Chapter 1044 - 1043: Eyes Open

"Little kitty?"

Sonya’s voice was uncertain, the familiar name barely louder than a whisper.

She stared at the face before her.

Her gaze moved down to the black wraps covering his arms, then the robe gathered around his knees. When he shifted, her eyes followed him.

Simon was right there.

She knew his footsteps, his breathing, and the movements of his body through the earth. But none of those things had prepared her for this.

For his face.

She lifted a hand to touch his face, then stopped to examine her own fingers.

They were longer than she was used to.

And she could see them.

Sonya turned her head.

Akaza stood beyond the barrier with Virella and Ammor. Their familiar presences helped her match the faces to the people she knew.

Virella was staring at her with one hand pressed against her mouth. Ammor leaned forward beside her, while Enigma watched with raised brows.

Farther above, twelve figures occupied the terrace.

Several were looking at her with interest and surprise.

She looked at the pillars, the shattered floor, the blood beneath her knees.

There was so much.

Everywhere she turned, something else drew her attention. Light moved across the stone. Shadows shifted beneath broken slabs. She could even follow the dust drifting before her face.

Was she dreaming?

The darkness she had known all her life was gone.

She blinked, almost afraid that closing her eyes would take everything away.

The courtyard remained.

RUMBLE!

Sonya looked up.

Crimson light spread through the clouds in branching lines. Her breath caught as another flash illuminated everything around her.

"So that’s what lightning looks like."

Simon followed her gaze.

"I know you’re seeing for the first time, but you need to get ready. The tribulation is about to begin."

She barely heard him.

She had expected the pain. She had hoped for a stronger bloodline.

But she had never imagined she would open her eyes and find the world waiting for her.

Simon checked the flow of energy through her heart. It continued steadily as he reduced his own supply, and the remaining imprint faded beneath his palms.

He withdrew his hands.

Sonya watched him stand, still unable to believe what she was seeing.

"You’ll have time to look around afterward," he said.

Then he turned and walked toward the enclosure.

"Don’t die here, Sonya."

Her gaze followed his back.

A few seconds later, the sky split open.

CRACK!

Sonya flinched.

Her hand rose, and a thick slab of stone snapped upward above her.

The lightning struck it.

BOOM!

The slab burst apart. Crimson branches tore through the fragments and struck her shoulder, throwing her across the broken platform.

She hit the ground hard.

For an instant, all she could see was dust.

Pain burned down her arm.

Sonya pushed herself upright, staring at the scorched patch on her shoulder. Beneath the blood, her skin remained dark bronze.

She was hurt.

But that strike should have hurt much more.

Another rumble came from above.

She tried to stand and nearly stumbled.

Her legs were longer. The ground seemed farther away than it should have been, and the movement that would once have brought her neatly to her feet sent her leaning forward.

Sonya caught herself against a slab.

Her fingers sank into it.

She looked down.

The stone crumbled in her grip.

For a moment, she forgot the pain in her shoulder.

Then the clouds flashed again.

"...This is a terrible time to get used to things."

She planted both feet.

The familiar sensation of the ground spread through her, carrying the positions of every crack and loose fragment.

Her breathing steadied as she told herself that despite her new height, she knew how to fight.

Sonya lifted her head.

Three streaks of crimson lightning fell together.

She swept her arm upward.

Stone rose in overlapping layers, each one thicker than the last. The first bolt tore through two before bursting against the third. Another struck from the side, scattering fragments toward the barrier.

The last broke through above her.

Sonya bent her knees and punched.

BOOM!

Demonic energy surged around her fist. Crimson lightning burst across her knuckles and raced down her forearm.

She grunted.

Her feet sank into the floor, but her arm remained raised.

The bolt broke into thin, twisting strands before fading.

Sonya slowly lowered her fist.

Blood ran over two knuckles.

She flexed her fingers.

They still moved.

"Good."

Beyond the barrier, Ammor stared at her arm.

Simon stood beside Enigma with a Hell Stone in his hand. He watched Sonya inspect her fist, then saw her expression change.

She smiled.

The clouds churned.

This time, the lightning came in rapid succession.

Sonya moved before it fell.

A sweep of her foot dragged the broken slabs into the air. She closed her hand, crushing them together until the spaces between them vanished.

A dense stone column rose to meet the first strike.

Its upper half exploded.

Sonya pulled the remaining section sideways, intercepting the next bolt before driving it upward into another.

The impacts shook her shoulders.

Splinters cut across her cheek. A strand of lightning escaped the collision and burned along her ribs, forcing a sharp breath from her.

She kept moving.

Her reach was different. Her punches now moved farther than she intended, and once she had to stamp down to recover her balance.

But each correction came more quickly.

The earth rose whenever she needed footing. Where a slab shattered, its fragments gathered again beneath her next gesture.

She had controlled the ground like this before.

But never so much of it.

And never with so little resistance.

A bolt struck the pillar she had raised, burning through it toward her.

Sonya caught the broken base with both hands.

The stone was wider than her body.

She wrenched it free and swung.

BANG!

The remaining lightning shattered against it. The force tore the column from her hands, sending it crashing into the ground several paces away.

Sonya shook her stinging fingers.

"Better."

Above her, the clouds drew inward.

The brief pause let her hear her own breathing. Blood trickled from her cheek, and her right arm trembled when she tried to straighten it.

She glanced toward Simon.

He was watching her.

She could see that now.

The thought made her smile turn to a grin.

Then the pressure overhead grew heavier.

Sonya turned back.

A broad crimson bolt descended through the centre of the clouds.

She thrust both palms upward.

The platform broke around her.

The ground and stones surged into a curved wall, rising across the path of the lightning. She compressed it until its surface grew smooth and dark, then forced a second layer beneath the first.

The bolt struck.

The upper layer vanished in a burst of red.

The second bent inward.

Sonya’s arms shook.

Cracks spread across the stone above her head. Crimson light shone through them, and the pressure drove her knees toward the ground.

She clenched her teeth.

The golden markings along her throat brightened.

Her legs straightened.

With a hoarse shout, she pushed upward.

The wall rose against the lightning, dragging more stone into itself even as its upper surface burned away.

For several breaths, she held it there.

Then the bolt exhausted itself.

The remains of the wall fell around her in blackened chunks.

Sonya staggered and caught her balance.

Her shoulders heaved.

On the terrace, Black Mountain had risen from his seat.

His gaze remained fixed on her.

The clouds had not dispersed.

Every remaining streak of crimson light was gathering above the ruined platform.

Sonya watched them converge.

She wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand, then spread her feet.

The stone around her began to move.

Fragments rolled toward her. Larger slabs dragged across the ground, grinding against one another before breaking into smaller pieces.

She drew them around her right arm.

Layer upon layer compressed over her fist and forearm, forming a massive stone fist. The ground sank beneath its weight.

Sonya pulled it back.

The lightning fell.

It filled her vision.

For a heartbeat, the brightness made her want to close her eyes.

She kept them open.

Her left foot struck the ground.

The floor beneath her rose violently, carrying her upward as she drove her fist toward the descending bolt.

BOOOOM!

The first layers shattered.

Sonya felt the impact all the way through her shoulder.

She roared and pushed harder.

Golden markings burned across her bronze skin. More stone rushed up from below, replacing what the lightning tore away.

Her elbow threatened to bend.

She forced it straight.

The crimson column split around her fist.

A branch cut across her shoulder. Another burned down her thigh, but she kept driving upward, pouring demonic energy through the stone.

The last layer broke.

Her bloodied knuckles met the remaining lightning.

For an instant, she disappeared within the flash.

Then the crimson light burst apart.

Sonya dropped onto the shattered platform, landing on one knee.

Her right fist struck the ground beside her.

Dust rolled outward.

She remained there, breathing hard, while the last sparks crawled across her arm and faded.

Above her, the clouds began breaking apart.

The crushing pressure lifted.

Sonya slowly stood.

Her arm hung at her side. Blood ran down her fingers, and burns marked her shoulder and leg.

But she was standing.

She looked up as the firelit sky emerged beyond the thinning clouds.

Then she raised her chin.

"This Honourable has only just opened her eyes."

A tired, defiant smile appeared on her face.

"You’ll need more than that to close them."