"Ahhhhhhhh!" Screamed Hiro as lightning coursed through him.
The excruciating pain and the smell of burnt flesh wafted through Hiro's mind. At this point, he couldn't even focus on absorbing the blood. From where Keravnós was standing, Hiro looked like a human lightning rod.
"He better figures something out soon or these attacks will cripple him," Keravnós told himself.
Deep inside of Hiro's mind, a boy was hiding in the corner of a hut as a giant squid destroyed his village. Curled into a ball with his arms wrapped around his knees, the boy cried, "Please go away!"
Voices of those he loved and cared for, echoed in his ears. He was rehearing their death screams and the smell of blood that coated the ground.
~"What have we done to bring this demon to our doorstep."~
~"Ahhhhh!!!"~
A sweet woman walked over and said, "Hiro-kun, get up, we must escape."
"No no no...this can't be happening," shakingly cried the boy.
"Please, Hiro-kun get up....ahhh..."
A tentacle ripped through the house and grabbed the woman as she screamed. Snapping out of it, the boy looked up and yelled, "Oba-san!"
The woman was thrown into the massive sea creature's mouth. Tears flowed down the terrified and broken-hearted boy. What could a seventeen-year-old boy like him do in this situation?
Slowly the squid's tentacle inched towards the boy to grab him too. As the large appendage wrapped around him, the boy just accepted his death.
"Maybe, I should've died that day."
"Raiken!" A man clad in silver armor fell from the sky and cleanly cut the tentacle. The Asian man with his hair tied back and a katana in his hand looked at the boy. "Life is worth living. Don't let the monsters win. Ever!"
The man turned around and lept forward to face the squid. Ink blast and lightning whipped through the air.
The boy laid there stupified as everything faded to black. A voice came through the darkness and asked, "What do you live for?"
The boy sat there for a long time until a new image came into view. A man just shy of twenty-two years old was standing on the edge of a battleship. A little girl came up next to him. The man was watching as the aliens fell from the sky. Invaders had come to take everything from them. The man and little girl turned to the boy.
"This is your family. Are you going to allow these invaders to take them away?" asked the man.
"Will you fight in the war to come?" asked the little girl.
The two turned back towards the ocean where a scene of battleships being destroyed one at a time by the mermanian fleet. The man pointed and said, "Will you sacrifice power for your family?"
The little girl then said, "Will you allow my father to die?"
As the battle raged and ships destroyed the girl and man turned to the little boy watching this unfold. At the same time, they both asked, "What do you live for?"
Everything faded to black again as the boy felt confused and lost.
An image of a human boy fighting for his life came into view before the boy in the darkness. Then he watched the boy get rescued.
The images transitioned to the two of them training together on the ship. The two looked like they were becoming fast friends. The images transitioned again to the man getting saved this time by the boy in a giant battleship.
Then that same man was at the water's edge once again looking out into the ocean. The man slammed his fist into the railing.
~"Leo, I should've gone with you and Lucy. I blame myself for you getting trapped in that palace. Please return safely..."~
Time traveled on, and the man was by the water's edge again. The Ice knight walked over to the man.
~"Reports say, Panthera Knight, is not returning to us. He has gone rogue and left to the beastmen territory. Lucy and the two other knights have followed in pursuit."~
Ice Knight walked away as Hiro struggled with the news. Did he not feel like this was his home? Was it Hiro's fault for not going after him? He knew Leo didn't hate the alien races like he did and maybe he has unfinished business there.
The scene changed in front of the boy to one where the man, Hiro, was facing off with his lost friend, Leo.
~"These are the people you betrayed us for."~
~"I didn't betray the Renegades. I had other things I needed to take care of."~
~"You left us, Leo. You never returned. You even drug Lucy into your mess."~
~"I didn't make anyone do anything."~
The boy watched as the two men with different convictions clashed and wondered why they were fighting. Weren't they friends? The fight raged on, and this time, Hiro killed Leo. Blood dripped down his katana as he walked towards the boy.
The battle-worn Hiro asked the boy, "What do you live for?"
Those words echoed in the area as everything faded out once again. The boy stared into the abyss and asked himself, "What do I live for? Why do I want power and strength? I thought it was to protect those I care about, but all I do is get them hurt or killed. Did he want strength or family?
A man encased in lighting floated towards the boy. His shoulders were broad, and his beard was white as snow. This man was the god of lightning, Zeus.
He walked over to the boy and looked him over. The boy just acted on impulse and always strived for justice, but deep down, he was a scared and powerless boy.
"Let me tell you a story, boy. When I was a boy not much older than you, I questioned my resolve to dedicate my life to cultivation. I wasn't as talented as my parents, the Titans. One day, I met a woman who went by the name Lucifer. She told me that your parents or fate doesn't decide what your life will become. It is your resolve."
Zeus paused for a good minute and then asked the boy, "What do you live for?"
The boy gazed into the god's eyes and stood up. Slowly the boy changed into Hiro's current form, and he responded, "I live for my friends and family, my race, and my planet."
Zeus smiled and said, "Good answer."
Once those words echoed in his head, Hiro's eyes opened. The lightning striking him stopped, and Hiro floated mid-air. With this last trial, he had finally entered the last Shattering stage and become an Avatar Establishment warrior at any moment.
His entire body had been reformed once again, and all of the burnt skin blew with the wind leaving only a jade-like smooth skin remaining. Hiro had become Zeus' successor.