Chapter 22

Nerath paced furiously, throwing his hands in the air. "So let me get this straight- you KNEW I was looking for you, and instead of saying something, you let me climb a mountain, get blasted by lightning, and nearly lose my sanity?!"

Oyne- formerly Enyoz, yawned. "Yep..."

He pointed at her. "And WHY, in the name of everything holy, would you do that?!"

She stretched, looking completely unbothered. "Training~"

"…Training?"

"Yep. You needed it..."

Nerath clenched his fists. "NEEDED IT?! I got struck by lightning so many times that my hair evolved!" He gestured wildly at his spiky, upward-swept blue locks. "I look like I should be screaming about the power of friendship-!!"

Oyne smirked. "It suits you..."

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"

He exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples. "Okay. Fine. Whatever. I found you. Now tell me where the Veiled Oracle is so I can go save my friend"

Oyne tilted her head. "Nah..."

"…Nah?"

"Yup. You're not strong enough yet~"

Nerath stared at her. Then, slowly, he inhaled through his nose. "I HAVE BEEN GETTING ELECTROCUTED NONSTOP. HOW AM I NOT STRONG ENOUGH?!"

She shrugged. "That was just the warm-up"

Nerath took a step back. "What?"

She stood up, dusting off her dress. "Now for the real training..."

"…Real training?"

"I'll be your teacher~"

Nerath froze. Then, his entire body recoiled like she had just suggested he bathe in acid. "NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT-!!"

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Without wasting another second, he turned around and sprinted down the mountain.

"Later, Oyne! Good talk! I'll just find another way to the Oracle-"

KRA-KOOM!

Lightning obliterated the ground right in front of him.

Nerath skidded to a stop and swallowed. Slowly, he turned to glare at Oyne.

"Did you just-"

"I didn't do anything," she said casually, sitting back down. "The mountain just really likes you~"

As if to prove her point, another bolt of lightning zapped the ground near his feet. He jumped back.

"…Oh, COME ON...!!!"

He tried another direction.

ZAP!

And another.

BOOM!

And another.

CRACK!

No matter where he ran, the mountain refused to let him leave

After the 100th failed attempt, he stood there, breathing heavily, fists clenched. Then he tilted his head back and screamed, "WHY WON'T YOU LET ME GOOOOO?!"

The storm rumbled in response, like a laughing god enjoying his suffering.

Oyne clapped her hands together. "Guess you're stuck. Let's train!"

Nerath collapsed to his knees.

"…I hate everything."

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Oyne stretched lazily. "Alright, lesson one. You suck."

Nerath's eye twitched. "Excuse me?"

She yawned. "Your lightning is weak. It has no will, no intent, no power. Right now, you're just a walking thunder rod"

"…Pretty sure I've noticed..."

She cracked her knuckles. "That's why we're gonna fix it~"

And that's when hell began.

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Nerath stood at the edge of a cliff, staring at a narrow path filled with jagged rocks and sparking thunderstones.

"Run across," Oyne said.

Nerath blinked. "Run across? That's it?"

"Yep"

"…Okay, not so bad-"

"While the mountain tries to kill you"

Before he could react, the sky LIT UP.

BOOM! CRACK!

The entire path was suddenly bombarded with non-stop lightning strikes.

Nerath's mouth hung open. "You're insane..."

"Go."

He didn't have time to argue- because the moment he hesitated, the ground behind him collapsed.

With a scream, he dashed forward, dodging between explosions of electricity. Lightning zapped his feet, scorched his clothes, and electrocuted his soul.

By the time he barely reached the other side, he was smoking. His hair spiked up even more.

Oyne gave a thumbs up. "Nice. Next."

Nerath groaned. "I hate this..."

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Nerath stood inside a circle of thunder beasts- massive, electric wolves crackling with energy.

"What's the point of this?" he asked.

"You have to dodge their attacks while using your own lightning to counter their shockwaves," Oyne explained.

"…That sounds impossible..."

"Good luck."

The wolves attacked instantly.

ZAP! ZZZT! BOOM!

Nerath screamed as he barely dodged, rolling across the ground. Every time he tried to fight back, he got blasted in the face.

At one point, he just lay there, staring at the sky.

Oyne sipped some tea. "You dead?"

"…I wish..."

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Nerath stood across from Oyne.

"Final training," she said. "You fight me."

He laughed. "Oh, great. Maybe I have a chance at-"

Before he finished, she disappeared.

BOOM!

Nerath's entire body was sent flying across the mountain.

He slammed into a boulder, groaning. "I am going to DIE...!!!"

Oyne cracked her knuckles. "Nah. You'll just wish you did"

And thus, for the next several hours, Nerath suffered.

At one point, he tried begging for mercy.

Oyne shrugged. "Nah."

At another point, he tried running away.

The mountain said, "NOPE-!"

By the time he finally collapsed from exhaustion, he didn't even have the energy to complain. He just lay there, twitching.

Oyne looked down at him, sipping her tea. "Good job. Training starts again tomorrow at 5 in the morning"

Nerath stared at the sky, dead inside.

"Laziel when I find you... You are dead..."

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"Hm? Is someone talking about me-?"

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_To Be Continue_