Spirit's Awakening: The Path of Lightning and Water-Chapter 368: Hatchery

Lassim nodded, his gaze shifting to the restless Thunderbirds protecting their clutch warily nearby. Their sharp eyes followed his every movement as he slowly approached a teensy bit closer, feathers flaring with streaks of residual lightning, ready to defend at a moment’s notice. Without hesitation, he reached inward to his inner heart world, summoning Zaphy, who had already understood the situation and had been listening.

Lightning crackled faintly around Lassim as a sudden pulse of fused mana rippled outward, and in a brief flash of light, Zaphyrella emerged. Towering nearly twice the size of the nesting Thunderbirds, her violet and gold-tipped feathers shimmered with a faint electric glow yet void-like glow, her golden crown-like crest catching the flashes of light from the Tempest’s Cradle at their backs.

The smaller, female Thunderbird let out a low warning cry, its wings partially unfurling, but Zaphy’s unusually calm demeanor and steady gaze held their attention. She released a low, melodic chirp, her voice resonating with a distinct authority that seemed to carry an additional weight in the air.

The larger, male Thunderbird hesitated in its aggressive stance, softening slightly as its head tilted in recognition of Zaphy’s presence. The smaller female remained crouched protectively over the clutch, her gaze darting between Zaphy and Lassim with caution.

"Go on," Lassim said softly to Zaphy. "Help them understand we’re just here to help."

"[Got it brother!]" She replied through their mental connection and innate bond.

Zaphy flapped forward, hopping a few times while she kept her posture confident but non-threatening. She lowered her head slightly, emitting a series of complex, rhythmic chirps and crackling tones. The male Thunderbird responded with a hesitant call, its feathers ruffling as it slowly settled.

Varen watched the interaction with an expression of quiet amazement. "I’ve worked with Thunderbirds before," he said, his voice low, "but I’ve never seen one command this kind of respect from a wild pair. Don’t get me wrong, we’ll eventually take their eggs and raise one of them as part of the sect, but is this her usual behavior?"

"Actually, this is the first time we’ve ever tried something like this," Lassim replied, his focus on Zaphy. "But, she’s as equally amazing as me and I consider her and my other companion Mari to be like sisters to me. I’d never doubt for a second that, despite her slightly bird-brained and energetic personality, that she’d not be able to handle something like this. She’s an equal part of my power and ability."

The male Thunderbird let out one final call before folding its wings against its body, its stance relaxing as the tension visibly drained away. The female shifted slightly, revealing the faintly electrically charged eggs beneath her feathers as she regarded Zaphy with a mixture of wariness and trust.

"[Alright. They’re still a bit worried and exhausted from the wyrm and they’d like for us to send it away so they could get some sleep, so I let them know we could do that. It’d actually help if you could give them a bit of food too. The female hasn’t eaten in nearly two weeks since she laid the egg.]" Zaphy sent through their bond.

Lassim then took out the weakest bits of jerky, which was still dried meats with enough divine mana to power multiple Spirit Ascension stage spirit warriors, and tossed it to the pair of thunderbirds.

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They quickly gobbled it up, splitting it evenly and somewhat surged with power at their Spirit Transcendence stage, approximately level 2 beastial mana stages. They then chirped with joy and fully relaxed, positioning themselves to slightly rest against each other and get cozy for a much needed rest.

"It worked," Varen said, a note of relief in his tone. "With them calm and trusting, I can reinforce the array properly without worrying about agitating them further."

Zaphy returned to Lassim’s side, her crown feathers flicking slightly as she emitted a satisfied chirp.

Lassim reached out, running a hand gently over her plumage. "Good work, Zaphy," he said aloud.

As Varen crouched by the array, carefully tracing new lines of runes into the rocky ground, Lassim kept a close watch on their surroundings. His spirit sense extended outward, probing the cliffs and the rolling clouds for any signs of the storm wyrm.

The wyrm wasn’t hard to find. Its presence loomed at the edge of Lassim’s awareness, a faint but deliberate ripple in the storm’s energy. It was circling, biding its time as it observed the nest from a distance.

"It’s nearby," Lassim said, "Southwest, about three hundred meters out. It’s circling in a way that I assume it’s waiting for an opening."

Varen didn’t look up from his work. "Figures. According to the mission summons I got, it’s been doing this for days—always just constantly pestering the pair, waiting for them to tire out and expose a weakness that will allow it to steal an egg. If we didn’t need the chicks, we’d let nature take its course, but… anyways," He glanced briefly at Lassim. "You think it’ll make a move soon?"

"Well, it’s testing the edge of the storm behind us, so if I had to bet…." Lassim summoned and then tightly gripped his halberd, "It’s most likely getting ready since they appear to be falling asleep. It’s also completely ignoring us for some reason."

Then, the storm wyrm and it’s snake-like body struck with little warning. A flash of movement from the storm and rising up the cliffs, a blur of scales charged with lightning, and it was upon them.

The wyrm was a sinuous creature, its elongated body coiling through the air as it surged toward the nest. Its scales shimmered with an iridescent glow, each one crackling faintly with built-up lightning mana charges.

It was considerably smaller than the storm wyrm he’d seen fighting alongside Sect Master Volten, his master, and now could easily see the difference and reasoning behind saying the Sect Master’s was a much more evolved version. Much like his own Zaphy was a considerably more evolved and unique version of the general thunderbirds that the Lightning Sect used for transportation.

Lassim reacted instantly, stepping forward with a [Storm’s Dance] to intercept. His halberd moved casually and quickly, the rune edged blade swinging forward as it slashed through the air.

A single, measured but casual unpowered strike forced the wyrm to recoil, its body twisting away as it hissed in frustration.

"Focus on the array." Lassim called over his shoulder to Varen. "I’ll keep it away from the nest. It’s pretty weak for what I’m capable of handling." He said as he saw it was just a Spirit Transcendence stage 5 beast. Storm wyrms were scavengers, so just the fact this one was bold enough to fight head on meant it must’ve gotten used to being the biggest wyrm in the area and got a little too confident. Today was not going to be it’s day if Lassim had anything to say about it.

The wyrm circled, its glowing eyes narrowing as it assessed Lassim. Its tail lashed out suddenly, the electrified scales creating a burst of static energy as it whipped toward him.

Lassim sidestepped smoothly, deflecting the attack with the shaft of his halberd before stepping forward to close the distance.

The wyrm lunged again, its jaws snapping at Lassim with surprising speed for its size. Yet, it was nothing and he countered with a sharp upward strike, carefully making sure the blade of his halberd glancing off the creature’s reinforced scales instead of impaling it. The force of the blow sent the wyrm recoiling once more, its movements becoming more erratic. He didn’t want to outright kill the beast that was just scavenging, as the experience would make the thunderbirds stronger in the long run if it was still alive and a threat. It was just, the sect had too much of a priority on the success of the eggs hatching for them to allow any threat to them.

Above them, Zaphy had moved to circle, her keen eyes tracking the wyrm’s every movement. She released a sharp cry with the full weight and power of Lassim and her combined fused mana and its divine presence, a warning that echoed across the cliffs and made the other thunderbirds nesting elsewhere on this floating island sharply raise their heads in caution.

Lassim pressed his easy advantage in that moment, driving the wyrm back with a series of precise nudges and blunt strikes with the tip of his halberd. He avoided using techniques like [Storm Slash], knowing the sheer force would disrupt the nesting grounds and potentially harm the Thunderbirds. Instead, he relied on controlled, deliberate attacks, each one calculated to wear the wyrm down and give a blow to its confidence so that it’d back away.

The wyrm grew more desperate, possibly from hunger or possibly some form of outrage against its situation as the top storm wyrm being challenged. its movements became wild as it lunged and twisted in an attempt to bypass Lassim and dive past him. A sudden feint toward the nest drew Lassim’s attention, and for a brief moment, it seemed the creature might slip past him.

Zaphy intervened as if predicting its movements. With a flash of lightning and smooth flap of her wings, she descended rapidly, landing directly in the wyrm’s path. Her feathers crackled with lightning as she released a sharp burst of lightning in the form of a series of rings from a screech, shocking the stormy wyrm with lightning at levels that even overwhelmed it’s natural and innate proficiency with the element, forcing the wyrm to retreat.

The wyrm hissed, coiling and twitching back into a defensive and curled up posture as it regarded Zaphy with newfound wariness. This larger and more powerful thunderbird was one it’d never seen before on the cliffs.

Lassim seized the opportunity, stepping forward with a powerful strike that cut deep into the creature’s side this time. Not a fatal wound, but one that let it know Lassim was serious about its continued attempts and it sticking around for so long.

The wyrm let out a pained screech, its body writhing as it withdrew. It slithered rapidly down toward the cliffs and disappeared into the storm with a final, echoing cry.

Lassim lowered his halberd, his breathing still completely unstrained and even as he watched the wyrm’s retreat. Zaphy chirped softly, her crown feathers flicking with satisfaction as she returned to his side.

Varen straightened from his work, brushing dust from his hands as he approached. "That was impressive," he said. "You made it look easy and kept it alive. I know I’m at peak Spirit Transcendance stage, but I doubt I could’ve done it as effortlessly as you just did. Thanks for making the mission easier."

Lassim shook his head. "Oh, well. I won’t argue about the amount of effort I used. If I went all out, it would have been over faster, but the damage to the area and all of the nests wouldn’t have been worth it. Anything to help you get the mission over with means I can get you to tell me about what I need to know."

Varen nodded in understanding, his gaze shifting to the Thunderbirds. The pair had remained calm throughout the encounter, their trust in Zaphy evident as they stayed close to the nest and mostly ignored her screech and cries earlier. They appeared to not be fully asleep and in their own dreamlands.

"The array’s finished," Varen said. "It should keep the wyrm at bay for now if it dares to venture back. And with the Thunderbirds finally getting some sleep, they should be able to rest and recover properly."

Lassim glanced toward the nest, "Great. They’ll need their strength if the wyrm decides to come back, but hopefully that last wound I gave it buys them some time."

"Agreed," Varen admitted. "I doubt it’ll be so bold next time."

Zaphy let out a low, melodic chirp, her gaze fixed on the horizon. Lassim reached out, resting a hand on her feathers as he nodded.

With the wyrm repelled and the array in place, the tension in the air eased. Varen stretched briefly, his silver-embellished robes catching faint sparks of residual lightning as he turned toward the nest.

"Thank you for helping," Varen continued, stepping closer to Lassim on the rocky cliffs’ edges. "About your question earlier, the details for advancing to Spirit Transcendence, right?"

Lassim nodded, leaning forward slightly. "Yes. I know I still have time to reach the peak of Spirit Ascension, but I’d like to understand the process ahead of time."