His fists, still glowing with furious lightning, clenched tighter as he floated mid-air, facing down the corrupted Yuan Zhen, who sneered with arrogance and abyssal power.
Volten’s mind raced, his heart burning with a deep, long-buried resentment. The gods had been permissive of this whole situation.
WHY?
Bavdall, the supposed protector of the light, had allowed one of his most devout followers to fall into the clutches of the Abyss.
HOW?
Volten had begun his life like the rest of Nexaria, dedicated his life to the gods’ will, fighting in their name as weapons against the abyss, upholding their order of this, their world—and yet, WHERE were they now?
The gods had turned their backs on the fool in front of him, his sect, and allowed this disaster to fall on the entire Southern Continent’s day elemental wielders and his Lightning Sect. All of it—this betrayal, this abandonment—stoked the fire of anger and need for defiance that burned deep within Volten’s core.
Lightning crackled around him, the air itself seeming to vibrate with his fury as his eyes narrowed on Yuan Zhen.
"You speak as if it’s already written that you’ll succeed here today!" Volten shouted, his voice booming like thunder across the heavens. "But, since those idiots above are lacking in attention, then I shall do what they are unable to!"
Yuan’s sneer widened, his claws dripping with abyssal sunfire. "So you’re finally realizing it, Volten? The gods are nothing but parasites. They sit in their heavenly thrones and domains, feeding on our devotion, but do nothing when we need them most. They allowed this to happen. We are their pawns!"
Volten’s expression darkened, his body trembling with the weight of his decision.
The realization of his own power, his own potential, to do what was needed for the next step. He didn’t need the gods. He never had. None of the Nexarians did, and they relied too much on their gift their whole lives. His strength had always been his own, cultivated through centuries of battle and perseverance.
It had been a long time coming, but no longer would he be a mere tool of the gods, waiting for their favor, assistance or their intervention. He would forge his own path.
He would take his place as something more than just a man—a defiant, a leader. He would become a force of nature itself. A god of lightning that was better than Famthar. His aspirations higher than the heavens!
With a deep, guttural growl, Volten closed his eyes, reaching deep within himself, seeking out the core of his cultivation.
His inner heart world pulsed with energy as his connection to his elemental companion, the massive lightning serpent that had fought beside him for so long, resonated with his thoughts.The bond between them would shock Lassim as not only had the connection become so massive and thick, the distance between the beginning and ends of the tether was nearly nonexistence.
They were nearly the same entity.
The barrier that had held him back from advancing, from becoming a Spirit Prince, had always been there, just beyond his reach for the last 3,000 years.
He had fought and trained for so long, but something had always blocked his path—his loyalty to the gods, his reliance on their power.
But now, with the will to sever that connection, with the realization that he could stand alone, the barrier began to crack.
A surge of energy welled up inside him, and Volten let out a roar as his cultivation exploded outward, his power rising to unprecedented heights.
The storm clouds above the Southern Continent darkened, swirling faster and faster as they absorbed his energy. Lightning crackled across the sky, not the familiar violet or blue-white bolts, but something brand new—something raw and primal.
The lightning turned a neon orange, a fierce, angry hue that burned brighter than the sun itself. It was the color of his defiance. The color of his rebellion.
Volten’s eyes snapped open, now glowing with the same orangish light, and a sense of clarity washed over him. The path forward was no longer clouded.
He had broken free from the chains of the gods. His lightning was his own now, transformed by his will and his destiny of defiance. He had become something new.
The world itself seemed to hold its breath for a moment, as if sensing the monumental change that had just occurred.
Across Nexaria, every Lightning Sect cultivator, no matter where they were, felt the shift. It was as if the heavens themselves had opened, and a new force had been born.
They looked up at the sky, their hearts pounding as every lightning cultivator instantly felt far away in the distance the storm that intensified, the orange lightning crackling through the clouds like veins of molten power that stretched across the skies of all of Nexaria for a brief moment.
Babies cried, onlookers fled to their homes in terror, and bards began composing tales and hypothesizing what just happened in the skies.
Yet, for a select few old and ancient beasts and spirit warriors around the planet, they understood a new Spirit Prince just came into his own.
Volten’s transformation wasn’t just a personal breakthrough—it was a shift in the very nature of the lightning element itself. A new path had just opened and was now available to future spirit warriors to cultivate this type of lightning should Volten allow it.
"I will take my own path," Volten growled, his voice low and filled with newfound power. "And I will destroy you with it!"
With that declaration, Volten’s body began to change.
His lightning serpent, his elemental companion, coiled around him, merging with his very essence as the bond between their souls vanished and they became one.
Scales of pure lightning began to form across his skin, covering his body like armor. His eyes, the new shocking orange, became reptilian slits in addition to glowing with his new lightning. His two canine teeth elongated with mana that protruded out of his mouth, becoming sharp lightning fangs, and his hands crackled with power, his fingernails becoming lightning-charged claws.
He was no longer just Volten. He was something more—an embodiment of his lightning companion and his body combined, something Lassim would recognize instantly.
A feat only capable by those that have reached the rank of Spirit Prince.
Yuan Zhen’s eyes widened in shock, his abyssal grin faltering for the first time since the battle had begun. "Impossible…" he whispered, his voice tinged with disbelief. "You… You’ve advanced? In the middle of battle? Why wouldn’t you just accept your defeat at the hands of the abyss!?"
Volten’s lips curled into a smirk, his voice filled with the confidence of one who had just discovered the full extent of his power. "I don’t need your abyssal gods either. I never did, you fool."
With a burst of speed, Volten charged forward, his body a blur of orange lightning as he struck Yuan with a devastating blow.
His fists, now imbued with the power of his new lightning, tore through Yuan’s defenses like paper, sending the corrupted sect master hurtling backward.
Yuan barely managed to regain his footing, his claws igniting with abyssal sunfire as he counterattacked.
But Volten was now faster, stronger, and his strikes carried the weight of defiance itself. Each blow sent shockwaves through the sky, the clouds above roiling with the intensity of their battle.
Yuan, desperate and enraged, unleashed a torrent of abyssal energy, but it wasn’t enough. Volten’s new lightning burned through it, ripping apart the corrupted sunfire as if it were nothing.
"You’re finished, Yuan!" Volten roared, his voice shaking the heavens. "Your abyssal power won’t save you!"
Yuan Zhen’s eyes flickered with fear as Volten pressed the attack, his body glowing with the orangish light of his new lightning. The strikes were relentless, and Yuan could feel his power waning.
But Yuan wasn’t finished yet.
With a guttural scream, he unleashed a forbidden abyssal technique that was engrained in his body the day he became a cult member, his body began swelling from the central mark on his chest with stolen power as he began to absorb the abyss-tainted energy of all of the transformed Sun Sect disciples from down below.
Across the battlefield, the sunfire demons that had once been loyal followers of Yuan screamed in agony as their bodies withered and crumbled into particles of light and goo, their energy siphoned away by their master.
Yuan’s form grew larger, more monstrous, as he absorbed their strength. His sunfire aura flared to life, now corrupted beyond recognition, and his eyes glowed with an even more dangerous intensity.
"You’ll never defeat me, Volten!" Yuan snarled, his voice twisted and warped by the abyssal power. "I will consume everything, and the Abyss will reign supreme!"
Volten’s eyes narrowed as he watched the transformation. Yuan’s power had grown, but it was unstable, a desperate attempt to match Volten’s newfound strength.
"You’re a fool," Volten said, his voice cold and steady. "You sacrificed your own people for a fleeting moment of power. But it won’t be enough."
With a single step, Volten surged forward, his body moving with a speed and grace that defied logic.
Lightning crackled beneath his feet with each step, striking down the remaining abyssal demons that had been pouring through the portals below. Each bolt of orange lightning was precise, lethal, and infused with the power of the world itself.
The demons down below were unable to withstand the sheer force of Volten’s power as they were struck down one by one as if by homing becomes. Volten’s new senses gave him terrifying accuracy and perception of everything around him for hundreds of kilometers.
As Volten advanced, his lightning snaked out from the soles of his boots, crackling through the air and striking at the remaining portals, sending violent bolts of energy tearing through the abyssal threads holding them open.
One of those bolts arced downward, striking the Lieutenant Abyssal Demon that had just lifted its claw to finish Lassim.
~~~
From Lassim’s perspective, everything seemed to slow as the Lieutenant loomed over him, its massive claw raised for the killing blow.
His body ached, and his mind raced as he desperately tried to summon the strength to teleport again, but the space around him was too unstable. The demon’s power had warped the very fabric of reality, leaving him vulnerable.
Just as the demon’s claw began to descend, a blinding bolt of orange lightning shot down from the sky, striking the demon with terrifying precision. The creature’s body convulsed as the lightning tore through it, its black armor shattering under the sheer force of the attack.
The demon let out a deafening roar, its body disintegrating into nothing more than particles of ash and abyssal goo as the lightning consumed it.
Lassim gasped, his heart racing as he scrambled to his feet, looking up at the sky.
Above him, Volten hovered in the air, his body crackling with the orangish glow of his new lightning. His form was transformed—scaled and reptilian, yet still undeniably human. He was a towering figure of power, a living embodiment of this new lightning that gave him an odd sensation as if it wanted to break through the heavens themselves.
For a moment, Lassim’s breath caught in his throat. He had always known that Volten was powerful since their first interaction wrested control of his own lightning away from him, but this… this was something beyond his comprehension. It was like he’d become almost a god in power, at least, that’s what Volten’s new presence suggested.
This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.
Though, it was still not at that level, but the beginnings of that same holy power he’d witnessed in the other gods seemed to be planted within Volten.
Volten’s eyes, now glowing with reptilian intensity, met Lassim’s for the briefest of moments as Volten charged forward to strike Yuan once again, and in that instant, Lassim felt a surge of hope. The battle was far from over, but with Volten’s newfound power, there was a chance—a real chance—that they could win.
Lassim’s heart pounded in his chest as he turned his attention back to the remaining portals. There were still five left, and the demons were still pouring through. Every step of Volten vaporized the majority of them, but he still had to close them.
However, with Volten’s lightning clearing the way, he had a chance to finish the job quickly.
With renewed determination, Lassim gripped his halberd and raced toward the portal that was now undefended in front of him.
The battle wasn’t over yet. But now, they had a better chance.