see's the lightning

The layered barrier I’d set up shattered almost the instant that crooked bolt of light touched it—but it was enough to give me a moment to respond. Recognizing the attack, I Accelerated as much as I could afford to, speeding up both my mind and body.

As I did, I was able to clearly see what was happening. The barrier shattered not instantly, but in pieces, cracks spreading from the hole that had been torn through it. At the center of that broken opening was a twisted bolt of lightning, spreading out from the point of contact like the branches of a tree. Forks formed in the lightning as it took an almost uncertain path towards me, winding one direction and then the other and occasionally shooting off other branches and tributaries. Like a blind man’s hands, I saw those streams reach out and try to map out a path to earth, seeking the connection that would ferry Violet’s great power.

This wasn’t lightning, not really. These were the step leaders that charted the lightning’s course, something vastly slower in comparison—thankfully. They were slow enough, in fact, that I had time to think and prepare, even as my body sluggishly tried to catch up with my mind as the fingers of my right hand curled. Spreading my sight through the whole of my skin, I took in the world around my, focusing first on the many trails of light before me. Paths were born as others faded, but at the moment I saw only three that seemed likely to reach a destination and so marked off a general area where they were likely to land even as fingers began to curl.

Turning my attention past the forks of lightning, I saw that a pillar of light had stretched down from Bianca’s hand, falling on Olivia’s position like the hand of God—or it should have, at least, but as it entered the pulsing, growing sphere of power that surrounded her, it abruptly bent at an angle and swung like a living thing to scythe down buildings in a wide arc, clearing everything between Olivia’s tower and the river, likely in preparation of Azure’s eventual attack. Olivia faced the sky, standing fearlessly in front of the blast that curved impossibly around her, and her arms were relaxed at her sides.

Even so, I could see beads of sweat forming on the skin of her face for the exertion of controlling so much space, the beginnings of tension forming in the muscles of her neck and back. Like Azure, she’d had no choice but to go all out from the very beginning, as pacing herself would mean nothing if she lost in the opening seconds of the battle.

But it made sense, I thought—Violet had left, considering Olivia able to hold off Bianca’s attack. My left hand began to twitch closed as I peered carefully at the patterns of Aura the surrounded my youngest sister, trying to get a feel for the area around her over the vast distance between us. After a moment, however, I shifted my attention again, focusing on Xihai for a moment to command her to act before focusing back on the city. Olivia was in place to hold of Bianca and Violet had struck at me, which left Sienna, Shani, Indigo, and Azure. I’d bet anything that Shani was preparing an attack and Sienna a defense, but while Sienna would likely focus on protecting Azure, who would Shani go for? I was too far away for her to focus on me first, but would she try to help Bianca? Go for Indigo? Attack her twin?

I’d need to keep an eye out, but I suppose I had bigger things to worry about at the moment.

The fingers of my right hand finally closed and I focused the power I’d gathered between them, forming a Thunderbolt in a flash of light. Taking aim, I called upon Vulturnus and felt him slide into the attack as easily as Crocea Mors did into my blades. Flicking my arm out, I sent the glowing spear hurling through the air with all the speed I could muster. It sank into the ground perhaps five meters away from me, driving deep into the stone, but even before it landed, I could see power rising from the attack. The opposite of the downward leader, the upward stream reached into the sky, guided by my and Vulturnus’ will. In moments, it touched the nearest of the leaders, curving its path away from me—and lightning struck with a brilliant, purple flash.