Chapter 128
Ivan's POV
Pain had lost all meaning.
In this trial space constructed of pure lightning, my body was torn apart and reassembled again and again. Every bone was wrapped in thunder, every drop of blood coursed with electric current, and even my once-fragile heart had transformed into a pulsing storm core.
"Hold on just a little longer!" Zeus's voice echoed in my mind. "The trial is almost complete."
Just then, the entire trial space suddenly shook violently.
Through the walls formed of lightning, I sensed changes in the outside world—Flashbolt's agonized screech, Chloe's desperate cry, and that overwhelming, searing elemental fire force filled with destructive intent.
"Chloe!" I roared, trying to break through the trial space's constraints.
Through the mate bond, Zeus felt that immense pain—Chloe had burned her own soul, her life flame flickering on the edge of extinction.
"No!" I hammered frantically at the lightning walls. "I have to get out! She needs me!"
As if answering my call, a massive crack suddenly split open in the center of the trial space.
Silver-blue lightning danced along the crack's edges, gradually coalescing into a magnificent gate—the gate to the real world, the Thunder Gate.
"Are you ready?" Zeus asked.
We had no choice but to move forward.
I took a deep breath, feeling the surging lightning power within me, then charged toward that gate without hesitation. Thunder roared around me, as if both seeing me off and blessing me.
Then came a blinding white light.
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Chloe's POV
A pillar of thunder descended from the sky, tearing through the clouds above the canyon.
That silver-blue radiance was so dazzling I had to shield my eyes with my hand. But even so, I could still feel that pure energy surging from the pillar's center.
"Ivan..." My voice trembled with weakness, but hope ignited in my eyes.
The light pillar gradually dissipated, and a figure emerged from within.
It was Ivan, yet not entirely the Ivan I knew.
His body appeared semi-transparent, with electric currents visibly surging beneath his skin like countless silver-blue serpents flowing through his veins. His eyes had completely transformed into the color of lightning, their depths flickering with heart-stopping radiance.
His hair moved without wind, each strand seemingly pulled by invisible force, dancing in the air.
The elemental spirit broke free from the fire dragon's restraints, transforming into a beam of light that merged into Ivan's body.
I could sense they were no longer two separate entities—Ivan had become the guardian of the lightning element, while Flashbolt had become the source of his power.
"Impossible..." Alpha Tyler collapsed to the ground, his eyes filled with disbelief. "A rogue wolf... how could he possess such formidable power..."
But the most shocked was the legendary Crimson Flame Warlord.
Xavier's eyes widened, genuine surprise appearing in his golden pupils for the first time.
"Such an insignificant pack," he murmured, "and yet someone has gained recognition from an elemental spirit?"
Ivan didn't answer. He didn't even waste a single word.
The next second, he vanished from his spot.
No, not vanished—teleported. His speed was so fast my eyes couldn't track it, only catching a residual image cutting through the air.
Boom!
Ivan appeared before Xavier, his right fist striking out. The punch carried millions of volts of current, instantly ionizing the air with an ear-splitting explosion.
Xavier hastily raised both arms to block, a flame shield instantly forming before him. But that shield capable of withstanding countless attacks was like paper under Ivan's fist, pierced through with a single strike.
Bang!
The fist landed solidly on Xavier's chest, terrifying current flooding into his body. The warlord's figure shot backward like a cannonball, plowing a trench over ten meters long in the ground.
The entire canyon fell into deathly silence.
Everyone present was shocked by this scene. Alpha Tyler's face turned pale as paper as he looked at Ivan, his eyes no longer showing contempt and arrogance, but pure fear.
That rogue wolf he had once used as bait, treated as a tool, now possessed power beyond even an Alpha's reach.
Xavier rose from the ground, dusting himself off. A trace of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but his face showed an excited smile.
"Interesting. It's been a long time since anyone could injure me."
Flames erupted across his body, rapidly condensing into an ornate suit of armor. It was armor formed purely of fire element, each plate dancing with crimson flames, a burning core embedded in the chest like a miniature sun.
Around Ivan's body, silver-blue lightning also began to coalesce. Current traveled across his skin's surface, gradually forming the prototype of lightning armor.
Both moved simultaneously.
Boom!
Fire and lightning collided in mid-air, erupting in blinding white light. Ivan's speed was swift as lightning, each attack precise and lethal, his form leaving afterimages throughout the canyon. Xavier's flames covered an extensive range, each wave of his hand raising a sea of fire, engulfing vast areas in scorching heat.
The canyon shook as the two elemental forces collided. Rocks melted into lava under the high temperature, trees instantly carbonized to ash.
I gripped the rocks beside me tightly, afraid of being swept away by the aftershocks.
Ivan's movements were initially somewhat unfamiliar—he was clearly still adapting to this newly acquired power. Lightning sometimes went out of control, sometimes veered off target. But as the battle progressed, his movements became increasingly fluid and natural.
Lightning was no longer a tool he wielded, but an extension of his body.
He began to precisely control each current's direction, able to instantly change lightning's form. From initial clumsiness to current mastery, the entire process took only minutes.
"Excellent!" Xavier laughed. "Come again!"
Smoke exploded across the battlefield.
When the smoke cleared, two massive beasts appeared in the canyon.
Xavier had transformed into a giant crimson wolf, his size suffocatingly immense. His fur resembled burning flames, each step leaving scorched footprints on the ground.
And Ivan—Zeus—was a black wolf covered in silver-blue arcs. Though his size was slightly smaller than Xavier's, his oppressive presence was no less formidable.
His eyes were like two burning lightning spheres, each breath expelling electric sparks from his mouth and nose.
"Fire God's Horn!" Xavier's wolf roared.
He opened his massive jaws, brilliant light surging from deep in his throat. A thick pillar of fire erupted from his mouth, the air itself burning to nothing in its path. That heat wave rushed forward—even from hundreds of meters away, I felt my skin burning.
Facing such a formidable enemy, Ivan didn't dare hold back in the slightest.
Zeus raised his head, silver-blue lightning dancing wildly around him, gathering more and more densely. The entire sky was shrouded in dark clouds, countless lightning bolts weaving through the cloud layers.
"Thunder God Descends—" Zeus's roar carried sacred majesty. "Judgment!"
Rumble—!
A massive silver-blue lightning pillar descended from the sky, pouring directly into Zeus's body. His form was instantly enveloped in lightning, as if he'd become the Thunder God himself. Then he opened his jaws, condensing all the lightning power into a devastating beam that met Xavier's Fire God's Horn head-on.
Fire and lightning met in mid-air.
Time seemed to freeze in that moment.
Then—
BOOM!!!
The explosion raised a mushroom cloud, shockwaves spreading outward like a tsunami. I felt my body lifted by tremendous force, flying backward uncontrollably. Tyler, Connor, all the guards and beast tamers were thrown by the shockwave, tumbling through the air like kites with cut strings.
Only deafening roars filled my ears, my vision a complete white blur.
After an unknown time, the dust finally settled.
A massive crater appeared at the canyon's center, at least a hundred meters in diameter. The crater's edges still smoked, the ground crisscrossed with scorched burns and residual silver-blue arcs.
Xavier had returned to human form, kneeling on one knee. His waist bore a charred wound burned by lightning, skin peeling back, flesh exposed.
The wound still retained lightning's power, crackling and preventing it from healing.
And Ivan—he too had returned to human form, falling from mid-air and hitting the ground hard. He knelt there, his chest similarly burned by flames, skin blackened, breathing labored.
The two locked eyes.
Xavier's gaze held shock, surprise, and a trace of... recognition.
Ivan gasped for breath, but his eyes remained resolute.
"I gained elemental power," he began slowly, his voice weak but crystal clear, "not for conquest, not for destruction—but for protection."
He struggled to his feet, silver-blue arcs flickering across his body.
"Flashbolt once guarded Thunder Canyon, protected every life here. It taught me that true power isn't for oppressing the weak, but for protecting the innocent."
Ivan's gaze locked sharply on Xavier.
"War only brings wounds to this world! Those packs you conquered, those wolves displaced by war, those children who lost parents and families—"
His voice suddenly grew hoarse.
"Do you still remember their eyes?!"
Xavier's body trembled slightly.
Those golden eyes showed wavering for the first time. He lowered his head, looking at the blood on his hands, falling into silence.
"I..." he murmured. "I've conquered too many packs, killed too many enemies... those eyes..."
"I am one of the children from a pack you once conquered." Ivan spoke each word deliberately, each one like a hammer striking Xavier's heart. "But I will never let you destroy my second home."
With that, thunder began gathering in Ivan's hands.
Silver-blue currents twisted, interwove, and condensed, ultimately forming the shape of a spear. The shaft was constructed of pure lightning, its tip flickering with destructive radiance.
Ivan gripped the spear tightly, assuming a battle stance.
It was a stance of absolute resolve.
Even gravely injured, even facing the legendary Crimson Flame Warlord, he showed not the slightest retreat.
Xavier froze.
He looked at Ivan, at that lightning spear, at those unwavering eyes.
Then he shook his head.
"Enough." Xavier slowly rose, flames dancing across his body, beginning to heal the wound at his waist. "I'm weary of war."
His voice became low and tired.
"I didn't come here to invade, but to prevent the elemental spirit from falling into evil hands and causing greater calamity."
Xavier looked at Ivan, the battle intent fading from his eyes, replaced by complex emotion.
"But I recognize you now," he said slowly. "That guardian heart of yours—you are worthy of wielding elemental power."
Ivan stood stunned.
The lightning spear in his hands began to tremble, finally dissipating into electric light in the air.
Xavier turned, preparing to leave.
"Remember," he said without looking back, "the truly strong aren't those who conquer the world, but those who protect it. You've understood this truth—I hope you never forget it."