin air... does something from Earth count? Clayne attempted to replace the half-high black silk top hat with something he had seen on television, a dark green, long and thick intercontinental ballistic missile.

However, no matter how he delineated, how he imagined, he only managed to concentrate his attention further.

It seems impossible... Clayne had to rely on his imagination, sketching out a ball of light, then delineating many similar objects and bringing them together.

The overlapping light balls, full of fantasy, gradually emptied Clayne's mind, leaving him feeling ephemeral.

His body and mind settled down, the illusory gray mist, mixed colors, and nonexistent objects that had previously filled the space, reappeared, quietly suspended in the sky, within reach.

As his spiritual essence gradually extended, inch by inch unfolding, Clayne gazed down upon it, feeling it, containing it.

"Well done, indeed a 'clairvoyant.' Entering meditation was quite smooth, just a little bit less than my initial attempt," chuckled Old Neil. "Since that's the case, let me teach you the most commonly used, simplest to master, and most promising ability in the realm of mysticism: clairvoyance!"

He extinguished the gas lamps one by one but opened the secret door of the alchemy chamber, making Clayne's surroundings unusually dim but not to the extent of obscuring the outlines of objects.

"Alright, maintain your current state. Lift your hands in front of your eyes, index fingers facing each other but without touching."

"Open your eyes until you adjust to the darkness."

Following Old Neil's instructions, Clayne gradually completed each step, seeing the outlines of his fingers and surrounding objects.

"Normally, you would lie down and completely relax your body, but since your meditation is effective, let's proceed," Old Neil chuckled. "Focus your gaze behind your hands, and gradually move your fingers, maintaining the relative position without touching, and without letting them leave your sight."

Clayne calmly listened and directed his gaze to the empty space behind his palms, allowing his index fingers, which were not touching, to move slowly within his field of vision.

Once, twice, thrice... suddenly, Clayne noticed a hint of fiery red color between his fingertips.

"Huh..." he uttered.

"You see the color? Excellent, this is the initial stage of clairvoyance. The color you see is your own aura," chuckled Old Neil. "Don't rush, try a few more times, stabilize it, and later on, I'll take this opportunity to explain the meanings of different colors to you."

"Understood." Clayne continued moving his fingers back and forth, focusing on the fiery red hue.

Old Neil pondered for a moment and continued, "In simple terms, the mainstream field of mysticism divides each individual's non-physical aspects into four layers. The core is called the 'spiritual body,' which is the fundamental spirituality of each individual. Animist belief holds that all living beings possess spirituality, possess a spiritual body."

"I'm not sure about other aspects, but for the curious, the purpose of meditation and the methods of enhancing power all point to the 'spiritual body.'"

"Beyond the 'spiritual body' is the 'stellar body,' which serves as the means of communication between the former and the spirit world, and the cosmos. It's an external manifestation of the former and is directly related to your own will and current emotions... The scenes you saw after ingesting the potion are images seen by the 'stellar body' wandering in the spirit world. There, the rules of the material world are not observed, involving the transcendent self, the infinite self, the cosmic self. Past, present, and future may overlap, which is the origin of divination."

"In the spirit world, what you see is just imagery, just symbols. It must be interpreted to understand the specific meanings."

"Divination and many other forms of magic are performed through the 'stellar body.'"

"The relationship and distinction between it and the 'spiritual body' must not be confused."

"One is for existence, the other is for use..." Clayne summarized succinctly as he continued to observe the aura at his fingertips.

"Moving outward, we have the 'mental body,' from here onward, there is a connection with the physical body... It involves the mind, encompassing your reasoning ability, thinking ability, intuition, and cognitive abilities. Some potions mainly aim to enhance this, and many spells target it as well."

Old Neil explained quite meticulously, "The outermost layer is the 'etheric body,' which is an expression of your life energy and the state of your physical body."

"The colors you see in the aura are symbols of the 'etheric body,' meaning, with clairvoyance, besides being able to directly see some spirits, ghosts, and grudges, hehe, perhaps even including some entities that shouldn't be seen, you can also see others' 'etheric bodies,' or auras, thereby judging their health and emotional state based on the thickness, brightness, and color variations," explained Old Neil.

"As your clairvoyance improves and you gain more knowledge of mysticism, you can discover even more detailed things, being able to judge the lifespan of others based on it."

"Yes, I mentioned emotional states just now because the 'stellar body' also has some external manifestations. Once your sequence rises and your clairvoyance reaches a considerably strong stage, you may even be able to see others' 'stellar bodies,' then you'll know even more, which is something only extraordinary individuals like 'diviners' and 'secrets peepers' can achieve."

"Some folks even claim that in the strongest state of clairvoyance, you can see anything, anywhere, including the past and future, but, I'm not too convinced about that."

"It sounds quite impressive, doesn't it..." Clayne was almost filled with longing.

Old Neil cleared his throat and continued, "Let's return to the discussion of the colors of the 'etheric body' or aura. The areas involving movement, like your hands and feet, will appear red, while the surface of the head and brain will appear purple. Excretory and detoxification areas will appear orange, corresponding to the digestive system will be yellow, beyond the heart and regulatory systems will be green, the throat and some nervous systems will be blue, and overall balance will envelop the body in white... These are symbols of health."

"If they become dull or the thickness decreases, or if the color changes, it indicates a problem in the corresponding area, indicating fatigue or illness."

"In addition, the inner layer of the stellar body corresponds to emotions. Red signifies enthusiasm and excitement, orange warmth and satisfaction, yellow joy and extroversion, green calmness and serenity, blue indicates calmness, while in deep thought, white represents brightness, positivity, dark shades signify melancholy, sadness, silence, and purple indicates dominance of spirituality, aloofness..."

Clayne silently took note, stabilizing his initial clairvoyance.

"Alright, you can now look at other things," Old Neil didn't say much more, nodding.

Clayne turned his head slowly and looked at Old Neil, indeed noticing the different-colored auras surrounding him, some thick, some thin. The purple around his head was the brightest, while the red around his hands and feet was relatively dim, and the overall white seemed somewhat shallow.

"Must be getting older..." Clayne murmured silently to himself.

It wasn't until this moment, seeing all of this, that he truly felt like an "extraordinary individual"!

"I am an 'extraordinary individual'!" he exclaimed.

As he shifted his gaze, carefully observing Old Neil, suddenly, in the void behind him, he saw a pair of eyelashes-less, cold and emotionless, almost transparent eyes!

These almost ethereal eyes were silently watching Old Neil, and watching him!

This... sent a shiver down Clayne's spine. He opened his mouth, blurting out, "There are eyes behind you!"

Old Neil paused for a moment, then squeezed out a smile, saying, "Ignore it."