“Why…. Why… Why… must I suffer when I have never done wrong? Why my this world do this to me?” Nell looked up at the bright light that was raining down on her. This lightning was no normal lightning. It was a column that surrounded her. It did not burn her body but infused her entire being. The lightning was entering her body, transforming her from head to toe. Arcs of lightning arched off her body. Her entire being was no longer that of flesh and blood but that of lightning. 

“There’s one left!” A voice came from behind Nell. She turned and looked at the men in armor walking over. When she saw the emblem on the armor, she couldn’t help but laugh out loud. 

“Hehehe…. Hahaha! So the king himself wanted my family dead. It figures…. This kingdom…. The people who live here. This world should all just disappear.” The men in armor were confused as to what was going on, and before they could react, they saw a flash of light as the girl's body suddenly exploded in arcs of electricity. As arcs of lightning died down, a young girl made of Lightning floated in the air. Horns now protruding out of her head.

That day, the kingdom Nell once lived in was wiped off the face of the planet. Her anger did not subside with just one kingdom. Storm clouds continued to form over the planet. She wished everyone would just disappear. She wanted the world to know her suffering. That day, Nell ceased to exist, and the Demon Queen of Lightning was born.

- - -

“How can I let you live on your own!? You are new to this place, so it is not good to be by yourself. While it is a safe haven, the people here are not all trustworthy. It is best to stick with those you know for now until you get used to it.” Linda could tell from the look in Ning’s eyes that the girl did not trust people easily and that she was still in a confused state. In order to ensure nothing bad happened to her, she wanted to take Ning under her wing. 

Ning was unsure of what to make of this since no one had ever been this kind to her since she was human and her parents were alive. She had checked back then. She had looked for her father even after she became what she was today, and her father did end up dying…. She found only parts of his body. The rest were eaten by the monsters that lived in the forest. As for her grandmother…. Never mind her; the entire village was burnt to the ground, along with everyone in it. 

She had found out that the king had sent down orders to kill her entire family since the public had more respect for her father than they did the king. In other words, it was jealousy. The king was jealous of her father and her family for gaining the approval of the common folk while he was looked down upon. But it was his own fault. He had raised taxes over and over in order to live in the wealth of the people. She had killed the king with her own hands. It was not like anyone could stop her anyway.

“Ning?” Linda poked Ning’s cheek as she looked at the girl with a worried expression. “Are you okay?”

“Huh? Yeah… it’s fine. Just an old memory came to mind. I will take you up on your offer.” Ning decided to trust this Linda a bit and hoped that maybe…. Just maybe in this place where her powers were useless, that she could maybe live a normal life again.

- - -

“Becky, if you keep moving like that, you will die,” Desaray yelled out as she threw up a wall of ice in front of Becky, blocking the attack from the mechanical-type monster.

“Thanks, Desa!” Becky’s face was slightly pale. She did not expect to be bombarded with lasers right off the bat.

“This is a trial. Not a normal dungeon so you have to be on your toes. If you are not paying attention, you can easily die.” Desaray warned as she raised her hand; ice appeared around the monster and shot out, piercing through its tough armor and destroying it. “You have to gain better control of your powers. The element you are given’s strength is based on your affinity with your element. Just because you are a light dragon does not make you one hundred percent aligned with your element. 

“It’s a little hard to explain, but you need to gain a deeper understanding of your element, or you will not be able to grow in strength with your level. While level does help, it is not everything.

“Take Juna, for example. Her ability to spread her roots across the world is due to her hard work in understanding her powers. She was not always as strong as she is now. But now she is stronger than many ancient dragons, from what I understand.” Desaray wanted her friends and family to learn their elements and traits so that they could grow stronger. This was the only way to gain true strength.

“I understand. Thank you.” Becky felt like she had been enlightened. She had also felt her strength had wained a bit even though her level had risen. Now she understood why.