Lightning Is the Only Way

Gravis and the guard walked into the castle, and similar to the Lightning Guild, they walked up some stairs until they were on the highest floor. A big and heavy door was the end of a long corridor, and the guard gestured for Gravis to enter. Gravis nodded to him and pushed the door open.

In comparison to the Lightning Guild, the door here was just a regular door, and Gravis had no issues in opening it. Gravis stepped through, into a big hall, and the door closed behind him. He looked around the hall and noticed many people.

Instead of multiple thrones, he saw a lot of wooden chairs and tables. Multiple middle-aged and old people sat around the tables and talked happily with each other. Gravis could also see multiple kinds of fruit on their tables. The hall in the Lightning Guild felt weighty and oppressive, while this one felt free and casual.

"Welcome, Heavenborn!" shouted a young man at the end of the hall. The man was maybe in his twenties, and his green hair gently flew around like he was underwater. He wore relatively simple clothing, which only consisted of a green shirt and brown pants. The contrast between the man's looks and his outfit made him look like a rich, young master trying to disguise himself as a peasant.

Gravis noticed that the man sat in the middle of three chairs. Just based on the chairs' looks, Gravis wouldn't know that that's where the Vice-Guild Masters and Guild Master sat. Gravis could only guess that he was the Guild Master based on the position of the three chairs since they were in the middle of the hall and had some distance between the others.

"Thank you, Guild Master," said Gravis with a polite bow.

PAT PAT!

Gravis got a little startled when someone patted his right arm. He turned to his right and saw an elder with a full mouth holding a green fruit to Gravis. "Gust fruit?" he asked Gravis.

'They are really casual here,' Gravis thought as he was surprised by the casual offering of fruit. Instead of politely declining, Gravis went with the flow. "Sure, thanks," he said and took the green fruit. Many of the elders smiled warmly when they saw him accept the fruit. They hated people who always acted righteous and better than others when they couldn't even relax for a second.

Gravis looked at the fruit and took a bite.

WHOOSH!

A big gust of wind blew out from the fruit and blasted into Gravis' face. Gravis got startled and jumped back, dropping the fruit.

"Hahaha!"

The room exploded into laughter, and one elder gave the one that offered the fruit to Gravis a high-five. "Man, Bruce, you really have guts to pull that on a Heavenborn," said another elder to the first one.

Gravis looked at them and nearly couldn't believe that they pulled a prank on him. Gravis was a little overwhelmed with the situation since no one had ever played a prank on him before. In his homeworld, everyone respected him and kept him at a distance. This was something entirely new to him.

Gravis thought about how he had jumped back in fright because of a fruit and thought it was actually a little funny. He also slightly laughed while rubbing his neck in embarrassment. The others saw that Gravis didn't get angry and felt a little relieved. It seemed like Gravis was not a stuck-up prick.

"You see?" said the fruit-offering-elder. "I knew that it was the Lightning Guild's environment that made them all stuck-up pricks and not their elements!" The elder pointed at Gravis. "He cultivates the lightning element and can take a joke, yet every single other disciple of the Lightning Guild immediately gets angry and cries about disrespect!"

Many of the elders nodded. They had debated why some disciples of some guilds weren't able to just relax and go with the flow. Some said that it had something to do with the element, while others said that it was due to the environment in the guild. That's why the elder played the prank on Gravis. He wanted to know how Gravis would react since he had the same element as the disciples of the Lightning Guild but hadn't lived there.

"Alright, enough fun. Let's get down to business," shouted the Guild Master as he clapped to get their attention. The dropped fruit flew over to Gravis. "Don't worry. I caught it before it touched the floor," said the Guild Master to Gravis, who nodded and continued eating it. The fruit tasted pretty nice, actually. There were also no more surprises waiting for him. That gust probably only happened at the first bite. Maybe that's why it was called a gust fruit.

The elders calmed down and straightened up in their seats. The atmosphere changed, and it felt more serious now, though not as oppressive as in the Lightning Guild. Many of the elders were still slightly smiling. Gravis quickly finished his fruit and took out the dossier, which flew over to the Guild Master.

The Guild Master looked at it and sighed bitterly. "Just as expected," he said, and some other elders also sighed. Why did Wendy have to act so suicidal? The Guild Master turned to the only occupied seat beside his own. "Jarrod, could you please keep an eye on Saron? You know how he is."

The only present Vice-Guild Master nodded and left the hall. Gravis watched this with a questioning look. "Saron is Wendy's father and the other Vice-Guild Master," explained the Guild Master with a sigh. "We don't like to be bound by rules and restrictions, and you can imagine what would happen if he saw you."

Gravis nodded. Saron, as a Vice-Guild Master, was obviously in the Spirit Forming Realm. With the unrestrained ideology of the Wind Guild, he might ignore any potential repercussions to kill Gravis. What could Gravis even do against a Spirit Forming expert with the wind element? He couldn't even attempt to flee.

The dossier flew back to Gravis. "We've already expected you, and everything has already been prepared. Wendy has already said her goodbyes in the case that she will fall to you," explained the Guild Master. "Though she has one final wish."

Gravis furrowed his brows. "What wish?"

"She would like to fight you outside of the Wind Guild where no one is around. We would like for you to honor that wish. Is that okay with you?" he asked.

Gravis nodded. It didn't matter where they fought. If she wanted to surprise him with a third party that would help her, Gravis could simply use the Formation Array. In the worst case, Gravis could shout for Skye, and it would quickly arrive, together with its parent.

When the Guild Master saw Gravis nod, he nodded back. "She is in the forest to the north. The guard outside the door will bring you to her. Two disciples on the ninth level of Magic Gathering keep watch over her, and when you arrive, all three guards will retreat and let you fight in peace. We also won't use our Spirits to spy on you. Wendy has explicitly wished for that, and we will honor that wish."

Gravis nodded again, stood up, and bowed politely to the Guild Master. Under the sad eyes of the elders, he left the hall and looked at the guard. "Let's go," said Gravis to him, and the guard nodded.

"Follow me," he said, and they left the castle and the mountain.

They moved rather quickly to the north, and Gravis thought about why Wendy had all these strange wishes. The chances of someone saving her life would be higher inside the Wind Guild. She was making it even harder for herself to survive. On top of that, why was she specifically targeting him? That was still a mystery to Gravis.

After some minutes, they arrived at a clearing in the woods. Gravis saw three people standing in the clearing, and one of them was Wendy. She still looked pretty young and had the same green hair as back in the entrance exams.

The two guards beside her saw Gravis and sighed. They put their hands on Wendy and whispered their goodbyes to her. After some seconds, they went over to Gravis' guard and nodded. All three guards quickly left, and now only Gravis and Wendy remained. Wendy didn't look at Gravis and stood with her back to him.

"Welcome," she said as she turned to him. "Fake-Heavenborn."