Chapter 157: Lightning

Stepping out of the temple, my mind was in disarray as I thought back to my meeting with the King. He knew of my reincarnation, hell, he even knew of my old name! A shiver ran down my spine as I thought of that. It made me feel as if I had no secrets I could hide before him. And then was the whole teleportation to that strange realm.

Was it his soul space? And if so, does that mean the King holds power over all elements? 'Maybe not all,' I inwardly noted as I recalled the missing time element with a frown.

Standing at the foot of the stairs leading towards the temple, my gaze kept alternating between it, and the Dragon Road behind. A long sigh escaped my mouth as I shook my head trying to calm my restless thoughts. 'No use worrying too much about it. Should I head to the sea as he said?' I inwardly muttered.

Thinking about it, the King had no reason to screw me over, or so I'd like to think. Truth was, I was still much ignorant in almost all matters. There also seemed to be some sort of hidden agenda, with me stuck right in the middle of it all.

I didn't like that. The feeling of not being in control over my own life caused my stomach to twist and churn. I gritted my teeth and shot towards the sky with an annoyed expression. Although I hated feeling like this, like I was playing right into the King's palm, I had no other choice.

I was indeed planning on going to the sea, and although I didn't think about lightning magic as my reason for this trip, it was still nonetheless on my mind ever since my previous attempt a few years back, where I accidentally used it. And so, with my mind preoccupied with matters concerning the meeting with the King, I absentmindedly made my way towards the sea.

Another day has passed before I found myself standing on the familiar giant cliff, overlooking the vast open ocean. The salty breeze assaulted my nostrils, as the sea song of the waves crashing against the cliff soothed me.

Raising my head, I glanced at the squabbling seagulls flying overhead with a smile. The ocean was like a rippling blanket of jewel blue. Simply standing there was enough to wash me from all of my prior worries. I took a deep breath, savoring the sea's indefinable beauty letting its vastness seep into my mind before I took one step forward, diving off the edge and into the water below.

The ocean embraced me as a mother would to her child, my scales tingled in joy at the familiar feeling. I was finally back, back 'home'. I happily swam near the surface, before diving down towards the deeper ends. The water mana in my surroundings seemed playful as it caressed my scales causing a smile to subconsciously make its way to my face.

Numerous gazes seemed to lock onto me as I made my way through the waters, yet none dared approach. I didn't care much about my hidden stalkers and instead chose to enjoy myself. The sea was akin to land for me, I effortlessly swam near the tall cliffs, careful not to head out too far.

After a while, however, I reluctantly peeked my head from underwater before flapping my wings and jumping to the sky. As much as I enjoyed staying in the water, that would not be a very smart thing to do considering what I had in plan next.

Raising my head towards the clear blue skies, I took a deep breath steadying my mind and reaching out to the abundant water mana. My spirit vision turned on, as I willed the mana upwards. Soon, dark clouds began to form overhead, blanketing the sea below, as the formerly sunny sky abruptly disappeared.

A frown made its way to my face as I carefully willed the mana elements in the fast-forming storm cloud overhead. From whatever knowledge I could recall, lighting was an electric discharge caused by an imbalance between storm clouds and the ground.

Thinking about that, I glanced at the sea bed below and shook my head. "Although rare, lightning can form and strike over the ocean, so it should be fine...I hope," I nervously gulped. 'It's okay, I got this. Think, what was it again, colliding particles of rain, or snow inside storm clouds should increase the imbalance which will often negatively charge the lower reaches of storm clouds,' I inwardly mumbled.

With my spirit vision, I could 'see' said particle, or was it better to call it water elements? With the image of what I wanted them to do clear in my mind, I carefully attempted to relay my intentions to the mana. The clouds turned increasingly gloomy, as my eyes widened in surprise and disbelief.

A new element was forming at the bottom of the storm cloud, I was shocked at how easy it appeared. I didn't have enough time to think it over as an unexpected stroke of lightning raced downwards towards the ocean below, forcing me to shield my eyes from the sudden flash.

Upon hitting the water, the lightning element spread horizontally, soon followed by a miserable cry full of pain. An ear-deafening boom soon resounded after shocking me to the core. I hastily glanced downwards, only to see the giant motionless figure of a fish monster rising from the depths.

Seeing that, I nervously gulped and quickly willed the water elements to disperse, causing the storm that formed so abruptly to disappear just as fast as it came. 'That's dangerous,' I inwardly noted. The various gazes that studied me earlier disappeared completely making me scratch my head with an awkward face.

The Lightning element was too strong. Although it was for but a second, the aura and pressure it carried was unprecedented. I had no doubts in my mind that had the previous strike hit me, I would have been grievously wounded.

The sudden appearance of the element was too fast for me to attempt wielding it. Glancing at the dead fish monster below, I nervously gulped as I prepared myself for another attempt. 'Shit, how the hell did I make it last time?!' I lampooned.