Chapter 39: Fusion
Cole’s mind was in a complete mess. At this point, the pain was so overwhelming that he simply stopped caring about it, slowly growing numb to the soul-tearing sensation.
In this gruesome situation, time passed at a snail’s pace, increasing Cole’s torment by a thousand times.
Outside—
"Sis, should we help him...?"
Ethan asked while turning his gaze away, unable to continue watching. Cole’s screams were sending chills down his spine. For the first time, Ethan realized a human could shout this loudly. It felt as if Cole’s throat was about to be destroyed.
The situation was simply too much for him.
Jessica’s expression, however, remained cold as ice, seemingly completely unaffected by the scene around her. However, if one looked closely at her face, they would notice how her eyes flickered with an unusual light.
So when she heard Ethan’s words, she instantly shook her head.
"Interfering at this point would do more harm than good."
In her mind, the scene from some time ago replayed itself. From his actions, it was clear Cole was aware of what was about to happen and seemed to have prepared beforehand.
Seeing her shake her head, Ethan did not continue. Instead, he moved to the side of the chariot where Cole’s screams did not reach as strongly, though there was no corner in the carriage where they did not reach. Even the rumbling lightning above could not make Cole’s screams disappear.
Maybe hearing Ethan’s prayers, or simply feeling pity for Cole’s situation, the heavens changed.
The entire Thunder Domain moved collectively.
The countless lightning bolts that had previously descended randomly suddenly stopped.
An eerie silence filled the world.
Then...
Every single bolt changed direction, as if they had found a new target.
Maybe sensing the danger, Ethan slowly raised his head and witnessed a scene that would forever be imprinted on his soul.
Silver dragons made from pure lightning filled the sky, all of them targeting the carriage he was in.
"This is bad..."
Jessica simply could not continue watching any longer. Forgetting about her own recovery, she turned to the formation, one by one putting multiple stones into the formation core. The situation had exceeded her wildest imagination. The formation that had protected the carriage all this time might not be able to protect them anymore.
Above them, an ocean of lightning had formed.
Then hundreds...
No, hundreds of thousands of lightning currents intertwined together, covering the entire sky.
Like the wrath of the heavens itself, every single strand represented divine anger, seemingly the anger born from Cole’s actions of disturbing the natural order—a natural order that left humanity hopeless.
Now all of this anger was pointed at a single person.
"What the hell...?"
Ethan’s voice cracked under pressure.
The next second, the heavens descended.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
A pillar of lightning thicker than a mountain crashed downward.
The protective formation surrounding the carriage exploded instantly. It did not even last a single heartbeat.
The carriage was swallowed whole by an ocean of current.
Inside, Cole no longer had any idea what was happening around him.
Deep within his being, cells that were already dried out pushed Cole to the brink of death even before the divine anger could claim him.
Just at this moment, another force, which was directly opposite to the lightning, emerged. It rapidly overcame the lightning emerging from the Lightning Worm bloodline, trying to restore the body’s vitality.
But at this point, there was just not enough living energy. Cole had no energy left to produce recovery. Coupled with the A.I. chip’s excessive use, he was completely drained.
Right now, the only thing that could save him was the lightning that was slowly killing him—the thing from the Lightning Worm bloodline.
Maybe even in this comatose state, Cole sensed his own condition. For a very brief moment, a bitter smile appeared on Cole’s face.
As if to respond to his thoughts, the A.I. prompt appeared in front of his vision.
[Warning... energy... low]
[Emergency...]
The A.I. chip’s messages were broken and lagging. After all, the chip was fused with Cole at the cellular level, so how could it be unaffected?
Maybe at this time, if Cole were conscious, he would have definitely cursed the heavens and asked—
Why?
Why give him another chance to live, only for his second life to end faster than the first?
What a cruel joke.
For the first time, he felt the cruel play of destiny.
The sky rumbled as if laughing disdainfully.
Then darkness swallowed everything.
...
...
Time passed, perhaps seconds, perhaps longer.
But the ocean of lightning slowly disappeared, and the Lightning Domain slowly regained its original state—dangerous, but not cruel.
Cole also was not aware of how much time had passed. His consciousness slowly floated upward, finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel.
Slowly, a ripple ran down his spine. His fingers twitched lightly.
"Hmmm..."
A groan escaped his lips.
He was... alive?
That realization confused him.
Slowly, he tried to feel himself, moving his arms. Pain immediately surged through his entire body, but it did not feel as unbearable.
Yet something felt strange...
His injuries were severe. Large patches of skin had been burned black, and muscles were completely ripped to shreds, making even a simple movement like lifting one hand difficult. Forget about moving his hands—even simply breathing and opening his eyes to see around him was hard.
Still, the damage was not fatal.
That did not make sense.
There was no way he alone could have survived that amount of lightning.
Finally, after trying for another brief moment, his eyelids were forced open.
The world gradually came into focus.
Smoke drifted through the destroyed carriage. Broken pieces of metal rods were scattered everywhere, and a large part of them had even melted. Cold wind howled through the apocalyptic scene like a banshee.
Cold wind?
Cole felt confused.
He did not feel any cold.
In fact, it was even slightly warm.
As though someone was protecting him from all this coldness.
Cole slowly lowered his head.
His pupils violently contracted.
Curled tightly around his body, shielding him with her own, was Jessica.
Not just him, but Ethan as well.
Soon he also noticed Ethan lying beside him.
The bodies of the siblings were in a miserable state, almost completely charred.
Among the three, the young woman’s condition was the worst. Her once beautiful white robes had long since burned away. Countless horrifying burns covered her body, and blood slowly dripped from the corner of her lips.
Yet even while unconscious, her arms still instinctively held onto them.
As though protecting the most important things in the world.
For a moment, Cole forgot about everything.
Even his own state.
He was stunned completely.
He could understand if she had saved Ethan—after all, he was her younger brother.
But why him?
Ever since growing up, Cole had long learned there were no free lunches, neither did kindness come without a reason.
Then he remembered something.
The words Jessica had said to Ethan.
Yeah... a debt. Is this your way of repaying it?