The lightning coursed through Ain's body. The air shimmered - vibrated - the shockwaves of sound becoming visible in the dust and debris that launched skywards. The golden electricity crawled in through his open Gate and reversed through his Circuits, transforming his pathways to twisted wreckage.

Ain screamed - he roared in defiance.

His Link opened further, magic current pouring through the connection to neutralize the lightning. But it was not enough. Slowly, he was dying. Burning from within.

His Link turned to ash.

His heart seized. It fluttered like the broken wings of a dove in free fall - useless.

His lungs were empty, save for half of one breath.

"Sae Tir Idona." Another profane magical circle appeared, this time behind Ain. Self Resurrection.

The static filled his ears. His heart stabilized, furiously pumping blood through his veins. His restored Link opened wider, expelling the golden electricity from his Circuits.

His left arm twisted, withering, as the electricity burned his Circuits to nothing on the way out.

The sky darkened again, lightning flashing behind the clouds, to punish Ain once more for toying with the principles of the world. The Radix would never allow Ain to do what he was attempting. It was against nature.

But there was nothing he could do about it. With his left arm useless, and his right hand holding the remains of Senon's Source, within which a new one was beginning, he had no choice but to endure it.

"Senon, I need you to wake up soon," Ain whispered, a hint of desperation in his otherwise calm eyes.

The ground had finally stopped rumbling from the previous lightning strike when another bolt of retribution descended from the sky, like a holy ladder, and struck Ain.

His face cracked, fissures like black lines spider-webbing across his left cheek. When he breathed out, to stabilize the rampant energy in his Circuits, his breath was freezing cold. This was the worst kind of punishment: Entropy Lightning.

"F-Hole!" Ain heard someone shout from behind him. "Throw some gang signs!"

"Affhole!"

Ain opened his mouth to say something - to warn them not to come any closer - but he couldn't move his breath through his throat. He felt his strength waning. He didn't even have the strength to resurrect himself again. It was not a lack of strength, so much as his motivation evaporating. Every thought of self-actuation sank beneath the dark waves of peace and tranquility - Ataraxia.

It was bad luck. Of all the punishments, it had to be Entropy Lightning. One in a million, they said.

Ain looked at Senon, as the sky rumbled again, echoes of distant thunder rolling through the mountainous region. An ember of heat lit up within him, it sparkled like a distant galaxy; it vibrated acoustically in the space between atoms, moving him to action.

"Affhole!"

"Master...!"

Ain thought he heard them say 'help yourself; forget Senon'. Maybe it was in the tone of their voice. Or maybe Ain caught a glimpse of their desperate expressions.

The small ember in his heart flickered.

Ain had already once stoked the fires in his heart, and suffocated himself on the smoke. Poisoned himself on ideas like vainglory and hatred. And self-preservation.

Never again.

The ember disappeared.

What meaning to life was there, if it could not be sacrificed for another's sake? If one could not enrich their legacy through living on in others, then no legacy would last forever. Ain's goal was never something as shallow and empty as 'for my own sake'.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Atatreia," Ain uttered and let go of Senon's new, rebuilt Source.

Senon's eyes opened. Her vacant eyes didn't even have a moment to become colored by any sort of emotion. And yet, Ain regretted it all. Not that he was about to die, but that this would be how Senon would see Ain's final moments. Surely, this was not what he had in mind for her.

Once again, the sky split open and another bolt headed straight for Ain. Soul Incineration Lightning.

In that moment, for some inexplicable reason, Ain felt his volition return. The heavy fog of peace and calm lifted off his mind. His dead Circuits and broken Link sprung to life, perhaps for the last time.

"Kido," Ain uttered and the descending lightning bolt stopped in mid-air, surrounded on all sides by massive magical circles; the magical force contained within them was something no one had seen since the Great Realm War. It was an apocalyptic sight.

Up in the mountain, surely, many Calamity Lord Candidates and professors felt as if a world-ending battle was taking place somewhere. They saw the sky flash with golden lightning, and they heard the thunder, and in their mind's eye, it was the clash of two ancient warriors who woke up in this age to continue their deadly waltz from the Great War era. And in their hearts, they cowered in fear.

Ain calmly withdrew the sword from his side with his remaining usable limb and drew in a staggered breath.

He barely had the strength to stand, much less hold the sword in his hand. It rattled in his death grip, and even so, he felt as if it was slipping out of his grasp. His whole body shuddered.

The magical circles surrounding the bolt of lightning cracked, golden fragments falling off of them, glimmering like diamonds in the sky as they slowly faded away.

Ain drew in another breath.

"Cursed thing," Ain spoke, voice even and calm. "You should've killed me when you had the chance."

Not that "it" didn't kill him, at least once.

The magical circles finally failed, and the spell broke. The lightning descended on Ain.

"Void Sword: Fate-Unraveling Blade."

The lightning bolt and the sword met and stardust fell from the point of impact - glittering motes of energy and material that few in this age would recognize.

Once again, the lightning bolt stopped, as if frozen in time; Ain's sword cracked along the blade, fissures appearing just like the one's on his cheek.

Slowly, the lightning bolt began to 'unravel', dismantling along it's length like threads of fine, golden silk.

Ain's released breath poured through the area with a serene sense of emptiness to it.

As the sky cleared, Ain's Link shuddered and his Circuits dried out. His breath stopped.

His sword clattered on the ground, as he fell, and his vision faded to black.

"Master?" he could hear Senon's voice echoing in the dark depths of his receding consciousness. "Ain! Ain! Please! Wake up!"

Ain wanted to chuckle. Was that the first she called him by his name? He could not even remember. The last thing he wanted was Senon's pity. He wasn't worthy of it - any of it. Because of him, and what he had done to her, Senon's life would only become hopelessly difficult. It would be forced down a path of endless regret, loneliness and loss. It was foolishness to think that he could be around to guide her down the right path.

Finally, his heart seized again.

"Ain, my old friend. What a pointless thing you have done."

"You are..."

"Shh... my, my, what a beautiful Source you have. To think that he could actually build a Pillar of Creation in your Source... you have truly become a profane thing."

"Please... can you help him?"

"Maybe. There was a time when Punishment Storms could not even harm a hair on his head. Now not even Idona could restore him. Poor Ain, you have become so weak."

A pause.

"Please help Master. Def bet all gold on Master winning Novice Tournament."

"Very well. If you all promise to forget you saw me, I will help him."

"We promise."

"Istia."

___

A memory dawned in the emptiness of unconscious thought.

Ain sat before the Pillars of Creation, as they stretched and twisted into the infinite above and below him. There was only darkness in this place, and the light falling off of the Pillars.

"Who stands before us?" the voice echoed within Ain's soul.

"A useless Champion of the Light," Ain replied.

"What is your desire?"

Ain was silent for a long while before he finally replied.

"You already know my answer."

The pillars hummed. The light cascading off them became blinding.

"We shall allow it. But when the time comes, you shall fulfill our desire."

Ain narrowed his eyes. "What is your desire?"

"When the time comes, you shall know."

___

Ain came to in an unfamiliar room. The distant memory left a bad taste in his mouth. The scent of disinfectant assaulted his senses.

"You are awake," Latela's voice came from beside him.

"What happened... to Senon?" Ain forced the words through his teeth. He could barely speak. He felt weaker than a newborn.

"She is fine. You are our main concern," Latela said.

"What... happened?" Ain sighed out.

"I found you, Senon and that rude goblin unconscious. I used Cae Ideta to bring you back from death. Consider this my debt to you repaid. Even though I didn't kill you."

Ain tried to stand up.

"Stay down. You are still injured. Half your Circuits are burned out. Your Gates are crushed. I can't even fathom what happened to your Link."

"I have to..."

"You don't 'have to' anything other than stay here and rest. I am sorry, but, you know I have to report this to the Calamity Lord. I won't say anything about you - I understood your warning very well. I am just doing my job."

Ain didn't have the strength - or leverage - to argue.

"One last thing: that minor spirit of yours is attached to your Source. Maybe you know what to do about that - I don't."

Latela left in a hurry.

Ain forced a smile to his lips. "Thank you, Susu. You saved me. But promise you'll never try to eat Entropy Lightning again."

"Affhole!"