An hour later, I found myself at the top of the mountain. I was sitting in the middle of an Storm Element gathering formation while Claudius, Ariel, and Smith, who I hadn't seen since the trial, watched over me. An icy wind was kicking up as the Elemental Energy grew more and more dense.
"Remember, when you call for a Spirit try and find the one the most compatible with you. There are insanely strong Storm Spirits, but if they don't like you they're more likely to kill you than agree to a contract!" Ariel had to shout, using her energy to increase her volume in order to be heard over the storm as it increased in intensity. A tornado was beginning to form over my head, with lightning slamming into the mountaintop around us with incredible ferocity. If it wasn't for a barrier formation protecting me I'd have either died or been thrown off the mountain by now.
I yelled back, "Thanks for setting this up!" before I closed my eyes and began to meditate. The formation would give me enough energy to contact multiple Storm Spirits, allowing me to find the one that suited me the best. Ariel volunteered to set it up, and I didn't want to know how much it had cost her.
With my eyes closed, I began to gather the Air, Lightning, and Water Elemental Energy around me, but instead of sending it into my body to refine it I manipulated it to enter my mindscape and flow through it into my soul. There, I forced all of the energy into the Mark of the Storm and watched in amazement as it was all converted into Storm Elemental Energy. This is the true reason that Storm's Refuge only accepts mindscape cultivators, without the ability to move Elemental Energy through the mindscape and into the soul it's impossible for you to refine Storm Elemental Energy.
As the energy continued to gather, it reached a breaking point. Shooting out of my soul, it rushed into my mindscape and connected with my brain, beginning the slow process of refining the entirety of my brain. It's a weird feeling, as if someone had opened up my skull and was gently massaging it.
'Now for the tricky part' I thought as I slowly gathered up more Elemental Energy, refining it into Storm Energy and controlling it so that instead of refining the entirety of my brain, it focused solely on the front of my brain. The part that my Grandfather's technique said helped to control the creation and maintaining of barriers. Originally, I was planning on refining 'Riding the Storm' first, but Ariel had pointed out that the smaller the smaller a percentage of the brain a targeted technique refines the more it hurts when you begin the technique.
More and more energy flowed into me, and as the connection solidified I heard a clicking sound. As if a door had been unlocked in my brain. "ARGH!" I screamed in pain as a part of my brain was instantly refined, it felt like someone had taken a hammer and smashed it into the top of my brain.
I wanted to pass out, but I only had one chance to make this work, so I kept going. Gathering another stream of Storm Energy, I moved it into place and connected it with a spot near my spinal column where 'Riding the Storm' said to connect. Slowly, I watched in anticipation as the thin stream of energy thickened.
*CRACK*
My neck nearly broke as I shook with such ferocity I fell to the ground, the pain was so bad that I didn't even get the chance to scream. If I hadn't spent the last week fighting and learning how to deal with pain I would've passed out right there and then, but I gritted my teeth and fought through it. As the pain receded I could feel the energy in me shifting as my Water Affinity increased to the Maximum level.
For the last time, I gathered more Storm Energy and drove it into my brain. This time, I had to follow a convoluted path through the exterior of my brain. It was a maze, and only by knowing how to get to the end could you find the objective. Slowly, carefully, I manipulated the energy so that it didn't make contact with my brain but somehow managed to make it to a spot directly in the center of it. There, a dead spot was hidden. Nothing was connected to it, as if someone or something had tried to make it impossible for this part of the brain to ever awaken by chance. Taking a deep breath, I drove the energy forwards, collapsing as it finally made contact.
I could feel an incredible amount of energy from the formation flowing through me and into the Mark of the Storm. Somehow, a portal opened with a blinding flash and my soul was sucked through it to another dimension.
By the time I reoriented myself, I was surprised to find that my soul had shifted into an ethereal body made out of clouds, wind, rain, and lighting. Yet, somehow the body had my face and as I opened my mouth it spoke in my voice, "What the hell?" Even now, I could feel the immense pain through the tether as the connection to the dead place in my brain slowly strengthened.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to ignore the pain as I looked around. No where in the manual had it said anything about your soul being sucked through a portal to another dimension. I was more floating than standing on a fluffy cloud that was zooming through the air at an incredible speed. A massive fortress hung in the air above me, and as I approached it a gate slowly opened to let me pass into it.
All around me, Spirit's of all shapes and sizes murmured as I past by them. Entering the throne room, a massive storm cloud hung over my head instead of a ceiling, and courtier's in various states of dress emanated with a level of power I'd never before felt as they surrounded me.
*KABOOOM*
A bolt of lightning struck the throne in the center of the room, and I watched in fascination as the storm clouds drained from the sky forming an ethereal body nearly 12 feet tall with eyes flashing with purple lightning. His body was made up of the same energy as mine, but we were leagues apart his energy was so pure and powerful.
"Welcome, my son!" His voice echoed with thunder, and miniature tornado's swept up some of the sycophants who'd gotten too close to him throwing them into the air. "I know why you have come, you don't have much time and only one chance to form a contract. If you succeed we'll meet again!"
Then, the cloud I was resting on shot backwards out of the hall and up into the air above the fortress. Continuing higher, it started moving forwards at greater and greater speeds. I watched as spirits of all kinds battled for survival all around me. Thankfully, we were up in the air, and my Max level affinity to Air Elemental Energy caused the spirits surrounding me to great me happily. Birds flew around my head chirping in delight, gusts of wind came from no where to mess up my hair playfully, and as we passed over a volcano they blocked the fireballs heading towards me from the Fire Spirits below.
Miles passed by, and we approached a massive storm front that was slowly moving across the landscape. Bolts of purple lightning slammed into the ground constantly, tornadoes forming and dissolving at random, while hail the size of my house smashed anyone dumb enough to stay under the storm.
The cloud picked up even more speed as Storm Elemental Energy surrounded me, protecting me from the Storm. Within a few moments we'd pierced the Storm and I couldn't see anything. The energy protecting me disappeared, and I closed my eyes to meditate on the energy. Within a few moments, I started producing my own Storm Elemental Energy, sending it out trying to find a Storm Spirit to bond with.
At first, I felt nothing, but I wasn't worried. I was here for a reason. A couple minutes passed, and I brushed up against a primitive awareness. I sensed an immense amount of power, but something just didn't feel right. So, I moved on sending my awareness further and further into the storm. Unknown to me, the cloud that'd carried me here had disappeared and my body had merged with the giant storm changing shape to float along with it.
As I drifted deeper into the storm I ran into more and more Storm Spirits, but none of them welcomed me. They all felt independent, like they'd be unhappy being bound to another being. I'd read that contracting an Air Spirit is extremely difficult because they prefer to be free and drift to and fro as they wish instead of being tied down. I guess that Storm Spirits inherited that quality.
Suddenly, I felt my tether to my body tugging me and sensations came flooding into me. I couldn't hold out much longer. My body was like a circuit overloaded with too much energy, if I didn't make a contract soon I'd have to leave or my body would die. The only reason I'd lasted this long is that I'd broken through to the third level of body refining a few days ago.
In a rush, I extended my senses further than I was really comfortable with. My soul stretching out as I moved faster than I ever had before. 'No, too dark.' I thought as I passed another Spirit, 'That one would be perfect, but disdains leaving.' I was beginning to freak out a bit, I only had another minute at most and none of these spirits where right for me.
That's when I broke through into the center of the Storm and came to a stop instantly, a Spirit was calling back to me. It felt like a newborn, barely able to articulate emotions. It felt... lonely? No, not lonely, but bored and excited to meet something new. It wasn't nearly as strong as the others but I felt something of an instant connection with it and I was running out of time. I initiated the contracting process, sending a piece of my soul to it as well as my intention to bring it out with me.
It accepted, and the next thing I knew I was back in my body. The instant I'd returned to my body the portal closed behind my soul and a dark-gold light shot into my mindscape, starting to bask in the Storm Energy surrounding my brain.
My awareness returning, I heard Claire and Smith arguing. "This was too dangerous, you knew that!" Smith was yelling at her in anger. "How many have tried to make this method work in the past? How many have died before they received a contract?"
Claire glared at him and said, "So what if he dies? His soul will return to his body on Earth and in a few months he'll be perfectly normal. Other than me, we only have 2 other people who have contracted a Storm Spirit. If we all die, then Storm's Refuge disappears!"
Claudius was the only one paying attention to me, "He succeed!" he exclaimed happily as I opened my eyes.
My entire body ached, and a massive migraine was splitting my skull. The overload of energy had nearly destroyed all the energy pathways in my body, and my mindscape was showing signs of collapsing. 'Cut that too close' I thought to myself as I barely managed to hang on to consciousness.
The formation was shut off, and Ariel appeared in front of me, grabbing my head. I felt a wave of Water Energy flow through my body, reinvigorating it. She took out a pill and forced me to swallow it. Closing my eyes, I lost myself to the feeling of my body relaxing as the pill took effect and my battered body and collapsing mindscape recovered at an incredible rate.