The Void Wolf

Ira appeared above ground where a monstrous storm raged. It was so bad that he was struck by lightning three times in a row within five seconds of arriving. Of course, he simply shrugged it off and held onto the vat.

The rain that touched the boiling hot surface of the metal evaporated causing a loud hiss to spread through the air but it showed no sign of cooling down. Suddenly, lightning came crashing down onto the metal container and it burst open with surprising force. Ira went flying backward as lightning ripped through the air and grabbed him like dozens of arms.

Ira rolled on the ground before recovering his footing. He examined his charred clothes before speaking. “I think that’s enough.”

He lightly stomped his foot and altered the space within one thousand feet of himself. The rain stopped and the lightning strikes all dissipated. In the center of the explosion was a woman whose body was made out of electricity. It was safe enough to say it was Rhys as she reached toward Ira with clear panic on her face.

“...” Rhys called out his name but there was no way of sound coming out in her current form. Instead, a loud crackling replaced any words.

“Easy.” Ira walked toward her slowly while trying to calm her down. “You’re getting too overworked.”

Rhys moved to meet him halfway but her body surged forward as her entire form was condensed into lightning. She crashed into him but Ira stayed on his feet.

Due to Ira’s extreme methods, he had forced Rhys’ body to change. The magic within the Sea Serpent’s heart enhanced her lightning attunement. It reworked her body and she was almost in danger of becoming a completely spiritual being. If that happened she would find it impossible to maintain a physical form. The Behemoth’s blood helped keep her somewhat corporeal as it reinforced her body and stopped it from being eroded. If Ira were to have given Rhys the Sea Serpent’s heart without the Behemoth’s blood things would’ve turned out far worse than before.

“Just breathe...Well, you can’t exactly do that without lungs but take it slow.” As Ira finished speaking, Rhys slowly returned to normal.

Well, as normal as one could possibly when they had suddenly become something more than human. Rhys’ pupils carried a dim white light and her skin had a faint shimmer to it. Her scars were flickering before they slightly faded and became less like scars and more like glowing veins. Then there were the effects of the Behemoth’s blood that reinforced her muscle structure making her far sturdier than before.

“Here,” Ira said as he produced a black cloak and wrapped around her body.

Rhys squinted her eyes and tried to adjust. Her white pupils altered her vision allowing her to see small sparks in the air and it wasn’t just a few. There had to be millions if not more currents fading in and out.

Rhys’ fear and curiosity caused her to reach toward one and as soon as she actively tried to make contact, the sparks moved toward each other and a huge bolt of lightning was fired from her finger.

“What did I just say?” Ira cupped a hand over his ear as the sound of thunder reverberated in his ears.

Rhys trembled briefly before making an apologetic expression. Worry and fear were present in her eyes but Ira ignored it as he thought it was unfounded.

“You’ll have to spend some time adjusting to it, that’s all.” Ira shrugged. “Now, we should get back since Zephyr may have woken up from all that noise.”

Rhys shook her head, in her mind, it was still too dangerous for her to see Zephyr in her current state.

“You think lightning can hurt him?” Ira asked before laughing lightly.

Rhys remained stubborn and seemed to refuse completely.

“So, what you’re going to stay out here?” Ira asked. “You think I don’t know how it feels when you think the smallest touch can hurt your own child? Of course, I quickly learned that it wouldn’t happen.”

Rhys took some time to gather herself and then nodded.

“Good.” Ira smiled before they vanished from sight.

…

About an hour later, a now clothed and calm Rhys stood over Zephyr’s crib.

Zephyr looked at his mother’s appearance and found it bizarre. His tiny eyebrows were furrowed as he tried to understand how she suddenly changed. He reached his hand toward her and she took a step back reflexively which only served to deepen his wrinkled brow.

“You’ll upset him like that,” Ira said from the side.

Rhys took a breath and then slowly reached her finger toward Zephyr’s hand. As soon as their skin made contact sparks appeared but neither one of them felt a shock. Zephyr began laughing and moved his hand again which produced a similar phenomenon.

After finding out that her fear was truly unfounded, Rhys finally let go of her tension and relaxed.

“See,” Ira said with an assured look.

It seemed he was right all along but he wouldn’t admit that he was also worried and was prepared to interfere if anything went wrong.

…

The next day came quickly and so did Ira’s preparation for helping Rhys. His status as the Keeper allowed him to gather up something suitable for Rhys. A leather suit made from Behemoth’s hide was made for her. It didn’t take long since the Dark Elves were constantly crafting armor pieces from the monster’s remains.

Ira was currently helping her get used to her new strength. Since there was a region of empty desert above the valley entrance of the Underground City, Ira thought it would be better to train there.

Rhys rushed forward leaving streaks of electricity in her wake. She closed in on Ira and threw a punch. He grabbed her arm and tossed her over his shoulder before leaping after her. If it was pure speed, Rhys was faster. At least, when Ira didn’t use his full array of spatial abilities. If he used only his strength and his wind attunement he wouldn’t be able to catch Rhys. That didn’t mean that he wouldn’t be able to stop her attacks. Rhys fell to the ground with a loud crash but she received little to no injury except for a few scrapes.

The Behemoth’s blood made her body stronger so she could deal with such attacks more effectively. Rhys sought to go faster and flashes of electricity wrapped around her entire body. She lowered her posture and then exploded with pure speed, zooming toward Ira before even the smallest increment of time could pass. Rhys drove her fist into his abdomen and the rumbling of thunder resounded with her strike. Dust flew into the air and when it cleared, Ira was pushed a few feet back. There was a hole burnt into his shirt as well a small charred circle where Rhys’ fist landed. The small wound healed almost immediately but it was still impressive.

“Good one,” Ira nodded with approval. “If you can move like that then don’t you think I should make it a bit more difficult?”

Rhys nodded and pushed herself further until she almost changed into her lightning form. The static in the air caused her hair to rise and the clouds began forming above her.

“Get ready,” Ira said cheerfully as he cracked his neck. He took a deep breath and then moved.

Ira leaped into the air with a burst of wind as well as gravity pushing him upward. He then dove to Rhys like a comet and she quickly evaded. Ira’s knee landed on the ground and a crater appeared instantly. Without losing momentum, he pushed off the ground and rushed after Rhys. He moved faster than sound which was still enough slow enough for Rhys to avoid. He chased after her who constantly zipped away from him while trying to think.

Suddenly, Rhys swiped her hand and a few dozen lightning bolts surged through the air. Ira who was currently in the middle of moving forward ran into them. They hit him dead on but he didn’t even flinch as he continued to pursue Rhys.

Rhys lowered her body and charged forward while rapidly shifting her position so he couldn’t predict where she would strike from. As she moved closer she kicked toward Ira’s head but he caught her foot.

“I could break your leg right now,” Ira commented before spinning around with Rhys in hand and throwing her.

The strength of the throw wouldn’t kill her but it was enough that Rhys couldn’t tell which direction she was going in. She eventually crashed through a rock and slowed down. While climbing to her feet, Rhys realized that Ira was gradually increasing in speed. She felt sore all over but nothing was broken which surprised. The feeling of being stronger than before nearly made her forget she was in a fight. That was until Ira appeared in her peripheral, moving toward her without pause.

She suddenly felt a surreal sense of danger and her perception of time began to change. Her body was moving faster than she could keep up with. A disembodied feeling manifested within her consciousness and her range of vision encompassed 360 degrees.

When Rhys felt things had returned to normal, she was falling from a dangerous height.

“Woah, I got you.” Ira appeared and grabbed Rhys before he teleported them back to the ground.

“What you just did was crazy,” Ira said, his excitement made it clear that he was entertained.

Rhys made a confused look and Ira realized that she didn’t know what happened.

“You turned into lightning for a split second and evaded me. I have to admit that was the coolest thing I’ve seen in awhile.” Ira recalled the scene in his mind. At first, it seemed like she teleported since he couldn’t track her movement at all, but when he thought about it more she actually condensed her mass into a single lightning bolt and traveled upward.

Rhys thought back to that strange sensation. At that time it was purely reflex that drove her to turn into a bolt of lightning. She looked at her clothes and found that they were still intact mostly because she was wearing the dark grey leather suit of armor made for her especially. Though it should be said, she almost slipped out of it when she turned into a living bolt of lightning.

“Well, that’s enough for today. I need to get back,” Ira said with a yawn. “Are you ready?”

Rhys replied with a simple nod and Ira wasted no time in teleporting them back to the Underground City.