The Desolate Mountains (The Divine Elements Book 2) (19 page)

“Why do people always chase after power? It is such a waste of time when there are plenty of other things to enjoy in life…”

A handsome dark-haired teenager quietly muttered, while staring at the ball of lightning dancing above his fingertips.

Seated at the edge of a small pond, the youth was completely alone except for a few wandering beasts nearby, but none of the creatures dared to disturb this young man.

With a snap of his fingers, the small ball of lightning burst into several smaller spheres and began to orbit around the youth’s palm.

Absentmindedly gazing at the tranquil water in the pond, Raizel stared back at his own reflection.

Although there were still traces of childish chubbiness to his face, it was clear from his sharp eyebrows and angled jawline that he would grow up to be a strikingly handsome man.

whoosh

……………………

*SCREEEEEE*

The sound of thunder rumbled in the sky, as two primordial beasts fought against each other. With both their bodies reaching monstrous heights of over fifty feet tall, the two divine birds completely enveloped the sky.

The heavens shook under the might of these titans, as both azure and violet lightning clashed in the clouds above.

Meanwhile, twelve figures quietly observed the fight as they floated around the two primordial beasts.

…………….

…on…alron…CALRON!

A loud yell abruptly snapped Calron out of his dream, forcing him to suddenly open his eyes.

You really need to stop making a habit of passing out every time something happens; it’s not a very attractive trait.

Ezkael joked, once he sensed that his student was out of danger.

Groggily gazing around, Calron noticed that he was covered in a warm hide of animal fur and surrounded by a range of tall trees. A dark wolf pup also appeared to be snoring right beside his arm.

Gently stroking the soft fur of the little beast, Calron felt slightly guilty for putting Avi through all this mental stress. The poor pup had already lost her mother, and Calron was now the closest thing she had to a family in this world.

Teacher, why do I keep having these flashes of Raizel’s past memories?

Calron asked in a serious tone, as he started to recollect his thoughts.

Each time that something occurred, he would have a flashback to the past and it always involved his ancestor, Raizel.

Hearing the name of his closest friend, Ezkael turned silent for a brief moment, but soon began speaking.

When a primordial beast awakens his bloodline, all the memories of his ancestors would be absorbed at once, including the inherited abilities. However, since your blood has been diluted by that of humans, your mind is too weak to absorb all that information at once. Hence, your inherited memories are all jumbled up with no chronological order in regards to the time flow.

But, why is it always Raizel?

Calron inquired after thinking for a while.

That is because he was the last person within your ancestry who awakened his primordial bloodline. Enough of this talk, you need to be careful of this wacky raccoon. There must be a reason as to why she chose to help you, and someone as powerful as her does not do things on a single whim.

Ezkael cautioned in a somber tone.

Calron wanted to continue asking Ezkael questions, but he knew the matter of Raizel was a sensitive issue to his Teacher, so he temporarily dropped it.

“woof?”

A small inaudible bark sounded next to Calron’s ears, signaling that Avi was finally awake. Seeing that her guardian was finally awake after an entire day, Avi jumped on top of the human and swiftly began licking his face while she furiously wagged her tiny tail.

“Hahaha! Stop it, Avi!”

Calron let out a small laugh, as he gently nudged the slobbering pup off of him and patted her furry head.

A small whine escaped from Avi, as her bright purple eyes started to become misty.

“I’m sorry, Avi… It was my fault. I should not have carelessly entered that fight when I knew from the start that it would be dangerous.”

Calron softly whispered to his small companion as he gingerly picked up the wolf pup and held her close to his chest.

Avi rubbed her soft furry head against Calron’s chin as a token of her forgiveness.

“It’s strange seeing a human care so deeply for a beast.”

An elderly voice echoed above Calron’s position, causing him to glance up.

Nimbly jumping down from the branch of the tall tree, the old raccoon slowly walked towards Calron.

Noticing the grey raccoon, Avi leapt off from Calron’s chest and rushed towards the old beast. Standing on her tiny hind feet, Avi scratched the raccoon’s knees with her paws while letting out eager barks.

“Gahaha, here you go, little one.”

A small yellow fruit mysteriously appeared within the raccoon’s claws, as she bent down and let Avi bite into it.

Pleasantly surprised by Avi warming up to this crazy raccoon, Calron spoke out.

“What do you want from me?”

His tone was neither warm nor cold.

“What makes you think I actually want something from you? You can barely use your own strength, you don’t know anything about lightning, and you’re simply useless in a fight.”

The old raccoon calmly stated without turning her head, and continued to feed the little wolf pup.

Well, she does have a point. You become completely useless in your beast form.

Ezkael chimed out from within Calron’s mind.

Who’s side are you on!?

Calron shouted, mentally shoving Ezkael aside in his mind.

“I’m still getting used to this body. In my human form, I am much stronger.”

Calron declared in a defensive voice.

“Oh, is that so?”

A small smile crept up from the side of the raccoon’s face, as she let Avi carry away the half-eaten fruit from her claws.

Standing up straight and folding her claws behind her back, the old raccoon raised her eyebrow.

“Why don’t we test that claim out?”

The beast stated in a mirthful tone, but Calron could sense the aura around the raccoon rapidly changing. It caused him to suffocate under the pressure, eliciting a series of coughs.

Dammit! How is she so strong?

Calron cursed inwardly, but immediately began channeling lightning into his arms and legs.

Without hesitation, he bolted with a flash and arrived right behind the old raccoon. Raising his left arm, Calron swiftly struck the small beast.

“Bahaha, is that all?”

Wildly cackling with laughter, the raccoon lazily lifted her claw without turning around and instantly stopped Calron’s attack.

“W-what?”

Muttering with astonishment, Calron quickly retreated and evaluated his opponent once again.

It should be known that from the time Calron brought out his lightning to the moment he struck the raccoon, it had happened all within the span of a single second! Yet, the raccoon easily stopped his attack without even glancing back to check where the attack was coming from.

“You do not understand lightning, human…”

The old raccoon sighed, as she slowly turned around to face the human boy.

A steely determination slowly seeped into Calron’s face, as strands of electricity darted around his eyes.

Drawing forth every single drop of essence he had, Calron prepared to strike once again with all his strength.

However, before he could even begin to channel the lightning, the distant image of the old raccoon flickered before his eyes and in the next instant, Calron felt a mind-shocking pain rush throughout his body.

This was the first time that he had ever been hurt by lightning.

Without even seeing, Calron knew that it was the old raccoon who had attacked. Her speed was so fast that he did not even realize the moment when she had arrived behind him.

“That is how it is done.”

A calm voice sounded out next to his ear.

The current attitude and the powerful presence of the raccoon was entirely different from the wild and crazy beast that Calron previously encountered.

Lying down on the ground as his body uncontrollably twitched with the foreign lightning coursing through him, Calron glanced at the wrinkled face of old raccoon.

Bending down and gazing deep into Calron’s dark eyes, the beast asked in a commanding tone.

“Boy, do you want to learn what lightning truly is?”

“Boy, do you want to learn what lightning truly is?”

The words reverberated through Calron’s ears.

Without waiting for a response, the short raccoon single-handedly picked him up from the ground and left him standing there, while she began walking towards the center of the forest area where Avi was currently munching on her fruity treat.

Calron stood in a daze as he waited for the foreign lightning within his body to dissipate.

Calron felt a familiar sensation from the raccoon’s lightning, almost as if it was lightning that existed within nature and not the lightning formed with essence. Staring at the small creature’s back, Calron felt strange emotions welling up inside of him.

Admiration, confusion and suspicion.

Once the twitching of his body stopped, Calron slowly treaded to where the elderly raccoon was softly petting Avi’s head. A small trace of a smile lingered on her face while she gazed at the adorable pup’s antics.

“What did you mean when you said that I did not understand lightning?”

Calron quietly muttered, as he scratched his head.

“Eh? I did not hear what you were asking. Speak up! Come to my other side, as I’m deaf in my left ear.”

The raccoon conveyed with a wave of her claws.

Judging from the cheeky smile on her face, Calron could tell that this crazy beast was just playing with him and was not actually deaf.

Grumbling a string of curses under his breath, Calron dragged himself over to the other side of the raccoon.

Noticing the human boy, Avi quickly rushed over towards Calron and began rubbing her little head against his knee. Settling himself on the ground, Calron absentmindedly scratched the back of the pup’s ears while patiently waiting for the raccoon to begin speaking.

One minute.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

“Good, at least you have patience.”

The raccoon gave a sideways smirk, as she finally sat down and faced Calron.

Lifting a single claw into the air, the Elder began talking as bolts of lightning cracked around the tip of her nails.

“You seem to use lightning purely as a way to attack, and you use it without understanding what it really is. Is lightning simply a tool used to kill? No. It is much more than that. You need to change the way you think about lightning.”

Meanwhile, Avi proceeded to wriggle her body on Calron’s lap until she was comfortable, and then closed her eyes with a cute yawn.

“Lightning runs through your body, human. Not just yours, but through everyone who exists in this world. You think air keeps us alive? Wrong! Without air, you will die, but your soul remains intact. Without lightning, no one in this world would ever be able to move. Isn’t that a fate worse than death? To live but not be able to do anything. This is where the true power of lightning is.”

The raccoon emphasized her point by pressing the tip of her claw against Calron’s forehead.

“You want to know how I knew you were going to attack me from behind? It’s because I knew your thought before you even moved.”

Calron’s mind abruptly started to reel.

Wait, that is like the Divine Perception technique!

Not exactly, kid. It’s more like an ability to sense the flow of lightning within a person. It will allow you to ‘predict’ what your opponent will do, and the greater your skill in detecting the flow of lightning, the more accurate your predictions will be. However, the Divine Perception lets you ‘see’ exactly what the enemy is thinking.

Ezkael answered in a grave voice.

Teacher, you knew about this ability? Why didn’t you teach it to me before? I would rather use this than go through the pain of activating the Divine Perception.

Calron stated in a dejected tone, thinking back to all the agony he went through in order to triggering that brutal technique.

Kid… most of the techniques I know are for primordial beasts. Until you become one, my techniques will be useless to you. Even then, your bloodline is vastly different from mine, so it is better for you to properly inherit your memories and practice the abilities unique to your ancestry.

His Teacher stated with a sigh at the end.

Listen to her. What she is not telling you is that this is a technique that she created on her own, and to be able to do that, she must have a very strong affinity with lightning.

Ezkael abruptly stated before giving his student a chance to respond.

“You fight with only your muscles like a bird-brained idiot. You could have easily ended your battle with that ugly green thing within the first few minutes. First, sense the flow of lightning within his body. Next, concentrate your essence into your toes rather than your entire legs for the maximum burst of speed. Finally, send all your remaining essence into your fingertip and pierce through his skull in a single movement!”

The raccoon exclaimed while repeatedly smacking Calron on the nose with the back of her paw.

Dammit, why does she keep hitting me!?

Calron helplessly cried out within his mind but he didn’t dare to voice his protests to the insane creature. He was sure that he heard a snicker in the back of his mind.

“But that is impossible. If I concentrate my essence into my toes or fingertips, they will simply burst apart with the violent energy of lightning! Even with the body of a Vajra stage cultivator, the lightning will still destroy my fingers.”

Calron vehemently shook his head. Just the thought of forcing his entire essence into his fingertips made him shudder.

“Don’t interrupt me! Your human body might not be able to handle it, but what about your beast body?”

The raccoon stated with another whack on Calron’s nose.

It might actually be possible… the scales on my body are nearly indestructible…

Calron pondered, as he gingerly rubbed his swollen nose.

“What about the technique to sense the flow of lightning? You never told me how to do that.”

Calron asked, as a smile spread through his face.

His greatest weakness at this moment was that he did not know how to fight with his beast body, and if he could learn how to do that from this short raccoon, then he would gladly put up with her constant beating.

“Eh, what are you talking about? I don’t remember mentioning any flow of lightning?”

The elderly raccoon said innocently with a small tilt of her furry head.

I want to strangle her…

Calron only let out an awkward smile on the outside, but burned with irritation on the inside as he tightly clenched his fists. He could tell from the mischievous glint in her eyes that she was just playing him again.

From that point on, Calron began to hate all the raccoons in the world.

“I think I might remember something if you gave me ride on your back. Flying in the open sky is also good for my smooth skin, bahaha!”

The crazy small beast laughed out loud, as she gave a sideways wink at Calron.

Looks like being a pigeon carrier is written within your destiny, Calron. You just can’t seem to shake that off, hahaha!

Ezkael chuckled with amusement.

Shut up…

Calron mumbled in resignation, as he hung his head.

His future seemed very bleak at this moment. Calron had a feeling that this old raccoon would soon squeeze everything out of him for her personal enjoyment.

“Alright, fine. Let’s get this over with.”

Standing up with Avi in his hands, Calron held out the little pup for the raccoon to carry.

Startling awake, Avi slowly turned her head back and forth, trying to understand what was going on.

*chi-chi-chi*

Soon, numerous golden scales shot across Calron’s skin while his body twisted and bent forwards until it took on the shape of a giant golden bird.

His golden metallic scales sparkled under the sunlight, eliciting even a look of wonder on the raccoon’s face.

Standing at a height of around ten feet tall, Calron exuded an aura of dominance and power as he glanced down at the two beasts on the ground.

*SCREEEEEE*

Raising his head to the sky, he let out an ear-splitting screech.

“Hehe, I like this new student of mine!”

The raccoon giggled with glee, as she nimbly climbed up on top of the large golden bird while Avi wrapped her soft paws around her.

“ruff…”

Letting out a quiet whine, Avi prepared herself once again for the sensation of flying in air.

After settling comfortably on Calron’s back, the raccoon placed the little pup in front of her and firmly held onto the golden scales.

“Gahaha, let’s fly little birdy!”

The raccoon howled with excitement.

*SCREEEEEE*

With an irritated cry, Calron leapt off into the sky while flapping his two powerful wings.

……………….

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen teacher so happy… but why did she take such an interest in him? Is it because he has the lightning element or something else?”

A figure stood hidden within the cluster of trees, as she glanced at the rapidly disappearing bird in the sky.

A soft smile was etched on her face when she talked about her teacher, however, her eyebrows soon turned into a frown.

“So, he is a human…”