Eryndor awoke in the astral sky, where the horizon stretched endlessly, painted in swirling blues and silver lightning. No wind or gravity restrained him here, no sound of battle intruded, only the quiet pulse of power surrounding him.
He stood in the center of a floating platform of storm clouds, lightning dancing at his fingertips.
Two days. He thought. Two days of training — if I'm lucky, it's enough.
The weight of responsibility pressed down on him. Lyanna. The baby. Everyone relying on him while he wasn't there. The world itself teetered on the edge of chaos, yet here he could refine himself, hone his storm and martial abilities to a level that might one day keep them safe.
He went through each ability systematically, letting the storm around him respond to thought alone:
Lightning Affinity:
Tempest Guard: Creates a storm barrier to absorb attacks; can deflect physical and magical assaults.
Heaven's Rend: A strike of pure concentrated lightning; precise, high-speed, capable of piercing armored opponents or monsters.
Eternal Tempest: A wide-area storm; he used it for area suppression or crowd control.
Lightning Flow Form: Developed in the astral sky — integrates fluid martial arts movements with lightning, allowing chain attacks and reflexive defense simultaneously.
Wind Affinity:
Sky Step: Short-range teleportation using wind currents; dodging, repositioning, or rapid assault.
Gale Burst: Wind blasts to knock back enemies, deflect projectiles, or manipulate battlefield flow.
Cyclone Step: Combination of teleportation and mobility — he could spin through attacks while delivering kicks or punches.
Storm Perception: Heightened reflexes; senses incoming attacks, wind currents, and energy fluctuations in a radius.
Martial Arts (Grandfather's Teachings):
Astral Meditation Form: Mental and physical synchronization; trains in the mind while body rests, expanding energy control and stamina.
Celestial Strike: Adapted from his grandfather's stories, fusing wind and lightning to create devastating strikes that flow like water but hit like stone.
Storm Weave: A combination technique he created; integrates magic (lightning/wind) directly into martial arts forms, allowing continuous combat without pausing to cast spells.
Eryndor focused first on perfecting his current abilities, pushing each to its limits:
Lightning attacks became faster, less energy-consuming, capable of splitting midair into multiple strikes. Wind control improved — he could now redirect his lightning mid-flight using wind currents, giving him adaptive attacks and unpredictable defense. Martial arts and magic combined seamlessly; fists, elbows, and kicks moved in arcs that carried bursts of storm energy, each strike precise and devastating.
He spent hours testing combinations, simulating entire battlefields in the astral sky, dodging invisible enemies, chaining attacks, and blocking simultaneous strikes.
If the world is going to crumble while I'm still weak… they must survive until I arrive.
Drawing from his grandfather's ancient martial art, Eryndor innovated:
Tempest Palm: A single strike that channels wind and lightning in concentric spirals, capable of shattering defenses without overtaxing him. Cyclone Lash Kick: Uses wind currents to extend the reach of his leg strikes while sending lightning arcs spinning outward. Astral Step Form: Advanced mobility — he can phase slightly through space using wind currents, combining teleportation and momentum to dodge or counter multiple attacks. Lightning Veil: Defensive technique where lightning arcs spin around his body while moving fluidly, intercepting attacks automatically.
Every move was tested in the astral sky, perfected until reaction time was instantaneous, energy output optimized, and mental focus sharpened to razor-like precision.
But physical perfection wasn't enough. Eryndor entered Astral Meditation, visualizing Lyanna and their unborn child, projecting his storm outward like a protective aura. He trained to sustain magic over extended periods, imagining Pyrrhagon or larger monsters approaching, forcing him to last longer than the mortal body could.
He ran through scenarios:
Holding back world-ending attacks. Buying enough time for allies to strike. Shielding civilians, families, and Lyanna herself.
Two days in the astral sky. The body rested, the mind honed, each breath a controlled storm of potential energy.
By the end, Eryndor stood atop the floating platform, aura blazing with wind and lightning, martial arts perfected, techniques evolved, and a storm within him ready to leap into reality.
He whispered to himself:
"I hope it's enough. I hope they can last until I arrive…"
The world outside quivered, unaware of the storm gathering above, but he felt it — the calm before the next battle.