Thorne’s heart did not shatter as he peered into the caved-in skull of his former student. However, it was not whole either. A fleeting, slow burn overtook his spirit as he watched the electricity course through Aral’s body. He did not move, he did not speak, he did not cry.

Time seemed to freeze as Thorne came to a sobering realization— ‘This was my fault.’ The young man had been so inexperienced and weak when he had come into Thorne’s life. Yes, he was just a student to him, but a student-teacher relationship continues responsibility for the teacher. It was the teacher's—Thornes—responsibility to prepare this boy, and he had failed.

“What,” A taunting voice shouted, “Are you going to just stare and watch?”

Upon looking up, Thorne saw the yellow spectrum commander. Flurries of sand blew around him as he stood over the fly-infected corpse. The buzzing of lighting and insects cut through the terse silence, and only after a moment did Thorne collect himself.

Taking a heavy breath, he looked into the eyes of the older man. They were flat and without any substance—like a robot. Even while taunting, Thorne knew that the eyes didn’t change; after all, the taunting was just a trick; there was no emotion behind it.

Without saying a word, Thorne closed his eyes. He felt the raging current within him; there was energy on a scale that many wouldn’t believe a grade-one cultivator capable of. He had worked hard to ensure the productivity of his spectrum crystal, and it had been well worth it.

Eyes still closed, Thorne pt away his twin blades. As he did so, he reached inside himself and retrieved a ball of red energy so dense that it physically hurt his hand.

In the distance, Thorne could faintly sense the commander readying an energy technique of his own, but Thorne paid it no mind.

Toiling, the energy of chaos and destruction tried to escape; it tried to be free; it attempted to destroy; it tried to kill on its own, but one thing stopped it. Thorne, his face contorting, felt the ball of energy become whole in his hand. With a concerted effort, he attempted to swirl the ball around as if it were formless.

The incredible instability of the energy ball caused Thorne to be rooted to the spot, unmoving. ‘It doesn't matter,’ Thorne thought with a small smile. ‘He won't attack me. It isn’t entertaining enough to kill me with ease.’

Straining, Thorne forced his eyes to shoot open. In the shadow of the buildings, the red sparks of rouge energy were plain to the eye. Red tendrils reached out and attempted to take anything within reach. Grimacing, Thorne lifted his palm and prepared to launch the swirling mass.

Out of the corner of his eye, Thorne could view the commander. He flashed a bright smile as a crackling barrier of yellow assembled around him. Shaking his head fervently, Thorne returned to his own technique; ‘I have to focus!’

With his body and crystal aching, Thorne lurched forward. It was as if he was holding the world in his hands, and only through maximum focus could he be free of it. Sweat streaming down his gaunt face, Thorne released the Red Nova Torrent!

The energy attack sang a screeching melody as it twisted in a congruous pattern. The red nova torrent technique—was usually a simple, still ball of energy, nothing more. This attack was not still or simple; Neither was it a ball.

The funnel of red energy reached the barrier of the grinning commander. Thorne hunched over as he watched; he was spent and could only hope that the attack was successful.

In the back of his mind, Thorne heard a light ding, but he forcefully repressed the notification—withholding it for a later time, if he was even alive for a later time.

Hands on knees, Thorne propped his head up as he saw the clash of red and yellow. His face froze as he witnessed the result; the red energy was unbothered by the barrier!

There was a light sizzling noise but nothing more. The funnel tunneled through the wall with ease in an untypical manner. Usually, shields such as the commanders were meant to collect and distribute energy from an attack over the whole surface of the barrier. Thorne’s technique—the new application of the red Nova torrent did not follow such rules!

Like a drill, it cut through the shield and arched toward the commander's face! Previously, he was standing with hands on hips—the visage of a proud, unbreakable leader. Now, he wasn’t even standing. His body collapsed to the floor, shortly followed by the gooey remains of his exploded skull.

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‘What?’ Thorne’s face was blank as he saw the fearsome commander's body collapse so…easily. ‘Did he really put only one barrier up.’

Shaking his head, Thorne gathered himself and trotted over to the man's remains. He bent over and nearly wretched as he saw the product of his attack. His head was no more; Thorne’s attack had struck right at the neck, and it had been flying at an upward trajectory. The commander's skull had disintegrated, with only sparse specks of brain and skull remaining.

Turning away, Thorne walked over to the nearest building and began to lean on it. His mind was still blank—he couldn’t comprehend what had just happened. ‘He was trying to taunt me.’ Thorne realized, ‘He was trying to shatter my confidence by showing that I was weak.’ Thorne scoffed as he glanced at the distant corpse; ‘That worked well for him.’

Thorne sighed as he began walking away. There was a long way back to camp, and he was exhausted. The battle had been short, but the one technique he had used was incredibly taxing; only twenty percent of his energy reserves remained.

‘I'll replenish on the jour-’

Thorne bounded forward as his face paled! His arm hairs stood upright, and in a moment, Thorne used the remainder of his energy to cast Energy Bubble! ‘Too late!’ Thorne grimaced as he felt his surroundings fill with explosive yellow energy! ‘The shield is too weak!’

He hunkered down, and all was silent for a second. The next second, a prickling sensation erupted through his body. The third was when a wave of energy surged over him like a raging tornado!

Thorne held his head in his arms as the energy washed over him. The yellow wave gusted over him with a vengeance. It bit and tore at his back, and the hastily constructed amber shield couldn't only do so much. After only ten seconds of the lightning assault, Thorne heard and then felt a loud crack! ‘The shields down, goddamnit!’

Thorne’s senses were overwhelmed by the density of the energy, and he had no knowledge of how long the assault would last. Thorne pressed his head to the ground in a feudal position, making his frame as small as possible. He allocated the scraps of energy he had left to his back, hoping that it would be enough.

His robes immediately tore. The white cloth flew off his back—opening his skin up to the yellow energy. Then the pain came. His back lit up into a burning inferno! The wave of energy traveled all across his exposed skin without mercy. His whole back was lit up and etched with yellow energy, and only through the light amber energy enforcement, as well as his tempered pain tolerance, could Thorne survive.

His mind was blank—his eyes wide open, staring at nothing—while his body spasmed and shook. Thorne couldn’t breathe, move, or do anything. He remained still, allowing the wave to crash through him.

As he weathered the assault, Thorne realized something, ‘I can sense it!’ A smile blossomed on his face as he saw it, ‘The energy around is disappearing; I just have to survive a bit longer!’

Sure enough, the energy—once so grand and dense—was slowly fettering out. The pain remained, but just as the energy in the surroundings was leaving, so was the pain. ‘I can think now too,’ Thorne realized as he felt thoughts return to him, but something was off; ‘How am I thinking so…fast.’

He had just realized that he was formulating his thoughts in milliseconds. It felt as if his brain had entered hyperdrive. Thorne’s eyes widened, ‘So that’s it. The energy reached my brain and probably overstimulated it.’

Thorne bit his lip in worry. He had mixed feelings about that. How strong was the energy if it could reach his brain and essentially speed it up? Furthermore, his thought was being enhanced while under a deadly assault. ‘This could be permanently life-changing,’ Thorne grimaced, ‘I can only hope it's good. But first, I need to deal with that damn commander.’ An even more furious grimace crossed his face; he didn’t know how, but from this attack, Thorne knew that the commander had somehow faked his death.

Checking his energy reserves, Thorne knew that he had to be quick. ‘Maybe play dead, and surprise attack him,’ Thorne thought, ‘That’s the only way it will succeed.’

As he plotted, Thorne noticed that the pain—once life-altering—was nearly gone. He slumped to the ground fully as he resolved himself to the surprise attack.

Thorne prepared himself to summon the blades and leap up. It would be difficult, his legs would be jolted, and his nerves unreliable. He could only push through and have hope.

He remained for a second, then ten. A minute soon passed, with Thorne waiting still. Only after Thorne counted five minutes did he cautiously move his head to look behind him. ‘No one’s there.’

His face scrunched in confusion as he pulled himself up. Sure enough, his nerves were wrecked, and he could barely stand up. He stubbed over to the area where he had supposedly killed the commander. ‘Nothing.’

Thorne looked down at the spot where the corpse had once been. All there was now was a light-yellow spot engraved into the sandstone. It looked like a puddle or a shadow that had manifested itself into reality. ‘So that’s all.’ Thorne’s books knitted together as he spread his senses outward. ‘Is he actually dead?’

No yellow energy remained anywhere! It was as if the man had learned how to shroud himself, or he had died. Knowing that these people were primitive in their energy control, Thorne could only come to one conclusion. A horrible scowl crossed his face; ‘A suicide technique, and one that nearly no one could survive.’

Thorne, his face shadowed in a somber mask, began to trot away back to camp. ‘I need to tell the others this before it's too late.'

Congratulations, the skill—The Red Nova Torrent—has leveled up! Current level: 4/10