Way of the Knights

---

*Bzzt!* *Bzzt!* 

*Boom!* *Boom!*

One lightning strike followed by an ear shattering noise of thunder, a cycle that continued at least several times before showing signs of weakening. 

Every single lightning bolt struck Vendrick's body and every thunder flowed through his body. It was a painful experience but nothing he couldn't handle. It was fortunate that his body went a severe tempering early on or else he wouldn't have survived this. 

Of course, enduring the pain of being struck by lightning allowed him to reap obvious benefits. To this, the phrase 'What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger' rings true. The pure lightning energy might've caused a racket inside Vendrick's body, causing most of muscles to be messed up and his blood flow to turn chaotic at the time shattering some of his bones but the sheer volume of power contained within each lightning bolt was strong enough to cause another metamorphosis on his body. 

Vendrick, on his Dragonborn form, is now bathing in lightning. Crackling sounds could be heard fro, his body as if he was being fried alive, his orifices were releasing lightning serpents that wrapped his body into a curtain of brilliant light. 

His scales were transforming yet again, his body was being strengthened to another level and because he directly drew lightning to himself, he got to know it up close and personal, helping him fuse it to his own Dragon's Aura. As a result, his insights about lightning was climbing at an alarming speed, catching up to his Destruction and Creation insights.

And because Lightning has both properties of Destruction and Creation, it acts as a medium to maintain the balance between these two, resulting an harmony within Vendrick's consciousness which will only elevate his insights even further. 

As harmony prevailed thanks to Lightning acting as a bridge that connects the two said Laws, a hollow seed was now manifesting within Vendrick's heart. It doesn't look impressive right now but as time went on, this hollowed seed will become Vendrick's Dragon Heart. 

With a Dragon Heart, Vendrick's power will undoubtedly skyrocket and killing those Hags wouldn't become a problem anymore. 

As Vendrick was feeling intoxicated over the feeling of harmony with his body and mind, the tribe was freaking out. 

The hideout was literally within the tribe, just now they multiple lightning bolts striking down at the same place again and again as if they were trying to destroy that place. The sound of thunder shook their souls as they stared blankly at the direction of the hideout. Even Arthur and Rosa felt scared. 

It also didn't help that they could see the bright glare of light illuminating the place. Arthur and Rosa wanted to check on Vendrick but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't. There's a thin yet extremely elastic wall that prevents them from coming close to the hideout. 

This caused them to feel rather dejected. They could only sit there twiddling their thumbs as they worry over their friend. 

Well, they know that Vendrick is freakishly strong. Heck they never even made him go all out during their spars and he's still handing their asses over to them with one hand no less. But...he might be strong yes, but he shouldn't be strong enough to go against a natural disaster right? How can they not be worried? 

Yet, if they could see what's happening to Vendrick right now, they will find out that their concerns were unnecessary, really. 

All in all, Vendrick endured 21 lightning strikes before it runs out. Every bolt contains wild and aggressive energy of lightning and thunder mixed up. Currently, he's taking advantage of this time to not only refine this energies but also feed them to the hollow seed on his heart. 

He encountered no problems so far, all of this were thanks to his foundations being unshakeable. 

Vendrick's currently floating above the ground in a lotus position. Snakes of lightning and faint sounds of thunder can still seen and heard from his body. The longer he stays like this, the faster his insights about lightning and thunder increases.

Hours passed and the dark clouds dissolved, revealing the clear sky of dusk. The light went away and the film that's preventing Arthur and Rosa from going inside the hideout disappeared as well. The moment it disappeared, the two instantly rushed inside only to find Vendrick at his current state. 

They were struck dumb by the scene. Vendrick looked like a god at his current appearance. Floating above the ground and covered with snakes of lightning. His eyes were wide open but it looked more like a torch glaring with light. 

This is also the first time that they saw Vendrick in his Dragonborn form, covered in scales and all...this image was very striking, especially considering the fact that they could also feel the frightening aura concealed within his body. It was as if they were looking at a sleeping monstrosity that could wipe them out as a single sneeze should they disturb it.

It looked freaky to them but they didn't disturbed him. They initially thought that Vendrick might be being possessed by the Lightning Berserker God, if Vendrick hears them saying this, he would've smacked them in the head for uttering nonsense. 

Well, they can't be blamed though. Vendrick didn't teach them about Laws yet since it's still too far away from them, plus they were focused on revitalizing the tribe and he didn't want them to lose focus. 

Keeping their thoughts to themselves, Arthur and Rosa left Vendrick alone. They didn't disturb him in the end, which is a good choice. It might not look like it but Vendrick's currently at a vulnerable position. He can't be disturbed right now. 

When they left, they also made sure to tell everyone to stay away from that place for now. Just until Vendrick finished his seclusion. 

---

"Whew..."

Vendrick released a long sigh which caused a small clouds of dusts to appear. The scales on his body slowly disappeared from view, his pupils returned to normal and not even a trace of lightning could be seen from his body. 

His floated down, catching himself by planting his feet on the ground. When his consciousness returned, he felt strength flowing on his veins, bringing a euphoric sensation all over his body. 

Vendrick looked around, raised his foot and lunged a bit forward...

It was brief but he felt the wind brushing up his face. All of a sudden, he found himself standing far away from where he was initially. 

"It will take sometime to get used to..." he murmured as he started blitzing around the hideout. 

Each time he moved, his body transforms into a bolt of lightning, and whenever he returns to his original form, it was accompanied by a loud thunderclap. Just in terms of speed alone, he improved by at least ten times. This doesn't even include his raw strength yet. 

Testing that out, he found out several new things that he had to keep in mind. One, even a casual punch of him can destroy a mountain at his level. Suppose that can't kill his target, the thunderclap which accompanies every move he does would be enough to finish them off by shredding their innards to pieces. 

He also discovered that he could wield two kinds of lightning right now. These two types of lightning carries the essence of his two laws, Destruction and Creation, which is why he named it after the two. 

Destruction Lightning and Thunder is his most powerful weapon he has. In terms of speed and destructiveness, only a few elements can reach the same level as this. The moment his target was struck by this, they will continue suffering until they die thanks to the destructive elements contained within. All matter of defense is considered as a minor inconvenience to this. 

Creation Lightning and Thunder was surprising. It contains the restorative properties of lightning that promotes change and evolution. This lightning is great for nurturing himself or his allies, additionally it's extremely effective against corruption as well. This lightning and thunder is basically a better version of his Cleansing Flames.

Currently fusing this two is no simple act. It is possible but it would result to Vendrick getting hurt in the process, the product is unknown so it's just downright risky, which is why he didn't attempt to do it for now. 

That's basically it, though to be honest it wouldn't stop here. Vendrick hadn't condensed his Dragon's Heart yet. So far, he only managed to condense a hollowed seed of it and it's not even filled yet. To do that, he needed to attract more lightning and thunder to himself, feed it to the seed until it germinates.

This will take sometime, and condensing a complete Dragon Heart would take even more time. For now though, this should be barely enough to contend against the Hag he saw before. Although the chances of him winning isn't that high, he at least has a chance. 

But since Vendrick likes to move with caution, he wouldn't provoke the Hag just yet. He needed to get used to his new powers for now and improve a little more before he could do that...