The Innkeeper

The sound of thunder did not just shake the ground, it shattered it. Thick chunks of dirt broke off from the ground and flew out into space around the massive landmass, while endless crystals, treasures, and corpses were revealed underneath. As a result, the one, massive landmass was losing integrity, making it dangerous for everyone within this zone.

Yet for all the dangers it was bringing, Lex's tribulation was ironically also making the zone safer for everyone. Any ordinary disturbance would have set off a chain of explosion or lightning strikes, but with his tribulation growing stronger, it began attracting all the energy within the realm, directing it towards the clouds in the sky.

Jeffery, whose body was completely immobilized under Lex's grip, looked at Lex for a second and then up at the clouds. Something flashed in his eyes, though he was careful not to reveal any signs of it.

But he did not need to reveal any signs. A hundred miles all around Lex, wherever he went, was completely his own domain. Everything that happened within, as long as it was related to him in any way, would directly be revealed to him. Not only did he notice Jeffery's subtle movement, he even knew what he was planning. Unlike him, Lex did not suppress his smile.

Each of them were plotting against the other as each second passed by. Only the victor would determine who had outmaneuvered the other.

Lex kept teleporting, gathering more and more people who were targeting him, while ignoring everyone who was an innocent bystander.

By the time the third lightning bolt struck him, Lex had gathered exactly nine hundred and ninety-nine members for his 'honor guard', and so he stopped. He landed back on the landmass, which immediately began to change all around him. A circular platform formed around where he stood, rising higher into the sky, while all those who he had gathered were lined up in circles all around the platform in nine total rows.

A fourth lightning bolt struck, but this time instead of letting it land on his body, Lex raised his hand up, as if he was catching the lightning bolt. He missed. Naturally, he missed. No matter what, he was not yet fast enough to react to lightning. But it hardly mattered, for even the fourth bolt, which was larger and more terrifying than the ones before, still could do nothing to him.

The following thunder shook the very souls of all those around Lex, causing many of them to cough out blood and suffer numerous injuries, yet they could not escape. Horror flashed in their eyes. Who exactly was Lex? What kind of tribulation was he undergoing? This certainly couldn't be that of an Earth Immortal? Yet at the same time, it lacked a certain quality contained in those that struck Heavenly immortals. What was going on?

Yet only one figure, who stood in the distance, beyond a hundred miles, recognized the signs this unique tribulation was displaying. It was an immortal tribulation, meaning a tribulation one underwent when becoming an immortal, yet at the same time, it resembled the tribulation a planet experienced before it could truly gain sentience. The only time the lightning bolts were so thick was when it was striking a planet.

Lightning arcs in the black clouds up above began to illuminate the entire dark zone, revealing sights that had never actually been seen before. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on the situation, still no one witnessed those sights because everyone was looking in towards the towering platform where Lex stood.

The zone that made up the Trial of Eternity was actually quite massive. No one knew exactly what its size was, for space folded strangely there. On some days it was as big as a planet, and on others it was a galaxy.

Right now, it was big enough so that even those who could not actually see Lex since he was so far away, still saw the lightning bolts.

The fifth, the sixth, and the seventh bolts struck Lex, and finally upon the seventh Lex groaned, unable to resist. Although he had a high tolerance for pain, each lightning strike burned his insides, forcing them to reform. Eventually, even he was unable to resist. But the problem was, even as he neared the nine bolts expected for his tribulation to enter into the immortal realm, not even half his body had experienced this unusual form of rebirth.

The eighth bolt struck, and this time Lex nearly caught the bolt, but not quite. He groaned again, but still suffered no visible damage. The sight began to scare all those watching, because finally one of those surrounding Lex was unable to hold on any longer, and died from the shockwaves produced by the thunder.

An immortal had died, just from being near Lex while he underwent his tribulation.

Everyone held their breaths as they waited for the ninth and final bolt, but it did not arrive. They looked up at the clouds, and saw that multiple arcs of lightning conjoined directly above Lex, pooling in their energy to form an ominous shape, made entirely of electricity.

Most did not recognize it. Even Jeffery did not recognize it. The figure in the darkness, watching Lex from afar, did not recognize it. There was only one living soul in the entire trial zone that recognized the creature that was forming above Lex, and the sight of it stirred countless memories, forcing the soul's slumbering consciousness to begin to wake.

Jeffery didn't know what the creature being formed from lightning was, but he knew enough about tribulations to know what was happening. He finally acted, causing his body to melt, as if it was made from wax, and another arachnid body appeared just outside Lex's range of influence.

"Fool," he cursed. "You think you're so smart, but you've only made my job easier." Steam began to rise from his body, and he once again began to change the form of his body. He had come here in his arachnid form because he was hiding from the Henali. Now that he was here, and his identity was revealed, he needed to hide no longer.

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