The Monarch of Lightning-Chapter 3 - 2

The training ground Gaea had chosen was a secluded clearing high on a mountainside, surrounded by towering pines and boulders. The early morning sun filtered through the trees, casting dappled light onto the forest floor. I stood barefoot in the cool grass, watching as Gaea moved around me with a grace that seemed to belong more to the earth than to any living creature.

Gaea's voice was calm but powerful, carrying an ancient wisdom that I couldn't quite wrap my mind around. "Each immortal is born with a connection to a single divine element. That element becomes their anchor, their first and most fundamental power," she explained, her fingers trailing through the air as if tracing invisible lines of energy. "But as they grow, train, and learn, they can expand, gaining new divinities through understanding and discipline."

I nodded, processing her words as best as I could. "So... divinity isn't set in stone? You can grow into more power?"

"Precisely." Gaea smiled, a glint of pride in her eyes. "A god's power is as vast or as limited as their will and discipline allow it to be. Now tell me, do you know what kind of god you are? What Domains do you have."

"I just have Lighting." I answered. I saw something in her eyes when I mentioned the last one. Right she was married to Ouranous, from what I read about him that guy was a real dick.

She shook her head. "We shall start with Lightning, I want you to find that connection within you, the divinity that lies dormant. Close your eyes and call upon it. Command it as an extension of yourself."

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and trying to sense... something. It was odd, as if I were trying to find an extra limb or muscle I'd never used before. I concentrated, feeling deep within, and there—just below the surface of my awareness—I felt a faint, pulsing current. It felt like static electricity tingling along my skin, warm and crackling just under the surface. I tried to guide it out as I imagined it flowing through the veins in my body.

"Good," Gaea's voice was steady, she seemed to have sensed a difference in my body. "Now, draw it forth, let it flow into your hand."

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I raised my hand, letting the feeling rise from inside me, focusing on that little pulse. A flicker of a gold spark danced at my fingertips, and before I knew it, it grew to cover my entire hand, I tried to control it, mold it into a manageble form. To my relieve the electricity condensed and extended into a spear of pure lightning, it was about 6ft in length and it crackled with energy.

I opened my eyes, staring at my hand, and laughed. "I... I actually did it!"

Gaea smiled, her eyes twinkling with pride. "You are really talented, my child. You already managed to bring your power out and mold it as you saw fit. Now try to release it, see what happens."

"Alright, lets us see what happens when I let this puppy fly." I said to myself as I thought of the perfect way to throw it when I remembered the lesson Zeus gave Thor in Love and Thunder. It also explained many art and statues of zeus throwing lightning. "Point and throw."

Gaea was silent as she watched as I took a stance, as I pointed toward a distant tree. As I exhaled, I brought the thunderspear back and threw it as hard as I could... and I regretted it. The spear tore through everything in its path leaving a good size hole in several trees before enbedding into stone, cracking it as it disapated.

Gaea stepped forward again, she waved her hand and my damage to her trees where fixed. "You are indeed powerful, young one. But remember—don't let power cloud your judgment."

She bent down, picking up a handful of dried leaves and holding them in front of me. "Consider electricity as a force within nature. It exists in all things. It can spark life or bring death. It moves with speed beyond comprehension, but only along the paths that allow it."

I listened closely as she spoke, feeling her words like layers of meaning woven into each spark that crackled at my fingertips.

"Electricity always seeks a path," she continued, her voice measured. "It travels from one point to another, finding its way along the path of least resistance. Remember that it can be as gentle as it is deadly. You must respect that balance."

I nodded, trying to internalize the wisdom she was offering. Lightning was energy, yes, but it was more than just raw power. It could light the dark as easily as it could scorch the land. The thought was humbling. I wasn't just a storm god. I was something more—something that could illuminate or destroy.

"Thank you, Grandmother," I said, bowing my head slightly. "I understand."

Gaea smiled, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Good. Remember what I have told you, and wield your power not just with strength, but with wisdom."

I took one last look at the smoldering tree I'd struck, the faint scent of burnt wood filling the air. My Thunderspear was marked down by the system under my Divine Lightning. I watched her leave in a flurry of leaves as I continued to train. I will need to have all the practice that I can before rushing to go save my siblings.

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The years passed in a relentless, unbroken routine of training. Every day, I pushed myself harder than the last, testing every limit, breaking each boundary as soon as I discovered it. I trained from dawn till dusk and often well into the night, constantly improving, refining, and mastering every skill I could tap into. Ten years passed by very quickly, ten years, that is how long it took me to master all my powers.

Lightning was the first power I truly mastered. Its raw, untamed force was exhilarating, but it was the precision that fascinated me most. I could weave bolts as fine as a thread to light a single flame, or summon a storm so colossal it could annihilate entire mountain ranges. Those catastrophic strikes, I named the Judgment of Zeus. I nearly destroyed Mount Ida when I unleashed one too close to home—a mistake that earned me a stern and unending lecture from Gaea herself. She made it abundantly clear that gods, even young ones, don't wreck their own sanctuaries. Listening to her was a trial of endurance in its own right.

Once I had mastered the intricacies of lightning, I turned to the basics expected of any god. Teleportation, telepathy, telekinesis, shapeshifting, healing, blessing, and cursing—the usual toolkit of divinity. That said, curses can be unpredictable. I once tested a minor curse on a white rabbit. The ungrateful creature bit me in retaliation, so I punted it with divine strength. I'm fairly certain it landed somewhere that will one day become Scotland, the damn thing deserved it.

My journey didn't end there. I discovered how to enhance my physical form with divine energy. By infusing my very bones, muscles, or soul with divinity, I could push myself to impossible limits. Becoming faster, stronger, tougher—though there was enhancing your body and then actually training it to get that dream physique.

For the next couple years, my training became a relentless routine of absurd extremes, confined to the shadow of Mount Ida. I crafted my own divine regimen—a far cry from anything mortals could fathom. Each day began with 1,000 push-ups, followed by 1,000 sit-ups, 1,000 squats, and a 1,000-kilometer run around the mountain's base.

But why did I push so hard? Why did I strive to master everything I could? The answer was simple: Points. Every time I trained it granted me more of them. 10 points here, 100 points there, mastering my domain over lightning earned me 1,500. My goal was ambitious but clear—gain enough Points to unlock every feature the system offered, all within ten years. I had unlocked only two of the ten total abilities that the system granted me.

And for that, no training was too difficult, no lesson too tedious, and no rabbit too bothersome to kick.