--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi guys, Grinita here! This is a side story written by me, following a different alternate path from the original story. Please share your thoughts in the comments and reviews. And if you like it, don't forget to drop some stones — they're a great motivator for me!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After weeks of daily battles with Kain, Enel began to notice something different. People in the corridors no longer looked at him as a stranger.
One day, while returning from the battle room after another loss, an old man stopped him.
"You are the one who fights Kain every day?" the man asked.
"Yes."
"Come. I will show you something."
Enel followed him to a small workshop. On the tables, small devices floated in the air.
"What are these?" Enel asked.
"Skates," the man said. "They float on air. Consume little energy. Use them to move around the city."
Enel lifted one. It was light, almost transparent.
"How do they work?"
"Magnetic fields. Small and precise. You cannot see them, but they carry you."
"On my island, we have similar things," Enel said. "But they consume more energy."
"Really?"
"Yes. We use wind and currents. Sometimes trained animals."
The man laughed. "Trained animals. We have not heard of that in a long time. Take this skate. Try it."
Enel looked at the skate. "Thank you."
"You fight Kain every day. That deserves respect."
The next day, Enel heard children's voices in a small square. A blue-haired girl noticed him.
"You are the lightning man!" she shouted.
The children approached.
"Is it true you can make lightning?" asked a white-haired boy.
Enel raised his hand. Formed a small spark.
"Wow!"
"Can you make a sound?"
He made the spark vibrate. A faint resonant sound emerged.
"That sounds like a bell," the boy said.
"On my island, there was a giant bell. They rang it to tell people peace was coming. Or war was coming. Or that someone had returned home."
"Will you return to Earth?" the girl asked.
"Yes. Because there are things I have not finished yet."
The next day, in the battle room, Enel tried something new.
He focused his energy. Made lightning emerge from his hand as a sharp, narrow sword.
The lightning sword shot toward Kain. Kain raised his hand and stopped it. But this time, he had to focus his power on one point.
"Better," Kain said. "Again."
Enel tried again. Made the sword longer and faster. Kain stopped it again, but stepped back.
"How did you learn this method?" Kain asked.
"I thought about my old enemy, Luffy. His body is rubber. Ordinary lightning does not affect him. I needed focus and sharpness."
"And you did not do it then?"
"I was confident in my power. I did not think to change my approach. That was my mistake."
"Tell me about Luffy. How did he defeat you?"
Enel sat on the ground. "Luffy does not think or plan. He just hits and never gives up. He was completely free. Fearless. Even when I struck him with my strongest lightning, he laughed."
"He laughed?"
"He laughed. As if defeat meant nothing to him."
"And did you learn anything from him?"
"I learned that power alone is not enough. And that I am not a god."
"Attack."
Enel rose. This time, he made lightning emerge from his entire body. He lunged at Kain. Kain raised both hands together and stopped the assault. But he stepped back two steps.
Kain looked at Enel. "Tomorrow."
In the evening, Miria came to his room.
"Tell me about Earth," she said.
"What do you want to know?"
"What was the sky like there?"
"On my island, we lived on clouds. The clouds were solid like earth. We walked on them. Above the clouds, the sky was blue. The sun was warm. Rain fell from the sky. Its sound was like sparks."
He made a small spark vibrate. Tap tap tap.
"And the sea?"
"The sea was blue and vast. Waves moved up and down."
"Beautiful," Miria whispered.
"It is. But it is also dangerous. Merciless."
"Like Kain?"
Enel laughed. "Yes. Like Kain."
The next day, Kain stood before Enel before the fight.
"Today. Tell me about the Shandia."
"What do you want to know?"
"About their dance. About their word."
Enel sat. "The Shandia preserved memory. They danced every night. Repeated words they did not understand. Moved their bodies in ways whose meaning they did not know. They waited for someone to return. Someone to remind them of who they were."
"Shandora," Kain said. "An ancient word. It means the fire that never goes out. The memory that never dies."
"Did you know this?"
"I knew it long ago. But I forgot. You helped me remember."
He stood. "Attack."
Enel rose. This time, he did not attack directly. He made the lightning move like fire. Circles and waves. Rising and falling.
Kain looked at the lightning. He did not raise his hand. Let it dance around him.
Then Enel attacked. And failed. But he returned. As he did every day.