Lightning Is the Only Way

Gravis' thoughts slowly started appearing again. They were messy, and he was unable to think a coherent thought for some time. Gravis was not sure where he currently was. He tried to open his eyes, but it felt like nothing was moving around his eyes. He also couldn't see, hear, or smell anything. He could only taste, and the only thing that he could taste was the most disgusting thing imaginable.

Gravis immediately puked, but his puke tasted the same as the previous taste in his mouth. He panicked, but it was incredibly challenging to move. Then, the pain kicked in. His whole body was in an incredible amount of pain. It was so much pain that Gravis wanted to scream, but no noise came out.

After a while, he managed to concentrate, and the taste vanished while only the pain remained. By now, Gravis got an idea of what the taste was. It just tasted as someone would imagine how shit tasted. Gravis realized that he was probably in the cesspool of the Lightning Guild. As bad as it sounded, shit was part of the earth element and carried some nutrients. Many plants could use it as fertilizer.

His memories slowly returned, and when he remembered what Jaimy had done, his Will-Aura erupted with a strength it had never achieved before. "JAIMY!" he wanted to shout, but no sound came out. As his panic subsided, his hate for Jaimy grew.

Gravis thought back on what had happened and inferred multiple things. Normally, he would definitely be dead if someone destroyed his heart and left him to die. Luckily for Gravis, Jaimy was an idiot. Gravis remembered how Jaimy blasted him with lightning that slowly destroyed his body. The memories were fuzzy, but he still recalled some scenes.

'That idiot has blasted me with lightning to vent his rage. While the Destruction Energy of the lightning destroyed non-essential parts of my body, its Life Energy was enough to heal my heart. If he had just cut off my head or just left me to die, I would be dead right now! Jaimy!' he thought in anger.

"I'll kill him! I'll kill him! I'll kill him! I'll kill him!" he tried to shout again and again, but no sound was produced. He slowly managed to move one arm and touched his other arm. He felt the surface and realized why he was in so much pain and why it was so hard to move. He felt the bone on his left arm and felt that muscle and skin were completely gone on one side. Only half his arm was remaining.

He touched the rest of his body and realized that he was missing most of his skin and muscles. He could even grab hold of his organs in one hand. Without the Life Energy of the lightning or the nutrients of the shit, he wouldn't be alive right now. Gravis' hate only increased as he thought about him surviving only thanks to eating and drinking shit. If he didn't have his Elemental Synchronicity, he wouldn't even be able to breathe. Luckily, shit was part of the earth element, and he could "breathe it".

Gravis touched his face, and he could only imagine an alien and cruel image judging by what he felt. He felt the smooth surface of his skull and could touch the inside of his eye sockets. There were no eyes. His nose was gone too. No lips blocked his teeth, and his mouth was hanging open by the lack of jaw muscles. Thanks to his tempered blood and organs, he was able to recover enough blood to not bleed out.

Now he realized why he had no senses excluding taste and touch. Every sensory organ was gone, and they would need time and Life Energy to regenerate. Gravis seethed in rage as he could barely move due to the lack of muscles. The pain had long been forgotten and was only fueling his rage. "I'll kill him! I'll kill him! I'll kill him! I'll kill him!" he tried to shout again and again as he helplessly thrashed around.

Yet, in his madness, Gravis realized that he first needed to regenerate and that he needed strength. As soon as he got out of this cesspool, he would immediately go to the Lightning Tower. He also started hating the lightning that everyone cultivated.

The strongest weapon of Jaimy, his lightning, which should be the most destructive, had actually saved his life. What bullshit element was that? Was this the lightning Heaven had used against his father? Definitely not!

He remembered the lightning strikes while his father fought Heaven. He remembered the lightning strikes that hit everything around him in the Basin of Nature. There was no Life Energy in that. It was purely destructive! What was the sense in cultivating some weak bullshit lightning, if Heaven had a stronger one?

'My body can't handle purely destructive lightning, yeah? Then fuck this body! I'll destroy it and reforge it until it can! Then, I'll kill Jaimy and his fucking little brother! I'll fucking kill all of them!' he continued shouting in his mind.

Gravis continued thrashing around but suddenly felt a hand holding his arm. The hand pulled, and Gravis was lifted out of the cesspool. He couldn't hear or see, but he felt the warmth of the hand. He was sure that it was Gorn. No one else would push their hand into a shit-pit to save him.

Gravis felt the hand tremble when it laid him down. Gravis guessed that Gorn was probably shaken by how Gravis looked right now. Something was shoved into his mouth, and Gravis realized that it was a pill. He couldn't swallow it, but it seemed to vanish on its own. Gravis felt strength slowly returning to him, and he was able to move his limbs easier now.

Gorn had come to the toilets after he heard that any disciple passing by them would lose their consciousness. It started suddenly, and already seven unconscious disciples laid in front of the toilets. When he came close, he immediately felt an unfathomable pressure. Like that, he realized that that could only be Gravis, who had been missing for nearly two weeks.

"Light… ning… To… wer," Gravis croaked through his broken throat as he used all his strength to push himself off the ground. He continued repeating "Lightning Tower" as he crawled forward. He continued crawling for some seconds until he felt someone lift him. He was being carried somewhere, and he quickly felt the person walking up some steps.

A door was opened, and Gravis was laid down in a sitting position. The person quickly guided Gravis' right hand to a lever and then left. Gravis could judge by the vibrations from the floor that the door closed, and then Gravis pulled down on the lever without hesitation. There was no gratitude in his mind.

There was only power!