Kai stood ready but he was curious as to what he was going to do. What was this so-called hardest training? It was not like he was resting with Emily Frey. She put him through the wringer and wasn't afraid to give him the middle finger. Even so, he knew that Jacques wasn't just saying that to act cool. This added to his curiosity.
Standing a few meters away from Kai, Jacques took a small black remote out his pocket and held it in his right hand. Then he pressed on one of the buttons. This button had an upwards filled arrow. He continued to press the button repetitively.
Kai observed this strange occurrence. He saw the remote in his hands and surmised that it was to change the temperature of the ring, 'Wow, is the training going to be so hard that you need to decrease the temperature so that I don't overheat?' Kai shuddered at the thought. However, that would have been heaven on Drars. Unfortunately for Kai, instead of the temperature dropping, his knees dropped to the floor.
Pah!
A crisp sound resounded in the room. Then from his knees, he fell again. This time to the ground, lying flat on his stomach.
Uhu!
Kai laid on the ground feeling as if couldn't breathe. When he fell from his knees to the ground, he accidentally hit his solar plexus with his elbow. A searing pain plagued his body rendering him immobile. That and the gravity that was pushing him down.
When Jacques used the remote it was to increase the gravity in the room. He mashed the button until he saw Kai lying flat on the ground. Only then did he stop.
Kai had thought that Jacques was trying to help him. Next thing he noticed it was becoming increasingly difficult to stand. Then his feet gave out and a few minutes later, he was on the ground laying flat on his stomach. Even then the gravity didn't stop pushing him down. He could feel the weight drilling on his body, all the way to his organs. It was originally hard to breathe because he had winded himself but it was even harder now that his diaphragm was dealing with an external pressure. Kai laid on the ground choking and then gasping for air. His eyes bulged and his facial expressions switched between fear and relief. His body was in a state of panic. Adrenaline was crashing through his veins as his heart hopped beats.
Jacques just watched Kai struggling for air from above. The increase in gravity was nothing to him. To him it was as if an ant walked on him. He looked down at Kai and shook his head, "What now? Where is that strength you are so proud of? Can't even handle a meagre amount of gravity. Look at yourself, heaving for oxygen. It's pathetic." He said with contempt, "Is this all that Kai Adler has huh? Is this all that you can amount to? Did I make a mistake letting my daughter chose you?
Flat on his stomach, Kai heard his father-in-law speaking but Kai had some thoughts of his own, 'The gravity came out of nowhere. I'm still waiting to feel the cool air brushing through my hair. Next thing I know I'm feeling the cool tiles on my face. And what you talking about a meagre amount of gravity. Meagre amount my ass! To you this is nothing but it's hella heavy for me.' Kai thought with a deep set frown on his face. The tempestuous anger, disgust and embarrassment he was feeling helped him gain his senses again. Kai was a prideful man and to be reduced to this state made his insides turn. Not to mention, the man he admired who also happened to be his father-in-law was looking down on him, connotatively and denotatively. But most importantly, Lexi, the woman he was partnered up with, the person he was married to was seeing him in this state. Even though her face showed no sign of derision it was hard to swallow.
Kai closed his eyes, then he took a deep breath. He repeated this cycle over an over to calm himself down. The gravity was still present making breathing difficult but he did it anyway. While his eyes were closed the words Jacques had said replayed in his mind. He couldn't help but see the truth in it and questioned himself, 'Is this all that I have? Can I not make a breakthrough, right here right now. Am I not that talented... Is this all that Kai is.' Hearing himself question himself, Kai violently shook his head, 'NO! I am Kai Adler, future King of The Lightning Clan. My name means ocean, my talent is deep and it is vast! I can make a breakthrough! I will make a breakthrough!' At that moment Kai reopened his eyes. Now they were teeming with confidence. He had regained his resolve.
Seeing Kai regain his confidence, Lexi smiled and then continued to eat away at her food.
Looking at Kai, Jacques howled in a deep tone, "Yes, those are the eyes befitting a King. Now stand up! The real battle begins now."
So Kai tried just that, now that he had steeled his resolve, he was going to stand on his own two feet. However, he still couldn't. It was not as if he didn't want to stand, he just couldn't. Heck, it wasn't even a case of a stalemate. He was barely holding the gravity from crushing him. The gravity was winning. The only thing he could do was fight to breathe, 'Forget trying to stand, I'm trying to live!'
Tsk!
Kai clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction and then calmed himself again, 'One step at a time Kai. Miracles won't miraculously show itself. You need to work hard and get it for yourself. So are the days of our lives.' Coming to terms that standing on his own feet will take work, Kai split the task into three parts. First, he needed to be able to beat gravity while he was prone, not survive it. Secondly, he would go up the same way he came down. He would go from his stomach to his knees. Lastly, he would go up from his knees to feet and then stand proudly.
Now that Kai had a plan and resolve, he began phase one. First, he started sliding his arms on the floor. It was difficult but manageable. After his arms, he started sliding his feet up and down. He looked like he was making a snow angel but on tiles. As the momentum built up he found it easier and easier to move. While flailing his legs and arms, Kai found that the weight on his torso was lightening. Taking the opportunity was presented before him, he moved to phase two and decided to try and stand. He rolled around on the ground and then stopped. At that moment, he used all his strength and pushed himself up. And for the first time, it was working. His body was moving upwards. It was extremely heavy but as long as he didn't give up, he could do it. Kai continued to struggle until he finally made it two his knees.
At that moment, he let go of all the pent up air in his lungs and started breathing rapidly. It took a lot out him trying to get to his knees. But now that he was bipedal again the weight of the gravity decreased as his surface area decreased. Kai made use of the decrease in gravity to catch his breath. After he was breathing normally, it was time to enact phase three. Kai looked up and resolidified his resolve and started trying to stand. Even though the gravity wasn't as heavy as before, it was still very heavy. Kai struggled but bit by bit he was getting closer to standing on his feet without bending his knees. Kai persevered and persevered until he finally made it on both his feet.
Standing on his own two feet, Kai celebrated but with his eyes only as he could not make a fist pump. He was happy with himself. He did not give up, he kept fighting and now he was standing on his own two feet.
Jacques saw the effort Kai had put into standing so he clapped his left hand on his wrist as he was still holding the remote. After clapping his hands, the inner demon arose within and then he pressed the upward button a few times again, "And now comes the vicissitudes of life to smack you down!"
Immediately, Kai felt the added weight crashing down on him. However, this time he was prepared for it and fought it off. The fight was excruciatingly difficult. His knees were buckling. There were even times when he would falter and then he would have to pick himself up again.
Jacques crossed his arms, "If you can't even handle a little bit of gravity. How can you handle the weight of being King? How can you handle the problems of the lightning clan? How can you be the beacon of hope to your underlings? Because I'm telling you now, there will be times where you will want to give up but you can't. At the top, if you falter you could destroy multiple lives. These are lessons that you need to learn now already. So that when you reach your goal it is ingrained in you."
Again Kai took what he said to heart and poured every last bit of his power into his muscles and stood upright and prideful. His eyes were full of vigour even though his body was barely holding on. He knew he didn't have much time but he was going to give it his all for as long as he could. Kai stood upright not moving a muscle. The weight of the gravity continued to descend ruthlessly but he braved it out with an undaunted spirit.
When Jacques saw that Kai had resolidified his standing, he took his remote again and smirked. Then he began mercilessly mashing the button.
When Kai saw that he was about to use the remote again he didn't falter, "Bring it on. I'm ready." Kai made a baseless bluff but bravado is basic in a bout. However, to his surprise instead of the weight getting heavier, it got lighter. This confused Kai but in the end, he just let it go and grinned. He was beaming with joy because he overcame what seemed insurmountable. He then answered his own question, 'I did make a breakthrough.'
Seeing Kai joyous expression, Jacques spoke, "Well done, you preserved and you pushed your way through. Now we can begin ironing out your kinks. You will now spar with me, when your body is tired it tends to move in the way it is programmed to. From this day forward, I will now teach you the correct way to fight and erase all errors."
Kai nodded his head as a sense of excitement welled over him. He was about to spar with the former Duke. He knew he would be holding back but it was still an honour. Kai took a hold of his kickstarter and let the lightning flow through him. Then he charged at Jacques however, even with the gravity going back to normal and lightning coursing through his body. His body didn't respond the way he wanted it to. His muscles were aching and taut. His whole body felt like it was bombarded with a lactic acid build up.
Despite these circumstances, Kai fought Jacques up and down the ring. The joy and the bliss he was feeling was unsurpassable. As they were fighting Jacques would point out flaws and Kai would try and fix them. Jacques only told Kai about a flaw three times. If he kept making the same mistake after that, he would be shocked by a high voltage charge. The shock was intense and hurt like hell! In this regard, him and Emily Frey were the same. They believed the best way to fix flaws was to have the body understand it was wrong. It was like giving a hiding to a child. They continued to train like this until the training time was over.
After individual training, Kai wiped the sweat off his body and took a much-needed rest. His individual training was strenuous. Now he understood why Lexi was so fast, she had probably been training under gravity too.
Kai took a seat next to Lexi. He chose that as his place of rest. When he got there she passed him a bottle of ice cold water, "Good work." She said smiling.
"Aaaah, thank you!" Kai thanked her and then gulped the water down. It was so refreshing as the cold water went down his oesophagus. This he expected but what he didn't expect was that his energy was returning. He wasn't full power but his body definitely wasn't as rigid as before. Kai revealed a flabbergasted expression.
Lexi giggled when she saw his face, "What don't they have energy water in Drauton? It's pretty common here. You can find this stuff in all the shops."
Now that Kai thought about it, it made sense. This was a country that trained top class surpassers. Of course there would be some sort of drink to alleviate the stress after overworking your body. Kai too had used something similar back in his days at Drauton. His father had designed him energy pills that he would drink at school to give him energy. Then there were rejuvenating pills too which returned his energy back by 90%. In that regard, his father's pills were far more impressive. Yet he still revealed a grin, he didn't want to seem ungrateful.
After some energy had returned to Kai's body, he started regulating his breathing. He inhaled and exhaled slowly. When he felt his body was up to standard, he stopped. He wasn't fully recovered but it was enough.
When Lexi saw Kai had stopped regulating his breathing, she said, "Are you good?" Then before Kai could answer she looked towards her father, "Dad, Kai is good we can we start?"
Kai just sat there shaking his head, 'What don't I get a say in this? It hasn't even been an hour.' He sighed inwardly, 'I guess this is the price for partnering up with the extraordinary.'
Both of them got up and walked into the ring where Jacques already was. Jacques looked at them both and then said, "Look at each other, I want you to really look at each other." So Kai and Lexi turned to each other and looked at one another, "See the shape of each other's eyes, the structure of their nose. How tall or short is he/she to you. Where do her/his legs start, where does his/her torso begin. I want you two to know the ins and outs of each other's bodies. I even want you to know when she is ovulating." He said with a straight face.
Then he looked at Kai, "Here is the physical chart of Lexi. I want you to study this and know it like it's second nature."
Kai nodded his head and then took the papers. He glanced through it and saw it had things like the shape of her eyes and mouth. Her height. It even had the width of her hips and her waist and a lot more...
After Jacques handed Kai the papers he turned to Lexi, "Unforntanelty we don't have a fully detailed version of Kai's yet. You will get it later today."
"Okay," Lexi said but she already knew this. She had seen the version Drauton hospital had created and knew it was severely lacking in detail.
Carrying on Jacques looked at Kai, "Now we are going to do an essence test. We will do the rest later... Follow me, "He then walked out of the ring and to the right side of the room. There there were multiple white machines that had lights shining inside them. The lights looked like a scanner's as they swiped through the machines and then disappeared. When they got to to the right machine, Jacques took a pad and stuck it on Kai's arm, "Cycle your essence lightning into the machine until the lights flash red."
Kai took out his kickstarter and amplified the lightning in his Eneron while opening the valve and letting the essence mix with his lightning. In short of 3 seconds his lightning had completely changed to essence lightning. He then sent it into the machine. While he did, the machine's light changed from green to blue and after a while, it changed to red. When Kai saw the red light he stopped and took the pad off his arm.
"Now we wait a few minutes."
They waited a few minutes until his results came out of the machine on an A4 paper. Jacques took the paper and nodded his head in approval. He then gave the paper to Kai, "Work hard and you can be something one day."
Kai smiled and then took the paper and looked at it.
𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.
Gender: Male
Rank: Beginner- Beginner Rank 1
Age: 16- 21
Type of Surpasser: 3rd Generation
Pairing: Lightning-Lightning
𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 (𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝟏𝟎).
Piercing Power: 9
Speed: 9.3
Voltage: 9.8
Amps: 9.7
Stunning effect: 8
Heat: 9.6
Restorative properties: 9.1
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐬.
Proron: 9
Exron: 9.8
Auron: 9.2
Nevron: 9.2
Braron: 8.1
...
After viewing his results he nodded his head. They were far better than he had expected. He also noticed that he had a lightning-lightning pairing. This meant that both his biological parents were lightning surpassers. He inwardly thanked them for their good genes. For when it came to your essence, the results were almost fixed. There are cases where when ones certain attributes can go up or down. However, the changes aren't drastic. So one could say your ability to succeed was determined by birth.
After he saw his, he wanted to see Lexi's. So he flipped the page to where it showed hers.
𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.
Gender: Female
Rank: Beginner- Beginner Rank 1
Age: 17- 21
Type of Surpasser: 2nd Generation
Pairing: Lightning-Lightning
𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 (𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝟏𝟎).
Piercing Power: 9.2
Speed: 9.7
Voltage: 9.3
Amps: 9.1
Stunning effect: 9
Heat: 9
Restorative properties: 9
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐬.
Proron: 9.2
Exron: 9.1
Auron: 9.4
Nevron: 9.8
Braron: 9.7
...
When saw her results, he nodded his head and then smiled.
After Kai was done viewing Lexi's results, Lexi said, "Now let's test ours together."
When Jacques heard this, he furrowed his eyebrows, "What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. When my essence enters Kai it mixes and then creates a whole new essence. I want to test the attributes of the combined essence."
When Jacques heard this he thought his daughter was crazy. Essences don't mix. In fact, they oppose each other. If someone essence enters your body your body destroys it as it is seen as a foreign element. With this known as the truth, how could Lexi say their's combine? It was a preposterous notion to be exact.
Jacques shook his head and then walked to the ring. However, Lexi and Kai stayed. Lexi looked at Kai, "Are you ready?" Kai nodded his head. When he did, Lexi placed the pad on his arm and then they held hands. While they were holding hands they used each other as a kickstarter and began amplifying their essence lightning. After that, they sent their essence lightning into each other's body until it had fully integrated with each other. Kai then took the combined essence lightning and funnelled it into the machine. When he did, the machine started flashing blue until the light turned red. Once the light turned red they let go of each other's hands and waited for the results.
Jacques himself was quite curious. He stood in the ring looking from afar. He didn't believe it to be true but what if it was? He knew his daughter and she wasn't crazy so there had to be some truth in what she said. Even if the cause wasn't really the combination of essence lightning.
The machine continued to process the information it received but it was taking its time.
"Does the machine usually take this long?" Kai said breaking the silence.
Lexi shook her head, "No, it's usually much faster."
Kai pursed his lips, 'Was it really not the combination of the essence. If not what is it?' But he would soon find out as the results came out the machine. Kai gulped and then walked towards the machine. He took the paper and calmed his pulsating heart; he took a deep breath and then looked at the paper.
𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.
Gender: Androgynous
Rank: Beginner- Beginner Rank 2
Age: 17- 21
Type of Surpasser: ?
Pairing: Lightning-Lightning
𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 (𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝟏𝟎).
Piercing Power: 9.4
Speed: 9.7
Voltage: 9.8
Amps: 9.8
Stunning effect: 9.2
Heat: 9.7
Restorative properties: 9.3
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐬.
Proron: 9.7
Exron: 9.8
Auron: 9.7
Nevron: 9.9
Braron: 9.8
...
After Kai read the paper and then he handed it over to Lexi and just like him she was shocked. Looking at the results they noticed their results had combined. They improved each other's weaknesses. For instance where Kai fell short on the stunning effect Lexi's essence improved it. Where Lexi fell short on amps Kai's essence improved it. Seeing this, Lexi finally understood why she could only project lightning when they were holding hands. It was because the combined essence-lightning had a higher affinity to the proron and exron channels. A higher affinity gave her access to more power than when she was alone. Upon realisation, she smiled.
When Jacques saw their reactions his interest was piqued but he had just stormed off stating how impossible it was. How could he show up in front of them and ask to see the results? So in the end, he fought off his curiosity. But Lexi, as his daughter knew him very well so instead, she walked to him and showed him the results.
When he received it and read it, his eyes bulged. Then he looked towards, Lexi and Kai as excitement welled up inside him. Now he couldn't wait to train them. His emotions were raging but he kept them inside. He then coughed to bring his emotions in check, "Good, seems you were telling the truth. This is a weapon you can use to shoot up the ladder. I will personally see to it that you get the best out it. But bear in mind there could be others like you out there. Maybe the others are keeping it a secret for if it is discovered it will cause a ruckus. Now, I'm not going to tell you how to use your powers. As partners, that decision belongs to you..." He then cleared his throat again." Now we begin joint training."
Lexi and Kai stood ready in the ring. Then Jacques instructed them to both attack him. They were not allowed to fight individually but had to double team him. The purpose of this was obviously to solidify their cohesion. He wanted them to see how they fought and then respond to it. When they bumped into each other or obstructed one another, he would shock them both and point out how they could have done better. Some of the times he was the cause of it. He purposefully engineered a situation where they ran into each other. Jacques was an excellent trainer just from five minutes of fighting he could already tell the fighting style that would suit them best. It was also the same style they would use when they were in sync. This was on rare occasions though. Most of the time they were in each other's way. Both to dominate and competitive to step down. This wasn't surprising because they both had been fighting alone all their life. Working with someone and trusting someone was harder than it seemed. Especially, when you thought were fully capable to have your own back. Over and over he shouted and shocked them for not being a team player. They continued to bump and smash into one another for the duration of the training session.
After their training, Jacques took Kai and ran some extra tests on him to give Lexi the full physical chart. When she received it, they went home all battered and bruised. The point was to fight Jacques but instead, they were fighting each other. The ride home was silent. Both of them were too ashamed after today's flop. When they got home it was already 10 pm. Training was supposed to end at 6 but clearly they needed all the time they could get. When they got home they said goodnight to one another and went to bed. They were in bed but no one was sleeping. They both felt like they failed each other but more importantly, they felt they failed themselves. It was a partnership for a reason. They both knew in their minds that they couldn't do it alone. However, it was one thing to know and another to do. But on this night, before they went to bed, they both vowed to themselves and in their hearts, that tomorrow they would be more cooperative.
'Tomorrow it will be different.!'