War for the Skies (completed) (Book 1 of the Heroes of the Realms series)

Chapter 3

It wasn't as bad as I thought.

It was ten times worse.

I felt like my heart was burning. My limbs felt numb. I couldn't see anything except the yellow flash of light. It wasn't like a quick bolt of lightning, it continued pounding my chest. I couldn't hear anything except for the tornado outside and the thunder striking outside the whirlwind.

I was scared and knew I would die. I started to fade, and die, and shut my eyes. The lightning bolt would've killed me if not for a pebble that slammed into my face so hard, it left a bruise.

I opened my eyes gasping for air. I looked at the lightning bolt again and got scared. I was about to explode and die when I realized it wasn't about fighting against the bolt, it was to let it get inside you, cause that was its purpose anyway.

I started taking deep breaths which I thought was impossible cause of the lightning bolt pressing against my chest. I tried to act like it was there and moved my arms and legs. I closed my eyes and focused. My heart still felt like it burned but it calmed down as I calmed down and focused.

If you want to live, calm down, I thought.

I tried to steady my heartbeat. My heart still burned, but it felt like it wasn't exploded into smithereens. I looked around the temple, trying to distract myself from the lightning bolt. I felt better now, like I wouldn't die in the next two seconds of my life.

I stared at the columns and admired the architecture. I focused on anything but the bolt. Even the tornado I looked at and admired how it hadn't thrown me to China already.

I looked at the lightning bolt and said "You're a part of me now."

I didn't know what I was thinking. I grabbed the lightning bolt with my hands and pushed it inside my chest. Then the whole lightning bolt went inside of me in a flash.

It felt as if I had swallowed a cannonball that was fired at light speed.

My heart raced but I calmed myself down. My whole body was frying. I had to make it not fry.

I can do this, I thought. I took a few deep breaths as the lightning adjusted itself next to my heart. I felt all of the energy surging right next to it and I doubled over. I took one more deep breath and the storm disappeared. The temple collapsed and I fell down.

I blacked out after that.

When I woke I was in a room full of nurses taking care of kids about my age. I stood up, scared.

"Where am I? What happened? How?"

The nurses looked at me in shock.

"How did I get out of the Mountains of Despair? It was total darkness as far as I could see! I- I-" I was frantic.

Then a man with salt-and-pepper hair with a thin beard and an older Han Solo look with a Zeus robe came in.

He ran over to me and hugged me, "My son!"

"What? Who are you?!" I yelled and pushed away. I was so scared. "Where am I?!"

He chuckled. "Everyone who first appears at Sky Kingdom feel this way?" he asked the nurses.

They all nodded.

He smiled an looked back at me, "Well, my boy, why don't you come take a look?"

I got off the bed and ran outside. I could not believe what I was seeing.

I was standing on an island in the sky, one of many connected by marble bridges. I saw many things on the islands: a market, a warehouse, and a bunch of houses clustered together on one huge island.