“To become lightning itself.”

The moment she heard those words, the first thing that Priya imagined was Valerian transforming into lightning up in the clouds. It made her let out a chuckle reflexively at how funny it was. Her reaction caused him to look at her with curiosity because he was not sure what was so funny about what he said about his strongest technique.

“So, by becoming lightning itself… you mean like becoming part of the clouds?” She asked after controlling her laughter.

He blinked in surprise at the misinterpretation she had and shook his head while saying, “No. I don’t become part of the clouds. I will become lightning… or channel lightning…? Uh…” he faltered at seeing her look at him in confusion from not understanding what he meant. “I’m not really too sure how to explain this but I can show it to you.”

“Yes. Seeing is believing after all,” she agreed with a smile and began walking away from him.

“Make sure to keep yourself at a far away distance since it’s a strong technique,” he called to her, and she waved her hand above her head in acknowledgement.

Once she went almost a kilometer away from him, she came to a stop and turned around to face him while shouting, “Is this far enough?”

“Yes!” He called back and smiled at her, which she could not see due to the distance. “Alright. I’m going to start now.”

“Go ahead,” she called back and became serious as she focused all of her senses on him to not miss a thing.

Valerian turned to face towards an empty land and closed his eyes for a moment. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out before reopening his eyes with a calm expression on his face. Like this, he continued to breathe in and slowly let it out three more times while keeping his eyes open this time.

Then he raised his hands up in front of him and bunched them into fists and clenched them tightly. At the same time, he spread his legs out a little while taking the stance of someone preparing to do something. As he did, the expression on his face changed from calm to that of seriousness as he readied to demonstrate his technique.

He began to surge with power and as he did, the wind began to blow quickly around them. The temperature around them seemed to drop strangely while the wind became colder and colder to the touch. Both Lakshman and Priya had cast barriers around their respective areas and despite that, they still somehow felt the cold air that was occurring outside the barrier.

“This is odd,” muttered Lakshman with narrowed eyebrows. “I shouldn’t be able to feel the change in weather due to the effects of the Divine Protection of Sun and Moon but… I feel… chilly. What is he doing?”

Everyone’s eyes were on the Storm Titan as he continued to surge with power as it magnified in scale. With the release of more power, the ground began to shake and the clear sky was once again quickly covered by murky dark clouds that threatened to stir up a storm.

During this process, Valerian had his eyes closed as he continued to surge with more and more power as the seconds ticked by. Soon, sparks of lightning began emitting from around him at random bursts like static electricity for all to see. The pebbles on the ground, the dust in the air, and the breeze began to change in a way that was very different from before as he continued to surge with incredible power.

As the power grew to a massive scale, the Storm Titan flashed his eyes open while gritting his teeth as so much of power was being released. By this point, a solid form of lightning was circulating around him like some kind of a field. He continued to clench his fists tightly before lifting both of his arms to cross them on his chest with a determined look on his face.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

He suddenly began to scream with great intensity and at the same time, spread his arms out to either ends. In an instant, there was a violent flash of light that caused everyone to close their eyes and cover them with their hands.

“What intensity!” Sonia exclaimed.

“You can say that again!” Cantia agreed.

Lakshman did not close his eyes, but he still had to close one eye while using his hand to cover the other eye that he was using to watch the scene. It was proving to be very difficult to see through the violent light but still he did not want to miss what might happen.

The light soon died down and disappeared, however the view was not completely back to normal. Everyone uncovered their eyes and turned back to look at the scene, getting surprised by what they saw.

The sky was covered with dark clouds while the wind was blowing slowly with an air of cold that caused those that it touched to shiver. In this kind of weather, the surrounding would be very dark and gloomy, and yet it was not because of the light that was emanating from somewhere nearby. The source of that light was coming from the ground, to be precise, the place where Valerian stood.

When everyone turned to look at him, they were surprised to see him surrounded by a white shining light that was different to that of radiating aura that surrounded warriors as they surged with power. Instead, it felt like a coat that Valerian had around him and even his appearance had changed somewhat, especially his white hair seemed to have some kind of shine to it while becoming wild and spiky. At the same time, the rings around his pupil, which were previously red, changed to that of white well. All of these changes occurred while a field of lightning surrounded him while letting out random bursts of sparks at random times.

The Storm Titan had a strong look on his face as everyone was staring at him in awe. It was their first time seeing a transformation that was so different and unique compared to all that they had seen till now.

“It appears as though he’s covered in an aura of lightning,” commented Sumara with a look of awe on her face.

“Yes. It appears so,” agreed Lakshman with a nod of his head, staring at Valerian with interest. “It seems that he is indeed best suited to the role as the Storm Titan, like I predicted.”

“You predicted this?” Erza asked in surprise.

He shook his head and replied, “I didn’t think he could transform into this but… it’s an unexpected surprise nonetheless and a welcomed one at that. It just goes to show the inner potential that he has yet to reveal.”

“He’s got… more to show?!” Silvera exclaimed in alarm.

Her husband nodded and said while looking at Valerian, “Yes. I dare say he may be as powerful as Sevedant or close to that of his range.”

Silvera blinked twice and looked awed by his words while Tetra remarked, “Interesting. He’s full of mysteries.”

Lakshman smiled as they focused on watching what would happen from then on.

Valerian, for his part, remained calm and composed with a soft look on his face. He raised his hand and flexed it experimentally as if checking that nothing negative was happening. Then he looked towards Priya, who had her mouth open in awe by his transformation.

“This is what I meant by becoming one with lightning,” he called to her and smiled serenely.

Hearing his call, she snapped out of her reverie and cleared her throat, realising that she had just shown an embarrassing appearance. She blushed a little, but she quickly shook her head to clear it away and looked back at him with curiosity.

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“I get it now, but you seem to be surrounded by a white glowing light with lightning running around you. I guess?” She asked him curiously in a loud voice.

“This is not light, this is a lightning field filled with the energy that gets unleashed when a lightning bolt strikes down at the surface,” he explained to her in a loud voice so she could hear him. “I learnt this during my training with my mother in order to master the lightning attribute.”

Priya nodded in understanding and asked, “So, I see, but it’s not just that, is it? You’ve become many times more powerful than in your normal form.”

He nodded and said, “Yes. This is why I call it my ultimate technique and its name is Zeraph!”

“Zeraph,” mumbled while jotting it down on the writing pad she quickly opened. Then she asked him loudly, “Can you show me what you could use it for as a demonstration?”

“Sure,” he called back and smiled.

Valerian held his hand out and clenched his fists tightly. In an instant, a violent storm of lightning erupted from around him and it quickly spread in all directions with a violent force. It struck the barriers around Lakshman and his group as well as Priya, constantly zapping them with an unbelievable force of lightning that was both relentless and deadly.

“Holy…!” Sonia exclaimed in shock.

“This is insane!” Silvera shouted in alarm.

“Remarkable…!” Sumara commented in awe.

“Unbelievable!” Ondine muttered in shock.

“I’m scared!” Cantia exclaimed with a frightened look on her face.

Lakshman remained calm and composed as he stared around at the violent lightning that was attacking the barrier. He sensed that the attack was incredibly strong and powerful but it lacked the power to get through the barrier he made.

“Still, this is amazing in its own way,” he commented, impressed by this display of power. 

Priya fell to her knees like before while staring up at the barrage of lightning that rapidly zapped her barrier with great intensity and force.

“Unreal,” she said with a look of disbelief on her face.

The lightning continued to strike at them for a few more seconds before it receded back to where it came from. Once the lightning returned to the field surrounding him, Valerian glanced around at them with a soft smile on his face.

“That’s one of many techniques I can use in this form,” he let them know in a loud carrying voice filled with confidence and excitement.

“That guy’s nuts,” commented Stuart as the first person to recover from the shocking show of power and stare at him with incredulity. “Seriously! With that kind of power, he could easily take down an army without breaking a sweat. Just who is he?”

“He’s the Storm Titan and lightning would be his speciality after all,” Lakshman informed him with a smile.

For Stuart, this was the first time he heard about Valerian being part of the Nine Pillars of Power. As such, his reaction was that of bewilderment as he looked to his friend, then at Valerian and finally back at his friend.

“Seriously? Seriously?! The Storm Titan from the Nine Pillars of Power that you’re a part of?!” When Lakshman nodded in assertion, Stuart turned back to look at Valerian with a renewed look of amazement as he said, “No wonder he’s so strong! I bet he could easily take on many foes and still come out without going full power at them.”

“Well, he’s called the Storm Titan because he’s capable of conjuring storms, I guess?” Cantia asked, trying to make a joke.

This caused everyone to turn to her with a look of sympathy on their faces.

“What? What’s the matter?” She asked them uncertainly.

“I don’t know whether to laugh at the joke… or laugh at you for making such a silly pun,” said Ondine with a wry smile.

“Oh, come on! I was doing my best!” Cantia wailed, and this time they all laughed at the silly situation that was created by Cantia’s silliness.

Meanwhile, Priya hurried over to Valerian and looked him up, down and all around him. She then noted down whatever she understood about his form from appearance alone while he stared with a curious look on his face.

“So, how fast can you move in this form? As fast as lightning?” She asked him curiously.

“I believe I can,” he replied uncertainly as he was sure since he never measured his speed before.

“I’m curious. Can you show it to me in a mock battle?”

“Mock battle? You mean… you want me to battle you?” He asked uncertainly.

She became shocked and quickly shook her head while saying, “No, no, no, no, no! Not me! Seriously. I wouldn’t even be a warm up if we did fight,” and she smiled wryly at her own joke. “I want you to fight someone who could challenge you.”

He blinked at her in surprise and as realisation dawned on him, he began to ask, “You mean…?”

Priya nodded and smiled as she turned towards her brother and called, “Annayya! Annayya! Please come over here.”

Lakshman, who was smiling at the jokes his wives were making, heard his sister’s call and rose to his feet and walked over to where she and Valerian stood.

“What is it, Priya?” He asked her after reaching them.

“Annayya, can you do a mock battle with Valerian here please?”

“A mock battle with Val?” Lakshman asked, looking surprised as he looked between them. “Why?”

“I just want to see how fast he can move compared to you. I also want your assessment on his speed and power while he’s in that form so I can get a better assessment to write down about his form.”

“Oh. I suppose so but… is that alright?” Her brother asked and turned towards the Storm Titan. “You sure you’re okay with this? Letting out so much information about your form like its speed, strength and such? It could become dangerous for you later on if it’s exploited.”

When he heard that, Valerian seemed to think about it for a moment before he smiled at them and said, “To be honest with you, I’ve never gotten the chance of using any of these techniques that I spend many months learning, mastering and perfecting. As such, I don’t know if they have any weaknesses and such. So, I believe that learning about my weaknesses and working on them now is beneficial to me rather than finding out the hard way during battle. So I say, let's try your best, and I’ll counter with my own style.”

He appeared confident, but Lakshman was not moved as he replied, “So you say but… you were easily mind controlled by Lagron’s brother way back then until your mother came to your rescue. Remember?”

Upon hearing that, Valerian’s shoulders slumped, and he became sad. Priya was alarmed by how depressed he became and turned to berate her brother indignantly on his lack of politeness.

“Annayya! That was uncalled for and now look! You hurt him! Apologise to him now!”

Lakshman stared at his sister who was giving him a stern look that was uncannily similar to the expression that his mother would make when she got annoyed with anything. Feeling a warm sensation in his chest from the memory of his mother whose features he could see in his sister, he apologised to the Storm Titan.

“Even so, I don’t believe it’s best for you to release any more information than what you already got, Priya,” he told his sister, and this time it was her turn to look a little dejected. He smiled and placed a gentle hand on her head while saying, “Come on, Priya. Don’t be down. You think about it as well how dangerous it would become for Valerian if his weaknesses are exploited? It’s not right to expose him to such a danger. You agree, don’t you?”

She nodded wordlessly with the same sad look on her face, and he smiled while gently rubbing her head. It appeared as though him caressing her hair gently with softness seemed to calm her down until she shrugged his hand away from her head and looked at him.

“Sorry, annayya. In the excitement of learning about his technique, I nearly got carried away. I’m sorry to you as well, Val, for nearly putting you at risk due to my rashness,” she apologised and bowed deeply to him.

The Storm Titan was alarmed and quickly said, “Please, don’t do that! You weren’t at fault. I should’ve thought this through as well. It’s my fault, so please… stop that.”

“No, that’s not true!” She insisted with a resolute expression on her face.

Lakshman watched the two of them apologising to each other and smiled before saying, “This back and forth apologising won’t get us anywhere. So, why don’t we drop this topic and just relax now that the assignment’s pretty much completed. Am I right?”

Priya turned to him and nodded while saying, “Pretty much. In the evening, I and Indira will sit down to write up a more detailed account of the four techniques we learnt about. That shouldn’t take more than two or three days at most.”

“That fast!” Lakshman reacted with surprise. “That’s remarkable, Priya.”

“Of course, annayya! Indira and I are one of the few top students of Astral Academy right now,” she said proudly to her brother.

“Oh, wow. That’s amazing,” he reacted in amazement, but he grew concerned and said, “but don’t overstress yourselves. Whether you get good or bad marks, the both of you will still be my sisters. My family,” and he smiled warmly at her.

Priya looked at him smiling warmly and then turned back to look towards the ground as Valerian powered down and returned to normal before they began heading back to the others. Her facial expression was hard to read, but from what could be seen, she wore a smile as if she liked what she had heard.

“Thank you, annayya,” she muttered softly.

“Mmm? Did you say something, Priya?” Lakshman asked as he could not hear what she had said.

At his question, she smiled and turned confidently to him as she said, “I said don’t worry about it! I’ll fulfil your part by me and Indira finishing with top marks at the academy since you couldn’t in your time!”

Lakshman laughed at that and said, “Oh? Is that why? Oh, wow.  I feel so happy and blessed to have you two as my sisters.”

Priya grinned and said, “Of course,” before muttering to herself, “Likewise, annayya.”

As they laughed happily together, Valerian watched them from behind and smiled at the warm atmosphere that was wrapping around the siblings. It reminded him of the warmness he once felt when he was with his clansmen and mother. Those were some of the happiest times he ever had and, looking back at those memories he had from that time, he wondered to himself in a sad voice.

“Will I ever feel like that again?”

In doing so, he glanced up at the sky to see the dark clouds visible as a reflection of the emptiness he felt inside.