“Fuck shit cunt damn it useless fuckin shittin cunt FUCK!”

The curses pouring out of Jay's throat didn’t stop the pain.

Waking up alive wasn’t as shocking, or existential, as last time. But that almost made it worse.

What kind of fighter gets used to dying?

Jay sat upright, heavy pants forcing air into his lungs. Once he’d somewhat calmed down, he began to analyse the new puzzle in front of him. He was faster than Jules, but the problem was all the unknowns. When he fought his past self, Jay knew what was coming. Against Julian he had no clue. Jay didn’t understand the flying dagger, or how Julian glided towards it, and he didn’t even know where to start on the armour.

There was no use ruminating on the how’s or why’s though. Jay didn’t know enough about essence or to make a difference. He had to take Julian's abilities at face value. To do that he had to learn about them the hard way.

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“What the fuck is that armour?” Jay snapped, unable to keep his annoyance in his head.

This was the seventh time he’d tried, and failed, to get past Julian’s protective golden cloak. Every time Jay's foot even sniffed Julian, the gold was there to stop him. It didn’t matter how fast he kicked, or how quickly he shifted targets. The armour was always there.

Jay had begun to stop thinking about it as armour and start thinking of it as part of Julian's body. If his stormforged body made him faster and more coordinated, then maybe Julian had a goldforged body that coated him in armour?

Jay gave up on getting past it and ran out of the ring, letting his illusory brother return to a fighting stance in the centre.

If I can’t get around it, then I have to go through it.

But how?

Jay remembered the feeling of compression he had when he first threw a leg kick. He’d brushed off trying thunder strike through a kick, but would it be possible now that he’d practiced it more? Jay's improved coordination had rapidly sped up the learning process for the leg kick. It wasn’t as familiar as punching, but he no longer needed to focus intensely on each movement.

Was it possible to do a thunder kick?

Did he even want to?

Jay had needed thunder strike for his first fight, he was glad he’d learned it. But did he really want to rely on it? It was the storm sage’s technique, and Jay's connection to it was through the essence of lightning.

But Jay aligned more with the essence of electricity than lightning, he didn’t need to walk down that path any longer.

So what did that leave?

Was he supposed to fire bolts of electricity out of his shins? How was that even possible?

“You need to detach yourself from what you think is possible to advance further.”

Akira's words of advice echoed in Jay's mind. Why was he worried about what was possible? Everything he’d seen since arriving on Eterna had showed him that here, impossible didn’t exist.

Vega threw explosions out of her hands.

Akira had control over magnetism.

Lyra… Jay didn’t know what Lyra did yet, but it was probably something impossible too.

Those three had shed the constraints of possibility already, why couldn’t he?

But how? What was stopping him from doing the impossible? Was it simply a matter of belief? Did he just need to believe in himself more?

No. It was something far more essential than belief.

Knowledge.

The line between belief and knowledge is a fine one. But it’s unwavering. You can think you know something, but in actuality you just believe it to be true. If someone tried hard enough, and provided enough evidence, most people could be convinced to change their minds.

But some things you just know. No matter what anyone may tell you, you can never be swayed from something that you, from the deepest recesses of your heart, know.

Jay could be convinced about most things. He could be convinced that the coliseum was all an illusion, that he was deep inside a dream back on earth. He could be convinced that Akira and the twins didn’t really care about him, that they were stringing him along in some sort of sick joke. Shit, if someone who sounded smart enough started waffling, he could be convinced about almost anything.

Jay believed a lot of things. But there were some things he knew.

He knew he was Jay Lightning Leonard.

He knew he was a fighter.

And he knew he was fast.

Jay recalled the conversation in Tranquillity tower where he discovered what drew him to lightning. It wasn’t anything to do with the storm, the energy or the power.

It was speed.

Seeing the pieces click in real time made a lot more of Akira and the sage’s explanations make sense. Speed was the overlap. Speed was a lens through which his life was viewed. If Jay wanted to defy possibility, if he wanted to unchain himself from the tethers of normalcy, there was only one way he was going to do it.

Quickly.

Jay stood up. If he wanted to go fast, he needed a fast partner. He turned away from the fourth ring and faced the third. He wouldn’t win with surprise this time. He’d win with speed.

Jay ran through the motions of the leg kick a few more times before he stepped into the ring with his past self. Since he was focusing on supreme speed over power, his whole technique needed to be reconstructed. He didn’t need to plant his weight into the ground as much, he didn’t need to twist his whole hip open. He needed to be quick.

No power. Only speed.

There was only so much practice he could do on his own though. Jay had to test himself inside the ring.

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Both Jays squared off against each other. One held their guard high; the other’s guard didn’t exist. Eye of the storm didn’t even feel like a chore at this point, the world took on a comforting slowness as the non-essential details faded away.

No power. Only speed.

Jay hopped on the balls of his feet, skipping forwards and backwards. He never usually fought like this, usually preferring more solid footing. A constantly moving stance made you faster, but the lack of power and stability often meant it wasn’t worth it.

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No power. Only speed.

Jay lunged in and sent a probing kick. He intensified Eye of the storm and watched his foot slowly advance towards his opponent. It was probably the fastest kick he’d ever done, yet through Jay's eyes it looked glacial.

Past Jay tried to dodge, but he was far too slow.

Jay watched as his shin crept closer to its target. When it made contact, he expected to feel something. A static shock, a vibration, anything.

Nothing.

Jay drew his leg back and circled left. Nothing ever works on the first try. He told himself, trying to inspire some confidence.

When Jay kicked again, he pushed Eye of the storm to its absolute limit. Every string of muscle in his body focused solely on speed. His mind running on overdrive trying to grasp the pure speed linking him to the essence of electricity.

Nothing.

For the first time since the gorilla fight, Jay felt a headache from Eye of the storm.

He backed out of the ring and gave his brain a much-needed rest. He paced around the ring, staring at the old version of himself with every step.

What am I not getting?

Jay felt like he was doing everything right. He was kicking as fast as he could, he was thinking as fast as he could, but the link wasn’t forming.

Why?

Jay walked back to Magomed’s ring, needing a break from fighting himself and wondering if his old teacher had any more lessons to give. He didn’t need to use Eye of the storm here, his far superior speed made landing the kick easy.

The murmurings of doubt still whispered in the back of Jay’s mind, but he tried to ignore them as he peppered Magomed with blindingly quick kicks. Jay didn’t relent. Each time one kick finished, he’d return to his stance and launch another.

Eventually, Jay stopped thinking. Only his mantra: No power. Only speed. echoed within his head.

After countless kicks, the spark came. Jay felt the jolt of inspiration stir inside of him. The wordless, thoughtless sensation that let him know he was on the right track.

It wasn’t just inside his mind, but spread throughout his body. The sparkling tingles of realization crept through Jay's nerves, worming their way through his muscles and vibrating even his bones in harmony.

Jay looked inward, accelerating his brain with Eye of the storm.

Nothing.

Is Eye of the storm stopping me?

Various ideas bubbled to the top of Jay's mind. He pushed them back down, returning his focus to the fight. He knew he was close, but as soon as he tried to decipher the technique, he’d lose it.

Jay could’ve pushed through it and dove into the intricacies of his attack, but instead he remained in the fight. Focusing on nothing else but kicking the man in front of him.

He slipped back into his flow state. One not induced by essence, but by mind and body aligned in perfect harmony.

No power. Only speed.

The sensation returned. A deep fuzz emanating from Jay’s core and radiating to the rest of his body. Every time he even came close to focusing on it, it vanished. He had to keep his mind on the fight.

The next time it came, Jay maintained the sensation. He kept his mind on the fight, ignoring anything else, and just kicked. He was sure he felt it, even if he couldn’t explicitly focus on it, but it stayed beneath the surface. Electricity’s call never rising to more than a murmur.

This isn’t working either. But I’m closer. Why?

Jay left the ring and reassessed the situation. He knew how to generate the feeling. He just had to be totally engrossed in the fight, and not use Eye of the storm.

Why not? Why is Eye of the storm ruining it every time?

Burns and Magomed stood idly next to Jay. The first time Jay’d overcame his past self, he’d looked towards them for guidance. What did he need to do now?

I need to link my personal essence with the essence of electricity. I need to use speed as the binder.

Speed…

Wait…

Eye of the storm sped up Jay's thoughts, it accelerated his mind to the point where the rest of the world crawled at a snail’s pace.

But is it fast?

It was the exact opposite.

Sure, Jay was moving fast when he used Eye of the storm. He was thinking fast. Jay acted faster while using Eye of the storm, but was he being fast?

Objectively, he was. Technically, he was. When comparing his existence to the world around him, Jay moved faster while using Eye of the storm.

But Harmony cared not for objectivity, and even less for technicality. Especially when Jay searched for it.

He may have been moving fast, but whenever he used the technique there was one constant. Everything felt fucking slow. Jay was trying to link his personal essence to electricity using speed, so why was he making everything look as slow as possible?

Electricity doesn’t think quick. It is quick.

Buoyed by revelation, Jay moved onto the next issue. He’d realised how to generate the electricity, but he didn’t know how to unleash it. Why did the sensation never grow past a bubbling beneath the surface. Why did the essence of electricity awaken, but never come forth?

Was he simply too slow?

Jay looked down at his muscular legs and felt the energy contained within them. He remembered the trial he’d gone through to earn this body, the pain he’d endured. No, that’s not it. He shifted his vision upwards, now looking at the ring.

It takes two to tango, and fighting and dancing had more similarities than most people thought.

But there was a key difference between the two.

If you really wanted, you could dance on your own.

You can never fight on your own. There always had to be an opponent, an enemy, someone opposite you. The life of a fighter was a lonely one, but in a way, it was also one where you’re never truly alone.

Because there’s always someone to fight.

Jay turned to the third ring. If he wanted to be faster, he had to fight a faster opponent. He needed a faster enemy to draw the best out of him.

He was ready to end there, but the final puzzle piece clicked into place just as he stood up.

He remembered why he was here, what he was doing. He finally realised the lesson the Storm sage was trying to drill into him.

Jay wasn’t just trying to harmonize with electricity. That wasn’t him. No, Jay was trying to harmonize with electricity and fighting. Only focusing on one aspect would never work. Even if the technique only used electricity, even if speed was the link, and fighting was completely unrelated. Jay still needed to keep it in mind.

Because that’s who he was. That’s what made him, him.

Jay’s legs smouldered like hot ashes, one breath away from ignition and itching for activity. Thinking was good, planning was good, but his body knew who he really was. It burned to fight.

The pieces had aligned. Jay had placed them together and solved the puzzle. Now he just had to step into the ring.

Now he just had to fight.

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Once the fight began, everything just felt right. Jay wasn’t stuck ruminating over what-if’s, he wasn’t debating the effectiveness of analysis. He fought. Nothing more, nothing less. Jay's feet practically skipped across the gravel as he neared his past self.

Jay's eyes remained a pensive grey as he watched his opponents identical eyes glow vibrant blue. Eye of the storm was a great technique, but Jay had seen its futility in the face of power twice over now.

Jay's focus narrowed as he repeated his mantra one more time.

No power. Only speed.

But it wasn’t correct anymore.

Jay wasn’t only thinking about speed, he had other concepts occupying his mind. Two lenses through which he focused on the concept of speed. The essence of electricity, and the essence of fighting.

All three overlayed his personal essence, and Jay echoed their deep concepts with every movement. Each step sent ripples into the universe, confirming Jay's existence. Jay felt the rumble arise from within him, he didn’t think about it. All he thought about was the fight, and electricity, and speed.

The glowing trails fluttered within Past Jay's eye sockets. Darting pupils struggling to keep up with his future self. It didn’t matter how slow the world seemed to him right now. Nothing could separate Jay from his speed. Lines blurred and one became another. Jay wasn’t fast because of his stormforged body, or because of his years of training. He was fast simply because that’s who he was.

The rumble within Jay became a growl. The growl became a roar. The roiling electricity inside Jay slammed against his body caging it in, wrapping its incorporeal jaws around the bars that restrained it. Demanding to be free.

No. Not yet.

Jay quietened the energy brewing within him. He wasn’t the storm; he was a fighter. Fighters didn’t recklessly and relentlessly attack. They created opportunities, and they capitalised on them.

Jay stepped in, gently placing his left foot down. His opponent’s restless azure eyes flickered in response. Frantically searching for a solution.

A solution that didn’t exist.

Jay backed off anyway, using the feint to exchange a good opening for a great one. He twisted his angle, forcing his past self into an awkward angle.

He didn’t wait any longer.

Unleashing the pure energy caged within him, Jay's right leg propelled itself forward.

But it was barely a leg anymore.

Jay’s limb twisted and warped; its original form unable to contain the raw energies it handled. It began to glow, slightly at first, but it soon grew into a blinding white inferno. Jay had needed the kicking technique to set up this attack, he'd needed the technique for the confidence to launch it. But very quickly the technique he’d dedicated himself to learning was left by the wayside, cowed by the screams of raw power. Jay didn’t care about technique anymore, he only focused on damaging his opponent. His focus instantly translated into an attack, and the merciless whip of electricity attached to his hip swung forward, detonating on his opponent’s knee.

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For an instant, Jay almost believed he’d returned to the void of creation. The cascade of blinding light became his existence for several seconds following the attack. Eventually it faded and Jay saw the ring again.

A ring with nobody else in it.

Not even a trace.

Holy shit.

What did I just do?

Jay was still processing the kick when the fizzing remnants of electricity pinched his arms and yanked him back to reality.

He wondered why it felt so strange, given how deeply connected he’d been to the essence of electricity mere moments ago.

Then it hit him.

His arms.